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Unread 16-08-2016, 16:35
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David Brinza David Brinza is offline
Lead Mentor, Lead Robot Inspector
FRC #0980 (ThunderBots)
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Re: FIRST on "The Fosters" - Monday Nights on FreeForm 8e/5p Starting Tonight!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Michael Corsetto View Post
Could the show just as easily had your typical "elite team" without demonizing involved mentors? How would the show writers even know about this specific topic of supposed "mentor-built robots"?
Yes, the show could have used an elite team without an evil mentor, but that would have eroded their story-line about an underdog (i.e. "under-mentored") team overcoming insurmountable odds. Writers sometimes go to extremes in developing characters to emphasize their story. I doubt the intent was to make a statement about the "involved mentor" vs "student operated" team paradigm.

I know the writers were at the Los Angeles regional observing teams in the pits, watching matches and talking with volunteers, students, mentors, etc. I'm sure they were looking for the context of the event (it is, after all, a VERY unique environment). I'm sure they (like any uninformed observer) saw the disparity among the teams. The "haves and have nots" aspect of FRC does not go unnoticed by team members and spectators. We'd like to think ALL elite teams assist teams with less resources, unfortunately that doesn't always happen at competitions.

I wouldn't put too much on the FIRST advisor about the story-line and script. The producers, director and writers really are responsible for their product, which they craft for their viewership. I'm sure the FIRST advisor did not advocate the "b*itches get things done" line, but there it was! I'm sure the FIRST advisor was trying hard just to avoid gross degradation of the program.

BTW, the director didn't get why the FIRST members in the stands would not "boo" loudly when the pinning occurred without the referees making the call. (In spite of the FIRST advisor saying spectators just don't behave like that in FRC). Maybe the culture of FIRST was a bit too foreign for the director??
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2003 AZ: Semifinals, Motorola Quality; SoCal: Q-finals, Xerox Creativity; IRI: Q-finals
2004 AZ: Semifinals, GM Industrial Design; SoCal: Winners, Leadership in Controls; Championship: Galileo #2 seed, Q-finals; IRI: Champions
2005 AZ: #1 Seed, Xerox Creativity; SoCal: Finalist, RadioShack Controls; SVR: Winners, Delphi "Driving Tomorrow's Technologies"; Championship: Archimedes Semifinals; IRI: Finalist
2007 LA: Finalist; San Diego: Q-finals; CalGames: Finalist || 2008 San Diego: Q-finals; LA: Winners; CalGames: Finalist || 2009 LA: Semifinals; Las Vegas: Q-finals; IRI: #1 Seed, Finalist
2010 AZ: Motorola Quality; LA: Finalist || 2011 SD: Q-finals; LA: Q-finals || 2013 LA: Xerox Creativity, WFFA, Dean's List Finalist || 2014 IE: Q-finals, LA: Finalist, Dean's List Finalist
2016 Ventura: Q-finals, WFFA, Engineering Inspiration
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