Anna/Lindsay #6: Baby on Board!

[PerfectAnomaly]

Lol, this is why this thread kicks ass.

:lol: that she had no clue her show just reached 150th episode.

That doesn't surprise me at all considering she acts like the show is nothing but a paycheck to her. Every time she opens her mouth in an interview she just proves even more how she just doesn't give a damn. The only difference between her and her character that she give is that they have different professions. Anna grew up in Maine and Lindsay is supposed to be a country girl from Montana. I'm going under the wild assumption that Anna didn't witness the senseless slaughter of several of her friends as a teenager either. Yet she plays herself. That's not acting, that's not giving a damn about your character or the show. If CBS isn't going to fire her, which they're obviously not going to do, they should at least have a clause in her contract forbidding her to do interviews. She comes off as a big schmuck every time she gives one.

I wish I could write that clause in myself for some actors on this show, but that's beside my point. I'm fairly sure no one holds a gun to their heads and makes them do interviews, and if Anna really didn't give a damn she wouldn't do them, period. But fans like getting insights from the actors they like into the characters they like, or just enjoy hearing what they say; I would imagine that's why she does interviews. She's identified the way she imagines (and thereby plays) Lindsay through herself in previous interviews, and while I know nothing about effective acting techniques, it made sense to me -- and definitely comes across effectively on-screen.

...Also, someone please tell me which NY episode was the 50th, or the 150th? (Although I think that latter one's probably on me, I haven't gotten much chance to pay attention to what's going on with the show this season - but as far as I know, they didn't make a big thing about it.) I'd get the argument if she hadn't noticed the 100th or 200th episode going by, but...

Doing self promotion is not the same thing as giving a damn about the show or the character.

Incorporating some of the facts of the actors' lives into the show is not the same thing as having NO difference between the character and actor. Anna doesn't seem to grasp that acting involves playing something that isn't like you at all. Why would she play herself if her character is supposed to be affected by a tragedy that happened in her teen years?

Thousands upon thousands of actors, when asked how they approach a part, mention drawing on their own experiences and facets of their own personalities in order to fill the role -- so this makes little sense to me. Portraying what's familiar to you is not exactly uncommon in art, and Anna picturing how she herself would respond if something like that tragedy happened to her seems like a fairly standard technique.

Again, drawing on some personal experience and having some superficial similarities to the character is NOT the same thing as "playing herself." An actor shouldn't be thinking, "how would I act in this situation," they're supposed to be thinking, "how would Lindsay act in this situation." Lindsay is supposed to be NOTHING like Anna in her background or experiences except that they are both married and have a child. By playing herself we get crappy scenes like the courtroom scenes in S3 where Lindsay was supposed to be crying because of the trauma of witnessing her friends being murdered when she was a teen when Anna was thinking of the joy she felt during the birth of her child to make the tears come. Simply playing yourself with a character who is supposed to be nothing like you is lazy at best and not giving a damn and having no talent at worst.

 

[Maya316]

Doing self promotion is not the same thing as giving a damn about the show or the character.

As the fans, and more often than not the interviewers, are typically asking about Lindsay, I imagine she works up some level of giving a damn in order to answer said questions. She gives comparatively few interviews, and every time she does it's always about what's coming up for Lindsay on the show, or how Lindsay worked through this or that, or what it's like working on the show (all three always talked about enthusiastically); it's easier to get dirt on the Prime Minister's home life than it is to get info on hers, and she hardly ever talks about her previous jobs during interviews. Really not seeing the self-promotion.

Again, drawing on some personal experience and having some superficial similarities to the character is NOT the same thing as "playing herself." An actor shouldn't be thinking, "how would I act in this situation," they're supposed to be thinking, "how would Lindsay act in this situation." Lindsay is supposed to be NOTHING like Anna in her background or experiences except that they are both married and have a child.

An actor could be thinking "Gee, that chemistry set would look great in my bathroom" while playing a role, why on earth would I care? Considering how many different acting techniques I've heard about just in retrospect, it seems weird that there would be "one way" to approach getting in character, and so long as her character is engaging and entertaining onscreen, I don't see a problem. Anna's mom sees Anna playing herself in Lindsay. Purely from observation, given the characteristics Anna and Lindsay-as-written seem to share (quirky, randomly-chatty, enthusiastic-about-work), I'm not surprised, but Anna has mentioned how she approaches playing Lindsay through herself in previous interviews, and it made sense to me. The qualities I would expect Lindsay to have, given her background, are still there and played well.

 

[PerfectAnomaly]

Again, drawing on some personal experience and having some superficial similarities to the character is NOT the same thing as "playing herself." An actor shouldn't be thinking, "how would I act in this situation," they're supposed to be thinking, "how would Lindsay act in this situation." Lindsay is supposed to be NOTHING like Anna in her background or experiences except that they are both married and have a child.

An actor could be thinking "Gee, that chemistry set would look great in my bathroom" while playing a role, why on earth would I care? Considering how many different acting techniques I've heard about just in retrospect, it seems weird that there would be "one way" to approach getting in character, and so long as her character is engaging and entertaining onscreen, I don't see a problem. Anna's mom sees Anna playing herself in Lindsay. Purely from observation, given the characteristics Anna and Lindsay-as-written seem to share (quirky, randomly-chatty, enthusiastic-about-work), I'm not surprised, but Anna has mentioned how she approaches playing Lindsay through herself in previous interviews, and it made sense to me. The qualities I would expect Lindsay to have, given her background, are still there and played well.

Well I find Lindsay neither engaging nor entertaining on screen and don't see any "as written" characteristics of Lindsay's that are portrayed consistently. And when we find out all Anna does is play herself it doesn't surprise me at all. Playing each scene as you would play them at the time as yourself gives no history or consistency with the character and that's where I'm guessing Lindsay gets her "character of the week" vibe. All the other characters are well developed and well rounded. Lindsay isn't and that in large part is Anna's fault for not building on what Lindsay is supposed to be and just playing herself. We can argue about this until the cows come home, but the fact of the matter is I think Anna's approach to "acting" - I personally don't even call playing yourself acting - is a huge reason as to why Lindsay is a complete failure as a character to me.

 

[Maya316]

^ That's fair enough, but since a lot of this thread's posters clearly don't feel the same, I'm finding it's worth it to hold the interview up against what's been said before about how Anna brings life to Lindsay. IMO, she's doing something right.

Going a little off the current topic here, I've always held that (well, in earlier seasons...I'm not too sure about what the show's up to now, but meh) Lindsay-as-the-character-written-on-the-page is probably a character I wouldn't typically be too fond of - I know I've gone :wtf: over characters written like she often seems to be in the past, in both film and literature - and I've always attributed it to Anna that she feels at all real to me, let alone as real as she does feel. It's funny putting Anna's mom's words into context with that :lol: I refuse to randomly speculate on Anna's life, but it's kind of interesting-in-a-neat-way, what her mom sees where I see Lindsay's damaged-awkwardness in certain situations.

Then again, I don't know if that's still there or if the show's been using it -- what sucks is I haven't had much chance to process any of the NY episodes this season, so aside from 7.01 all I really remember Lindsay doing is the same as all the other characters these past two years, read: exposition. *sigh* I remember thinking I saw a darker shift in her character in Season 6 that seemed to culminate in 7.01, but aside from that I don't know what she's up to. So anyone with more S7-related info, jump in anytime :lol:

 

[PerfectAnomaly]

^ That's fair enough, but since a lot of this thread's posters clearly don't feel the same, I'm finding it's worth it to hold the interview up against what's been said before about how Anna brings life to Lindsay. IMO, she's doing something right.

Typically posters in this thread don't tolerate debate, so pretty much all you'll find in this thread is people who like her. That's why there have been four WLMG threads. I hold the interview up to what's been said about her in those threads about everything she does wrong and how Lindsay is a worthless character. IMO, she hasn't done anything right.

 

[Maya316]

^ That's fair enough, but since a lot of this thread's posters clearly don't feel the same, I'm finding it's worth it to hold the interview up against what's been said before about how Anna brings life to Lindsay. IMO, she's doing something right.

Typically posters in this thread don't tolerate debate, so pretty much all you'll find in this thread is people who like her. That's why there have been four WLMG threads. I hold the interview up to what's been said about her in those threads about everything she does wrong and how Lindsay is a worthless character. IMO, she hasn't done anything right.

Lacking the "I-hate-Lindsay" nametags doesn't exactly ban the typical posters on this thread from debate, in my experience. I've had opinions on Lindsay/Anna that hugely clash with those of several others here, despite my liking her just as much as they do, and I see no reason to expect this time to be different. It's entirely likely her other fans will see the interview in a different light against her performance. If so, since this is the thread they've discussed those views on her performance -- not to mention the thread the interview was posted in -- it makes sense for me to look forward to what'll be said here.

Yeah, WLMG is always fun too (well, now that I get the point of the thread :lol, and when the interview's posted there I'll go over to look at what's said, but I don't see what, if any, bearing it'd have on my point. [ETA: Sorry, just saw it's already been posted there!] My point was Anna's clearly bringing the entertainment for some people, including her fans here. As one of those fans, I'm curious about whether "playing herself" is a reason for that, or what is it instead they're seeing in her performance that draws them/us. That's what I want to know, what others think she's doing right.

As far as I know, WLMG shows (aside from that she's hands-down the one character/actor who brings discussion and debate to the yard without having to go anywhere) that others don't feel she's doing anything right. But in all fairness, duh. I already knew that :lol:

 

[ekwok888]

Typically posters in this thread don't tolerate debate, so pretty much all you'll find in this thread is people who like her. That's why there have been four WLMG threads. I hold the interview up to what's been said about her in those threads about everything she does wrong and how Lindsay is a worthless character. IMO, she hasn't done anything right.

I totally agree! She cannot act and portrays a character that is quite annoying and unpleasant. What I cannot understand is despite all the negative comments from all the fans, TPTB still keeps her in the cast! I am sure they know that she is the most hated / least popular character in the show, and if they want to improve the ratings, they must get rid of her! They can let her be a stay-at-home Mom to take care of Lucy, and add a new cast to the team which must be an improvement over Lindsey.

 

[Maya316]

^:lol:

Oh wait, you're actually serious...:guffaw:

I don't know if the quote was messed up by accident or if you honestly believe I'm one of the ones who dislike Lindsay, but clearly not "all" the comments on her are negative, seeing as I'm not. She's one of my (now two) favourite characters. I would quite happily write the show off if they "got rid of her", and (fair warning for next time, because from personal experience, I've found it helps to do just a little research on the thread you're about to post in) about 40 previous pages of not-dissimilar sentiments kind of negates the idea that no one likes her.

Yes, I'm sure she has quite a few detractors, but she also has quite a few fans, and six years on the show indicates to me that TPTB are fine with the balance. (Or that they just like her, or just that they're flat-out not paying attention, seriously how would I know....) IMO, she's made of awesome the end. But of course, ymmv.

 

[Desertwind]

^:lol:

Oh wait, you're actually serious...:guffaw:

I don't know if the quote was messed up by accident or if you honestly believe I'm one of the ones who dislike Lindsay, but clearly not "all" the comments on her are negative, seeing as I'm not. She's one of my (now two) favourite characters. I would quite happily write the show off if they "got rid of her", and (fair warning for next time, because from personal experience, I've found it helps to do just a little research on the thread you're about to post in) about 40 previous pages of not-dissimilar sentiments kind of negates the idea that no one likes her.

Yes, I'm sure she has quite a few detractors, but she also has quite a few fans, and six years on the show indicates to me that TPTB are fine with the balance. (Or that they just like her, or just that they're flat-out not paying attention, seriously how would I know....) IMO, she's made of awesome the end. But of course, ymmv.

I'm with ya' Maya316 I can't even comprehend that any one doesn't love her. Eveything about her is appealing, beguiling and delectable. I think she's one of the outstanding characters on this show. When she walks into the lab, with her always even disposition and her winning smile, and she's so smart and so cute. I look at some characters that millions of fans watch these shows, and their not all on fan-sites. A think she's a very popular gal, so if some don't like her. it's their demise

 

[perlnoir]

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[Desertwind]

Thank's perlnoir great caps. of Anna/Lindsay, she's so cute, who's the guy?

 

[perlnoir]

He is Mel Rogers with Anna et elmo

 

[Brinchen]

Thanks for the picture, perlnoir! I really find it cute.

I watched the clip of the following episode and I really love it. I always love to see Lindsay working with Hawkes, and also discussing with him. It's great how she sticks to her opinion. If someone knows how it feels like to be traumatised and to hate the person who did that, it's her. I mean, after what happened to her friends, she also had to deal with feelings like hate etc. But somehow she must have found a way to deal with it and she also didn't go after Katums and tried to kill him. I think this really is a difficult and tough storyline for her, and I'm sure there will be a couple of amazing scenes. I'm looking forward to how she will handle this case and I'm glad that an episode is focusing on her again.

 

[ruby&theheadmen]

I just wanted to say that Vigilante was a Lindsay's admirer's dream since Anna really got to shine in it. I just finished watching the episode and it reminded me of all the things that Anna does to make her character Lindsay so VERY special to me. I find her to be all the things that Geminis are supposed to be special for, their youthful looks, their intelligence, their wit and of course, the fact that the head does tend to rule over the heart- making them seem cool and insensitive to some. Tonight, she showed that struggle in fine form and I admired her seeking out and finding a balance, although I really DO respect that her instincts were telling her that she was a cop- or a police officer first (her head). As a Pisces myself I am very sensitive and usually Geminis and other air sign people (Aquarians in particular) I find off-putting with this "head over the emotions" instinct, but in Anna it is not as disturbing as it usually is for me.

I liked that she strove to find a balance and she found a great one, I believe. The fact that she could show this all to us as well as give her audience that famous, as I like to call it* sadder than sad, puppy dog-eyed sad look* many times in this latest episode gave me much joy.

She is a great reason I watch NY. I love to see her (she is so pretty too) and when she's with Danny as her husband, they look like such a cute couple and sexy too (blushes). Her own family is fortunate to have Anna in it. I wish her much blessings as an actress, woman, wife and mother. I thank her for her gift to all of us as she works on this program. Oh about the "pretty" she really is to me VERY pretty- her husband is a very fortunate man!

Bright blessings to her and all that she cares for...
sincerely, ruby&theheadmen.

 

[Brinchen]

I fully agree with everything you said, ruby&theheadmen! That was such a fantastic episode for her. I don't even remember when an episode focused on her since season 2? Anyway, it was wonderful to see her dealing with Kate and handling this case. The way Anna Belknap portrayed the emotions was fantastic in my eyes. Like you said, she has a great way to bring such feelings across; she did that already in the other shows she was a guest on, but in CSI:NY, she does it even better. I love how this affected her and how she tried to handle the case. Lindsay is also always good with the interrogation scenes. I love them. And I found it funny as she called Mac with that voice thing. They really should do more episodes where she has a big role and does all the things she did here. Oh, and the way she tackled this woman down was awesome, too. Fantastic scenes, really! I know I keep on repeating myself, but Anna is a wonderful actress.