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.

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!

Lacking middle ground - the highs and lows of NCIS:LA

One of things I have been written to some extent here when it comes to NCIS:LA is its extremes in highs and lows. Both how incredibly good the series is and also, how bad it can sometimes. One of the reasons I write more NCIS:LA than other series is because these extreme fascinate me. Unlike the other series I cover here, NCIS:LA completely lacks a middle ground. It is either absolutely wonderful or terrible (at least considering the high standards it sets with its good episodes). NCIS:LA is in many ways much better than most shows on TV and it has a lot of great things about it, that's why is disappointing when it does not deliver.

When NCIS:LA is bad, it gets pretty terrible. It seems to me that this generally happens when the show becomes too ambitious and there is too much going on. When NCIS:LA amps up on steroids , is generally when thins go awry. The humor turns way off, the characters become stiff in their interactions and general demeanor, the level of violence is increased to a ridiculous level and the story lines become far too unrealistic. There is also ridiculous reliance on stereotypes and the writing is not good. When such episodes come, I don't like watching them and therefore I make a point of avoiding them. There are some episodes of NCIS:LA that I have only seen once because I disliked them so much.

Those episodes include:
Pretty much all of season 1
2x14 'Lockup' - that episode has never sat right with me - the level of violence is far too much
2x19 'Enemy within' - The foreign policy in that episode is quite simply way off and I find it disrespectful towards Latin countries and enforcing the stereotypical attitude that everyone is America's enemy - and it has the typical scene of Kensi going badass when dressed in fine clothes and high heels - how anyone thinks that is a good idea is beyond me
3x19 'Vengeance' - It did not sit right with me the whole time - the idea of someone being redeemed of killing someone just because said person is a navy s.e.a.l. is not something I like
4x02 'Recruit' - It was described as being the funniest episode ever but I ended up disliking it a whole lot. The humor felt entirely too forced, the level of violence is far too much and it relied on bad stereotypes about Muslims in order to further the story. It is my least favorite episode of the entire series.
4x11 'Drive' - Kensi went undercover as a stereotypical Latina - the entire setup felt ridiculous and unrealistic and was a low for such a great character.

But there is always an plus side. When NCIS:LA does something well, they blow me out of the water! When NCIS:LA feels more laid back but retains the drive and ambition it has, it produces some high quality shows which I can re-watch over and over again. It has the wonderful humor I adore so much, the character reactions are gold, the characters are alive and the story lines are ambitious and delivers some excellent points. When it does something so well it is one of the best TV shows I have ever seen and I mean that. The episodes I can re-watch over and over again are a few

2x20 'The Job' - This is probably my most favorite episode on NCIS:LA. It has the good humor but has a seriously good character focus on Kensi and the story line keeps me on the edge of my seat every single time. I watched the episode on my last birthday as a treat, it's that good.
2x01 'Human Traffic' - Holy smokes. That episode is more than awesome! It has Deeks character focus, the story line is intense and exciting and you really feel for the characters. It is one of those classical re-watch episodes I can see over and over again
2x05 'Little Angels' - It is just such a good and intense episode and Sam is excellent in i. It is also highly creepy which I enjoy
2x07 'Anonymous' - This episode has the best Kensi and Deeks undercover action - it is so funny, light and delightful I grin just thinking about it. I laugh so much every time I see it. There is something so earnest and clusmy about it which I love.
2x10 'Deliverance' - It has nail biting exciting action and twists and turns
2x17 'Personal' - A Deeks heavy episode, need I say more? One instant favorite
2x22 'Plan B - A Deeks heavy favorite which is one of the best character episodes yet - It is interesting and intriguing and I really feel for the characters in it
3x07 - This episode is their funniest one ever. Ranging from Nell and Eric playing airport staff to Sam speaking Japanese and Kensi and Deeks pretending to be waiters - it is comedy gold for 40 minutes which I love.
3x10 'The Debt' - Deeks/Kensi heavy and it has some awesome twists and turns and some seriously good character interactions. It gets to me every time I watch it
3x16-17 'Blye, K.' - seriously good character focus on Kensi, nail biting action and tension and as some really sweet Densi scenes
3x18 'The Dragon and the fairy' - This episode is too good. It deals with the difficult issue of human trafficking and the Vietnam War with seriousness and respect and one can tell they wanted to do it right. It is absolute gold to watch.
3x22 'Neighbor Watch' - Kensi and Deeks go undercover as a married couple and it is nonstop humor for 40 minutes - ranging from the epic dinner scene to the scene where Deeks discovers Kensi cut her foot - it is nothing but highly good humor. I laugh every time I watch it and it makes me happy.
4x01 'Endgame' - This episode has non-stop epic action, twists and turns in the story line and some comedy gold in between - it is so good!
4x06-07 - A wonderful Sam two-parter which had some wonderful twists and turns and the action was very good.
4x13 'The Chosen One' - It attempts to deal with the subject of bombinh in the name of Islam and to a certain extent it does a great job
4x14 'Kill House' - This episode was epic! The action had me at the edge of my seat the whole time (also closing my eyes regularly), the tension was palpable and it so so exciting. Not to mention, Nell kicking ass is great.
4x23 'Parley' - A great Deeks heavy  episode with some good tension between him and Kensi

So as people can tell - I enjoy more episode than I dislike. And to add, the acting in NCIS:LA is always consistently good. Whatever the standard of other things, the acting is always top-notch and that is something I appreciate.

Undercover mishaps and awesomeness - NCIS:LA style

One of the things I love about NCIS:LA is all the undercover characters they have. I am a big fan of acting, theatre and storytelling and I love all the little stories they spin with the undercover characters and how easily they have the main characters flow between being undercover and being themselves. They are like chameleons and it it such fun to watch. But a la NCIS:LA style they sometimes proper middle ground. They have both had terrific undercover characters and characters that were so bad I could barely watch. So today's topic is delving into those undercover characters goodies and define my favorite and least favorite.

Sam: His worst undercover character was hands down in episode 3x10 'The Debt' when he impersonated a rapper. Sam wore his regular work outfit of jeans and a well fitting black shirt. The only thing he did was to put on a gold chain. His entire undercover outfit consisted of a gold chain!!! To me, that shows low standard. 

I was also not a fan of when he pretended to be a wine taster/cork collector. I never got that scene entirely because the accent that he used was very difficult for me to understand which frustrated me. 

To explain a little further: I have trouble with deciphering/hearing properly what people say sometimes and that frustrates me on a general level, both in my native language as well as English. I am well aware of differing accents (English major here!) and I am used to listening to and interpreting all sorts of accents, both from native speakers as well as foreign speakers of English. But I am not perfect it it. When I can't grasp properly what people say I don't like it. It frustrates me quite a lot actually. I have to rely 100% on my auditory English skills when watching TV when I generally rely on a mix of subtitles and auditory and as I am not a native speaker of English it has challenges. When I have to pause and replay over and over again scenes from my favorite show just to understand what's going on I get annoyed. It detracts from my enjoyment from the show. Generally this is not a problem for me when watching TV but it does occur most often with NCIS:LA for some reason. 

I am pointing out the challenges I face when I watch American TV shows and how English continues to challenges me. It's a part of consuming media in a language I am still learning and dealing with. I don't think this is something that people generally realize can pose a challenge so I am pointing it out as one of the many facets and challenges of consuming American media as a European. 

Frankly, I prefer Sam when it's just him and his lovely humor. He is at his best then, not when he's undercover.

Callen: His worst undercover character was also in the episode 3x10 'The Debt' when he pretended to be Sam's lawyer when he impersonated  a rapper. Not only did Callen adapt an extremely obnoxious accent in that scene but his behavior was also completely off. He became very obnoxious, annoying and cocky. Another undercover low for Callen was when he pretended to be a hotshot in order to get into a 'clandestino' in season 2. He had the same arrogant attitude

It seems to be a constant for Callen to adopt a very disrespectful and cocky attitude and  generally behave like dusch which I do not like. I understand it's all about playing roles and molding personalities but still....

Callen is such a nice character and has some great moments. I prefer him on his own, NOT when he's undercover.

Kensi: Her worst undercover was in in season 4 she played a Latina girl in the episode 'Drive' when they were bursting an illegal car selling ring. There was just something about the character that bit me. It was so incredible stereotypical from the tatto 'Krafty' to the braids, the gum, the hoodie, the clothes and the accent. It was a hyped up stereotype in my opinion and the character just felt flat and unreal. It was a low for a character as great as Kensi. That's why I was so happy when they had Kensi roll back into being herself and correcting Deeks' bad Spanish Grammar. 

The best one in episode 4x01 when she played the mean, rich house wife in the bank. Her rant about her idiot husband who was a sheep and how much she hated being married to him was an absolute hoot. I laugh so hard every time I see that scene. It is one of the funniest scenes of the entire NCIS:LA franchise and it's absolute comic gold. Scenes like that are the reason I watch NCIS:LA.

Deeks: He is my most favorite character when going undercover. You can never figure out what stunts he will pull next and watching him spin something out of thin air is always as much fun. He also as the best array of undercover characters.
His worst one's are when he plays the hobo. It just never feels right in some way, not the way he plays it or how the character is. I cannot pinpoint it exactly but I don't particularly like it when he plays the hobo.

His best undercover character is Max Gentry. Gentry is the only undercover character on NCIS:LA which has genuinely freaked me out. In episode 2x22, I felt repulsed every time he came on screen and he was the very definition of someone creepy and sadistic. The scene where he shouts and threatens actually made me scared and I felt really uncomfortable when he kept touching the hair of a girl in the bar scene. Gentry as a character had me terrified. He is so completely different from Deeks so it's a fascinating change to observe, how much Deeks changes when he becomes Gentry and how reconciles playing such a repulsive man to do something good. It is fascinating to watch, makes for great TV and is an example of NCIS:LA goodiness. 

So all in all, the undercover part is both good and bad but it's an integral part of the show and an aspect I love. NCIS:LA continues to challenge my English skills as well and while it's annoying sometimes, it helps as well. 

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 "Bro" syndrome just ain't working - NCIS:LA

I have a tendency to notice all sort of weird things and analyze them and NCIS:LA is without  a doubt the show which provides me with most material. And today's topic is dedicated to their very own "Bro syndrome".

It has struck me that every single promotional poster for the series features Callen and Sam. Every single one and I have seen at least 5 different ones and I might add that for some reason Callen and Sam are always either smirking or looking dramatically into the distance (which is so not their style!). The show has five other awesome characters and why have they not been featured? Why isn't there a promo poster featuring the female characters? And the intro to the show has almost only montage of the two of them.for the most part. That is especially obvious in the intro to season 1. They only had a single screenshot of the other one's at the very end. Whether the viewer liked it or not, NCIS:LA was meant to be a "bro" show.

For much of first season, the show was a "bro" cop comedy show, dedicated to the relationship between Sam and Callen. They were at the forefront of every single episode and everything revolved around them. This focus on only the two of them was not only tiring but felt very dry and boring. I enjoy these two characters a lot but I have a very limited patience towards those kind of shows, the type where the focus is only on the males and their humorous, "bro" relationship. It feels vapid and unrealistic and way too male-focused, nothing but testosterone and masculine humor. It made the show that much thinner and tedious to watch and contributed to very weak characterization with the other characters (Kensi, Eric, Hetty to name a few). I genuinely enjoy Sam and Callen as characters but there is only so much of them I can handle. And the two of them together, an entire show dedicated to them was just way too much. It seems that NCIS:LA was aiming to please the male viewers with a hyped-up, steroid, masculine kind of cop-show set in sunny LA. If the show would have continued down that road it would not have lasted.

I genuinely enjoy Sam and Callen as characters and they are a lovely 'pair'. But on a show which features such a strong and vivid array of characters, having the focus only of them limited what the show was capable of achieving as a series and having people respond to it.  Now the focus is much broader and it is great. I enjoy seeing the rest of the characters develop and how they interact. And when the focus is on Callen and Sam, it is genuinely interesting and wonderful to watch. NCIS:LA still functions on a large dose of steroids but the testosterone has lessened and it has made the show that much stronger.

When torture becomes a sickly source of entertainment

One things that has set my blood boiling is depicting torture or attempts at torture on TV crime dramas. Or as CIA calls them, "enhanced interrogation technique". I am adamantly against all such depictions and find it horrid that people would use such a serious thing as a sickly source of entertainment and suspense. Torture is a serious human rights issue and is to be treated as thus. Never, ever should it be depicted on TV or in film or used as a disgusting source of entertainment. I know the phrase "depicting does not mean endorsing" but still. Such a serious violation of human rights must be treated with the greatest care and seriousness possible. 

Then there enters a series like NCIS:LA which at times loses its footing and all sense of respect and seriousness at times. Scenes of torture or attempts at them have now been depicted occasionally. In no case was it ever necessary for the show to use such scenes. It was just a sick, disgusting way of adding suspense and drama. I find myself staring in disbelief at the screen when such things happen. I get angry. I am going to be absolutely clear in stating that I do not believe in any way that the people involved in the show are endorsing such an act in any way. But the fact that they use such scenes sickens me. It serves no purpose and in my opinion belittles the series, turning such a serious human rights violation into entertainment on TV. 

There are certain scenes I cannot watch from NCIS:LA. I was terrified when I saw in episode 3x14 that Sam was about to waterboard  a suspect. He had a cloth and a water bottle ready. Waterboarding is a known "enhanced interrogation technique", a terrible torture device that is known to have been used in Gitmo to interrogate suspects. I couldn't believe I was seeing this on the show. Why on earth did they decide to include this scene? How on earth did they believe it was okay to show Sam to be willing to torture someone?

And I ave already mentioned my sheer disgust with the torture scenes in episode 4x24. 

NCIS:LA is a show that works on steroids, it embellishes and twist and turns reality. So naturally, boundaries are going to be broken, things are going to be controversial. But there are certain lines that should never ever be broken in my opinion. Shows should have a moral regard for certain things and be careful how they treat them. Because while TV is not reality, it is based on reality and depicts it in a certain way. And reality demands and needs to be treated with respect, sensitivity, care. Because in reality, real human beings are inolved and their suffering should never be made light. 

It worries me that perhaps we have become immune to the terror, human rights and moral  in regards to torture. It has become a source of entertainment, aimed at scaring the viewers and making them react without any regards to making them aware of the incredible seriousness of it. 

It is sickening. 

Thoughts on Finale - NCIS:LA

When they pull out all they got on NCIS:LA they really go all the way. And the finale was no exception. It was pumped NCIS:LA on steroids. It had all the necessary ingredients but frankly, I was both frustrated and  liking it. It had both good and bad.

Bad
-The crazy Russians yet again except this time there were more of them, paired with a crazy French man. I am starting to think the writers need new a new focus because this formula is getting tired. And to lay the focus off Russia. And stop introducing crazy French people all the time. It is getting very tired and annoying to be honest.
-Saying that Russia, UK, India and China had talked together and stated they did not know who blew up the  nuclear weapon. Did I miss the memo of UK apparently owing nuclear weapons and wanting to blow them up in Mexico? Because honestly I was flabbergasted. The UK does not own or operate nuclear weapons. I can not answer for India, Russia or China but I find it unlikely and I will say, why on earth would they blow it up in Mexico? Last time I knew none of these countries had bad communication with Mexico. And why risk moving a nuclear weapon across continents?
- How on earth could Janvier write so beautifully on his eyelids? It was way to well done to be very believable
-Torture scenes. I could not watch them and I am surprised they went for them. They most definitely wanted to amp up the drama but doing so by depicting torture scenes is wrong on so many levels. Just plain wrong. I know depicting does not mean endorsing but it puts a bitter taste in my mouth knowing torture is being used as a sickly source of excitement and drama on TV. It should never be.
-Why on earth did they dig up Janvier in the first place? They already knew he was a dangerous psychopath and would manipulate them. They were well aware of what he was capable off and still he was dug up. I know it set for more action but still.... it seems stupid.
-Sam disliking Deeks and his reason why. Because he is not Navy and his character? I was completely lost on that one, not to mention it makes Sam seem awfully petty.
-The music score was not to my liking.

Good
-Kensi and Deeks kissed. That scene made me laugh. Ranging from Kensi throwing a rant about his communication skills to her surprised reaction. It was sweet and hilarious.
-My favorite antagonist Granger returned!
-The russian biker women were interesting. Very tough and intimidating.
-Aunjanue Ellis returned. She is a wonderful actress and I am happy she is playing Sam's wife. Her performance was great and she is definitely playing the part right.
-The acting was of high caliber and incredibly good. It was a treat to watch and it was obvious everyone worked hard.

All in all the episode was a mix for me. It was exciting and dramatic but it felt overdone and embellished and just did not feel right somehow.
And yes to be honest, the constant stream of crazy Europeans bothers me. Europe is in shambles right now due to economic troubles, poverty, the economic collapse, tension between nations, distrust with the European Union, the Euro is not doing well and many countries are dealing with the terrible downside of economic trouble, especially Greece and Spain. So frankly, I do not believe that anyone here has the time or the inclination to plot against USA. Not when things are so bad. There is enough to deal with here at the moment, will be for a long time and the focus will be on fixing that. There are enough issues going on here to last for decades. Not to mention that it's been less that 20 years since there were terrible civil wars going on in many European countries and everyone is trying to recuperate from that and move on. So pulling out the 'crazy European' card every single week does not only get very tiring but is also highly unrealistic and it detracts from what is otherwise a great series. In my opinion, it shows a certain lack of imagination and creativity which is sad to see in a series that has at other times been highly impressive with their creativity and exploration of various story lines. I am hoping this will even out next season and that the focus will shift.  Thankfully NCIS:LA has not dipped into Southern or Northern Europeans yet and hopefully they never will. Because enough is enough.

Random tidbits
-I sighed when Kensi told Deeks she couldn't understand what he meant with the green-eyed monster. It is a metaphor for jealousy! Still nice though and yes, it'd be frustrating communicating with someone that insists on using metaphors all the time. I know it'd freak me out
-Do you need sunscreen in Iran?
-You gotta love the Russians speaking in English all the time with each other with a heavy accent.
-Tim Murphy does make an excellent villain and an exceedingly creepy one and he did his part wonderfully.

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!

Characterization on TV - The perfect syndrome on NCIS:LA - Sam Hanna

I love writing - I love having the freedom (and the overly active imagination) to create my own worlds, my own characters and have them however I want to. It is so much fun to be able to create a character from the beginning and be proud of it and know it's your own creation. I love it. You can let them do and be anything you want. They can experience everything you've ever wanted to do and by writing about it and creating their experience you get to be a part of it.

I am fascinated by characters. With TV characters I like exploring/discovering how they are created, how they behave, what are their quirks and personality, what are their annoying habits, what is their back story. And the characters are a collaboration of many people the directors, writers, producers and the actor. I can only imagine how much fun it is to be able to get to know a character and act him/her and make your own choices about how they change and who they are and what affects them. I imagine that is one of the best things about acting. To be able to inhabit and experience what it's like to be someone else than who you are. And being involved n the process of that creation.

The characters that last best on TV are those that are human, that the TV viewers respond to and remind them of themselves, of our own inevitable humanity. TV is a fictional world but when it is a fictional world inhabited by realistic people it becomes that much more enjoyable to watch. My favorite TV shows all have in common that they have extremely good characters that are well grounded and realistic. Some started off that way and with others it took time. I will delve into that later on. The characters that end up becoming my favorite are always the one's that are most human,  make mistakes, blunder, look silly, are emotional and are not perfect. If I don't see that in characters, I stop watching. Sometimes the characters jump out straight off the bat, realistic and nuanced and with others it takes time.

Sam Hanna on NCIS;Los Angeles is an example of a character where it took time for him to become more than a cardboard, one-dimensional type and emerge as a person. I gladly admit that when I first started watching NCIS:LA it took me a long to actually enjoy Sam Hanna as a character. He was a former Navy S.E.A.L., spoke fluently two extremely different languages (Japanese and Arabic), never lost a shot in battle or was wounded, cracked a joke no matter how bad the situation was and seemed to be perfectly uninfluenced by whatever went on around him. He was just too perfect.

Just like happened with Kensi, the producers started off with a character that was far too perfect. To be able to give a person so many positive, amazing characteristics must be fun but it detracts from the humanness of the person. Everyone is imperfect in the real world and it is nauseating watching perfect TV characters week after week. Becasue you know no one is like that and it is hard to actually get caught in a show, knowing nothing about the characters is human.

Sam Hanna was a superhero all through season 1. It wasn't until season 2 he became more nuanced and realistic. It surprised me when he actually started responding emotionally to situations and showing a softer side of himself. Episode 2x05 'Little Angels' was the first one where I truly liked his character and the first episode he seemed genuinely human. And it's all been uphill since then. I enjoy him much more now as a character than before.

I believe the reason viewers responded so well to Deeks and Nell from the start is because they were realistic from the beginning. Nell admitted her personality vices embarassed (I laughed so hard during that scene) and was nuanced from the beginning. Deeks makes mistakes and is silly and listens to musicals. Whereas as with the other characters it took all of season 1 to get them going, the new one's emerged good straightaway. And in season 2 the series hit it's stride. There are definite hiccups along the way but the characters are actually enjoyable now. And that is why I watch it.

Cringing at foreign languages on TV

As a European that does NOT have English as my native tongue and a fluent speaker of 3 languages and have practical knowledge of 3 more I am always intrigued when I see actors trying to speak other languages that English on TV shows. And most of the time, they speak it not too well.

In NCIS:Los Angeles, Callen is supposed to speak Russian and he does that, although it´s with a dreadful American accent. Hanna speaks Japanese but the one time he spoke it, I was cringing the entire time. It´s not many times I have heard such a well rehearsed speech in foreign language with such a dreadful accent. But I also gladly acknowledge that Japanese is a very hard language to speak and Russian too. More importantaly, the actors make up for their language ability by being very funny!

So when I heard Kensi was supposed to use French to communicate with a couple of Vietnamese people I was ready to squirm but was pleasantly surprised. The actress actually had a really good accent, scrolled the R´s very well (something I can do too) and it was a delight to listen to her (the actress grew up in Portugal so she probably studied French in school). So kudos to Daniela Ruah for pulling off French!

I got the same delight when I heard Ziva on NCIS pull off Spanish for the first time. Since the actress, Cote de Pablo, is a fluent speaker of Spanish it was awesome to hear the way it sounded (much much better than Emily Prentiss on Criminal Minds!). Ziva is supposed to speak like 5 languages fluently (which is entirely possible in the real world) and in my opinion the actress generally pulls it off well when she speaks other languages than English (although I do wish she spoke more Hebrew).

But my most favorite thing would have to be Ziva messing up English idioms. I just love to hear the way she messed up idioms again and again and mixes them up and it´s always believable. As an EFL I can vouch for the difficulty of English idioms and listening to Ziva mess up and then being corrected has even helped teach me some (such as "look who´s calling the pot black").

So watching American actors mess up foreign languages continues to entertain me and I keep on learning.