Why Lindsay REALLY Must Go (Pt. 2)

[MrsGiovinazzo]

Poison girl - Just noticed your avie. AWESOME!!!

 

[poison girl]

Thank you, MrsGiovinazzo, I think he should be the first one to put that shirt on . If anyone want to take that icon, go on.

Even if she's not part of the team to be worried about Flack, any sane person will go into an ICU smiling, more less after that day. At least that's why I said that, Lorelai.

 

[Faylinn]

Yeah, smiling at inopportune moments and making things about her when they shouldn't be is grating. You're a CSI, do your job and don't shove it off on someone else. Someone else is hurt, try to act at least a bit selfless--and, you know, don't drag a guy with injured ribs toward the perfectly-able EMS while smiling and apologizing because he was there for you.

Smiling in a bad situation to raise the mood might work if the smile conveyed something other than "I'm smiling". Something like "I'm bad at comforting other people, so I try to cover it this way" would work for the character, but I don't get that vibe.

Top41 can vouch for the fact that I have a very strong dislike for Owen on "Torchwood" ('dislike' is putting it mildly sometimes--on occasion, I've wanted to smack him upside the head). I dislike him because that's the kind of character he is, and the actor makes you believe it. He's not meant to be everybody's favorite, but he's got a definite role, and a definite appeal--and the show wouldn't be the same without him. (Yes, Top, I admitted it, don't have a heart attack. )

Lindsay, on the other hand...

 

[Kimmychu]

Top41 said:
Lindsay has two expressions: surprise and the scrunch face.

I guess that's just proof of the character's two-dimensionality, isn't it? Literally. :lol:

There are so many actresses out there, much more talented and skilled who could have brought something to the character. Anna flatly reads the lines off the page and doesn't sell them. She's a waste of space on the show, and actually detracts from scenes she's in.

That's the bit I don't get, more than anything else. Don't tell me nobody else auditioned for the part! Is CSI:NY really that low on the TV show quality list? And of course, Anna herself said it better than anybody:

After my first audition, I felt really bad about it, so I was like, "Hill, tell them I'm not that bad!" and he put a nice word in for me which was very sweet.

Dude. A professional does not admit she was bad AND say that she made a co-worker kiss TPTB ass in order for her to get the job. Just, no. Very bad impression there, and I'm not bloody talking as a shipper or even a fan of the show. I'm talking as somebody who works and interacts with other pros in my industry, and if somebody said that to me, that they confessed they sucked ass and then confessed that they got somebody in the company to kiss the boss' ass and get them a job they know they don't deserve ... yeah, I have very little respect for people like that. It's like a f**king slap to the faces of people who really worked hard to get where they are.

As for the character herself, I'm sure she's not meant to come off as unpleasantly as she does. I'm sure we were supposed to feel bad for her when she said she couldn't deal with giving bad news to mothers or when she snapped at Stella to leave her alone.

Call me frickin' crazy or too nice for my own good, but I'm still clinging to that one shred of hope left that the writers deliberately wrote Lindsay to be the selfish, spoilt, DID-sufferer of a character that she is on the show today. If they did, I hope to God the writers are writing up a storyline that'll actually make our torment for the last two seasons worthwhile. If not ... geez. There is no way in hell I'll ever warm up to her now. Two years, man. That's a serious motherload of making-amends time in the TV business.

I think she was paired with Danny because of that--Carmine flat out said he was used to prop her up. That in and of itself is evidence of her lack of worth: she wouldn't have needed "propping up" if she'd had merit in her own right.

There's only one word I can think of in regards to that: Bingo!

 

[kinkapoodles]

Lindsay has two expressions: surprise and the scrunch face.

ROFL. :lol: :lol: That is so true!! Unfortunately, we seem to be stuck with the scrunch face more often.

Great post Fay.

Everybody's made some great points. I have nothing to add right now.

 

[Ticamo77]

Elsie said:

Ticamo77 said:
It was a disservice to Anna Belknap because had she not been paired with the most popular actor on the show, she could have hid under the radar with her sub-par acting and no one would have noticed.

I have to disagree. I think Anna's subpar acting goes beyond D/L. It would have been noticed as soon as the storyline required her to show any sort of emotion.

Unfortunately the D/L pairing just means that there are more opportunities for her inadequacies to be noticed and for us to be subjected to them.

That's essentially what I was saying. Anna Belknap is most tolerable when she works with Gary Sinise. I didn't
find Lindsay kissing up to the boss that annoying. Of course, by the time Dances with the Fishes came along, I thought TPTB had chosen the wrong actress. Trying to stomach her run a wide range of emotions in that episode, only her third, exposed her as being horrible.

It's possible that they figured out that she sucked and thrust her into D/L because when she failed with all other emotions, they figured she could maybe pull off being attracted to Danny. Just one emotion and she failed. :lol:

 

[pretty_in_pink]

Top41 said:

But that aside, D/L is not the main reason I dislike Lindsay. Anna's acting is a big part of it--I think a warmer and more talented actress could make Lindsay likable. Lindsay has two expressions: surprise and the scrunch face. There are so many actresses out there, much more talented and skilled who could have brought something to the character. Anna flatly reads the lines off the page and doesn't sell them. She's a waste of space on the show, and actually detracts from scenes she's in.

I'm not sure that Anna is the whole reason that Lindsay is a waste of space on the show. I've seen her in a couple of other things, and she's a fairly good actress, although as Lindsay, she just (quite frankly) sucks. I think it kinda has to do with Anna, but also just because Lindsay is a crappy character. Maybe if TPTB had planned her out more, she wouldn't suck as much. And now they're just using her as Danny's boyfriend. I hate it. Hate, hate, HATE it. Just get rid of her if you can't find anything better to do with her.

It's sad. I haven't watched NY at all because I just can't stand any of the scenes that she's in. I hope season 4 brings something good, or I might quit watching for good.

 

[Faylinn]

I definitely think it's a combination of a badly-written character and an actress who isn't a good fit for the role. Although how the writing for Lindsay could be so meh compared to the writing for other characters on the same show baffles me a bit. Maybe if the writers figure out who she's supposed to be and stick with it...

And now they're just using her as Danny's boyfriend.

LOL, awesome typo! :lol:

 

[privatename]

Quote:
There are so many actresses out there, much more talented and skilled who could have brought something to the character. Anna flatly reads the lines off the page and doesn't sell them. She's a waste of space on the show, and actually detracts from scenes she's in.



That's the bit I don't get, more than anything else. Don't tell me nobody else auditioned for the part! Is CSI:NY really that low on the TV show quality list?

That is also what I don't get. There have to be better actresses out there who would have killed for a role on a network t.v. show -- aren't there? Don't you always hear about actors and actresses who resort to waiting tables till they get their big break. I really don't understand how this is her second shot at a regular series. The first one being Medical Investigations. I never watched that show so maybe she was great, but I somehow doubt it. She must have a great agent or something because to me she doesn't have the kind of acting to pull off this (or any other) role nor does she have the kind of charisma that would overcome mediocre acting skills to make me like the character anyway. Anna may be a very nice person, but she hasn't proven herself in two years and must really go. It is too bad that in all likelihood her "demotion" to recurring cast was just a mistake.

 

[LivingEnd]

I really do wonder how they ended up casting her for this role. Especially when you look at the other members of the cast. I mean the rest of the main cast is fabulous and A.J. Buckley and Robert Joy do a wonderful job too. Therefore the people who are responsible for the casting can’t be totally incompetent.
Well, I guess someone had a really bad day when Anna got the job and now we have to suffer through hours and hours of bad acting.

Silencer said
I'm still not watching episode six.

I think I’ll try a drinking game for episode six. She is supposed to show emotions in it? Well, I’ll take a drink whenever she pulls the scrunch face. With a little luck I’ll be dead drunk after the second commercials and won’t have to spend the other half of the episode conscious.

 

[Kimmychu]

Well, Anna did admit in her interview that Hill 'put in a good word' for her with TPTB, so ... Yeah, if that's true, I guess we know who to look for first for an explanation of why she got hired for the role. *grimaces* Man, reading that part of her interview still makes my lip curl. Not very nice to name a co-worker for doing something like that and then prove yourself to be ... not really good for the job.

 

[Hillicious]

I can remember Anna's work on "The Handler" (the previous show that she and Hill-ever-so delicious Harper did together), and she wasn't that bad. I liked her character on that show.

((((Running for cover)))))))

Of course CSI isn't "The Handler" and this is clearly a mismatch; let's not send Anna packing unemployed. What types of roles would befit a "scrunch face"? Maybe we can help her find her true calling. Just curious.;o)

 

[privatename]

Well, Anna did admit in her interview that Hill 'put in a good word' for her with TPTB, so ... Yeah, if that's true, I guess we know who to look for first for an explanation of why she got hired for the role. *grimaces*

It must be nice to have such good friends.

 

[Top41]

I never saw Anna on The Handler. I have seen her on Medical Investigation and she was better on that show than she is on NY. I've heard she did well on stage, so maybe that's where she belongs. She certainly isn't excelling on CSI: NY. I don't wish unemployment on anyone, but nor do I think a subpar actress belongs on a primetime television show. There are so many actresses out there who would probably love the role and would have done so much more with it than she has. It's a waste. Anytime I see someone undeserving in a job that someone else would do better--or would put more effort in--I think it's a shame.

Faylinn said:
Yeah, smiling at inopportune moments and making things about her when they shouldn't be is grating. You're a CSI, do your job and don't shove it off on someone else. Someone else is hurt, try to act at least a bit selfless--and, you know, don't drag a guy with injured ribs toward the perfectly-able EMS while smiling and apologizing because he was there for you.

The smiling thing is kind of weird, and another indicator of the fact that she's simply just not that good of an actress. It's like she doesn't know how to look concerned for someone else. With Flack, it seemed like she didn't care (she was getting Danny to take her home--that was clearly what her focus was). With Danny in "Snow Day" it just came off as kind of weird--again, oftentimes it's very obvious that she's reading from a script. She's just not very natural. It makes me feel like she's not really invested in the character. I don't get the sense that there's a lot going on in Lindsay's head, and that's because Anna's acting is just so meh.

Smiling in a bad situation to raise the mood might work if the smile conveyed something other than "I'm smiling". Something like "I'm bad at comforting other people, so I try to cover it this way" would work for the character, but I don't get that vibe.

Exactly. I just don't get the sense she puts enough thought into it to make Lindsay a fully rounded character. I didn't get the sense that she cared that much about Danny in any of those scenes where she was supposed to be worried about him. She just stood around and scrunched her face.

Top41 can vouch for the fact that I have a very strong dislike for Owen on "Torchwood" ('dislike' is putting it mildly sometimes--on occasion, I've wanted to smack him upside the head). I dislike him because that's the kind of character he is, and the actor makes you believe it. He's not meant to be everybody's favorite, but he's got a definite role, and a definite appeal--and the show wouldn't be the same without him. (Yes, Top, I admitted it, don't have a heart attack. )

:lol: *is in shock* Owen is a great character--he's the type you love to hate. He can be really horrible, but he also has real depth to him and is just fascinating to watch. Characters don't always have to be likable, but they should always be compelling and interesting, and if they're not likable, it should be because that's what the writers intend, not because the actor or actress is doing a crappy job--as is the case with Lindsay.

 

[Hillicious]

Yup, I agree. What a good friend she has in Hill.