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* I haven't watched the show yet, but I find the premise insanely creepy. The Government is watching you 24/7 to make sure you're not a terrorist? These guys use that system to spy on you and stop you if they think you're gonna commit a crime? Yeah. So question is: Is is better than it sounds? Or is it as bad as that sounds?
** As said below, it's much better than it sounds. Yes, the concept has the potential to be really creepy, but it's surprising how well they deal with that. Long story short, there were elements in the government who wanted full, creepy level access to information about civilians, but the person who designed the system refused to allow that, and he turned the Machine into a closed system. So the Machine watches everyone and it analyses everything, but it can't tell anyone the things that it knows. It can't produce dossiers on 'undesirables', it can't gossip, and it can't embarrass your political rivals. All it can do is identify a single person (usually by social security number) and then say "you should really take a look at this dude". The operatives have to conduct a conventional investigation from there.
*** When you think about it, it's a really powerful plot device that does a lot of things at once. It makes the government monitoring program seem much less creepy. It establishes an historical conflict between the Machine's creator and the elements in the government who wanted (who still want) more access. It paints a clear moral contrast between these two sides and establishes one of our protagonists as an incorruptible noble character standing up for privacy and principles. And probably most important: it maintains the mystery and the conflict in any given episode. The show is primarily a "case of the week" procedural. For that to work, the characters can't go just be told everything they need to know by a Machine at the start of an episode.
** Much better than it sounds, and their surveillance rarely comes off as creepy. Once the number comes through and they know a person is in danger/may be about to cause harm, they get into their phones and their records. But they never see what made the Machine spit out the number (that's part of the suspense of the show; they never know WHY the person is a Person of Interest, and sometimes they protect the person from the wrong perceived threats). So while there is a lot of "Big Brother is Watching," their actual behavior is no more invasive than a well-funded private investigator."
** Strictly speaking, the government isn't watching you. The Machine is. If it turns out you're a terrorist, the Machine will let some one know. Otherwise, you're irrelevant.
** In fairness, the premise is supposed to be creepy.
** Makes you wonder when someone comes up "deviant", doesn't it. Don't you just want to know more?
** As said below, it's much better than it sounds. Yes, the concept has the potential to be really creepy, but it's surprising how well they deal with that. Long story short, there were elements in the government who wanted full, creepy level access to information about civilians, but the person who designed the system refused to allow that, and he turned the Machine into a closed system. So the Machine watches everyone and it analyses everything, but it can't tell anyone the things that it knows. It can't produce dossiers on 'undesirables', it can't gossip, and it can't embarrass your political rivals. All it can do is identify a single person (usually by social security number) and then say "you should really take a look at this dude". The operatives have to conduct a conventional investigation from there.
*** When you think about it, it's a really powerful plot device that does a lot of things at once. It makes the government monitoring program seem much less creepy. It establishes an historical conflict between the Machine's creator and the elements in the government who wanted (who still want) more access. It paints a clear moral contrast between these two sides and establishes one of our protagonists as an incorruptible noble character standing up for privacy and principles. And probably most important: it maintains the mystery and the conflict in any given episode. The show is primarily a "case of the week" procedural. For that to work, the characters can't go just be told everything they need to know by a Machine at the start of an episode.
** Much better than it sounds, and their surveillance rarely comes off as creepy. Once the number comes through and they know a person is in danger/may be about to cause harm, they get into their phones and their records. But they never see what made the Machine spit out the number (that's part of the suspense of the show; they never know WHY the person is a Person of Interest, and sometimes they protect the person from the wrong perceived threats). So while there is a lot of "Big Brother is Watching," their actual behavior is no more invasive than a well-funded private investigator."
** Strictly speaking, the government isn't watching you. The Machine is. If it turns out you're a terrorist, the Machine will let some one know. Otherwise, you're irrelevant.
** In fairness, the premise is supposed to be creepy.
** Makes you wonder when someone comes up "deviant", doesn't it. Don't you just want to know more?
