The Queen's Gambit Job

Spent most of Sunday reading, Betrayal in Dallas: LBJ, the Pearl Street Mafia, and the Murder of President Kennedy by Mark North. "A man who knows that enough is enough will always have enough", wrote Lao Tzu, and I had enough reading for the day, so I turned on the boob tube and began to flip around searching for something to deaden the brain waves before hitting the rack. I found a title, 'The Queen's Gambit Job' that sounded interesting, thinking it may have something to do with chess. It did, unfortunately. The program was LEVERAGE on TNT. The Royal game was featured prominently in the episode. It was hilariously funny! I mean, LOLFOTCROTF FUNNY! (That's: Laughing Out Loud, Falling Off The Couch, Rolling On The Floor)
I have come to not expect much when I see chess depicted on the screen, whether samll or large. I recall an episode of Law & Order Criminal Intent that featured Robert Carridine as a 'chess master' (Season Four, episode 11: entitled 'Gone'). It made me want to cry. It is being shown again on Oxygen, Thursday, Sept 8, at 7 & 11. I will pass. I seem to recall an episode of 'Columbo' that focused on a 'chess master'. Someone mentioned that the 'master' was a cross between Bobby Fischer and Tigran Petrosian, since he was hard of hearing. Missed that one, thankfully.
Someone came to the Atlanta Chess Center and gave free passes to a screening of the movie The Luzin Defense, starring John Turturro and Emily Watson. Naturally, Turturro was out of his mind. Why is it that most, if not all, chess masters depicted on screen are 'crazy'? It used to be that, when you mentioned to someone that you played the Royal game, they would say, "You must be smart!" Now mention chess and they move away from you...
Since it was free, a group of us went to the movie. After the movie ended, thankfully, we walked outside to be met by a group of young people, pen and pad in hand. "What did you think of the movie?" I was asked. "Ridiculous," I answered. "Would you like to elaborate on that?" the pretty young woman asked. "Don't get me started." I was trying to be nice. I will never forget the look on the face of Thad Rogers, owner of the House of Pain and Mr Southern chess for many years, as he came out, hoppin' MAD! I no longer recall exactly what he said, but I will never forget how he said it! I am sure those people regretted asking Thad his opinion. I heard one of our group say, "What a load of CRAP!" I thought he summed it up rather nicely.
A lady named Meredith Jacobs has written a review of 'The Queen's Gambit Job' episode, which you can find here:
http://www.examiner.com/leverage-in-national/leverage-summer-finale-the-queen-s-gambit-job-recap-chess-and-sterling
She pretty much lays it out the way she saw it. She must know little or nothing about the world of chess. It is unfortunate that the vast majority of people know so little about chess, and think what they see on screen depicts "the way it is."
If I were to write a review of the program, I would start by excoriating the writers unmercifully. They must be reasonably intelligent people, but they do not show it with their writing. It would seem that, if someone were going to write a story about a subject, any subject, they knew little about, they would, at the very least, educate themselves first. One would think...
These chowder heads continue to put this pabulum on screen because people watch it. I admit, they suckered me into watching. But hey, I got a BaconLOG post out of it! Maybe if there were enough chess players who started a movement, saying, "We are mad as hell and we are not gonna take it anymore!" they would get the message. Then again, maybe not...