Ok, so I've gotten away from it for a while, but I would like to make an observation on the 2007-2008 Television Season and its relationship with conspiracy culture.
It is worth noting that two successful television shows, Bones and NUMB3RS, have embraced conspiracy culture and the multiple episode story arc formula this year. Both of these shows are excellent in their own right, but apparently their writers/directors thought a little bit of conspiracy-related intrigue would jones up their shows.
Bones took the direct route of tying its season to a Templar-related conspiracy regarding a cult of people called Gorgothans or some such (can't remember right off hand). This story arc has surfaced in a handful of episodes this past season, and it looks to be starting off in a manner similar to the Smoking Man-related episodes of the X-Files. It's not clear if this story arc will be wrapped up in the current season (or I should say was intended to be wrapped up in the current season given the Writers' Strike) or whether it will continue for several seasons until it metastasizes into a a primary focus of the series.
NUMB3RS took a more convention approach to conspiracy media culture, firmly embedding their conspiracy in the realm of possiblility - counter espionage and mole hunting within the FBI. Agent Colby Granger was a triple agent - helping conduct an internal investigation of the FBI/Department of Justice for moles while posing as a double agent for the Chinese governement and feeding them false information. The show dealt credibly with the fallout of the Colby's exposure and subsequent rescue before being killed at the hands of the Chinese mole - his partner and team had serious reservations about him and conflicted loyalties after feeling they had been spied on by him. So far this conspiracy element is wrapped up and it looks like similar conspiracies won't surface again, at least for a while.
Interestingly, the NUMB3RS conspiracy arc started with the investigation of the murder of a Chinese consulate employee in what looked like a typical NUMB3RS episode. The conspiracy element was slow to emerge with Agent Colby Granger later appearing on a master "Janus List" of double agents in another seemingly typical NUMB3RS episode. I have to say that the NUMB3RS writers did an excellent job of introducing and weaving the conspiracy elements into the ongoing story arc. Well done.
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