For Melina not to come back for 1 episode to give Stella a proper exit seems a little strange and, to me at least would suggest motives other than just spending time with her kids. I hope Stella exit gets more than just a one off comment made in passing from one of the team though.
Shame. I don't believe it's a family reason. You want to stay with your children when they are very little, not when they go to school. Besides she would definitely be back for a closure(I understand, at this point it's not certain). Something tells me that it was not as amicable as CBS is trying to make it look. You can tell they are trying to cut costs(remember Sara from CSI, Adam from CSI Miami) and actors feel they deserve a payrise after faithful few years with a show, not a cut. Well, last year I was the same distrought by the news that Adam Rodriguez is leaving and my favourite ship is broken - but look where we are now! So it may all still end well.
I agree about the family issue... Looks like she, herself, would WANT Stella's character to have closure. It seems to me she'd feel like she owed it to us fans, atleast, to allow us to SEE what happened to her, rather than THIS. I fear the difference, Kala, is that perhaps when NY returns, they'll say something stupid like 'Shane killed her because she was out side of the apartment building trying to stop him from going in.' Miami left Adam's roll open, for future return. I don't know how they could explain Stella's sudden absence without using death, then again, that leaves a roll open too because we wouldn't actually SEE her dead. Sigh... I wish things weren't this way. And I'm so beyond shocked that they've already hired someone else... I don't know why, but... I am just in shock. How am I going to watch NY without Stella?!
Although I'm much more of a CSIM fan than a CSINY one, I've enjoyed CSINY since its inception, as well as Melina's character (Stella) on the show. I'm really saddened by the news of her departure. And although I'm not a hardcore SMacked shipper, I did enjoy the rapport between Stella and Mac (as well as the rest of the team), and I'll miss that. Maybe it's just me, but the announcement of her leaving the show does strike me as kind of abrupt. :shifty: Obviously, it's been in the works for at least a little while, since CBS got Sela Ward on board just a day after releasing the news about Melina. And that couldn't have happened overnight. But clearly, Melina's non-return to the show resulted from developments that occurred after Season 6 had already wrapped, since there was absolutely no hint that TPTB would be writing Stella out of the show, and no lead-up to it at the end of last season. Unless one of the parties gives us some insight into what truly went down, I guess we'll never know the full story behind Melina's departure. The reasons that have been announced ring sort of hollow in the face of the fact that Stella apparently won't be getting any type of send-off next season. If it were as simple as Melina wanting to spend more time with her family (which I assume both sides would have seen coming), I can't imagine why CBS couldn't have reached a deal with her to have Stella appear in a couple of Season 7 episodes to achieve some closure for the character and her fans.:wtf: Perhaps, as Theresa suggested, Melina realized that CSINY's shift to the "graveyard" Friday night time-slot was a warning bell for the end of the show, and decided to get out while the getting was still good. One thing's for sure though, the departure of a core, original character like Stella isn't going to help viewership numbers any when CSINY moves to its new time-slot in the Fall.
I can't believe Melina is gone. I loved her character and I was always sure she and Mac would get together eventually. My sister is thinks it's a publicity stunt, but she got out mid-way season 5 so she doesn't really understand anymore. I am incredibly sad she is leaving but that doesn't mean I wont watch the show and, in my opinion(not to cause offence) I think anyone leaving for one character is stupid. this isn't the stella show(though that would be awesome) and I think as long as Mac, D/L, Flack or Adam and Sid are in it I can carry on watching. I will always be a proud CSI:NY fan. I wish Melina all the best and hope she does well P.S. Give Anna a break, she is a brilliant actress and it isn't her fault her character has been forced on us a bit too much.
I don't think anyone is "stupid" for making decisions about why and what show(s) they watch. And some people feel Anna is about as far from "brilliant" as any actress can get and that's just as valid as you thinking she's good.
I don't think it's stupid at all. I wouldn't watch Vegas without George Eads... as much as I love all the other characters, I couldn't carry on without Nick. I couldn't watch Miami without Jon Togo (and many fans felt the same because of Adam/Eric's exit last season!). Same goes for me with NY. I am going to TRY, but she will leave a huge void in my heart. I love Danny equally, so I am going to continue on (or try to), but Stella was just... stellar to me. She's one of my all time favorite characters, NOT just on CSI: NY, on all of television! You connect with these characters, feel what the feel, and I am overly upset I didn't get closure (far as I know) for a character that I adored! That's just wrong. *sigh*
Since I haven't been on the site for quite a while, I just stumbled over that: A quote from Caruso. It’s all down to respecting the show’s fans,” the actor told What’s On TV. “There is a real bond between the actors and the viewers. Our fans will stick with us as long as we treat them well. If people are going to take the time to tune in, you have a responsibility to take it seriously.” I think this is so true and it's what CSI NY sadly seemed to have forgotten some time during season six, already. MK leaving seems to be just the last straw, to me anyway. I have also written an email to CBS, I think MK deserves the support, even if it's not going to change anything, I felt like CBS should know who they let go... or probably slowly pushed out. It's just a show in one way, in another way, those characters are also inspiring to some people and Stella, I think, was the most inspiring of them all.
thank you for writing this. She is and she will always be inspirational . I have already watched Melina before. I have become her fan a long time ago. But no one had the the effect Stella Bonasera had on me. Maybe it was her vita, being an orphan, growing alone, becoming strong for her own decition to be someone else in life. Maybe because her own loneliness made me want to protect her, who knows.? She is just a character but she is tangible to me. Melina did it. And now the show will follow and more stories will be written but the space Melina got with her Stella Bonasera will remain empty
I know it's only TV and that I'm really trying to combat the amount of time I spend on the internet and TV, but the news of this has just ruined this day for me. It just seems like all of the strong female leads are just vanishing like city-lights going out one by one and now Catherine Willows and Sara Sidle are now the only ones still standing. Those two are now the last female pillars standing and already the entire CSI structure is destabilizing to me. Really a sad and heartbreaking thing to read and digest. This day has just been ruined by this.
Warning: This content may contain excessive content. But hell. Been away for weeks. And suddenly, there's a lot to talk about. . (Wait. What??? ..."Suddenly?" ...Right before production starts again? ....hm... :shifty: :lol: .....nahhhhhhhh...) No. Seriously. This is ridiculously long. You've been doubly warned. crossed my mind too :lol: Agree. Muchly. This bit I agree with. For me too, the whole show is the draw, and not one specific character. But it is definitely hard when someone who's been an anchor from day 1 leaves. Because I like the show and continue to want the best for it, I hope that people will give it a shot, but understand that for some its no longer one they will want to watch. I respect that all viewers have their favorite characters, and those they don't like for various reasons. I respect people posting their opinions about it. I acknowledge that some material gives actors overt opportunities to shine, and sometimes they are simply doing their jobs in kicking a plot forward. I agree it is not AB's "fault" how her character has been used, even if how often has seen a reduction. But. With respect. I will not give Anna any break I would not give any of the others. Equally, I will hold her to the same standards as the others (who don't simply meet them as a default. They ebb and flow too. Some eps are better than others). AB is not, IMO, a brilliant actress, she's a mostly functional one within what's been asked of her but who hasn't elevated it. But for the pairing that "has been forced on us too much" she is onerous to me when noticed and anonymous otherwise. To have lost a sharp character like Aiden, to have lost a solid one like Angell, to have an impact player like Stella depart and have Lindsay continue to be a substandard presence, even in a much reduced role, is a bitter pill at the moment. I will not give her a break. That's just my two cents at this particular moment in time. Gad but I hope Ward's character is good, and meets those same standards. I had been wondering about the future of the show for awhile, and on one level this certainly doesn't inspire confidence, but I guess we'll see. Seven years isn't bad atall. If the show carves out Fri nights, mebbe we'll get one more. Would just hate to see it go out a la Without a Trace, Cold Case etc., bounced around till lost in the shuffle. Perhaps it'll turn around. If ever there was a catalyst to taking a hard look at itself and an open opportunity to move forward with a certain freedom, this is it. And agreed. At some point during the season, mebbe MK will come back as a guest. Agree. Sela Ward is an impressive addition. Quinn could have been good - ...but in a way, for me, she functions great as an outside character with a shared past (she's also someone they can still come back to, and someone I hope they do find a way to revisit). My point is I'd have mixed thoughts had they brought her in to join the team. Mind you, that kind of complexity coulda been a good thing. I do hope the new character is a strong individual and neither a clone nor just filling a (stop)gap. I hope the writing gives her a good introduction and doesn't strand the character to fending for herself; this is gonna be a tough integration and I hope the show does well with the slight latitude in understanding they'll get for the difficult timing of it all. May be moot if a general viewer resentment over the loss of Stella simply trumps it. Adding this into the mix, as it relates: In a way, I'm guessing the network gambled and lost when MK declined; whatever combination of issues led to MK departing, Ward will not necessarily be a less expensive addition. She may not make as many appearances tho. I'm sure that's all being hammered out swiftly. I agree in thinking the show would definitely want a name actress to help anchor the show, especially with the move to a new slot, I'd think they'll want all the draw they can get. There are plenty of talented lesser known actresses, but anonymity and time to let an audience discover a new actress/character combo is not something that the show can spare at the moment. They'd be doing well to have the challenge be the character alone. Other general thoughts on casting. A) Looks like, one way or another Mac will have yet another brunette in his life :lol:. B) They didn't take the opportunity to branch out in terms of diversity. Something the Mentalist did in their own way with their supervisory Agent Hightower, for example. Doesn't look like the formula of the show will change in how characters are used within the team. I think Sela Ward will be an immediate aid to the show. Tough way for her to jump in. I'm glad to hear she's willing to take it on. Yep. Apprently as teh Anti-Mac empathetic character. (Wait. Someone empathetic in Washington? Whoa... :lol:. Kidding). ...could be interesting, now that Mac himself has been opened up a little bit. Does he feel obligated to return to defending science and the mandate of the labs he heads in the face of a colleague who may place that as a parallel method and not a primary one? Is Ward's character gonna be so very different from Stella's bouts of hot-headedness? Hmm. Hmm sez I. Provides a back-to-basics type challenge in empathy vs. proof, but not wholly disparate within the earlier NY incarnation's philosophy. So. Wot does dis mean? S7: Everything Iz Connekted (Even Feeeelings). I know yer all upset. I am too, if more surprised above all else. But I'm looking forward to seeing the show shake itself out of its status quo and poke at rekindling the embers. The past few seasons, with but a few exceptions in solid eps, have tested what used to be an avid interest in the show. I can't help but immediately look to possibilities. It's exciting. Will it still be "CSI:NY?" We'll see. I know it's heartbreaking for fans too, and definitely for those she worked with, but they would also no doubt especially understand her choice and reasons behind it. Better than any of us can. As for boycotting shows etc. I get the frustration. And I feel the loyalty. And the anger, where it feels like loyalty, from all quarters, gets a slap in the face by those who's job it is to monitor all the points that go into tallying the bottom line. But I would never wish ill on those who are trying to make a living on all the shows that viewers adopt as part of their lives. It's an incredibly fickle and hard way to make a living, and it will be difficult for all of them to do the best they can within all the changes taking place. The shows should hopefully be judged above all on what they manage to pull together. The network conglomerates will never care in quite the same way as those they hire and let go along the way. The current ratings systems will never tell the true story either. Battling the latter is perhaps the one way to get any shift from the former. Dubious about that. You wanna work, or you wanna work somewhere else, wanna develop your own work, or not work (for a wee while). Late talks indicated she wanted to work on NY and couldn't come to terms of compensation on various levels. Usually some combo of Time and Money. (Personally, I also wouldn't call the past few seasons as constituting a high note). It's my understanding that the show was given a shot for a seven year run, and that most contracts were based upon that hope of a lifespan for the show. Whether or not it gets cancelled after seven depends on how it does, and how the network sees it usefully fitting into its schedule. I'm sure there is more to it. I'm sure we won't hear of it unless unearthed by third parties, nor have it confirmed regardless. The timing is curious. The lack of a resolution with a show's lead is a little unexpected. I think there was likely an assumption in both parties at the end of one season that the next was a given but for the nuts and bolts of paperwork. I think the show mighta been slightly caught out with MK's departure, and is pursuing their Plan B Contingency in putting a production season together. How recently the finality of all this really went down, well, I'm sure we won't hear of it unless unearthed... yada. Only MK can articulate what she felt was fair or not within the circumstances that led to her decision. And she seems too graceful and classy by far to go that route, even if bidnez schpiel and protocol prefers clinically amicable statements as a norm. Those from both CBS and Melina feel a tiny tad warmer than that, and so when the dust settles, mebbe she'll make a brief appearance again. But I don't think a boomerang is in the offing. :lol: Aw. Not atall personal, m'dear, I promise you; it's the hooha & hype I'm referring to, not the ship in and of itself . (I may be ebil, but I'm sensitively ebil ). ~~ Back to those slightly off topic but related topics to this topic. CBS. $$$. Neogtiations. Departures. Shows. Convention. Gender. Ethnicity. 2.5 white men and entrenched programming practices, and trying to steer huge, confounded, ravenous conglomerates into the 21rst Century in terms of content and media technology. And inevitably conversation turns to other examples of off-season transitions. I'll take a step back in perspective here. CBS is a conventional network not looking to push the boundaries in terms of content, one that has carved a niche and profited from a certain breadth of material and has been far less successful on rare occasions it dabbled in anything Other. It's always been a bottom line network, and a hardline network. No matter who you are. Anyone else recall the strike? They were the first network to threaten legal action against showrunners to try and push execs back to work on shows in whatever capacities it could muscle. CBS isn't above plying their typical practices in negotiating with anyone. One of their absolute most watched shows, NCIS just went thru a very long, drawn out re-signing of those within the core group who were up. Word is the network seriously lowballed early offers. Big Bang Theory? Outright laughter greeted their initial demands for an up in pay. Onto the idiot misogynist everyone loves to hold up, Charlie Sheen. Unbelievably teflon, as they say. Yes, it's incredibly distasteful what his latest contract will see him paid. But. Believe it or not, early on in their negotiotiations, CBS lowballed him too (tho all things are relative of course). Early figures certainly weren't that high. What they currently value is the show. Sitcoms are cheap to make, and this one I'm guessing more than pays for itself in syndication and the like. What CBS wanted was a puzzle piece to solidify a line up that could stage a serious assault on a rival network. Sheen was gonna leave the show. The show was deemed to be that puzzle piece. It's not necessarily his value that's reflected in his salary. I wouldn't think that a show's budget generally affect other shows' budgets, other than possible precedents and references for costing and scheduling. One getting budget X may not directly correlate with another's cuts. Shows' ratings can effect other shows' ratings though. CBS has bloodied standards, I'll give ya that . But all the networks do. And so does Cable, in its own way. Dolla dolla bill, y'all. Late Nite shows? Also cheap to make. But. Still one helluva battleground, and another example of networks struggling with a generational turnover in both hosts and media technology. You brought it up and so I'm gonna jump in. NBC's Prime Time Experiment, and Leno vs. Conan. Cos I just hafta. Can't leave it alone. That assault on prime time was one of the absolute most terrifying events of the past year, for those who make a living in teevee. NBC was just the first to dare to pull something like that, while other networks got to spout integrity and care for true content. But make no mistake they were all watching closely. Some terrifying practices and precedents could have been set. I'm sure it was a relief that the network and the show tanked. Not a surprise, but a huge relief. Affiliates revolted, local networks suffered, viewers meandered elsewhere, disinterested and unthreatened by the change in viewing options. Loyalty is tricky for a network when content can be viewed in so many ways. What was distasteful in addition to the prime-time hammer was how NBC handled Conan, and how the elder business statesmen of the network involved themselves in what became a very vitriolic and public media battle. The hosts were more fair game to comment on each other, being public figures themselves, that's what they do nightly, dissect and comment on public figures and daily events. Network bottom line there? Canning Leno would have cost NBC thrice what it cost to oust Conan. The public ill will they engendered was all of their own making and unnecessarily so. Good luck on TNT, buddy. Cable scores another one. Lastly. The failed Experiment may have resulted in a renewal of scripted content across the board for the upcoming season, but I'm guessing that most of these shows will not be kitted out with deep pockets or staffing. It will be an interesting tv landscape this fall. I also think the Emmy nominations got most things right, in what has been recognized. Mostly. NY survived the S2 Make Over. It survived Aiden's departure, though was permanently scarred for it. It took awhile but found a dynamic with Sheldon moved into the investigative side, Sid as the ME, Flack as the sole precinct cop, and Adam as the tech, after a rollover of characters. But. It's never lost an outright lead before. I will miss Stella hugely. Time will tell swiftly how much this will really hurt them. In a way, it may not be CSINY anymore, but the next version of it, and in another way just another forensics cop show on teevee. But. It could also carve out a whole, revamped identity if they do it well. And so ends another long, and rambling post. (My apologies)
I love the show and wish it would keep succeeding, but I for one would not blame anyone who's leaving over this for a second. 1) if it were my favourite, I'd totally be doing the exact same thing. No one has to "get" that. The only thing to get is that people have favourites, and tend not to watch when those favourites disappear from a show. IMO, CSI:NY is in many ways still an excellent and (in slightly fewer ways now) unique show; but to be blunt, being part of a franchise means that a lot of its elements are things people can get from another show in the same franchise. I can see why characters would be a huge draw. 2) of five actors who've left, or are about to leave CBS this summer, Melina makes the fourth actress (and one actor who got himself some really bad press; at this point, I can't not wonder if, had Eddie Cibrian not gotten the bad press, it would've been him leaving and not Emily Procter or Eva LaRue). Yeah, I have no clue what the deal at CBS is right now, but my main wish is that CSI: NY was on any other network, because I'm thinking CBS fully deserves whatever backlash they get from this. 3) I don't think the showrunners had anything to do with this decision (and still hope one of them might actually step in to do something, like Ann Donahue did with Adam Rodriguez last year); but Melina leaving makes me feel weird about the direction the show's about to take [in the same iffy way that Criminal Minds' "new direction" makes me feel]. Not in a good way. I still love everyone on the show, and I'll wait to see how Sela Ward's new character does, but I can't see myself sitting through another S6 (or rather, another S6 finale) for anyone.
Elwood21, that's the longest post I've ever seen anyone do in Talkfiles. No problem. There are 78 people currently reading the NY section! I am VERY disappointed we are losing Melina/Stella from the show. I had completely assumed she would be there till the end of the series. I don't like the thought of NY starting up in September with Stella being totally gone. And when a main character is leaving, they especially need to give the fans and the character closure.
I just discussed with a friend; they could make her disappear, like she really disappeared and they're searching for her. Casey could have taken her That way she stays on everyone's minds and there's the possibility of finding her alive (and bring her together with Mac after all ) I'm afraid they'll all but forget about her and Mac's friendship which is a friendship that cannot be forgotten about because of how long it lastet and how deep the bond was.
Yeah, Ballettmaus, I liked their friendship, too. Maybe she could go missing and then eventually they find her like you say. I really hope CBS doesn't let go or lose anybody else. It's getting so I'm afraid of what's going to happen next.