What strikes me most about Chicago Fire is that the problem is not the volume, but the clarity of the spoken dialogue. Modern television often gives priority to realism, atmosphere, music, sirens, background noise and overlapping speech. As a result, viewers may need subtitles even though the programme has been professionally produced. Older series such as Wagon Train are very different. The actors spoke more clearly, dialogue was placed prominently in the sound mix, scenes wepre slower, and there were fewer competing sounds. That makes the programme much easier and more relaxing to follow. There is also the added pleasure of recognising guest actors who later became famous, such as Ronald Reagan, Peter Falk and Jack Lord. With Chicago Fire, we do not yet know which minor actor, rescued victim or guest character may become a major star 20 or 30 years from now. Unfortunately, many of us on AN may not be around long enough to find out. Poor dialogue clarity also makes unofficial subtitles harder to produce. Automatic systems and amateur subtitlers can mishear words, omit phrases or create translation mistakes. Official subtitles made from scripts should be better, but downloaded subtitles may still disappear when the video source or release format changes between seasons. Ironically, real emergency communication can sometimes be clearer than television drama. In genuine action, firefighters, police and paramedics use short, direct commands because misunderstanding can be dangerous. On television, however, dialogue is mixed together with music and dramatic effects to create tension. So although Chicago Fire is technically more sophisticated and nuanced, that sophistication can make the speech less intelligible. And of course, all those fires were deliberately created for one purpose: to keep Chicago Fire on the air. 😉
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