H50 Ep: Ne Me'e Laua Na Paio

[the_other_sandy]

Seriously, CBS? Seriously? A three week hiatus, one new episode, then another three week hiatus? Why bother? Why not wait and run the rest of the season all in one go? Except, possibly, to torture me?

Okay, let me get my Debbie Downerness out of my system before I get to the stuff I liked (and I did like stuff, I swear). Thing the first: I don't understand the Mark Dacascos/Wo Fat love all over my flist. I get that Wo Fat was the Big Bad in the original series and we are therefore stuck with him for the entire run of this series, but I've seen Mark Dacascos in a number of different things besides this show, and the man only has one facial expression. If he's going to be Blofeld to Steve's James Bond, I'd really rather have someone with more screen presence. Maybe they can get him a cat.

Thing the second: The jury is still out on Jenna Kaye for me. She made a very bad first impression by being all smug in Steve's office. Smug people make me want to punch them in their smug faces. Fortunately she settled down a bit after that, but I'm going to have to wait and see where the show is going with her character before I decide whether I like her or not. But really, what self-confessed neat freak sticks ABC gum under tables? I'm the total opposite of a neat freak, and I think that's gross.

But enough about that and on to the adorableness, such as Steve and Danny having to know everything about each other, including what Danny had in the bag. And Steve thinking it was sweet that Danny was eating salad for Grace, who wasn't even there and couldn't possibly know whether Danny was eating salad or not. And Steve being Pac-Man in cargo pants. And Steve shooting a glance at Danny when Psycho Kitty started talking about how she felt like she'd known Alex all her life as soon as they met. And Danny being too much of a gentleman to want Kono sexting a porny message to Johnny D., then being too much of a gentleman to be able to write said porny message successfully himself. And Steve calling Danny 'D'. ::sigh::

I love my show.

Comments

[sgflutegirl.livejournal.com]

I absolutely loved this episode! Jury's still out on Kaye. Not sure about her yet.

I'm so glad that I have all the eps on my computer. It's the only thing that kept me sane during the last hiatus. This is getting rediculous though.

[and-ed.livejournal.com]

I'm so with you on the gum thing - that totally did not fit with 'neat freak'. Plus...gross!

Actually, I'm with you on pretty much all this. I mostly liked Jenna, though I didn't like the smug, either, but I worked out a little theory for that.

And I don't know about Mark Dacascos...I thought it was awesome when he was cast but I'm finding it difficult to get past the Iron Chef thing. LOL Poor Mark - I think he's typecast.

And Boo to hiatuses (hiatusi?). It does seem odd to give us ONE ep, then another break. I want the rest NOW, dammit.

[the-other-sandy.livejournal.com]

I never watched Iron Chef, but I do remember him having just the one facial expression as Tyre on Stargate Atlantis.

My biggest problem with Dacascos is that he once hosted a documentary on the History Channel in which he displayed such a powerful man crush on the legendary samurai Musashi Miyamoto that I found Dacascos kind of creepy.

[bookwurm.livejournal.com]

Is it only going to be three weeks? I didn't see a date for the next new episode on CBS's site, but IMDb.com says it's not coming out until May 23. Three weeks is obnoxious enough, but two full months is ridiculous!

The scene with Mark Dacascos didn't do much for me either He's a little too blah for me to really see him as this huge criminal mastermind. There's no real menace to him. Even when he was "threatening" Steve in the restaurant, it didn't seem to be that big of a deal.

Jenna Kaye's gum was definitely gross. Otherwise, she seems moderately interesting, so I'm willing to reserve judgment. Frankly, the most fun side character in this episode, for me, was Johnny D. I loved the way he gave the guys grief and wasn't particularly shy about admitting the extent of his robberies once they had him.

Steve and Danny definitely had some sweet moments. The two of them grilling each other about details of their lives, and the banter in Johnny D's garage were both very cute scenes. I loved the "Pac-Man in cargo pants" comment!

[the-other-sandy.livejournal.com]

I don't know how authoritative the source was, but I heard new episodes would be back starting April 11. May is one of the most important broadcast months of the year as the ratings during May and November set the advertising rates each network can charge for the rest of the year, so it wouldn't make sense to wait until the end of May to run new episodes.

Wo Fat definitely needs a fluffy white cat with a diamond collar to give him a personality he doesn't seem to have on his own.

I liked Johnny D. too. "Mavis, can I have the reports on last week's robberies?"

I've been chatting with people all day, and I've come around to the idea that Jenna Kaye is too much like a little kid playing dress-up. The gum thing didn't help. I just can't imagine what she thought she was going to do if she actually found Wo Fat. She doesn't seem to have enough stones to kill him. All I can see her doing right now is pouting at him and demanding he apologize. I hope she gets better as a character. And if she doesn't get better, I hope she's only a recurring character and doesn't join the cast full-time next season, which is the tentative plan. I'll just have to see how she is for the rest of the season before I make up my mind, but so far I'm disappointed. I'd rather have Catherine back.

[bookwurm.livejournal.com]

Drat -- sorry, I replied at the wrong point.

[bookwurm.livejournal.com]

I've come around to the idea that Jenna Kaye is too much like a little kid playing dress-up.

That really made my thoughts on Jenna Kaye come together. She doesn't seem like a bad person, but I can't buy her as a CIA agent. Seriously, Wo Fat slaughtered an entire team, and she thinks she can take him on by herself? She just took a leave of absence from work to pursue her vendetta, and her supervisors haven't figured out that that's what she's doing??

The idea of her joining the cast full-time makes me twitch. She just doesn't seem like she could keep up with everyone else. I'd rather see Johnny D. as a recurring character. Have the execs decided that they need a damsel in distress?

[the-other-sandy.livejournal.com]

TPTB decided to bring on another character to help spread the screen time around because Scott and Alex were exhausted from carrying the show. Alex was getting B12 shots on set to try to keep going, and Scott has had 2 hospital visit-inducing injuries this season (one for surgery on his torn ACL, one for shrapnel in his eye while filming an action scene). Personally I think they should talk to Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles, who have been carrying Supernatural mostly by themselves for 6 seasons. Anyway, I don't know why TPTB chose to add another character instead of giving Chin and Kono more to do.

The first incarnation of the new character was meant to be a male Naval Intelligence buddy of Steve's, but fandom freaked out because they didn't want the new guy to replace Danny as Steve's bromantic interest. I can only guess that TPTB changed the character to female either to avoid that backlash, or to even the gender odds so that Kono wouldn't be outnumbered 4-1.

Maybe TPTB made Jenna an analyst to get Chin and Kono away from the computer table and out in the field to kick some ass? If Jenna stays at HQ to be the one they call for information, I may be able to live with her as a cast member.

[bookwurm.livejournal.com]

I'm all in favor of not killing the actors! However, giving Chin and Kono more screen time would be a nice way to handle that. Having another great female character join Kono would be lovely, but Jenna doesn't seem to be strong enough for that. Maybe she'll improve with more airtime (and better writing)? [shrug]

Sticking her at HQ to give Chine and Kono more opportunities to kick butts and take names would be ok. I just hope TPTB don't decide to make her a romantic interest for Danny or Steve to replace their potential bromantic interest, or just because every show needs romance.

[the-other-sandy.livejournal.com]

Having another great female character join Kono would be lovely

I was kind of hoping they'd bring Catherine back, but I guess that would lead to romantic complications. TPTB have said in interviews so far that they're running an action/procedural show and don't want to soap it up, but since they've changed their minds about other things (like Steve's sister), nothing is set in stone. I'm hopeful at the moment that they made Jenna the kind of character she is because that's not the kind of woman Steve is attracted to (see: Catherine).

[bookwurm.livejournal.com]

I expect TPTB to keep their word on any television show only until they think they can make more money by changing. If they think the demographic/advertisers will pay more for soap, the best we can hope for is Dark Shadows. (Sorry, feeling a little cynical about TV programming.)

[the-other-sandy.livejournal.com]

If you want to see cynicism about TV programming, try being part of the Stargate fandom.

Not that TPTB aren't capable of making boneheaded decisions on any given show, but sometimes it's not their fault. Occasionally the network execs (who ultimately pay the bills) think they know best and force changes on a show. I've seen both happen.

I just hope they don't mess with the Steve/Danny dynamic. I've seen too many shows catch lightning in a bottle with the chemistry between their two leads, only to squander it by driving a wedge between them in the name of drama.