Grade 'The Party's Over'

[AbbyD]

My overall reaction was WTF? :wtf:

With a single sentence they've rewritten Danny's entire backstory.

Sloppy work from start to finish. Sloppy writing when you can't remember the history you've developed for a character. Sloppy Directing when you let such an eye popping zinger past you. And Sloppy Producing when you let a single sentence forever change a character to which you've devoted 5 years.

Added to that, the entire concept that it is Danny who got the Blue Flu just doesn't fly. It just felt wrong, wrong, wrong.

If it had been Flack, that would have at least made sense. As an audience, we KNOW he comes from a cop family, we could understand how it would be a hard decision for him to make. When he finally shows up for 2 seconds he looks haggard and unhappy about the situation.

Who was that desk sargent, BTW? I liked him. He'd make a nice occasional addition.

Hands down, Adam was the saving grace of this episode. Without him, it would have been just a sad jumble of incomprehensible nonsense.

Hawkes was excellent as usual.

I can see both sides in the Blue Flu/No Blue Flu debate. But I have to say it never ceases to amaze me that the public thinks its just A-OK for cops, firefighters and teachers to work for low pay, no pay, reduced pay, stopped pay, etc.

 

[kkennedytx]

Anyone else wonder how the CLIP from the kid's tie made that mark? I would *think* that he would have held one end in each hand - one end has the clip. Even if he held the two ends that hang down, the clip should not have been against the man's throat (not without fabric between the clip and the skin). DUH! Or did I misunderstand that whole thing (yes, I know, it's what finally linked him to it, but c'mon.....)

I may be mis-remembering it, but I thought the boy had jumped up from the couch onto his dad's back and was pulling on the shirt, which pulled the tie and clip up tight against the dad's neck, thus strangling him. When he dropped to the floor dead, the boy rolled his dad into the prepared balloon pile and then picked up the tie off the floor--I think he was wearing the tie when Adam first found him hiding in the metal storage closet.

 

[fm62]

Too much story, too little time, it just seemed all thrown together. Adam was excellent in this episode, but why did Mac and Stella seem surprised at his background, he has mentioned it a couple of times before.

Did Carmine steal Eddie's script, family of cops indeed. Did poor Eddie spend all day looking for his script and showed up too late to record most of his scenes.

If Hawkes and Stella were mad at Danny, why did they take it out on Lindsay? I could have kicked Hawkes, Danny has the right to make his own decisions, using his own morals. It wasn't OOC for Danny to stick with 'the blue line', i'm sure Flack would have struggled with this decision too.

Ok, i'm not American, but I just don't understand the pay gap thing. You work now and maybe you get paid for it sometime in the future. Seems strange, does this really happen? How do you pay your rent / mortgage in the meantime?

And please, please, stop with the SuperMac nonsense.

 

[FlackFan01]

Anyone else wonder how the CLIP from the kid's tie made that mark? I would *think* that he would have held one end in each hand - one end has the clip. Even if he held the two ends that hang down, the clip should not have been against the man's throat (not without fabric between the clip and the skin). DUH! Or did I misunderstand that whole thing (yes, I know, it's what finally linked him to it, but c'mon.....)

I may be mis-remembering it, but I thought the boy had jumped up from the couch onto his dad's back and was pulling on the shirt, which pulled the tie and clip up tight against the dad's neck, thus strangling him. When he dropped to the floor dead, the boy rolled his dad into the prepared balloon pile and then picked up the tie off the floor--I think he was wearing the tie when Adam first found him hiding in the metal storage closet.

What you're saying makes sense if it was the father's tie that did the job. For some reason, I thought it was the boy's toe. The boy's tie had that funky stuff on it that ended up on Adam's iPod and on the father's neck. If I remember, the boy spilled a drop of soda on his tie, then wiped it, then touched the iPod, so that's what makes me think it was the boy's tie. Then again, the funky stuff coulda been on the shirt that the father was wearing (anti-stain stuff coulda been on the tux shirt).

Did I just confuse you even more?!

 

[texmex327]

I gave the episode an A

Things I liked:

~Adam's performance. He broke my heart, especially when I saw his tears. He did a great job. He was so sympathetic to the little boy.

~Mac in a tux. Need I say more :drool:

~Stella working in a fancy dress and heels. Hey if she can do it then so can I. :lol:

~Can I order a fireman out of his clothes too? :lol:

~How exactly does Sid know who Stella is seeing, did Mac tell her?

~Hawkes is so devoted to his job.

Things I didn't like:

~Flack & Danny were in the episode for like two seconds :scream:

~I really wanted Stella to lay into Danny, I would have gotten a kick out of that.

~Mac's boss (whatever her name is) taking a $20,000,000 check for the NYPD...that's not gonna sit well with him.

~Danny leaving a crime scene, I guess I get where he's coming from but Hawkes did have a point. He's got a kid on the way, you need money. Money doesn't grow on trees or does it?

Ok, I am done now.

 

[Top41]

C+

The story was so-so, but the character assassination/ret-con of Danny was the real crime here. Since when is he from a family of cops?? As others have said, that's Flack's backstory, not Danny's. It's Carmine's, but it's getting kind of tiring how close Danny is coming to Carmine. I liked the nerdy little geek with the glasses and the tough background. Now he's got no glasses and apparently comes from a family of cops. It's funny--it's usually crazy fans who mix up the characters and the actors, but in this case it's really the writers.

Ultimately, the blue flu should have been worked into another story and affected the characters in some other way than having Danny uncharacteristically abandon his job and his co-workers and make this stand. He looks like a huge dick for leaving work while his pregnant girlfriend is still working away, too. Way not impressed with Danny in this episode.

A better way to do the story would have to see Flack under pressure to call in and resisting that pressure, because it's not something Flack would do. I'd rather see a dilemma that was in character than a rash move written in just to make waves that is totally out of character.

Okay, rant over. Adam was really the best thing about this episode--I like how he reached out to and connected with the boy and then had to get the kid to confess to murder. That was obviously really hard for him, and I love that we got to see him struggle with that.

I don't know that I buy that an independent newspaper owner could just bail out the NYPD, but eh, Nelson was good so I guess we'll see where it goes.

 

[xfcanadian]

Danny said family of cops NOT immediate family. Plus the reason Mac was advised against hiring Danny was because of his own background, not his families. I see nothing here that contradicts the continuing storyline.

Whatever, Danny was in the eppy for 2 secs, plus he is my least fave character so it really doesn't have that much of an impact for me with the story.

Gave the eppy an A+! Great story, i love NY's style of setting up storylines. You know that cheque written will come back to haunt the NYPD.

Love the Adam storyline, was very emotional and well done. Loved Hawkes in this one to, the expression he gave Danny was priceless. The case was really good too.

 

[AbbyD]

C+

The story was so-so, but the character assassination/ret-con of Danny was the real crime here. Since when is he from a family of cops?? As others have said, that's Flack's backstory, not Danny's. It's Carmine's, but it's getting kind of tiring how close Danny is coming to Carmine. I liked the nerdy little geek with the glasses and the tough background. Now he's got no glasses and apparently comes from a family of cops. It's funny--it's usually crazy fans who mix up the characters and the actors, but in this case it's really the writers.

I so agree that the merging of Danny and Carmine is getting out of control. The profession is called "acting". We know Carmine can do it. We've seen him!

I can't escape the conclusion that the D/L baby crap has been so mishandled that TPTB felt that they had to "pay off" Carmine in some way.

Though I fail to see how it is to Carmine's advantage to slaughter the character which earned him main stream recognition. Now, it seems that there is very little Danny left, and in his place we have Carmine "pretending" (ha! AB's word!) to be Danny, but not really "pretending" because now Danny is just like Carmine, only a little sad and lifeless.

A sad choice for a talented actor.

 

[PerfectAnomaly]

Danny said family of cops NOT immediate family. Plus the reason Mac was advised against hiring Danny was because of his own background, not his families. I see nothing here that contradicts the continuing storyline.

Danny's original bio said he came from a "family under surveilance." That didn't specifically indicate just his immediate family either. And if Danny was just talking about cops in general you'd think he'd say we come from a family of cops since Stella is also a cop.

Also, Danny has never been in trouble prior to OTJ that anyone is aware of so why would people advise Mac not to hire him because of his background specifically? His background includes who his family is and what kind of people they are. TPTB has completely rewritten his entire backstory and therefore nullified everything the audience knows about his motivations and emotional reasons for his actions with one sentence and that is just unacceptable to me.

 

[electra]

I agree with everyone that Adam was the best part of the episode.I wanted to give him a hug at the end too.AJ is a really good actor and I feel with him.

Stella is like the rock of the team to me.She understood Adam and told Danny what I wanted to tell him.She can be tough in one scene and compassionate in the other.Melina rocks:thumbsup:

In respect to Danny,he can now move to Montana with lindsay.He bores me to no end now.Is a shame becouse Carmine is a fantastic actor.

 

[Ghawazee]

I am between a D and F :vulcan:

Finally i watched it and it was far for being a delight to me:cardie: I feel there were a huge set of mini storylines but none one in particular which distraughted me.
Yes, The Deputy Mayor was killed but the solution of the case itself, kid's drama, Robert Dunsbrook's introduction, Gillian's farewell vulcan, Danny's errr.....situation and Stella's bad taste for men have become this one into the second less wanted episode (for me of course) after 5.09. And that's a lot to say!:wtf:

The Blue Flu---> sorry but i didn't believe it was for conviction Danny got the "Blueflu". Or at least i didn't feel it was. But i DO believe is quite unproffesional to be in the crime scene and to leave it. I think it was, flankly stupid and later risking a case just because he wasn't there. Also where does the "family cops" come from?
Because you can bet it's NOT Danny's storyline, but Donnie's
So i have certain hipothesis about this:
*either the writer forgot to read a summary for every season
*or producers are tired of people asking for Louie so they have decided to change Danny's background
*or just they made it because they can w/o any other explanation:wtf:

well whatever was the reason it didn't fit Danny. Sorry:vulcan: (But i did like the final scene with Hawkes):bolian:

Adam---> See? i DID know he was going to be a prominent character in this episode:thumbsup: He b*r*o*k*e my heart. i wish we can watch a great storyline related to his father this season or the next one. I know it will be priceless. It's obvious he identified himself in that kid and he couldn't believe he was the killer because little Adam never could have done that. I LOVE him and how he talked with the kid at the end and how worried Stella was for him. Yes, Mac knows him but Stella feels Adam in a different way because she knew he was going to be so affected.

Dunsbrook---> Ahhhhhhh Craig, it's always a pleasure to have you on my screen:bolian: you will always be my fav spooky daddy on tv (after Poltergeist of course:lol i'm afraid he will be so closed to destroy Mac's career:wtf: I didn't like he gave him the check to Mac in that place.:wtf: "Dangerous" is a tiny word to describe it

Gillian-->Sinceresly Thanks God she left! Mac talking to her as he use to Stella:scream: SHowing how great cop she is:scream: Thanks but not thanks. If every time we have a new "special guest star" Stella looses spaces that belong to her THANKS again but NOT!:scream: It already happened with Peyton.
And i am not talking about screentime:scream: Stella had her scenes here but to be replaced by a movie star having conversations (working conversations) with Mac, i won't buy it and i won't accept it:scream: If something i enjoy from S/M relationship is the way they communicate.

Unfortunately this season their communication set is not working AT ALL:vulcan:. And of course i am telling this as a shipper and as a Stella (HUGE) fan

Fireman---> i didn't find any cuteness on the fireman:angryrazz: so i feel insulted as Smacked fan. The "Fix your tie" thing belong to Mac and Stella's legend even if they are not canon yet. Also they tried to create chemistry where there wasn't:angryrazz: any. Definitely it is NOT Stella's type (actually the fireman is the good version of Frankie:vulcan. Besides i don't understand a thing: why is Mac going to be there with Gillian (aparently) he didn't call her and called Stella instead . ZERO CHEMISTRY. NADA. NIENTE. NOTHING. Is it quite clear dear TPTB?:angryrazz:

Sid--> i love you . Your deserve your own show "Creepy Gossip M.E":guffaw: his eyes were out of place when he saw Stella in that short dress:lol::lol::lol: pity you mentioned her date with "He-NIT":scream:


Adam and Sid--> i rescue them

for the first time i will put Mac and Stella on the"accused chair":wtf:

Danny was being just...Danny (after the nonsense)
Lindsay was ok supporting Danny's decitions...of course if he leaves a crime scene she will agree I am starting to think they are really made for each other:wtf:

 

[La_Guera]

I apologize in advance if this review is largely incoherent, but such are the lingering effects of the minor head trauma I suffered because of chronic headdesking during last night's episode. I just...I can't make excuses for the show anymore. After five years, the characters' histories should be set in stone. And yet, five years on, the writers are still retconning those histories prove inconvenient to the plot of the moment.

Danny comes from a family of cops? Since when? I'm fairly certain that Danny told Flack in SI that his family was often watched by the Feds as a kid, a fact which implies involvement in criminal activity. Now, it's possible that Danny came from a family of corrupt cops, which would be a riveting story, but if that were true, then the PD never would've hired Danny in the first place. If it were true that Danny came from a family of good cops, then PD Brass would not have advised Mac against hiring him. In fact, they would've touted his pedigree to the skies and waxed rhapsodic about the great legacies of the department. Not only that, but one would think that Sonny Sassone might've used that as a needling point against Mac in "Tanglewood."

And if Danny did come from a family of cops, then he managed to dishonor them by forsaking his sworn duty and jaking it until he got paid. Yes, I know that police offers are unforgivably underpaid and hideously overworked, and it's not fair. But Danny's decision to not come to work got a case thrown out and put a criminal back on the streets. Mac, who was also a sworn officer of the NYPD(so stick it up your ass, Lindsay), came to work. So did Stella. So did Flack, and he's the biggest badge baby on the show. Danny wasn't standing behind his convictions; he was throwing a temper tantrum because he didn't feel "respected". He said as much to Pod!Stella when she turned up at his apartment. Needy Danny was willing to subject the citizenry to the elevated risk of rape, robbery, and murder because he felt unappreciated. Meanwhile, folks who got paid just as little or even less were still in the trenches. Even pregnant Lindsay was pulling her weight, though God knows I wanted to dropkick her over the lab table when she snippily reminded Hawkes that he wasn't a sworn officer of the NYPD.

NEWSFLASH: Neither are you, Monroe. You transferred in from Bozeman, Montana. And don't act so scandalized and indignant when Hawkes points out that Danny is being selfish and irresponsible by refusing to work with a baby on the way. He's right.

If Danny showed himself for a true ass, then Adam showed himself for a treasure. I loved his scenes with the Deputy Mayor's son and his oblique revelation of his own experiences with OCD. Adam truly is a gentle soul, with none of the bluster and bravado that sometimes causes the other characters to grate on the nerves. I'm not surprised that the boy felt safe with Adam. I felt safe with Adam. Hell, I'd tell him anything. His manner is so unassuming that it's hard not to want to confide in him.

Craig T. Nelson was awesome as Dunbrook, and I'd bet my shorts he stole the flashdrive from the evidence warehouse. How else would he know about the deputy mayor's city-bankrupting corruption, and what else does he know? I'm under no illusion that he's an upstanding citizen, but I wish he'd stick around for more than three episodes. He'd make the perfect long-term nemesis for the team.

Random thought: If Stella was still in her party dress because she hadn't had time to change, then how in the hell did Studly Fireman Hotpants have time to not only change, but go out on a fire call? I think the firehouse was secretly a TARDIS.

An entertaining episode if you don't think too hard about chronology. B-

 

[MakeTracksCowboy]

i liked this ep didn't think it was too bad.

i felt bad for the kid with his dad. Adam/AJ was fantastic, loved every one of his scenes. the interrogation scene was brilliant.

Stella going to Danny's apartment was a good scene as well. i'd like to see them work together a bit more, to me there seems to be this tension between them when they work together or talk to one another. it's not a sexual tension or crap like that it's like a boss/lower level (can't really find the right words) kind of tension. i don't know i see it sometimes. i was distracted for most of the scene with Carmine wearing his Ceesau shirt. good way to plug his band. my roommates were laughing at me b/c i kept saying that i have the same shirt but the figures and words are in red (i wore my shirt today! NERD ALERT!!)

Craig T. Nelson's character was good. i'm usually not into those types of enemies but this character seems like he's gonna be a good rival for Mac. his intensions aren't really known yet and he's not fully under Mac's skin yet. i can't wait to see what happens with this storyline.

 

[Top41]

Danny said family of cops NOT immediate family. Plus the reason Mac was advised against hiring Danny was because of his own background, not his families. I see nothing here that contradicts the continuing storyline.

The way Danny said it did imply immediate family. I doubt he was talking about second cousins twice removed.

I so agree that the merging of Danny and Carmine is getting out of control. The profession is called "acting". We know Carmine can do it. We've seen him!

I can't escape the conclusion that the D/L baby crap has been so mishandled that TPTB felt that they had to "pay off" Carmine in some way.

Though I fail to see how it is to Carmine's advantage to slaughter the character which earned him main stream recognition. Now, it seems that there is very little Danny left, and in his place we have Carmine "pretending" (ha! AB's word!) to be Danny, but not really "pretending" because now Danny is just like Carmine, only a little sad and lifeless.

A sad choice for a talented actor.

I don't know if it's Carmine or just the writers writing to him, but either way, it's a poor choice. The Ceesau plug I can see, but not this rewrite of Danny's history. I don't see how that serves Carmine, the character of Danny or the writers--really, it serves nothing but this lame, lame blue flu storyline.

Danny said family of cops NOT immediate family. Plus the reason Mac was advised against hiring Danny was because of his own background, not his families. I see nothing here that contradicts the continuing storyline.

Danny's original bio said he came from a "family under surveilance." That didn't specifically indicate just his immediate family either. And if Danny was just talking about cops in general you'd think he'd say we come from a family of cops since Stella is also a cop.

Also, Danny has never been in trouble prior to OTJ that anyone is aware of so why would people advise Mac not to hire him because of his background specifically? His background includes who his family is and what kind of people they are. TPTB has completely rewritten his entire backstory and therefore nullified everything the audience knows about his motivations and emotional reasons for his actions with one sentence and that is just unacceptable to me.

I feel the same--it's really diminished Danny's character in my eyes. I thought the forced romance with Lindsay was bad, but this is way, way worse. I can see insecure Danny getting into a relationship with someone that doesn't treat him well or marrying a girl because he's knocked her up, but calling in sick in protest and letting some criminal walk free because he's pissed about his salary? No, I don't think Danny would do that--well, not Danny as he was written several seasons ago.

I apologize in advance if this review is largely incoherent, but such are the lingering effects of the minor head trauma I suffered because of chronic headdesking during last night's episode. I just...I can't make excuses for the show anymore. After five years, the characters' histories should be set in stone. And yet, five years on, the writers are still retconning those histories prove inconvenient to the plot of the moment.

Danny comes from a family of cops? Since when? I'm fairly certain that Danny told Flack in SI that his family was often watched by the Feds as a kid, a fact which implies involvement in criminal activity. Now, it's possible that Danny came from a family of corrupt cops, which would be a riveting story, but if that were true, then the PD never would've hired Danny in the first place. If it were true that Danny came from a family of good cops, then PD Brass would not have advised Mac against hiring him. In fact, they would've touted his pedigree to the skies and waxed rhapsodic about the great legacies of the department. Not only that, but one would think that Sonny Sassone might've used that as a needling point against Mac in "Tanglewood."

And if Danny did come from a family of cops, then he managed to dishonor them by forsaking his sworn duty and jaking it until he got paid. Yes, I know that police offers are unforgivably underpaid and hideously overworked, and it's not fair. But Danny's decision to not come to work got a case thrown out and put a criminal back on the streets. Mac, who was also a sworn officer of the NYPD(so stick it up your ass, Lindsay), came to work. So did Stella. So did Flack, and he's the biggest badge baby on the show. Danny wasn't standing behind his convictions; he was throwing a temper tantrum because he didn't feel "respected". He said as much to Pod!Stella when she turned up at his apartment. Needy Danny was willing to subject the citizenry to the elevated risk of rape, robbery, and murder because he felt unappreciated. Meanwhile, folks who got paid just as little or even less were still in the trenches. Even pregnant Lindsay was pulling her weight, though God knows I wanted to dropkick her over the lab table when she snippily reminded Hawkes that he wasn't a sworn officer of the NYPD.

Word. Good point about Danny doing it because he didn't feel respected; I didn't think of it from that angle alone, and that does make it slightly more in character, but it really does make him seem like a spoiled, immature ass.

NEWSFLASH: Neither are you, Monroe. You transferred in from Bozeman, Montana. And don't act so scandalized and indignant when Hawkes points out that Danny is being selfish and irresponsible by refusing to work with a baby on the way. He's right.

Is Lindsay now an officer of the NYPD? I'd assume she is. Either way, while I thought it was nice to see her sticking up for Danny, Hawkes was right. And Lindsay should have some reservations about marrying her baby daddy if that's how he's going to behave.

 

[Poppet]

Just a few quick comments:

Adam - Brilliant, enough said!

If a case gets kicked out of court because the CSI can't detail where the control samples were taken from then the prosecution clearly had no real case in the first place. In reality I would doubt such an obviously flimsy case would ever make it to court.

Danny and the whole 'family of cops' thing - I can only assume that this was meant for Flack and maybe Eddie was ill one day and couldn't make it to set so they had to change things around at the last minute and gave the story to Carmine. (I know Flack was in some scenes but they could have been filmed on another day when Eddie was feeling better). Otherwise, very sloppy writing which is unacceptable IMO.

Also, am I way off mark thinking this newspaper guy has got his hands on the missing flashdrive from earlier in the series?