Melina Kanakaredes Leaves CSI: NY

Discussion in 'CSI: New York' started by Top41, Jul 12, 2010.

  1. Elwood21

    Elwood21 Pathologist

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    It has. Moved from Wed nights at 10 to Friday nights at 9, I believe.

    C'mon. What. Making it thru my post was a work out, wasn't it? :lol: Though not as cathartic in terms of frustration, I'm sure :p

    Glad to hear it ;) That you're somewhat better that is.

    (though congrats to Carmine on his marriage :) )

    With CBS and all. As trite a saying as it may be, it is true: Show business is business. (Or, as John Larroquette's twitter puts it, where art goes to die :lol:) The crux is that it makes a profit on the collaboration and compromise of so many tangibles and intangibles. It seems that those who produce it top down yearn to qualify and quantify it, to find a formula to be a predictor of cost worthy risks, which makes it hard for those who produce it from the bottom up in creating, developing and essentially selling new material and proposals. It makes it hard for those in the middle trying to manage & balance the demands of one while also trying to nurture and protect the other. (Within that, there are people to be found who do care).

    Networks have been making cuts annually for several years, and not just in production but from offices too, amazingly enough. (How high up that really trickled in a way that had substantial impact, well, who knows). That the tightening of purse strings is continuing at CBS is not at all a surprise. Show budgets are an easy place to pick away at, and no surprise they're being pressured to do more with less. Every show that's hit the news for it would be facing painful decisions due pressure from higher up. The manner in which shows have handled it seems to have varied, insofar as what did make it to media as stories.

    The CM news I found unpleasant, and possibly moreso than NY in a way. NY I found more startling as it outright involved a leading cast member.

    I hafta admit I kinda fell away from CM this past season, all by its own merits; I just wasn't tuning in like I once was, DVR or not. I do hope it'll manage a good new season, even with AJ gone. At least she'll get a send off. And Brewster will be back for most eps; knowing ahead of time it's likely her last season, hopefully she'll get a decent out for her character as well. They did well enough by Lola and Mandy in that fashion. But that was years ago now. Things apparently have changed, given they weren't initially going to give AJ anything at all.

    Funny to note though. Gideon? Had his girlfriend butchered. He himself wasn't physically harmed, but was shattered and left. Hotchner's wife? Butchered. Hotch? Also butchered. But. He lived. She died. Garcia? Shot. Lived. But. Soon to be sole sister. Or should that be sole Baby Girl. Cos what professional woman wouldn't appreciate that in her workplace. (I know I know. Fun interplay and all, that has thankfully spread across characters and genders to become part of the show's Schtick. Wouldn't be nearly as cute or funny otherwise). Elle? Shot, and sorta butchered.

    On another side, if the show has JJ leaving for "family reasons" while Hotchner sticks it out in the BAU as a single father, I'll hurl something at my television.

    Basically? I fear for the sorts of dramatic exits the women could get that men don't often seem subject to... (Still. I also gotta admit that what happened with Morgan in the finale wasn't something I saw coming. Guess ya never know).

    Still. I can only hope that at some point, writing up some sort of exit/resolution might be possible for MK & Stella, if an opportunity & circumstances within the show coincide with an interest on her part to do so.

    (a reasonably short and painless post here, no Lori? ;):p )
     
    Last edited: Jul 14, 2010
  2. wildcat

    wildcat Witness

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    What. the. f.... :wtf:

    CSI:NY without Stella? :scream::klingon::( No way!

    I got hooked on this show mainly because of the characters, because of Mac/Stella friendship and chemistry, snarky Flack's remarks, because of the special CSI:NY family feeling and the great interactions between all actors.

    Stella has been the soul and sparkle of this show. She can not be replaced by anybody - it will be a different character, there will never be the same kind of special chemistry/freindship/whatever-you-want-to-call-it with Mac.:(

    Well, over the last 6 months I had a feeling that there is something different in the show (feeling that something is going on, like several close characters become more distant and formal), but I never dreamed that it will come to THAT.

    What now? Flack's funny one-liners are all but gone since Angell tragedy. Stella's strong and passionate character is no more. No more teasing Mac or arguing with him, sharing the most private and cherished personal stories or just being there for each other. :scream: - I feel that with Stella's departure there is a big part of Mac's character is lost too. :(

    What's left? :confused: Mac is great, but without Stella he is somewhat one-dimentional and a bit boring. Adam and Sid are very good, but both of them are there only for 5 min in every third episode. Lindsay is ok, but she's not even close to what Stella has been. Hawkes? Oh, no - I totally agree with one poster in another thread who said that HH is trying so hard to act and still it does not work. As far as my preferences go , we had way too much of him this season. And Danny - he's just irritating - a whiny grimasing non-entity :shifty: - if I had a choice, he's the first one I'd get rid of. Aubrey? - boooring and stiff. Add crumbling, full of discrepancies and lacking interest stories we had lately. :shifty:

    Will I watch it? Hmmmm. Let's see. :rolleyes: -
    CSI:NY is moving to Friday. - Sure, I'll move too.
    The stories are hit-and-miss. - Ok, I may just DVR some of the episodes.
    Stella won't be there any more. - Definitely not.

    The CSY:NY how we knew it is over. :devil:

    CBS is going to air another, different show under the same name starting September. I don't know whether it'll be good or not. It just is not going to be the same CSI:NY. And as the reason I started to watch this show is not there any more, I don't feel in the least interested to follow. :shifty:

    So, I guess, - Farewell, CSI:NY!

    Bye to everybody on this board - it was nice to read all of you, thanks for sharing your thoughts, opinions and spoilers.


    Oh, that's real classy.
     
  3. Flacknatic

    Flacknatic Hit and Run

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    First let me say this news really dissapointed me. I will really miss Melina she is a great actress. This news plus the change in night really make me think that the end is nigh.

    Second (I don't know if this has been posted here yet but thought I would mention it) but it was posted tonight on Facebook that Melina will be replaced by actress Sela Ward who has stared in "Sisters" and "House".


    [​IMG]


    I really like Sela as an actress but don't know if she's good fit for a show like this and I'm am doughtfull that this will save the show? Well I guess we will find out this year!
     
    Last edited: Jul 14, 2010
  4. robotnik22

    robotnik22 Rookie

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    Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner, Sarah, but I think that the 'pay cuts' that CBS offered Melina, A.J Cook was fired, Paget Brewster was scaled back, and Liz Vassey was dismissed and these 'pay cuts' and firings and soforth came after Charlie Sheen got his 1.5 million dollars an episode.
    Coincidence? IMHO , I don't believe that this is a coincidence at all.
     
  5. Elwood21

    Elwood21 Pathologist

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    If ya knew me at all from my typical posts, you'd know a certain playful snarkiness accompanies a comment like that, or is meant to ;):).

    Sorry if that offended you. Not sorry in the least for being honest in the opinion I chose to share.

    I gather I'm not likely to be included in that :lol:. But good luck and all the best anyways.
     
  6. sjhubby

    sjhubby Prime Suspect

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    after the awful season 6 that I put up with Will I stay? :confused: NO. :scream:I only put up with last season in hopes that Stella and Adam would get together. :p I desided that I would stay for a few episodes in season 7 to see if they would be paired up, but now I guess I have my answer. I only started watching ny because of Melina. I was a fan of her's from back in the old Providence days. With out her and no Adella it is time to bid a found farewell to csi ny. I will miss the boards and the spirited smack debates but things change and we all move on.
     
  7. ~Sarah~

    ~Sarah~ Lab Technician

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    ^wildcat - Flack could be less depressed this upcoming season. There have been episodes where Adam has been in it for more than 5 minutes - in fact I think Adam gets more screen time than Sid.

    The Defenders is taking the Wed at 10 slot. It's about Vegas defense attorneys and from the preview looks sort of funny. I don't know what you mean about "another, different show under the same name". Although it does have the same executive producer as CSI.
     
  8. hiphugger17

    hiphugger17 Coroner

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    I too am really dissapointed with the news :(. Stella is my favorite character along with Flack and not having her really makes things...unbalanced for me. I was already going to be watching NY on the internet next season cause I'm never home Fridays but now I don't know if I'll be all that encouraged to look it up and watch it. I have to agree that it could very well be the last season without it's leading lady and moving to Fridays. Though I'm pleasantly surprised that Sela Ward will be the replacement cause she's great and she's not a 20 year old hot cliche.

    I am NOT at all happy with CBS and all the women they are letting go. One or two and we don't notice but Liz Vassey, AJ Cook, Melina, and reducing Paget's screentime :rolleyes: All women in shows with a heavy male cast and the women are the ones getting the short end of the stick.....:shifty:
     
  9. pretty_in_pink

    pretty_in_pink Lab Technician

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    I know the entire CM discussion is slightly OT, but I agree with this so much. Both AJ and Melina deserve an exit that's respectful to their characters, the time they've devoted to their respective shows, and to the fans as well. And especially for AJ, it would be so out of character for JJ to leave the BAU solely to raise her child/be with her husband, because one of the great things about JJ was that she was one of the few female characters on a crime drama who balanced their job and family.

    Back to Melina, I was thinking about it, and this whole business seems...sketchy. I mean, she, the female lead leaves after six seasons, left the show, apparently because of disputes in pay? First of all, as one of the two leads, I'm surprised that she's the first person (that we know of) from CSI: NY who was asked to take a pay cut, since (I'm assuming) Sinise makes more than her, not to mention leads on other shows (and Charlie freakin Sheen...ugh, don't get me started :scream:). And secondly, I'm surprised we haven't heard about this until now, since most shows (I'm assuming CSI: NY is no exception) are about to start filming again for the new season). At least with CM, we got about a month's heads up. Then there's the whole Sela Ward thing...not that I mind her joining the cast at all (thank God they picked someone who has acting chops and isn't some 20 year old blond Mary Sue type or whatever), but a day after we find out Melina is leaving, we find out that they already have a replacement? We still don't know who is set to replace AJ on CM (yes, going back to the CM/NY comparisons. Inevitable :p). And they already have a background on the character:

    The new character is “an experienced investigator from Washington, DC, whose work is driven by her empathy for the victim.”

    It just makes it feel like they either a) Knew Melina was going to leave a lot sooner than we have assumed, or b) Wanted Melina to leave. And sadly, with the sad state of things at CBS these days, it's a lot easier to believe the latter.

    I sincerely hope that this is not true though:

    Entertainment Weekly reports that the actress’s final episode has aired, meaning that she will not appear in the season seven premiere.

    But again, AJ Cook/the CM fandom had to freakin fight for one last sendoff episode (which is freaking ridiculous, CBS, because do you seriously think that your viewers are that stupid, that we would just not notice a cast member not appearing in any more episodes after 5/6 years on a show?! Or be okay when one of the characters said, "Man, I can't believe so-and-so got fired!" or "So-and-so's funeral was so tragic!"?). No matter who's leaving, from what show, any showrunner who would let that happen is an idiot and is shooting their show in the foot.

    CBS, if NCIS wasn't on your network, we would be done. Mess with that show, I mess with your face.

    I'm going to go cuddle with my season 2/3 DVD's and the episodes on my iTunes and cry. :(

    Edit: I forgot something I was just think about, regarding a sendoff. Another reason that they need a sendoff with Stella is that regardless of her relationships with the other characters, she's arguably closest to Mac, who is the lead character. I mean, from what we've been told about Stella/Mac, she was there when Claire died, which was one of the defining moments for Mac from the get-go. She's been there with Mac for years, longer than the show's been around, again, according to what the writers have said about Stella and Mac. There's no way they can let Stella just walk out, especially if they intend for Stella not to be mentioned from here on forward, because she's Mac's best friend, his confidante, and yet, she's not afraid to call him out when she thinks he's wrong, and he's not afraid to do the same. They respect and trust each other arguably more than they do any other person on the team. Their relationship is one of the most interesting on the entire show, and if you're letting Stella go, you're ending that relationship (intentionally or not), at least on screen, and that's not something that can be taken lightly.
     
    Last edited: Jul 14, 2010
  10. Maya316

    Maya316 Lab Technician

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    Straying a bit OT again, but...

    What's happening on CM is, I agree, the thing that makes me most bitter by far. Leaving aside my personal attachment to both Emily and JJ, at least 70% of all their vics are already women, when they're not children (the dramatic exits of the characters mentioned above don't veer very far from that pattern), and 9 times out of 10 it's the guys doing the brunt of the "rescuing". I've really gotten to like the show, but it's already far more guy-centric than all the CSIs and NCIS put together, I don't see how much more of a "new" direction they can take it in by removing two thirds of the female cast. It'll be really weird to watch. (And while Garcia's one of my favourites, because of her job as the computer tech she's also the girl who usually takes the least part in the action.) Tbh, I'm not that pacified by the promise of a new girl being brought in to replace JJ, and maybe Emily too, I don't know. She'll have to be loads better than that girl they have for the spinoff :shifty:

    When Adam R's contract negotiations went south last summer, CBS apparently wanted to kill off his character (Delko) at the beginning of S8. Miami's showrunner Ann Donahue stepped in to argue for Delko getting a proper send-off by slowly leaving the show instead (over nine episodes, I think), so they left him alive and had him as a sort-of recurring character throughout the season. That's why the door was still open when Adam decided to return to the show earlier this year.

    I know some people may think otherwise, but I do think TPTB, at the very least, care a lot about Mac and Stella's relationship because they've built a lot on it. And as bottom-line as CBS's executives may be, even they have to know that if a show doesn't make sense no one is going to watch it. (Yes, what makes sense might differ from person to person, but I think the sudden disappearance of one lead and of a strongly-established relationship in the other lead's life is going to make even casual viewers blink.) That's why...well, I'm kind of hoping it's not cold fact just yet that we've seen Stella's last episode.
     
  11. CSI17

    CSI17 Hit and Run

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    Stella and Melina will be VERY missed. I am looking forward to Sela in CSI:NY. :) But just like what the others say, it won't be the same without Melina.
     
  12. Andromeda

    Andromeda Police Officer

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    Sad, sad news as it is, but then I can´t help but congratulate Melina for pushing the emergency brake at the right time, before the CSI:NY train crashes into a big concrete wall. Decreasing ratings, new timeslot, a season with too many bad shows, stories that were begun and went to nowhere, and especially too many episodes where Stella was "just there", having nothing to do instead of saying some stupid lines, with only a few episodes of the "real" Stella, where Melina got the chance to portray this versatile character to her full extent, but without any real progress to the character - all this made me think through the whole season that this must be an increasingly unsatisfying and frustrating situation for a gifted actress like Melina.
    OK, you could say, that Stella/Melina had her share of big scenes in S5, that´s true, so it had to be balanced out in S6, but I´m not really talking of less screen presence, but of less substance of the character. It seemed that in this season the writers didn´t really know what to do with her, or what they tend to do with her in the future, though in a recent interview Zuiker or another chap mentioned that "there´s a lot more to find out about Stella in S7...".....well, it´s too late, Baby, it´s too late.....

    Maybe Melina read some of the new scripts in the past weeks and wasn´t happy with what she read and so she began to think hard about what to do: return and hold on through another season and then quit, or rather end it right now. Apparantly she chose the latter, I assume she came to the point where it wasn´t a matter of "spending" most of the days ( and nights) at the sets and locations anymore, but where it became a matter of "wasting" endless hours with shooting the shows, despite having the comfort of having her family with her in their own trailers.

    So Hill´s explanation that Melina wants to have more time for her daughters sounds a bit poor when actually she was never really separated from them for long. Rather I think she came now to the point where she feels it´s not worth all the effort anymore, there´s no bargain for her as an artist.

    I may be wrong but I thought I sensed a lack of enthusiasm in Melina when she did this very short interview concerning the season´s finale- among a few lines was this one: "...it´s interesting....". Though I didn´t hear her saying it, it sounded lame in a way. I mean, knowing Melina as a usual very alert and enthusiastic person from her talkshow appearances, a mere " it´s interesting" out of her mouth is like a synonym for "it sucks terribly".

    If the rumours are true and Stella won´t even return for one or two episodes to give her story a true closure, then it sounds really like an aprupt ending which would really be the only thing to make me wonder considering Melina´s quitting. Because it would mean that this was also her choice to end it right here, right now. I don´t imagine CBS to draw the hard line towards her and demand from her to either play a full season or to leave immediately, but no inbetweens with one or two farewell episodes. I´m sure they would have written a proper ending for Stella, and usually I´d say that would also be what Melina would have wanted for this character she embodied for so long. I agree with what some here wrote: Melina loves Stella, she put so much of herself into this character that somehow it seems unbelievable that she lays Stella Bonasera to rest from one second to the next.

    Maybe she will give us an insight in a (hopefully) future interview as to what really happened behind the scenes. Except we´re all wrong with our speculations and the true reasons for her leaving has only to do with her private life, not only more time for her daughters, but maybe something else which hence would be not our business.

    To cut a long story short: all I can say is now Thank you Melina for enchanting CSI:NY with your brilliance, and please return soon again on the big or small screen or on the theater stage, because you´re way too young to be a pensioner (and not too old to rock´n´roll), so keep on rocking :thumbsup:.
    Stay happy and well, best of luck for all your future projects, and though my Greek still sucks: Epharisto for everything, byeee to you, the most Greek of Greek goddesses! :)
     
  13. Ninja0980

    Ninja0980 Police Officer

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    I have to say that with Melina leaving the show and CBS moving it to Friday's, I feel this season of CSI NY will be its last. The writing of the second half of season 7
    I have to say this is one of the times I'm not looking foward to the new fall season on CBS. Not only is my favorite show, Cold Case not coming back but several others like Criminal Minds and now CSI NY have lost cast members that have made the show what it is. No matter how good Sela Ward is, she won't be able to replace Stella. Sad to say, but the decline CSI NY had with the second half of season 6....will continue right into season 7.
    And finally, I have to agree with several others here. I remember the head honcho of CBS talking about how much money they saved by canceling Cold Case and several other shows...how about not giving a addict who has stated himself he doesn't care about the show 1.5 million per an episode?! That would save money right there.
     
  14. Ballettmaus

    Ballettmaus Hit and Run

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    I think ultimately MK wanted to leave.
    Sinise's contract is not up for another year as far as I've heard. I wonder if they would, otherwise, have renewed the contracts at all. They've moved the show to Friday and they said in the article that they hoped MK would sign for another season. So... that leaves you wondering.
    I still hope that she'll get a proper exit even though it was said that apparently her last episode has already aired. That though suggests that there was much more than pay cuts going on. Like someone else pointed out, maybe once things settled a bit she'll be back for one episode. I would sure hope so.

    That is exactly what I'm worried about. That they won't deal with the effect of Stella's departure properly. I sincerely hope they do keep her in everyone's and especially Mac's minds. It would be so wrong not to do so but I'm afraid they won't. :(


    Well, apparently they did have other things planned with her. I remember them saying Stella would be a lot more spontaneous. Her arch somehow got changed and she was pushed into the background for that absolutely brilliant (I'm being very sarcastic here) love triangle which the show could not have lived without (and again I'm sarcastic).
    In general it seemed like the show didn't know what to do with itself. I enjoyed very little episodes from the second half of the sixth season. The finale was among them because it was a nice contrast to all of Mac's love life that had been shoved into our faces and which I truly didn't want to know about. Even if it had been Stella. I didn't want to watch a soap opera.
    It's weird, it's just one character leaving but it feels like the show is starting from scratch.

    For Lori K and anyone else who might like to write to CBS:

    http://www.cbs.com/info/user_services/fb_global_form.php
     
    Last edited: Jul 14, 2010
  15. Lori K.

    Lori K. Pathologist

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    I didnt even break a sweat!:lol:

    Couldnt agree more.

    Never seen her but if she cant hit a "Grand slam" right off the bat its game over. They can bring new people in but Stella can not be replaced she already has six years ahead in the game. And we are VERY attached to one of our "star players".

    And I will miss you my friend.:(

    VERY well said!
    Thankyou for filling me in Maya:) Where is our "Anne Donahue":scream:

    They would be well advised to re-establish neogotiations . And to venture futher the sponser ship will suffer as well.

    YEP.

    Many Thanks.
     

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