Why Lindsay Must Go

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It depends if you're a glass-half-full or a glass-half-empty kind of person.

I think more time should be given over to Hawkes, the "romance" angle dropped, and Lindsey be allowed to settle in the background for a while, and interact with characters other than Danny. Minimum. If that still doesn't work, then yeah, maybe big fat storyline where a certain CSI leaves/is injured la~la, can be put into place.

I'm not knowledgeable about acting enough to say how Anna can improve, I'm just assuming there are ways in place to improve if you're uh... struggling with an aspect of your craft?
 
there are ways for her to improve. I know that it was suggested on this board to take more acting classes. Now hear me out, I know that there are classes that she can take that are geared toward her new genre of acting.

I have been watching season one, and yes, comparing the shows, with Aiden, and now with Lindsay in season two. The cast from season one flowed beautifully. I just watched 'Tri-Borough' and 'Til Death do us Part' for instance, and the chemistry that Danny had with Maka was magnetic! I have always thought that they would be on fire together as a couple. :lol: but I digress, when I re-watched a couple of shows from season two, with Lindsay, my excitement just deflated, due to her scripted delivery,and yes, her annoying voice.

It is too bad that they didn't screen test her first with Carmine or anyone else? for that matter. Because it is not only obvious to us that she can't execute the job, but to others as well.

Poor Hawkes got more time in season one as an ME. Should he go back to being an ME, just to have something to do? It is such a shame that such a well rounded and very capable actor isn't getting his time to shine.
 
I don't hate lindsey, i don't even know if i feel strongly enough to dislike her and that's my problem with the character.I DO want to like her but there's just nothing there...at all.I'd prefer it if she did irritate me.lol.That must sound bizzare!!
 
Carrieattheprom said:
So how can Lindsay as a character be improved upon from where she is right now? How can Anna as an actress improve her preformance?
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That's kind of a catch 22. Lindsay's character has about the same development on the show as Flack's does, it's the talent of the actors that bring more or less to the character. By development, I mean background. It's possible even that Lindsay's character has more. Anna Belknap's had at least as much screen time as Eddie Cahill has this season, yet her acting, particularly when compared against Eddie's is subpar. I think a lot of the dissatisfaction with the writing has to be attributed to the writers trying to find something, anything where Lindsay will fit in.

As for how Anna Belknap can improve her performance...she is working with some of the best talent in the business. Whether you like him or not Gary Sinise is a very good actor. Eddie Cahill has played so many different roles and fit seamlessly into them, hockey player, bi-sexual, office boy-toy, victim, skater boy. Melina K is another who brings her characters to life with her talent. Anna should look at the resources she has at hand and see if what works for them will work for her.
 
I think it's really telling that Lindsay has had the same amount of development as Flack, and more screentime than Hawkes, and yet both Flack and Hawkes are pretty much universally beloved and she isn't. Hawkes has arguably had less character development than any of the main cast, and yet he's always likable and a pleasure to watch.

Hell, look at Hammerback and how much Robert Joy does with the few scenes he has!

I don't want to devalue writing in any way, but I have a feeling that Lindsay could be the best developed character on the show and she'd still grate, because Anna just doesn't fit with the rest of the cast or the show in general.

I honestly don't know what to say about improvement. I'm a glass-half-full type and I'm still not optimistic about her. I guess, like Jaer says, she should take a cue from her co-stars and watch their performances. She needs to inhabit Lindsay more--I don't want to see an actress playing a CSI from Montana. I want to see the CSI from Montana.

One of the things that impressed the hell out of me about the stuff Carmine said in his interview was that he was always thinking about things from Danny's perspective--about what the most natural thing is for Danny to do, and then he does it. And he's believable in every scene.

So Anna needs to become more natural. Unfortunately, being natural is something you can't fake. Hopefully she'll settle into the roll a little more, but I think she needs to focus on becoming Lindsay (in the show) as opposed to just playing her.
 
I agree with you Top, maybe Anna will take the break between filming season 3 to relax into her role,maybe talk to a CSI from montana and spend some time with the rest of the cast to integrate herself. Just a thought but didn't Gary Sinise start off in theatre and he manages to pull it off(guess you could argue that he's obvoiusly more experienced ,but don't most TV/Film actors start off in theatre anyway?)Maybe that's why Anna looked good when auditioning because she would have at least had a small audience to act to, but when she gets infront of the camera that's maybe where things go a bit pear shaped!
 
I think the writing has taken a hit this season, but I think it was overall, not just when it came to Lindsay and agree with the statements above that Anna is just not delivering. I like the question brought up above, is there actually a Lindsay Monroe outside of words on a page and a character sketch laid out by the writers many months ago, in other words has Anna managed to make the character flesh, breath life into a teleplay. I honestly don't think she has and it is unfortunate. Unfortunate, because her onscreen time has taken away from Hawkes and Hill Harper, a man who has proved himself to be a dynamic actor on the screen, big and little. Moreover, I must echo someone above who enlisted Robert Joy as an example of how much you can do with so little time, he is glorious as Hammerback and more importantly, though his face is so familiar to me he is believable.

I see Dr. Sheldon Hawkes, Det. Danny Messer, Det. Don Flack, Det. Stella Bonasera, Det. Mac Taylor, and then I see Anna Belknap. It is her inability to inhabit a character that has thrown off the shows dynamic, once you couple that with a serious sophomore slump in the writing department, what you gave is a disaster. There has not been a moment this season where Anna has disappeared into her character, it has been Anna all season lost amidst a group of CSI's like she accidentally stumbled into an actual police station rather than an audition and is trying desperately to mesh, but failing at every turn. I think a great example of how much of Lindsay is Anna can be garnered from her interview, Lindsay's googly eyed infectious bubbliness in scenes with Danny are I imagine a great deal like Anna's bubbliness during the interview when she talks about Carmine. No offence to Anna, but I don't watch the show to see Anna Belknap actress acting like a CSI, where is her convincing performance.

How can she improve? I think everyone's suggestions are interesting and feasible, although I have some concerns about any serious acting muscle being unearthed during the short summer hiatus. What will she manage to unearth in May and June that she failed to find the other 10 months out of the year. I would love to be optimistic, because there are things about this show that I love, things that I think could make it soar above its predecessors, but can it ever get off the ground with a dead weight?

Ali
 
A dead weight?hehe that's one way to put it. Maybe Anna won't use the hiatus to improve her acting(maybe she thinks theres nothing wrong with it)but the other actors must have noticed and can't be happy about it, she has had enough time to settle in and i never had any problems with any of the other characters at this point during the first season ,so i guess that speaks for itself. However,you've got to hope as NY has so much potential and so many GREAT actors that it would be a shame if it doesn't become as brilliant as we all know it could be with a few tweeks.
 
Top41 said:
Hell, look at Hammerback and how much Robert Joy does with the few scenes he has!
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Hammerback has literally stolen some of his scenes from whoever he was with. Another one to look at is Pino, I think. The ME from Trapped and one of the other eps. He was immediately adored and everyone wanted more.


Top41 said:
I don't want to devalue writing in any way, but I have a feeling that Lindsay could be the best developed character on the show and she'd still grate, because Anna just doesn't fit with the rest of the cast or the show in general.
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Her not fitting in is becoming a very blatant problem and I don't see how Anna improving her acting ability or the writers giving her more development can fix it.

Top41 said:
One of the things that impressed the hell out of me about the stuff Carmine said in his interview was that he was always thinking about things from Danny's perspective--about what the most natural thing is for Danny to do, and then he does it. And he's believable in every scene.

So Anna needs to become more natural. Unfortunately, being natural is something you can't fake. Hopefully she'll settle into the roll a little more, but I think she needs to focus on becoming Lindsay (in the show) as opposed to just playing her.
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I was never a Danny fan in the first season, but Carmine actually had the character growing on me and a lot of it is because he is believable as Danny Messer. I make fun of him stealing all the scenes and lines, but really, if Carmine weren't as good as he is, the writers wouldn't have it so easy to give him good development.

I think Anna's attempts to fake her way through her roll is a lot of what has turned me off Lindsay. She comes across, to me, as insincere and annoying. I don't know if Anna's not comfortable with what she's doing (why accept the roll in the first place, then?) or if she simply has no idea how to play the part. And really, if you've had 10 months to ease into a role and still are stilted in your performance, how much time do you need?
 
It must've been difficult though for Anna to join a cast that had already gelled so well on and off screen.It would've been more realistic if the writers had shown that in her character and shown lindsay struggling to fit in to the team instead of forcing it. Like noodle says it was creepy that she tracked Mac down to that bar.For what reason?so she could she show Danny she knows Mac better than he does?That's unlikely seen as Danny has actually known Mac for years.
 
summer89 said:
It must've been difficult though for Anna to join a cast that had already gelled so well on and off screen.It would've been more realistic if the writers had shown that in her character and shown lindsay struggling to fit in to the team instead of forcing it. Like noodle says it was creepy that she tracked Mac down to that bar.For what reason?so she could she show Danny she knows Mac better than he does?That's unlikely seen as Danny has actually known Mac for years.
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No doubt there must be some difficulty joining an established cast, and I could have lived with some bumps three or four episodes in, but nearing 20, sorry not acceptable. Anna has had ample time to adjust to her surroundings and the beat of the show, but she hasn't. In fact, she has disrupted the pacing and dynamic of the show and that was one of the things that made NY truly exceptional, a standout, the show had a heartbeat.

I agree the scene in "Stuck on You" was overkill, but it was essentially a writing problem, one with mixed messages as to Lindsay's true focus. The character seems more interested in impressing Mac and mooning over Danny, maybe mooning over them both than she is in the victims of these crimes. I can't imagine trying to impress someone by showing them how little they know, nor can I imagine currying favour by an overzealous hunt into what my boss does after hours, so yes, in retrospect it was creepy and misguided.

I know the problem with Lindsay is mainly Anna and a better actress might make the character easier to swallow, but the writers have made misstep after misstep. When you have weak writing you need strong acting to compensate and Anna can't deliver, so while the writing is weak it is the actress that is sinking. What a vicious ugly cycle NY has woven this season, but what can we do, but hope for the best, hope the writers and show runners have taken note of the mess they have made and course correct when they start on the new season in July.

One of the questions for me is would NY be worse off without Anna this season, even factoring in the up and down writing, is she valuable, and the answer is no, the show would have been fine without her and that means she is not an asset. Sometimes when all else fails, you have to cut your losses.

I mistakenly labeled this season a sophomore slump, when in fact it is a sophomore crash let's hope it doesn't burn.

Ali
 
In RSRD she didn't even show up until the halfway mark, and I didn't miss her at all. I just hope that the show's attempts(if any are made) to repair the damage doesn't end up making things worse and end up leaving people on both sides of the Lindsay debate disappointed.
 
Carrieattheprom said:
In RSRD she didn't even show up until the halfway mark, and I didn't miss her at all. I just hope that the show's attempts(if any are made) to repair the damage doesn't end up making things worse and end up leaving people on both sides of the Lindsay debate disappointed.
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Yeah i guess there are the people who really like Lindsay and who ship her with Danny to consider aswell. If they just dropped her they might anger and loose some fans on the other side of the fence.I know the writers can't please us all but i would settle for them to at least attempt to do something about it!Anything!She doesn't have to vanish off the face of the earth but limited lindsay would be an improvement.
 
I've been thinking about this a bit and I wonder if the writers would drop Lindsay, even if they realized how terrible she is, and what a detriment to the show the character has been.

My reason for that is Aiden--she left the lab at the beginning of the season, so would the writers really risk getting rid of another character so soon after that, even if it would be a good move?

I think JDonne is right in that she brings nothing to the show, and again with that, I keep coming back to the acting. Each of the other actors really inhabits his or her role, but not so with Anna. If she is going to bring something to the show, we need to first believe in the character of Lindsay Monroe.

I guess I'd rather see a risky move--dropping another character--rather than have to endure more of Anna's acting next season. I don't think they need a replacement, but if they do go that way I can't imagine they could bring in someone who is a worse fit.
 
I truly understand that you can’t please everyone where Lindsay is concerned, but for me it is bigger than liking or disliking Lindsay, it is about the integrity of the show and what would be the best move, what would help return the program to something worthy. I have watched each CSI show and have watched them all start and have lost interest and desire in keeping up with the other two on a regular basis, but based on season one of NY it could have been something really good, possibly exploding and expanding the cookie cutter formula of crime dramas and it still could. However, you have to cut the dead weight and fix the writing, and I have faith the writing issue is easily fixed, the Anna acting issue, not so much. Borrowing the cliché that one bad apple can indeed spoil the bunch, Anna is that apple and certainly some of the writing this season, not all, has been the little green worm, but the larger issue is the rotting apple.

Like Top I would also like to see the show do the brave thing, do the risky thing and jettison Anna for the sake of show and not out of some cruel need to see someone unemployed. I liken it to customer service in stores, if I repeatedly have a horrible experience in a particular store eventually I will stop shopping there, will there be some people who don’t see a problem with the service, of course and there is nothing wrong with that, but you are more likely to keep losing customers than gaining new converts, at least until the problem is solved.

I ask, what quality has her character brought to the show, what plot has centered around her that could not have been executed by one of the other main actors or a recurring one, what development has she brought to the show that was missing before her entrance, she is insignificant to the overall show, she has subtracted more than she has added, and taken more than she has given.

Ali
 
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