Maya316
Lab Technician
Aside from the dark secret, what was the other one? The romance? I almost don't count that, because it seems like a way to give her some purpose on the show, to mask her overall inadequacies as a character/actress.
I don't know if I'd call it a storyline, but Flack's devotion to Danny has definitely been a bit part of his character, and their friendship is a big element in the show.
Hawkes has smaller stuff, but he has the newbie CSI stuff (sadly overshadowed by Lindsay), the former ME/doctor beats and even some friction with Mac over the case where he knew the victim.
With Lindsay, the other storyline is the baby storyline. No, they didn't spend an entire episode focusing on her fears and worries and excitement, but they focused on those things during scattered moments in S5. And those elements and moments in Flack and Hawkes - that's what I'm getting at, tiny character arcs and moments, not big storylines. If we're to include those as storylines, we'd also have to include Lindsay's "newbie CSI" schtick along with her "just moved from Montana/proving she's tough on the NYPD force" deal; and even that moment she got pissed with Mac for sending her back to the lab in Manhattan Manhunt, or where she butted heads with Stella in that S3 episode with the psychotherapist - as storylines.
She's the Little Miss Perfect in school who everyone hated because she spent her time kissing the teacher's ass. :lol:
Yeah, I can so see that :lol:
Yeah, but where Danny gets moments with all of the other characters despite D/L, Lindsay doesn't get that much at all. Even though the romance looms large, Danny still has a connection with every other character on the show, whereas Lindsay just doesn't. I think that's in large part due to her falling flat as a character much of the time. Even the stuff she has--the demonstrations, conflict with Danny, etc.-- is all repetitive. There's never anything new with her, and as an actress, Belknap doesn't stretch at all.
Danny gets moments with the other characters because that's who he is - naturally emotional, very easy and friendly and open with people. He doesn't really have or need a storyline that's all about him getting closer to people - with the possible exception of Mac. Lindsay is socially awkward and reclusive at best - that's just her character as it is. It usually does take a mini-storyline to make her get closer to people, because she's slow to form strong relationships. But it really seems as though in those little moments where she's just about to grow out of that (maybe scripted, maybe not), where the writers really could go with a story that would be about Lindsay getting closer to someone - they instead decide that it's more important to focus on D/L, lest they take away from the importance of that be-all, end-all relationship I've always felt that the writers/producers decided it wouldn't be as believable that Lindsay was hurt by Danny's pulling away, if she were forming other strong connections on the side.
Really? I always saw Stella as having a certain sophistication, but not quite being a glam girl. I think she spends time on her appearance but doesn't obsess over it. She's kind of in the same category as Calleigh and Catherine.
No, I don't see Stella as obsessed over her appearance...maybe glam-girl isn't the right word, but fashion is a fairly significant part of who Stella is. She's just very interested in fashion and clothes, Tiffany's, designer shoes and lingerie - it's possible to just love that kind of sophisticated stuff without also being obssessed with appearance.
The buck knife, the rope braiding, the slingshot... all of that says tomboy to me. Angell held her own with the guys, so I can sort of see the tomboy side of her, too, though I think a lot of that had to do with having four brothers. She was just strong, probably because she had to be in that family!
Those things scream stereotypical "country girl" rather than "tomboy" to me - that mermaid-girl in Stealing Home was also into rope-braiding, but she didn't seem like the tomboy type. The slingshot is actually what screams "cartoon nerd" to me in Lindsay's character - I mean, who thinks a slingshot is cool these days?
Yeah, Angell's brothers may have played a role in her tomboyish-ness (although even that - four older brothers - is a stereotype), but I was thinking more of the way she was a short-stop as a kid, and of her four brothers she was the only one who wanted to join the police force. Not that it's a typical-guy-thing to want to be a cop, but the way they played on it with Angell in Pay Up made it seem like it was supposed to be seen as a typical guy thing.
Oh, no, not at all--I'm thinking Danny butting heads with Mac or confiding in Flack or offering comfort to Hawkes... the acting is never singular, because the characters are always interacting with each other.
Oh yeah, I agree with that - what I meant by singular is that, well, even when fighting or interacting with another character, the acting is kind of all on you. When you're being viewed as solo, you're usually just selling your own character and his/her reactions. Of course the other actor is important, but it's their job to make their part of the interaction seem convincing, not yours. (I think - I know next to nothing about acting, but this is just how I would think it works.) Whereas with romantic-acting, you're being viewed and sold as part of a set. You almost become one entity with another actor. And it's jointly on both actors to make that entity believable.
Maybe... but Danny and Lindsay don't have a whole lot of chemistry, so I see Anna (and even Carmine) failing in that regard, too. The romance is easy--it panders to fans who are really just watching the show for two characters to hook up.
...To be truthful, I'm complete pants at sensing or judging whether chemistry exists between onscreen characters. :alienblush: I mean, I see little to no chemistry between what I've repeatedly heard are one of TV's hottest pairings (Derek/Meredith on Grey's Anatomy), so I stay away from it altogether. It seems too subjective. I just have to be convinced that the characters actually feel something romantic for each other. And I'd think it'd be hard to sell that, because of the close nature of romantic scenes and romantic implications in general. Two characters hooking up isn't going to pander well to even the most "shippy-gung-ho" fans if the characters are utterly stiff, robotic, and look like they're repulsed by each other.
Honestly, to me it's always Carmine who falls flat as far as selling the romance goes in D/L. I usually buy it when Anna-as-Lindsay indicates that she's into Danny romantically, whereas I rarely buy Danny/Carmine's romantic feelings for Lindsay. [But um, of course I've considered that the false-ness of Carmine's portrayal might be intentional. :lol: I was mostly able to believe back in Season 3 that Danny felt something romantic for Lindsay.]
Maybe arc isn't the right word--elements that flesh out the characters, perhaps. AJ plays Adam very consistently. He's nervous, he's flustered, he likes Stella, he looks up to Danny and Mac... I know who Adam is. Lindsay changes from episode to episode, because of the writing, yes, but also because Anna doesn't inhabit the character in the way the others do. It's a little less glaring in the fourth and fifth season, in large part because it seems like she's had less to do.
But all the moments and mini-storylines and stuff I've listed above are things that have fleshed out Lindsay's character (although yes, it's definitely haphazardly put together, but when looking at the character separate from the writing inconsistencies and the Mary-Sue tendencies, it does come together as a believable person.). But I think perception of who a character is is also kind of subjective - I mean, I think I know who Adam is too, but I wouldn't say he has a crush on Stella or that he looks up to Danny; at least, not the same way he looks up to Mac. I would definitely say he's flustered, nervous, but those are the real constants of his character. Like I'd say Lindsay is aloof and socially-awkward - another real constant.
To me, it felt like she was reading the script and responding to the obvious cues. She just didn't seem natural in that scene. I felt the script there. And I never feel the script (unless the lines are hugely awkward or something) with any of the other actors.
The hand on Danny's arm was earlier, when they were out somewhere, and looking at the action I remember thinking, "Gee the script/director probably called for her to put her hand on Danny's arm." It was robotic in a way.
Hm, I'd have to watch it again to see the arm thing. What I liked about the All Access outburst is that I very easily saw it coming throughout the episode - I remember thinking that any moment now, she's going to snap; and then when she bit Danny's head off later, I liked how it seemed very obvious that she was trying to reign in her emotions. That's why it came off natural to me, although I'm sure the script called for her to do both things.
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