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. 

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.

Imagining Kensi's boyfriend - Part 2: Deeks and the Norway/Sweden of it all

Now, it is no secret that I love the dynamic between Deeks and Kensi on NCIS:LA. They are so incredibly dysfunctional as people and yet work so well together. They are without a doubt two of the most frustrating characters to enter the TV scene and still so much fun and nicely realistic. So I am looking mildly forward to seeing how things will turn out between them. And I will write about it!

But today I am going all Nordic and extremely shallow on ya'll!

In my last coverage of imagining Kensi's boyfriend Jack Larsen I emphasized the fact that he would be Swedish-American. This may come across as quite strange to those readers that are not Scandinavian are not aware of the relationship between Norway and Sweden. As I explained earlier Norway is a former colony of Sweden, they were always poorer and had less military power and influence. However Sweden has always been a big country, was the leading power in Europe at one point, is influential in international matters and hold a greater military power. Today the countries stand on far more equal ground but there are still lingering remains of dissatisfaction between them and how Sweden treated Norway

Seeing that Deeks is 100% Norwegian-American (looks the Norwegian part to a tee and is of full Norwegian descent (the actor, that is)), his family would probably have moved to America from Norway in early 20th century, right around the time they got their full independence. So Deeks would have gotten to known presumably strong nationalistic ideas, filled with pride and a bit of dislike towards the Swedish. Plus, stereotypes of the perfect Swede and the coolness of everything Swedish are abound everywhere and he would have seen them (there is no way escaping them sadly). I am guessing that someone with a turbulent past like his would have found his identity (at least in part) in being a descendant of Vikings and a Norwegian. No one messed with the Vikings and they had a wonderfully rich and interesting culture and Norway is a wonderful country.  He would have found strength in that and would still in his adulthood. Because the Vikings were conquerors and ruled the world and

So I can imagine him fussing over Mr. Jack Larsen being Swedish with Nell and Eric (he would never do it with Sam and Callen!) and Neric would not understand in the slightest but lend a sympathetic ear. He would then fuss about Vikings and their culture. That'd be the beauty of it, a completely Scandinavian reference which no one would get except Nordics or those that love Nordic history!

Some might say I am probably reading way too much into this but that is the fun part of it. Making connections and creating things :)

And to add a comment:

I found a comment on TV Line (Click here!) about how Deeks' turbulent past lends to his inability to establish a romantic connection with Kensi. I just wanted to say: The incredible relationship dysfunction between the two characters goes both ways. Kensi is just as dysfunctional as Deeks. So in theory, two dysfunctions should be wonderful together. And lest we forget, the spark is there and it just has to be flamed. Hell, they've kissed twice and are eerily comfortable playing romantic partners. And please do not turn this into another TIVA! Look to the Caskett dynamic and go from there.

Some changes coming up on TV Matters and Me

I have been thinking it over for the past few days and I have decided to do some changes on the blog. The change comes about because of several things:

1)I have just started watching Parks and Recreation! What a wonderful series. It has me completely hooked and I love watching it. It has top notch actors, wonderfully strange and sweet characters, great humor and some incredibly tender moments in between. One of my conditions for liking a show is that it has to make me laugh and PaR manages that with aplomb. I grin and laugh heartily when watching and it makes me happy. 

2)I have taken the decision to stop watching Criminal Minds. For the moment I will be taking a break from the show and will only dip into the 9th season every once in a while. CM is a great series but its quality has been lacking greatly in the past few years and I do not find myself enjoying particularly watching it so enough is enough. 

3)I want to make the blog better and change the focus of it. 

So what are the great changes that are coming?

1)I will start writing about Parks and Recreation. I already have derived much material from it which I really want to write about and cover in more detail. It has got me going creatively and it offers a lot of good material.

2)I will no longer write about Criminal Minds. I will leave up the posts I have at the moment but I will not write anymore about it for the time being. 

3)I am going to focus writing more about TV culture in general with a particular focus on how I, as a European, approach American media and its various aspects. How the area I come from, my country and culture and experiences shape my approach to media and how it influences me. I will also start writing about Nordic/Scandinavian TV culture and our approach to it. 

4)I will be adding the TV matters and Me opinion column!

With all the changes coming up I will continue my usual segments:

-Taking NCIS:LA apart

-Conspiracy theories series

-Character focus

-The perils and pitfalls of the English language

-Regular shallow segments 

-Viewing media with a feminist perspective

-Approaching racism in media and culture

-Thougts about various negative aspects of culture

I am looking forward to continuing running this blog and using it to sharpen my English skills and writing as well as media literacy. I will not write as much next autumn as Uni starts but the goal is to write 1-2 posts a week. 

Here's to another fanta fabulous year of TV Matters and Me

The stupidity of interviews and the gems in between

I hardly ever watch interviews with the actors from my favorite shows. That does not mean I do not like the show. It is a personal decision and there are several reasons why:

1)Distancing myself from the show - I am a fan of many shows but I have many other delightful and wonderful things which take up my time and I just do not have the energy of keeping up with interviews as well as spoilers.I am to much of a Nerdfighter for that :)

2)Distancing myself from the actors - I will be absolutely clear that I appreciate the work they do and respect them but they are real people that deal with the perils and pitfalls of fame. I am a big believer in the right to privacy so to me, it feels like prying into people's lives (which I have zero business doing) listening to interviews with them. Fame has a strange way of turning real people into unrealistic figures and there is just a lot of ickiness that follows. And to be 100% honest, it feels super weird to listen to the actors and see them and to be honest, very uncomfortable. I feel uncomfortable seeing pictures of them (particularly commercials and paparazzi photos or anything personal) as it feels like a break of privacy. I like them as onscreen characters a lot and respect them as actors but that is enough. There is a reason for why I do not read gossip beyond the local newspaper which has pretty much no gossip at all.

3)Distancing myself from Hollywood and show biz - I am no liker of Hollywood, the darker sides of fame (I am a fangirl but at a good level), the shallowness and showman ship that follows. It freaks me out to be honest and goes against many of my personal principles. I will delve into it one day but I will have it suffice now to say that it is one my personal goals to stay as far away from it as possible. Which I do.

4)Interviews are so often dumb - I feel like everytime I dare listen to an interview it feels stupid beyond belief. A few highlights for me have included serious European geography mishaps, whining about youth and old age, the 'OMG someone that can speaks more languages than English' remarks, endless discussions about make-up and style and what not and the endless, incredibly pointless gossip. Basically, nothing real but everything dumbed down and shallow. I was disappointed to realize recently that an interview I saw was actually carefully rehearsed. There was nothing spontaneous or fun in it, it was rehearsed like a play and to be honest, I did not like that.

I am happy as a lark to read interviews with actors but I steer clear of listening to them. So when I do, I sometimes encounter real gems. 3 stand out to me.

A radio interview I listened to with Renée Felice Smith. It was so enjoyable to listen to and it delved into all sorts of interesting background stuff about the show which I really liked. And I had no idea actors actually did such throughough research for their job as she described doing in order for it to be more truthful in their acting. I thought they showed up and delivered their lines. It was 15 minutes of radio delight and as someone that grew up with the radio being constantly on, it was a nice delight.

This interview with Daniela Ruah - It got my attention instantly and has made me think over certain things quite a lot. It felt spontaneous, real and delved into some very interesting questions regarding handling fame, privacy, show business and its underbelly and the ever controversial idea of 'sexy' photoshoots. It got to me straightaway and I have since discussed the contents with a friend and it was interesting to see an inside view of fame. It was so interesting to listen to and I have to hand it out to Ms. Ruah that she did it incredibly well.

And this gem with Jake Gyllenhaal. He is a wonderful actor and his work is consistently good. I have not seen the movie which he talks about in the interview as I was uncomfortable with the level of violence being displayed in the trailer and I do not like to style of such films. However, what floored me was when he spoke about the intensive research he did. 50 rides with LAPD is a lot! And apparently, Mr. Olsen also rode with them when preparing for Deeks. I do wonder if the LAPD has a special officer handling actors that want to tag along! But what I liked most was the intense respect with which he spoke about police officers and the job they do. It was inspiring to see and it felt really genuine.

Click Here!

So among all the trash interviews (the worst price goes to an interview which began with a monologue about the old age of the interviewers versus the interviewees, I signed out when I felt my brain go dead AND I could not hear what they were saying properly which is a problem for me) there are some excellent gems.

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.