Why Lindsay Must Go

[Fabian]

EDIT: I also find the perspective of people who liked the character initially but don't now very interesting. I wonder if anyone feels the reverse--didn't like her initially but now does?

In the beginning I didn't find her that interesting, then I liked her, and since last weeks episode 'Super Men', I love her! She has really convinced me as a good CSI and she's just a great gal that you'd like to see on tv.
She also gets more interesting by the week.
In the beginning I thought she was a lame Sara Sidle copy, and even though no one could win over Sara Sidle, Lindsay is growing out to be one of the better female characters on all the CSI shows.
Her willingness to learn, to strive for justice, her kindess, it all adds up.

 

[JDonne]

Lyn said:

Imzadi83 said:
True, we actually had 27 min before she even made an apperance. I was shocked.

Though I don't understand why we needed her at all. Her scenes seemed to me like they were just there for forcing a her and Danny thing. That was the only reason the writers put her on the case at all I feel.

The meaningful glances, the camera-alightly-too-long-on-the-face you mean? Yes, I noticed it. But I think I was looking for it. I was kind of dreading how they would deal with it. It could have been way worse, but really, Lindsey and Hawkes seemed to just be fodder - have them there for the sake of showing the whole cast. Someone mentioned they were interchangeable and could have had the same lines, and that's a bit worrying, as far as "characters" go.

Lindsay’s presence was unnecessary, and Hawkes could have easily done everything she did with the same impact, but her point I believe was to continue the march towards fulfilling the wet dreams of the ships fans, unbelievable as that might seem given the lack of chemistry with Carmine and Anna’s almost soul stealing performances. However, this week she did wear her look of concern in the appropriate places, but it was also the only emotion that crossed her face all episode long, and one we have seen in almost every episode before, and not just every episode of NY, but every episode of her television career. I think more and more I am of the opinion that even with the crappy writing where her character is concerned if Anna held any iota of passion, charisma, charm, or ability as Lindsay I could overlook from time to time the hatchet job the writers have done, sadly this is not the case. This was miscasting at its worst and most unexplainable, if I shared this opinion with a small clueless few I might be able to step back and say what am I missing, but the post haranguing Anna’s performances and the writers execution are thoughtful, intelligent, and well written, so this has led me to believe that TPTB simply do not care and mediocrity is fine with them, even to the detriment of the other performances, most notably Carmine’s. Anna doesn’t simply lack chemistry with Carmine, but that is a huge problem considering the line they are trying to sell, she lacks it with almost every member of the cast, save Sinese who is a seasoned enough actor to contain and cover her lackluster performances.

I would have loved if we could have turned those 27 minutes into 42, because you are right her scenes were essentially pointless other than prove further that she is hot for Danny, because we didn’t know that before, thanks for the bit of enlightenment Zuiker.

Ali

 

[Top41]

The more I think about it, the more I think it's a case of miscasting. While Anna was better than usual in RSRD, I also didn't miss her on screen during the first twenty minutes when she wasn't in the episode. I think there are characters who are less developed who are much more likable--look at Hawkes. He's not gotten all that much more character development than Lindsay, and yet he charms when he's on screen, and has real warmth and feeling to him. I think that's what Anna lacks--genuine feeling. I'm always aware she's acting. Maybe she's not yet comfortable with the character, but the rest of the cast slipped pretty seamlessly into their roles from day one, and even as they adjusted and found their footing in that season, I always believed in them as characters.

 

[JDonne]

What is depressing is people who can read one thing yet derive a brand new meaning from it to serve some private and skewed purpose. Criticizing someone’s acting is not paramount to hating the actress, it is what it is and states so in terms simple enough for a child to understand, what you take away from it is what you wish to take away from it, whether it is the truth or not. Anna’s acting to put it bluntly sucks, it is heinous and one inoffensive episode does not make up for the world of damage she does every other week, why sit by foolishly and pretend to enjoy something you don’t. What is the threat in allowing your voice to be heard, better yet, why are people who aren’t Anna so taken aback by other people’s opinions, is it physically painfully? At times I feel like Anna is some great revered deity and we should all prostrate ourselves at all signs of her greatness, how sad there isn’t any, save for her masterful command of the pained expression. I feel you Anna, I too am in pain week to week. Stirring . . .

Ali

 

[Top41]

It is frustrating, especially when you see people in here genuinely trying to figure out why they don't like the character and what is bothering them. But, well, to each their own I guess.

I can't help but wonder how I'd feel about the character if she was played by another actress. The converse is true for characters I love--would Flack's lines sound as witty and biting coming from someone other than Eddie? Would Danny charm as much despite his issues and insecurities if it weren't for Carmine?

It's a moot point now because network shows don't recast characters like soaps do :lol: , but I do wonder if it's Anna's acting. And maybe she'll get better...I hope she will. I wonder, too, if it doesn't have something to do with her stage experience. Stage acting is much more exaggerated, because you have to make sure everyone in the theater, even those in the nosebleed seats, picks up on what you're trying to convey. But still, she's done a lot of TV, I'm not sure if that's it either.

 

[Silencer]

JDonne said:
What is depressing is people who can read one thing yet derive a brand new meaning from it to serve some private and skewed purpose. Criticizing someone’s acting is not paramount to hating the actress, it is what it is and states so in terms simple enough for a child to understand, what you take away from it is what you wish to take away from it, whether it is the truth or not. Anna’s acting to put it bluntly sucks, it is heinous and one inoffensive episode does not make up for the world of damage she does every other week, why sit by foolishly and pretend to enjoy something you don’t. What is the threat in allowing your voice to be heard, better yet, why are people who aren’t Anna so taken aback by other people’s opinions, is it physically painfully? At times I feel like Anna is some great revered deity and we should all prostrate ourselves at all signs of her greatness, how sad there isn’t any, save for her masterful command of the pained expression. I feel you Anna, I too am in pain week to week. Stirring . . .

Ali

I think it's perfectly natural if you're a fan of something, that you want it to be wonderful, and for everyone to like it. When there's something about it that you find annoying, it subtracts from your enjoyment and you find yourself questioning why.
As I've said umpteen times, I want to understand why I went from liking Lindsey to finding her irritating and for me, this thread has helped me with that. I find it a little scary that in some cases, people seem to have taken this thread personally and the line defining Lindsey as a fictional character seems to be blurred.
I also note that no-one in this thread has made anti-Lindsey avatars or signatures. Just a thought.

Back on topic, I can't say Anna Belknap sucks, because I haven't seen her in anything else. What I do know is that she's failing to carry off certain aspects of this character, and that bothers me. I still think her role could be enveloped by Hawkes, in terms of CSI work and emotional warmth. Until that changes and Lindsey becomes a defined character on her own, I'm going to wince everytime she comes on screen. I won't even start on the Danny/Lindsey push-together anymore, because I hate it so much I just spend every episode hoping it doesn't happen. It's not that I'm anti-ship especially, I just hate having certain things stuffed down my throat. I like ships to be non-defined and hinted at, and played out through the way the characters respond to each other, not having to people go at it in the style of "OMG I REALLY FANCY J00!!111."

 

[Jaer]

First, I find this thread very amusing since I had a tough time liking Lindsay after the first couple of eps she was in. I knew why I didn't...her acting, the almost frenetic moods of her character from ep to ep. The fact she was being forced on us. All of which has been said before and I have really nothing to elaborate on.
The one thing that I was enlightened on was her voice. I hadn't realized how much her tone bothered me until someone mentioned it here and the light went on in my brain. Her tone comes across as almost patronizing in some places and insincere in others, something I attribute to the acting ability.
I tried to think of one instance in the season where I actually liked her and I couldn't. The best I could come up with was she was less annoying in some eps than others.
I will say the thing that I probably resent the most is how she messes up the team dynamic. Mac is about the only one she can carry a scene with. The rest just seem to tolerate her. There's something about their body language as well when they talk to her that comes off as tense, I notice this most with Melina and certain scenes with, of all people, Carmine. Eddie simply doesn't seem to acknowledge her.

 

[Top41]

Jaer said:
First, I find this thread very amusing since I had a tough time liking Lindsay after the first couple of eps she was in. I knew why I didn't...her acting, the almost frenetic moods of her character from ep to ep. The fact she was being forced on us. All of which has been said before and I have really nothing to elaborate on.
The one thing that I was enlightened on was her voice. I hadn't realized how much her tone bothered me until someone mentioned it here and the light went on in my brain. Her tone comes across as almost patronizing in some places and insincere in others, something I attribute to the acting ability.

Her voice has a real grating quality to it. I've described it as shrill--maybe there's a better word for it--but it really does get on the nerves. It's unpleasant.

I tried to think of one instance in the season where I actually liked her and I couldn't. The best I could come up with was she was less annoying in some eps than others.
I will say the thing that I probably resent the most is how she messes up the team dynamic. Mac is about the only one she can carry a scene with. The rest just seem to tolerate her. There's something about their body language as well when they talk to her that comes off as tense, I notice this most with Melina and certain scenes with, of all people, Carmine. Eddie simply doesn't seem to acknowledge her.

Eddie doesn't acknowledge her at all, which is kind of funny. I'd never seen Flack ignore someone in an interrogation scene so thoroughly until "Cool Hunter."

The team dynamic isn't the same, and it's not like when they decided to have Ryan purposefully create a little tension among the team in Miami. That worked. With Lindsay, she's not supposed to be bringing conflict to the team, and she doesn't, but she also doesn't mesh with them.

 

[JDonne]

Top41 said:

Jaer said:
First, I find this thread very amusing since I had a tough time liking Lindsay after the first couple of eps she was in. I knew why I didn't...her acting, the almost frenetic moods of her character from ep to ep. The fact she was being forced on us. All of which has been said before and I have really nothing to elaborate on.
The one thing that I was enlightened on was her voice. I hadn't realized how much her tone bothered me until someone mentioned it here and the light went on in my brain. Her tone comes across as almost patronizing in some places and insincere in others, something I attribute to the acting ability.

Her voice has a real grating quality to it. I've described it as shrill--maybe there's a better word for it--but it really does get on the nerves. It's unpleasant.

I think the delivery of lines is at times shrill and other times flat, while the voice is nasal always and grating, like nails on a chalkboard. I think the shrill interpretation comes because sometimes she delivers lines in an exasperated fashion, as if she is being bothered, unleashing her lines in a piercing and harsh manner. It is unpleasant and absolutly adds to the lack of enjoyment the character brings.

I tried to think of one instance in the season where I actually liked her and I couldn't. The best I could come up with was she was less annoying in some eps than others.
I will say the thing that I probably resent the most is how she messes up the team dynamic. Mac is about the only one she can carry a scene with. The rest just seem to tolerate her. There's something about their body language as well when they talk to her that comes off as tense, I notice this most with Melina and certain scenes with, of all people, Carmine. Eddie simply doesn't seem to acknowledge her.

Eddie doesn't acknowledge her at all, which is kind of funny. I'd never seen Flack ignore someone in an interrogation scene so thoroughly until "Cool Hunter."

The team dynamic isn't the same, and it's not like when they decided to have Ryan purposefully create a little tension among the team in Miami. That worked. With Lindsay, she's not supposed to be bringing conflict to the team, and she doesn't, but she also doesn't mesh with them.

The addition of Lindsay is a disruption rather than an asset to the show and the team does feel scattered and separated there is a disjointedness that didn't exist prior to her arrival.

If it is possible, I actually think she clicks less with Melina than she does with Carmine, with both we are veering near zero chemistry. There is a tension there, when it comes to Carmine, he just seems tired of the contrivance, perhaps Melina too has grown tired of the obvious lack of chemistry.

Flack not acknowledging the character is comical, delightful, and yet brings up many questions. Flack always takes a hard line with criminals, but he is so genial with everyone else, so why does he ignore Lindsay, even Eddie’s body language is off in the few scenes they have shared together.

Ali

 

[Top41]

Well, I think tonight's episode says it all.

Anna was awful. Her acting is forced and unnatural, and with each episode I hate the character more. Not to mention, Hawkes, who was brought into the field for more character development, has been pushed back into the background in her wake. Ugh.

 

[JDonne]

Tonight just presented more evidence that the title of the thread is beyond justified. How many ways can she be horrendous?

Maybe if Anna were my five-year-old in a yellow tutu in a kindergarten production of Little Bunny Foo Foo I could muster a smile or a few tears of joy despite the singing off key, but Anna isn't, so I won’t, instead I will say that if acting had a scent, hers would smell like shit.

Ali

 

[Showtime]

Shows rarely do good by bringing in new characters. It works for some, but I think CSI NY is a clear example of why you shouldn't. She is the epitome of boring.

 

[Top41]

:lol: Little Bunny Foo Foo!

I'm sure that Anna is good in the theater. Maybe she can even do comedy. But for whatever reason, she isn't meshing on CSI: NY and she isn't believable as a CSI. Sometimes an actor doesn't fit a role--not all actors can play every role. Anna just doesn't fit--it was a miscast.

 

[vegaslights]

Spoilers!

Spoiler: About Lindsay

Lindsay is found dead in a off-location studio. Hammerback is in charge for her autopsy and rules that her death was caused by un-justifiable acting and horrendous expressions.

Is this a good thing?

Source: Anonymous

 

[Showtime]

In the three shows I've seen her in -- one show having her tide over into two episodes -- she made the same mistakes. Anna Belknap can only fit into one role, it seems, and she hasn't yet found it.