Why Lindsay Must Go (Part 3)

[Elwood21]

I agree that Lindsay was alright in S2 for the most part. Also just saw a rerun of S3 Oedipus Hex I think it was, whichever the Suicide Girls were in, and she had a few good moments there too actually. But even the lighter moments they give her now aren't as tight or well played as they were back then. I'm not sorry Lindsay lost her money to Laughing Larry. Flack now, poor bastard, yes I deeply feel his sarcastic pain. Even feel bad that Stella had nothing more than sea monkeys.

The whole DL line and attempts at drama exposed Anna and sank Lindsay, and what a mess it's become for the whole show now. Gotta say I also completely agree with the parallels brought up with NCIS & Criminal Minds. The longer NY goes on, and the more they try to give Anna Belknapp moments to step up, the more blatant it is to me that Vanessa Ferlito's Aiden Burn is hugely missed. Lindsay pales utterly in presence and personality.

With Criminal Minds, I really wondered how the show would do with Gideon gone. It (shamefully) took me a second to re-register that Elle was actually on the show but I guess that partly speaks to how well it's moved on with new characters. Rossi & Emily have stepped in alright, and they were both smartly placed somewhat on the outside at first, Rossi as abrasive and with his own unspoken initial agenda, Emily being directed to snoop on Hotchner. She ultimately evolved her own character navigating that while trying to fit in, and thankfully her stellar convenient ability to speak arabic is not all her character brings to the show.

The pregnancy on Criminal Minds was also handled well. We see that JJ and her man (name freeze here - okay looked it up, Detective William LaMontagne Jr) are finding balancing a long distance relationship, careers, and prospect of parenthood tricky. How that's been portrayed is believable, not overbearing, and in keeping with both the characters and relationship we've actually been shown, and done well in the very few concise moments devoted to it. I somehow doubt NY will be as expedient or skilled in attempting to do the same for Danny & Lindsay.

As for the parallel with NCIS, I agree with Shytownzombie. Their writers seemed prepared to handle the expected backlash after the departure of a beloved character. Again Ziva was a character who's introduction deliberately placed her counter to the others, and only Gibbs ever knew what really went down with Ari. When that was resolved and she fully came on board, she had to start at the bottom and work her way in, and we saw her learning how to deal with the job and her colleagues, and also how they learned to deal with her. I still prefer Kate, but Ziva's okay with me. She wasn't written to be cute and fuzzy, and doesn't in the least need to rely on any other character to define her. She's whole as is. As pointed out, not so much the case with Lindsay.

Lindsay was brought to fill in an empty slot in the labs, in a 'let's find someone who is soooo not New York to join the New York squad' way, and it could have worked. But instead of showing more of her adapting from being a country girl to jumping into being in New York, being a flirtation and then a love interest took precedence over any other kind of development. To the show's detriment. When they finally did try to show some backstory, it was painful for the wrong reasons.

All this has been said many times over by lots of people. I guess I just can't see what Lindsay brings to NY, except headaches and endless back and forth about what the hell it's done to Messer. Always comes back to Messer. I'm partly posting here in WhyLindsMustGo just for that reason alone. This whole thing between them is becoming an incredible deterrent to me than reason to watch. I'd really hoped enough was enough. But no. There's now a wee bairn a'comin to bond a nuked family. Oh, I mean a nuclear family. Silly me. This isn't the new millenium at all.

TPTB want to focus a little more on characters this season? Well, somehow NCIS, Criminal Minds, and even CSIVegas managed to balance showing character development while still solving murders and telling crime stories. We know it's possible then. I'll be delighted if Hawkes gets his (over)due, if Adam gets more screen time and a bit of a story of his own, if Stella gets to play ball with someone other than a misogynist boyfriend, if we see more Flack and his sister. I was actually hugely relieved and interested in the early indications that TPTB had a new direction in mind for Lindsay. But not anymore.

Alright, could be there's chance for Lindsay to see real, positive evolution, and that Anna can pull it off. And I bought six lottery tickets today. Where do the better odds lay. I'd love to be more hopeful, but, well. I'm not. Just not. I truly wish we'd have been able to see what TPTB originally intended for Lindsay this season. Any hope I had for her character at all has been dashed. I'm just not interested, not even with Danny hanging in the balance.

(Sorry for the long rant, and not much new for it. Not even sure I feel better for it).

 

[Top41]

^Great post, Elwood! I do think the pregnancy is the nail in the coffin for any chance Lindsay had of developing independent of Danny. But ultimately, when I think of what the character could have been, I come back to AJ, who basically created Adam out of one line. It's all about nuance, and there's just none of that in Anna's performance. A character is ultimately only as strong as the actor playing him or her, and in the end I think that's why Lindsay is so one-note.

 

[Kimmychu]

I second everything said in your post, Elwood21. Sums up most, if not all of what I feel about this new development.

The longer NY goes on, and the more they try to give Anna Belknapp moments to step up, the more blatant it is to me that Vanessa Ferlito's Aiden Burn is hugely missed. Lindsay pales utterly in presence and personality.

Ya wanna know how much I miss Aiden? At this point, I'm willing to close an eye to TPTB 'bringing her back from the dead' to replace Lindsay. I don't think anything much can top the ridiculousness of Lindsay being pregnant after everything that's happened, especially if TPTB's going to go through with it the way current spoilers are implying.

The pregnancy on Criminal Minds was also handled well. We see that JJ and her man (name freeze here - okay looked it up, Detective William LaMontagne Jr) are finding balancing a long distance relationship, careers, and prospect of parenthood tricky. How that's been portrayed is believable, not overbearing, and in keeping with both the characters and relationship we've actually been shown, and done well in the very few concise moments devoted to it. I somehow doubt NY will be as expedient or skilled in attempting to do the same for Danny & Lindsay.

Amen. And moreover, Criminal Minds went the smart route; they paired a main character with a recurring one, and they have good chemistry together. So if things go bad, the writers can still write the recurring character out without damaging the dynamics of the main cast in any way.

Lindsay was brought to fill in an empty slot in the labs, in a 'let's find someone who is soooo not New York to join the New York squad' way, and it could have worked. But instead of showing more of her adapting from being a country girl to jumping into being in New York, being a flirtation and then a love interest took precedence over any other kind of development. To the show's detriment. When they finally did try to show some backstory, it was painful for the wrong reasons.

Even worse is that the Big Dark Secret had great potential for Lindsay to stand out as her own character, but it became nothing more than a footnote to DL and thus undermined the entire storyline and Lindsay herself. And people wonder why we consider her character shallow, two-dimensional and boring?

This whole thing between them is becoming an incredible deterrent to me than reason to watch. I'd really hoped enough was enough. But no. There's now a wee bairn a'comin to bond a nuked family. Oh, I mean a nuclear family. Silly me. This isn't the new millenium at all.

I truly wish we'd have been able to see what TPTB originally intended for Lindsay this season. Any hope I had for her character at all has been dashed. I'm just not interested, not even with Danny hanging in the balance.

Same here. Now, I'm here only for teh LOLs. The more TPTB attempts to push her image as a 'strong, independent, cool woman', the more I'm going to laugh at her and TPTB. Seriously, there's only so much shallow BS they can push as the bestest thing evar before it becomes a total embarrassment. For everyone.

Top41 said:
I do think the pregnancy is the nail in the coffin for any chance Lindsay had of developing independent of Danny. But ultimately, when I think of what the character could have been, I come back to AJ, who basically created Adam out of one line. It's all about nuance, and there's just none of that in Anna's performance. A character is ultimately only as strong as the actor playing him or her, and in the end I think that's why Lindsay is so one-note.

Exactly. AJ Buckley and his work with his character Adam is the best proof of how important it is that an actor/actress is capable of doing their job. Ya know, like effectively conveying the right emotions? Without resorting to using a co-star as a prop from the very beginning of a career on the show and making up excuses for shortcomings on the job? If the other members of the cast can do their jobs just fine without needing any propping or excuses to justify their acting, the problem isn't with the writing (although bad writing can definitely play a part in things), the problem lies with the acting and the amount of work (or lack thereof) put into it.

Have I mentioned how much I abhor laziness, particularly in creative industries?

 

[miss bolshoi bz]

Well,here we've just finished season 4 (you guys so lucky to be able to watch season 5 now).

So far,at least until the end of season 4,I think Lindsay's character is still steadily annoying and useless,Ab acting has no indications of improvements whatsoever.No one expects her to suddenly becomes an outstanding thespian,but i thought after been there for over 3 years she could pick up something to step up her game a bit.She could at least learns a thing or two from brilliant actors like gary or lovely Melina or of course Carmine.The ones she often shares her screen with.But no,IMO,even in her 'good day' she gives so-so performances,or osscilating between bearable to unbearable.Other than that,it's just consistently abymal.

The writer did give her a chance to shine with her SHOCKING dark secret,but that just emphasized how limited her acting skiils is.No emotive display,no nuances,and of course carmine had to save the day by being there and made the scenes more watchable.

It's funny how Linds says to Danny over that Montana rainy walking thingy about how hard he is to love.Well,i feel like saying,speak for youself,as you're even harder to love with the all sel-centered and self absorbed attitudes.

So, no surprises that some people still question about AB's existence in csi ny and hope TPTB to give up this lindsay character for other more challenging characters.The ones that really deserved attention and love from the viewers.Anyway,look forward to season 5 as i'm sure it has much more to offer than previous seasons.

 

[Top41]

The writer did give her a chance to shine with her SHOCKING dark secret,but that just emphasized how limited her acting skiils is.No emotive display,no nuances,and of course carmine had to save the day by being there and made the scenes more watchable.

I wonder if TPTB saw how poor Anna's performance was in "Silent Night" and realized they were going to need to get someone else involved in the dark secret storyline because Anna couldn't sell it. So they went for the romance, because of all things, it does detract the most from Anna's bad acting, and sent in Carmine, who's definitely proven he's got the chops for the emotional stuff.

Kind of sucky to have a whole romantic storyline going on because an actress can't give a convincing emotional performance.

 

[Kimmychu]

miss_bolzhoi_bz said:
The writer did give her a chance to shine with her SHOCKING dark secret,but that just emphasized how limited her acting skiils is.No emotive display,no nuances,and of course carmine had to save the day by being there and made the scenes more watchable.

Bingo. That storyline was supposed to be the one putting her in the spotlight, so to speak, and what happened? All that came out of it was that Danny flew to Montana to attend her trial and she tried to kiss him just minutes after being face to face with the murderer who killed all her friends and apparently gave her come-and-go-as-it-pleases PTSD. Even her fans only cared about that and nothing else. What better proof is there that Lindsay is nothing more than a cupboard cutout for some fans to self-insert for the sake of some fantasy love life with Danny? Who, uh, happens to be a fictional character. :guffaw:

It's funny how Linds says to Danny over that Montana rainy walking thingy about how hard he is to love.Well,i feel like saying,speak for youself,as you're even harder to love with the all sel-centered and self absorbed attitudes.

That's bang on the money, man. She's such a blatantly self-absorbed hypocrite and yet, we're supposed to 'love' her and what, overlook her every flaw because she's some 'lonely, naive country girl trying to make it in the big, evil city'? :wtf: :wtf: :wtf: Way to be condescending and insulting towards real folks living outside of the big cities, TPTB! Even worse that she's supposed to represent what country girls are like in America or something. TPTB, did you even bother to think about how people in big cities will view that, much less people outside of America?

Top41 said:
I wonder if TPTB saw how poor Anna's performance was in "Silent Night" and realized they were going to need to get someone else involved in the dark secret storyline because Anna couldn't sell it. So they went for the romance, because of all things, it does detract the most from Anna's bad acting, and sent in Carmine, who's definitely proven he's got the chops for the emotional stuff.

Just makes ya wonder even more why she's still on the cast. Always did suspect it's possibly because she signed a five-year contract and TPTB can't do a thing about firing her without stirring up a whole lotta legal sh*t. Well, TPTB, that's what you get for signing someone up without thoroughly checking out said person's skills, particularly someone who's openly admitted to a sucktastic audition and having had someone on the cast put in a good word for her to get the job.

Kind of sucky to have a whole romantic storyline going on because an actress can't give a convincing emotional performance.

That is the understatement of the year. :lol: It looks like poor Carmine is going to be Mr. Prop for as long as he's on the show. Danny could have had a way out with the earlier spoilers. He could still have had a chance to be relieved of being Montana's prop and gone back full-time to being the interesting, multi-dimensional character that drew people to the show in the first place but now ... sorry, Danny, you're done for. My condolences to you. *tips hat*

 

[jolein]

Just makes ya wonder even more why she's still on the cast. Always did suspect it's possibly because she signed a five-year contract and TPTB can't do a thing about firing her without stirring up a whole lotta legal sh*t. Well, TPTB, that's what you get for signing someone up without thoroughly checking out said person's skills, particularly someone who's openly admitted to a sucktastic audition and having had someone on the cast put in a good word for her to get the job.

That is what i`ve been wondering all along and if her contract is up,will they renew it.


I`m not giving up on Danny,simply because he does click with the others and I think that no matter what the storyline does,Carmine knows how to act it out to make it believeble.

 

[Kimmychu]

jolein said:
I`m not giving up on Danny,simply because he does click with the others and I think that no matter what the storyline does,Carmine knows how to act it out to make it believeble.

Heh, I'm not giving up completely on Danny as a character ... but as a character who'll have new, interesting storylines that don't include Lindsay and him being a lapdog in one way or another? Knowing what's coming up for him, I think those days are over for good.

Yes, Carmine can definitely make whatever storylines he gets convincing, he's proven that numerous times. It's him having to be Belknap's/Lindsay's prop that's the total downer here. You just know no matter what the writers come up with for him, he has to prop her up in some way or another and that means he'll be as limited/restricted as she is. Based on how things have gone down in past seasons, there's no way the writers will ever write Lindsay as the one who does wrong. So guess who's going to be her permanent punching bag regardless of how hypocritical and illogical it is?

Yeah, Danny. :brickwall: :brickwall: :brickwall:

 

[Top41]

^I don't think Danny will be reduced to being her prop any more than he already has; I expect he'll still have the occasional storyline that doesn't involve the show's Canon Sue, like a case that gets under his skin or reveals something about his past or something like that.

I really, really, really hope the writers do go out on a limb and write something where Lindsay is actually the one doing wrong and it's acknowledged. Lindsay has done a lot of wrong--leaving the crime scene in "Silent Night," whining about her job in episodes like "Manhattan Manhunt" and "Oedipus Hex," leaving evidence out in "Like Water for Murder," etc. Just once I'd love to see Mac chew her out, or for Danny to throw up his hands and walk away from her or for her to get in real trouble for her unprofessional behavior. I love that Stella has chewed her out a few times; it's nice to see at least one character occasionally finds Lindsay irritating.

 

[Kimmychu]

Top41 said:
I expect he'll still have the occasional storyline that doesn't involve the show's Canon Sue, like a case that gets under his skin or reveals something about his past or something like that.

I hope so, I really do. I just can't be bothered being optimistic anymore as long as Lindsay's on the show. I bet even if he gets a case like that, the writers will find some way of dragging Lindsay into it, just like what they did with the Ruben-Rikki storyline.

I really, really, really hope the writers do go out on a limb and write something where Lindsay is actually the one doing wrong and it's acknowledged.

Seconded so damn much, but I'm not optimistic about this either. It's like the writers are so terrified of writing Lindsay committing any wrong, period, because they think it'll make her look bad. Well, geez, TPTB, ever occurred to you she's already looking awful because you won't develop her beyond Perfect Canon Sue? Or is this because Belknap is so bad at acting she can't even pull off Lindsay doing something wrong without it being laughable and unbelievable? :brickwall:

I love that Stella has chewed her out a few times; it's nice to see at least one character occasionally finds Lindsay irritating.

Anyone else wonder why it's the only other female character on the cast who's done it? There have been already numerous occassions where Mac should have told her off big time, but he never did and went as far as to coddle her like a spoilt child. It's almost as if the writers are trying to make it look like the guys on the cast 'favor' Lindsay while Stella, the only other female character, is the one who chews her out and is the 'bad guy'. What's up with that? This yet another lame attempt at getting viewers to like her?

 

[CCA]

She's like the cursed Mary Sue from fanfic's she just won't go away!!!! Could do anything and she'd be like "oh yeah, I ate something in Montana that makes me invincible and I can out shoot everybody and get anybody to crack when I investigate them, and all the guys like me but no girl can stand me because I am just that marvelouse!"

Seriously I've read stuff like that, now she's not that bad but she's definitely gotton close in a few occasions.

 

[Elwood21]

Top41 said:
I expect he'll still have the occasional storyline that doesn't involve the show's Canon Sue, like a case that gets under his skin or reveals something about his past or something like that.

I hope so, I really do. I just can't be bothered being optimistic anymore as long as Lindsay's on the show. I bet even if he gets a case like that, the writers will find some way of dragging Lindsay into it, just like what they did with the Ruben-Rikki storyline.

I would love for Carmine to get solid material for Danny that stands separate from Lindsay. I've never been a massive all-out Danny fan, but I'd be all for flickers of the Messer spark of old when DL's not taking up too much of his screentime.

While I wouldn't love the use of airtime, I would appreciate if any deep material Lindsay got was separate from her relationship with Danny as well. Okay. Never mind. Anna's pregnant, TPTB made the decision to write it into the show for Lindsay, they made Danny the father (and they didn't have to. Squandered opportunities there. Even if DL was still on the table). They're tied now, it's always gonna be an element that TPTB's gonna play to. They will never be able to not have one affect the other ever again. :censored: And I think it's also been said that any hope of development for Lindsay outside of Danny is all but done and the DL pregancy is the reason why.

Am I hopeful? Nope. I hope that the writers are able to book a slot in the OR to attempt surgical separation of all that is Messonroe. But it's been chronic, and looks terminal.

I really, really, really hope the writers do go out on a limb and write something where Lindsay is actually the one doing wrong and it's acknowledged.

Seconded so damn much, but I'm not optimistic about this either. It's like the writers are so terrified of writing Lindsay committing any wrong, period, because they think it'll make her look bad. Well, geez, TPTB, ever occurred to you she's already looking awful because you won't develop her beyond Perfect Canon Sue? Or is this because Belknap is so bad at acting she can't even pull off Lindsay doing something wrong without it being laughable and unbelievable? :brickwall:

That's interesting too. I dunno why they try to make her sympathetic instead of just trying to make her more fully rounded and believable. Why not first give her material to make her more three dimensional and complex, whether she's likable or not. I don't unconditionally like all the other characters all the time. But I at least do get and believe who they are and how they behave.

This apparent compulsion to make Lindsay be likeable or sympathetic is one reason I feel they're trying too hard with her, and I have never warmed to her at least in part because I sense and kinda resent the imposition. Three or four seasons in with her and I'm also unwilling to credit TPTB or Anna by suggesting maybe Lindsay is where she is by design. I do think it's an unintended fallout due to a combo of writing decisions and poor acting. I would have more respect if all that had been deliberately achieved.

I agree that if Lindsay owned some mistakes, it would be redeeming growth and make her deeper as a character. At the very least the writers could have other characters call out some of her less palatable behaviour. That too would go a long way.

-

Relating to Canon Sue: I think Kimmychu and others made an important distinction in an earlier comments, that the potential for Lindsay in the whole Dark Secret storyline was undermined by having Danny fly out to Montana. The writers could have had a scene for Danny thinking about Lindsay w/o going there. Lindsay coulda had a story memorable outside DL, just about her character and background. But all most remember now or ever really talk about is a) the poor performance, and b) Danny showing up and their Moment together.

Maybe they thought her performance was just strong enough for it all to be Holistically Unifying. Ya know. Past trauma, present bad behaviour excused by pain and anguish, Moving On after testimonial catharsis with a final scene hinting of better things to come by cozying up to a guy who's judgement was questionable after working several days straight, setting his boss on fire and then flying across the country deciding he just wouldn't be able to sleep if he didn't. Any future for them shoulda (and easily coulda) been hinted at back in New York afterwards. Monroe shoulda had Montana to herself. Bleh. Undermined story, diluted potential regardless of what the true intent was, weakened further by a poor performance.

I wonder if TPTB saw how poor Anna's performance was in "Silent Night" and realized they were going to need to get someone else involved in the dark secret storyline because Anna couldn't sell it. So they went for the romance, because of all things, it does detract the most from Anna's bad acting, and sent in Carmine, who's definitely proven he's got the chops for the emotional stuff.

Could well be. Unimpressed either way, honestly. If they were gonna modify the storyline, or edit it after the fact, they coulda done a !Montage type thing to solve her time testifying in Montana and ended it there. It would be equally crappy if Carmine was indeed dragged in to shore her up in what should have been a seminal episode for her, leading us to talking about DL instead.

Hmmm. Maybe I'm remembering this incorrectly... The writers had Lindsay finding testifying painful, that's fine, yada. But did they have her struggling to the point of verging on failing as a witnesss and only regaining her footing after spotting Danny in the courtroom? If she wasn't strong enough to deal with her past on her own, especially after telling everyone else to leave her alone, then maybe that potential for Lindsay was never there at all to even be compromised by a DL ending.

Kind of sucky to have a whole romantic storyline going on because an actress can't give a convincing emotional performance.

Another nail hit on the head in a wider sense. It's among the least satisfying or interesting things that has been done in/on/to the show.

Just once I'd love to see Mac chew her out, or for Danny to throw up his hands and walk away from her or for her to get in real trouble for her unprofessional behavior. I love that Stella has chewed her out a few times; it's nice to see at least one character occasionally finds Lindsay irritating.

Agreed. Would love for Danny to at least take the glasses off for an exasperated eye-rub. Most of the other characters have gotten into trouble, or been investigated or even persecuted. Flack didn't but was drawn in when his mentor and one of his men were, and then again when Mac was. Even Stella by her own actions has had reprimands and complaints in her record.

Mac's chewed out Adam, Hawkes, Danny, and had to confront and fire Aiden. Stella and Mac have argued on different occasions. Flack and Mac have argued. Sinclair and Mac have argued, Gerrard and Mac argued. Mac and Reed have argued. Hell, even Peyton and Mac argued. Lindsay must be the only one, other than Sid maybe, that Mac hasn't kicked something over with. I have wondered why Lindsay has never been called out by Mac, when he's had no qualms about doing so with any of the others. I liked Stella all the more for doing it.

Anyone else wonder why it's the only other female character on the cast who's done it? There have been already numerous occassions where Mac should have told her off big time, but he never did and went as far as to coddle her like a spoilt child. It's almost as if the writers are trying to make it look like the guys on the cast 'favor' Lindsay while Stella, the only other female character, is the one who chews her out and is the 'bad guy'. What's up with that? This yet another lame attempt at getting viewers to like her?

I think Stella's a great character to have on the show, really helps the dynamics of the team, and not least made the dynamics of Lindsay in the team in that episode more believable for me. I hope the writers aren't trying to make the guys favour/mollycoddle Lil' Lindsay (*barf*) while having Stella look Harsh. Backfired massively if that was the case. For me, it made Stella look all the better, like a good supervisor and leader when she did confront Lindsay. Bad Cop? Good Leader. Kick Ass Stella, and worthy of respect. 'Bout damn time someone did say something, and I'm glad the writers have had at least someone do it at all.

All the other members of the team are held to high standards, especially in the instances where they've been called out on things. Other than those instances with Stella, Lindsay generally doesn't seem to be held to any standards, professionally or even personally, by anyone else.

-

Every ep, Lindsay's like the other shoe for me, waiting for when she's gonna drop into the story so I know the worst is over. :vulcan: Isn't that horrible? I can't help it. :lol:

I'm sure in RL Anna's a fun sweet person, but I feel for the rest of the cast and producers each time she has to play an extended scene of any sort. It's not just Lindsay's interaction with the other characters that doesn't mesh for me, but Anna's portrayal. I can never shake the feeling I'm watching someone who can't keep up in the company she keeps.

The rest of the cast are consistently strong whether in character specific storylines or in the more generic team based eps. They each even give great snippets of personality in scenes devoted purely to plot dissemination. Anna's consistently memorable and discussed for the opposite. Whether they're trying to have Lindsay be dramatic, funny, or simply service the plot, I can never shake the feeling that I'm watching a performance, and less a character. Not good.

Wow. Another super long post. Sorry for that.

 

[WhosLaughingNow]

The writer did give her a chance to shine with her SHOCKING dark secret,but that just emphasized how limited her acting skiils is.No emotive display,no nuances,and of course carmine had to save the day by being there and made the scenes more watchable.

They actually give her quite a bit of stuff in my opinion that would give her(or any talented actor) a chance to shine. But it seems like every time she tries it's like watching the Hindenburg go down in a ball of flames over and over again.

 

[Top41]

So this seems pertinent here, too:

Spoiler: upcoming Danny/Lindsay storyline most people are aware of

Information in TVGuide about the November sweeps says:

CSI: NY
The show celebrates it's 100th episode November 19 with guest stars Chris Daughtry, Rumer Willis, Scott Wolf and Julia Ormond as Mac's new boss. But November 26 offers the biggest bombshell: Lindsay tells Danny she's pregnant. "What happens is told through Danny's eyes," says exec producer Pam Veasey. "This is the beginning of the tough kid's change of character."

You can see a scan of the article in the link below (which was posted in the CSI spoiler thread). Be aware, the article contains spoilers for all three CSI shows.

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d167/Lilmissmulder/00006870.jpg

To me, this confirms that TPTB know how lacking Anna is as an actress, and Lindsay as a character. A storyline that's potentially huge for her that's just seen through Danny's eyes???

Spoiler: what this says to me

TPTB are making the best out of a situation--Anna's pregnancy--they had no control over by turning it into a huge story for one of their strongest characters.

 

[Kimmychu]

CCA said:
She's like the cursed Mary Sue from fanfic's she just won't go away!!!! Could do anything and she'd be like "oh yeah, I ate something in Montana that makes me invincible and I can out shoot everybody and get anybody to crack when I investigate them, and all the guys like me but no girl can stand me because I am just that marvelouse!"

:guffaw: Dude, you just summed up the entirety of Lindsay's character in one sentence. Seriously, if everything worth mentioning about a main character can be written out in one sentence after over three years of being on screen ... this character might as well pack up and leave because it sure seems like any development for said character is D-E-A-D. When fanfiction writers can do better, it's embarrassing, it's what it is.

Elwood21 said:
I've never been a massive all-out Danny fan, but I'd be all for flickers of the Messer spark of old when DL's not taking up too much of his screentime.

I guess the big question now is, will these flickers of the old Messer spark be enough to keep viewers around? Something tells me they won't should TPTB f**k things up, and I have zero expectations of them handling this well. Frankly, I'll be shocked if this Lindsay-pregnant storyline doesn't affect the ratings, if the negative responses from all sides of the fandom are anything to go by.

I hope that the writers are able to book a slot in the OR to attempt surgical separation of all that is Messonroe. But it's been chronic, and looks terminal.

:guffaw: Lovely analogy there. Lindsay is like a terminal cancer, alright, and TPTB is constantly firing radiotherapy/chemotherapy at Danny and the rest of the cast in the hopes it'll stave death away. Good luck with that, TPTB. Unless a miracle happens ala the terminal cancer suddenly up and leaving forever, you're just gonna get sicker and sicker until the painful end.

I dunno why they try to make her sympathetic instead of just trying to make her more fully rounded and believable. Why not first give her material to make her more three dimensional and complex, whether she's likable or not. I don't unconditionally like all the other characters all the time. But I at least do get and believe who they are and how they behave.

It's most likely because of the crux of the problem: Belknap's subpar acting skills. If ya can't act the material the writers give you, it won't matter jack how well the written material is. The audience depends on the actor to learn what the story is. Every nuance/motion/facial expression counts. Hell, even the very way a single word is intoned can make all the difference to a scene.

So what happens when you get a subpar actress who can't emote, much less portray layered, convincing acting? You have to resort to writing subpar, dumbass storylines and pray to whatever gods are around that those storylines will appeal to enough dumbasses who can only handle such subpar material and keep the ratings up enough for the show to continue.

It won't work forever though. Ya know what they say about toilets and crap; ya let the loo clog up long enough with crap, you're gonna have to clean it out completely or demolish the whole damn thing away and rebuild a new one. Either one calls for drastic measures and lasting consequences that'll probably include being labelled a laughing stock for a long, long time.

Three or four seasons in with her and I'm also unwilling to credit TPTB or Anna by suggesting maybe Lindsay is where she is by design. I do think it's an unintended fallout due to a combo of writing decisions and poor acting. I would have more respect if all that had been deliberately achieved.

Agreed. Proof? Just think of TPTB trying to portray Lindsay as a 'tough, cool country girl' with that perp tackle when she first appeared in season two. That Lindsay appeared only a few times at most, then vanished for good to be replaced by an unstable, whiny, self-centered hypocrite version who needed constant propping by the show's cash cow, Danny. So if Lindsay was meant to be as she is today from the beginning, why bother trying to portray her as 'tough' or 'cool' or 'independent' in the first place? It's because the former Lindsay was what TPTB originally intended and wanted Lindsay to be ... but Belknap just couldn't cut it and TPTB knew it even then.

And therefore we have the mess that's going on right now, Danny/Carmine being used as her prop/shallow distraction to encourage viewers to close an eye to Lindsay's/Belknap's many shortcomings, all the storylines involving Lindsay gone lousy due to Belknap's inability to act, the other characters on the cast written out-of-character just to accommodate Lindsay and her failures, and TPTB making up lame, transparent excuses to cover up all those shortcomings and failures. :brickwall: :brickwall: :brickwall:

Really, TPTB, give some of us a little credit, will ya?

If she wasn't strong enough to deal with her past on her own, especially after telling everyone else to leave her alone, then maybe that potential for Lindsay was never there at all to even be compromised by a DL ending.

Heh, yet another flaw in Lindsay Big Dark Secret storyline, and yet another piece of proof that she really is a useless character who has no other function other than to be a Canon Sue to be used by some fangirls to enact some fantasy love life with the Cash Cow. :guffaw: God, that is sad and even more embarrassing than awful writing.

I have wondered why Lindsay has never been called out by Mac, when he's had no qualms about doing so with any of the others. I liked Stella all the more for doing it.

Oh, I have a theory on that but I ain't gonna say it because it's guaranteed to bring wank to the yard.

I hope the writers aren't trying to make the guys favour/mollycoddle Lil' Lindsay (*barf*) while having Stella look Harsh.

Actually, that's exactly what I think the writers tried to do. They probably thought Stella being a meanie towards the 'poor, lonely country girl' will make people emphatize with Lindsay or something. Uh, no, TPTB, that only works when there's actually something worth emphatizing with, ya know?

Backfired massively if that was the case. For me, it made Stella look all the better, like a good supervisor and leader when she did confront Lindsay. Bad Cop? Good Leader. Kick Ass Stella, and worthy of respect. 'Bout damn time someone did say something, and I'm glad the writers have had at least someone do it at all.

Seriously, it backfired big time. I ended up liking Stella and disliking Lindsay all the more. We'll see whether TPTB decides to turn Stella into another prop for Lindsay this season too. That happens, and it'll be safe to say the show's shot to hell.

I'm sure in RL Anna's a fun sweet person, but I feel for the rest of the cast and producers each time she has to play an extended scene of any sort. It's not just Lindsay's interaction with the other characters that doesn't mesh for me, but Anna's portrayal. I can never shake the feeling I'm watching someone who can't keep up in the company she keeps.

Hah, what I remember most about the cast's comments about her is, "She's nice." When one or two of them use that, sure, that's fine. But when you've got the entire cast saying the same thing, to the point they talk more about her kids than her acting ... ya gotta wonder if it's just another attempt by TPTB to make viewers like her and overlook her inability to do her job. :guffaw: I wouldn't be surprised at all if that was the case. They're already doing that with everything else about the show.

As for her portrayal of Lindsay, it's kinda like watching her attempting to be Lindsay and not really doing it, right? It is such a turn off when an actor is incapable of portraying their character and ends up being a parody of the character instead. Wrenches the viewer straight out of the show and destroys the viewer's investment in the show's universe, so to speak. And in a time like ours, getting turned off and ditching the show for another one is as simple as the click of a remote button.

Whether they're trying to have Lindsay be dramatic, funny, or simply service the plot, I can never shake the feeling that I'm watching a performance, and less a character. Not good.

Yep. Kinda like a kid in a kindergarden play pretending to be a Hollywood star. The kid can call it superior acting and claim to be a talented superstar as much as he or she wants, but everyone knows the truth. Applying that theory to a child is sweet. Applying that theory to a actress on a primetime TV show just makes ya wanna go WTF and ask why that actress is still on the show.

P.S. Never apologize for long posts that are well thought out, logical and straight forward and written in good English. We need more of those, damnit.

Top41 said:
To me, this confirms that TPTB know how lacking Anna is as an actress, and Lindsay as a character. A storyline that's potentially huge for her that's just seen through Danny's eyes???

:guffaw: :guffaw: :guffaw: I know, right?! Talk about milking Danny the Cash Cow for all he's worth! Why bother even having Lindsay around? Just make Danny pregnant already! :guffaw: