I'm watching NCIS during The Voice commercials. Vance the agency director has spots on his lungs, they go through all the predictable drama, same ol' same ol'. So he has surgery and it turns out to be sarcoidosis, which they explain is a viral infection that looks like lymphoma. Sarcoidosis is an autoimmune disease, and while it may be a sequela of an infection, none of the suspect agents are viral. Drives me crazy because it's so easy for a writer to check such basic facts.
A story that is consistent with real life is important when you consider the quality of that story being shown on TV.
Original Star Trek didn't even understand the concept of an orbit. They were under the misconception that an orbit would decay within minutes unless continuously stabilized by engine power. And that was one of the smartest shows on TV at the time.
