I have this terrible suspicion that you're right, and there's no magic formula for it.
I reckon the best way to write someone seeing the error of their ways is probably to make the process slow, and painful, and riddled with occasional backsliding. Probably also best to make that a subplot rather than the main plot.
I thought at first that Sam chose to stay with the 70s not because he'd stopped noticing what was wrong, but precisely because of what was wrong. In the meeting back in 2006, you could tell that everyone else knew about proper procedure and community policing and suchlike, but Gene Hunt didn't. Sam went back to a time when he could feel like a hero rather than just another minimally decent copper.
On the other hand, the way he ended up calling Gene out less and noticing the flaws of the era less in Series 2 really does back up your take on it. You're absolutely right that letting the prejudices of the era become normalised for him puts him in a position where he can never go back, and effectively destroys his previous self. Interesting. I'm going to have to re-watch it now.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2010-02-21 07:04 pm (UTC)I reckon the best way to write someone seeing the error of their ways is probably to make the process slow, and painful, and riddled with occasional backsliding. Probably also best to make that a subplot rather than the main plot.
I thought at first that Sam chose to stay with the 70s not because he'd stopped noticing what was wrong, but precisely because of what was wrong. In the meeting back in 2006, you could tell that everyone else knew about proper procedure and community policing and suchlike, but Gene Hunt didn't. Sam went back to a time when he could feel like a hero rather than just another minimally decent copper.
On the other hand, the way he ended up calling Gene out less and noticing the flaws of the era less in Series 2 really does back up your take on it. You're absolutely right that letting the prejudices of the era become normalised for him puts him in a position where he can never go back, and effectively destroys his previous self. Interesting. I'm going to have to re-watch it now.