Stella/Melina #7 'Cause everything sounds better in Greek

[Andromeda]

Lori K.---->

And with the way things have been going there will not be an indepth explanation I'm sure!

Yes, don´t even dare to dream of it, they´re TPTB, the masters of disasters . They´ll feed us with a few lines in the premiere of what Stella is up to- and that was it.

Exactly and they somehow have a different point of view on the characters, or at least respecting them in a different way and doing them better justice than someone like PV did all season 6 long. I also think that both CG and MK did a good job. MK had a little bit too much stuff in her episode, so it was all a bit cramed and CG had too little going on so everything was stretched (and that's also part of the directing which wasn't their fault) but the basics were good.

I agree, new lights through old windows as they say, and especially PV would really need a break, I´d say. She´s really written some good episodes in previous seasons, but in S6 she lost it, even more than the other writers.
Yeah, I quite liked both CG´s and MK´s episodes, too, and I agree that Melina tried to stuff a bit too much in it, that would have been rather for two episodes, but generally her ideas were good. Carmine´s story was also nice to watch, though he gave away the plot too soon; I think, it was too obvious who killed the girl- anyway for me. But still it was much better than much of the stuff that the regulars had written.

Do you think? I have no idea. I guess it depends on the name. Most of the writers I didn't know. Well... I didn't know any of them.
But all of the CSI shows need inspiration, it's not just NY. NY desperately needs to get a grip on their characters and not play string-puppets with them.
I guess, if we wanted to be very poetic we could say MK didn't want to be a puppet anymore and clipped her strings

I don´t really know, it´s just an assumption, but you´re probably right that it depends on the writer; established screen writers might be pretty expensive. But I wonder if it shouldn´t be worth to CBS to hire two or three very good authors if this would improve the storylines- of all three CSIs, after all they all went downhill. In return they should fire the lousiest writers, that would balance the budget out .
Oh, yes, that´s very poetic: clipp-clapp, and off were MK´s strings and off was she .

Whatever... can you tell - I'm not much of a TV person
However, I agree. I think she already was working on a pretty low budget and earning the fewest of the lead actresses of the CSI's, thus the fewest of the leads, since GS was earning more than her. I'm not sure about Procter. But in any case, I think, a pay cut was in no way justified.
CBS might not have gotten though that it's not just about the money.

Me neither, I can only ever guess .
Somewhere I read that MK earned about 200000 $ per episode, sounds like very much for us , but compared to the 400000 bucks that Mariska Hargitay earns for every "Law & Order" epi e.g., it´s peanuts. A few years ago I saw a ranking with the best paid TV actresses in the US and MK was on No. 9, not too bad, but not on top, either. And like in almost every profession, the guys like GS get higher payment- yeah, of course, because they are the bosses of the show, we know, we know .
But yes, there was no reason why she should have accepted another pay cut, it doesn´t make her look greedy, it´s just a matter of principle.

Yes, I´m rather optimistic that she will get offers to continue her career; maybe at the moment she´s deliberately taking some time off to get some distance to the business before she decides to return. I bet she got quite some offers for interviews, but at least for now she prefers to remain out of the limelight.
I suppose she´s still very much a down-to-Earth person who doesn´t waste her money or lost it in bad investments like many other actors who fell for Madoff etc., so she could afford to leave NY and probably can afford to take some months off.
Interesting point; maybe she was more serious about it than we thought when she recalled her dialogue with PV about whether she likes Stella at all, because she puts her in peril ever so often. Maybe it was actually a slight hint that MK wasn´t that happy with the script of RIP MG, maybe she had discussions with Veasey and others about this particular storyline, but also about Stella´s appearance in general in S6.
Yes, the way it is now it looks very much like a surprising departure of MK, though she might have thought about it before, but gave it another try, but then something went wrong during the negotiations and she called it quits. And MK is a fair person I suppose, if she had decided already long before the beginning of the negotiations that S6 will be her last one, she would have told them right in time, so that they would have been prepared.

But how could you make a come back if you're on a show that declines in popularity? From the comments I heard SW didn't really appeal that much. Sure there were the ones who said they were going to watch now, however, if you look at the overall picture, it's more "won't watch without Stella" and "didn't like MK but won't watch with SW either". Not really good for the show.
It would be very arrogant of her to think she could refresh the show with the popularity Stella had. I don't want to think she would think that.
The weird thing is that CBS didn't "test her out". They didn't leak any rumors of MK leaving and SW being the replacement to see the internet reaction to it.
Though I think that entire ordeal was meant to limit the damage done by MK's exit. Make MK's leave public one day and then announce SW the next day so people can't think too much about MK leaving. Too bad that it didn't work.

As I said, I stopped following Vegas quite some years ago, so I can´t comment on that, but reading the comments shows that it suffers the same problems than NY and Miami.
So yes, SW arrives not at the best time, and though many are curious to watch at least the premiere to see what she´s like and quite some think that she´s a good choice for the show and will help it to rise again; the majority is either generally fed up with the show or won´t watch because Stella´s gone, let alone the bad new timeslot. But SW must have a motive to accept the offer for NY, maybe it´s just as simple as that she needs the money .
True, CBS didn´t spread her name to test out reactions and responses like they did with Sarah Carter and Mädchen Amick, very strange considering she´s a co-lead. But I agree with you that this was really maybe a tactic to announce her right the day after they had to announce MK´s departure, so they tried to keep people from being too shocked about this bad news by giving them what they thought were good news straight after that. Well, it failed.

Dancer, choreographer, actor, take your pick, at least trying to be. Have had jobs without pay but finally decided not to do that anymore, thus why I have been talking about not selling yourself for less than you're worth.

Now that´s very interesting, good luck for you, fingers crossed that you´ll have a good career :thumbsup:. And of course, you´re absolutely right not to work without payment, dancing is work, hard work and every work deserves fair payment.

Sure, because executives always take pay cuts when the budget is tight

Oh, yes, in a better world they would do this :lol:.

He wasn't as evasive as GS. Now you can't get any more evasive than his reply
But I think Harper should have opted for something like that as well because no one's believing that anyway.

:lol: that´s true, that was rather like a professional press statement. Hill just seemed to think quickly what he could reply.

That bad? But Pierce Brosnan was in it Though he's getting old...
I didn't watch it but there were so many actors in it... I'm never a fan of that because I fear it gets too chaotic.

I didn´t even watch it, don´t like this kind of films anyway , but of what I read MK just got three minutes and twelve words or so .

I so hope she gets the chance to do so because she would deserve it. Maybe we can open a petition on twitter: Sign MK on for a great big screen movie
Or if not a movie than a show that has her as the lead. So, sort of her show.

Yes, let´s do this .
A show, yes, sounds good, her own show with her as lead.

Since she stuck around for all of season 6... I'm not sure actors have that much negotiation on existing contracts. Unless something major happens, as I said, I don't think they can get out that easily. Both network and actors need to have their reassurances.

Yes, quite probably there are no clauses to opt out before a contract ends, so if Melina would have had a contract until season 7 ends, she would have been stuck in the bad work and like you said it makes the hard work even harder if you don´t enjoy anymore what you´re doing and then it shows in the performance.

Question is, did they learn?

Oh, they don´t think they have to learn, that was up to us .

Well, the problem in season 6 was that they didn't follow up what had happened in season 5. GFD was sort of a step to something more, at least, it deepened their bond but then in season 6 the focus was so incredibly on Mac and everything else was so forgotten... then suddenly there was Death House and Second Chances and The Formula and then there was Aubrey and it completely destroyed everything. Aubrey was suddenly replacing Stella, there were scenes with Aubrey which would, in other seasons, have been done with Stella, just for the sake of moving that love triangle forward. There was the problem, that love triangle which wasn't in any way natural. It was for the sake of a lot, Mac and Stella's friendship a part of it.
It was what upset me the most in season 6. Not that Mac and Stella didn't finally get together after Second Chances but that their friendship was treated so poorely and was pushed into the background. Hell, they did such a great job in season 3 when Mac was dating Peyton. All of that was gone in season 6.
And I fear it will be forgotten now as well and we Mac-Stella fans (whether it's their friendship or more) won't even get treated to phone calls or mentions of her or other's asking Mac about her.
It's why I wanted her to get an off-screen relationship with Mac because then I would have known their friendship wouldn't have been forgotten, sort of. It's kind of silly but their bond was so special and the characters have grown on me because of that bond, so I don't want them to lose it.

I agree, after S5 we thought this was another big development and we had reason to look forward to S6, because it could only go on like this- little did we know . I didn´t really mind Aubrey too much, I thought it would work the same way as it did when he had Peyton, it didn´t influence Mac´s and Stella´s friendship then and it could have worked this time, too, but since the writers went crappy, they didn´t manage to balance between Mac dating Aubrey on one side and Mac´s and Stella´s friendship on the other side, and on top of that they even brought back Peyton, so Stella was completely pushed aside.
According to CG it all will be "smoothly" solved in dialogues, so what does that mean, they will "talk Stella out" with a few lines and that´s it? Well, I fear that´s it, because they didn´t manage to show much of their friendship in S6 when Stella was still there, so how are they´re supposed to do so, now that Stella´s gone?

Yes, and it was always okay when he was outraged for whatever and when Stella had her Diakos case, he yelled at her for it. He did the same thing. He didn't yell at himself for it

Yes, he didn´t use the same measures for himself that he used for Stella .

Exactly. When she was wrong, it was human and she always managed to not be wrong in a way. When she argued about Adam vs the machines I could still see her point. While I, as I said, didn't see Mac's point with the horse.
But she was thinking as a woman in that scene with Adam. And her stubbornness was also very natural. And never over the top.

Yes, Stella was always fair, she considered things from both sides and tried to draw the right conclusions, even if it were the inconvenient ones.
The horse thing was illogical and stupid, first Mac was adamant and wanted the bullet out of the horse immediately, then with this new method to make a copy of the bullet he suddenly said he wanted to delay the operation as long as possible to save the horse and yelled at Stella when she was angry about this.

But that scene when Mac asked her about Ella and she told him we can't save them all or whatever and he said he needed to hear it from her - why on Earth did he go see her afterwards? That didn't make sense. Why did he ask her then if he was going to do what he wanted anyway? It's all those details which made him the less symapthetic character.

Yes, yes, yes, you´re sooooo right, that was so annoying, it was as if he was mocking Stella, telling her how right she was and that he had to hear it from her, and then he walks to Ella. That felt as if he didn´t take Stella seriously and just pretended to do so, it felt like an abuse of their friendship.

I didn't watch season 1 regularly. I don't really know with which season I started, I remember a few episodes I watched, then I watched some in France and some in Germany and it all was mixed up. So, I sort of got to know her character in season 3. I think.
But I also think it's an actresses ability to own that character and to have it develop. It's not like she was given that many storylines which made her develop but Stella still became that very much respected person all the while remaining credible. Mk grew into that role and she made the most of what was given her. I don't want to say GS is a bad actor, however, I wonder if he's got as many facets as MK. I would say he doesn't which is what allowed MK to develop Stella into what Stella was and Mac never really changed.
maybe it's also got to do with how open minded you are in general.

I seriously started following NY after I had watched "All Access", I watched S1 later as a re-run and the difference between the Stella of S1 and the Stella of S2 was very strong; in S1 she was still very much in Mac´s tall shadow, "Officer Blue" was rather an exception and in a way S6 closed this circle, it was as if Stella stepped back into Mac´s shadow again. Yes, MK grew into the role and filled Stella with life, she gave always the best performances, but what could she do with such bad storylines? Nothing, and probably that was why she left.
With GS, I´ve seen him in a few movies and he was pretty good, so I know he can do better and I was a bit negatively surprised that his acting as Mac is often so one-dimensional and that he doesn´t make more of this character, and I wonder why he as a producer does not intervene and demand better storylines for Mac, unless he´s happy with the way it is.

Yes, exactly. It's why it was sort of a blow into the face when MK suddenly left. Because you had gotten involved in Stella, she was sort of a like friend, could have been anyone, someone you knew, she was real, in a way. So, learning about MK leaving also destroyed that illusion.

Yes, Stella grew on us like a friend and it was great to watch her development and knowing that this has now come to an abrupt end feels as if we are losing a friend.

Ran out of ideas? With a character with as much potential as Stella? If that's the case they need to change the profession
Was there anyone else they had interest in other than Mac? I mean, even the episode with Flack, episode 8, was more Mac than Flack.

TPTB definitely should look for another profession . Yes, true, it was Mac, Mac and Mac and the Flack episode was another of many disappointments.

Oh, don't get me started on that "noble" thing. They're such hypocrats. The only reason why they don't kill her is because they don't want to deal with the emotional impact and they've seen what happened to CSI Miami when Rodriguez left.
And the reason why they didn't want a disappearance is because they didn't want to write a storyline that involves Mac (and the team) searching for her. That would've meant they had to mention her regularly and also deal with Mac's emotions and his determination to find her.
Had she not been as popular they wouldn't have given a damn. They'd have killed anyone else, except Mac, without flinching, if it had been convenient.

Well, yes, maybe they were just too scared to kill Stella , but I wouldn´t want a mysterious disappearance either, to be honest, that would be just another Mac-hero story and soon the story would fade away like so many others before, when they´d feel it´s now safe not to mention Stella anymore after a few months have passed.

I'm laughing over this. As if those who still suffer from Katrina would care who heads their crime lab. It's, if you think about it, very disrespectful for Stella because they put it as if she thinks it's going to matter if she goes down there. Which it doesn't. Those who still suffer from Katrina suffer because the government distributed the money wrongly. What could she do? Nothing.
Same for the oil spill. She can't do anything for the fisherman who have lost their job and their salary... and I doubt that any of the fisherman care who heads their crime lab because it doesn't make the oil go away and doesn't make up for all the time it'll take for the gulf to get back on track.
Stella isn't in politics, she's not in some environment group or the red cross or whatever. I don't think Stella would think she's making a difference down there and would leave because she's offered the job.
It would have more sense, in that case, had they transferred her to Jersey because then she'd have at least been close to NY and to her "family".
I think it would have needed a major argument with Mac which would have done irreparable damage to their friendship for her to want to leave NY... what they could have argued about though... I don't know. After all, he followed her to Greece after a huge fight, so...
But this is just ridiculous. And doesn't make "a lot of sense" as they said but none at all.
Though we all knew it was going to be difficult to write her out and I didn't really expect them to do it reasonably. I had hopes... tiny hopes... after all, hope springs eternal...

Actually at first I had thought I´d misread New Jersey for New Orleans, until I read it again and saw that they really sent her to N. Orleans :lol:, Jersey would have made much more sense, I agree, it´s not that far away from NY, she could still have been close to her team and friends.
And why would she so suddenly decide to go to NO, to arrest the oil and beware the fishermen to kill each other? She is a good and helpful girl, we all know that, but I think she´d have limits as to how far her readiness to help would go .
So yeah, a big argument with Mac might have made her want to leave, but it´s not that they never had arguments before and some were pretty big, but they always made up again, they are after all sensible, grown up people who wouldn´t give up such a close friendship so easily. So that´s also not a good excuse; nothing really is and the writers went just for the easiest exit that doesn´t exhaust their brains too much.

Thank you

You´re welcome

 

[Ballettmaus]

She´s really written some good episodes in previous seasons, but in S6 she lost it, even more than the other writers.

:lol: She lost it? But yeah, I know what you mean and I agree... and with some of the episodes you could even take that in every sense of the way

Carmine´s story was also nice to watch, though he gave away the plot too soon; I think, it was too obvious who killed the girl- anyway for me. But still it was much better than much of the stuff that the regulars had written.

Yes, CG's episode was very simple and I wasn't hooked but I still think he did the characters justice and had an interesting idea and approach to things.
I would suppose that MK was given one episode to solve that entire thing. Normally, the executives should have known that this is too much and should have given her either a second episode or should have worked something out so that it does work. After all, being on the show doesn't make you knowledgable about how to write.
But then again, she wrote better than most of season 6 writers did...

In return they should fire the lousiest writers, that would balance the budget out .

However, Veasey is executive. When was the last time an executive fired themselves in whatever and was critical enough to step back?
Lenkov was an executive, too, though his episodes weren't too bad.
Who wrote the premiere by the way? If it's Veasey then we get a dialogue like: Mac: "Stella's settled in New Orleans and says hello to all of you."
And then it moves on to the case and she's never heard of again.
Anyway, I think part of the problem is that producers are also writers so they have too much power to toy around.
Besides, if they'd invest into something they would have treated their actors better.

Somewhere I read that MK earned about 200000 $ per episode, sounds like very much for us , but compared to the 400000 bucks that Mariska Hargitay earns for every "Law & Order" epi e.g., it´s peanuts.

Yes, I read that too and that it was 50,000 less than GS was earning... Which is ridiculous. They're in the same business and still all of the women on the CSI shows earn less than their co-lead.
Not sure if you're familiar with the show "The Avengers". It was filmed in the 60s, the co-lead, Diana Rigg was said to earn less than the camera man. I guess they can be glad that it's not that bad anymore.

But yes, there was no reason why she should have accepted another pay cut, it doesn´t make her look greedy, it´s just a matter of principle.

Well, I finally understood yesterday why everyone was talking about that actor like Charlie Sheen.
If they can pay him more than a million for an episode then I understand that MK was pissed - excuse the expression Especially in the light of events. I just had a quick through on his bio on wikipedia but if someone has been arrested, plead guilty and was in rehab he shouldn't be paid more than a million while someone like MK gets a pay cut. Actors are public figures and they set examples. This wouldn't work with my principles either, if something like that happened. No matter how successful the show that guy was hired for. With what he did, he's not worth it anymore. And certainly not so others take pay cuts.
If that really factored into the whole MK contract mess then I hope CBS will pay the price for it and CSI NY has seen its last season. I doubt it'll happen but I've got a strong sense of justice, so I can still hope

Yes, I´m rather optimistic that she will get offers to continue her career; maybe at the moment she´s deliberately taking some time off to get some distance to the business before she decides to return. I bet she got quite some offers for interviews, but at least for now she prefers to remain out of the limelight.

Well, that, of course, too would satisfy my sense of justice if she got something new quickly.
I would guess she needs for things to settle down and sort out where she's going from there.

I suppose she´s still very much a down-to-Earth person who doesn´t waste her money or lost it in bad investments like many other actors who fell for Madoff etc., so she could afford to leave NY and probably can afford to take some months off.

Since she did leave CSI NY I would guess that's the case. Because Helgenberger was honest enough to say she needs the money - though it was because of a divorce but still, she needed it and stayed for another season.
I'm not sure if MK would have stayed another season if she needed the money despite everything else not being right. I've been more involved with Stella than with the actress behind her.
But I would think she's rather comfortable because things were as final.

Interesting point; maybe she was more serious about it than we thought when she recalled her dialogue with PV about whether she likes Stella at all, because she puts her in peril ever so often. Maybe it was actually a slight hint that MK wasn´t that happy with the script of RIP MG, maybe she had discussions with Veasey and others about this particular storyline, but also about Stella´s appearance in general in S6.

With the way things were handled it wouldn't surprise me. I'm not sure if she was so thrilled over RIP MG because after all it wasn't really something new. It was like: Let's put Stella through something like that again and we're done with the Stella episode of the season.
With the way Stella was treated, I would have gotten doubts at one point. Besides, they, for the most part, ignored what had happened in GFD and that was written by MK, so that made me wonder why they allowed her to write something like that if they didn't plan on following it up. In whatever way.

Yes, the way it is now it looks very much like a surprising departure of MK,

Which CG confirmed in his interview by saying the writers have to scramble it in last minute.

Though I wonder if he didn't get the point by saying it's going to be a smooth transition or if he just tried to be casual about it like HH and GS are "political correct" about it.
But there's nothing smooth about it. No matter what they're doing and how "easy" it's going to happen.

though she might have thought about it before, but gave it another try, but then something went wrong during the negotiations and she called it quits. And MK is a fair person I suppose, if she had decided already long before the beginning of the negotiations that S6 will be her last one, she would have told them right in time, so that they would have been prepared.

Well, there was that interview some time ago where MK was asked if she stayed with NY until its end and she said she didn't know because there was so much happening, so I wonder if she maybe toyed with the idea and knew for herself that if the negotiations wouldn't turn out the way she wanted she'd leave. Which I could imagine was the case.
However, I could imagine that even if CBS knew that it could happen they were overly confident and ignored it, sure she would sign. Thus the cliffhanger...

As I said, I stopped following Vegas quite some years ago, so I can´t comment on that, but reading the comments shows that it suffers the same problems than NY and Miami.

Though NY is still tailing them all, as far as I know.
I wonder if they cut the show altogether if they cut them or if they would take one or two of them out and left the third.

But SW must have a motive to accept the offer for NY, maybe it´s just as simple as that she needs the money .

I didn't want to say it as directly

But I agree with you that this was really maybe a tactic to announce her right the day after they had to announce MK´s departure, so they tried to keep people from being too shocked about this bad news by giving them what they thought were good news straight after that. Well, it failed.

Definitely.
And now they're struggling with it... And I find it almost funny how GS and HH sound like fans themselves when they say things on twitter over and over again.
Though I wonder if they really think it was such a good news, the replacement... if people were shocked over MK's departure how would that change anything?
I guess what they didn't factor in was that many were upset at how quickly the replacement came and that it seemed like they weren't respecting MK's departure enough but had laid her off like a set of underwear and put on the new set straight away.

Now that´s very interesting, good luck for you, fingers crossed that you´ll have a good career :thumbsup:. And of course, you´re absolutely right not to work without payment, dancing is work, hard work and every work deserves fair payment.

Thank you

:lol: that´s true, that was rather like a professional press statement. Hill just seemed to think quickly what he could reply.

Though they both shouldn't have said anything because I don't think that fans want to hear them wishing MK well and moving on with the show (literally )
If someone's upset about something what they did and do destroys an illusion.

I didn´t even watch it, don´t like this kind of films anyway , but of what I read MK just got three minutes and twelve words or so .

Well, they had to squeeze all the actors in there somewhere, somehow...

Yes, let´s do this .
A show, yes, sounds good, her own show with her as lead.

Well, if it were her show it would naturally be her lead, right?

Oh, they don´t think they have to learn, that was up to us .

I'm not sure I understand what you mean.

I didn´t really mind Aubrey too much, I thought it would work the same way as it did when he had Peyton, it didn´t influence Mac´s and Stella´s friendship then and it could have worked this time, too, but since the writers went crappy, they didn´t manage to balance between Mac dating Aubrey on one side and Mac´s and Stella´s friendship on the other side, and on top of that they even brought back Peyton, so Stella was completely pushed aside.

Yeah, well, and he wasn't even dating Aubrey according to what he told Peyton. So, we can only imagine what would have been when he had.
But that wasn't fair to either Mac or Stella's character. Stella because she wasn't important anymore since there was someone else and Mac because it made him appear insensitive and like he could do without Stella once the right woman came along and didn't need her anymore, she had done her job. Which is wrong because he wasn't shown like that before. As you said, they did a good job while he was dating Peyton and they always managed until the beginning of season 6 to balance their personal lives, their professional lives and that friendship.
Their friendship was always shown as being that indestructible bond that could survive anything so I found it very frustrating how it was handled.

Well, I fear that´s it, because they didn´t manage to show much of their friendship in S6 when Stella was still there, so how are they´re supposed to do so, now that Stella´s gone?

Well, there would be the possibility of emails and phone calls and texts or just other's asking Mac how she is.
But I don't have much hope. You know how they say out of sight, out of mind... While that would be once again wrong for the friendship of Mac and Stella, it will most certainly be how the writers will handle it. After all, they said themselves, they didn't want the emotional impact of a killing or a disappearance, which translates into, they didn't want to have to bother with her too much.

Yes, Stella was always fair, she considered things from both sides and tried to draw the right conclusions, even if it were the inconvenient ones.
The horse thing was illogical and stupid, first Mac was adamant and wanted the bullet out of the horse immediately, then with this new method to make a copy of the bullet he suddenly said he wanted to delay the operation as long as possible to save the horse and yelled at Stella when she was angry about this.

They always made Mac go for what they considered the popular choice, like the more sympathetic one, like keeping the horse alive and keeping Adam instead of a machine and they didn't realize that it was at the loss of part of his character.

Yes, yes, yes, you´re sooooo right, that was so annoying, it was as if he was mocking Stella, telling her how right she was and that he had to hear it from her, and then he walks to Ella. That felt as if he didn´t take Stella seriously and just pretended to do so, it felt like an abuse of their friendship.

I'm glad I finally found someone who's sharing my point of view on that. I was so frustrated with that ending... Just like the one from the episode where Stella taught at the university.
Now, they had set it all up that she felt responsible for the killing because she had taught and her examples had been used for the killings and then they didn't even give her the satisfaction of the arrest but instead had Hawkes talk to that girl and tell her how she could get out easy. That, too, was so annoying because it was so unsatisfying for Stella.

the Stella of S2 was very strong; in S1 she was still very much in Mac´s tall shadow, "Officer Blue" was rather an exception and in a way S6 closed this circle, it was as if Stella stepped back into Mac´s shadow again.

Well, I would disagree with that. In season 1 I was a little confused because in the first episodes it seemed like Mac was still sort of her mentor and with Officer Blue she sort of showed their equality for the first time. In season 6 she was pushed into the background but she had developed into too strong a character to be in Mac's shadow. She might have been pushed back but she still had that strong presence and leadership. There was a lack of absence from her in the episodes (a lack of a lot, actually, not just her presence) but most of the scenes she was in she owned, in away. Or at least co-owned.

Yes, MK grew into the role and filled Stella with life, she gave always the best performances, but what could she do with such bad storylines? Nothing, and probably that was why she left.

That's exactly what I was thinking. No matter how good the actor, you can only be so good as your lines. Sometimes when people say her character was weak, of an episode was weak but the acting was good, I was like yeah, it's not entirely her fault. If the directing and writing don't work in her favor, there isn't a lot she can do.
I mean, the acting in RIP MG was good but the episode itself... It wasn't among the best. Wasn't the worst either but... There's just so much more to it than just talent of an actor.

With GS, I´ve seen him in a few movies and he was pretty good, so I know he can do better and I was a bit negatively surprised that his acting as Mac is often so one-dimensional and that he doesn´t make more of this character, and I wonder why he as a producer does not intervene and demand better storylines for Mac, unless he´s happy with the way it is.

Maybe he can't. Maybe he's happy with the way Mac's shown. From what I've heard GS is pretty obsessed with military stuff, so... Maybe he liked Mac the way he is.
I've actually seen Forrest Gump and Appollo 13 though don't have any memories of him... Could be that I wasn't fond of the first movie and watched the second in my government class which I always did something else in.
I don't think the acting is bad but his character is just bland... I wonder how they're going to deal with that now that his challenge, Stella, is gone. Maybe it'll bring out more sides of him though please, no more hero-Mac. I've got enough of that.
But it almost seems as if they don't know what else to do with Mac. They did set up a pretty difficult character in him, it is pretty hard to write more than one side and it's even more difficult now that Stella is gone.

Yes, Stella grew on us like a friend and it was great to watch her development and knowing that this has now come to an abrupt end feels as if we are losing a friend.

Yeah... agreed... though I still have to shake my head over my thinking that. It's just a character after all. Though it's a compliment to MK. A huge one.

TPTB definitely should look for another profession . Yes, true, it was Mac, Mac and Mac and the Flack episode was another of many disappointments.

So, and now I finally want to know what TPTB actually means Because for the life of me, I can't figure it out
The Flack storyline was another one which wasn't used well, in my opinion. I missed interaction with Danny and Stella because I felt like Stella and Flack were a lot closer than Flack and Mac. Flack and Stella seemed to have a brother and sister relationship in several episodes. And Stella was closer to Angell as Mac as well.
But I think it would have been more interesting had Danny actually found Flack. Well, they could have done much more out of it like with so many things. I have often wondered if they even realized the potential that they have created.

but I wouldn´t want a mysterious disappearance either, to be honest, that would be just another Mac-hero story and soon the story would fade away like so many others before, when they´d feel it´s now safe not to mention Stella anymore after a few months have passed.

Well, it would have to be done properly, of course, the disappearance. Though I agree, it would most likely not have been done properly. But it could have been good.

Actually at first I had thought I´d misread New Jersey for New Orleans, until I read it again and saw that they really sent her to N. Orleans :lol:,

:lol:

Jersey would have made much more sense, I agree, it´s not that far away from NY, she could still have been close to her team and friends.
And why would she so suddenly decide to go to NO, to arrest the oil and beware the fishermen to kill each other?

:guffaw: Arrest the oil, that's a good one. Yeah and don't forget the hurricane. She's gotta have to search for that because it fled the scene to that might take some time

It's so silly to send her down there...

She is a good and helpful girl, we all know that, but I think she´d have limits as to how far her readiness to help would go .
So yeah, a big argument with Mac might have made her want to leave, but it´s not that they never had arguments before and some were pretty big, but they always made up again, they are after all sensible, grown up people who wouldn´t give up such a close friendship so easily. So that´s also not a good excuse; nothing really is and the writers went just for the easiest exit that doesn´t exhaust their brains too much.

Yes and like a friend of mine said, it's almost like they're exploiting the situation in New Orleans and not even in a good way.
It doesn't respect either Stella's character nor what has happened, as far as I'm concerned but they're using it for their own benefit just because they're too lazy to work their brains according to the salaries they're paid.
Like I said, reading that article just made me roll my eyes because it was so hypocritical.
If they had cared, they wouldn't have the problem of writing Stella out.

Though it would be interesting to challenge them and ask how they think it makes "a lot of sense". I'd really be curious to those answers.

 

[Lori K.]

Been enjoying you two tremendously but need to take breaks from all my reading!!!:lol: You are bringing up such great points!!:thumbsup: Forgot about the Ella thing :wtf: was that any way!:lol: That was about as senseless as it gets!

Who wrote the premiere by the way? If it's Veasey then we get a dialogue like: Mac: "Stella's settled in New Orleans and says hello to all of you."

Somehow I think you are right PV probably wrote it she has such a love for D/L and the baby and all, that is when I think she "lost her head" and her writing skills.

Though I wonder if he didn't get the point by saying it's going to be a smooth transition or if he just tried to be casual about it like HH and GS are "political correct" about it.

Carmine is trying to make light of it in hopes it will go away! As far as Hill, he always tries to make the best of everything, when he said for example all the awesome stuff coming up Gary on the other hand I very much enjoyed his comment especially when he said Melina is a classy lady. To me that spoke volumes as to who is at fault here indicating that she was screwed but will be gracious about it.

But there's nothing smooth about it. No matter what they're doing and how "easy" it's going to happen.

They are like politicians get all the nasty smell out of the way and hope it goes away in time for the premiere and everyone will love them again!

But SW must have a motive to accept the offer for NY, maybe it´s just as simple as that she needs the money .

She isnt "young" by hollywood standards so maybe the offers arent exactly slamming down her door.
TPTB stands for The powers that be...Pam Veasey

I guess what they didn't factor in was that many were upset at how quickly the replacement came and that it seemed like they weren't respecting MK's departure enough but had laid her off like a set of underwear and put on the new set straight away.

Unfournately the stink of the old pair still lingers!!:lol:

AHHH again how refreshing you guys have been I need to stay out of the spoiler thread and come here instead

 

[Top41]

Guys, let's try to be careful when it comes to ascribing thoughts and intent to people working on the show. Remember, none of us can presume to know what they're thinking. I know you guys are upset, but I'm seeing a lot of negativity and mud-flinging here. Let's try to keep things in perspective and express disappointment with Stella's departure without insulting or making assumptions about her co-stars, the writers, TPTB, etc. Thanks.

 

[perlnoir]

In a French interview Melina explain that she didn’t leave the show for family reasons (to take care of her daughters because she always explained them that she needed to work and that it was necessary to know how to associate both) but only because the evolution of her character did not correspond to her any more.
CBS had proposed well a reduction of salary but revised when Melina refused the offer. They then proposed again to her salary initial but she preferred not resigned.
As regards the fact of concluding the end for her character she also gave up it

She works on Elisabeth Kubler Ross's biography, one psychiatrist who has created the first homes in United States with three other doctors. She has just acquired the rights
She says that “it was a fabulous woman, in the fascinating fate! I draft a scenario of its story. I also read numerous scripts which were sent to me since the announcement of “

 

[PerfectAnomaly]

Thanks for the scan and translation. I'm going to try and get the whole interview translated.

It's a shame that she wouldn't make a deal to at least give Stella a proper send off like Marg did on CSI so Catherine could say good-bye.

 

[Lori K.]

YIKES!!! I wish I knew French:scream: Thanks Perlnoir

 

[PerfectAnomaly]

Thanks for the scan and translation. I'm going to try and get the whole interview translated.

It's a shame that she wouldn't make a deal to at least give Stella a proper send off like Marg did on CSI so Catherine could say good-bye.

For anyone who can translate: Does Melina say why she wouldn't come back to allow a send off for Stella?

 

[Top41]

Interesting. It does sound like it was at least in part about money, but also that she wasn't happy with the development of her character. I wonder if that was in reference to things from the sixth season, or if it's about what was planned for Stella in season seven. After six years, I can understand her wanting to move on, but it does seem very abrupt.

 

[perlnoir]

it was in reference to things from the sixth season.

 

[~Sarah~]

It's a shame that she wouldn't make a deal to at least give Stella a proper send off like Marg did on CSI so Catherine could say good-bye.

I agree. It would have been nice for her do something like Vanessa Ferlito did and maybe do one or two episodes before leaving the show. I think Marg is doing something like at least 9 this season before leaving the show.

Although I'm not quite sure what they did to her character in Season 6 that she had a problem with. The only thing that comes to mind is how she was convinced that Marina Garito did not commit suicide.

 

[Andromeda]

:lol: She lost it? But yeah, I know what you mean and I agree... and with some of the episodes you could even take that in every sense of the way

She lost her writing skills or her mind or whatever it was that once made her write good stuff .

Yes, unlike Veasey and Co. CG did his job with verve, even if the plot itself wasn´t the really big thing, but it was nice to watch anyway.
Yes, the plan was always for MK to write this one episode to solve the whole case. So I agree, either they should have given her a second episode or should have helped her to cut it that way that it would fit into one episode, after all they are (allegedly) the professional writers which she isn´t.

I don´t mean PV has to fire herself necessarily , but just to take a step back and let others do the writing for her, at least for a while. But you´re right, she´s probably not critical and doesn´t consider her stuff as bad, or at least would never admit it.
Dunno who writes the premiere. But yes, if it´s Pam, then this could be the dialogue we´ll get to hear :lol:.
I agree, these jobs should be separated, the producers should take care of the maintenance of the show, and writers should write the storylines.

Yes, I read that too and that it was 50,000 less than GS was earning... Which is ridiculous. They're in the same business and still all of the women on the CSI shows earn less than their co-lead.
Not sure if you're familiar with the show "The Avengers". It was filmed in the 60s, the co-lead, Diana Rigg was said to earn less than the camera man. I guess they can be glad that it's not that bad anymore.

Yeah, why should she get less than GS, she did the same work, the same job, had the same amount of studio time in most of the episodes. But this problem of worse payment for women exists still in most other professions, too.
Yes, I know "The Avengers", and how bad Diana Rigg and her other female collegues had it- at least that has changed and emancipation got that far as to acknowledge that women get good payment at all.

Yep, it´s ridiculous, I can´t see why Charlie Sheen should earn so much money for a single episode; I like "Two and a Half Man", but still it´s not that Charlie does something so special there that justifies such an amount, I bet his co-stars don´t even get half as much. And I´d understand, too, if MK is pissed (no problem with this word ), because she could suspect that her pay cut, as well as all the others has been made to ensure Sheen´s payment increase.
And I agree, a person like him, who in private really seems to be a complete a...., shouldn´t earn that much money and shouldn´t even be in the show anymore. After all it´s a family show, watched by many children, too, and I feel with his drug, alcohol and violence problems he´s not the right cast for the show.
If CBS concentrate their power and finances on a single, not even super talented guy like Sheen and let other shows fall behind for him, including some of their finest actors, then yes, let there be justice and NY drown finally after S7 .

Well, that, of course, too would satisfy my sense of justice if she got something new quickly.
I would guess she needs for things to settle down and sort out where she's going from there.

Maybe the offers already came flying in when she still was with CSI NY, so fingers crossed that we´ll soon hear some good news .
Yes, maybe she´s just gathering new strengths and sorting out which offer to accept and which direction to take.

Well, I think MK is as honest a person as Helgenberger is, so I suppose if she had stayed for the money she would have admitted it, too.
But usually I´d say she wouldn´t stay, even if she´d really need the money, but what do I know? I don´t know her in person and there could always come circumstances that are unpredictable, like Helgenberger had to find out.

With the way things were handled it wouldn't surprise me. I'm not sure if she was so thrilled over RIP MG because after all it wasn't really something new. It was like: Let's put Stella through something like that again and we're done with the Stella episode of the season.
With the way Stella was treated, I would have gotten doubts at one point. Besides, they, for the most part, ignored what had happened in GFD and that was written by MK, so that made me wonder why they allowed her to write something like that if they didn't plan on following it up. In whatever way.

Yes, I could imagine that MK wasn´t overwhelmed when she read the script for RIP MG, why can´t they let Stella solve a case without putting her in peril? "Criminal Justice" was the exception to that rule and Stella was great in it, even without having to fight for her life .
True, they let her write GfD and that was it, nothing was ever mentioned again, not one word about how finding out about her mother changed her emotionally in the due course of time, let alone that the close bond between Mac and Stella wasn´t continued consequently. Maybe MK felt disappointed and not well appreciated and it added to her decision to leave.

Which CG confirmed in his interview by saying the writers have to scramble it in last minute.

Though I wonder if he didn't get the point by saying it's going to be a smooth transition or if he just tried to be casual about it like HH and GS are "political correct" about it.
But there's nothing smooth about it. No matter what they're doing and how "easy" it's going to happen.

Yes, in a way CG more or less deliberately revealed the truth.
Well, he had to say it´s smooth because of political correctness, I assume. If he had said it´s a brutal transition he might have gotten into trouble .

Well, there was that interview some time ago where MK was asked if she stayed with NY until its end and she said she didn't know because there was so much happening, so I wonder if she maybe toyed with the idea and knew for herself that if the negotiations wouldn't turn out the way she wanted she'd leave. Which I could imagine was the case.
However, I could imagine that even if CBS knew that it could happen they were overly confident and ignored it, sure she would sign. Thus the cliffhanger...

I remember that interview well and thought of it instantly when I read the news that she left. Though I´d still presume that she wouldn´t do a last minute exit, only if things really went totally wrong, which they obviously did.

Though NY is still tailing them all, as far as I know.
I wonder if they cut the show altogether if they cut them or if they would take one or two of them out and left the third.

NY was always tailing the others with everything, I think. I don´t know how they would cut the shows, just finish them when nothing works anymore .

I didn't want to say it as directly

It´s OK, I did the job for you .

Definitely.
And now they're struggling with it... And I find it almost funny how GS and HH sound like fans themselves when they say things on twitter over and over again.
Though I wonder if they really think it was such a good news, the replacement... if people were shocked over MK's departure how would that change anything?
I guess what they didn't factor in was that many were upset at how quickly the replacement came and that it seemed like they weren't respecting MK's departure enough but had laid her off like a set of underwear and put on the new set straight away.

Yes, that´s true, they want to be fella fans on Twitter and that looks sometimes a bit ridiculous.
If they didn´t think it was such a good news, then they won´t admit it. I think they felt lucky that they could offer a replacement right the next day.
I agree, and that´s exactly how I felt that they laid MK off like worn out clothes. I found it rather tasteless and also disrespectful to present SW the day after they announced MK´s departure; it felt as if it didn´t really matter to them that Melina was gone, it was just like "Well, the show must go on, so what".

Thank you

You´re welcome .

Though they both shouldn't have said anything because I don't think that fans want to hear them wishing MK well and moving on with the show (literally )
If someone's upset about something what they did and do destroys an illusion.

Well, they didn´t sound too upset IMO, it was more like phrases and giving the asking fans something to calm, which of course didn´t work.

Well, they had to squeeze all the actors in there somewhere, somehow...

Unfortunately they squeezed Melina in particular .

Well, if it were her show it would naturally be her lead, right?

Well, I can´t really deny that you´re right .

I'm not sure I understand what you mean.

I meant that TPTB didn´t really think they did something wrong and that they therefore should have learnt something out of their mistakes. We as wise fans on the other hand saw exactly what went wrong and therefore were the ones who learnt for them, but of course, they´d never listen to our advice, would they ?

Yeah, well, and he wasn't even dating Aubrey according to what he told Peyton. So, we can only imagine what would have been when he had.
But that wasn't fair to either Mac or Stella's character. Stella because she wasn't important anymore since there was someone else and Mac because it made him appear insensitive and like he could do without Stella once the right woman came along and didn't need her anymore, she had done her job. Which is wrong because he wasn't shown like that before. As you said, they did a good job while he was dating Peyton and they always managed until the beginning of season 6 to balance their personal lives, their professional lives and that friendship.
Their friendship was always shown as being that indestructible bond that could survive anything so I found it very frustrating how it was handled.

Well, he was close to date her, I think, but then Peyton returned and Aubrey was forgotten. The problem wasn´t that they might have given him a new woman to date, but the problem was like you said that this time Stella was shoven into the corner, the interaction between her and Mac was just not happening anymore. She was just allowed to serve him food and drink at his apartment when he was on sick leave , something daft like that, but everything else that had made this such a special friendship was being shut off. I don´t know, maybe they wanted to put the focus off from the Mac/Stella- chemistry, for whatever reason, but whatever it was, it was the worst idea ever.

Well, there would be the possibility of emails and phone calls and texts or just other's asking Mac how she is.
But I don't have much hope. You know how they say out of sight, out of mind... While that would be once again wrong for the friendship of Mac and Stella, it will most certainly be how the writers will handle it. After all, they said themselves, they didn't want the emotional impact of a killing or a disappearance, which translates into, they didn't want to have to bother with her too much.

Yes, they will say as excuse that it´s a show about those who are still in it and not about the has-beens, but that would be poor. I mean it isn´t ask too much if they show from time to time scenes where Mac or Adam call Stella and have a few words with her, but I fear it is actually asked too much.

They always made Mac go for what they considered the popular choice, like the more sympathetic one, like keeping the horse alive and keeping Adam instead of a machine and they didn't realize that it was at the loss of part of his character.

They meant him to be the perfect man in whatever he does and whatever he decides and that´s dull, because I don´t want a superman, but just someone who is human and fails sometimes like everybody.

I'm glad I finally found someone who's sharing my point of view on that. I was so frustrated with that ending... Just like the one from the episode where Stella taught at the university.
Now, they had set it all up that she felt responsible for the killing because she had taught and her examples had been used for the killings and then they didn't even give her the satisfaction of the arrest but instead had Hawkes talk to that girl and tell her how she could get out easy. That, too, was so annoying because it was so unsatisfying for Stella.

Well, actually thought the same . I really love everything else of this episode, it was so much fun with the eye in Stella´s coffee and the vultures, etc.., it was like a fun episode and then Mac spoilt the ending with being the way he is and treat Stella like a silly girl that he lets talk and talk, but doesn´t really listen.
To be honest, can´t really remember this one with Stella at the college, but funny enough it´s the one to be re-run tomorrow, so I will watch it again to see the mess .

Well, I would disagree with that. In season 1 I was a little confused because in the first episodes it seemed like Mac was still sort of her mentor and with Officer Blue she sort of showed their equality for the first time. In season 6 she was pushed into the background but she had developed into too strong a character to be in Mac's shadow. She might have been pushed back but she still had that strong presence and leadership. There was a lack of absence from her in the episodes (a lack of a lot, actually, not just her presence) but most of the scenes she was in she owned, in away. Or at least co-owned.

Well, it´s true that Stella was in S6 far more developed as a strong character than in S1, but still, especially in the beginning of S6, it felt like she was back again in the beginning of the show; it wasn´t just a lack of presence, but when she was there, she didn´t really have something special to do. OK, she was in command of the others, but it felt as if she was also more under Mac´s command again. Dunno how to explain it properly, but sometimes I really felt strongly reminded of S1.

That's exactly what I was thinking. No matter how good the actor, you can only be so good as your lines. Sometimes when people say her character was weak, of an episode was weak but the acting was good, I was like yeah, it's not entirely her fault. If the directing and writing don't work in her favor, there isn't a lot she can do.
I mean, the acting in RIP MG was good but the episode itself... It wasn't among the best. Wasn't the worst either but... There's just so much more to it than just talent of an actor.

Yeah, actors very much depend on good scripts; Melina always did her best and often managed to act out great a bad story. RIP MG was just not a surprising or thrilling story, they could have done it so much better, but I guess they didn´t really care; Stella had to have "her" episode as with every season, so they scrabbled something together that wasn´t very imaginative.

Maybe he can't. Maybe he's happy with the way Mac's shown. From what I've heard GS is pretty obsessed with military stuff, so... Maybe he liked Mac the way he is.
I don't think the acting is bad but his character is just bland... I wonder how they're going to deal with that now that his challenge, Stella, is gone. Maybe it'll bring out more sides of him though please, no more hero-Mac. I've got enough of that.
But it almost seems as if they don't know what else to do with Mac. They did set up a pretty difficult character in him, it is pretty hard to write more than one side and it's even more difficult now that Stella is gone.

Maybe he doesn´t want to and I agree with GS loving the military stuff and Mac is the same, so maybe there´s a lot of Gary in Mac, like there was a lot of Melina in Stella, but while latter was great and exciting, former is just terribly boring. I mean, GS had already his movie career and in an interview he said that he finds it now comfortable to play in a show where he doesn´t have to travel and can stay with his family and it´s generally a more laid back job than shooting a film. So maybe he just doesn´t want to do much, so that leaves Mac as a bland, predictable character and it seems like they don´t mind much as he´s the boss and just has to command his team and be heroic.

Yeah... agreed... though I still have to shake my head over my thinking that. It's just a character after all. Though it's a compliment to MK. A huge one.

Absolutely; Melina did her job so great that she gave us the illusion Stella is real, and that shows what a brilliant actress she is. Chapeau, Melina!

So, and now I finally want to know what TPTB actually means Because for the life of me, I can't figure it out
The Flack storyline was another one which wasn't used well, in my opinion. I missed interaction with Danny and Stella because I felt like Stella and Flack were a lot closer than Flack and Mac. Flack and Stella seemed to have a brother and sister relationship in several episodes. And Stella was closer to Angell as Mac as well.
But I think it would have been more interesting had Danny actually found Flack. Well, they could have done much more out of it like with so many things. I have often wondered if they even realized the potential that they have created.

Well, Lori has answered that one .
Stella was closer to everyone else than Mac was, except Lindsay, these two never got warm with each other.
And I agree, since Danny and Flack are good buddies, he should have found Flack with Stella supporting him- but no, of course, big Daddy had to be the one to be there for Flack.
Sometimes I really think they didn´t realize what a great team of marvellous characters they had created when they hardly gave them space, but it was in the end always centered around Mac.

Well, it would have to be done properly, of course, the disappearance. Though I agree, it would most likely not have been done properly. But it could have been good.

That´s the point, they would have done it in their usual rushing way like they do with most storylines. After two episodes they would have stopped searching for Stella and declared her missing for good :lol:.

:guffaw: Arrest the oil, that's a good one. Yeah and don't forget the hurricane. She's gotta have to search for that because it fled the scene to that might take some time

It's so silly to send her down there...

Oh, how could I forget evil Katrina, ah, she´s still free and storming around somewhere, but our heroine Stella will finally find her and blow her out

Yes and like a friend of mine said, it's almost like they're exploiting the situation in New Orleans and not even in a good way.
It doesn't respect either Stella's character nor what has happened, as far as I'm concerned but they're using it for their own benefit just because they're too lazy to work their brains according to the salaries they're paid.
Like I said, reading that article just made me roll my eyes because it was so hypocritical.
Though it would be interesting to challenge them and ask how they think it makes "a lot of sense". I'd really be curious to those answers.

Good point. It´s like they think New Orleans is so deteriorated and broken from what´s happened that they can use it for their silly plans to write out Stella as the heroine to save the city.

If they had cared, they wouldn't have the problem of writing Stella out.

:thumbsup:These words speak for themselves.

 

[Andromeda]

Been enjoying you two tremendously but need to take breaks from all my reading!!!:lol: You are bringing up such great points!!:thumbsup: Forgot about the Ella thing :wtf: was that any way!:lol: That was about as senseless as it gets!

Thanks, Lori , and Melina´s interview proves at least partly that some of our assumptions were right: she wasn´t happy anymore with the development of Stella´s character.

And Top41: we´re not offending anybody and as long as this is not the case, we should have the right to discuss this issue, I think and I hope. But since Melina now apparently has broken her silence, we know now more and can put things right, in case we were wrong with some speculations .

Thanks Perlfor the interview .

 

[perlnoir]

I write the interview if someone want to translate it.

Un restaurant, à mercredi matin, dans la banlieue de Los Angeles à Shermann Oaks. En exclusivité mondiale depuis son départ Mélina Kanakaredes nous révèle pourquoi elle a quitté la série qui l’a rendu célèbre.

À la surprise générale vous quittez les experts Manhattan que s’est-il donc passé?

Mélina : six ans s’est déjà une belle aventure la façon dont tout cela s’est déroulée m’a également déboussolé ce fut un choix difficile que j’ai fait un peu rapidement, vu la façon dont les événements se sont déroulées. En fête, je pensais plutôt prendre cette décision à la fin de la septième saison. Et puis, j’ai voulu passer à autre chose. J’avais de nouvelles envies. Mais je garde le souvenir de six années formidables avec une équipe d’exception.


Qu’en avez-vous songé, pour la première fois à quitter la série ?

Mélina : dès la fin de la cinquième saison.
Mais finalement tout s’est précipité, il y a trois semaines juste avant le début du tournage de la septième saison.

Jusqu’à quant courait de votre contrat ?

Mélina : fin de la septième saison.

Étiez-vous en droit de l’écourter ?

Mélina : Disons que l’on est venu me demander de revoir certaines clauses de mon contrat ; c’est à ce moment-là que j’ai décidé de passer à autre chose.

Les producteurs souhaitaient revoir votre salaire à la baisse ?

Mélina : oui ! Je n’étais pas prêt à faire cette concession, dont j’ai dû faire un choix. Ils ont ensuite changer leur fusil d’épaule et le salaire n’était plus un problème. Mais moi, je m’étais résolue à partir et je n’avais plus envie de revenir là-dessus.

Ont-ils alors essayez de vous gardez à tout prix ?

Mélina : oui mon contrat revenait finalement à son état initial. Mais je me suis posé cette question : est-ce qu’une histoire d’argent doit m’empêcher de faire ce dont j’ai vraiment envie ? Mon envie, c’est d’écouter mon cœur. Ma réflexion a continué durant toutes ces années avait-je réussis à construire un personnage en donnant le meilleur de moi-même artistiquement ?
A faire de Stella une héroïne qui force l’admiration ? Oui, mais en tant qu’actrice j’avais aussi le sentiment d’avoir tout donné. Je ne souhaitais pas continuer juste pour l’argent. On m’a offert l’opportunité de partir, je l’ai saisie. On ne m’a pas demandé de partir, Disons plutôt, que la production a essayé de m’imposer des choix un peu étrange.


Ses choix concernaient-ils votre personnage également ?

Mélina : lorsque je suis revenu pour la sixième session Stella n’était plus entourée de ses subordonnés. – je trouvais cette situation difficile dans la mesure où cela ne l’aurait certainement pas accepté. En même temps, je comprends la direction que souhaitait prendre les scénaristes à la fin de la cinquième saison. Tout le monde s’était fait tirer dessus à la suite de cet événement, le parcours de tous les protagonistes avait pris une direction un peu dingue. Mais cela s’est arrangé au fur et à mesure des épisodes.

Sincèrement, je ne reviendrai vous pas pour apporter une fin cohérent au parcours de Stella, le temps d’un ou deux épisodes ?


Mélina : Pour l’instant, rien ne va dans ce sens, mais sait-on jamais… j’ignore comment les scénaristes expliqueront son départ. J’espère simplement que cela sera fait avec goût.

Vous avez donc tournée votre dernier épisode au printemps sans savoir que c’était terminé. En gardez-vous un souvenir particulier ?

Mélina : non. En revanche, deux épisodes avant le tout dernier Stella vit pas mal d’aventures. Ce sont des épisodes très physiques et émouvants, puisqu’ils marquent le départ de marine. En plaisantant ailleurs, j’ai d’ailleurs dit à Pam veasey la productrice de la série : « tu m’en veux ! » d’abord, je me fais lyncher par des sales types, ensuite, je me retrouve dans un accident de voiture, fracassée. Mais cela reste un excellent souvenir tant son action était à son apogée et cela a permis de montrer de nouvelles facettes de la personnalité de Stella.

Aujourd’hui quels sont vos projets ?

Medina : je viens d’acheter les droits de la biographie d’Elisabeth kubler Ross, une psychiatre qui a créé les premiers hospices aux-Etats-Unis avec trois autres médecins. C’était une femme, au destin passionnant. Je rédige un scénario de son histoire. Je vis également de nombreux scripts qui m’ont été envoyés depuis l’annonce de mon départ.

Comment réagissent vos filles, Zoé 10 ans et Karina 7 ans ?

C’est un point que je souhaite clarifier : je n’ai pas quitté la série pour m’occuper de mes enfants.. J’ai accepté par de jouer dans cette série parce que je savais que je pourrais passer du temps avec mes filles, tout en faisant le métier qui me passionne. Être maire est le cadeau le plus beau que j’ai pu recevoir, mais j’ai aussi besoin de travailler d’ailleurs je fais comprendre à mes filles que les deux sont compatibles. Maintenant, on espère qu’une chose : pouvoir suivre le prochain feuilleton auquel je participerai car elle n’avait pas le droit de suivre les experts Manhattan.

Pour conclure, dans quel état d’esprit vous sentez-vous ?

Mélina : je suis ravi à l’idée d’entreprendre quelque chose d’autre. C’est un nouveau départ je suis en accord avec moi-même c’est le plus important.


Entretien : Franck Ragaine à Los Angeles.

 

[Axatullux]

To be honest, I'm not the slighest bit suprised if it really turns out that Melina was incredibly unhappy with the way Stella was being developed, or should I say, dismantled as a character.

If that's the case, then I totally don't blame her for deciding to leave CSI:NY altogether. Season 6 overwall was rather weak in many places, save for a couple episodes and my guess is is that MK sensed that it was time to close her case on the show for good.

I won't deny Sela Ward's talents but I am not familiar with her and I doubt that she can raise the sinking dinosaur of a show the way Stella did. Of course, Danny has been reduced to a joke, :brickwall: Lindsay reduced to a Mary-Sue-like character, :angryrazz: Mac just being a complete jerk. :brickwall::angryrazz: Flack becoming less prevalent, despite his character being almost intact despite the terrible loss of Angell which I still haven't fully recovered from. Stella was the only strong female character on the show and with her departure, the actual spinal structure of the building left and the entire building collapses as a result, at least to me. :scream::devil::scream:

In my universe, Stella finally jumped out of the CBS universe, OUT of the CSI:NY timeline, split into six or seven different versions, each of which lands in their own alternate timeline, and severs any relations to the CBS-canon universe. Some of these versions become a version of Stella being on the other side of the law. :devil::lol::scream:

Thank God Melina came to her senses and called it an era and jumped ship. :bolian: