Crappage. Imma just sittin here, shakin mah head. What a bland season it's been so far, overall. :vulcan:
(Hill, I luvs ya. But. Just about every ep I've been waiting for something that would lead me to agree with you, something that illustrates why you'd suggest that this is the season that's gonna lead the series into it's Golden Age, with how fantastic the writing is. We're half way thru now, and I might say "...just cos the producers are putting lotsa effort into making the show glitter...")
Still. Mebbe I just been away from the boards for too long. But I guess I'm always a lil surprised at some of the high average grades eppies get. Evs. Everyone likes what they like.
This eppie? I found it incredibly hard to take seriously. I mean - and here I burst out laughing all over again as it recaps in my head.
The early going especially sampled Miamiesque territory, but without the weighty gravitas attached that NY's shaded counterparts specialize in to ensure everyone knows what their weekly stakes are. NY does specialize in extended sequences of producers trying to Establish while sexing it up and/or tossing in shinies; but there often is an under current of awareness, a wink at itself. I think the Roller Derby ep was an example of that. It was harder to discern in this one.
Long Live the LFL. Go Lingerie Football. The opening was like a bad version of a Fox broadcast; that along with the premise itself of the potential existence of an LFL enterprise in an anything that turns a profit world, I couldn't tell if they were really spoofing, or thought themselves clever, if there was substance enough within the show's realm to call it actual additional commentary, if that makes any sense. Think Starship Troopers. I'd love to be able to give them credit. The intention may have been there. If it was it didn't fully translate. They may have been laughing their asses off in the making of it, it woulda been fun and funny, but the episode seemed to take itself quite seriously, and perhaps rightly so; given the territory the plot eventually ventured into, it likely wouldn't have worked any other way. Sometimes it sucks to hafta be your own straight man, I guess, if one can't really read the result for all the trouble. I can't tell if they went to any, of that sort. Mebbe it was indeed just supposed to be possible and nothing more. I was left rather on the outside for the duration of the journey though. I simply was not drawn in by a shiny shell game cos I ultimately wasn't invested in the players or what was to be uncovered.
The teaser came across as someone's pipe dream. Girls, lingerie, football. All that was missing was the mudpit center-field and a showering rain, tho I suppose the locker room party after the fact with champage spraying fit there. Not to mention the design of the uh, uniforms looked like a catalogue of hockey helmets, golfing gloves and oddly polynylon pseudo bikinis. Woulda been even more entertainingly pointed had every inch of the tiny tops and bottoms been covered with a multitude of crammed in sponsors' logos. Each player's bio looked like a cross between a playing card and a pin up, which, I suppose, was the point. Or a point.
So. After alla that set up, one of the young, nubile stars heads to take a soak to ease those hardworking sexy muscles, and duh duh dunnnnn... One can only hope that in addition to trying to catch the eye of a certain demographic target, that another point of all the erm, fluffer build up, so to speak, was that it be countered and contrasted with what could only have been intended as the Shockingly Horrible Reveal, of one of the sexy lingerie football stars, very dead and very unglamorous. Teaser/thwart, ooo, dastardly.
(Oh,
golly, NY. No one does it like
you...
) Gotta say. By the first break, what is that, 90 seconds in?, I was happy to see Sid, but left more than a little wry, dry humoured, and bemusedly wishing there would be a "B" case to help sustain the ep, and certainly wasn't really intrigued or wondering what had befallen the victim in this case.
As the ep moved on, I marvelled at the unexpected mentions of Michigan and Boston, illustrating there is indeed a wider world out there. Seriously.
I was delighted to see a case personal to Sid, to see him allowed out of his box free to roam the city and partake in Lingerie Football. And I was wondering where Adam was. Cos, let's face it. With the rotation Adam, Sid, and Lindsay are cycled on, it's the first two I'm interested in seeing. I suppose I also thought that given the tone and premise of the story, that there could have been some good Rosco moments. The first time Lindsay made an appearance, I wondered if she only gets scenes with Danny now. Sadly, no, that was answered later, she did in fact mingle. Alas. Whaddaya do.
There was more drawn out, missing badge related stuff and nonsense, blah.
. And hullo Wonder Boy Hawkes, I hope someday you once again get randomly fun scenes, and more to do in episodes, even and especially ones that aren't centered on stories written to highlight you.
Mallets made their return with a rather labored exposition on Lidocaine as a method of murder. Very. Heavy. Mallets. Really wants ta spell it "Lydocaine." Dunno why. Will disavow all following related spelling errors.
Every week I notice this, I cannae help it: the show annoyingly continues to use sound fx on cuts and inserts. Or, the show continues to use sound fx on cuts and inserts in an annoying fashion. Sirens, walla walla, telephones and traffic, dopplar car horns. Every freakin ep. Could there be some other way to establish a signature and style. Plz work on dat. Perty plz. :censored: It's like noticing a tap dripping. One you can't reach. </peeve>
At some point someone said in gravely vexed strains, "...everything we discover only leads to more questions!" Eh, wha? It'd only been about twelve minutes in. But, yah, I agree that by then it did feel it had been a whole lot longer...
Which was slightly alleviated - ...by more Sid time, yay!
Next commercial break. And more fx on cuts. Oh. And another !Montage. Meh. Wuz thumb twiddling. Then. Oh hey! Hiya Stella. A rare scene for you. How U bin. Livin' large and embracing life and taking risks and all that the writers suggested was in store for you this season? Just playing catch and release and catch with home invaders and taking down random, close, long-time, duplicitous friends who occupy positions of civil and legal authority for murder by radio and cover up via snow plow. Oh. Um. Well. Good to see ya again anyways.
. And not so much Flack yet this ep. Well, mebbe there's more to come. Bland bland eppie.
And here we go. Interrogation scene of whassername, quarterback Meredith, and Mac. And here again I found the whole thing very very hard to take seriously. And I felt the show wanted us to take at least the scene seriously, to at least believe that all the characters took their encounter with the Lingerie League seriously, or the mystery and the motives would be shot. Problem, I simply couldn't take it all seriously. And in an interrogation scene, something designed to focus plot and points, to prove or bait, or bait and switch, usually with some degree of momentum and intensity, usually epitomized by an in yer face Flack or scowling Mac, I couldn't see how any of the actors could keep a straight face. I'd love to see the outtakes.
Ack. Flack in that stupid jacket again. I'm sorry. Actually, I'm not sorry. I noted this in earlier eps too. It's like some of the delineating aspects of certain characters are being fuzzed, traits are blurring, and a certain interchangeable utility is settling in. Flack's fugly ties were a fun quirk of his character. I'd hate to see them disappear forever and ever. This jacket, that's gonna be his "thing" now? Pfft. Messer's and Adam's accessories are fun aspects and also specific to them. Mac has his lapel pin. Losing his ties was a good thing, especially cos Stella helped him take it off and stuff it in his pocket. If they dare to straighten Stella's hair gad help us all. Danny's dog tags are a plot point now, fer chrissakes. And yet, seeing Danny and Adam like bearded lost brothers, or Flack apparently scouring Messer's closet for a jacket is not so interesting to me. (How and why Danno might be giving Flack the clothes off his back, well, that's perhaps a different story...
) I get evolution in looks and style for the characters. Aside from Messer's Recovery Beard tho, it feels a tad haphazard at best. </mini-rant, missing certain glasses and associated personality and certain ties tho loving a casual certain tall, dark detective, and not loving his current jacket wardrobe have apparently selected at random on his behalf>
More annoying fx on cuts.
And we got another appearance by Lindsay. This time with Mac, ...and my immediate inner wince knowing they were about to embark on a Plot Development Wif Forensics Corridor Speed Walkie/Talkie was, "...crap, she's gonna be "cute," isn't she." And yep, it's like they can't think of anything else to do with her. Off on your nano paint chase then, it's been a joy, as always. Bleh.
A vaguely amusing moment, Flack and Mac, "Want more bad news?" / "Why not, you're on a roll..." Aside from Sid, one of the few things that made me perk up a bit this ep.
Onto the pawn shop. And, voila, all the multi-ep time devoted to angsting about the stolen badge etc and as yet un-reported status of it, is finally given a new direction with an Uber-Coinkidinkage, Messer's signature dog tags have turned up. In dat dere very same shop of thousands in NYC. Yeah, I know! Amazing! Right? Whoa. Freaky. Lucky bastard, eh? Phew. Good thing the perp pawned them, instead of having a garage sale. Then they'd *never* have found them, and we'd never have had the foreshadowing of something bigger and more important than any of us dared to suspect. Cos, heh, we all thought, hey, it's just Danny, being Danny again, kinda screwing up, like, when his gun was stolen, 'member? right from his own place, by a woman he was having Sumthin wif, which was then nearly used in a homicide. But, now, now we knowz there's Something Larger at Worklike, and it's not all his fault dis time, not about some growth for him, in will I or won't I do the right 'ting, and face and fess up - Ok, alright. Sorry. Kinda. But. C'mon. I sez: bleh. </coincidence as plot pivot saturation>
Linds: "Hey, Stel." Yeah, best buds now, right? Solidarity. Bleh. I must be cranky. I was really uinimpressed by the ep by this point. It wasn't mindlessly entertaining like the tricked out house ep was, it wasn't plugged back into the city like the second of the Compass Killer trilogy was. It wasn't a particularly engaging mystery of a character I could say I gave a damn about, not even thru Sid and the other grieving mother. Fluf Lite. Pure and Simple. And feeling a bit of a waste of time.
Reappearance of Chelsea University. Again. Well, I suppose they are on an island, after all...
Oh, Twizt, Home Hardware Cosmetic Surgery. For those with poor body image, insecure misplaced not so discerning taste on a budget, inverse trust issues, an inexplicable dislike of sterile surroundings for medical procedures, oh, and a desire to scale the ranks of the LFL as a chosen career path in da Big City.
Something a bit darker did emerge for that direction. I was pleased to sit up a bit upon noticing a change of tone, more sombre inserts and cuts and tracks; actually, a nice change in pace. Thanks for at least attempting some dynamics. Appreciated.
Oh, hullo old friend, why, if it isn't Virtual Autopsy revisted. They've been reasonably restrained, gotta admit.
Uh ohz. An ebil plaztic surgeon and lydocaine. I mean, lidocaine. And I can't help thinking of Steve Martin alluva sudden. That was Novocaine tho. But he was a dentist...
...but, it turned out, Alan Greenway is no Steve Martin. Quick. Add percussion. Run fast. Add a few strings. Stir lightly and you have yerself a Chase Sequence. Well. That wuz exciting.
Quick pan shot thru the precinct, and an old fashioned phone ring to boot. For some reason I am dryly amused.
Interrogation Pop Quiz: What's worse than murder?
And the ep ended as it sorta began, cyclical Sid, with Mrs. Baldwin, I think her name was. Sweet, and then nudged into a wee bit saccharine between them. But evs. Just happy to see Sid get some material. And Bob Joy doesn't overplay it at all. All done and concluded, wif time to spare, too. Why. Oooooh. Righty. Messer's dog tags. And a print.
...Shane Casey.
Shane Casey? Yep. ...Shane Casey. They're gonna do it, gonna go dere.
And part of me simply sighs and shakes my head.
I can understand why some people are happy about this potential development, should the character actually make a true and substantial return. I do think he was one of the better bad guys the series has ever had. It feels, however, a little easy and a tad cheap to retread an old villain for the sake of a nemesis, one the whole team can rally against even if seems they may make it a story a bit more specific to Messer this time around. (Aussie accent and dread: "...Not the baby, nooOOOooo...")
I'd rather they manage to write up new and interesting antagonists, forces and menaces. I guess they tried with the Compass Killer, but that certainly wasn't the most engaging arc the show's managed. Part of me would say Let It Be what it was, an exemplary outing for the series, and build upon that
standard with something further innovative and new. I'm a teeny bit disappointed, if still surprised (never saw it coming), and rather wary, to be honest. It's not quite the same thing as bringing a character like Pino back (which I thought was indeed well done). I mean, they couldn't even follow up with Dun- ...crap. Um. Dun-mar? Dunham? Whassiname, Craig T. Nelson dude's character? Dunbrooke. Christ. That woulda bugged me.
He was at least unresolved and a strong and rather complicated adversary. Whatev. Hoping it's done well, whatever it's to be. I'm pacing rather than revelling and eagerly awaiting, let's say. Mebbe the idea will grow on me. Color me unimpressed at this point by the notion tho.
As for the final scene with Sid and Mac. I actually didn't mind it. Actually, I liked it. That's right, you heard meh.
As often as he may exasperate me, I like Mac. And I luvs Sid. Cheez? Sure. And yet, in context, not nearly so bad as other moments we've been saddled with, from group dinners proving everyone's fine and a true team, to dressing up in stripey scarves and handing out xmas presents, to just about each and every moment of DL and Lucy. In any other context, playing catch with a football given as a gift in circumstances such as that might seem a tad odd. Given the surface fluff the whole ep consisted of, it wasn't something that stirred any inner bile for me. I just wasn't that engaged by the story to be put off by it. The button pushing was a little mallet heavy, and the ep wasn't anywhere near deep enough for me to be offended.
I rather liked that Sid was (curiously) a fan of Lingerie Football. I liked that he can throw a ball like there's yet even more of his background it would be fun to know about. I like that he was in fact teasing Mac and poking him a bit, with "...Go long. Go long, Mac. Go on now. Come on, go long..." And I have always liked the dynamic between the two men, guys I can believe have been friends and colleagues for years. I think the scene really couldn't have been possible in any other combo. It would have been hugely funny had Sid beaned a Uniform by accident, or had Mac gone long into a manhole or found himself rolling over the hood of a squad car into a snow bank upon catching the ball. But I actually liked the scene.
Overall, an average ep for NY, but I think NY's average is slipping to a lower standard than I'd really like. (Go long, guys. Go long. Go on...) This ep, however, call it a C-.
Unmemorable. The only thing I'll likely recall from it down the road is that a pipe dream made it to a network episode, that I was irritated by Lindsay again, that Flack got exasperated by Messer, a state I've been in for some time and therefore was happy to see a character in the same state, that Sid actually had a decent ep, but still not enough material to dig into, and that Sid and Mac somehow managed to toss a football on a Manhattan street without hitting anyone, running into anyone, or for that matter, someone else stealing the ball or otherwise losing it in traffic, and that the best lightbulb the producers look to be showcasing for the second half of the season is to foreshadow the potential return of an old villain for the apparent lack of any better ideas.
Evs. Same old same old. And even that sure ain't what it used to be.
