'Origin'
Off-topic discussion. Wanna talk about corsets, pandas, duct tape, or physics? This is the place. Detailed discussion of any current-season TV must be whitefonted.
Would it be fair to say that Sopranos represents some sort of turning point on TV with respect to criminal protagonists? And, even so, we're not supposed to love them (although, of course, I'm sure many people did).
In terms of being successful, yes. But Profit certainly was ahead of the trend.
It's been a recurring trope, but it may be more prevalent now. I'd add Sons of Anarchy and The Riches to the list of recent shows.
In the past it showed up in places like It Takes a Thief, Remington Steele and I'm sure I'm forgetting some.
Oh, The Riches. Good one.
Leverage is just the Robin Hood trope. I'm not sure I'd call it new.
Profit certainly was ahead of the trend.
And, honestly, what with the mother-loving, pretty damned hard core in comparison to anything onscreen right now.
I'd add Sons of Anarchy and The Riches to the list of recent shows.
Yes, totally.
places like It Takes a Thief, Remington Steele
Hmm. Now I'm wondering--was Remington a reformed criminal, or an abstaining one? I count Leverage, for instance, as abstaining ones (there was an indication that, I think, Hardison indulged during the hiatus, because they weren't fighting injustice at the time), and I think of that as a different trope.
Leverage is just the Robin Hood trope. I'm not sure I'd call it new.
Not new in storytelling, no. Just wondering about TV.
In Mission Impossible, they were almost certainly breaking the laws of whatever foreign country they were infiltrating.
As to older examples: The Dukes of Hazzard. (Commercially successful). The Saint? I got the impression that sometimes Simon Templar robbed to get money rather than going after bad guys, but don't think that was canon.
Didn't Charlie do stuff outside of the law to solve his personal stuff?
In Mission Impossible, they were almost certainly breaking the laws of whatever foreign country they were infiltrating.
But that wasn't for them. That I think is readily endorsed. The Winchesters commit credit card fraud to pay their bills. The Sopranos were just a crime family. There's no altruism there (sure, Sam and Dean might be funding an altruistic lifestyle, but it's hardly the only way to do it).
The Dukes of Hazzard
Refresh my memory--what did they do for themselves?
Didn't Charlie do stuff outside of the law to solve his personal stuff?
Hmm. True. I think my mind is creating a separate category in which White Collar, Life, and Burn Notice will go.
I have to say, I really like the Oatmeal guide to Irony.