Missing (The Ever-Clever Triple Entendre)
Could someone please explain to me these two things?
One: What has happened to an abundance of decent Catherine/Grissom fanfiction?
Two: What do people see between Grissom and Sara ( Read more... )
One: What has happened to an abundance of decent Catherine/Grissom fanfiction?
Two: What do people see between Grissom and Sara ( Read more... )
Rosie: *leaps to hug* I'm alive, yes...but actively pursuing a career as an anti-socialite. It's been going well, actually, some evidence being me not updating my journal in six-and-a-half months.
Anyhow, I suppose I will have to look at her blog, because with the exception of the few aforementioned authors (in addition to several others whose names have presently escaped me), I've found nothing worth of praise. Grissom and Catherine have apparently transformed into two giggling, gaudy teenage girls auditioning for the next bubblegum movie (although Grissom, in past months, has become more fitted to that description with his development in the show).
I can't honestly say that all GSR writers are bored adolescents with nothing better to do than crap all over the characters they've been given, because I've read some stories that have been great despite the GSR pairing. I mean, authors such as Cincoflex and VR Trakowski are mature authors who have noticeable talent and who 'ship GSR, and I truly can't insult them for their preference in relationships. However, I will agree with you that there are quite a few inexperienced writers who create nothing but poorly-written, purely nauseating stories with Grissom and Sara, and I will agree that they do greatly outnumber the skilled authors.
Oh, yes -- I do need to write, and I currently am. My major problem is that I critique everything to the point where I essentially turn against what I write. I'm a "carpe diem" author. One day, I'll write something, read it, and savor it for what it is, only to return to it two, three days later and bleed the life from it. Shame, really. But not to worry! I've got things stewing in the brain that are managing to get themselves typed onto a document. Really, I need to get myself in "the groove" again; school drained me and gave me an excuse to say most nights something like, "Nah, I can't write. It'll all be crap 'cause I'm so tired, bored, and/or depressed." *insert obnoxious "ick" here*
(By the way, you do write well, Rosie -- you're prolific, yes, but you're good. You've got the characters, and you're excellent when it comes to getting your point across...especially when it comes to GSR.) :)
(LJ is going to say I've exceeded the character limit. I can feel it in my bones.)
Margy: Welcome to the journal and thanks for the friending. I trust that any pal of Rosie is just as wonderful as Rosie herself, so I'm glad to have met you. :)
As you can tell by the post, you're certainly not the only one. The relationship is filled with too many flaws to work well -- or even at all. Firstly, both Grissom and Sara are dry; they're detached, anti-social, somber, and romantically incompetent, and they would be leading the dullest relationship if they were portrayed correctly by the show. But now, of course, with the "character development" of Grissom taking an unusual (and unwanted) turn, this is not the case. Now, Grissom has the capacity to woo Sara, while Sara has the ability not to share her frustrations with Grissom, something she was fond of the earlier seasons. She can forgive him now, even if she was seemingly prepared to leave him just in the middle of the season.
Additionally, there's no basis for what they now have together. Unless my mind has been purposely naughty in deciding to immunize me to the GSR chemistry, it's been missing something. From what I saw in the earlier seasons, Grissom has never actually reciprocated Sara's feelings and has even admitted (twice) that he's not interested. And one of those confessions was to a murder, an event that, to me, didn't bode well for GSR's well-being.
And I could continue, but I'm trying to avoid getting carpel tunnel for as long as I can. Talking about this would just send me to the doctor with my wrists feeling like they are on fire.
(Oh, I’ll have to split this into two posts and continue it in the second one.)
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But I will agree with you on what you said about Season Seven. From what I saw of it (I missed at least seven episodes because of school, fortunately for my brain), it was mainly superficial, carelessly-characterized, and mind-numbing dribble. There were actual some episodes that made me want to turn off the TV and go salvage my brain with Shakespeare or Stephen King or Ray Bradbury, something that I, dumbly enough, didn't do.
And even while there were a few episodes that more resembled the older CSI, there were enough of the aforementioned "bad" episodes to classify the season as "a stinker," for lack of a more insulting phrase.
Ooh, you write original fiction? *has interest piqued* Well, if it's posted in your journal, I'll have to see it. I'm trying to break into original work myself, but I've yet to write something I like enough to continue.
Thank you for your "best." I trust it will help with the writing. :)
Jade: Well, you deserve them, because your work is perpetually fantastic. I know I haven't reviewed in a while -- for anything from anyone, really -- but I've been checking your stuff as savoring as usual...just a little more quietly.
(Oh, by the way, I've finally come to accept the fact that I cannot sustain a correspondence through e-mail. I've probably got some kind of mental block (stealthily created by my ever-elusive brain) stopping me from responding to e-mails. It sucks, blows, bites, etc. And hopefully this constitutes as my lame excuse for not replying to your thoughtful e-mail...again, hopefully.)
It's surpassed awful and entered the darkened and despised realm of "what the hell is this [insert infinite combination of obscenities here]?" and it makes me want to force myself to write something even halfway decent to add to the dwindling collection of "good" GCR fanfiction.
How far are you into the season, anyhow? If you've gotten to the finale, I'd love to hear what you thought of it. Personally, I only liked it for a certain reason I won't divulge to you, but I can't say it had much else to it other than that one part.
The characters...the poor characters! Whereforth art thou Grissom? What sort of smug glow bepaints thy ruined character's cheek?
Seriously, though, the characters have been gutted of their original personas and given God-knows-what as a replacement. Grissom has gone from reflective introvert with a proclivity for roller coasters, bugs, and subtle flirtations with leading and well-developed minor characters to a cocky (and there's your dirty double-entendre!) "romantic" who has sacrificed several of his small but defining preferences to be with a woman in whom he's never shown much, if any, interest anyhow. Sara has gone from a moody, "I'll-tell-you-how-it-is-bitch-even-if-you-don't-want-to-hear-it," elder-chasing woman to a over-confident, elder-banging, indecisive person who has lost her ability to pitch a fit about any- and everything.
This, of course, is only addition to what you said so eloquently. ;)
You're right in giving the lab techs praise for their comedy -- it's one of the few elements keeping the show afloat in the ratings.
Speaking of ratings: Yes, the popularity's peaked and will quickly dwindle to inexistent if the show doesn't change. Obviously, the ratings for this have been an indicate of much unhappiness among the viewers, and since ratings matter when it comes to television, they'll most likely play a leading role in the show's overdue change, if there is one.
At this point, all of us dissatisfied fans can only pray to someone that we'll see our show return to its glory or end while it still has the privilege of a faint heartbeat.
And who knows? Maybe when the show dies Doc Robbins will be kind enough to provide one last amusing autopsy to prove correct the assumed cause of death: loss of original premise by the writers bleeding the show of its good characters and plots.
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And yes, I've seen the entire series now - it's finished last Tuesday here, but Jack and I had downloaded and watched it all quite a while beforehand. I assume you like it for the Sara-trapping. Jorja Fox should probably leave and do something good.
I saw some two episodes of old CSI the other day. In the first one, they're all taking the piss out of Grissom when asked to evaluate him and they're all joking about. In the second one, Catherine is having breakfast with Grissom trying to get him to realise Sara's infatuation with him. (And, even as if I was not a GCR-shipper, I would want to question what the hell happened to their FRIENDSHIP over the course of the seasons?)
I mean, the characters have lost any sense of the personalities that made us like them in the first place. It was Greg-like when he asked Catherine if Sara would ever go out with him - and Catherine's response was very like how her character had been defined. Now, any kind of jovial banter that comes out of any of them is so generic and non-specific that they've lost all sense of themselves.
I've started to figure out a key to how you can tell a show like this is going downhill and have decided that a really good indicator is by counting up number of times they put a main cast member in a dangerous, potentially life-threatening situation.
Early on in CSI, it wasn't necessary - maybe some brief threat on Grissom's life in The Strip Strangler - maybe a bit of a threat to Nick's in Stalker - maybe some danger for Greg in Play With Fire - but otherwise, these characters had enough personality for the audiences to like them and be interested in them. When that starts to run out, the writers start to resort to these really cheap ways of tugging a viewer's heartstrings.
Three - count 'em - three major threats to a main cast member's life in this season. And it's Greg, Catherine and Sara - possibly the most cast members well-liked, I'd guess. It's just too easy.
If CSI want to try and go up to the reputation they had before - for being different, original and even daring - then they should stop taking the easy route. Of COURSE people are going to watch if you put one of the most popular cast members under a car in the hands of a notorious psychopath - but in the first few seasons, they wouldn't have needed to. Sara had pretty much no lines in the finale, as well, did you see? It just seems a lot like shamelessly using her as a tool to pry emotion out of people, but they don't even get the same ratings they used to. If they'd just develop her character a bit more, and have The Team more Team-Like as they were at the beginning, then I'm sure we'd care a whole lot more.
Ohhhhhh well. Yknow, I barely go into much depth or give this stuff much thought really. I don't know what it is about talking to you that makes me go off on some massive rant on this subject...
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