Why We Dislike Horatio Caine

Discussion in 'CSI: Miami' started by JLo10131121, May 27, 2010.

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  1. JLo10131121

    JLo10131121 Witness

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    First off, this thread is for posters to post why we dislike CSI's 'fearless' leader. It is not to get into a fight over why he's the greatest thing since sliced bread. Furthermore, THERE WILL BE NO BASHING OF ANY KIND OF THE ACTOR OF THIS CHARACTER. This thread is not to denigrate the actor in any shape or form. I have not been on in over three months, and even then I barely posted, but as I understand things, there have been some seriously nasty comments about certain actors on the series. This thread is not for that - either toward the actor of HC (cannot remember his name!) or any other actor on the series. They have lives, and are given a role to play. Let's keep this civil.

    If people who dislike the idea of EC can have their own thread, then I believe this is a legitimate topic of discussion. In that vein, please, post away.

    I've got a lot to say on this guy. I don't know if it's the way the writers have written him over time, the way the director is directing the actor, or what, but gradually I've become to dislike the guy (Horatio Caine - the CHARACTER) intensely. I can't stand the pompous, self-important way he enters a crime scene, and come on, those GLASSES? Really? ALWAYS has them on, and his stance, so....nonchalant.

    So often, he enters a scene and all of a sudden, he's God's gift to the crime victim. I'd like to see more instances where other characters take that role, are the first on scene - Ryan, Natalia, Eric, Calleigh, Walter, even Cardoza (and mind you I personally don't like his character).

    I have a lot to say, but I'll let some others post now. Have fun, kiddies.
     
  2. Grissom rules

    Grissom rules CSI Level Two

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    I have mixed feelings about Horatio Caine.Sometimes I really want to throw him a punch for the way he's acting(posing in camera and delivering his one liners),but there are times that I just love the way he talks to the bad guys!!
     
  3. JLo10131121

    JLo10131121 Witness

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    OMG, those oneliners - they KILL ME. SO stupid, and corny as hell. Furthermore, Horatio is so pretentious and arrogant it's ridiculous. What, he's the only one of the team that can build a rapport with a witness, a child? Really, he's the only one who went to "compassion school" or something? Natalia doesn't know how to talk to a child? Ryan? Calleigh has a soft voice and a sweet disposition. Eric's eyes pull you in. And yet Horatio is the only one we see doing that stuff.

    Furthermore, I'm sorry, but a supervisor is NOT on scene every single time. A supervisor does exactly that - supervises, reads, reviews, and closes his employees' reports. He doesn't go gallivanting around acting like a super hero.
     
  4. silentdisco

    silentdisco Police Officer

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    Oh, man, I am ALL UP in this!

    I have a love/hate relationship with Horatio Caine. Sure, his one-liners are stupid, his sunglass fetish eye roll-inducing, and his "poses" nauseating. But I have to admit, I kind of enjoy them because they're so ridiculous.

    The true character of Horatio is what really bothers me. Sometime in Season 4 (also known as "The Season I Like To Pretend Never Existed Because It Was THAT Awful"), he switched from an honest, decent guy who wanted justice for all, to a colder, more sinister individual. A desire for justice was replaced with a need for revenge, as evidenced by his trip to Brazil in order to kill the guy who killed his wife. Apparently, he never heard the expression "an eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind".

    It showed that Horatio clearly lost track of who he was working for. He's supposed to protect and get justice for Miami as a whole, not just those who have wronged him personally.

    Another thing I can't stand about him: the subtle misogyny that plagues his hero persona. Horatio has two special interests when it comes to protection: women and children. Now, nobody has a problem with protecting children. Society as a whole sees youth as an innocent group who are deserving of protection (and rightly so, most of the time).

    Protecting women is great too...but NOT in the way Horatio does it. To Horatio, all women victims are helpless, fragile creatures in need of HIS PERSONAL protection. All of the victims he takes a special liking to are attractive and forced into the position of "damsel in distress".

    As a woman, and a feminist, I find this notion that I am in need of a White Man With a Gun to protect me extremely insulting. Just because a victim is a woman does NOT mean they aren't strong. We all need support sometimes. What women don't need is the patronizing attitude of privileged males like Horatio Caine. One of the best ways to unpack your privilege and be a true ally is to ask the non-privileged group how you can help them achieve equality. Give them a forum for them to voice their concerns instead of telling them what they need.

    And I think I'll stop there.
     
  5. JLo10131121

    JLo10131121 Witness

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    Thank you for bringing this up. Because if there has been one thing that pissed me off most about his character is that when Yelina was getting abused, physically abused, by Stetler, did he do anything about it? Short of talking to him, warning and threatening him, he did jack. Because Yelina ASKED him to. If he'd been a real man, he'd have brought the guy up on charges, or at least convinced Yelina to. Quietly taking care of the problem obviously didn't solve the issues, because as we've recently seen, Stetler wasn't just a misogynistic a-hole, but also a thief and murderer. No way a man who is physically abusive is JUST so. I knew he had more under that scaly skin. And if he'd been taken care of back in Season 4, none of this would have happened, and the ASA would have been alive.
     
  6. bgnogan

    bgnogan Hit and Run

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    Well let me first say that I am a big fan of David Caruso/Horatio Caine. He's my favorite character on the show but I have to admit that they've been destroying his character for a while now. He was great in season 1. Good in seasons 2 and 3, but after that he went downhill fast. Season 8 Horatio has been a lot better, and they toned down the one-liners and posing which is great but he still needs some work! I have hope that season 9 he will be even better! Hopefully tptb won't let us down.
     
  7. hiphugger17

    hiphugger17 Coroner

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    I used to really enjoy Horatio in the first three seasons and then season 4 came around... I totally agree with this:

    Horatio became distant and just posing on rooftops cartoonish character. IMO he's gotten better this season but still is very far away from the character he started out being.

    However the one thing that REALLY bothers me: he NEVER gets hurt..NEVER. Not even a hair out of place. That just irks me!!!!! His hummer can blow up basically 3 feet behind him and nothing! I mean come on sprain an ankle or something!!!
     
  8. Jag Lady

    Jag Lady Lab Technician

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    Personally I loved the Horatio of the early years, but I hate what he turned into during S4 with Marisol and then after Rio. I hated the dark, distant THING that never went into the lab anymore. Never talked to the families anymore. Never really interacted with his team anymore, except to say "What have we got?" or "Bring him in." Never changed his clothes anymore (Geez, what did he smell like?)

    That too.
     
  9. slower

    slower Lab Technician

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    I have to say that I think H is coming around though. I have always liked his one-liners; some more than others and his compassion towards the victims and especially the children. What I find sort of nutty is his gun stance. What is he sneaking up on anyway? The perp can be subdued and he's still in that pose.:guffaw:
     
  10. Jennifer

    Jennifer Lab Technician

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    What I dislike about Horatio Caine...I could go on and on. He began to irritate me during the 3rd season and by the 4th I couldn't stand him anymore. Now its almost an involuntary eye-roll each time he's on the tv screen.

    Several of the reasons have been stated by others:

    Yes, exactly. The way he enters a crime scene all pompously, like the crime will not be solved without his expertise. The way he stands there, hands on his hips, squinting off into space, looking at no one in particular, and uttering some silly line. Its one of the reasons people don't take this show seriously. Thankfully they seem to have toned it down some... now he does those corny one lines maybe 80% of the time, instead of ALL the time.

    This is another reason I don't like Horatio anymore. No longer does he fight for justice, and do it the right way - he's out for revenge more often than not these days. That episode with the child predator really angered me - the way Horatio went after the pedophile at the end. The Horatio of seasons 1 and 2 never would have done that. Sure, we all wanted to kill the predator, or at least beat him to a pulp and send him to general population at the local jail, but doing so isn't right - not for us, and not for Horatio Caine.

    And I like to call season 4 "The Season That Never Should Have Happened".

    While its okay for Horatio to want to protect children, is there some reason why its always him? Surely Eric, Calleigh, and Natalia can relate to a child, comfort them... but its *always* Horatio. That man better watch it or someone is going to think he's a pedophile... ESPECIALLY when he's already down on one knee when he greets them, that squinty constipated look on his face - like in the finale episode. I'm telling you, I find it creepy as hell.

    Ditto on both points - why I've come to dislike him. Always posing. It seems like Horatio can't say anything without posing. And the fact that he can walk away from an explosion or burning houses and cars without a scratch irritates me.


    But I think what I dislike the most is that he's evolved into this cartoon character, like he's trying to be this Superhero, and in doing so, he's made the show the laughing stock of the CSI franchise. It should shame and gall the writers and producers that some people tune into this show just to laugh and mock Horatio - but apparently it doesn't. They seem to love it! Hold contests for it! Its no wonder people don't take this show seriously when Horatio poses, squints, and speaks while looking in the opposite direction of the person he's talking to, ever present sunglasses dangling from his fingertips (has anyone noticed that it seems like Horatio is the only one allowed to wear sunglasses? Others have to squint at the sunlight, but not Horatio) to impart the wisdom it seems that only he is capable of giving (although I am thankful that he's allowed Calleigh to do that some this season). And I find his bending down on one knee all the time, shoulders hunched over, sunglasses dangling from his fingertips,to be particularly annoying.

    Of the 3 CSI leaders in the 3 different CSI's... Grissom (I know he's no longer there), Mac, and Horatio - Horatio is the only joke. He's the only one people mock and laugh at. And it mystifies me as to why the writers & producers seem to be okay with this. Jlo... you're right, he's pretentious. The least believable of the three.

    I used to love Horatio, I really did... but he is a shell of his former self, and I wish to hell they'd spend season 9 bringing back the Horatio of seasons 1 and 2.
     
  11. JLo10131121

    JLo10131121 Witness

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    LOL I know right? It's like he thinks his skin is made of kevlar. He CAN get hurt. No matter what the writers like to make us think. And I used to like him, really I did, LONG LONG before I became an EC shipper. I liked him in 1-3, but S4.....serious character change. He just became so pompous, and I remember starting to change the channel when he came on. It's sad, because in the early, early years I actually liked him, especially with Yelina, and then he changed so much...
     
  12. electra

    electra Pathologist

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    First of all,I have not watched the episode where Horatio kills the predator so my opinion is based on what I have seen...If anyone can give me the name of the episode so I could watch it, will be great.

    I do like Horatio and mainly his relationship with Eric.But I agree with jennifer that he is the reason why I do not consider the show a serious one.I am in med school and the medical inconsistencies do not bother me one bit becouse this is the show that has super H afterall.I do enjoy his character but he is seriously a caricature compared to Grissom from vegas or Mac from NY. Many liked it and that is why CSI miami became such a hit but I do wonder if people are starting to get really tired of it.
     
  13. hiphugger17

    hiphugger17 Coroner

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    Another thing that bugs me about the new Horatio is the way he started interacting with Yelina. There used to be such great chemistry between these two in the first three seasons. Suddenly they only meet near bodies of water and he acts so coldly towards her it's a wonder those bodies of water don't freeze over. Kudos to Sofia because from her part everything is there still but from Horatio it's like Yelina is just this cop he once knew and nothing else. It's really a shame because one of the things I wanted to see when the series came to an end was Yelina and Horatio together. Now it'd be just plain weird cause it's definitely not the same.

    BTW Jennifer is good to see you around :)
     
  14. JLo10131121

    JLo10131121 Witness

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    Awww, thanks girl. Been a long long long time since I've even wanted to come on here. And I completely agree with you about Yelina and H. I really thought those two would hook up and then...nothing. There's no chemistry between them anymore and you're right. He changed in Season three or four, I can't even remember that far back. I don't own the series, and quite frankly, never will. CSI Miami isn't one of my all time favorites like X-Files or La Femme Nikita or Farscape is to me, but anyway, the point is he changed, and not for the better. I agree he's gotten a bit better this year, but like you said, the writers made him into a caricature compared to Mac or Grissom. Those two HAVE been hurt, they have loved and lost, and we feel for them. I don't feel anything for him. I used to - back in the day when he and Yelina had all that chemistry. It's just a sad, sad situation. The way they've written him, from Season four (I think) to now has completely made me NOT sympathize with him, not one little bit.

    ps. whoops, my name is Jennifer also, so it just occurred to me, you meant Jen from TX. LOL!!!!
     
    Last edited: May 28, 2010
  15. GregNickRyanFan

    GregNickRyanFan Holographic Moderator Moderator

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    When you say "predator" do you mean the guy(s) in Rio (that ep was called "Rio") who killed Marisol or do you mean that child predator in that one ep (I think it was called "To Catch A Predator" or something to that effect)? Cause Horatio didn't kill the child predator. The episode ended with him walking menancingly toward the guy and the guy made a scared noise, but it was never brought up again.

    As for the Rio storyline, I blame the writers for that, not the character. I like Horatio a lot (I like him even more this season, although there hasn't been as much of him- but he's shown a lot more emotion this season- the scene with Kyle at the end of Kyle's episode -which I love). I was a bit annoyed with the writing of "Rio" though. The reason? To me it felt like the writers were trying to make it more like an action movie (think Stallone or Schwarzengger type of movie) rather than a Miami episode. :lol:

    As for the sunglasses thing and the way he talks, this is what he's directed to do. It's a gimmick to make the show different. Think William Shatner. Most of the other stuff I've seen WS in, he doesn't speak like he did on Star Trek. Star Trek and those commercials are the only places I've heard him do that. It's a gimmick, a trademark for the series type of thing. They've said pretty much from the beginning that this show is kind of a CSI comic book type of show, that's why Horatio is never hurt, that's why he does corny things like the sunglasses and the way he pauses between words. It's supposed to be sort of campy, that's what makes Miami different. It's apparently what the creators wanted. :lol:

    Having said that, I really really wish the writers had written that EVERYONE (including Horatio) passed out at the end of the season finale. Instead they had Horatio nowhere in the vacinity of in danger. I also think it would have been more dramatic to have had Eric pass out right after he found Calleigh. But I guess they figured that since they ended last season with Eric in danger, they'd give him a pass this season. :lol:
     
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