Dear Writers...

Ginnna

Ginnna

Lab Technician
Greetings!

This thread exists so that we (the message board members) can tell the CSI: Miami writers what we think/how we feel about what's been going on in the series and what should be going on in the series. Feel free to tell them what they're doing right, what they're doing wrong, what they ought to be doing, what they ought to stop doing, etc.

This is a discussion thread. There are of course no guarantees that the writers will actually read this thread and take our comments into consideration. Please, no personal attacks. Let's adhere to the Talk CSI rules, okie dokie?

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Alright, I'll go first.

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Dear CSI: Miami writers:

Hi. I'm a big fan. I used to be a hardcore CSI:LV fan, but Miami caught my eye and I haven't been able to stay away since. I haven't seen every single episode yet, but I'm working on it. Give me time (or feel free to give me all the available seasons on DVD ;)).

Anyway, I'd like to talk to you about a few things. Some of it will be positive feedback, some of it will be constructive criticism, but keep in mind that all of it comes from a devoted fan.

Here it goes...

*ahem*

Ryan, Natalia, Valera, and Tripp are underutilized. These characters may not have "seniority" like Horatio, Calleigh and Eric, but we as fans have come to appreciate all that they can offer the show.

Please make an effort to focus a bit more on Ryan and Natalia out in the field. Eric and Calleigh have noticably more screen time and even though I love those characters to bits, I don't watch the show just for them. You don't have to portray Ryan and Natalia as shining angels with no faults, but don't let them fade into the background either. Let's see a lot more of them solving cases, making mistakes, making the right calls, making the wrong calls, everything!

Give Valera more screen time, at least one major storyline, and put her in the opening credits for goodness sakes. You're the only CSI show that doesn't have a labrat in there. Give Tripp more screen time as well. He's hilarious and you just don't use him to his full potential when you absolutely should! I don't know how you'd go about accomplishing that, but you're the writers... I'm sure you can figure it out.

Put Horatio back in the lab and into a lab coat. Not permanently! Don't get me wrong, I like him as the hovering hero that he's been lately, but I want him to do as much proper lab work as everyone else. Or perhaps a little less since he's saddled with more responsibilities as "their boss", but even so, I want to see more lab-coated Horatio!

Do not assume that all fans approve of Kyle working as an assistant to the M.E. Someone who has absolutely no medical training/experience and yet will be expected to work directly with evidence that they may (and very likely will) taint due to their inexperience never should have (and, in reality, never would have) been hired to that position in the first place. It's completely ridiculous and it's upsetting that you think I'd buy into this as a believable state of affairs.

I could go on, but there may be others who have something to say to you.

And again, I am a fan of the show. I'm gonna continue to tune in. I just think there's room for improvement.
Sincerely,


Ginnna
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OK, someone's gotta jump in and add to this... or I'm gonna feel like a real tool for creating a thread and being the only one to post in it! :hugegrin:

So, eh, have at it!
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Ginnna, it's great idea! I write later (cuz i have many thing to write about like\dislike in this show :rolleyes:)
 
Great thread idea, Ginnna.

I don't have too much right now, I'm going out of town in the morning. But, I'm sure I'll have some to say after I return. I agree with pretty much everything you said though, especially the part about Valera. The only thing I want to add right now is:

Please writers, don't treat the viewers like we're stupid. Don't pretend that certain things never happened (such as Ryan's OCD for example). Ryan had OCD and there is no way that someone with OCD is going to suck on their hand after cutting it on a nail at a murder scene (Smoke Gets In Your CSIs). That was just wrong. :lol: And I know it may be a small thing, but it bugged me to no end. :lol:
 
Very nice letter Ginna,I would actually say a lot of the same.
Ryan, Natalia, Valera, and Tripp are underutilized. These characters may not have "seniority" like Horatio, Calleigh and Eric, but we as fans have come to appreciate all that they can offer the show.

Please make an effort to focus a bit more on Ryan and Natalia out in the field. Eric and Calleigh have noticably more screen time and even though I love those characters to bits, I don't watch the show just for them. You don't have to portray Ryan and Natalia as shining angels with no faults, but don't let them fade into the background either. Let's see a lot more of them solving cases, making mistakes, making the right calls, making the wrong calls, everything!
Click to expand...
The only way we as the fans are able to see these characters grow and mature as CSI's is if they are seen on a more consistent basis.
I agree too that they don't need to be portrayed as angels,but don't demonize any of them so much that fans won't or can't connect with them.Ryan's character still suffers from mistakes he made in the 3rd and 4th season( even though I don't find them any worse than mistakes others have made,just human flaws and immaturity).It would be nice to continue to see all of them mature as they appear to be doing .
The human factor seems to be a good idea,the characters do have a life outside of the lab.Not that we always need to see that,but know that they go out,have hobbies,etc.This can be done by just mentioning something done outside of the work place, it doesnt really need to be incorperated into the episode.

Would also be nice not to have a revolving door when it comes to the lab staff,the new editions are popular and it would be nice to have them stick around.

It was good to see some follow up or continuity of earlier stories and problems.I had wondered if Ryan had gotten help for his gambling,if Delko was getting therapy,etc.,I assumed they did,so it was nice to get some confirmation.
Please writers, don't treat the viewers like we're stupid. Don't pretend that certain things never happened (such as Ryan's OCD for example). Ryan had OCD and there is no way that someone with OCD is going to suck on their hand after cutting it on a nail at a murder scene (Smoke Gets In Your CSIs).
Click to expand...
True also.This actually should be explored a little more.Fans would learn that this may be some of the reasons for some of his behavior, for instance some with OCD have addictive personalities.
 
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I want to know Why Natalia was the Mole in the first place.It would be a good storyline for her.

I do like E/C but please keep them as they are now.D/L has scared me to death about relationships on CSI shows but this one has been handled better.Keep it like that.

Thank you for stopping Horatio and Marisol as well as the Ryan/Eric /Natalia triangle.:thumbsup:
 
The one thing I really want to know is Ryan's family:). He only mentioned a niece and a uncle. We know everyone else's family backgrounds instead of Ryan. I hope they'll gives us a storyline about that or mentions more about his family because we never know how many siblings he has and his relationship towards his family.
 
Hello, I am a CSI and CSI Miami fan (I do not like the New York spinoff). I also think that "Ryan, Natalia, Valera, and Tripp are underutilized. These characters may not have "seniority" like Horatio, Calleigh and Eric, but we as fans have come to appreciate all that they can offer the show." as Ginnna said. About CSI Las Vegas, I want to know more about Langston, Riley,how Catherine feels in her new role and the labrats. Finally you could add a bit of humor sometimes, it makes the show more entretaining, and breaks tension moments.
PS: Please, tell us more about Ryan´s background, I know he has a niece, maybe you could give him a nephew too.
 
Is this real! Are you serious? WOW!:eek:

You know I've heard that writers read here and somehow, after things are said, they've picked up a few ideas. And I love it!

Okay, first: I luv you Corey Miller, Marc Dube and Krystal Houston (and the others I cant member right now)! You people take a simple bundle of 60 pages and help make it a big success.

There's so much things I adore about the show:
~biggest thing is E/C relationship (Eric and Calleigh). Nicely done bringing them together. Majority of fans over the world and on this board love it, but some don't, but you know what it's your choice to keep them together or not. But let me tell you it's best to keep them together because I'll get upset if you don't.

~I love all your crazy ideas! Miami was said to be the most fictional other than Vegas And New York, which is good when you play it the right way. That is, giving a story line that is very interesting and sometimes (more this season) personal stories that relate cases... all this without being too fake.

What I dislike?

This is actually for the tech people, not really the writers, but I'll say it anyway: the constant, constant, constant flashbacks in a flash before commercials and before the theme song. NO! It annoys me very much, you've writen the story well enough and probably don't want to annoy watchers by flashing scenes that've already passed. DOn't get me wrong on the flashback technique used to reveal how the killer killed, etc. Other than that complaint, I luv the lighting, and vibrant colours of Miami.

What I hope for?

Simple:more well-developed-knock-us-down-crazy stories, a nice slow, but not too slow Eric and Calleigh relationship (comprising of love, fights, etc) and Horatio speaking a bit faster. That's all.

Keep up the awesome work and I'll be watching till the series finale:thumbsup:
 
I suck at putting my thoughts in rational order, so I'll just be jumping back and forth as I think of things.

Dear CSI: Miami writers,

Please ask the costume people or whatever they're called to let Jonathan Togo wear t-shirts, or at least unbutton his shirts more... jeans would be nice too. Shirtless scenes? Hey us Ryan fans are all for it.

Seriously though, I'd love to see more Natalia (I think Eva LaRue is an amazing actress, you do not give her enough to show that off). Frank Tripp needs something every once in a while too. For hardly being seen, Frank is such a loveable character, and he's got a good personality going and all. He needs an episode to himself.

I would complain about how Ryan never gets any storyline's and when he does he's in trouble or has made some stupid mistake, but season 7 has been way better for him, and I'm hoping the upcoming episode is a good one, especially for him. Also, learning more about his family would be nice. This Uncle Ron seems like he could be a really good character, and we know Ryan has a niece who's probably a teenager now.

I'm fine with Kyle, since I guess he's a part of Horatio's life now. But please can we get rid of Julia already? Especially since Kyle isn't living with her anymore. Let's get rid of her and focus on the main characters more.

The Eric/Calleigh relationship. Good job, although may I just say, finally? As long as they aren't focused on too little or too much I think it'll be fine for people who don't particularly care about what happens with them.

Don't get rid of the new lab techs this season! Michael Travers is so awesome and everyone loves him. Don't let him disappear please. And if he does have to go, at least give us a reason. Jane Bartlett, she was cool and a little different for Miami (but I don't remember her in the last few episode... are we already too late?). And the newest guy, Dave Benton is awesome. We love them, keep them around!

I'm not too worried about Valera leaving, and although she's not in the opening credits she deserves to have an episode about her. In all of her time on Miami she's (sort of) had one episode where she did something other than give DNA results. Then again that one episode was half split with Natalia.

I love Horatio to bits, but Super H just needs to go. We all know Horatio is practically invincible, but it'd be nice to see him not so... invincible. I think having Kyle in his life might just bring this out, we'll see. He could talk a little faster too, but you know, that's sort of a Horatio Caine Trademark.

I think I'm done for now. :D
 
Dear Writers,

Thank you for improving the show in season 7, though I think there are still a lot of changes that could bring the show back to the greatness it had in earlier seasons.

Horatio's a wonderul character. But SuperH is not. Not every line Horatio says needs to be epic or remarkable. The Horatio from the early seasons was so likeable because he was real, and he felt real. Horatio doesn't feel real to me anymore. Horatio needs to talk faster and in dialogue that a normal human would use.

Keep Kyle. His influence on the show has been positive. And he's a cutie.

Eva LaRue needs more screentime. I don't see any reason why Eric, Calleigh, Ryan, and Natalia can't all be in the same room at the same time. Most of us really like Natalia and we want to see more of her.

Eric/Calleigh romance. I won't ask you to throw it out (though I'm sorely tempted), but if you're going to put romantic scenes in, make them relavent to the case/storyline. No silly daydreams that add nothing to the story!

Get rid of Julia. Permanently. Her character's time was up after "Raising Caine."

Color is cool. It is a trademark of Miami (now, anyway), but could we tone it down just a little? It can be somewhat overwhelming.

Let's wait a good long while before any gang, human trafficking, airplane-crashing-in-a-field storylines are used again.

Horatio does not need to be the hero of every episode. Give the other characters a chance to shine.

Give Frank more screentime and at least one episode focusing on him. While New York is my least favorite spin off, I do think they do a good job of giving lots of different characters storylines. This needs to be done on Miami. Frank mentioned having kids a while back. Why can't we meet them?

Finally, we want to see the team interacting together. Whether this be on the job, or (*crosses fingers*) off the job, we want to see them all talking in the same vicinity.

I think that's about it. I feel like I just got a weight off my chest. :lol: Thanks for the thread, Ginna!
 
MaddyAnn, I agree with nearly everything you said!

Though, personally, I am rather fond of Super H, it would be a relief to see him portrayed as a human being again. I just don't know whether or not they can make that transition. They've worked so hard to put him up on a pedestal, a really sturdy one at that, so it'll be a chore and half to bring him back down. And even if they don't turn him back into regular ol' Horatio, they should tone down the mega-intensity of his every utterance. Not everything he says is profound or earth-shattering and needn't be portrayed as such.

Yes! More Eva LaRue! More of those 4 together (or even the 4 of them plus Horatio)! Like you said, more team work and team interaction in general. We'd love that, writers, we really would.

I don't want the E/C romance thrown out at all, but I do agree that we don't need any more "daydream sequences". It made some of the shippers squeal with delight but it was reeeeeeeally out of place.

Yes, Julia can go. No, we don't want any recycled plots for a while, please! Yes, we like color, but we needn't be blinded by it. Hooray Frank!

And yes, I would love to see one of the other CSIs, especially Natalia or Ryan, be a hero instead of H. He could stand off to the side with a "good job" smile while wearing his Sunglasses of Justice and posing akimbo, but only out of pride, not because he saved the day or got the confession yet again.

Can't say that I agree with you about Kyle... I've despise the character from the first time we all got to "meet" him... but it's not too big of a deal that he exists in the series, so I wouldn't insist on his departure. I just cannot stand him being an assistant to the M.E. when he has absolutely no medical training/experience. Sorry... it just annoys me to no end.

You're welcome for the thread. Actually, I was inspired to start it because I saw that the CSI:NY has one and figured we should get one too. :D
 
Wow, good thinking on creating this thread Ginnna. I've read everyone's post so far and some I agree with, other's not so much. But then that's to be expected, everyone has different opinions.

Anyway...

Firstly, kudos to the cast and crew for keeping the show fresh and exciting for 7 seasons. There is a huge amount of effort that goes into making a spin-off as good as the original and I have to say, Miami is even better then Vegas. :D The lighting, setting etc. are always flawless and really makes the colours of Miami pop.
The music is also well chosen and can really make a scene at times.
However, the costume can be a bit...OTT at times. For e.g. the entire cast wearing the same colour in one episode. I can't remember the episode but there was one in which each main character was either wearing a pink or orange coloured shirt/ item of clothing. I've noticed the similarity in cotumes before and it can be ridiculous at times, but it's gotten much better these last episodes in terms of diversity!
So, none of the above is really for the writers but ohwell.

To the writers,
I have to say, throughout the entire 7 seasons, there has only been a few rare episodes in which I felt the plot was predictable or unoriginal and that's a huge achievement. The storylines are generally orignal and keep the audience on their toes the entire episode. Even when the storylines are slightly over-dramatic, they're still exciting to watch!

I agree with everyone that has already mentioned the issue with not utlizing all main characters. Ryan has had a few storylines, e.g. the nail, being fired, gambling etc. but never anything as big as Calleigh, Horatio or Eric. It'd be nice to see more of Ryan, which we will in the upcoming episodes but lets hope this isn't a once off. Jonathan Togo is an outstanding actor and I think deserves more screen time!
As for Natalia, we rarely see her for more then ten minutes in an episode these days! It's quite sad. When she came into the show, there was a lot of hype and intrigue around her character but that slowly faded. She has seemed to fade into the background. It'd be great to see a Natalia centric episode and I hope we get this in future!
Frank is another, fantastic character who is widely under-used. His quick witted one-liners are hilarious and always give some comic relief to the seriousness of the scenes he is in. I'd love to see more of Frank, an entire storyline might be a bit much but, more Frank one-liners would be nice!
And finally, Valera, honestly, I don't miss her. She was always a part of the background and I think that suits her. She can be sometimes, irritating to watch and I think a big storyline with her would be drab!

I thought of another character I miss and think should make another appearance soon; Calleigh's father. It would have been the perfect opportunity to bring him in to be at Calleigh's bedside when she was in hospital. However, it'd be nice to see Duke in a future episode soon!

Now to the controversial Eric/Calleigh relationship. I won't go into too much detail because I respect people who like this coupling. Personally, I don't. I agree with people above whom disliked the daydreaming. It was out of place and quite ridiculous as it served no purpose whatsoever. If Eric and Calleigh remain a couple, please, don't go over the top with their relationship. Calleigh was always strict with separating personal and professional life and I would think it should stay that way. The show has always dealt with any relationship within the lab very well by keeping it subtle and that's how the E/C relationship should be too.

As for Kyle, I've yet to decide whether or not I like him. He seems to be a bit forced into the plot of episodes and almost, pushed upon the audience. I agree that his new position in the ME's office is unrealistic. Even though it is an internship, he should not be in such close proximity to important evidence when he does not know how to handle it correctly.

I have to say though, I salute the writers for Tara Price's character. With Khandi's character, Alexx Woods being such a beloved part of the CSI team, I was wary of how the new ME would fit into the team. So far, I really like her, granted I miss Alexx and how she spoke with the DB's but Tara is a very likeable character and very different to Alexx which is good. Trying to make her like Alexx would have been a mistake so I'm happy to see that didn't happen.

I don't really have much to say about Horatio, he's the same as he always has been and I'll always love his character. I'd love to see a bit more humour from him though. He was quite funny and more laid back in season 1 and even 2 but now, he doesn't seem to smile much anymore! I also, love Super H but it is a little unrealistic at times, it'd be nice to see the human side of him. The side that has flaws, it doesn't have to be a major flaw! :p

I think I've covered everything I can think to say. I guess, the last thing is; keep up the good work! If it weren't for the writers, we'd have no show! Here's hoping, Miami is around for another few seasons, at least! xD
 
I forgot to say that I want Yelina back.She is the only one that makes Horatio human,IMO.Even if she continues to be recurring , to at least have a decent storyline.

But overall,I agree that the show is doing remarkably well for being in their 7 th season.
 
E/C - Thank you so much for putting them together and ending the will they/won’t they nonsense. As a fan who loves this storyline I beg you please for once DON’T take a rule out of the TV relationship rule book and do the “I love you/I hate you” drama or the “make up to break up to make up again crap”. Keep them together through thick and thin. Since you went there with the friends turned to lovers (THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU) how about being original and keeping it real by showing that because of that friendship these two are in it for the long haul and their romantic relationship will stand the test of time (including everyone finding out). Please don’t break our hearts by having one of them do something they would never do as a stupid excuse to break these two up. Repercussions aside can we please for once see a stable, caring, loving romantic relationship, friendship, partnership that can be sustained between to main characters? You’ve done so well…please keep it going. That would be awesome.

Also, for those that aren’t that into this couple, please keep doing what you’ve been doing with the E/C scenes. No more, no less. A quick kiss here, a light caress there, you know just a hint every few episodes that my favorite couple is still a couple and will remain a couple many seasons from now…or even as long as the show is on…hint…hint…hint.

Finally…please, please, please don’t ever do another daydream again. While it was slipped into the storyline pretty well considering you’ve never done this before...the fact is you’ve never done this before and for someone who loves the couple, it was well…you know…silly. I'll chalk it up to the bullet in Eric's head but please...for the sake of us all...no more daydreams.

Ryan/Natalia – For the fans that love these two how about giving them some more story lines. Show their human sides as well. These are the characters that are part of the team and while I’m a die hard E/C fan all the way I love it when you come out of the blue and make me forget all about E/C when Ryan or Natalia are having a crises and the focus is on them for once. How about bringing them back from the fringes and giving them more to work with.

Horatio – Ok, please bring back our beloved Horatio. You know the one that cares about his team and doesn’t hang in the background as someone who doesn’t want to get too close. It’s time to let the man reconnect and reengage with all the members of his team. ]

Frank Tripp – Come one will you give this great character a storyline already. He can do more than rip the bad guys and act like a bull in a china closet. How about showing us the love the crime lab team has for this guy by having them go to bat for him when he really needs them.

Julia - Please do something with this woman. Have her move to Timbuktu. Enough said on that subject

Thanks so much writers for a wonderful show that is entertaining and fun to watch.
 
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