Reality Checkers

When the producers and writers of the CBS daytime soap “The Bold and the Beautiful” recently introduced the new character of compulsive gambler Jack Hamilton, they did not need to research the role through a group such as Gamblers Anonymous. Instead, they called upon the services of their in-house psychiatrist: Dr. Carole Lieberman, who for about 18 months has been on staff as a consultant to “B&B;” and its sister show, “The Young and the Restless.”

TV series have long asked experts for advice and tips, to ensure accuracy. But as television is tackling increasingly complex and varied subjects, technical consultants are considered critical to many programs and movies. Most sought after are medical and police experts.

For Lieberman, a Beverly Hills psychiatrist, it began in 1980 when she was a member of the Southern California Psychiatric Society Speakers Bureau, which provides free phone consultations to scriptwriters and other creative personnel. Six years ago, she launched her private consulting business and has since worked on dozens of television projects.

“Years ago, there was more of a need to call a consultant regarding mental illness when writers had a technical problem, such as if there were a psychiatric illness or hospitalization,” she says. “Now there’s more of an awareness of motivation on a psychological level, in part because of the many more shows like Oprah and Sally Jessy Raphael--society is becoming more aware of why people do what they do.”

For the soap operas, Lieberman reads every script and faxes or phones detailed notes to the writers. For non-soap projects, she sometimes tries to solve story problems by analyzing the writers themselves if she senses that the problem directly relates to an issue in the writer’s own life and that the writer will be receptive.

The accurate media depiction of both the emotional and physical aspects of having a disability is one of the missions of the Media Access Office, which was created in 1980 as a liaison between the media/entertainment industry and the disabled community. Based in Panorama City, the office seeks to dispel negative stereotypes of people with disabilities--including about 46 million Americans--in favor of positive images, providing technical assistance regarding disability portrayal and issues.

On an episode last season of “Jake and the Fatman” for instance, in which Jake became romantically involved with a woman in a wheelchair, the writers called the office for advice regarding sexuality and disability. “People hear these things, like disabled people can’t have sex,” says administrative manager Jill Roberts. “She and Jake didn’t actually have sex, but they discussed it openly. So the episode became an education for Jake”--and by extension, for viewers as well.

The office also provides casting referrals for disabled performers in speaking roles, such as the 50-something wheelchair-using woman on an episode of NBC’s “Seinfeld” and a hearing-impaired woman on ABC’s “Doogie Howser, M.D.,” and as extras, among them an “FYI” staffer on CBS’ “Murphy Brown” who uses a wheelchair.

A bit more dangerous line of consulting is provided by “Call the Cops,” a company of four SWAT-team veterans and one homicide detective created three years ago to advise on all facets of police work, from barricaded suspects to uniforms, from undercover work to court testimony. Their credits include a Tom Selleck-produced pilot and features such as “Terminator 2” and “Point Break”; at least one member is now on the set of each episdoe of the CBS series “Bodies of Evidence” (returning to the air Jan. 6).

“We’re there to save time and money getting the script right,” says Ed Arneson, an LAPD sergeant in charge of a “special problems” unit in South Los Angeles. “(Supervising producer) James Conway might call as he comes up with ideas. He’ll say, ‘Do policemen do this?’ We might come up with ideas that make the story more plausible.”

Sometimes total accuracy is sacrificed for visual dramatics, notes LAPD Officer Randy Walker. “They always have the police car lights going when they shouldn’t be. When you’ve been (at a crime scene) for 20 minutes and the dust has settled, we turn the lights off. But it looks good on film. And sometimes the impact of a bullet is overplayed. In reality, you can’t always tell if you’ve shot someone, because you might not be able to see the blood through their clothes.”

The policemen instruct cast members on shooting techniques and other aspects of cop duty. “Actors’ biggest fear seems to be handcuffing,” Arneson reports. “If the cuffs aren’t being shown on camera, we tell them just to click them behind the (suspect’s) back.”

This being Hollywood, it seems inevitable that the technical advisers would themselves get into the act--literally. Lieberman has hosted radio and cable television shows, while the police officers have appeared as cops when requested by the director. The “Call the Cops” team also has an agent for two scripts they have written. After all, says Arneson, “We read about 50 to 75 scripts a year that are submitted to us for advice. We figured we could do at least as well as those.”