Technical Writing Poll: Best TV Shows Set in Chicago

If you enjoyed last week’s poll, or tend to indulge in the couch potato forms of recreation when not doing technical writing chores, then you should be ecstatic about this week’s technical writing poll.  We know that there were loads of great movies set in Chicago, now it’s time for you to vote on the wonders of the small screen.

As we careen ever closer to the day of one device for everything electronic, you are just that much closer to being able to download and rewatch as many of these television shows as you can fit in between sessions with DITA XML editors, Google hangouts for team meetings, or creating your first tech comm video. (If you noticed the technical writing tie-in is a bit more strained this week, keep it under your hat; just think of it as a nice diversion from your struggles with the latest style manual debates.)

Even if you can’t make the STC Summit in Chicago, you can reminisce about the windy city and technical writing with the one show about a technical writer living there. Or not.  There’s plenty of other fairly technical stuff  among your choices—law, medicine, paranormal, post office, psychology or secret agency—at some point they’re all going to need a great technical writer to join the cast and give some meat to those plots, right?  So take a minute to peruse the list of  TV shows, pick one, or pick Other, and tell us which show we missed.  And if you haven’t voted for your favorite movie, you still can. Then wander over to the email discussion list and start up a thread on the potential for collaboration in television script writing. Or maybe get some feedback on your ideas for a new reality show all about great innovations in technical writing… the world is just waiting for it.

What's your favorite TV show set in Chicago?

View Results

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Larry Kunz

12 years ago

Number One is definitely The Bob Newhart Show. But the second one that comes to my mind is missing from your list: Early Edition. Airing for a few years in the late ’90s, it’s about a guy who gets the next day’s edition of the Tribune on his doorstep each morning — and then tries to undo the disasters and calamaties he finds reported therein. The Chicago setting is a big part of the show.

Lauren Hart

Lauren Hart

12 years ago

How am I the only one to vote for family matters. Who doesn’t love Urkel? Come on. This is the clear winner.

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