Add Glee to Duke haters club

[Olympic Fan]

CSI had an episode a couple of years ago about a Las Vegas high school basketball player who was murdered. He was supposed to go to Duke on a basketball scholarship. If I remember right, they find out he was killed because he was a rapist (or maybe he was just a sleeze who cheated on his girlfriend ... I can't remember).

And Tom Clancy had a Secret Service agent in his Jack Ryan novel Executive Orders who was not only a Duke graduate, but a Duke basketball fanatic, who predicted -- correctly in the novel's world -- that Duke would lose to Oregon in the national championship game.

BTW, the character turns out to be an Iranian sleeper agent who tries to kill the President.

PS Although I hate to admit I know this, but the character in Mamma Mia wearing the Duke t-shirt was not a main character, but one of the bride's best friends.

[Welcome2DaSlopes]

the doctor in flashfoward went to duke

[dukee94]

If we're just talking literary characters now, Harlan Coben (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harlan_coben) has a character (Myron Bolitar), who is a former point guard on a national championship Duke b-ball team who has his pro career cut short by injuries: http://www.thrillingdetective.com/bolitar.html.

[UrinalCake]

In the movie "Me, Myself and Irene" one of the characters is trying to get into an Ivy league school, and his brother says something like "you better study or you'll end up at Duke."

Also, the book "Kiss the Girls" actually takes place in Durham and around the Duke campus. The university decided not to allow them to film the movie on campus based on the subject matter.

[SCMatt33]

Rob Lowe was a Duke Law grad on West Wing.

There was a 2nd season episode "the midterms" in which Rob Lowe convinces a friend who went to Duke Law with him to run for congress, but he is forced out the race after it is revealed that he uses preemptive challenges to get white juries for black defendants, and belonged to an all-white fraternity at an unspecified undergraduate college (there is nothing sinister about Duke implied. Duke isn't even mentioned in the same part of the episode as the potential racism stuff).

CSI had an episode a couple of years ago about a Las Vegas high school basketball player who was murdered. He was supposed to go to Duke on a basketball scholarship. If I remember right, they find out he was killed because he was a rapist (or maybe he was just a sleeze who cheated on his girlfriend ... I can't remember).

I believe there was another CSI episode which centered around someone being murdered over a betting scandal. The game in question was Duke-Louiville. The exact line of the game fluctuated wildly and was a major part of the plot, but Duke was a big favorite the whole way and won by 22 points!

[burnspbesq]

And let's not forget the famous pickup game scene from The West Wing where Bartlett recruits a former Duke player who works at the President's Council on Fitness to be on his team. The ringer was played by (of all people) Juwan Howard. I've always wondered how many takes were required before he could mumble "Duke" under his breath.

[SCMatt33]

Forgot this one in the last post. There was a Simpsons episode last year in which Stephen Colbert guest starred as Homer's lifecoach. Homer calls him from an out of control plane and asks for Colbert to motivate him through the situation. At this point Colbert admits to being somewhat of a fraud claiming that he graduated from the "Harvard of the South." Homer replies "Duke? But that's good." Colbert says that it wasn't Duke. Homer asks if it was Vanderbilt and Colbert denies this saying it wasn't Vandy and that Homer shouldn't make him reveal the actual school.

[SuperTurkey]

Forgot this one in the last post. There was a Simpsons episode last year in which Stephen Colbert guest starred as Homer's lifecoach. Homer calls him from an out of control plane and asks for Colbert to motivate him through the situation. At this point Colbert admits to being somewhat of a fraud claiming that he graduated from the "Harvard of the South." Homer replies "Duke? But that's good." Colbert says that it wasn't Duke. Homer asks if it was Vanderbilt and Colbert denies this saying it wasn't Vandy and that Homer shouldn't make him reveal the actual school.

Yep, great scene.

[Starter]

I actually typically very much like Glee, though I haven't seen tonight's episode yet. It's from the creators of Nip/Tuck and virtually everything on the show is tongue-in-cheek. My guess here is they're more parodying people's irrational hatred of Duke, than Duke itself. The line in question also paraphrases another line that had everyone up in arms unnecessarily, when Kanye West rhymed in "Flashing Lights" that he hates the paparazzi more than the Nazis. I think NYDukie had the right idea about it. Everyone else, you know, probably can chill out a bit. (I'm Jewish, by the way)

I'll add probably the two greatest representations of Duke on film to the list up there -- The Program, whose ESU Timberwolves with Darnell Jefferson and Joe Kane "is able" actually played at Duke. And of course, the horror classic "I Know What You Did Last Summer," which saw Jennifer Love Hewitt's character actually attend Duke.

[ElSid]

I actually typically very much like Glee, though I haven't seen tonight's episode yet. It's from the creators of Nip/Tuck and virtually everything on the show is tongue-in-cheek. My guess here is they're more parodying people's irrational hatred of Duke, than Duke itself. The line in question also paraphrases another line that had everyone up in arms unnecessarily, when Kanye West rhymed in "Flashing Lights" that he hates the paparazzi more than the Nazis. I think NYDukie had the right idea about it. Everyone else, you know, probably can chill out a bit. (I'm Jewish, by the way)

i'm sure this is right. it's so over the top, like the whole show. and the kanye parallel is interesting.

wincing, thinking about the number of overzealous duke fan letters into glee demanding on air apology. if that happens, "they were right about us".

[gumbomoop]

I actually typically very much like Glee, though I haven't seen tonight's episode yet. It's from the creators of Nip/Tuck and virtually everything on the show is tongue-in-cheek. My guess here is they're more parodying people's irrational hatred of Duke, than Duke itself. The line in question also paraphrases another line that had everyone up in arms unnecessarily, when Kanye West rhymed in "Flashing Lights" that he hates the paparazzi more than the Nazis. I think NYDukie had the right idea about it. Everyone else, you know, probably can chill out a bit. (I'm Jewish, by the way)

OK, I'll take your advice and temporarily chill out.

If in fact the point of the line is to show how irrational is the Duke-hate [i.e., "Can you believe there are idiots out there who actually hate Duke more than Nazis?"], then the tongue in this cheek is about as edgy as it gets.

But even if this is brilliant parody, I'll stick with my advice that it's almost always dangerous to compare anything or anyone with Nazism/Nazis/Hitler.

[ElSid]

But even if this is brilliant parody, I'll stick with my advice that it's almost always dangerous to compare anything or anyone with Nazism/Nazis/Hitler.

i agree to this.

though, you gotta admit the producers is pretty funny.

[Kewlswim]

Hi,

There was a show called "St. Elsewhere." It was one of those hospital shows. One of the doctors, played by Mark Harmon if I remember correctly, went to Duke med school and also contracts AIDS (from a blood transfusion?). Pretty good show the few times I watched it.

GO DUKE!

[Devilsfan]

Anybody who thinks success from hard work should be shared with everybody including slackers and recipients of free money would hate Duke and probably only care about photo opts and public perception by the masses.

[Grey Devil]

In "The Secret Life of Bees," which takes place in central South Carolina in the early 60s, the white attorney who befriends a young black man interested in being a lawyer by giving him a law book was a graduate of Duke Law School. Having driven through South Carolina many times going back and forth from my home in Florida to Duke in the late 60s, I can really appreciate what a brave move that would have been then and there! With my longish hair, a VW bug with a peace symbol decal in the back window and a "End the War Now" sticker on my bumper, I always made sure that I had enough gas in the tank to get from Durham through South Carolina without stopping. I wouldn't stop for anything, except red lights and stop signs(!!) until I got to Savannah. Fortunately things are better there now.

This is a particularly good representation of Duke as the camera lingers over his Duke law school diploma hanging on the wall of his office and the character, although a minor role in the story, is clearly on the right side.

Grey Devil

[devildownunder]

Hi,

There was a show called "St. Elsewhere." It was one of those hospital shows. One of the doctors, played by Mark Harmon if I remember correctly, went to Duke med school and also contracts AIDS (from a blood transfusion?). Pretty good show the few times I watched it.

GO DUKE!

In 1988, when Bill Cosby's alma mater, Temple, was ranked No.1, he made a promise that if anyone knocked off the Owls, he would wear a sweater with that school's name on it, on the air. Well, we know what happened to the Owls that year -- and the Cos' made good on his promise, too. Although, IIRC, it looked like the sweater was faded or something. the "DUKE" letters were somewhat faint. Not really hard to see but not as bold as you would normally expect them to be, either.

[grossbus]

"(Myron Bolitar), who is a former point guard on a national championship Duke b-ball team"

i believe myron was a forward. a contemporary, who played at unc, arranged the injury (knee) while myron was playing for the celtics. that injury essentially ended his career.

[amat1129]

i'm pretty sure will smith wears a duke shirt in a couple episodes of fresh prince, if my childhood memory serves me right

[sagegrouse]

In "The Secret Life of Bees," which takes place in central South Carolina in the early 60s, the white attorney who befriends a young black man interested in being a lawyer by giving him a law book was a graduate of Duke Law School...

This is a particularly good representation of Duke as the camera lingers over his Duke law school diploma hanging on the wall of his office and the character, although a minor role in the story, is clearly on the right side.

Grey Devil

And then there is the villain in Skinny Dip, a caper novel by Carl Hiaasen, in which the evildoer throws his wife off a cruise ship in the Gulfstream at the beginning of the book. He is a Duke PhD in biology, who was sent there by his sponsors, equally evil developers, and infiltrates the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to falsify every piece of data he can get his hands on. Anyway, the wife survives and plots to do in her husband.

Not exactly a flattering portrait of Duke...

sagegrouse

[Bob Green]

And then there is the villain in Skinny Dip, a caper novel by Carl Hiaasen...Not exactly a flattering portrait of Duke...

sagegrouse

However, a great read! I really like Carl Hiassen and Skinny Dip is one of his better works.