At the end of the day, where people stand on the whole "bringing Eric back vs. keeping Eddie (and Walter)" issue boils down to a matter of personal taste, IMO. As with every character on any TV show, there are a few CSIM fans who don't like Eric; and others who don't like the romance btw Eric & Calleigh b/c they believe that it takes screen-time away from other characters that they prefer. (I personally don't agree with this position, but that's their opinion, and so it should be respectfully acknowledged). The way I see it, it's no coincidence that many of the posters in favor of keeping Jesse and doing away with Eric, are also faithful posters in the "Calleigh/Eric Romance: Why We Don't Like It" thread.
But that's neither here nor there, I suppose.
Of course you're right. Everything about what you like or dislike on television relates to personal taste.
I liked Eric a great deal in the first 4 seasons. After he was shot, I thought Adam did a wonderful job portraying Eric's struggle to come back from that kind of devasting injury - in the beginning. But slowly that struggle turned into almost a childlike dependence on Calleigh to cover for his mistakes and insecurities. When he allowed her to take the blame for him, he lost a considerable amount of my respect.
I actually am one who doesn't want Eric and Jesse both. I believe that Eric's story potential has reached its conclusion and really has no where to go. And that belief has nothing whatsoever to do with E/C.
That said, I've made no effort to hide that I detest E/C in every way. I DO feel that it became a dominate theme on the show if only because I reached the saturation point with Eric and Calleigh and those two creating their own "little team" to the exclusion of all others was a huge problem. I'm not going to go on about it because I know that anyone who cares has already seen my position.
With Eric gone, E/C is substantially diminished. I won't deny that, for me, that is a plus to Adam leaving. (I'm hoping Emily Procter leaves at the end of the season. Apparently she's very tired and needs a rest.)
What they've done to Eric's personality and professionalism in the past three seasons has caused me to question his credibility and his integrity. His treatment of Ryan tells me that his displays of compassion are reserved for only the few he deems worthy of receiving it. His response to both Ryan and Jesse's mistakes tells me that Eric feels superior to them regardless of the numerous mistakes in his past.
However, I'm not sure that it's accurate to claim that the fans who want Adam Rodriguez back on the show are "in the minority." The web is practically ablaze with commentary from CSIM fans who want to see Eric back as a full-time member of the team. It's all over Youtube, Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, and the list goes on and on. And contrary to the claims of the anti-Calleigh/Eric members of this board, most of the pro-Eric supporters are
NOT Hiphugger-fans. Even before (and aside from) the romance with Calleigh, Eric was, and still is, one of CSIM's most beloved characters. And to claim otherwise is tantamount to disregarding his long and successful history with the show and rapport with the rest of the team. Clearly, TPTB @ CBS have caught onto the tremendous fan support for Eric/Adam ... why else would they make a point of deliberately mentioning that "Delko's back" in every episode in which he appears? Because they know that there's a strong core of fans that want to see him.
(As I recall, this type of obvious character-advertising wasn't done for the episodes in which Alexx, Kyle, or any of the other beloved recurring CSIM characters appeared).
Eric is a very beloved character on the show. As I said, I used to like him a great deal. He is actually beginning to show signs of the old Eric I liked.
But I've moved on. The fact is that since Eric left we are beginning to see a 'team' again. Something we haven't seen in a long, long time. I don't know if it is timing, the removal of the character or the addition of the new fresh characters but there are too many noticing a more interactive team this season to ignore it. Ryan is no longer treated so harshly and as an outsider. He has friends with the introduction of Jesse and Walter. Horatio is much more involved. Now if they'd just increase Natalia and Frank's screentime I wouldn't have a thing to complain about. (Nah, I'm sure I'd find something. :lol: )
While I don't disagree that Eric/Adam has a significant number of fans, there is no possible way to determine the number with any degree of accuracy. All polls, especially online polls, are simply too skewed. Stuffing ballot boxes on poll sites is a common occurance with some claiming to stay up all night for that purpose. The poll taking place on EOnline! right now is a perfect example. House and Cuddy were leaps and bounds ahead of everyone else. Impossibly so. And while the House/Cuddy fans are happy, everyone else is screaming to the rafters. I've seen those same screamers act like the House/Cuddy fans when their 'ship' is winning.
Kyle hasn't been with the show nearly long enough or appeared often enough to build a fan base with enough devotion to launch campaign to up his screentime.
Khandi played a female character who was never advertised as being a "draw" for the target male audience. She was always more in the "mom" position on the show. They use Calleigh for the sexual titillation of the target male audience. Eric is a male character who has been used a great deal as the "hunk" to target the young female audience. While Khandi is sorely missed and would be welcomed back with open arms, no one is going to launch a campaign for her either.
As I've pointed out before, CSI Miami has an average 13 million viewers. Only a minute fraction of that audience participates online. Of those who participate online, some have jobs and families and only have a small amount of time to post. It is those with the greatest amount of time who are able to make their presence and position best known online.
It is mostly young people who have this kind of time. And the networks know it and
LOVE it. For heaven's sake that is the target audience! How could they not love it. :lol:
The truth is that there really hasn't been a significant change to the ratings with or without Eric/Adam - even with all the advertising when he is to appear. The ratings surge that is supposed to accompany his appearances is not happening. The ratings have been pretty steady.
Nor is it completely fair to "ding" Adam for wanting to negotiate better contract terms with CBS for his full-time return to the show. (If this is, in fact, the reason why he was downgraded to recurring status). That's what actors and other TV-show talent do when their contracts are up for renewal. Studios/networks typically try to low-ball actors as much as possible (to keep costs low), and then actors leverage their popularity in order to improve their contract terms. That's not a reason why CBS shouldn't sign Adam back to CSIM full-time. That's showbiz. I have no doubt that Eddie will be doing the same thing when his contract is up.
It's Adam's prerogative to get the best contract he can get. There is nothing wrong with that at all. You take a chance and if the network walks away then you know you took your best shot. Adam was obviously prepared for that and dealt with it.
I did find Adam's timing curious. CBS had recently been out front in its stand that it was tightening its belt. I also found it curious that the network's response to the failure of the negotiations was to request that the character be killed off. I think that the network was more disrespectful to the character than any of the fans that Eric/Adams fans are currently so displeased with.
As for Jesse/Eddie, his failure to make a fan out of me has nothing to do with my desire for Eric/Adam to return to CSIM full time, b/c I don't think the two are mutually-exclusive. IMO, they could have happily co-existed, as they did in "In the Wind." But I just don't find Eddie to be an engaging actor on-screen, in CSIM or any other shows I've seen him appear in. But again, that's just my personal taste.
Anyhow, that's just my 2 cents (more like $2!:guffaw
on this issue. None of us knows what goes on behind closed doors at CBS, so I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens ...
I had my concerns about Jesse. As a Horatio fan I have been concerned about what I perceive as a less than respectful interaction with Horatio and what appears at times to be Jesse attempting to BE Horatio.
I'm withholding judgment in this first season because I think it's a settling in period for these new characters. I think that for Cibrian to come in as he did, replacing an actor who is obviously well respected and loved by the fans of the show, is extremely difficult. The hostility was fever pitch on this board before Cibrian's first scene was even broadcast. Some weren't going to give him a chance regardless of how he did.
I think he's doing okay. I also think he needs a little more time to settle into the character. I also like the freshness and lightness that Jesse, Walter and Tom bring to the show. We needed it after all the darkness of the last few seasons.
And that's my $200.00 worth! :guffaw: Time to get back to work!
