I've Got a Saab...

I noticed the other day when I was watching some made-for-TV movie, that the subtitles were so poorly done as to be laughable. I was eating a sandwich and some chips, so I turned on the subtitles while I was eating, since the dialogue was lost to my crunching.

Anyway, I figured it was just some lame badly-made television movie with a low budget. But I've since noticed that the television industry has apparently become something like the Goodwill Industries of the media by hiring disabled or handicapped persons to do their subtitles.

Tonight I was watching an episode of Rescue Me, and in the space of about 5 minutes (again, while eating) I noticed these discrepencies:

Tommy (dialogue):"I've got a sawbuck that says the driver of that SUV is drunk."

Tommy (subtitle): I've got a Saab that says the driver of that SUV is drunk."

Huh?

Chief (dialogue): "Batallion One-Five to Manhatten. Respond to the box."

Chief (subtitle): "Italian One-Five to Manhatten. Respond to the box."

What kind of moron is writing these subtitles, anyway? First of all, the audio track is plain and clear. In neither case was the dialogue diminished, obscure, or quiet.

Second, the subtitles just don't make any sense. "I've got a Saab...?" Gimme a break.

Apparently the television industry is hard up for skilled employees. Either that or they figure if they're going to close-caption an episode for the hearing impaired, they'll use the hearing impaired to do it.