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I think I could like Jo Danville eventually, but unlike many fans, I did not like her in her first foray into the madcap world of CSI:NY. She wasn't dreadful or incompetent; in fact, I found her strong, confident, and smart. As the new female lead, she was exactly what the show needed as an investigator.
However, the writers were so eager to have us like her that they had the other characters fawn over her and unnecessarily point out her amazing awesomeness. Danny, Mac, and Flack all sing her praises within the first twenty minutes and stress how thorough, cool, funny, and skilled she is, as if they had never seen such a talented, solid, skilled investigator ever before, never mind that they've spent the past seven years(at least)working with Stella, who was tough and smart enough to land a lead investigator job in New Orleans, one of the most corrupt, overworked departments in the country. If we take them at their canonical word most of them have worked with her for ten years or longer. In Mac and Danny's cases, they worked with her for nearly sixteen years(and yes, I know that means Stella would have been busting baddies in Junior high, fitting in her badassery between homework and catechism class).
Yet there they stand, three seasoned investigators, agog at her l33t sciencing skills.
Particularly egregious was Flack's wonderment at her interrogation skills. Of course she's an accomplished interrogator, Flack. She used to work for the government popo. Oh, honey, why do they make you so dumb?
Actually, they turned everyone into finger-chewers in order to further enhance her brilliance. Did she really need to explain to three veteran CSIs that she was testing the veracity of the suspect's story through blood spatter analysis? If you have to dumb down other characters to showcase your new toy's splendor, then perhaps she isn't that splendid.
None of this is the fault of Sela Ward, who attacked the role with guts and zest, but with the atrocious, cack-handed writing. The scene with Lindsay on the roof was ridiculous. "You're a warrior, Lindsay,"? Really? Somebody wrote that and thought it was good? This is modern-day New York, not 11th-century Gaul. She didn't fight in the Crusades or lead a revolution; she shot a dangerous lunatic while an emasculated Danny stood there like a weepy idiot. Even if modern New York was like Thunderdome, with battles to the death with hunks of rusty prybar, she still wouldn't be warrior. That distinction would belong to Mac, Flack, and the other CSIs who have put their lives on the line on a daily basis for years. Lindsay seldom leaves the lab. She is a survivor, not a warrior, and while both are laudable, yes, Virginia, there is a goddamn difference.
And what to make of that terribly embarrassing scene between Jo and Adam? Was that supposed to be funny, oh, so funny? It wasn't. It was creepy and obnoxious and made Jo look like a mean-spirited-self-involved jerk and Adam a bumbling idiot. Oh, boy. Win/win there, right?
And that glurgy plaque. Of course Stella's letter would be solely concerned with the awesomeness of Lindsay MONroe Messer(Jesus, police bigwig, but that pronunciation was awful). Who cares about Mac, or Flack, who was there for her after Frankie, and who saved her from drowning just six months ago? Pshaw. It's all about Lindsay, who was so awesome that Mac shut down the lab just so the rest of the cast could have a front-row seat to the public ass-licking ceremony.
Oh, my God, this show sucks. Why am I still watching it?
Oh, yeah. Because the case was decent and Flack is hot.
C+
However, the writers were so eager to have us like her that they had the other characters fawn over her and unnecessarily point out her amazing awesomeness. Danny, Mac, and Flack all sing her praises within the first twenty minutes and stress how thorough, cool, funny, and skilled she is, as if they had never seen such a talented, solid, skilled investigator ever before, never mind that they've spent the past seven years(at least)working with Stella, who was tough and smart enough to land a lead investigator job in New Orleans, one of the most corrupt, overworked departments in the country. If we take them at their canonical word most of them have worked with her for ten years or longer. In Mac and Danny's cases, they worked with her for nearly sixteen years(and yes, I know that means Stella would have been busting baddies in Junior high, fitting in her badassery between homework and catechism class).
Yet there they stand, three seasoned investigators, agog at her l33t sciencing skills.
Particularly egregious was Flack's wonderment at her interrogation skills. Of course she's an accomplished interrogator, Flack. She used to work for the government popo. Oh, honey, why do they make you so dumb?
Actually, they turned everyone into finger-chewers in order to further enhance her brilliance. Did she really need to explain to three veteran CSIs that she was testing the veracity of the suspect's story through blood spatter analysis? If you have to dumb down other characters to showcase your new toy's splendor, then perhaps she isn't that splendid.
None of this is the fault of Sela Ward, who attacked the role with guts and zest, but with the atrocious, cack-handed writing. The scene with Lindsay on the roof was ridiculous. "You're a warrior, Lindsay,"? Really? Somebody wrote that and thought it was good? This is modern-day New York, not 11th-century Gaul. She didn't fight in the Crusades or lead a revolution; she shot a dangerous lunatic while an emasculated Danny stood there like a weepy idiot. Even if modern New York was like Thunderdome, with battles to the death with hunks of rusty prybar, she still wouldn't be warrior. That distinction would belong to Mac, Flack, and the other CSIs who have put their lives on the line on a daily basis for years. Lindsay seldom leaves the lab. She is a survivor, not a warrior, and while both are laudable, yes, Virginia, there is a goddamn difference.
And what to make of that terribly embarrassing scene between Jo and Adam? Was that supposed to be funny, oh, so funny? It wasn't. It was creepy and obnoxious and made Jo look like a mean-spirited-self-involved jerk and Adam a bumbling idiot. Oh, boy. Win/win there, right?
And that glurgy plaque. Of course Stella's letter would be solely concerned with the awesomeness of Lindsay MONroe Messer(Jesus, police bigwig, but that pronunciation was awful). Who cares about Mac, or Flack, who was there for her after Frankie, and who saved her from drowning just six months ago? Pshaw. It's all about Lindsay, who was so awesome that Mac shut down the lab just so the rest of the cast could have a front-row seat to the public ass-licking ceremony.
Oh, my God, this show sucks. Why am I still watching it?
Oh, yeah. Because the case was decent and Flack is hot.
C+