Appreciating the NCIS franchise: Ellie Bishop continues to be awesome and a new record for NCIS:LA

Can we take a moment to appreciate how wonderfully entertaining and lovely Ellie Bishop is! Today was her second episode with NCIS and I absolutely loved her character. She is very refreshing and unusual and so different from the other characters. I was grinning from ear to ear at so many of her scenes. It is hard to find a favorite, whether it was her 'getting acquainted' with the dead bodies and saying hello to them, learning whether to warn Tony and McGee or not and learning the ropes. I was delighted to see how well she has been established and how well she fits in with the team. I also enjoy how they have incorporated her working style into the show, taking a moment to focus and talking it out loud to herself. Ellie as a character feels realistic and fun and I can't wait to see more of her. The actress that plays her does a fabulous job it bringing the character to life and giving her nuances and her own strong personality. As an NCIS fan I am more than thrilled with everything concerning the character, absolutely thrilled, and I am looking forward to seeing more of her.

I am also going to say how much I loved last episode. Everything was fabulous regarding the humor. I was enjoying myself so much while watching it and it got me laughing more than once.

NCIS has been on a roll lately and it's been a pure pleasure to watch. Absolute pleasure. I am reminded once and again of how much I love watching the show and what it is I love about it: the combination of incredible characters, humour and interesting storylines. So consider me one very happy NCIS fan!

I was also watching the American edition of the show 'The Bridge' and it is sooo good. I am so thrilled with it. But I realized quickly after watching it that Sonya Cross reminded me quite a lot of Ellie Bishop and the character in the danish/swedish version, Saga Norén, did as well. Both Sonya and Saga are exceptionally well created characters and Ellie as a character is in a similar vein. 

I am also going to take a moment to appreciate the fact that NCIS:LA has now made it 3 episodes without mention Russia. That must surely be a record for them!They did mention Communism but only for historical background.  In fact, NCIS:LA has also been on a roll this season. Á la NCIS:LA, there have been some major mishaps this season but it's largely been highly enjoyable. I have been loving how they've been crafting the characters and transforming them. Nell is going through some great developments as a character and I love watching how they continue to mold her and how she changes. I really appreciate how well they do it. I have also been enjoying Sam Hanna a lot this season, he has been on a roll as well and I've been surprised with how much I have enjoyed him. 

And let's not even begin with Densi. They are truly making fans squirm but it's a good squirm. They are developing the characters and their relationship with care and it feels both realistic and well crafted. It's pure pleasure to watch, it's so good it's even á la Caskett. I am also getting completely caught up in the latest story line. What on earth is Kensi doing in Afghanistan with Granger and how will this develop? Who is she meant to kill? One of the things I enjoy about this story line is that it is placing Kensi in different circumstances where she is not in control and where she is more vulnerable and insecure than usually. It's a shift for the character and it'll be interesting to see how they play around with it. It also adds strength to the characterization to have her in such different circumstances which reveal another side of her. I am looking forward to seeing how it'll develop.

And before I go. I am looking forward to seeing agent Sabatino again. I really like his character. I also discovered recently that the actor that portrays him was also a part of ER. I was a devoted ER fan in my younger years and still am at heart, purely for the nostalgia. For years, I nursed a secret crush on Dr. Green and my sister on Dr. Kovac and we both loved the character Abby. So, I am reminded of me ER fan years :) Just like I was swept back to my 'Without a trace' fan years when I watched NCIS season 9 and Ray Cruz was dating Ziva. I loved that show so much and it's such fun to be reminded of my infatuation with it. So TV can bring back nostalgia. 

Exploring Names - the NCIS franchise and Criminal Minds

I am a nerd in many ways and have a strange fascination for all sorts of things. If there is one thing I love it is names. I have loved names ever since I was little and discovering new names, reading about names, debating names has always been an interest of mine. I am such a nerd I even have special lists containing my favorite names from various cultures. So far I have Chinese, Russian, English, Spanish, Indian and Nordic. I love names and I enjoy writing a lot so I employ the names I've discovered and love on the characters I create and use.

I also come from a culture where names are regulated by the authorities and people cannot name their child anything they want. This is very much a European thing and nobody questions it. Names are regulated in all the Nordic countries, Portugal, Italy, France, Germany and many other countries. This is both a good and a bad thing but personally I support it. Not to mention I find it hilarious that it's like: "Congratulations, a child is born, here is a long winded booklet/statue of laws that tell you what you can name your child and what not. Enjoy!" It is so incredibly European. Up here in the north we view Western cultures, where the custom is that names are not regulated, as being as being a practically uncivilized in that regard. For us, hearing stories about unusual, unregulated names equals hearing a horror story

This article explains this culture well

So as a name fanatic, I naturally have formed opinions on some of the names employed in the shows I write about here. So with further ado, here is the TV matters and me official name column detailing my favorite names, the curious one's and the one's I took some time accepting, all with the personal opinions of a Nordic nerd.

NCIS:LA - Their names are a mix of good and bad

Kensi Blye - When I first heard the name Kensi I loathed it. I thought it was such a bad name, much too preppy and modern. To me it sounded like the name of an overly cheerful fitness coach or Zumba teacher. It took me months to actually start liking the name but I admit it has grown on me and I kind of like it now. It has a lovely meaning and at least they didn't inventive with the spelling like they could have. I however love the name Blye. It sounds very similar to a word that means 'light breeze' in one Nordic language and I love the sound of it.

Martin Deeks - I like the name Martin a lot but the character is always called Marty. Whenever I hear that nickname I associate it with someone overly happy and cheerful but I kind of like the name. It means 'warlike' which is cool. An alarming amount of Nordic names have meanings that have something to do with war - remnants of Viking heritage I guess. I can however not possibly take the last name Deeks seriously. Marty Deeks is meant to be Norwegian-American and his last name is the least Norwegian name ever. I am well aware of the fact that the character was not originally meant to be Norwegian-American, rather it evolved as the actor came in, and hence the name. I am also aware of the changes in last names that occurred when people emigrated to America so this does not surprise me, I just find it funny - bit like when NCIS had a Russian named Viggo. I think of Deeks as the Norwegian-American with the least Norwegian name ever.

The actor Mr. Olsen has a very Nordic last name however. In fact it's so Nordic it's one of the most common last names here, it's also the name of a popular candy bar, the name of a famous Danish comedy trio and the name of a classic card game everyone knows. You can't go much more Nordic than Olsen

And I can't go without mention the Olsen brothers, the winners of Eurovision 2001 with their lovely song 'fly on the wings of love'. The Danish version is called 'smuk som et stjerneskud' which means 'beautiful like starry night' and the lyrics are actually really sensual. Leave it to the Nordics to be rude in their own language but polite in English :)

Nell Jones - Nell has to be my most favorite TV name. It comes from  my most favorite name Eleanor and it means light. I love the soft and unusual sound of it and how similar it sounds to Nellica which is a flower I love. It's unusual and uncommon but also classic.

NCIS - an absolute name jackpot! All the names are lovely and classical.

Ziva David - I absolutely adore the name Ziva. It is such an unusual but beautiful Hebrew name. It means 'brightness'; I happen to love all names that mean something having to do with light. And I am going to explain further about the last name David. In English the name is pronounced phonetically 'Dayvid' whereas Ziva's last name is pronounced phonetically 'Dahveed'. Not to mention, I loved how they played around with this on NCIS. In my country we pronounce the name according to the Hebrew version (except with a soft 'd' at the end) and I find it far more beautiful. We always go for the European pronunciation and spelling of names instead of the English. Consequently it is very easy for us to adapt European names into our culture but it's more troublesome with English names.

Eleanor Bishop - I have loved the name Eleanor ever since I saw Sense and Sensibility 1995 movie and was fascinated with the character Elinor in that film. And just like 'Nell' and 'Ziva' the name means light. I typically end up falling for names whose meaning is 'light' for some reason. Not to mention I also like the nickname Ellie. NCIS has an incredible knack for choosing beautiful, classic names.

Donald Mallard 'Ducky' - It wasn't until this year I finally learned the reason for Ducky's nickname. I was looking at a video from a friend featuring 'mallard ducks' - we refer to them by a completely different name in my dialect. So the moment I saw the name something clicked for me. Finally, after having been a fan of NCIS for over two years I figured it out. Oh the many joys of being an EFL speaker.

Criminal Minds - they have such beautiful names

Spencer Reed - I love both names; Spencer is an old English name and I saw it written on a gravestone from the 1600's when I was in England last year. It brought Spencer Reed to mind instantly. It also brings to mind the old English play 'The Faerie Queen'. The name Reed I associate with trees (which I love) and I just love the sound of it.

Alex Blake - I love that name. Alex is a diminutive of Alexander/Alexandra which means 'defender of mankind'. It's a strong name and classic. William Blake happens to be one of my most favorite poems of all time and I really like the name Blake. So for me, the CM producers couldn't have figured out a better name than Alex Blake. I do wonder thought whether her name is Alexandra or Alex. Either way it is an awesome name.

Derek Morgan - Such a bad-ass and cool name. Derek means 'peaceful ruler' and Morgan 'from the sea'. I love both the names and the meanings of them and the character is awesome. Basically a win-win in every way.

Aaron - That name is a thorn in my eye. I mean the name is spelled 'Aaron' yet it is pronounced like 'Erin'. And if I do not see the names in writing I cannot for the life of me fathom whether the phoentic sounds 'Eerin' are the names Erin or Aaron. It is one of these things I do NOT like about English. In Nordic countries we pronounce the name phonetically 'Ahrohn' which makes far more sense in my humble opinion.

Penelope - I absolutely love that name. It is so beautiful and has such a nice meaning 'weaver'. Yet again, I will add we pronounce it differently here. We go according to the Spanish pronunciation here which is 'Pehnelopeh'. Except I in my infinite wisdom have been pronouncing it like 'Pehnelop' for years and have gotten to use to it. I am bad-ass like that (and have a reasonably wonky pronunciation)

All in all TV has a mix of both good and bad names but I love exploring them.

NCIS and NCIS:LA - Ellie Bishop is so lovely and is Densi finally happening?

Today I had the honour of watching the new character Eleanor 'Ellie' Bishop enter the NCIS scene. And is she ever a lovely character?! I absolutely loved her. She was unique and fun from the start of the episode. She has a quirky and curious aura about her and she seems like a unique and dynamic character. I was instantly very happy with her. I was over the moon that not only did she reference a musical (Oklahoma) but she food associates and was motivated by a box of Cocoa Puffs. I could imagine her straightaway bouncing up and down sugar high while writing the report. As a devoted foodie I loved that. She feels so realistic as well and I loved the slightly awkward aura around her. And her style is amazing! I loved the way the actress Emily Wickersham played her, this odd mix of pure professionalism, introversion, idiosyncrasies and wit. She did such a wonderful job! She's going to be a great addition to the show and I cannot wait to see more of her.

And something finally happened with Densi. I know next episode will explode and they'll be split up as partners but I don't care a fig. There is an incredibly good (and delightful) reason for why Kensi will disappear of the scene for a while. She should actually disappear longer! The Densi ball has started rolling and I am looking forward to seeing what comes next but I'm also wary of  that the show might emotionally manipulate the audience in this regard and play it like a fiddle. I know Castle did. I cannot bear to watch some of the last episodes of season 4 because they are so difficult to see emotionally when Beckett wants Castle but he's given up. I know it's a television show but it had me in an emotional puddle. But the payoff when they got together was even sweeter. It was soooo good. Considering how similar Densi is to Caskett I expect them to follow a similar timeline. This means that NCIS:LA has until the end of season 6 to get them together. And I expect the payoff to be as good as Castle. In any case their jig will pay off someday.

On the bright side Nell will most likely get a chance to shine and I'm looking forward to that. Nell has been on a roll this season and it'll be great to see how she will continue to be developed.
We'll also see more of Agent Sabatino who I really like as a character. Hints have been dropped he'll be involved with Kensi somehow doing something work related- what it is remains to be seen. In any case, I like his character and am happy he's back.
On the up/down side a recurring tech analyst will be introduced soon. The up-side is that it's part of a new and upcoming plot (if it involves Russian I don't know what I'll do!) and I like the actor who'll be playing him - he is really good. The downside is that he's male. This will make for effectively 6 male characters (Callen, Sam, Deeks, Eric, Granger, Booker) and only two female characters Nell and Hetty while Kensi is away. That makes 3/4 male and 1/4 female. Not exactly cool but hopefully they'll work well around it. And keep the bro-syndrome at bay.

 And NCIS took some time to comment on the NSA scandal that's been shaking Europe/America. Apparently they need court orders to listen in on people so that clears it. I do hope NCIS will dig more into this issue as well - I would like to see their take on it. I know it has ruffled a lot of feathers over here, especially in Germany and Spain. NCIS:LA also worked so well with the issue of addiction on last show. I was very impressed with how well and sympathetically they covered it. It had some wonderfully sweet scenes. After last week's debacle, I was very happy about this. In any case - things are looking up on both shows and I am enjoying the ride.

The token linguists - English language and the rest of the world

As I've made explicitly clear I am an EFL speaker. I spend all my day dealing with English as it's my major at Uni and I've been functioning in two languages for years, since childhood actually. English feels natural to me and I feel more than comfortable with it. But that does not change the fact that it challenges me on a daily basis and I must keep up. And a part of that is watching TV shows to help my auditory skills. I can read English as well as any native speaker but my auditory skills are not as good. So hence, TV is a great resource to train.

I also read a fascinating statistic recently that 1/4 of the people of the world speak English, ranging from a native level to rudimentary. That's a lot. But that also means that 3/4 of the world speak no English at all. So even if English has become a global language, it is still imperative to study and know other languages. And this is reflected in the TV shows I deal with here. They are all American and use English as a primary language but still every single show has a character that can speak more than one language. I find it interesting how they deal with language and I listen intently to all language related things on TV. It's my bread and butter really when it comes to TV.
And today's topic is presenting an overview of those token linguistics

NCIS
Ziva is the multilingual wonder there - She speaks French, Spanish, German, Turkish, Arabic, Hebrew and English. That is quite a lot but it is fully possible in the real world. I have always loved this aspect of Ziva's character and enjoyed a lot how they have dealt with her journey of discovering English. As an EFL speaker it has taught me a lot and given me great enjoyment.

Abby speaks ASL and uses it regularly which I really like. I can finger-spell in ASL and I highly enjoy seeing how NCIS has incorporated ASL easily into the show.

NCIS has always provided me with the most language jokes and it's an aspect of the show I absolutely love. Plus, I never run into trouble understanding what the characters are saying which is nice. The show challenges my English abilities but in a good way.

NCIS:LA

Sam speaks Arabic, Japanese and Spanish - Japanese and Arabic are two extremely different languages with two different alphabets, systems of writing, pronunciation, vocabulary. It's not like French and Spanish which are derived from a similar source. These languages share no similarity. And apparently Sam is comfortable with them both! And they have never bothered to explain how on earth he learned them which I find annoying.

Callen - He is a fluent Russian speaker. It's been implied he learned it from a foster sister of his for a few months but that does not account for his remarkable skills. Yet again, NCIS:LA does not bother with explaining! His pronouncation seems good though.

Nell - She is meant to be fluent in Spanish but I have yet to hear her say a single word in Spanish.

Kensi - She speaks French, Spanish and German, basically she takes care of all the main European languages. She is by far the one most comfortable with dealing with languages and I enjoy it when she deals with them. But, to be nit picky, it has never been explained why she has an extremely good command of French, well beyond any general school level (I say this as a former French student and sufferer). My personal guess is at that Kensi grew up as bilingual with French and English.

Hetty - apparently she speaks German but it feels really forced every time she uses it. I'd rather listen to Deeks and Eric gleefully butcher German.

NCIS:LA contains by far the biggest number of linguists but it goes way overboard with it. I mean way overboard. It supplies a good number of language jokes but also the biggest challenge for me as an EFL speaker. It sometimes takes all my concentration to keep up with what the characters are saying so I regularly run into trouble. I notice pronunciation differences between my own English and theirs which helps me evaluate my skills and learn words properly. And whenever I run into words I am not completely familiar with I mentally spell them. The latest was 'thingamajig' and noticing how they say the words 'vehemently' and 'awry'. I apparently go British with these words. Watching NCIS:LA helps me improve but it can get vastly frustrating not being able to catch properly what the character say. Sometimes I don't get it at all, it just becomes a bunch of meaningless syllables and consonants thrown together in my ears - something I heartily dislike and to be honest, I feel super annoyed by it. I have great pride in my English abilities and being caught off guard like that when I feel I should be able to catch everything makes me frustrated.
I am typically on my toes the entire time I watch: listening, processing, spelling, concentrating. It really challenges me but it pays off sometimes like feeling a bit proud when I get things right (like managing to understand all the acronyms and slang). I'll never associate NCIS:LA with relaxing my English abilities in any case.

Criminal Minds

This show contains my two favorite linguists, Alex Blake and Reed.

Alex Blake - she has a PHD in linguistics and teaches them. I love how they've incorporated this fascinating aspect into her character and I really enjoy all the scenes she has dealing with language. I am a sucker for anything linguistic related and I love how CM works with it. Plus, all interactions between Blake and Reed involving linguistics are great. Two people fascinated with language is absolute heaven for someone like me to listen to.

Spencer Reed - quite possibly my most favorite nerd on TV. He speaks Russian, Spanish, French and I think German. And best of all, his linguistic abilities have been explained (NCIS:LA might take note!). I love how he is enthusiastic and passionate about language and how it's been used to help solve crimes and evolve his character. Linguistics are a fascinating field and I love exploring it. CM has done a fabulous job incorporating it into their show and showing a different and wonderful side of English

I have no trouble understanding CM which I love. It instead keeps me enthusiastic and interested as I pick up new things about language and its usage and I don't need to concentrate all the time. It is instead vastly enjoyable.

Cultural references and a clueless Nordic

One of the topics I cover here is my inability to grasp language and cultural references. And today's topic is dedicated to my complete and utter inability to understand certain cultural references and traditions.

Entering houses and apartments while wearing shoes and walking straight into the living room
Here where I live, people always take their shoes of before entering any house or apartment. Not doing so is considered is considered to be the height of rudeness. I would  personally never ever do it. And when entering any house or apartment, there is always a space or a room for leaving once clothes a shoes before entering.

So you can imagine my look of terror every single time I see people enter /burst into houses and apartments in shows while wearing their shoes. I get that agents/cops cannot be bothered with moving their shoes (it'd just be weird) when taking a suspect down but not once have I seen any of the characters on the shows I cover here take their shoes off. Not once. Not even when visiting houses. It seems normal in the context of the shows but I can say that here in the North, the characters would be considered absolute brutes for not taking off their shoes.

Weird food

I personally come from a culture that is filled with weird food. Our national cuisine literally reads like something out of a horror magazine. So I do have a lot of experience with strange food but there is one instance in which I was ready to throw up when watching NCIS:LA.

Deep-fried bacon. They had deep-fried bacon and what was worse, the characters were eating it! I am no bacon lover but I can eat it if necessary (like say in a full English breakfast) but combining deep-fried and bacon just sounds like a recipe for a heart attack.

But they did score a definite point with me when Deeks said he loved liver. Liver is a part of the national Nordic cuisine and I eat it regularly. It is the cheapest kind of meat you can get and in the past it was known as poor man's food as it was so cheap. Plus, it can be cooked in some really good ways. So I was very surprised to hear Deeks express his love for liver and counting the many ways in which it can be cooked but it made me grin my ears off. Nordic food references for the win!

Sports

Nordics love football and handball. We take it so seriously that you'd think the national happiness of the Nordic countries depends solely on our achievements in sports. If one Nordic country does well, we all feel proud. If the Nordic countries are competing against each other, things go dark for a while. Currently Sweden and Iceland can potentially go the World Cup in football in Brazil in 2014 and let me tell you, even if it's only two countries out of five we are behind them. One Nordic country typically means all.

But aside from that - two sports I will never ever get are American football and baseball. These sports are not practiced here and I have less that zero knowledge of them. Not that I have absolutely no interest in sport but I can at least talk about football a bit. So any and all times these sports are mentioned and referenced, there is one Nordic that sits with glazed over eyes and shakes her head. NCIS:LA, NCIS and Castle have all had extensive references to these sports and I have never gotten them. The only one I have gotten was when NCIS:LA mentioned the football team 'The Vikings', I know they come from Minnesota - that's it.

Monster trucks and cronuts

These have been mentioned on NCIS:LA and I was completely lost what on earth they meant. I had a vague idea of what monster trucks are but didn't bother looking them up. So imagine my surprise while I was rolling through TV channels and saw a promo for a Monster truck show. And my first thought was: "Ah, so that's what they were talking about on NCIS:LA".

And cronuts - It looked to me like a weird kind of donut and I knew it somehow mixed together French and American cuisine but more than that was beyond me. So I was yet again mightily surprised to be flipping through an advertisement from a local boutique showing what they were offering on 'American theme days' (my country mostly imports from Europe so there are regular themes days in shops that offer more specialty items from countries) and I came across a cronut. Turns out it's a mix of a donut and croissant. And yet again I thought: "Ah, now I get the reference".

So my inability of grasping cultural references continues but I enjoy the ride.

Having Iceland on the map - Maps on TV

This has to be the geekiest post I will ever write on here but here it goes.

I am randomly fascinated by many things and if there is one thing I like it is maps. I have a beautiful Atlas and if I need to unwind after exams I pull it out and immerse myself in maps. I grew up with maps all around me in school and it has always fascinated me.
Maps are integral part of education here and every single person is expected to know their way around a map of Northern and Western Europe and being able to point out countries. I cannot say how many times I learned the following: "Italy looks like a high heeled boot, Germany borders Denmark, Russa is the biggest European country, Spain sticks out of France and Portugal is sandwiched into Spain, Britain and Ireland are islands, Greece is close to Italy, Turkey links the East and the West , Norway is thin while Swedish is fat, Iceland is a massive island...". I could point out the European countries in my sleep.

But early on I noticed that on many of the world map I looked at school Iceland was missing. Iceland has a small population but the island itself is massive (the size of Kentucky, bigger than Denmark...) and it serves a bridge between the American continent and Europe, so seeing it missing is strange. I noticed this very early on and it fascinated me and ever since I have developed the habit of checking every single world map I look at to see if Iceland is there. And it's honestly amazing how often it is missing from maps. There is just a giant gap between Greenland and Norway where there should be a massive island. I find it so strange that the country so regularly goes missing.

Another map habit I developed in school was getting used to one specific kind of map where Iceland and Greenland are in the top middle with Europe and then Africa below, Asia on the left side and both American continents on the right side. So when in high school when my teacher pulled out a world map where America was in the centre I was completely confused and it took me some time to adjust. I was so used to the other style that this threw me completely off game.

And these habits has of course followed me into the realm of TV and I am not kidding when I say that every single time a map appears on the screen I automatically check for Iceland, it never ever fails. Castle, Parks and Rec and Criminal Minds have never ever featured world maps but Parks and Rec has mentioned Iceland several times so I am certain they locate it on a map :)

My darling NCIS franchise has however proved to be a goldmine in this regard. NCIS regularly has up a world map and I am happy to say that Iceland is always on the map. But sometimes they do show a map of the world which has random X's all over the world, including in Iceland and I have never understood why.
And once when I was doing my regular map checking I was thrown for a loop when I noticed they had a USA central world map in episode 8x16. I was confused when I saw it and it took me by surprise. So my advice for TV producers that want to confuse their audience is throwing in subtle visual clues like this.
And in episode 11x02, there was on Ziva's list very clearly written "Visit Iceland and America" and it was shown very clearly several times yet it was never said out loud! I am still trying to figure out why they randomly threw in Iceland. If it was a shout out to the Nordic NCIS fans I am very happy with it but my guess is that they were randomly throwing ideas around for an exotic place Ziva would want to visit and felt Iceland would be obscure and strange enough.

And I cannot go without picking NCIS:LA apart. I am happy to report that not once have they had a map that hasn't featured Iceland. And believe when I say, I check every single time a map is shown on the show but so far they have not failed. So there's one thing they do right. But on the other hand they have made one major faux pas when it comes to Iceland. In episode 3x21 they were showing the potential outbreak of a dangerous virus. It'd would have effectively wiped out much of Europe and it did look very creepy to see the color red spreading all over Europe and the characters looked very serious and sombre when looking at it. But I, the ever nerdy Nordic, noticed that while Europe got red, Iceland remained nicely green. In other words, they completely forgot to include it which makes no sense since it serves as a bridge between Europe and America. So a scene that was meant to be very serious has me snickering every single time I see it. I will never be able to look at that scene without laughing.

So my advice is - make sure you cover Iceland and feature it on maps. Because believe me, some of it look for it every single time.

Measuring everything with Hiroshima-Nagasaki

Today's topic is on the heavy side but it has been weighing on my mind lately and I felt I needed to share my thoughts on it.

Everyone is aware of the tragic events of Hiroshima-Nagasaki at the end of WWII in August 1945. When America hit the cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki with nuclear weapons that devastated the area permanently and killed over 300.000 people. It is one of the most tragic events of the 20th century and is the only known instant of nuclear weapons having been used in warfare in the world. It is an extremely complicated, controversial and difficult event to explain and come to terms with and it's my feeling that it can never be explained properly. But that does not mean we shouldn't try.

Earlier this year, my local library held an exhibition about the events which featured stories of the events, real items from it like singed shirts, shoes and books, pictures and an explanation of the effects this has had upon the area, the Japanese nation and how it is being dealt with today. It was a very well received exhibition and it affected everyone that went there. I know that for me personally, it was devastating to see it. Devastating but necessary. I know many teachers brought high-school students to the exhibition and it affected them a lot, many parents took their children as well to teach them about this difficult history and raise awareness of the issue.

And how does this relate to the TV world?

It seems to me that every single time my favorite TV shows deal with nuclear weapons and distribution of them (or just bombs in general) they always reference Hiroshima-Nagasaki. But not to acknowledge these events or attempt to deal with them. No, it is used as a measuring device. I cannot count how many times I've hear something along the lines of: "The nuclear device is so big it can kill up to 3 million people, that is ten times as much as Hiroshima-Nagasaki". And then all the characters nod seriously. Am I the only one that feels that people are trying to upstage the death toll of Hiroshima-Nagasaki when they do this? It's like: "Yeah sure, those bombs killed 300.000 people but our fictional bombs, they are much deadlier. Take that Hiroshima-Nagasaki!"

NCIS has had this, Castle and NCIS:LA. And for the life of me I cannot understand why. Hiroshima-Nagasaki is what it is - a devastating and terrorizing event with immense political controversy attached to it. It should never be used as a measuring stick for fictional death toll on television. 

It crossed my mind that when measuring death toll I have never heard certain things. I have never heard people comparing death tolls to the lives lost in the Holocaust, the tsunami in 2005, the earthquake in Haiti, The Armenian genocide, the Boznian and Serbian civil war in the early 90's, the civil war in America in the 1860's, the number of people killed by Stalin and so many other events. And it is obvious why, to use those events as a measuring stick for fictional death toll would be highly disrespectful and ignorant. 

So why then is it fair-game to use Hiroshima-Nagasaki as a measuring stick? Devastating events when masses of people die, be it due to war or natural causes should never be used flippantly on TV and never ever as measuring sticks. They should and can be dealt with deftly and with respect. But never ever for the sake of pure entertainment.

I have sometimes written about here my worries on how TV shows approach reality and how it can shift our perception of it. TV represents heightened and freaky reality and should always be taken at a surface level. But when TV reality starts treating the real reality flippantly and without caution and respect, we are on a dangerous path. It seems to me that the TV world is partly on that path already but it can be changed and it should. Otherwise, we are in dangers of starting to approach historical events as if they do not matter, as if history and it's effect isn't real. And that is something we cannot allow to happen. 

(And in case people need a measuring stick instead of Hiroshima-Nagasaki. Iceland has a population of roughly 320.000 people, similar to the death toll of Hiroshima-Nagasaki. So just reference the Icelandic population instead. Much easier, inoffensive and will make a lot of Icelanders happy)

Love of English and Literature and providing an EFL view on English - NCIS style

I have said it so many times but it is worth repeating: One of the things I like the most about the NCIS franchise is it's commitment to language jokes and making use of the intricacies and beauty of English and foreign languages and literature. As an English major and language enthusiast it makes me so happy. It is one of the things that keeps me watching.

I have been re-watching NCIS season 8 as of late and is has been a lot of fun. Season 8 is my favorite season of NCIS and I love all the episodes. But recently I watched an episode that was an absolute gem. It was on fire linguistically and I grinned like an idiot while watching it.

It began with the following conversation (source from IMDB)

Special Agent Timothy McGee: Time to hit the showers.

Ziva David: Is your shower not working?

Special Agent Timothy McGee: Why? Do I smell?

Ziva David: I cannot smell you from there.

Special Agent Timothy McGee: And you're part bloodhound.

I was howling with laughter at that point. I know what the idiom 'hit the showers' means for but what Ziva got out of it was hilarious and it made perfect sense. You hit something when it's broken and in this case it was the shower. And then McGee completely misunderstood her back. It was such a lovely and funny scene and I loved the way they played around with language and what words can mean.

And then there is one scene which is now officially my most favorite scene of NCIS ever. Ziva finds a desk that once belonged to William Faulkner and she completely freaks out and fangirls. She starts talking about his writing and references his book 'As I lay dying' when the main character says the sentence 'My mother is a fish'. And then she says the best line of all: "It was worth learning English just to be able to read those words" (paraphrased).

As someone that loves English dearly and English literature I cannot express how true that sentence feels to me. Learning English has given me a great advantage in many areas but the best gift it has given me is the ability to understand, appreciate and access amazing, incredible literature. English has been worth all the hassle and more, to be able to experience and fall in love with novels like Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, Kate Chopin's short stories, William Blake's poems and so many other books, novels, plays and poetry that have transformed my life. Truly transformed it and given me something incredible.

I was nodding along with Ziva the entire time.

I have sometimes discussed how much I enjoy the language play they have with Ziva and how much it has taught me. The aspect I have enjoyed the most is the fact that they emphasize that Ziva is approaching English as an outsider. She is fluent in the language but because of her roots and the fact the she is a native speaker of another language, her view of English will always be different. She will always be an outsider to the language and approach it from a different perspective. I am so happy with how NCIS has dealt with this and how they have used it as a vehicle of humor and English teaching. As an EFL learner I an say this is not an aspect you see explored on TV so often so I love it. Now Ziva has quit and I admit I'll miss the extra English lessons and humour she brought that made the series so good.

But NCIS has never seized to amaze me and I have no other reason but to expect them to continue delivering language jokes and keeping language enthusiasts like me on our toes, and keeping me laughing and learning more. 

Seasons Premiers - TV Matters and Me Opinion Column 102

After seeing that my post about the NCIS:LA finale last season has become my most read post for some odd reason I decided I needed to cover the season premieres - so settle in!

NCIS:LA - Well.. I am happy to report that they managed to redeem themselves. The season premiere was certainly not without its faults but it was a definite improvement on the finale. It was amped up NCIS:LA but it was not on steroids thankfully. All in all I was impressed. What I enjoyed by far the most was how vulnerable everyone was and the way the feelings came across the scene. Rarely, if ever, have I seen the characters so jarred and pained. I have to hand it to the actors that they all did a frigging amazing job - especially portraying emotional vulnerability and difficult feelings. But what surprised me most was the depth by which Sam Hanna was portrayed and how he behaved throughout the episode. I did not expect it to be honest and getting such a good exposure of the character' vulnerable side was wonderful. Never has Sam been so human. For me, the star of that episode was LL Cool J hands down - he did an incredible job with Sam. If this continues, the series will be on a roll. 

I do have a special post coming up however covering how spectacularly badly they portrayed Deeks's oral trauma. As someone that has been through oral trauma after surgery I am well versed on the subject. 

NCIS - All in all the premiere was excellent. It wasn't particularly exciting but the story line had some crazy twists and turns I was all over trying to discover. Most of all it was pure NCIS and I loved that. I do admit it was strange not to see Ziva there though. All the characters returned in their glory but I most enjoyed seeing Palmer and Ducky interact. These two are such a wonderful pair and keep me laughing all the time. It seems this season will be taking some good twists and turns and I am looking forward to seeing the new agent Emily Bishop, I've got a feeling she will be lovely. And of course the actors were good - I mean it's NCIS!

Castle - The best premiere hands down. It was sooooo good. I was glued to the screen the second it started and stayed glued till the end. The plot was tight and controlled and superbly exciting. I mean it was the perfect Castle - wit, humor, nail-biting action, tension and incredible character interactions. And I absolutely enjoyed the twist of Beckett being a federal agent. It felt quite natural and it displayed a new side of the character. I honestly really liked that part in the episode. It will be good to see Beckett at the precinct again but they did this bit incredibly well. I instantly liked all the agent characters. And I have to mention Lisa Edelstein as Rachel McCord - she was amazing! I enjoyed the character so much. She was a nice mix of spunk and professionalism. She reminded me of Alex Blake on Criminal Minds who is a character I really enjoy and I enjoyed her and Beckett's interaction. So nice to see two professional women working together.

And yes, I grinned like an idiot when Beckett got engaged to Castle. I mean!!!!!

Parks and Recreation - To be honest - this was not a good episode. Considering the incredibly high standards Parks and Rec has set for itself, the premiere fell really short of it. I do not think I've ever before been bored before while watching or even offended. But I was both. I mean, the premiere had some good points but mostly it was just really thin - the only interactions I liked were Andy and the British gentleman and Leslie interacting with Ulee. Leslie somehow did not feel like Leslie in the episode. I personally found it incredulous she would stoop so low as to help a woman remove slugs from her lawn. Leslie has always been portrayed as being a woman of great self-respect and dignity and responding to people's petty demands did not feel like the character at all. Doing this just to stay in office just did not feel right. Leslie as a character is not a doormat in the slightest so I found this strange. 

Somehow all the characters felt off in one way or the other. Even Gerry and Donna.

But the worst example was Ron. It is common knowledge that Ron dislikes Europe and I have enjoyed that tidbit about him. When praise of Europe can often be so senseless it is a refreshing thing. But what I did not expect was Ron's behavior in the episode. I was honestly surprised at how disrespectful they portrayed him to be towards Britain and European culture. I mean, he refused to use pounds and insisted on using dollars as the finest money there was, talked about the 'stench of European socialism' and referred regularly to 'the godforsaken continent' and referring to everything before 1776 as rough draft instead of history - to me, this is not funny at all, instead it played really badly on a stereotype of the American traveler that can not handle anything European and insists on everything being like in America. Something which really frustrates Europeans. I get the point that Ron Swanson does not like Europe and I am fine with that - I enjoy how they poke fun at Europe regularly. But what irked me was how disrespectful Ron came across. He has been portrayed as someone that values education and is respectful towards people so this shift in his character was not something I enjoyed.

Parks and Rec has never before relied on stereotypes and it is something I really enjoy about the show. So I hope this is just a hiccup and that Parks and Rec will return in all its glory this week. 

So all in all - I enjoyed the majority of the premieres. There were some bad moments but on the whole, they returned with a bang. 

So stay tuned!

Conspiracy theory 103 - What will next season bring?

I am in a conspiracy mood so here I go. The TV world has been delivering some excellent bites of conspiracy meat and I cannot wait to begin. So like Joan Callamezzo so wisely said: 'Let's pull out the world map and speculate wildly'.

NCIS:LA - Things have been heavy on the conspiracy front here. Due to some delightful changes in real life for some of the actors, things will be changing around NCIS:LA. It seems obvious now that Kensi will be the team member to leave the team, for some time at least, which opens up the door for Nell to start training as an agent. It has been hinted that Hetty will be making some changes around the place so it seems quite logical that Nell will step in for Kensi with her being away. And if that comes true, I cannot wait to see it. Nell is a great character and nicely different from Kensi and plus I cannot wait to see what kind of dynamic she and Deeks will have. They are two such lovely goofballs. And I am curious to see what will happen with Michelle Hanna. I do hope they continue having her on as a character. Aunjanue Ellis is such a good actress and I enjoy the dynamic between Sam and Michelle. And I am getting excited to see what Callen's name is and learn more about his family. I have tried coming up with G names for Callen and honestly he looks like a George to me. Names like Graham, Gunnar, Gideon, Gregor are just so not Callen. So he'll always be a George in my opinion.

And I am still holding on to the hope that Jack Larsen will turn up ;)

NCIS - What will happen to Ziva?? I am very excited to see that and I expect things to be delivered on the Tiva front, like an actual resolution. It seems that NCIS will be heading down a fun road. I am already breaking my mind over how the complications with Palmer adopting will affect his relationship with Ducky and what will happen to this awesome duo. There will be a 'love triangle' with Abby, McGee and his new girlfriend Delilah. I cannot wait for that - just the thought of the humor that it'll bring makes me smile. And how will life continue for Tony and Gibbs - who is still technologically challenged I might add (they are teasing a hashtag scene with him, I can't wait!).

Castle - I am so very much excited about Castle. It's obvious that Beckett will take the job and that Castle will tag along with her but knowing Castle, they will deliver 150% on the story line front. I have seen great reviews for this episode and I am psyched to see it. I am also excited to see how Lisa Edelsteins's role will play a part in the show. And I cannot forget my favorite bro duo, Ryan and Esposito. I am looking forward to the pregnancy story line and seeing how things will develop with Lanie and Espo - two characters I really like. So I am psyched about next season of Castle, totally psyched.

Parks and Rec - So much going on! I am very much looking forward to the pregnancy story line with Ron and how he will handle it. It's already been indicated that he will be really happy with the news so I cannot wait to see what it'll bring and how it will change this epic character. I am a teensy bit annoyed that Chris Traeger and Ann Perkins will exit the show midseason - they are such epic characters and my favorite one's on the show (aside from Leslie) but knowing how wonderfully parks and rec deals with the characters I cannot wait to see Ann adjust to pregnancy and Chris take on fatherhood. And what will happen with Leslie and Ben? So many good things coming up!
And I am looking forward to the dose of Donna awesomeness, Tom annoyance/laughter and the lovely pair of Andy and April.

All in all, I am looking very much forward to next TV season and what it will bring. And I will continue blogging and documenting and most of all, conspiracy theorizing.

The TV Matters and Me Opinion Column 102 - NCIS/NCIS:LA galore

I was catching up on some much needed spoilers to satisfy my NCIS/NCIS:LA obsession and boy, was I ever lucky!

I, as a rule of the thumb, generally never read gossip magazines or websites I did read 'Hello' today to get news pf the sweet little British prince (but that's beside the point).

But today's satisfaction in terms of TV spoilers is provided by Entertainment Weekly

Click here!

NCIS: I have already covered my own reaction to Ms. De Pablo leaving the show earlier and I am clear in my position that I respect her choice of doing so. I will miss the character of Ziva but things will move on. I am looking very much forward to seeing how they will play things out in the first two episodes of season 11 and how Ziva's story will come to an end. And Glasberg has promised to conclusion to TIVA and that the fans will be happy with the result! Now that is intriguing.... But other than that, NCIS seems to be shaping up to have a wonderful season 11 and I am looking forward to it returning to screen. They'll be doing a Bones style rotation of agents in Ziva's place and that'll be interesting to see. And I am happy that the producers are aware of and committed to honoring the fans of NCIS. As always, NCIS delivers.

NCIS:LA: There will be an honest scene between Kensi and Deeks. Finally, finally, finally! These two will hopefully start moving forward after that and unto a blooming relationship. I am curious to see how it'll play with the lovable but highly dysfunctional duo. And I politely point to my own comparison between Caskett and Densi should there be any doubt whether a relationship between Kensi and Deeks would work or not. And the trauma and torture which Deeks will experience will have long-lasting effects on him. NCIS:LA has always done well with continuing story lines and this will be interesting to watch. I have covered my clear disgust with the season 4 finale and it's use of torture and trauma. While I am interested to see how the aftershock will play out, I hope there will never be a repeat of torture scenes. Once was terrible enough.

So all in all, it seems the NCIS franchise is shaping up to have a positively delightful TV season ahead and I am looking forward to it. And as always, I will watch it with eagle eyes and continue reporting.

Recent updates from the TV world - The 'TV Matters and Me' opinion column 101

I am back! My vacation has been absolutely amazing and a good break from this blog but I have now returned and will continue to share my insights and opinions of TV culture throughout the year and continuing. I really like maintaining this blog and I am glad to see that my number of readers is rising. So here's to another year of TV Matters and Me, otherwise known as 'Picking NCIS:LA apart and critisizing'. And here is my take on recent event. It has crossed my mind, the possibility that one of these days I will be 'hunted down' by someone from the NCIS:LA franchise and asked to please stop picking the show apart ;) Sadly they ended up with a fan like me!

NCIS - Cote de Pablo is quitting
I read recently that the actress Cote de Pablo has decided to leave NCIS. This has apparently garnered some controversy. This is one of the moments where reality kicks in. The people on the TV screens are not just mindless machines playing characters, they are real people leading their own lives beyond the scope of the camera. Being an actor on TV is well paid but it is a very difficult, time consuming and demanding job and does not offer much leeway. It requires more of people than the rest of us realize and with it come many downsides and demands, fame being one of them. I fully respect and appreciate the actress's decision of walking away. Cote De Pablo has given us 8 fabulous years of Ziva and wonderful acting. Ziva will always be one of my favorite characters on TV and even if there will not be more new material with her, there will be 8 season which is enough. Cote De Pablo is a wonderful actress and I'd personally like to thank her for her contribution to NCIS and making it such a wonderful show. I wish her all the best in the future.

NCIS will of course change but we will still have Tony, McGee, Gibbs, Abby, Ducky and Palmer. It'll still be good ol' NCIS and I am looking forward to seeing how the show will develop. So this does not worry me in the slightest. It'll be sad to see Ziva go but NCIS has always bounced back and will no doubt continue to do so.

NCIS:LA

My good ol'd pick apart show. Apparently, they began shooting the first episode of season 5 today and they begin straight off from where they left. My own opinions of the extremely bad finale can be found here (under 'Popular Posts') so I am rather skeptical of how they will pull this off. Because, they have a lot to redeem and fix. But NCIS:LA has a strange ability to bounce back so I am not hopeless about the episode. I have not watched a NCIS:LA episode in a long time but I grin and laugh each and every time I watch the video 'Jungle Cat'. It never gets tired and it makes me happy. The sheer absurdity, silliness and childish joy in that scene is a wonderful blend and it is one of the reasons I enjoy the show so much.

So thank you to NCIS:LA for bringing me some great lightness and grins. You really do it well!

And on a side note - Why oh why am I not living in Connecticut at the moment so I could have seen Barrett Foa in the Music Man?! I love musicals and it'd have been such fun.

Castle

I have been re watching old Castle episodes and this series is just such gold, it's absolutely amazing just how much fun it is to watch and how well done every single episode is. I have been a solid Castle fun for 3 years now and will continue to follow. I am super excited about next season and it'll be so wonderful to see how they will work things out.

When characters 'click' for me

As this blog will be taking a summer vacation soon as I'll be abroad for 4 weeks soon and will not access the internet much during that time, both because of internet instability as well as stepping back from media to contemplate what role I want it to play in my life. But I will be returning with a vengeance and ready to continue in August and I am set on continuing my scathing analysis and sharp-eyed observation. So do not stray far!

But today's topic is characterization. One of the main reason I tune into TV is because of the characters. If a show does not have realistic, well-nuanced characters, I do not watch it. I have already written extensively about some characters and what it is I like and do not like about them and how they are portrayed. And what I will cover today are the specific episodes in which characters genuinely 'clicked' for me and I began enjoying them in earnest. The moment when I knew they were good, interesting to watch and follow their journey.

I´ll begin with the NCIS franchise

NCIS
Ziva- I have always loved Ziva's character and her personality. She is one of the best created characters on TV in my opinion and it continues to astound me how well she is portrayed and represented. The episode in which Ziva 'clicked' for me was "Silver War" (3x04). I loved that episode and it is one of my favorite one's ever of NCIS. Ziva in that episode was exploring her new environment, testing the waters and figuring things out. I genuinely enjoyed watching her and how she was beginning to find her way and who she was as a person. Another Ziva episode which clicked for me and zealed her as the most awesome character on TV was the episode in which she stays in the hospital with a marine that has been potioned and falls in love with him even if he is dying. That episode was very affecting emotionally and it was a great display of who Ziva is as a character and of her vulnerability.

Tony - I used to dislike Tony a lot in the first season and it took some time for him to rub on me. But the episode in which Tony 'clicked' for me was "SWAK". It began with typical Tony behavior but suddenly the character burst forth fully and wasn't just the 'overbearing frat boy' but a genuine character with emotions and flaws and it was a treat to watch him.The performance of Mr. Weatherly was astounding in that episode And since seeing that episode I have come to like Tony a lot. He really is a good character! Another episode in which Tony clicked is 7x19, "Guilty pleasures". I love the humor in the episode (it is one of my favorite ones) but also the underlying exploration of Tony's and Tim's relationship and it was a good display of who Tony is.

Gibbs - I always liked Gibbs a whole lot. He clicked for me in episode 2x01 in which it was great to watch the character reach out to a little girl and get her the help she needed. It was Gibbs at his best, quiet, kind, excellent and dedicated to his job and with some sweet humor in between.

McGee - My favorite TV nerd of all time (aside from Eric Beale and Abby, obviously). McGee was a character I enjoyed straightaway because of his awkwardness but also sincerity and quiet strength. Watching him felt at times like watching a version of myself with all his blundering and clumsiness (which sums up me pretty well). He clicked for me straightaway but my favorite episode where he 'clicked' is episode 3x09 in which he believes he accidentally shot a man. It was a harrowing episode to watch and it was great to see the character react with horror and guilt to what had happened. It made him feel very real and well-nuanced. And it is one of my most favorite episodes to watch.

Abby - She is pure awesomeness that character! I always grin and laugh when she comes on and I love watching her antics and what she comes up with. She feels very genuine and well-nuances as a character and from the beginning she has been incredibly sincere as a character and just very real. She just feels so human and is lovely to watch. She clicked with me straightaway but my favorite Abby episode is 3x20 (or 21) when she is being stalked. The episode freaked me (stalking terrifies me) out when I first saw it and it felt like a little movie, creepy and tragic. I have seen in an interview with the actress Ms. Perette (behind the scenes) that the episode felt therapeutic for her to play and in my opinion it is obvious in the episode. It was just all around a great episode to watch and one of my favorite one's ever to watch.

Ducky and Palmer - These two are the best pair ever and the most adorable and wonderful characters. I grin just seeing them on the screen. They clicked me with straightaway and there is not one specific episode in which they rocked more than in others. They are just awesome all the time!

NCIS:LA

Kensi - It took me a long time to get a feel for the character and start enjoying her. It wasn't until season 2 that the character really burst forth and I began liking it and it was all uphill after that And Kensi has now emerged as a fascinating and fun character to watch and is at equal level with Ziva. The episode in which the character clicked for me was 2x20 "The Job". It is one of my most favorite episodes ever and I can watch it over and over again. It was one of the first episodes I saw a season 2 and it was wonderful. What I enjoyed so much was seeing the emotional journey it took Kensi on and how she reacted very humanly to it and how it affected her. She felt genuine for the first time in my opinion. Ms. Ruah performed incredibly in that episode. Episode 2x17 is also worth mentioning as a good Kensi episode.

Deeks - My favorite Norwegian-American! I enjoyed Deeks from the moment he stepped unto the scene. He was a real, fun and nuanced character from the beginning and just a bundle of awesomeness, blundering, awfully silly humor and genuine emotions which I instantly liked. He has felt real and genuine from the start and still does and he is well crafted as a character. Deeks clicked for me in episode 2x01 "Human Traffic" in which the emotional journey he was on was a treat to watch and harrowing as well. It is one of those episodes I watch regularly and still gives me shivers because of the subject matter and how the characters handle it. Another Deeks favorite is 2x22, Plan B. Rarely, if ever have I enjoyed so much the complete change of a character and at the same time felt uncomfortable. Max Gentry was the very definition of a creepy male and he creeped me out. Not to mention that it was interesting to see the switch being portrayed and how Deeks dealt with it. Kudos to Mr. Olsen for pulling of that great performance. Episode 2x17 "Personal" is of course great as well and it was nice to get a Deeks focused episode.

Eric - My favorite nerd. He was my first favorite on NCIS:LA and he continues to make me laugh with his antics and strange behavior. And he blunders and is awkward which in turn makes him more realistic. Eric was awesome from the start and still is.

Nell - Another awesome character. I first of all want to kidnap her awesome wardrobe. Secondly, she feels smart and capable without being 'weird' (while she is quirky) and feels very human. She clicked for me in episode 2x07 when she refused to be helped by Sam and Callen and did everything on her own. That was awesome. But an honorary mention goes to episode 4x15 "Kill House". That was a tour de force from beginning to end and an awesome Nell centric episode where it was interesting to see her reaction and how she dealt with things. Nell is all around a great character and a breath of relief from the general types of girls played on TV.

Callen - I liked him in the beginning, then grew very annoyed with him and now I really like him. He took a dip for me in terms of how he was established in season 1 and for some time he felt very thin and vapid. Then season 2 rolled around and Callen epicness finally emerged. He clicked for me in episode 1x24 when he was searchinf for his family. Finally, he stopped being the unfeeling, serious, lone wolf agent and became a real character. I really enjoy Callen now and his subtle sense of humor and he is all around a lovely character.

Sam - It took me a looooonnng time to start enjoying him. He just felt so unrealistic and boring as a character. The perfect NAVY SEAL that could do anything and everything without batting an eyelid. I did so not enjoy watching him at first. But in episode 2x05 "Little Angels" when they portrayed an incident from his past and he pushed for a case involving an incident to that he felt great. Suddenly there was a real character with a history and something to push for and he showed emotion for the first time (in my opinion). It is one of my favorite episodes to watch and it always surprises me how good Sam was in that episode and how realistic he felt. Since then, he has grownon me (not like ringworm!) and I really like him. He is of course embellished  a whole lot but he's really grown as a character and it's been a treat to watch.

Hetty - Like with Sam, it took me a looooonnng time to start liking her. She did not click for me until in season 3 really when I unexpectedly really started enjoying her and what she did. She is a legend, a matriarch and a very mysterious figure (that part tends to annoy me) but she is also funny as hell. There hasn't been one specific episode in which she clicked, rather she simply became more human and a whole lot more enjoyable.

So I'll be off to enjoy summer for all its worth and returning with a vengeance in 6-7 weeks time (might pop in in July). I wish everyone the best of summer!

The roundup of Scandinavian references on TV

As an overly proud and egotistical Scandinavian I am always on the lookout for references to my own darling home place on TV. And this year proved to be very sad when it came to referencing or acknowledging Scandinavia on the TV shows I watch.

The roundup is following

Criminal Minds - 0

Castle - 0

NCIS - 1

In episode 10x12 I believe, when they were hunting for Bodnar. They were trying to find a mysterious assassin and it turned out it was actually a Swedish man. I laughed so hard when I discovered that. They managed to reference the bad exchange rate, pronounced the word 'krona' right, got a Scandinavian last name completely right and truthfully, I was a bundle of delight listening to them. It is not often that TV shows opt for a Scandinavian assassin. So I did definitely enjoy that

NCIS:LA - 2

In episode 4x17, Deeks is in a spa and says he expects Viggo Mortensen to jump out of nowhere and start pummeling him. How on earth did he get that idea into his head? More importantly, how in the world did the writer think of this? Because as I´ve written before in the post "The Viggo Mortensen of it all", he is not known for hiding out in spas and randomly attacking people. Unless this is meant to be some very strange and unorthodox reference to the fact that both Deeks (and the actor himself) and Mortensen are Norwegian-Americans I am not getting it.

And on the case of explaining jokes. I am still trying to figure out the Gesundheit joke from episode 2x08.

In episode 4x02 the happy little Norwegian in me got very delighted when Deeks suggested to Kensi that they should travel together to Norway, the land of his ancestors. So finally it was established that: the character is Norwegian-American who happens to have the least Norwegian name ever. So for future reference: "Dear NCIS:LA people. I am delighted that you have a Norwegian-American character. I say here are never enough Scandinavians on TV. But the next time you decide to have a character with an established Scandinavian ethnicity it does not hurt to have an ethnic last name as well. Because 'Deeks' is very much not a Scandinavian name :)"
And I would really like to see Kensi and Deeks travel to Norway. It'd be interesting to say the least to see them trying to navigate the weather, the cultural oddities and most of all the language.

So NCIS:LA wins the price for having mentioned Scandinavia two times and NCIS is in second place. But those instances did definitely nurture the ego of many Scandinavians. It actually happens regularly here than whenever a Scandinavian country is mentioned in famous films or on TV, people clap and cheer and act delighted. Yes, that is how crazy we are. But I would not have it any other way.

Gender equality on TV - the less of females, the better?

I am a big analyzer and observes, well over analyzer and observer is perhaps more descriptive. I focus and take mental notes on certain matters and issues on TV, mull them over and then write them here. One issue which I take particular note of is the characterization and handling of female characters. I am a feminist and observing those things is both interesting and highly frustrating.

The TV shows I write about here are both good and bad in my opinion when it comes to representing and portraying female characters. The topic of this post will be looking and gender representation on the NCIS franchise and specifically how the females are always a minority.

NCIS:LA - A show I love watching and laughing over but frustrates me regularly. NCIS:LA did not have the exact best track record of female characters in season 1. It was pretty much all male and testosterone.
Callen - the lone wolf male
Eric - the geek male
Sam - the navy male
Nate - the psychology male
Dom - the rookie male
Five males in all

and then flitting in the background
Kensi - the sole female swimming in an ocean of male agents
Hetty - the legendary matriarch.

This makes the gender ratio 5/7 which is terrible if you ask me. I have previously written about how Kensi felt underdeveloped and vapid as a character in the 1st season. I suspect that a part of it stemmed from the fact that there was so much focus on the male characters. Kensi seems to have been added only because they desperately needed a female character, not because of what she could add to the show as a character. The same goes for Hetty. As a result, their characters felt very unrealistic and thin for most of the first season. It was not until season 2 that the writers and producers caught on. Two male characters were thrown out. Secondly of all Nell Jones emerged. Not only did it balance more the genders but she was also from the beginning a realistic and well crafted character. I enjoyed her from the start and still do. Secondly Kensi emerged as a real character and became a force to be reckoned with and it added a lot to the show. Hetty rose from the ashes and became the wonderful character she is today. The female characters all came to the foreground of the show and it changed it for the better. As much as I enjoy the male characters I can only take so much of them only all the time. That is the reason why I watched entire season 2 first before I finished watching season 1. In my opinion, it is in season 2 that the show hit its stride character wise and it has continued since then.

Now the gender balance is 4/3 which is better. The female characters are still a minority but they are an integral part of the show and they have been developed extremely well. I for one enjoy them immensely, particularly how they are all portrayed as strong and a force to be reckoned with but still realistic. And I enjoy the fact that Hetty is their leader. They trust her and depend on her and her advise and it is refreshing to see a woman in the role of the leader and being a legend.

NCIS: Their track record of female characters is even worse. The female characters have never been more than 3 and always a minority. The gender balance has switched from 3/2, to 4/2 (season 1-2), to 4/3 (season 3-5), to 5/2 (season 6-9) to the current 6/2 (season 10). That means that there are currently whopping two female characters on NCIS. The rest is all males. So there is one quarter of females and three quarters of males.

And the list goes
Gibbs - the quiet, caffeine addicted marine
Tony - the movie-watching, humorous agent
Palmer - the autopsy gremlin
Ducky - the ever wise Scottish autopsy man
McGee - the nerdy agent
Vance - the intimidating leader

Females
Ziva - the female agent that is a force to be reckoned with
Abby - the happiest goth
And former Kate - the sarcastic agent

NCIS would therefore never win the female representation on TV award. But to be honest, this gender balance does not impact the show so much. The key lies in the fact that Ziva and Abby are extremely well developed and strong characters. They are an integral part of the show and have always been. The female characters have always been front and center on the show. It in parts makes of for the lack of female characters, they are given such attention, thought and space as characters and have always been consistently developed and portrayed. When watching old NCIS episodes I am always astounded by the strength of the female characters and how incredibly well they've been done. Ziva and Abby as characters have always been good, realistic, well-nuanced and at the front.

This is where NCIS and NCIS:LA differ in my opinion. It took NCIS:LA a while to get the stride of their female characters and how they should be portrayed. And realizing that the actresses they had could more than handle portraying great female characters. They have more than risen to the challenge in my opinion. The females seemed to be at the beginning like ornaments or objects that needed to be there out of necessity to appease people, not because they could add to the show. But as I've written that changed much and all for the better.

NCIS on the other hand hit its stride straight in the beginning and the female characters were strong and focused from the start. They were few but they were key characters and added greatly to the show. And that has continued to this day.

Thoughts on Finale - NCIS

The NCIS finale was absolutely awesome. I loved watching every second of it and I was reminded yet again why I enjoy this series so much. Everything was perfect, the storyline, the acting, the characters. It was crackling with quiet intensity and I got completely caught in it.

Good:

-Abby's proposal of bi-weekly elevator meetings. I laughed so hard at that scene. Abby is such a wonderful character and she was great in the episode. 

-Abby's computer game. Yet again I laughed.

-Palmer and Breena are going to adopt! The scene with Ducky and Palmer was incredibly sweet and a lovely moment in a heavy episode. I am looking forward to seeing how they will work this story line out. I adore all scenes with Ducky and Palmer.

-A Tiva moment. That was an another incredibly sweet moment and I could not help but "awww" at it and how they expressed their feelings towards each other. Things will continue to be messy but these two will always be a pair to watch and I enjoy their relationship. Such a mess but so sweet.

-The scene with McGee and DiNozzo discussing his latest fling. I laughed when DiNozzo kissed him proudly and McGee was not too thrilled. The acting was spot on and so enjoyable to watch. When it comes to strange in office humor, NCIS has got it down. It is always one of the highlights of each episode for me.

-Seeing Gibbs having nightmares and talks with Mike Franks. It was nice to see a part of Gibbs' psyche and how he was handling things and that he was affected.

-Ziva proclaiming it was about her family. It was a strong and emotional scene.

-The end scene. I love Fornell's character and I am so curious to see how this will play out and what on earth has been going on. All of them going rogue is entirely new and it'll be great to see it continue.

-Parsons was the perfect villain and the actor who played him was awesome. He was the perfect office psychopath and manipulator but he was a different kind of villain. It is not always you see the villain in a suit.

The NCIS finale was a true treat to watch and wonderful. The acting was great and the plot was engaging and had me right in. And most importantly it was filled with character moments, a good dose of drama and humor. When I was done watching my first thought was "Wow"!. 

TV Finales and personal requests for next season

Next week all my TV shows are coming to a close. And by the looks of it, there will be some pretty intense finales and I am a tad excited to see them.

NCIS - They will delve into the manhunt for Gibbs and how the team reacts to it. NCIS has been a treat in the last few episodes and I have been at the edge of my seat every time I watch it. The story line has been wonderful and it's been great how the writers have worked with it. And it'll be wonderful to see a Gibbs heavy season finale. The promo does not show much but it looks like this will be an awesome ride and I am very excited to watch it.

NCIS:LA - This time they will be delving into the the stolen nuclear weapons and bringing in an old adversary to sell them and everything will go crazy by the looks of it. Because of course it is an excellent idea to bring in a crazy French man that has tried to kill you and convince to sell nuclear weapons to a crazy Russian. As enjoying as the nuclear weapon story line has been, this seems a bit too much. NCIS:LA has a way with blowing story lines out of proportions and embellishing things so I just roll along. It's their thing and I gladly admit I enjoy seeing them exaggerating everything. It's so silly it becomes fun to watch and shake my head over.
The promo looks very exciting however and I think it´ll be a treat to watch. Of course, Kensi and Deeks will kiss and Sam will end up being thrown into a pool (and hopefully not drowning). I enjoy action sequences (minus the guns) so I am looking forward to it and NCIS:LA has often produced very exciting episodes.

Castle - Castle has been on a roll this season and it has been awesome. Castle is definitely at their strongest yet and it's been a treat to tune into finely made TV every week. Every episode feels almost like a little film. The finale looks great. It'll be nice to a get a more personal finale and see how things shake out. I personally would tell Beckett to go for the job and that she and Castle could have a long distance relationship (although that would not work on TV). I find it strange that Castle is not willing to support Beckett in her career. I know personally from my own life that long distance relationships can well work. I am excited to see how this will turn out and setting the tone for next season.

For next season I hope for
Castle - Everything will continue as it has been. Castle is going from strength to strength and it's a treat to watch such high quality TV. So I am 100% ready for whatever the producers have planned. But I definitely want to see more of Lanie and Esposito together. I adore Lanie's character and I want to see more of her. I also want to see more of Ryan's personal life and how the pregnancy will play out. What I'd want to see next season is simply more focus on the other characters. They are all such fun and an integral part of the show

NCIS - Can we get Tiva going any time soon?  What I'd love to see would be more of Palmer. He is such a fun character. I also want more focus on Abby and McGee and Tony and what they do. NCIS does character episodes so incredibly well and I want to see more of that. But NCIS is pretty much perfect as a show so no complaints. Just keep the awesomeness rolling and bringing me more laughs!

NCIS:LA - More of Nell and Eric please! They are the best pair I have seen of nerds on TV and such enjoyment to watch. And please introduce less crazy Europeans if possible. And shift the focus from Russia and Eastern Europe. It does get weary to watch enemies from Russia, Chechnya and France over and over again. Along with a good dose of Germans regularly for good effect. The world is bigger than that, not to mention it feels like the constant focus is on Russia as an enemy. It was during the Cold War but there are more than 20 years since and USSR has seased to exist. Things have changed and it's time to recognize that. Other than that the humor has been spot on this season and the character developments excellent so continue that!

When TV teaches English

I have expressed my annoyance before with the word "comfortable" and how on earth it should be pronounced in English. TV shows have proven to be quite the linguistic tool for me and I've enjoyed the linguistic challenges I get from watching TV. Last night NCIS answered my request. I watched episode 10x23, "Double Blind" and loved it. But what made me laugh was the fact that the word "uncomfortable" was said two times within a very short period of time. So I could finally here the way it is properly pronounced. Thank you to NCIS!

And life goes on in TV language land. NCIS:LA proved to be another linguistic tool. The country Montenegro was mention, although it was first called Monaco (they were referencing a James Bond film that takes place in Montenegro). I couldn't help but laugh when Kensi not only corrected it but asked Deeks to say where it was. He got it right, it is indeed in Europe, but it did sound like he wasn't completely sure and Kensi picked up on that. Sometimes you just gotta love the geography puns.

This interested me for several reasons. First of all, in my language we do not refer to the country by the name of Montenegro. We use the translated version of the name in my language. That sounds completely different from the title Montenegro so it took me a moment to connect the two. But I did and the reason why I know where Montenegro is, is because of Eurovision. I have been watching Eurovision snce I was little and that includes watching the countries giving out points every single year. Eurovision is such a tradition here that every Scandinavian knows the phrase "Country, 12 points" in both French and English.  And every year I've heard the phrase "Serbia and Montenegro" together. So that's why I know where it's located on the map. But this year Serbia and Montenegro are competing separately. 

The same goes for the country Belarus. Belarus is Russian for "white Russia". And in my language we refer to the country as "White Russia" not by the traditional title. So a few years back when I was looking at a map of Europe from an American geography atlas I got frustrated when I saw the name Belarus and I did not know what country it was. After some googling I discovered it was the country that I call "White Russia".

And another language reference I completely enjoyed was in episode 2x17 of NCIS. Ducky was explaining to origin of the phrase "red herring" and what it means. I thought his explanation was very interesting and it highlighted one of my favorite points of language, how much is behind each word and the history. I loved the explanation of that people used red herring to train dogs for fox hunting to smell and then they'd drag red herring over the tracks of a real fox to see whether the dogs would be fool and hence the phrase.
Then I realized I didn't know what the word herring actually meant. I always connected it a fowl of some sort but it turns out it's fish.

So for an English major, I still have a lot to learn. But I love it. Discovering and using language gives me great joy and I love learning new things and how the English language continues to surprise me. And watching TV does help. And I have discovered the reason why. I learned English mostly through the medium of reading so  I am very strong in that area. English on TV is more colloquial and that is not an area I am as strong in.

Lessons learned from TV - the silly edition

These past couple of days I have learned 'important lessons' when it comes to TV

1)I finally learned how to properly pronounce the word 'pneumonia' after watching episode 5x01 of NCIS where Palmer and Ducky discuss the fact that DiNozzo had pneumatic plague at one point.
The word 'pneumonia' is one of the most annoying words in the English language when it comes to pronouncing. I would have have gone for pronouncing the 'pn' sound together (which sounds awful) or simply swap the 'p' sound for an 'f' sound which is not much better. But now I finally know it is pronounced like 'newnomia'!

Sometimes, watching TV shows brings along the added bonus of getting a free language/accent lesson.

2)It is always a very very bad idea to be eating food while watching shows. Today I re-watched episode 4x22 of NCIS:Los Angeles and I laughed so hard I could barely eat and had to take special care I wouldn't accidentally spit all the food out because of laughter

And I also rewatched episode 8x04 of NCIS with Tony being the face of the new NCIS brochure. Again I was eating and again I almost spit all my food out from laughing.

3)NCIS:LA producers seem to have decided that Russia and Ukraine would be the focus of their series along with the USSR. Rarely, if ever, have I heard some many references to Russia and USSR, seen so many Russian characters or had so many plot lines centered on something connected to Russia or Eastern Europe than on NCIS:LA. It was very clear in episode 4x22 when Hetty recounted an old urban spy legend about Ukraine and it sounded like she had recruited orphans from Ukraine to become NCIS agents. It is kind of strange they decided to focus on this particular area of the world and I wonder what made them decide to do it. Because, to be honest, they could at times do a much better job of representing those countries at times.

4)In episode 3x06 of Castle, Rick happily refers to the glacier that was meant to lead to the center of the earth in "Around the world in 80 days" as Sneffels. Sorry pal but the pronunciation is waaaayyyy off and this scene probably had a few Scandinavians wincing. But I wont criticize, seeing how I am still hating the word 'comfortably'

And here is an excellent article on typecasting on TV and stereotypes in TV characters - How to navigate stereotypes

And this one from Jezebel - Retta talks race

Shippering - OhMy

Am I a shipper? Yes. I ship several couples or would-be couples on my favorite TV shows.

Castle- Castle and Beckett, Esposito and Lanie = Caskett and Esplanie
NCIS - Tony and Ziva = Tiva
NCIS - Kensi and Deeks, Nell and Eric = Densi, Neric

Five couples in total. I find it to be a fun part of the experience of watching these shows to see how those characters interact  and behave with each other and how their relationships alter and change. It is often the most endearing part of the episode. And seeing those couples interact both makes me laugh and sigh and shake my head with how they behave.

But I do certainly not let the fact that I ship either affect my daily life or result in being mad at the producers when the show does not go my way. This is a very prevalent problem, particularly with Castle. I was speechless two years ago when a romantic scene between Castle and Beckett was ruined and the fans were so unhappy they stormed internet chatboards and Twitter and started insulting the producers to no end. The response amazed me. It is alright to be passionate about a TV show but when that passion drives people to be rude and insulting and behaving like little children throwing a temper tantrum it is not okay.  That is too much.

People never deserve to be insulted for an innocent thing. Never. Insulting other people just because you did not get your way in an insignificant matter is not only incredibly childish but stupid. It amazes me that shippers take the time out of their day to send insulting tweets and throw an online temper tantrum just because their couple isn't together. Or have shipper wars between opposite shippers (like Nallen vs. Neric on NCIS:LA). It is nothing but a time waster. Criticising is a completely different thing and something I firmly believe in. It is what I do often on this blog. But there is a difference between honest criticism and just being plain rude. A big difference.

The whole shipper business seems so silly when it becomes so petty and laughable and I am glad it does not affect me. No matter how the relationships go my own little life carries on. It is TV reality which does not affect my daily life. And it shouldn't affect the life of others. TV is not real, this world is and I intend to live in it fully and not let things like this bother me.

And a fellow NCIS fan recently shared with me two kinds of ships - Gibbs and Abby and Ducky and Gibbs. It made me wince.

It is fine to be a shipper but never to be an idiotic one.