COPS Omar Sultan Draft

COPS the reality TV show stands out from the crowd of RTV. It's a thrilling show where two camera crewmen drive around with real cops from presinces all over the nation. However the only content displayed on TV are the breathtaking moments when police pursue some of the most dangerous criminals in the country. There are plenty of good reasons to watch this show, some of them include. Cops is a nail biting thrilling that will for sure keep you on the edge of your seat. As well the content in the show is 100% real, real cops, criminals,guns & drugs. Additionally COPS is filmed all over the country so its more than likely you'll recognize the area or a person on the show. Another reason to watch COPS, it's the perfect blend between action and comedy to accommodate a larger audience. Finally, The episodes are short and sweet, no inconvenient commercial breaks. COPS provides itself with plenty of good reasons to watch the show, no surprise why it's been on TV for 20+ years now.
 
The extreme thrill that comes from watching COPS creates a adrenaline rush formed by no other RTV show. The show contains extremely raw footage of police officers on duty, typically the show will start with a officer pulling someone over or receiving a call from dispatch. Suspense begins to build as the officer begins to approach a vehicle or scene of a call, no one knows what is going to happen in those moments. Death is on the line for everybody in the show at all times, in 2014 a crew member was killed in gunfire while filming the show. Police were responding to a robbery at Wendy's with two crew members riding in the back. Carson Vaughan from The NewYork Times reported: "After a standoff with a suspect inside the fast-food restaurant, both the robbery suspect and a sound supervisor for the show, Bryce Dion, were killed by police gunfire." (Vaughan) Throughout an episode of COPS you'll see drug busts, car/foot chases, prostituion, violence and random acts of crime. Although, some may say that this show depicts police officers in a bad way, due to the only footage being shown is the tough actions/decisions officers have to make. However, in a Huffington Post article written by retired cop/ criminal justice major Tim Dees says

"Most of the cops I know watch the show, at least occasionally, and few have anything negative to say about it. I know several cops who have been on the show, and their experiences have all been positive." (Dees) If fellow police officers are okay with the show, then theres no good reason to say it makes them look bad. COPS is on top of the RTV food chain for thriller shows. 

RTV nowadays isn't so real, some parts of shows are scripted, cast members are antagonized by producers to act certain ways, COPS is different, real cops, real criminals, scripted by real life. COPS takes much longer to film then most RTV shows, mainly because the footage they need is comes to them as it pleases, crime doesn't make reservations with the police. In a show like Jersey Shore the cast members emotions can be played with by the producers of the show in many ways. One very specific example of this would be producers of the show stocking up the shore house with extra liquor to spike emotions of the cast members for that night to try and get some entertaining footage. These persuasive methods wouldn't work on COPS because the footage is all real life just caught on camera. Although, some may say that COPS footage is edited as well, so there just as fake as other RTV shows. However, the footage must be edited because the camera men drive around with cops for weeks just to get an episodes worth of footage. Real cops, real criminals, real drugs, real guns, COPS is as real as RTV can be. 

In Addition to great reasons why to watch COPS, the show is filmed all over the country. Which is very unique compared to other RTV shows, that are typically filmed in a closed set. What's great about this feature of this show, it allows the audience to see what crime and police look like from all over the country. As a guy from the suburbs of New Jersey where the only crime around is home burglaries and drug use, it's really cool to be able to see what inner city crime is like and how it is dealt with. As well whats great about the entire country being a set is the possibility of knowing someone on the show. Whether their the cop or criminal it's mind blowing  to see someone you know on a popular program. On the other hand some may think the show is mainly set in inner cites due to profiling. Additionally they may bring up how embarrassed you would feel if you were on the show as a criminal. However, COPS tends to go to places with high crime ratings in rural and city areas, also you have the right to have your face blurred on the show to protect your identity  Having such a large set gives COPS the upperhand on all RTV shows. 

 COPS is a the perfect mix between action and comedy, which is why it is loved by both males and females equally. Today's society loves to watch the stupidly of others who do ridiculous things and pay the price for it on TV, COPS is guaranteed to provide their audience with that in every episode. From drunk drivers trying belligerently to convince officers that their sober, to drug dealers saying they don't know how that bag of cocaine got in their ass. On a recent episode of COPS: an officer approaches a man in his car, the man throws a bag of drugs onto the passenger seat, the officer ask's him whats in the bag and the man refuses to admit that there is a bag next to him. The shit show begins to unravel from here, the officer pulls the man out of his car and ask him for his Licesnse, the man told him that he had lost his wallet so the officer shines his flashlight on the car and finds a wallet sitting on the drivers seat next to a crack pipe. The officer asked the man what he was doing out in the middle of no where and he said "I'm waiting to meet Raj so he can drop off my wallet, you can look through my phone if you don't believe me."So the officer looks through the mans phone and ask him "who's Susan?" the man replied "I have no idea" the officer then reads the text message sent by the man to Susan "Hey baby I have snow and weed we can party a little." The man still refuses to accept that he has done anything wrong so the officer closes the squad car door and sends the man off to jail.  COPS is a mix between Action & Comedy. The show brings out the true stupidity in people when they are facing the law.  Although, others may think that COPS is too inappropriate and gives people motivation to break the law when they see the camera crew for their 15 minutes of fame. However, if people are dumb enough to break the law to get 15 minutes of fame they belong in jail, using a TV show as an excuse to one's immature behavior is ridiculous. Unlike most action RTV, it's audience is much larger because it's loved by both males and females. 

RTV shows have a tendency to over use cliffhangers and red harings, COPS is short and sweet with no annoying commercial breaks in between action. Most RTV shows will build up suspense to the point in the episode that you've been waiting for and immediately cut to commercial and leave you with a cliffhanger. This is done to force you to stay tuned in while they wreak profits from their commercials. On the other hand, COPS will play out a scene from the start of the action to the end and then cut to a commercial before the next scene starts. This technique keeps the audience hooked on the content but happy at the same time. However, some viewers may say that short episodes aren't enough action for them. Although, COPS has been on the air for 20+ years so there is plenty of content to binge on. Short, sweet and to the point is how all RTV shows should be. 

Finally, COPS is a unique form of RTV that stands out from the crowd. The show has done very well for itself considering it's been on air for 20+ years. COPS is a melting pot of delicious ingredients that makes the best RTV there is. It is a amazing thriller with a mix of comedy, as well it is the realist RTV show out there. Additionally, it's the perfect blend between action and comedy, giving it a larger fan base to love the show. Lastly, the episodes are short and sweet, they don't follow the RTV pattern of leading the audience onto a cliffhanger. Trying to compare reasons to watch COPS versus not watch COPS would be a teeter totter competition.

Works Cited

Dees, Tim. “What Do Police Officers Think of the TV Show Cops?.” The Huffington Post, 6 Oct. 2013, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/quora/what-do-police-officers-t_b_3713797.html

Prosise, Theodore. “Law Enforcement and Crime on Cops and World’s Wildest Police Videos: Anecdotal Form and the Justification od Racial Profiling,” Western Journal of Communication, vol. 68, no.1, Winter 2004, pp. 72-91.    

Vaughan, Carson. “Police Shooting Kills Crew Member Working for TV Show ‘COPS’.” The New York Times, 27 Aug. 2014, https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/28/us/police-shooting-kills-crew-member-working-for-reality-show-cops.html?_r=0