Anyway, the thing I was noticing is that the plots of TV thrillers have not changed in 40 years. [I just watched a bioterrorism episode of Mission:Impossible that had more or less exactly the same plot as the bioterrorism episode of Criminal Minds from this season. The schtick of how they tricked the prisoner was different, of course. TV is all about the schtick.] However, the differences are telling.
Back in the '60's, if your guys were on a mission across enemy lines in Cambodia, they had the option of calling in an illegal B-52 strike. These days, of course, the airstrike would be in Afghanistan....
.