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Post by janetcatbird on Oct 18, 2006 11:18:59 GMT -5
Earthquake warnings Catbird? Is that normal or a freak of nature? It's pretty unusual. I think we're technically on a fault line (and the plate tectonics produced the Appalachian mountains) but definitely dormant. This is only the second one I can think of, but in my area we didn't feel anything. I think the rare NC earthquakes we do get are a quick little "What was that?" and that's it. Not that that stopped the news people from butting into the show broadcast, grr... OK, topic. This felt more like traditional CI, in terms of story, but I wish we'd got more motivation for Lena. Rip Torn did a nice job as the grandfather, while the blatant nature of his favoritism struck me as heavy-handed at first, I then remembered Nope, there actually are people like that. I hate that damn stalker cam! On a tennis court for crying out loud?!?! The music kept itself mostly in check, but it still drives me nuts to have the synthesizer percussion beats whenever action happens, or the Ominous Strings of Dramatic Tension. I want my chung-chungs back. Sobergal, I think Eames' nephew would only be about 3 years old at this point. Besides, we've seen Goren get friendly and somewhat protective towards kids, trying to make them feel better at least temporarily. It really seemed out of character for Goren to treat Henry more as an inconvenience than a poor little boy who's scared and in pain. Goren had a burr up his butt the whole episode, part of me wanted Eames to go upside his head and ask "Who licked the red off your candy?!" But then I realized that would be bad--just one more opening for angst and potential melodrama. I suppose we could take the easy way out and chalk it up to a bad day made worse by a situation hitting close to home. And I'm glad that the writers gave us the credit and respect of Hey, you're smart people, you can infer without us spelling it out in big print with little tiny words. Captain Ross- maybe he misses the field work and doesn't want to get pinned behind his desk? If it was an important family maybe he needed to give an unseen "No Comment" to reporters or something. But I kind of like seeing him out there. --Catbird
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Post by Sirenna on Oct 18, 2006 11:58:26 GMT -5
I do think the episodes are written as if someone upstairs whose initials are G.E. said "the episodes are too convoluted - let's make them easier to follow. We'll get more viewers that way" Which completely misses the point of why people like us, the regular viewing public that is, watches the episodes in the first place.
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Post by Patcat on Oct 18, 2006 13:45:39 GMT -5
Yes, they're baseball terms. A home run is the best hit a batter can get--it's an automatic score. A base hit means the batter gets to go to first base. And a strike out is a complete failure on the part of the batter.
And I apologize for my American centeredness with the use of the baseball terms.
Patcat
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Leticia
Silver Shield Investigator
Posts: 74
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Post by Leticia on Oct 18, 2006 19:03:54 GMT -5
I thought it was pretty damn good.
Of course, my first strong feeling was hilarity over the absolute ridiculousness of the opening tennis game camera work. It was like a parody of dramatic camera effects! They were playing tennis for heaven’s sake! It completely ruined what could have been a subtle (for Season 6 CI openings) hint about the family dynamics. The only time in the episode where the ‘effects’ button could be legitimately pressed was the suicide attempt, so that didn’t bother me all that much, but tennis? Not even the final match at Wimbledon has enough drama to warrant that.
I enjoyed the book club moment, but I wasn’t sure the first time I saw it if Ross was joking about having read it. I wondered if his look to Goren was “You actually read this?” or “You liked which one?”. Upon rewinding I think I was being elitist and he did read it. Is that what everyone else inferred? Eames’ surprise with warning when Ross showed up at a crime scene was very nicely done. I love that Eames and Goren are still getting used to the captain, and I like his hands on approach. Given their atypical cases so far, I suppose they haven’t had as much of a chance to interact as Logan and Wheeler (Though I do sometimes wonder if the teams solve cases off screen… Do they get an easy case sometimes and not show it? Trivial and pointless I know given the fact that they don’t exist, so I’ll drop it quickly).
I was glad they mentioned ‘Strangers On A Train’, since I was worried they were going to rip it off without a mention from the moment the crime became clear. That would have ruined the episode for me.
The accountant was great! I bet he is excited doing police accounting work. All his friends from accounting school do rich people’s boring taxes, but he gets to go after criminals! I wish they’d use that red headed one from early on though (The Faithful, Tuxedo Hill etc.) just because I like it when they have little regulars.
I didn’t find the Lena’s motives confusing at all. I thought they were there in spades. She was eye deep in debt, on the cusp of losing everything when the balloon payment came up, sick of years of holding things together while her husband stole unashamedly from their neighbours… I would have wanted a divorce, but that’s never good enough for television women! She planned to leave the marriage with a way of supporting herself, which I can’t imagine divorce would have got her (all there was was debt), so she decided to manipulate the weaker daughter-in-law’s son away to get control of his trust fund.
The botched murder- since it was botched on purpose to point to Charlene, that must have been actually really hard! You could do the shot that missed afterwards, but otherwise you put yourself in a room with someone who knows you want to kill them for a very long time while they’re still alive. Nerves of steel would be needed. And a good aim to only clip the head.
That dig at Eames’ father. Ouch. I do love it when they pick that stuff up though! I wonder, since there are so many people here and someone must be in law enforcement, how much of a disgrace would it be to be branded a “double dipper”? Would you be ashamed to talk to your old friends, or would you just lament being caught?
Mimi- we heard about Eames going on a date with someone in Unrequited, and Goren still had friends at least as late Season 3! I recall he asked a linguist friend at Princeton in ‘A Murderer Among Us’ about the Jewish dialect. But the friends plot device does seem to have vanished lately, which is a shame. I loved meeting Goren’s buddies.
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Post by filmnoir5 on Oct 18, 2006 19:10:49 GMT -5
No, see, the writers need to listen to cassie. Season 6 needs some 2 hour crossover epis. Then we could fill in all the holes, have character clues and the drama! Having a couple of 2 hour episodes per season would be a good idea since some of the popular shows in the UK like Cracker, Touch of Frost, Prime Suspect (back on PBS next month), Inspector Morse, Dalziel and Pascoe, and others have their cake and eat it too by having complex story lines, more character development for the lead characters, and even more interesting acting opportunities for the guest stars. I do feel that CI and SVU are the best mystery dramas to guest star on among the current US shows. They also are able to have more complex stories. An occasional 2 hour episode would enhance some of the even more complex cases. Most other shows like CSI have too many regulars or too many story lines for a veteran actor to have much screen time. For example, CSI used the Strangers On A Train plot a few seasons back but in Bedfellows on CI and Stephanie SenGupta were able to interface it with the patriarch and two sons, two grandsons, two daughter in laws family dynamics which made it more unique than when other shows rip that plotline. I also caught the merry go round reference as well as the tennis court reference. I like emotional episodes like Blind Spot and Siren Call but I always welcome the less emotional episodes like Bedfellows to counter the emotional episodes. I can enjoy the acting more in the darker or more emotional episodes but I get to enjoy the humor and character interaction more in the less emotional or lighter episodes. I saw on one site where Siren Call was filmed in early September and I had previously seen where Bedfellows was filmed earlier so maybe the original intention was to air Bedfellows between Blind Spot and Siren Call just like in season 4 when Posthumous Collection aired after Semi Detached.
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Post by raeangel319 on Oct 18, 2006 21:43:54 GMT -5
I saw on one site where Siren Call was filmed in early September and I had previously seen where Bedfellows was filmed earlier so maybe the original intention was to air Bedfellows between Blind Spot and Siren Call just like in season 4 when Posthumous Collection aired after Semi Detached. actually...i think some of us saw that this past summer too...with all the spoilers and stuff that were floating around. i think originally, eames' first case back was this one (bedfellows). she'd gotten CSU to pick her up on the way to the crime scene when she heard the call....and met goren there, who said something about her still being on leave...but she said she was better off working. but then i guess since they put siren call before bedfellows...they probably had to make a new scene about eames' coming back to work and goren's reaction....hence the scene of her coming out of the therapist's and goren handing over the keys
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Post by LOCIfan on Oct 18, 2006 21:49:58 GMT -5
I enjoyed the episode quite a bit and had no trouble understanding Lena's motives for wanting Ted dead. It also made sense to me that she reached out to emotionally volatile Charlene in order to execute her plan. Lena believed Charlene would be easily manipulated, and if necessary, an easy target to take the blame if things went south. I think what she didn't plan on was Charlene just digging her heels in and backing out entirely, hence her rant about always having to do everything herself. And Lena was obsessive enough so that she could stage a murder that looked haphazard, ill-planned and the work of a borderline kook.
I appreciated how much of the family dynamics, their characters, the sibling rivalries, and the years of damage that had been wrought even before the audience gets to the scene was made apparent to the audience. I always know I'm watching a good story when I really believe these characters have existed in the world before Goren and Eames ever enter the picture. Ted and Adlai had lived with Jules' definitions of them all their lives, and the way they reacted led directly to the circumstances leading up to and including both their murders.
In marrying their opposites, Ted and Adlai were seeking from an "other" what they'd always been told, and had grown to internalize, was lacking in them. Adlai sought out someone capable of "breaking the rules". Someone who could act on her emotions without consideration for the consequences, and without shame. Ted sought out Lena, a "perfect" daughter. The only part of his life Jules openly respected and admired. Strange Bedfellows, these two couples. But somehow they worked. Until they didn't anymore. Ted couldn't stop being Ted, and that included illegal, self-destructive behavior guaranteed to throw Lena into a tailspin. And being a person of action, he signed his own death warrant when that balloon payment, and probably the Feds, eventually caught up with him. For Lena, being the grieving widow of a murdered scion would be far preferable to being embroiled in a white collar scandal, with her husband likely losing all his money and going to jail. Or being the self-righteous, but broke, ex-wife of disgraced Ted. So, she got in bed with Charlene. Strange Bedfellows again. And Adlai couldn't help being Adlai. He'd never give Charlene the bumpy ride she craved, and they'd have always gone from one manufactured crisis to another.
And it all plays out down to the next generation, where Jules has already created the blueprint for additional damage. Add to all that, Goren's own family dynamic. He is no stranger to the good son/bad son dynamic. And I appreciated that we didn't have to have some crisis with his own brother thrown into the mix in order to see the heaviness in his demeanor while dealing with this case. It wore on him. Simply seeing him watch Jeffrey, the unfavored grandson, at the very end spoke volumes.
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Post by NicoleMarie on Oct 18, 2006 22:02:42 GMT -5
Why are people saying Goren was pissy in this one? I don't see it. Eames struck me as being the more cranky one.
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Post by Summerfield on Oct 18, 2006 22:03:09 GMT -5
Goren has never been one to fall for a good looking alibi!
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Post by LOCIfan on Oct 19, 2006 0:19:00 GMT -5
Goren has never been one to fall for a good looking alibi! I found that one of the pleasant humorous surprises of the episode. Loved it when Ross said "Your dance, detective" and left Goren to it. Loved how Goren said the stuff about "this garden he tends for you..." It was just fun. It was also fun to see Goren and Eames deal with Gus in the interview room. Loved Goren squirting the pesticide at him, as if by accident, but not. And at first when Gus said the thing to Eames about his impressive toolbelt, I thought she was very restrained, then loved it that she called him "sweetheart" back when she threw her cell phone at him. Good snark!
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Post by Cassie on Oct 19, 2006 4:36:01 GMT -5
Also all these outdoor shots this season seem to emphasise Goren's size. He's a giant of a man. I saw it again last night....great episode from beginning to end. I actually tried watching it twice, I fell asleep to it........ but speaking of size....... Did anyone notice, that Goren's dance partner. The lady with the garden issues....was standing eye to eye to him. I don't think I ever seen a lady as tall as Goren, even with heels on. (I am sure she had heels on) I wonder now, if possibly, that is why Ross sent Goren into her. I don't think Ross likes Goren at all. So far, for me he has not given a good reason. In the season premiere I felt he had a chip on his shoulder implying to Eames that both him and her had to work for their position at MCS. As if Goren didnt. I wonder, if Ross might have an issue with his height. Sounds silly I know. but there are men out there that do not like it when a woman is taller then them.... and Ross pawning the Amazon woman off on Goren. makes me wonders.....does Ross feel inferior to Goren, because of size?......this is pure speculation on my part!!!! I want to know the whole truth about Ross ;D....what are his real issues!!!
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Post by Patcat on Oct 19, 2006 8:36:22 GMT -5
I have to disagree--I think Ross is coming to like Goren, but I think it's clear that Ross has a very good brain and it's going to be interesting to see how Goren reacts to that.
And keep in mind that it took Deakins a couple of years to trust Goren.
Patcat
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Post by Cassie on Oct 19, 2006 16:34:28 GMT -5
Deakins was a wonderful boss and man, played brilliantly by Jamey Sheridan...... I guess I am hoping that Ross is a prick to work for. You can be very bright and nasty at the same time. And I believe that Eric Bogosian has the talent to pull it off. And I am not saying that the actor is anything that I am dreaming of the character he is playing to be Oh and this is only their 3rd case they have worked on together, so we are only just getting to know him.....but, chances are slim, that he will be everything that I dreamed of .
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Post by sarahlee on Oct 19, 2006 18:47:18 GMT -5
I do think the episodes are written as if someone upstairs whose initials are G.E. said "the episodes are too convoluted - let's make them easier to follow. We'll get more viewers that way" Which completely misses the point of why people like us, the regular viewing public that is, watches the episodes in the first place. So, you're saying CI is like Mozart--too many words? (Mozart--too many notes!)
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Post by NikkiGreen on Oct 19, 2006 19:38:34 GMT -5
Enjoyed the little MIB reunion, but the grandfather was a major jack@@@.
Good episode. However, years ago, Mothership did a "Strangers..." inspired storyline. I think I enjoyed that one better, though.
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