Holy postage batman :lol: That was a helluva lot to catch up on
Um. Bullet pointz before fully uncorking here: I'm very happy PL inked a deal and that Melina's been confirmed to return, and great news about Ed Asner for Yahrzeit.
I'm not gonna shit all over the show (anymore) for letting EV go. I'm not gonna crap all over them for adding a new character. At least, not with the minimal info we've got.
I'm still not convinced that a core team member is dying in the cliffhanger. I don't think they will kill off another character. I can't think anyone would be asking out either. If you got work you'd be frakkin loony to leave it. Could be wrong, but that's my feeling on it for the moment. Reduction? Possibly. Leave outright? Less likely.
I gotta back it up here in trying to string my rampant speculation together coherently
. I suspect I'm just inna rather devil's advocate frame of mind. Dunno why.
I was curious so I went poking around. There have been major bloodbaths at just about every network in the past two years, including CBS. It took major hits, with major losses. The whole corporation, I mean. The television branch, though up in ratings, got hit cos advertisers were closing purse-strings. Think they get something like 70% of their revenue thru media advertising. The economy bottomed out, people stopped spending, major retailers and car companies slashed their ad budgets, ya gotta bet it hurt. And as for branching out, they've gotta be hoping like hell that CNET pans out. The first quarter drop in their numbers was beyond scary reading even to someone like me woefully lacking saavy about financial fineries on that scale.
They not only wanna keep their asses afloat in producing shows, they also wanna try and stream how and when we watch them and how they get revenues from our doing so. Bottom dolla sez that was their whole approach in putting their schedule together, what got cut, what got picked up, and what's been ordered, and what will be budgeted for each. I think the shows left standing will do their best to weather the storm and the trickle down fallout without compromising too much the product that gets aired, cos that too is part of the bottom line. I'd say it sucks to be left holding the bag, but on a wider level, restructuring production costs was long overdue. Just hope the tweakge actually took place in apt corners, and that it was done prudently.
To stray into an aside here. Wt
f do the megaproducers think is gonna happen in a few years' time when SAG, WGA and DGA and all come due at the same freakin time? Especially in light of Hulu, Tivo, iTunes, Youtube, on demand, dvrs, etc. and all that? (dunno bout all the IA locals, they're a lil different, in timeframe as well, but apparently some of the New Media clauses are currently of questionable benefit; and working (in teevee) on other than network productions, should they continue to falter, is probably not a happy thought for some where sidebar deals come into play that erode union scale). Mark down 2011, kids. You think 2008/09 saw the sh*t hit the fan? If they don't manage to figure it out ahead of time... buy a shovel and a hardhat.
Anyhoo.
Orignally Posted by Jellybelly: I really do doubt that they told her it was 'just' budget cuts. While the budget may be the main driver, I suspect creativity played a big part. I can imagine them saying they wanted to take the show in a certain direction and that if money wasn't a problem they'd keep her around. The fact is, money is a problem and Angell was the most vulnerable character as she was the second detective on a show that's primarily about CSI's.
We've only heard from EV as to the reason she was 'let go' and I imagine that the reason she gave was largely because she wasn't in a position to give information on the creative direction the show was going in. I'd like to think that if one of the writer's/producers were asked we'd get a little more than just budget cuts.
I tend to agree with this, to a point. I'm also not sure what we'd get as an answer from one of the execs though.
I won't begrudge the statement that the show let EV go for money reasons. I'm sure there's truth to it. It just may not be the only truth. Nothing's ever so simple. But I also don't think that the context of timing should be set aside. I suspect that Angell's demise was yet another adaptation that happened on the fly during the season, not something long planned. Hope so anyways. I think it was in March that showrunners were told to start performing living autopsies to find ways to survive with mandated cuts in their budgets. If they were writing the finale in early spring, it's entirely possible that the show was in part already looking ahead for how to accomodate staging the next season; it's possible that EV was an easy early cut for the show to make without gutting itself, one that wouldn't cost the show any of it's main contracted cast, one they could benefit in ratings with, one that they could make without having to worry about too many details for S6. I bitched at the time the spoiler came out that losing her was a cheap way out after all the hype, that it wouldn't necessarily change the world of the show, wouldn't shake it up so much. I think in hindsight she was a cut they could make at that time for precisely that reason. Or maybe they all really are a buncha lyin' two-faced bastards :shifty:. *Shrug*
I don't f*cking know :lol:.
Maybe it's more that losing EV helps to
offset costs. Angell wasn't in every ep, and we still don't know if this new Regular will be in every ep either, or is more like Adam or Sid for screentime (though it would seem odd for a CSI not to be in every ep). Wasn't Angell in about only half a dozen eps in each S3 and S4, but in S5 she was in more like a dozen and a half? I'm not sure. But possibly a substantial number, is my point. If so, that's certainly not something to discount.
In the choice to add a second detective vs. another CSI, well, many have suggested that two detectives aren't key for the show. It is CSI, after all. Especially where they are CopScientistswotdoEverything. And who needs a second detective when Flack handles door to door canvassing, narcotics busts, hostage negotiations, ESU coordination, and oh yeah, homicide.
Whether another CSI was needed with a cast that has seen some characters seriously shortchanged for airtime and backstory over the seasons is another matter. I hope a CSI means that the crime portion of the show will still remain it's primary emphasis. Even if the new character
is in every ep, I won't just jump to counting that as a negative. The core cast will have someone new to play with. That's not necessarily a bad thing. Just hope they tighten up the writing as much as the budgets then.
I'm generally pleased for Lenkov sticking around, as I consistenly appreciate how he speaks of the show and his intentions for it. We'll see what really happens...
. I like the idea of challenging the characters more (that's my personal, hopeful interpretation of his statement regarding 'focus'). I wonder if that 'character focus' is a path to trimming back on the volume of high end production treats and effects too, but as I've said elsewhere: I'd take solid writing and Adam throwing a paper airplane over a virtual autopsy any given Wednesday.
Setting budget issues aside, I think the show needed a big shake up. I'm open to the new character, have to be. I gotta step up to the change I said I wanted to see the show embrace, wanted to see it try something substantial to kick it forward. Wasn't expecting a brand new character so soon after adding AJ and Robert to the mains, wasn't expecting to lose Angell. But I gotta give the new girl a shot. I hate to see a great character like Angell go, wish there was a way to have kept her on. Can also understand the distaste and dismay some have in contemplating the announcement of a new character only a few months later. It now depends on what kind of material Flack gets, he's the key for how meaningful Angell's loss will be, because I do think the show can live without her. What I will very much miss though is (a) Angell more than holding her own as an independent character, (b) the fun that FA were, especially in comparison to DL, and, possibly most of all, (c)the power duo that Stella and Angell were onscreen together.
As for the introduction of a new character, and auditions in general. Maybe all the show's restructuring in the past coupla months is what allowed a new character to be brought in. Maybe it wasn't all some evil plan just waiting in the wings. Who knows if they'd always intended to bring new blood in. Guess we'll eventually hear the spin on all that too.
I got no problem with the scenes they clipped for the auditions for Kaye Whassername. It's a good base to see variety of depth and interpretations. I don't doubt that contrasting the recorded auditions en masse after the fact will be more telling and informative than eyeballing the selections here on paper, so to speak. Also, reading scenes that have already been produced gives a comparison and context that new material might not permit. Last, who's to say that other material wasn't additionally provided during the audtions as well, perhaps even speculative material in development for S6, seeing as they've outlined a schematic for the character.
I'm back to being hopeful on behalf of the show again here. I think the show mighta really stalled if they'd done nothing at all, and that maybe this is really a way to push it out of a rather complacent rut. I keep talking about wanting the characters to be challenged more. Maybe we're being challenged a little bit too.
Late July is typical for production, I think. With the cliffhanger they'll not give too much away too soon, only tease to string us along, make sure we tune in for the second half.
