Post-apocalyptic/crime procedural deconstruction

I'm working on a pilot idea for a post-apocalyptic crime procedural show, set in New Orleans because that's where all the pilots are set these days haha. The idea would be to deconstruct a lot of the tropes and cliches of both of these genres (ideally by mixing them up, but that's no big thing).

The problem is that I really don't know the procedural genre very well, and my knowledge of the post-apocalyptic genre is also less than 100%. I've been researching and exposing myself to unfamiliar material as much as possible, but the bulk of my research effort on this project has been focused on the show's Southern Gothic element.

(you might ask why I decided to do a post-apocalyptic/procedural/Southern Gothic story instead of just "writing what I know"—that's a very good question, but oh well) _____

MY QUESTION/REQUEST IS: What are some tropes and cliches of my chosen genres that I could play with/subvert/deconstruct? What things have not yet been done in these genres, that would be interesting to see? _____

Thanks for any help—I've been doing a lot of research for this project myself, but one person often misses things that others notice!

You mean something along the lines of Blade Runner but set in New Orleans?

The "Cop who turns out to be a fake" trope might be interesting. You know, someone who shows up in the isolated community claiming to be a "Federal Marshal" but is really just someone who picked up the uniform somewhere. Then a real murder mystery occurs, and the phony cop must at least try to solve it in order to maintain his cover...

ANGELPAGAN, what do you understand a 'deconstruction' to be? It's different from a parody.

And it would help a little to know in what direction you plan to go in. At this point, we could suggest half of the non-Media tropes...

demarquis, not totally unlike Blade Runner, but whereas Blade Runner was more futuristic, high-tech dystopia, this would be truly post-apocalyptic. Technology at a pre-industrial level.

I like the proposition of a “cop who turns out to be a fake.” I’ll have to look into that one.

Deus, I’m not particularly interested in parody. My understanding of “deconstruction” is that it takes a new angle on a well-worn trope, and shows how that trope wouldn’t necessarily play out the way you’d expect it to. Or it sets up a story or cliché and then drives it in a very unexpected direction. Is that right?

As far as show direction, at this point I’m kind of thinking the X-Files structure—case-of-the-week, but linked together by an overarching plot about the survivors’ political structure and about what caused the end of the world. Also I’d use the typical sexual tension setup between the two lead cops, who used to be married. The idea would be to embrace all of these clichés in order to do something new with them. Does that make sense?

Perhaps looking at the Deconstructed Trope page and its examples might be of benefit.

Merely playing with a trope and having it go in unexpected directions is not deconstruction.

Fair enough. "Deconstructing" is maybe not the only thing I'm interested in doing with crime procedural tropes (say), but it's probably the "Playing With" option I'm most interested in. Certainly though, there'd be no need to reject all ideas that don't count as "Deconstruction."

If it is post apocalyptic perhaps the investigators are also the Peace Officers. Maybe something more like the Texas Rangers or something similar. Rather then belonging to one jurisdiction the Law Men travel to deal with legal troubles and maybe help set up basic legal systems using their own code. They use a hodge podge of old and new tech including scavenged items.

They have to learn tracking, hunting, and field skills alongside simpler forensics and Police Officer skills.

How I see it, the most fruitful theme to explore in a setting like this is: "What is justice?"

The justice system requires a strong infrastructure in order to exist, which a world After the End probably lacks. Laws mean nothing if they are not enforced properly, and this could be a potential source for drama in your show.

For example, what if people don't recognize the authority of your police officers? What if, after catching a man who murdered his wife, the locals decide to let him off the hook because "his wife deserved it"? Do the characters just walk away thinking that they did their job or do they try to enforce the law even if it means risking their lives?

And what about the opposite: does the government have enough resources to police the police itself? If not, then individual officers are free to enforce the law the way they like, torturing suspects or even carrying out judgment by themselves. Police Brutality would be an everyday phenomena, and the general populace might find it difficult to trust the police or they might even fear them.

Not to mention if the whole government is corrupt...

edited 6th Sep '14 5:59:04 PM by Paradisesnake

Not unlike the historical context of the actual Marshals who patrolled vast territories out West.

Maybe take a look at Mad Max, then?

Tuefel, yes, I have to remember that I’ve given myself a nice setup where the cops can get involved in more stuff than they realistically would in today’s world. That makes for more excitement!

Paradisesnake, you’ve hit on the head what I’ve been pitching to people as the question behind the show: when there’s so little left of the world, is there really a good reason to expend resources on policing? Might the apocalypse instead be a hidden blessing, a chance to return to the peaceful “state of nature” that some philosophers dreamt about (Hobbes would have disagreed)? These are questions that the main characters must answer, in order to justify their work to themselves and to others. Does the death penalty still make sense when every human life is vital to the survival of the species? Thanks for your take on this.

demarquis, yes indeed. It’s probably inevitable that I run into some of the themes and qualities of the Western genre, even if unintentionally. I don’t want to aim for a Western, though, because I worry my show is already too complex/borderline unfocused.

Deus, there’s really no excuse for me not having seen Mad Max, since I have a film degree and it’s one of my parents’ favorite films. I better get on that…