Re: Bring Rikki Back! I agree. It would be pointless to bring Rikki back. I would love for them to bring some closure to the Louie storyline, because we never found out what happened to him.
Re: Bring Rikki Back! You may not know why, but it doesn't mean TPTB doesn't know why. If they've expressed interest in her return, I'm guessing they already do have something in mind for her presence on the show. People also always say it's a CSI show that has more character development than the others. There's no black-and-white rule that says any recurring character returning to the show must be a cop or a CSI. She was never a cop or a CSI but TPTB wrote her to appear in several episodes anyway. As for her role, it's up to TPTB what they want of her on the show. It's their show, after all. And if TPTB decides to bring back both Rikki and Louie? Regardless of whether Louie ever returns or not, it has no bearing on Rikki's return. Implying that Rikki isn't allowed to return simply because Louie hasn't returned yet is like saying no other character who's already appeared on the show can ever come back until Louie shows up again. Sorry, I don't see any logic in that at all.
Re: Bring Rikki Back! Yeah - unfortunately, they've dropped the ball on continuity in the past, including Louie. But I don't think that's any reason to continue dropping the ball. Maybe they'll bring Louie back, maybe not - but in the meantime, continuity is still a great thing IMO, and bringing Rikki back is definitely a good idea. I'm not a fan of the inter-office hookups, but I think having relationships, romantic or otherwise, with people outside of the lab is a good thing. It's a crime show, yes, but they don't live at the lab (well, they shouldn't, anyway :lol - showing character interaction outside of the lab might take up a few minutes, but it shouldn't detract from the cases themselves (which will be solved regardless). There should be more hints of personal lives for these characters, and there should be a line drawn between personal lives and professional lives. Besides, those personal lives should be more than just hookups (Flack and Devon, anyone?), and Danny's connection with Rikki over Ruben provides so much potential. In any case, Jacqueline is a fantastic actress, and I know she could do a great job with any material she's given.
Re: Bring Rikki Back! I won't deny that Jacqueline Piñol is a good actress, but I still DON'T want to see her back on the show for several reasons. First, I would love to see if TPTB decide to continue with D/L and when they do I'm looking forward to see them trying to do that in a believable way without anymore of the drama we had last season - and unfortunately the return of Rikki could only mean that there will be more trouble between D/L. Second, I didn't like the way they used the death of a boy and the devastating effect of his death on his mother and Danny simply to help along another story line. And I was relieved when they managed to give her somewhat of a decent exit; so bringing her back, I fear, would cheapen her character again because I cannot see how she can be anything else than yet again some plot device. Third (and last), I agree that having some recurring characters is a good idea, but there already are some of those AND there are still so many main and supporting characters I would like to know more about (especially Hawkes, Sid and Adam). And when Rikki -and the story that may come with her- returns, that will take away significant screen time from the other stories/characters. So for me, her story has been told, she said her goodbyes and I don't see a need for her to return.
Re: Bring Rikki Back! A volunteer with a grief recovery group or a victim's advocate brought in to help the victim and/or their family deal with the crime the CSIs are working on. There are plenty of parents who decide after losing a child to volunteer to help those who have gone through the same thing.
Re: Bring Rikki Back! That’s an interesting idea, though IMO it would be too soon for her to help the others. I’m not sure what time period one season equals but I think that at the beginning of 5 season, it’d be max 5 months since she lost Ruben and it’s a bit too early for me. Coming back to the topic, TPTB’ve already decided to bring Rikki back and I can simply hope they have a good idea on her development + some valid reasons for her returning and won’t use her as means of creating angst between D/L – it was done already with a very poor and confusing result so I hope they not gonna take the same way again. Apart from my fears (and I keep telling myself TPTB know what they're doing :lol, I'm starting to be curious which role she will play
Re: Bring Rikki Back! I'm very curious to see why they're bringing her back and I'm sure they already have a plan for her. Maybe TPTB are finished with DL. This is a crime drama show. There is going to be drama whether it's the cases themselves or the personal lives of the characters. It's a very good thing. Yes, inter-office relationships do exist but a lot of employers don't allow it and we know these people have a life outside the lab. I'd like to see them have relationships outside of the lab. Why would it be pointless to bring her back? We don't even know why they are bringing her back. I have to ask: How did they overuse Rikki in the Ruben storyline? She was his mother and Danny was with Ruben when he died. Rikki played a believable grieving mother. The Ruben storyline was a sad but wonderful storyline for Danny. Carmine himself said he thought it was fantastic. Yes she is! She'd be a great addition to the recurring cast.
Re: Bring Rikki Back! That's on the presumption TPTB wants what you want and that TPTB is only bringing her back to 'cause trouble between DL'. I think that's jumping the gun there. What if TPTB intends to completely end DL as Carmine hinted in his latest interview? What if Rikki's return has nothing to do with DL? Just as possible. Like I said before, it's TPTB's show, they call all the shots at the end of the day. As you can read below from Carmine's interview about the Ruben-Rikki storyline, the storyline was not 'simply to help along another story line'. It was, as Carmine put it himself, a 'fantastic and great story line that's going to stay with him'. The assumption that the entire storyline was just to push DL is also jumping the gun. Why is it that anything involving Danny must be related to Lindsay? Moreover, why is it that anything involving him must be merely a means of pushing DL? I don't see the logic in that. I also think this is why it's about a good time as any that Danny stops being used as a prop for Lindsay, for both Danny's and Lindsay's sakes. The big six million dollar question is: Since when was her character ever cheapened? Only because she had sex with Danny? That happened because Danny wanted to ease her pain and believed at the time that he could do it using sex. It didn't cheapen her character; in fact, in that scene in episode 4x16, the audience was shown her humanity, honesty and care for Danny and that she had the strength of heart to not blame Danny for her son's passing. She's only perceived as 'cheapened' on the presumption Danny having had sex with her was nothing more than to 'cause trouble for DL'. And as I've mentioned before, the jury is still out on whether Danny and Lindsay were ever in a relationship to begin with. Sex on a pool table does not a relationship make, neither does Lindsay claiming 'she's fallen in love with him'. That only proves her feelings are unrequited, particularly since Danny's never said the same thing in return. And again as I said before, even if there was any DL relationship in the past, Lindsay herself has stated she wants to 'get over it' and realizes it had been 'so stupid of her to ever get involved with Danny'. Just a matter of management of screen time. Like in Criminal Minds, there are seven people on the main cast and yet, the writers are more than capable of writing good amounts of screen time for every character while showing us glimpses of their personal lives with recurring characters. Rikki automatically 'taking away significant screen time from other stories/characters' is jumping the gun too. Interesting this 'taking away of screen time from other stories/characters' doesn't apply if it's about Danny and Lindsay. Anyways, here are excerpts from Carmine's latest interview with CSI Files relevant to our current discussion. About the Ruben storyline and Carmine's statements on it: His statements about Rikki, before episode 4x16, Right Next Door: A kind of a beginning of who knows what, indeed. I'm certainly looking forward to finding out! His statements on long term continuity for the Ruben-Rikki storyline: I think it's safe to say he'll be very happy to have Rikki back too! More of his statements about the Ruben storyline: He was talking about events happening to Danny in chronological order for Danny starting from season two. And him having said that 'Danny will find out Lindsay's not who he thought she was and look elsewhere', and his use of the word 'murder' here for a relationship with a 'girl he never knew' ... yeah, I'm thinking even then TPTB probably had some sort of long term plan for Rikki. (And for those curious exactly what Carmine said in his June 2007 interview about realizing 'Lindsay wasn't who he thought she was': I think that's a possibility, that maybe she wasn't all Danny thought she'd be. Maybe he's already looking elsewhere.) And here's what Carmine had to say about working with Jacqueline/Rikki:
Re: Bring Rikki Back! ^ Of course it's not my show, it's not your show, it's not the show of anyone here and we all want different things and we all have our hopes and wishes for what the next season will bring...and of course the actor themselves have their wishes too (and are probably the only ones with a bit of influence). I can totally understand that Carmine loved playing those scenes, since it must be way more interesting for him as an actor to play those emotional scenes instead of staring at a computer screen or looking through a microscope. And I have no doubt he liked playing with Jacqueline, but I have never actually heard him complain about the D/L scenes and/or playing with Anna either. But even if he likes for Rikki to return it still doesn't mean that I should like it. With what we have been given last season I am still not convinced if they are going to continue D/L, but I think my assumption that Rikki will again be linked to whatever happens or doesn't happen between them is not me jumping the gun at all...TPTB made sure that everything that happened last season between Danny and Rikki was somehow linked to what was or wasn't happening between Danny and Lindsay, so if Rikki will indeed return I believe that she would (at least at first) be a part of the D/L story again. So the question why anything involving Danny must be related to Lindsay is not one you should ask me, but you should ask TPTB. And that's also what I meant by cheapening the character. I initially was thrilled with the story they had planned and I could feel for Rikki and I could even understand why she and Danny did what they did...had it not been for the many unanswered question about the status of D/L...They could've used Danny's guilt and grief to be the sole thing that caused the separation between him and Lindsay, they could've used Rikki's desperation and grief to let her turn to Danny in the hopes of being more than just friends, but the way they did it now gave me a foul taste in my mouth... That's kinda funny, for years whenever people were complaining about all the screentime that went to eg. the D/L scenes instead of the crimes, the D/L fans (or fans of romance in general on the show) stated that it was a drama show and that NY was supposed to be more about their personal lives and that just a couple of minutes dedicated to the 'drama' wouldn't hurt anyone, somehow that never seemed like a legit argument to some others and now when it's about (Danny and) Rikki it suddenly is? :wtf: Now I'm confused... Well, saying things and actually meaning them or rather trying to convince yourself are two very different things. Lindsay knew it was stupid to get involved with a co-worker, but still couldn't stop her feelings. I guess if Rikki returns, her saying she is moving because of all of the memories, and then coming back after all, falls into the same category...
Re: Bring Rikki Back! It's more than that. It's when it's assumed that everything Danny says/does/thinks is related to Lindsay. I seriously doubt he's thinking of Lindsay every waking moment. It's still too early to assume that bringing Rikki back will cause more problems between DL since that's also assuming DL are/were/had been together. Rikki told Danny she was moving but did she ever said where she was moving? It could have been across town, another part of town, or another city. *shrug* There's plenty of places she could move to inside of NYC and be away from the memories of her neighborhood/apartment. Even with Danny still living in the same apartment building, Rikki doesn't have to show up at his place to see/talk to him. Well, I'm confused now. I'll admit that I complained that a large portion of the DL scenes/flirting/whatever was like watching two awkward teenagers and not two adults. I love having a look into their personal lives not their teenage flirting that seemed to go on and on ALL the time. Personally, I'd rather learn more about their non-romantic personal lives. I'd love more glimpses into Flack's childhood or anything about Hawkes. I'd love to know more about Adam's abusive past. If they do hook Rikki and Danny up, I don't want to see them together every single episode. I think the Mac/Peyton storyline was handled well and I wouldn't mind seeing that with Danny/Rikki. The DR scene from Right Next Door was done beautifully and portrayed Danny and Rikki as two adults and I wasn't subjected to more teenage type flirting. Even if he did want Jacqueline/Rikki to return, it doesn't mean she would. In the end it's all up to TPTB and whatever they think is best. Carmine proved that in one of his interviews regarding the DL court room scene. Ruben dying wasn't linked to Lindsay. Everything Danny and Rikki went through in Child's Play wasn't linked to Lindsay. Yes, Lindsay had her 'I'm not good in these situations' or whatever speech she said to Mac but that wasn't linked to DR. The events of All in the Family wasn't linked to Lindsay (linked to Danny yes, but not DR). She kept calling Danny and brought to Flack's attention that Danny wasn't answering. The events of Right Next Door weren't linked to Lindsay. All she did was call Danny about lunch. I'm not seeing how this stuff is linked to Lindsay if she and Danny aren't dating and she knows nothing about what DR have had together (since it's none of her business) and Danny doesn't owe her any explanations. The only way I could possibly see it being linked to Lindsay is to anyone who believes Danny and Lindsay are together. I haven't seen anything between Danny and Lindsay since Snow Day and that was just sex (If DR can call what they had as 'just sex' then what happened in Snow Day couldn't have meant much more). Danny seemed to barely tolerate her in Season 4 so I've never seen where he's cheated on Lindsay. Like I've said before, it's nothing new for two people to turn to each other the way Danny and Rikki did to ease their pain. They're both only human and if they do end up together, they won't be the first couple to come together that way and who knows, maybe they would have ended up together anyway even if Ruben hadn't died.
Re: Bring Rikki Back! That's only if she's the one who comes back looking for Danny. What if it's Danny who goes looking for her? This is from his June 2007 interview about the court room scene: Honestly, who can blame the guy for saying that? He's absolutely right; Danny was a punching bag and prop for most of season three and even into season four especially where Lindsay's concerned. It's really about damn time that stopped. Again, that's on the presumption Danny and Lindsay were in a relationship. And again as I said, sex on a pool table once does not a relationship make. As for Rikki's desperation, it sure seemed to me a lot more that Danny was the one who desperately wanted to turn to Rikki instead. Rikki even went so far as to tell Danny what they were doing was 'just sex'. Now if it was just that for both of them, why did she feel the need to define that to Danny, unless he already believed it was more than that? :lol: The last two seasons have proved it's not the matter of there being 'a few minutes of D/L drama', it's the matter of it needlessly profilerating so many episodes with it when it could have been solved in much less time. I have no idea what TPTB saw in making Danny and Lindsay act like juvenile teenagers when they're adults in their 30s ... but if the ratings for season four are anything to go by, I'd say they know by now it's not a good thing for the show at all.
Re: Bring Rikki Back! If he were the one that would go after her, that, to me, sounds like a similar situation as when Danny went after Lindsay, and would make him yet again a prop, but now for Rikki's return. And I highly doubt that, after what he said about not liking the courtroom scene (just the scene, not who he was playing it with), Carmine would appreciate it if TPTB make Danny run after yet another woman. So either Rikki returns despite of what she said about her memories, or Danny goes after her; both options don't make much sense to me. There are different kinds of relationships - I only spoke of a separation, which can also happen between friends. And although I admit that I do believe there was more, when I go with the canon facts we have Lindsay saying she believed him to be her best friend and Danny telling her he missed her more than he could say. There was still no need for TPTB to use Rikki's character to cause tension between D/L...Danny's emotions would've been enough. There must've been an extreme amount of desperation behind Rikki's decision to sleep with Danny too, and her telling him that "it was just sex" could've been her attempt to not so much convince him, but more herself. I never saw it like they were acting like teenagers, and I doubt that the few D/L scenes at the end of the season had that much of an effect on the ratings. I was not that impressed with the cases this season and I believe most people just didn't think this was the best season out of the four.
Re: Bring Rikki Back! Rikkis return may not be directly linked to Danny. I would expect her to return for the trial of the woman that shot Ruben - a trial I would imagine Danny will be giving evidence in, so their paths can cross without either of them seeking the other out.
Re: Bring Rikki Back! Why would he be a prop for Rikki? Unlike Lindsay, Rikki was a well-established character from the moment she appeared on the show. She doesn't need any propping. If Rikki's returning, it would naturally involve Danny since he was the only person with whom she had interaction with in her appearances on the show so far. Lindsay, on the other hand, has been on the show for three years and has had opportunities to interact with the other characters and yet still needs propping by Danny. The reason why Danny/DL has been used as a prop for Lindsay all this time was best said by Mr. Giovinazzo himself: Rikki doesn't need any propping because it's clear who she is and how she's a part of Danny's life. TPTB introduced her from the start to be someone who was a part of Danny's life outside of work and was his next door neighbor. A single mother who loved her son Ruben very, very much and had to lose him through a terribly tragic incident. A single mother who became a single woman who knew how much Danny was blaming himself for her son's death and was strong enough to tell him eye to eye that it wasn't his fault and she didn't blame him. She didn't blame him either for choosing a bad way to help them deal with the pain of loss and was always genuinely caring and affectionate towards him. And that was just from fifteen minutes of her being on screen. As for Carmine 'not liking Danny chasing another woman', I'll quote an answer from his June 2007 interview again: What he specifically didn't like about the court room scene (as well as a few other DL scenes) was that Danny always had to show up wherever Lindsay was and that he was turning into a punching bag because of her. He never said anything about 'not liking to chase another woman'. True. Danny and Lindsay are just friends who had sex once, that much I'll agree. Yes, those were canon but still not proof they were ever in a relationship. Best friend =/= lover. The context in which Danny said he missed her has to be taken into account; Lindsay had spent weeks blatantly ignoring him and pushing him away whenever he wanted to talk to her, and this was after she accused him of never going to her for support (on her own terms, no less). It's just as likely that Danny finally had it and went for the big guns by telling Lindsay what he hoped she wanted to hear just so she'd talk to him again. And there's the significant conclusion to the phone call; Lindsay didn't respond to Danny with anything other than a, "I gotta go," and never showed up at his apartment. Moreover, Danny didn't seem the slightest bit upset or disappointed at Lindsay never showing up. His apartment was dark, which meant he didn't even wait for her. Danny only became upset when Rikki told him she was moving away. As for TPTB 'using Rikki to cause tension between DL', TPTB brought Rikki into CSI:NY for a purpose and that's not necessarily the reason they did so. It's equally likely TPTB brought Rikki in to become Danny's new love interest. No matter what, Rikki is now a permanent part of CSI:NY canon and seeing as TPTB is interested in bringing her back again, I'm sure TPTB have a good reason for that too. Possible also. But again it begs the question: why was there the need to convince her/him it was 'just sex', unless the truth is it's something much more than that? Actually, the Nielsen ratings for the latter half of season four did show an interesting pattern. The viewer count increased by over 1.11 million people after episode 4x16 (which had the first official Danny/Rikki scene), but after episode 4x17 (which only had DL drama), the viewer count dropped by almost 2 million people. Then, for episode 4x19 (which incidentally had a Danny/Flack basketball game scene for a promo :lol, the viewer count shot up again by 1.18 million viewers. Whether or not the Danny/Rikki scene in the episode had anything to do with it, I don't know, but after 4x19, in which Rikki said goodbye to Danny and left, the viewer count dropped by almost a million viewers and stayed that way till the finale. 4.15: 12.84 million 4.16: 12.24 million 4.17: 13.35 million 4.18: 11.40 million 4.19: 12.58 million 4.20: 11.63 million 4.21: 11.71 million Of course, I'm just speculating but it certainly is interesting that the viewer count would plummet after there's some sort of DL drama.