I would call it sad. To me that is something that points to poor acting. With the other characters on this show you know what emotion they are portraying. It is clear and it should be. That is what makes a good actor. It shouldn't be so ambiguous that you can't tell what emotion Lindsay is trying to project. It takes me out of the story when that happens. I also think that it is a corollary to the problem others have pointed to where there hasn't been consistent characterization from either the actress or the writers for this character.
At the end of the day Lindsay has her good points and she has her bad points, and yeah she did complain about some of those things she had to do, but as was mentioned before not everyone likes every part of their job, there's always something in someone's job that they don't like, no one's job is perfect so there are probably parts of her job that she doesn't like just like everyone else. And if she and Danny were to break I'd still like her, and I don't think she's awesome just because she's with Danny, sometimes she did annoy me a little in S2, but I still like her. And both point's of view have fair points (does that make sense, did in my head lol) the one's who think she should go you bring up fair points and the others that think she should stay have fair points as well. And I don't remember seeing anyone get upset over anythings been said, but maybe I've not been reading properly.
While there might be some room for interpretation in some actions and people will see things differently, there is a burden on the writers and actor to get across what a particular character is thinking/feeling/doing in a situation. Take Stella and Drew for instance--there was no doubt he was pursuing her and there was no doubt that she wasn't interested. We also knew why she wasn't interested--he came on too strong, the situation with Frankie, she was more charmed than freaked out. The script got across some of this, but Melina's acting did as well. Chalk me up as another one who thought Lindsay did an about face between s. 2 and s. 3. She was the one who went out of her way to one up Danny, she bought him a drink at the bar, she got him to carry her for an experiment in that one episode and promised him drinks in exchange. She ate those freakin' bugs he bought! :lol: Suddenly in season three, she does an about face. That was bad writing + bad acting + bad continuity...a whole bunch of bad wrapped into one. We shouldn't have to guess at what the characters are feeling. And we don't with the others. But with Lindsay we often do.
I agree completely with what Fay and Top said - surprise, surprise. What I come back to also, and is the main issue for me, is that to me it's pretty obvious the intention with Lindsay is for viewers to like her. I think the intention is for viewers to feel sympathy for her, to think she's a great match for Danny, to think she and Stella are girlfriends, to think she's cute and funny and the team loves her. The fact that I and others here so passionately dislike her, to me, shows what an epic fail her character is and how there are a myriad of reasons as to why she's an epic fail.
I'm sure Flack didn't like arresting his former mentor on the police force. I'm sure Danny didn't like processing crime scenes that reminded him of the little boy that had only died the episode before. I'm sure that all the CSIs have had unpleasant things they've had to deal with and parts of their job they don't like. However, the difference between them and Lindsay is that they don't whine and cry about it. She doesn't want to give the mother the bad news in one episode and whines enough so Danny does it for her, she doesn't want to stay in the lab and process evidence in Manhattan Manhunt and is petulant about it later in the episode-the list goes on and on. She is the only character that has walked away from her job (i.e. Silent Night) when she felt like it, and the only character to actually whine and protest duties given to her (Manhattan Manhunt). All of the other characters, even with all of their personal problems, are still able to do their jobs without protesting like children, but not Lindsay. I personally chalk it up to bad writing for the character, and bad acting by the actress. Together, they both made Lindsay an unlikeable character for me.
Don't forget Oedipus Hex when she whined to Danny about talking to the mother and yes, she did talk to her at the end of the episode but the damage had already been done. Where was her, "I'm sorry I stuck you with the mother, Danny." apology? I do too but I think it's more bad acting by the actress. Even with bad writing, after two years of playing Lindsay, Anna should have some kind of idea how to play her.
As much as I like Lindsay/Anna, I don't so much blame her acting, but the writing. One of the biggest complaints is that Lindsay jumps to conclusions before the evidence supports her. Well, on Miami last night, Calleigh, whom most would agree, is a well-rounded and liked character, was pulling that stunt, betting Eric that a print on the gun was from this one suspect. Eric called her on it, telling her she was putting the cart before the horse. The point being here, it seems to be occuring more and more, and not just in Lindsay's case. Stella also did that last year, in "Open and Shut", assuming that "victim" who shot the intruder was like her, trying to survive. When asked to consider other evidence, Stella didn't want to, but came around in the end. All I'm saying is that it seems to be a recurring theme for all of them, not just Lindsay, in the jumping to conclusions. In the end, I think it comes down to the writing. And not to be long-winded(sorry about that), but if it's the acting, it must be the character Anna is having trouble getting through(although I think she's fine). Don't laugh, but before NY, Anna got a lot of fine reviews in plays she did, and in fact, has a Masters in Acting and awards that she's won. So if she's so bad an actress, how did she win any awards, let alone get a Masters in Acting?
I happen to like Lindsey. I'm not saying that she's my favourite character, but I like her. I think it's interesting the way people have been having a go for her having bad points, but at the end of the day, not everyone can be professional all the time and her actions are realistic. Sometimes I think we judge fictional characters for their actions when actually that's what a lot of us would have done. And it's not like she screws up every episode. Danny's had his fair share of bad moments where he's done completely the wrong thing but he hasn't quite got the same reaction. BTW, how did a thread titled 'why Lindsey must stay' still end up being dead negative against her? :lol: It makes me laugh.
With Stella, yes she jumped to a conclusion and wanted that to be the truth. The difference in Stella and Lindsay is that in Stella's case there was context. Stella had gone through the ordeal with Frankie, so we knew why she was doing what she did. With Lindsay, there is no context. That's just the way she comes off. There's no reason for it other than she thinks she's right and thinks everyone should praise her and not question her conclusion. I think it's just as much, if not more, the acting than the writing, IMO. None of the characters are perfect, and I wouldn't want them to be. Flawed people are much more interesting and believable. It's when there's no context for the behavior that it bothers me. I'm judging Anna Belknap on her role as Lindsay. I've never seen her in anything else. Even if I had seen her in other things and liked her, it wouldn't change my opinion. I don't like her portrayal of Lindsay. This particular role is beyond her capability, IMO. It doesn't mean she flat out can't act; but I have to say that having Lindsay be my introduction to Anna Belknap makes me very leary of watching any other show she's on in the future.
That irks me, too. If we were supposed to hate her, I'd probably actually like her. :lol: Characters that you love to hate are fun. But the fact that we're supposed to think she's so great when in so many ways she's clearly not is what bugs me. Bingo, baby. When Danny had to go to kindergarten classrooms looking for a killer, he made a comment but he didn't storm out or get snide with Mac. Flack went so far as to volunteer to arrest his mentor, not because he wanted to (it was obviously the opposite) but because he knew in doing so he could offer the man a way to maintain his dignity. Exactly. Lindsay is the only one who does the job when it suits her and complains or leaves when it doesn't. And lest anyone think I'm being hard on Lindsay because she's Lindsay, I will add that I found Danny very unprofessional and downright infuriating in "The Dove Commission" when he was goading the son of the gypsy cab driver. But Danny went and apologized in the end, something that clearly wasn't easy for him to do. Every other time Danny has messed up on the job, he's only hurt himself (On the Job, Crimes and Misdemeanors). Lindsay on the other hand uses her past trauma as some sort of entitlement--she's entitled to be at a bloody crime scene if she wants to be, she's entitled to leave if she doesn't, she's entitled to manipulate a co-worker with feelings for her. That's pretty low behavior. He did, and had a point. Of course, Calleigh turned out to be right. :lol: Not everyone's gut is as off as Danny's is. I'd echo what PA said. Stella was coming from an emotional perspective; Lindsay just seems to want to be right most of the time. When it did seem like she was coming at it from an emotional perspective, in "Stealing Home," I had sympathy for her. Anna might be a very good theater actress. She is however, not a good television actress, at least not on CSI: NY. As for the Masters, again, it could be for theater. Or it could have been one of those programs that gives a Masters to whoever plunks down $30,000. I don't know and honestly, all I can judge her on is what I've seen her in. She was decent--as in passable but not stellar--in Medical Investigation. I just saw her episode of "The Comeback" and in her minute and a half on screen she was just as awkward and false as she is much of the time in CSI: NY. Much of the time when she's on screen, I see the script. It feels like she's reading lines rather than talking. In theater, where actors have to project to an entire audience and make grand gestures so the people in the back can see them, I imagine it's not as big a deal. But acting on TV is much more precise because it's just you and a camera. I wouldn't presume to judge her theater work without seeing her on stage, but on screen she's a weak actress. If it were just once or twice, sure. But there are more than a few instances of Lindsay being unprofessional. See my above comment about "The Dove Commission." I'd also add that after "Child's Play" there was a rather in depth and lively discussion about whether Danny was in part or more to blame for Ruben's death. So I don't think any character gets a pass. It's not just Lindsay. It seems pretty evenly split to me, which makes for a good discussion.
In Miami last night, Calleigh thought Julia was the killer, but didn't she immediately follow the evidence when it led elsewhere? Standing there and saying 'ten bucks says she did it' while waiting for the results is one thing, refusing to acknowledge different interpretations of the evidence (and follow them) is something else. I think of "People with Money", for example--Lindsay was sure the girlfriend did it, and she only re-evaluated the evidence after Mac (and Stella?) told her to. Then we got treated to the 'who's a good doggie?' scene when Lindsay explained the truth (and Mac and Stella acted appropriately surprised and proud of her for, you know, doing her job). If she's a qualified forensic scientist, her boss shouldn't have to tell her to look at every possibility. If she's still learning from her superiors, a comment about this being proof that she needs to see it from all possible angles might have been appropriate from Mac or Stella (preferably Mac). We got a few hints of Hawkes learning how things are done in season 2 when he was a rookie, but Lindsay being a 'rookie' only seemed to be about her getting the dirty jobs. If she'd been a CSI for three years in Montana (plus another year in NY at the time of "PWM"), one would hope she would be in the qualified forensic scientist category. In any case, making an assumption or having a theory is one thing, but it shouldn't keep you from doing the job right. In their line of work, doing it right means doing it thoroughly--and not trying to arrest people without considering all of the possibilities.* If it was just that Lindsay was intentionally dislikable, that's one thing**, but between the inconsistencies and everything else, I really don't see the pros of the character outweighing the cons. Not from where I'm sitting. In a question of should she stay or go, I think the character as-is is definitely not 100% in the 'stay' category. Is she salvageable? *shrug* Anything is possible. Ultimately, the writers need to know who Lindsay is, the actress needs to know who Lindsay is, and it all needs to work together so that Lindsay is more cohesive and comes across as though she's a viable character and deserves her space on the team. * That applies to everybody, but we're only talking about Lindsay here. As Top said, it's just as annoying to see the other characters make the same mistakes, but Lindsay does it so much more often, and I really don't see enough redeeming qualities to warrant her being a series regular with a good chunk of screentime and such--Hawkes is so underutilized and it's such a shame because he has so much promise and potential as a character. ** And people would continue to dislike her even if that were the case--I doubt everybody loves Hodges, Ryan, etc--so that just comes with the territory. As much as someone may love a character, not everybody is going to follow suit. Ideally, even a dislikable character wouldn't have so many valid arguments against them, though.
LINDSAY MUST GO! She does not fit in with the show, period. Not only because she does not go well with Danny, she just doesn't fit. Just as Elena Delgado on Without A Trace. My two favorite shows and they have to have office romances...why? I want to see the cases...and yes, i want to know about the characters backgrounds and personal lives, but that doesn't mean they need to be dating or involved with a fellow co-worker...esp someone they work with directly. A great example of not doing this is Cold Case. The team that works together, does not mess around together....that's the way it should be.
I sort of agree with that because the writing isn't always seller but I think when it comes down to it even if they made her dance around in a wet suit, singing the Canadian national anthem while hitting Mac over the head with a fish she should still be able to pull it off. She should be able to make bad writing look somewhat decent. I can understand how she could get good reviews in theatre, because acting on stage is completely different from acting on TV. Some people are good in both, some no so much. Usually an Masters in acting means theatre. And when you study theatre you don't really focus that much on acting for film and television. It's mostly directed at the stage, which again is different from TV.
In my opinon, Lindsey should stay so that Stella will have someone to protect! *snicker* i mean come on she's got to have SOMEONE now that Aiden's gone....*matter of factly stated* and why not a nice peice of juciey montana meat? You do have to admit, anna is ADORABLE! i just want to fluffle her! (that and i have a thing for stella's big hair >_> STELLAAAAAA)
Aiden never needed protecting. If the only other female they could come up with is Lindsay, Stella would have been better off being the only female on the team. I don't know Anna personally, but I know her performance as Lindsay is anything but adorable.