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Showbiz Tonight
Inside View of TV Thrillers;
Aired December 19, 2013 - 23:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN QUINONES, ABC NEWS: I`m John Quinones with ABC News. Please join us next time for another edition of "WHAT WOULD YOU DO?" on HLN.
A.J. HAMMER, HOST: Right now it`s a special edition of SBT, "TV Thrillers." We are opening Pandora`s Box and letting out all of the secrets of ABC`s "Revenge."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: From the moment I met you I knew that this moment was in our destiny. We share a bond that is unbreakable. Until death parts us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: SBT is on location at "Revenge." I`m unlocking some of the secrets that you have been dying to know about. We`re up close and personal on the set of "Criminal Minds." The twisted crimes, the envy- worth gadgets, and that infamous private jet.
It`s a special edition of SBT, and it starts right now.
Hello and thank you for watching. I`m A.J. Hammer, bringing you this special edition of SBT, "TV Thrillers." I went on location to the shows that everybody is buzzing about: from "Criminal Minds" to "Major Crimes," to the hit ABC show, "Revenge."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EMILY VANCAMP, ACTRESS: What a sad, sad woman.
MADELEINE STOWE, ACTRESS: To care about what you think, Emily, I would have to feel something for you. You are as worthless to me as this bracelet. Go on. Go after it before the other bottom feeders beat you to it.
VANCAMP: Good-bye, Victoria.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Right now, we are kicking things off by taking you inside "Revenge," one of my favorite shows. I got remarkable access to the stars of the show and I found out their "Revenge" secrets. It was also really an eye-opening look at how they turn a California set into a location on the other side of the country, where the rich and famous go to play: the Hamptons in New York.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER (voice-over): Quiet, everyone. I`m on the set of one of my all- time favorite shows, ABC`s "Revenge." The suspense drama about the Hamptons. But we`re not really in the Hamptons.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Action Emily and Nolan.
HAMMER: But we`re not really in the Hamptons. We are on this sound stage in Manhattan Beach, California, about 30 minutes from L.A.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good evening, Emily.
HAMMER: Emily VanCamp plays Emily Thorne, a manipulative sociopath who changes her identity and moves back to her childhood beach home in the Hamptons to seek, yes, revenge for her father`s demise.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know we`ve only known her a few short months.
HAMMER: Madeleine Stowe is Victoria Grayson, who Emily is out to destroy. The Grayson family framed Emily`s father, and he later died in prison.
STOWE: The time has run out for such frivolity. Your wedding is tomorrow. And the game is over. I wash my hands of it.
HAMMER: The end of the scene is my cue to meet Madeline. I live in New York, spend time in the Hamptons and can`t wait to get her take.
(on camera): It`s an amazing show. And one of the great things about this show is it really captures the allure of the Hamptons.
STOWE: You`re from there? You have a place out there.
HAMMER: I do spend a lot of time out there, yes.
STOWE: You know, I`ve never been, and I also -- I can`t imagine that people like this actually exist there. I mean, this is such a heightened reality.
HAMMER: It may be -- it may be a bit heightened.
Victoria would never allow me in her manor. Those aren`t the people I associate with.
STOWE: She wouldn`t speak like that, either.
She seems to feel the need to drop by unannounced.
HAMMER: If she were to say, "A.J., you`re really not welcome here," how would she say it? I`m asking you to go into character now.
STOWE: What on earth possessed you to think that you could enter our gates and sit down at my table?
HAMMER: I like this. This is why we love Victoria.
(voice-over): My next stop, from the Hamptons to Montauk, Long Island. Now in real life, it`s around 40 miles away. But we`re really just going to the other side of the sound stage.
A waterfront bar in Montauk is where the show`s regular folk hang out. A place where I would feel much more at home.
(on camera): All right. So it looks like any old sound stage, but this is actually where the set for the Stowaway is. One of the great locations in the show "Revenge." They built the entire restaurant and bar here on this stage with such incredible details, down to the menu.
You come behind the bar, there`s this terrific picture of Jack with Amanda and the baby. And lemons and limes, although they aren`t real. Bottles of liquor. Even behind the bar, they have the ketchup and the mustard.
I did, of course, try to see if there was beer in the taps. No luck here. But there`s a full wine rack, and there may be one less bottle by the time I`m through.
You`ve got the pool table. You`ve got the jukebox. And all we need are some patrons. And this is actually a place that I would hang out and eat. The menu`s pretty good.
(voice-over): The attention to detail really floored me. There were even real prices on the menu.
And then, my visit got even better.
JOSH BOWMAN, ACTOR: Josh. Thank you for coming to the Stowaway, man.
HAMMER (on camera): I`m trying to get service.
BOWMAN: It`s terrible.
HAMMER (voice-over): The talented Josh Bowman joined me at the bar.
BOWMAN: The place is empty when you need them.
HAMMER: Now, Josh is a British actor who does a fantastic job playing Victoria`s son, Daniel Grayson. Emily is engaged to Daniel, part of her plot to ruin his family.
(on camera): First of all, I`m hearing you now speak in your regular accent, which is something that must throw people quite a bit.
BOWMAN: I guess. Yes, probably. Just because, yes, I speak American on the show.
This might sound crazy.
HAMMER: Being somebody who spends a lot of time in Long Island and New York, it`s a terrific accent.
BOWMAN: Thank you.
HAMMER: Was there a vocal coach involved?
BOWMAN: I had -- I did -- I did have a small bit of coaching when I lived in New York about four years ago. And then I just had to take it home and, I mean, just work on it.
Create a new life for myself for that money. Or out of my mind completely.
I slip up every now and then, but I try and reign it in.
HAMMER (voice-over): Josh didn`t seem to be having any trouble to me. And next I got to watch him film a very intimate scene.
VANCAMP: The next time you see me, I`ll be walking the aisle in white.
HAMMER: When shooting starts, it`s shockingly quiet. The actors speak in whispers.
VANCAMP: What`s wrong?
BOWMAN: I keep wondering why you`re not bringing it up.
HAMMER: And the crew gets everything they need in just a few takes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And cut.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cut.
HAMMER: Cut now to my very fun and revealing chat with the show`s leading lady, Emily VanCamp.
(on camera): I`m actually hanging out on Emily`s porch. One of my favorite things. We often see Emily/Amanda peering out, gazing at the ocean from her oceanfront estate here in the Hamptons, or in Manhattan Beach on a soundstage. But what`s amazing is you`re never looking at the ocean. I actually didn`t even realize it, that it wasn`t an exterior shot. Can we take a look here at what we see?
VANCAMP: This is what I get to look at.
HAMMER: There`s actually usually a green screen there. You`ve got the dunes. But they just add the image in post.
VANCAMP: I don`t have much to see down here, depending on what we`re shooting.
HAMMER: Every now and then your neighbor just mysteriously pops in from out of nowhere.
VANCAMP: Yes, 25 people roaming around up here with me while I`m trying to, you know, stare out at the ocean. It`s definitely not the most intimate experience here, even though we`re often shooting very intimate scenes.
HAMMER: One of the things that`s so fascinating, particularly as a fan of the show, is we`re rooting for Amanda. We`re rooting for her.
VANCAMP: That`s the goal.
HAMMER: Really -- yes, it`s the goal, but if you step back and she`s basically a psychopath.
VANCAMP: Yes.
HAMMER: I mean, really. Why do people root for this anti-hero the way that they do? And they want her to seek revenge. We shouldn`t feel that.
VANCAMP: I mean, it`s like most comic book heroes. You know, they`re flawed, and yet they have some kind of purpose that people identify with. You know, and she`s doing awful things, but she`s doing them to awful people.
It`s amazing to me that there aren`t more people coming up to me, you know, and saying, "Why are you doing that? How could do this?" They are completely and fully invested in her insanity. But I`m grateful for it, because that`s when I started the show, is my No. 1 goal. If I can keep people rooting for this character, I`m doing my job.
HAMMER (voice-over): And clearly, viewers are invested in the show, which for the stars, is the ultimate revenge.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: Still so cool for me to see how they make the TV magic. Such a good time being there.
Well, from beachside drama to the incredibly cool gadgets on the hit CBS show "Criminal Minds."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: If you`re going to go behind the scenes on the hit show "Criminal Minds," you`ve got to start in the round table room, because it`s where it gets started.
So Joe, we`re on the iconic jet.
JOE MANTEGNA, ACTOR: This location gets asked about more than any place we shoot.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: That jet was made especially for the show. But wait until you find out how fans contribute to the "Criminal Minds" set, too.
Plus, you`ve got to see my mind-blowing visit to the set of "Major Crimes." I was stunned by all the research that goes into making the gruesome murder stories come to life.
Hang on: Our wild ride of TV thrillers is just getting started. This is a special edition of SBT on HLN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He`s stripping his victims of their identities.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Which means he may feel stripped of his own. After all the trophies, he could be seeking recognition for his work.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He may not stop killing until he gets that recognition. Let`s go.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: They fly all over the place, trying to catch up with the killers. And now, I`m catching up with the G-men and G-women of "Criminal Minds."
Welcome back. I`m A.J. Hammer, and I am taking you on location to TV`s biggest thrillers.
Now it`s secrets from the set of CBS`s smash hit, "Criminal Minds." It`s a show all about FBI`s criminal profilers in Virginia. Bu as you will see, I actually had to go to Los Angeles, because that`s where "Criminal Minds" is shot. And what I learned on the set is absolutely amazing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER (voice-over): On "Criminal Minds" we see an elite team of FBI criminal profilers working out of Quantico, Virginia.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She could be a risk, too.
HAMMER: But in reality "Criminal Minds" is shot on this sound stage in Los Angeles, and SHOWBIZ TONIGHT went there to find out what really goes on.
(on camera): If you`re going to go behind the scenes on the set of "Criminal Minds," you`ve got to start in the roundtable room, because this is where it all get started.
(voice-over): The show is about the FBI`s BAU, the Behavioral Analysis Unit. And at the start of each episode they meet here to analyze and track the nation`s most twisted criminals.
A.J. COOK, ACTRESS: So, you see why it is called the round table room?
HAMMER: A.J. Cook plays supervisory special agent J.J. Jareau.
COOK: Why do you ask?
HAMMER: So, when I, A.J., got to talk with this A.J., she told me she is having a blast, literally.
COOK: I`m getting better with a gun. I am nowhere close to being a sharpshooter like J.J.
It`s fun to pretend to be bad-ass.
HAMMER: Next, show runner Erica Messer showed me around the main BAU office set, complete with real crime reports.
(on camera): Fingerprint request form from 1997.
ERICA MESSER, SHOW RUNNER: Yes.
HAMMER: Here. Marcus, I hope you got your car back or whatever this was.
(voice over): But jokes aside, I wanted to know why the viewer obsession with crime shows like "Criminal Minds?"
(on camera): Crime shows in general have just been of crazy interest to people. You`ve been at this long enough to have some special insight as to why people are just so fascinated with them.
MESSER: I think it goes back to sitting around a campfire and telling stories. People love to do that, and they love to be scared.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is it a terrorist attack?
HAMMER (voice over): And that has kept the show going for nine seasons.
Fan favorites like the quirky Kirsten Vangsness, who plays Penelope Garcia, a computer genius who helps research BAU cases.
KIRSTEN VANGSNESS, ACTRESS: But then all the other pens, most of them are gifts from fans.
HAMMER: She invited me onto the set of her very colorful computer lair, but says it`s all pretend.
VANGSNESS: Here is the secret. Garcia can`t really type. This is a lie. This hand, because I`m left-handed, can move and do things. This hand is just here for balance and symmetry of my body. This just sort of -- there`s a lot of F-12 and a lot of enter.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Single...
HAMMER: Well, next comes the best part of my visit: going inside the FBI jet set.
(on camera): So, Joe, we`re on the iconic jet.
MANTEGNA: This location gets asked about more than any place we shoot.
HAMMER (voice over): The great Joe Mantegna plays FBI special agent David Rossi.
MANTEGNA AS FAT TONY, "THE SIMPSONS": I like you.
HAMMER: Yes. That Joe Mantegna. You know him.
(on camera): It`s a real pleasure hanging out with the guy who`s the voice of Fat Tony in "Simpsons."
MANTEGNA: Oh, well, thank you very much. You know, Fat Tony...
HAMMER: If you mind, can I ask?
MANTEGNA: Tony?
(AS FAT TONY): I don`t get mad, I get savvy.
(AS HIMSELF): Wait a minute. Where did that come from?
HAMMER: Thank you. You just made my year, man.
(voice over): But here`s a little spoiler about the plane the agents supposedly fly around on when conducting official business.
(on camera): I don`t think the real BAU has an actual jet.
MANTEGNA: That`s the one thing. You know, I`ve been to Quantico a couple of times. I`ve met with the real BAU. And that`s the one thing I think they`re a bit envious of. The fact that we can jump on this puppy whenever we want to.
HAMMER (voice-over): OK. So, there is a real BAU. But they fly coach.
Besides that detail, the show does work incredibly hard to be authentic.
SHEMAR MOORE, ACTOR: I learned how to use a gun. I went to the shooting range.
And we heard something similar from Ryan Maxford`s (ph) family.
HAMMER: Shemar Moore plays FBI agent Derek Morgan. We met on the set of the fake elevator banks, and he told me just how accurate the show is.
MOORE: I met with FBI consultants that we have on our show, and I just said, "OK, tell me the world. Tell me the life. Tell me the mentality. Tell me the swag or lack thereof. And what is the etiquette? I mean, how do we breach a room? How do you kick down doors? I mean, what is it? And how do you personalize or not personalize it?" So, you know, it`s acting.
HAMMER: And it`s not boring.
MOORE: Yes, kicking down doors is a good time.
HAMMER: And Shemar even invited me to play along on the set with him.
(on camera): Will we break something if we pull it closed?
MOORE: You can try to yank it. There we go.
And that`s...
HAMMER: Good night, everybody.
MOORE: And that`s a wrap. "Criminal Minds," Wednesday nights, 9 p.m. And we`re out.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: That`s a fun crew there. They have a good time when they`re shooting that show all about crimes. And as we continue with our special edition of SBT, "TV Thrillers," get ready for some "Major Crimes."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: I know. Are we going into the main deal?
NADINE VELAZQUEZ, ACTRESS: Yes.
HAMMER: The main office?
VELAZQUEZ: This is called the murder room. It is a real murder room.
HAMMER: Real officer?
VELAZQUEZ: Not a real officer.
HAMMER: OK, just checking.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Tonight the true story behind TNT`s hit, "Major Crimes," from two of the show`s creative forces. I`m giving them the third-degree interrogation.
Plus, I`m about to fire up another explosive SBT special, secrets of TV crime shows. Busting the biggest myths and truths from TV crime shows. Do cops really shoot their guns all the time? Do they crack jokes at gruesome crime scenes?
Our experts separate myth from reality. This is a special edition of SBT on HLN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to this special edition of SBT, "TV Thrillers." And now the secrets behind TNA`s hit show, "Major Crimes."
So I went on location to find out how real-life detectives and the wizard who controls everything behind the scenes make the crime drama look so authentic.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER (voice-over): TNT`s "Major Crimes" is shot right in Los Angeles.
MARY MCDONNELL, ACTRESS: Why wait four days between murders and hang around with rotting bodies?
HAMMER: A drama about the detectives in the Los Angeles Police Department`s Major Crimes division.
MCDONNELL: Contact media relations. I have some strings to attach.
HAMMER: And when we went on set to see how "Major Crimes" makes its magic, it was, well, magic.
(on camera): We`re speaking in our inside voices, because they`re actually rolling in the other room. We could get in trouble for speaking.
MCDONNELL: We won`t get in trouble, because I`m the boss. Yes.
HAMMER (voice-over): She sure is. Mary McDonnell plays Captain Sharon Raydor, the head of Major Crimes. Her character is a spin-off from three seasons on another L.A.-based crime drama, "The Closer" with Kyra Sedgwick.
MCDONNELL: Two samples off each person, please.
The very first thing I did when I came on "The Closer," as the head tech, I was on the phone with Gil Garcetti and Rick Wallace, one of our producers for a long time, talking through Internal Affairs. The relationship of Internal Affairs to Major Crimes. Why Major Crimes would hate Internal Affairs; why Internal Affairs wouldn`t care.
HAMMER: Yes, consulting with that Gil Garcetti, best known as part of the prosecution team for one of L.A.`s most notable and most notorious real- life crime dramas: the O.J. Simpson murder case.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Dr. Morales.
HAMMER: I was amazed by the extensive research that goes into making these gruesome murder stories come to life on screen.
VELAZQUEZ: I shadowed an actual deputy district attorney and asked her questions.
HAMMER: Nadine Velazquez plays D.A. Emma Rios. And Nadine took me to the set where many of the most pivotal scenes are shot.
VELAZQUEZ: Guess where we`re going right now.
HAMMER: OK. Are we going into the main deal?
VELAZQUEZ: Yes.
HAMMER: Main office.
VELAZQUEZ: This is called the murder room. It is a real murder room.
HAMMER: Real officer?
VELAZQUEZ: Not a real officer.
HAMMER: Not a real officer. OK. Just checking.
(voice-over): The murder room is where the Major Crimes unit, of course, works to solve murders.
This is how it looks on TV.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Eric Riley raped Natey`s (ph) daughter.
HAMMER: And this is how it looks from my vantage point as I watched them rehearse a scene.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And action.
MCDONNELL: So somebody watched.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our possible targets down to what?
MCDONNELL: Bombing it -- what is it?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Blowing it up.
MCDONNELL: Before blowing it up.
HAMMER: So who is telling Mary what to say? We went behind the set of the set to find out.
VELAZQUEZ: Oz is back here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am Oz.
HAMMER: Oz? Where`s Nadine taking me?
VELAZQUEZ: So the wizard hangs out back here.
HAMMER: That`s the script supervisor. She`ll remain anonymous, like the Wizard. She makes sure everything is done exactly by the book, the script.
(on camera): Is it word for word?
VELAZQUEZ: Yes.
HAMMER: If you -- if you miss a word?
VELAZQUEZ: If you miss a word, you get reminded.
HAMMER: I personally can`t imagine having to get everything word for word.
VELAZQUEZ: It`s pretty much word for word.
HAMMER (voice-over): When every word is read precisely and the scenes are edited, and the music is added, it`s polished and dramatic.
TONY DENISON, ACTOR: You take this to court, you lose all day long.
HAMMER: Tony Denison plays Lieutenant Andy Flynn.
(on camera): So thank you for showing us your desk. This is your desk in the murder room here.
DENISON: Yes. Detective Lieutenant Andy Flynn.
HAMMER: One of the things that`s so compelling about this show, aside from the characters and the terrific acting in it, is Los Angeles itself. What is it about this town that it just goes hand in hand with the kind of TV that you guys do so well?
DENISON: A lot of people walking around with broken dreams and broken hearts. And it makes for sometimes people who are maybe difficult to deal with. And they keep a lot of stuff bottled up, and you know, it comes out.
HAMMER (voice-over): Stories of those people are what keeps the show going. That and a few other tricks.
(on camera): One of the crew members chooses -- don`t show their face. They choose to take their nap here. And we discovered them. And Nadine says, "Oh, this is where you hide and take your naps." Perfect. Thank you.
Sorry. Back to sleep.
(voice-over): But there is nothing sleepy about "Major Crimes." Once the show is done, only real drama and some very real killer action.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Help! Help!
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: TNT`s "Major Crimes" is shot right in Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: That guy was really sleeping in the elevator. My thanks to the folks at "Major Crimes."
Well, get ready for a must-see SBT special, "Secrets of TV Crime Shows." We`re revealing how real-life headlines influence your favorite TV show addictions like the smoking hot "Burn Notice."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEFFREY DONOVAN, ACTOR: It`s not a good idea to lie to people with this much gas around.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What are you doing? You`re going to kill both of us.
DONOVAN: Yes, I am, unless you answer my question.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: He`s got me nervous. So gritty, so real. "Burn Notice" star Jeffrey Donovan is in the SBT hot seat, and I`m going to make him talk.
And we`ve got more crime secrets as SBT blows the lid off of the CBS show "Person of Interest." Is the government really watching you? The executive producers of the hit show are right here, and they have got all of the surprising answers.
This is a special edition of SBT on HLN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Right now on this special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, "Secrets of TV Crime Shows." We are counting down the top five crime show myths or truths.
Do the cops really use their guns as often as we see on TV? And just how fast does evidence really get analyzed? Also, we are taking you behind the police tape and revealing the stunning secrets of TV`s biggest crime shows.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEFFREY DONOVAN, ACTOR: It`s not a good idea to lie to people with this much gas around.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What are you doing? You`re going to kill both of us.
DONOVAN: Yes, I am, unless you answer my question.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: So what are the secrets to making the drama behind shows like "Burn Notice" look so real? "Burn Notice" star Jeffrey Donovan reveals all the secrets of the nail-biting CIA drama.
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT continues right now.
Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m A.J. Hammer. This is a special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, the secrets of TV crime shows. Get ready for us to investigate the TV investigators. Sometimes our favorite crime dramas feature brave, dedicated good guys. Sometimes of course they feature murderous meth making bad guys. But how realistic are they? We have with us tonight two real life crime solvers who are the minds and inspiration behind two of the biggest crime shows on TV right now. They`re going to tell us what TV crime shows get right and what they get wrong. But first, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is counting down the top five myths and truths about TV crime shows.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: As we watch the gang from "NCIS" solve crimes, or Walter White from "Breaking Bad" commit them, it`s easy to wonder how much of what we see on TV crime shows is fact and how much is fiction. Crime show producers do try to get it right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Writers in this business are doing themselves a disservice if they don`t attempt to try to find out what the reality is.
HAMMER: Still, just like criminals on CSI--
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sometimes we have to wait for a killer to make a mistake.
HAMMER: TV crime shows make some factual mistakes too. So, in our SHOWBIZ countdown, we`re investigating. TV crime shows, myths or truths.
No. 5, cops using their guns often. Cops on TV crime shows tend to get in a lot of shootouts. Even the forensic investigators on CSI. On "Criminal Minds," the lawmen and women are able to follow up a tense shootout with humorous bickering.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you out of your mind? You blew out my eardrum.
HAMMER: And now at no. 4 on our countdown, TV crime shows myths or truths.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Talk about death by chocolate.
HAMMER: Cops making jokes at gruesome murder scenes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So that red stuff is not raspberry sauce.
HAMMER: Castle is a writer, not a cop, so we`ll excuse his corny crime scene jokes, but what was Horatio Cain`s excuse on "CSI: Miami."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is cold as ice.
HAMMER: Do real cops make crime scene jokes, and are they really followed by a song by the Who?
And now at no. 3. on our countdown, TV crime shows myths or truths. Extremely prolific murderers. In "Breaking Bad`s" first few seasons, Walt White`s body count soared well into the double digits. And Dexter? We stopped counting at 30. Do Dexter and Walt even have police in their hometowns?
No. 2 on our countdown, TV crime show myths or truth.
Crime scene evidence is always found, collected and analyzed quickly.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There`s something in here.
HAMMER: On CSI, technicians can locate crucial clues after only seconds at a crime scene.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did you notice, for a female (inaudible) was missing an earring?
HAMMER: While back at the lab, fingerprint matches.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You got prints?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Victim`s partner.
HAMMER: And complex lab analysis take about as long as it does to get a pizza delivered.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The results of the tissue reveal fluid loss from damaged blood vessels.
HAMMER: And speaking of CSI, here is No. 1. on our countdown, TV crime shows myths or truths.
Forensic labs are modern and well equipped. The gleaming TV crime labs like the one we see on CSI are certainly very high-tech and sleek. But that`s one of the things we see on TV crime shows all the time. Are they myths or truths? Only the real cops know for sure.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don`t leave now. The verdict is in.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: Fortunately, my guests tonight have worked to crack hundreds of real-life criminal cases. They are with us tonight to separate fact from fiction as we count down the top TV crime show myths and truths. With me tonight from Hollywood, Jim Clemente, who is a retired FBI agent, now a consultant for CBS`s "Criminal Minds." From Las Vegas, crime scene investigators Yolanda McClary, who solves real cold cases on TNT`s "Cold Justice." Yolanda also inspired Marge Helgenberger`s character on CSI. So great to have you both here.
I want to get right to it with one of those classic shoot-em-up scenes, because it seems most TV crime shows, they just can`t do without a big gun battle. This one comes from "CSI Miami."
Pretty typical on TV. We get the gun toting bad guy really risking it all to battle it out with the law. Yolanda, the first secret we want you to reveal is this. Is it a myth or the truth? Do the cops really use their guns as often as we see on these TV crime shows?
YOLANDA MCCLARY, CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATOR: I would say that`s a myth. They do not. They would age 20 years every day of their life if their days actually went like that all the time.
HAMMER: I was going to say, I had a feeling about that, because it seems like it`s such a dramatic and traumatic thing obviously when guns are pulled and gunfire is exchanged. That`s good to know. A myth. It allows us to move onto our next TV crime show secret. When have we not seen this scenario, playing out on a TV crime show. A serious crime is going on and somehow humor gets mixed in. This scene is coming from "Castle."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How does it look?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Like you waited too long.
She was strangled but she went down with a fight. Prelim suggests a sign of a struggle. She took one to the face.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well dressed attractive woman in a seedy motel and a guy who flees the crime scene. This might have been a one night stand gone wrong.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are we talking about the victim or Castle?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: OK, sometimes a serious situation does require a little levity, but Jim, I want you to take this one. We do see it all the time. Myth or truth, do real cops make crime scene jokes?
JIM CLEMENTE, RETIRED FBI AGENT: Absolutely. That`s not a myth at all. Actually, it`s a psychological mechanism they use to defend themselves from the horrors they have to live with every day. It`s very common to have a lot of dark humor in the middle of a crime scene. It`s actually refreshing to see some of that on TV, because a lot of shows won`t show that.
HAMMER: It does seem a little untoward, but of course you should expect that. OK, when there`s a serious situation like that, people do have defense mechanisms. Everybody also seems to love the TV serial killer. We see the likes of Showtime`s Dexter, we see "Breaking Bad`s" Walt White on AMC, just sort of going about their business, almost without a care. This myth or truth for you, Yolanda, do most murders go unsolved?
MCCLARY: Do most murders, no. I think the ratio to them being solved to unsolved is definitely higher than your cold cases. But people like Dexter are serial killers. And as we know from the past, we have serial killers that definitely got away with what they did for a while, but they eventually get caught. I don`t think they ever get to the numbers Dexter has or ever will.
HAMMER: Fortunately. But yes, it does seem if you watch and pay attention to only TV crimes, and not what goes on in the real world, you would think these guys get away with it all the time. Let me move to the next secret. It comes from another classic cop scene. They walk into the room, right away somebody knows exactly what happened just from looking around. Watch this from "Criminal Minds."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Position of the body suggests he was one of the last ones killed. He tried to escape and almost made it to the exit. Jane Bernie (ph) and Vinnie Adev (ph) were here. Jane tried to run and Vinnie didn`t.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How do you know?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She is half under her desk, which means she tried to hide, and the unsub found her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: I realize they have to cram it all into a one-hour TV show. But Jim, let me go to you on this as a consultant on "Criminal Minds." Myth or truth. Are investigators really able to analyze the crime scene that quickly?
CLEMENTE: Well, in "Criminal Mind`s" case, they`re talking about crime scene behavior. This is a process called crime scene reconstruction. It`s not actually the forensic science. That takes days and weeks and sometimes months to do, but the behavior exhibitor at a crime scene, you can walk in there and you can see how they got in, how they got out, what the different movements were. It`s very easy for somebody who is very sophisticated and experienced at this actually to tell what`s going on. The behavior that occurred at a crime scene in a very short period of time. That`s actually not a myth.
HAMMER: Really cool to get your perspective on all of this. Both of you, Yolanda and Jim, thank you for separating fact from fiction. Thanks for being here.
MCCLARY: Thank you.
HAMMER: Now that we have busted the myths about TV`s hottest crime shows. I can`t wait to reveal the biggest secrets to you. Get ready, I`m taking you right behind the crime scene tape to reveal just how much real-life drama is actually represented in your favorite TV shows addictions, like the smoking hot "Burn Notice."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s not a good idea to lie to people with this much gas around.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What are you doing? You`re going to kill both of us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I am unless you answer my question.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: What a great show, seven amazing seasons of crime fighting in that show. And tonight, I`m putting the star of "Burn Notice" in the SHOWBIZ hot seat. He`s got to reveal all of his behind the scenes secrets. This is a special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, secrets of TV crime shows, and now the secrets of ABC`s "Castle."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m wondering if my character`s police buddies might have any resources.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, if your hero`s fictional cop buddies are anything like your real cop buddies, then they`d have real work to get back to.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Seamus Dever and Jon Huertas play detectives on "Castle," and I asked them, how they make their performances seem so real.
JON HUERTAS, "CASTLE": First, the pilot episode we got to ride along with some homicide detectives from the NYPD, which was great, gave us great insight. But now we use kind of cops that are local, and homicide procedures I think across the board in most agencies are kind of very similar, and we stick to the procedures as much as we can.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stay down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Oh, yes, "Burn Notice" knows how to bring the drama, and tonight we`re blowing the lid off of one of prime-time`s hottest shows. Welcome back to the special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, secrets of TV crime shows. Right now, it`s "Burn Notice," revealed. We are getting the real story behind USA`s hit spy drama, "Burn Notice," coming straight from its star, Jeffrey Donovan. Donovan played Michael Westin for seven incredible seasons, and he revealed some true shockers about the show and real-life spy games.
HAMMER: Here is the first secret I need for you to reveal for us tonight, and maybe you can`t, but how often has real-life drama found its way into your scripts? Obviously there is a great veil of secrecy over--
(CROSSTALK)
DONOVAN: We have a consultant that the show has worked loosely on. This former intelligence officer, named Michael Wilson, very close to Michael Westin, and he gave us a lot of the first two seasons spycraft, how to bug an enemy`s phone. How to create an X-ray machine out of a taser. All of these things he actually does.
HAMMER: Based on reality?
DONOVAN: Based on reality. You can look it up. And then when it comes down to any kind of explosive device, which we talk about that we built, we always made some false ingredients, some made-up names.
HAMMER: Thank you for that.
DONOVAN: It was inert. Nobody would be hurt by that.
(CROSSTALK)
HAMMER: I don`t want anybody to learn from that. I look at your credentials. You`re a Black Belt. You speak Russian and you even lived in Russia. It`s almost like you`ve been training to be a spy your entire life. So here is the next secret I need for you to reveal, and that`s what makes you so believable on the show. But how closely have you worked with agents or former agents to inject that realism of your own portrayal into the drama? DONOVAN: Well, I`ve corresponded with this ex-operative over emails for many years. I have hung out with homeland security. Got, you know, the inside on what they really do. And what`s interesting about today`s media coverage of what NSA is doing, it`s been going on. It`s really been going on. And I think it`s a little naive of our country to think that with the technology we have today, that they`re not listening to more.
HAMMER: I have always said that.
DONOVAN: And a little quick thing, because only because I played a spy and I researched it, there`s this thing called the ASA. It`s no longer in existence, it`s predated NSA, it`s American Security Agency. They were built to spy on Americans. It was just -- it was during World War II, we did not know who to trust.
HAMMER: And that was the gig.
DONOVAN: And that was the gig. So it`s just an old story that`s getting new blood. So it`s fascinating.
HAMMER: I have one more very important secret I got to ask you, because on the show we see so much action. We`ve seen you jumping out of a helicopter, tumbling over a bridge. Plunging into the depths of the water. Hanging off the side of a building. Big fun. So the next secret you must reveal, how much of your own stunt work do you do? So many actors like to do it themselves.
DONOVAN: I love doing it. I didn`t think you could be believable as a spy, a James Bond type guy, if it wasn`t your face going through that. You don`t want to see the back of your head running through flames. I remember in the teaser you`ll see me jumping out of flames. That was me. That was me in a small explosion and I burned hair on my arms. The stunt guy comes, they did the bigger explosion, they burned his hair and his eyebrows. So my rule was, I will do the stunt right up until there is an ability for me to die. That`s when I stop.
HAMMER: Gives a whole new meaning to "Burn Notice." Congratulations again on an incredible series. We look forward to what`s next from you, but congratulations on this again, thanks for being here.
DONOVAN: I appreciate it.
HAMMER: Our incredible TV crime show secrets are just heating up. So I got to know, how closely does reality match the drama on the huge CBS hit, "Person of Interest?" (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re concerned (inaudible) might be compromised and she might even have full access.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is very bad news indeed. We go to contingency one. No cell phone. Avoid all cameras.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Is the government really watching your every move just like on the show? The masterminds behind "Person of Interest" have the answer. They are not afraid to tell. This is a special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, secrets of TV crime shows. And now TNT`s "Major Crimes" revealed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Someone shoots at us I want to get out of the car and maybe jump out of the way. Seatbelts can get you killed.
Don`t do that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why not?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you hurt yourself through a crash, we have liability insurance.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But if you get shot, we are off the hook because you signed a release.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: "Major Crimes" creator James Duff and technical adviser Mike Berchem, a former LAPD detective, told me how they make all that drama look so real.
MIKE BERCHEM, CONSULTANT: I mean, my head is 28 years of murder and mayhem in L.A. in there. And this man here --
(CROSSTALK)
JAMES DUFF, CREATOR: He is being very modest. We have some cases -- some details that you just wouldn`t get on any other show, and that`s because Mike brings all that experience with him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Northern lights might be compromised. She might have full access.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is very bad news indeed. We go to contingency one. No cell phones. Avoid all cameras.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: This show makes me so paranoid. It`s so wild. The huge CBS hit, "Person of Interest," is all about the government using that elaborate high tech system that you`re looking at to track your every move. So are you really being watched?
Welcome back to the special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, secrets of TV crime shows. Right now it`s "Person of Interest" revealed. I went one-on-one with the masterminds behind the hit TV crime drama. And of course, I had to ask the show`s executive producers the secrets of how true to life their terrifying world of total surveillance really is.
Let`s get some behind the scene secrets from you guys, because "Person of Interest" is such an amazing show. It`s doing so incredibly well. One of the reasons we love it is because we see this mind-boggling technology that`s used to stop criminals before they actually act. Let`s take a look at a little of that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Your machine is telling me about all these people, Harold. Their secrets. I`m beginning to understand how you acquired such a dim view of humanity. How rude of me. I can see for the first time and you`re blind.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: That`s so spooky. It`s hard to imagine we`re being watched and tracked everywhere we go and everything we do to the extent that we see in "Person of Interest." You guys did a lot of research developing this show. So I need this first secret revealed from you tonight, and Jonah, it`s to you, is there really some version of this elaborate high-tech system out there?
JONAH NOLAN, CREATOR, PERSON OF INTEREST: Yes, it`s called PRISM. We know that now. Greg and I have been kind of patting ourselves on the back all summer for getting our research right. The key difference with our show is that on our show, it actually works. From everything we`ve heard, PRISM is still very much in a nascent stage, where you have all of this information kind of spewing into offices somewhere, whether they are in Bluffdale, Utah or NSA headquarters, and sorting through all that information, that is the tricky part.
Where we started with the show was this premise if we have all this information, they`re really just looking for terrorists, but what do they do with all the rest of that information? What do they do with information they have about much lower profile crimes that may happen? If they had a chance to stop, would they take advantage of it?
HAMMER: Exactly. That`s why you can`t help but kind of be paranoid when you watch "Person of Interest." You`re very paranoid if you use a smartphone or a computer. You live in a big city, which I guess pretty much covers all of us, but we do need to know how you make the magic happen on the show, and Greg, this question to you. Are you using actual surveillance cameras for your show? It certainly looks like it.
GREG PLAGEMAN, CREATOR, PERSON OF INTEREST: Absolutely. We have what we call our machine view, our surveillance unit which achieves those angles. When the show started, and we were looking for surveillance footage, we actually were able to use some of the Department of Transportation`s actual surveillance footage in New York City. Fortunately, everyone is pretty much familiar with those angles now. It looks like a fish eye lens or high angle, and the entire city of New York now, the mayor has what he calls his domain awareness program. I think everybody is well aware that there are license plate readers and cameras on every corner.
HAMMER: Yes, this is why I walk around like this all the time. I always have something in front of my face. I can`t avoid it.
NOLAN: You got to put duct tape over the cameras.
HAMMER: Exactly. Keep looking over your shoulders and keep putting out great TV, guys. Thank you so much for being here, Jonah and Greg, I really do appreciate it.
Thank you for watching this special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, secrets of TV crime shows. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York. You can catch SHOWBIZ TONIGHT Monday through Thursday, 11:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific.
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