Why Lindsay Must Go

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JDonne-one word. Excellent. You've summed it all up! That's all the things wrong with her character! Whiny, insecure. I say she nees to go back to Montana, where she belongs.
 
JDonne, I find your posts are amazing and sadly true. I am not very sure whether it is Anna's problem or the writers. But I have to say, Lindsay is not working. And D/L relationship is badly written. I guess they have the most screen time then other TV couples. But it is just not working. I mean, see how Danny interact with Stella, Aiden, even Maka, their first conversations in 1x11 tri-brorough was so sexy and full of chemistry, though it was just an exchange of looks, you can tell there's something going on between them.

I always remembered a comment made by one actress about the on-screen couple. The two actors have to hook to each other. Obviously it is not the case between Danny and Lindsay. I guess partly is because writers don't know what to do with Lindsay. They set her as country girl, somehow it is a curse to them, as if they haven't seen a country girl in their lifetime. So Lindsay's existence is somewhat uncomfortable to the viewers as well. So they come up with a short cut. Let's put Lindsay and Danny together. Country girl and city boy, could be a good couple with lots of chemistry.

Sadly, it is not the case. We don't know Lindsay, we don't know why Danny likes her. Which is okay for me coz we dont' know Maka, yet Danny likes her. However, as a recurring character, Lindsay has to be able to stand on her own feet, not a plus-one of Danny. Lindsay just can't do that.


After the entire season, if you ask what I know about Lindsay, I can only say, Danny has a crush on her, and she has a crush on Mac. the end.

one point to note, I have only seen 1 episode of CSI NY until recently, I got the DVD from a friend. So I know Lindsay before Aiden. Yet, I still like Aiden more. Perhaps it explains something.
 
JDonne, amen! You did a great job of outlining all the different Lindsays. Not one of them was really likable. The best of a bad bunch was probably lighthearted Lindsay.

JDonne said:
I find comfort in the knowledge that the writers constant tinkering is a sign that they too realize what the problem is and have sought tirelessly to correct it all season now here comes the condemnation perhaps they were so focused on fixing this problem that the show became neglected an afterthought in the wake if the Lindsay issue. A problem that I believe is unfixable so long as Lindsay remains because no matter what the writers come up with we still have Anna Belknap in a role she cannot fill or sell, sometimes it is better to admit an error and correct it no matter how unpleasant the solution rather than letting it fester and stink. If this is the case then the writing problem is one that is easily corrected, if you don’t have to worry about constantly morphing Lindsay so the audience embraces her character, and let me just say that after an entire season minds are pretty much made up, then when can focus on the episodes at large, character development for the neglected, storylines that intrigue and engage, plots with small holes rather than gaping ones, true chemistry between the actors, and than and only then can you resuscitate what I fear is a dying show, possibly not commercially but critically and in some small way I would hope that in the end what Anthony Zuiker wants is respect over dollar bills.

Ali
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I have to say, it gives me hope that the writers have at least tried to change her character. That tells me two things--that they know there is a problem and that they do want to fix it. However, ultimately so much of the problem is Belknap that I agree it's going to be hard to fix in any way other than shoving her into the background or preferably, writing Lindsay out of the show. I hope they choose the latter, but if not, the more they put her into the background, the better. And please, no more screaming scenes!

faxmodem, I agree that on paper the country girl/city guy t hing had potential. But a complete lack of chemistry and the frankly bad writing for the pair when they interact totally negated whatever initial promise the relationship had.
 
Thank you everyone! :D :D I was inspired and a little (lot) upset when I realized how much of the season Lindsay ruined for me. If all her investigative moment were given to Hawkes imagine the nuanced cool Hill would have brought to the simplest test. Not to mention we would have been spared the crime scene whining and the morgue snatching. If we could just go back and substitute Maka in every one of those painful Danny/Lindsay scenes, imagine the way that would have popped off the screen.

The inconsistency with Lindsay's characterization suggests that the writers are also at a loss on what to do or where to go in order to make her addition cohesive. As I said before I think that ship has sailed and you can't really spend another season going this way and that with her character. Other characters have taken a backseat and others have morphed into the almost unidentifiable. How is that good for a show? How is the failure of one character and the need to correct so obvious a failure worth risking an entire show? Lindsay hasn't brought anything new to NY, she's not tough like Stella, she's not warm or kind like Calleigh, she lacks Catherine's spirit or perhaps Marg's talent, and so what is Lindsay's point? Is her sole purpose to serve unconvincingly as Danny's love interest? Shouldn't the majority of the audience be able to see that chemistry, feel that chemistry, because if they can't or don't what is the justification other than trying to make her popular by proximity and how very sad is that.

Ali
 
Lindsay doesn't bring anything to the show, and that's a problem. She's just not a compelling or likable character, and for the most part, aren't we supposed to like these characters? I think she was added simply for the reason that TPTB felt like they needed another female character. The deepest it got was that "she's not from NY" and they haven't really gone anywhere from there.

I started a thread in Gen CSI Disc about summer shake-ups. The past two years have seen cast changes in CSI shows: Rory left CSI: Miami in 2004 and Vanessa CSI: NY in 2005. The news for both broke in July. I can't help but wish July 2006 would bring news that Anna Belknap and CSI: NY are parting ways.
 
waouh first time i post here :D ive been lurking in here for a long time now, and i always wondered why Lindsay must go, as your title propose, and i have to say that after reading your post JDonne, i completely understand it now, that's just seem clearer....Actually i found her insignificant, i don't even try to like her, for me she just wasn't there.....besides in France we don't have the original version, so i have to admit that Lindsay seems nicer and more expressive with a french voice :rolleyes: i know that sounds weird :lol: i didn't like Aiden either, but she was what i called a "complete character"..From now, i think Lindsay is incomplete, there is a lack of something, i don't know what, but it misses something and that is bugging me. I don't know if the problem came from the actress, cause i didn't see her in another show than CSI, but i trust you guys when you said it's maybe coming from the actress too and not only from the lack of inspiration of the writers...

What is bugging me the most? the fact that Lindsay needs another character to justify her existence:Mac, Danny....WHY?she is like a half character, completely "eat" by the others. When she is working with Stella, it's like Stella is alone, one time i even ask myself "where is that voice coming from?" she just seems inexistant...i hope i didn't offense anyone, it was just my point of view
 
Hi sissi! :D

I think Lindsay really stands out in a bad way because the rest of the cast is so good. Like you said, she needs the other characters to justify her presence, and that makes her stand out because the other characters are so good and fully formed. Lindsay hasn't worked a single case alone, quite possibly because she simply isn't a strong enough character to stand on her own. It's not because she's a newbie, because Hawkes is more of a newbie and he worked a solo case in "Corporate Warriors" (as the solo CSI). She's just a weak character.
 
Hi Top41 :D

She's just a weak character.
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I think that's the point of that thread :lol: im glad you understood what i meant cause i thought i was confused :lol:

anyway ive noticed that too, the fact that she didn't have any case solo, and as you said it means that she isn't strong enough to work alone...Besides Hawkes is a great character and im gonna be mean but i really think that sometimes, if she wasn't there, he would have more screentime...see in CSI vegas , Cath is the tough girl, Sara seems more sensitive but she made her place and fast....i liked her since she was introduced on the show, sara was so well written that i like her more and more :D and when cath and sara are working together, they complete each other, it's called chemistry :) on ny, the lack of chemistry between Lindsay and some characters is awful and sometimes painful to watch. I agree with that stalker side of Lindsay: seriously when i first saw her at the bar , i was scared, i can't imagine someone reasonable acting like that, that's just irrational.

I think they should have introduce her later, giving Stella some credits,she was tough enough to be the only female of the show.

oh and Top, you said you wished Anna will leave csi ny this summer but i wonder that since Hill said something to the writers for her, wouldn't he be upset if they write her out of the show?
 
^Stella dwarfs Lindsay in every way, her character, what there is of it, simply can't stand up to the power and toughness Melina exudes in her portrayal of Stella. Even when they work together, they are hardly seen together, sometimes because they decide to throw her, unnecessarily, in Danny's face, and truthfully, he spent most of the season dwarfing her in both acting and characterization.

You are right Sissi Stella is more than enough woman to handle that group of men.

Ali
 
Interestingly enough, in the ep with the leeches (still irritated about them feeding on a dead body) I found Stella very patronizing toward Lindsay to the point I was almost sorry for Lindsay. I kept expecting Stella to pull out her crayons and begin to draw a picture for her about what was going on. I think this is a lot of the reason we rarely see the two together. Lindsay is very much the child around Stella's personality.
 
JDonne , excellent post on personality disorder Lindsay!

Something that has caught my attention is that the original CSI had a character on the show, Holly Gribbs, on the pilot. Now, correct me if I am wrong, but due to lack of chemistry or what not with her character, she was quickly replaced with Jorja Fox, wasn't she? Then I wonder, if the writers are trying to give Lindsay a personality for the show and it is painfully obvious that it isn't working, what seems to be the problem with replacing her?

Stella can be a bit overpowering or overbearing of a character. however, I love her personality on the show.
 
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