I was idly thinking the female leads on my favourite shows while cleaning the kitchen (tis´true) and I realized with a jolt just how much they have in common as characters. It´s honestly quite amazing how much alike they are. And I provide examples of how Kensi Blye, Ziva David and Kate Beckett are strikingly similar characters.
1 - They all speak multiple languages and use their language talents frequently.
Ziva has been showing a fluent command of at least 5 languages and uses her knowledge frequently. She has used Arabic (I expect Persian), English, Hebrew, French and Spanish.
Kensi Blye has fluent command of 4 languages as well as lip readinng. She has been shown speaking French, Spanish and Portuguese as well as understanding lip reading.
Kate Beckett is fluent in Russian and has displayed her knack of knowing Russian in several episodes.
And the interesting thing is that there is a reason for this, the actresses all speak multiple languages so they are simply using their linguistic ability.
2 - They all have serious martial arts skills/fighting skills/extensive battle training so it´s not unusual to see them pulling off some kick ass moves.
It´s a well known fact that Ziva was trained by Mossad and was in the Israeli army (it´compulsory for all Israeli people to enroll in the army) so she has some highly developed skills which are frequently shown.
Kensi Blye is a trained agent and is regularly shown pulling some crazy battle moves and she seems to attack people on a regular basis, more often than Ziva at least.
Kate has been shown doing some pretty heavy fighting herself, although not as much as the others.
It´s obvious that these are women that can take care of themselves and fight. There is no 'damsel in distress' syndrome going on which is a refreshing twist.
3 - They are all the only female on a team of 4 people. It´s always 3 males and 1 female in every team.
NCIS - DiNozzo, McGee, Gibbs, Ziva
NCIS:Los Angeles - Hanna,Callen, Deeks, Kensi
Castle - Esposito, Castle, Ryan, Kate
It´s interesting that the gender makeup remains so consistent on these shows. And on these shows females are always in minority, except Castle.
4 - They all have a strong, romantic/borderline romantic, trustful and teasing relationship with one male on their team that they partner with
On Castle it was obvious from the start that Beckett and Castle would end up together and from the start their relationship was strong and developing. I love that they are dating and having a relationship and it´s been a treat to watch their relationship develope over their series
On NCIS it´s been Ziva and Tony from the start. They have a great relationship filled with humour and love. They have been through some extreme highs and lowes but it´s wonderful how the writers have developed and complicated their relationship throughout the series. They are one of the better pairs on TV today. And their humour together is wonderful although I mostly appreciate the trust which they display towards each other.
ON NCIS:Los Angels it´s Kensi and Deeks. These two have possibly the funniest relationship on TV and their humour and constant bantering always has me laughing. They manage to make anything funny and their undercover work is always a treat to watch. Not to mention that the developement in their relationship has been consistent and realistic. And of course, there is a romantic connection going on....
5 - They all have parental trouble and a difficult past
Kate lost her mother, whom was murdered when she was in college and that took over her life and has been driving force in her world since then. Her father drank for a time but it´s evident that currently she has a good relationship with him. But her mother´s murder is a big part of her and affects everything in her life.
Kensi´s father died when she was 15 and before that she stopped talking to her mother. When her father died she lived on the streets for a year (a part of her history I hope they will explore in more detail) and she spent much of her life trying to find out what happened to her father. And just like with Kate, the death of a parent had a monumental effect on her life and changed who she was. And to add she didn´t talk to her mother for years. It´s not been established what happened to her after she got off the street but I expect that it´ll be some day. My guess is that she moved in with relatives that helped her.
Ziva has the biggest father trouble of all. She lost her mother at a young age and no doubts misses her. But her relationship with her father is complicated and filled with frustration. As the director of Mossad he was never there for her when she was young, turned into a dangerous Mossad agent and then left her in Somalia to die. Ziva´s father troubles are monumental and he has just been murdered. So her parental trouble are a big factor of her life.
6 - They are all smart and well read
Kate has been shown having a keen and smart mind and being extremely well read.
Ziva is obviously a language master and has likewise displayed he knowledge frequently.
Kensi has also been seen spouting off random interesting facts and teching people things and referencing literature.
7 - They all live alone (or lived) and are shown not being the best at relationships
Ziva has dated several times but her relationships always end badly and she always seems to end up with crooked agents. Michael Rivkin was a traitor and was killed. Cruz was also a dirty agent and used Ziva for his own agenda. And since then she´s been solo and does not seem too keen on meeting a man.
Kate has had a string of bad relationships ever since Castle began. Not with bad men but it does complicate things to have Castle around and her relationships never seemed happy. But finally she is with Castle and enjyoing things.
Kensi has been single since the series began, although she has spoken of having been engaged to a Marine with PTSD that left her. And since all men she gets close with (except her work colleagues) end up leaving her, she´s not the best at relationships. And she herself has admitted that.
And here ends my analysis. It´s pretty striking just how similar these characters are but they are at the same time unique. They are all a twist of the same material. Some would call this stereotype, the solo/beautiful/difficult past/kickass fighting skills/good brains mix in a female on a crime TV show but I disgress. There are obvious similarities and downsides to this, such as the fact that none of these characters is displayed as being in the role of wife and a mother as well as being a good agent. As if it´s not possible for a woman to have both an unusual and strong role as well as a traditional one. But thank goodness we have JJ on Criminal Minds to balance the image. It´s refreshing and positive to see women being portrayed as being strong and capable of holding their own.
And of course - the actressed playing all those characters are all absolutely excellent and give each character a uniqueness that is good.
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Saturday, January 19, 2013
JJ on Criminal Minds
Lately I have been reading lots of articles about the way women are portrayed in media. It´s very enlightening and has made me view my favourite series differently. And I have discovered that some pretty interesting things about the way with which women are portrayed in these shows so the next posts will be my own thoughts and views on the subject. And first up is JJ on Criminal Minds.
She is a former media liasion and a current profiler. She is also a mother and married to a cop. JJ is portrayed as being extremly good at her job, particularly in communicating with people (where the rest of the team generally fail except Morgan). She is shown to be smart, tough and has some serious martial arts skills. However she is also a mother and a wife. JJ is the most normal character on CM and she is also the only character I can think of in a crime series that is both an agent, wife and a mother. And that gives her a definite edge as a character.
She is clearly more adept at communicating with people and has an easier time relating to them and understanding their concerns.And her maternal side has been instrumental sometimes in helping them solve cases. And I am very happy with the fact that her home life is actually portrayed. It´s not without it´s faults but it´s refreshing to see a character on TV that is not only a skilld agent but also has her own family with the ups and downs that follow. CM has done an exceptional job of portraying JJ´s family life, concerns and how it affects her as a person.
I have always enjoyed the episodes where JJ is the focus of attention and where they portray her family life. It givs the series a sense of normalcy and realism. One of my favourite episodes of Criminal Minds is 5x13 Risky Business when they investigate a string of strange suicides among teenagers in Wyoming. Not only did CM handle the episode material with great care and realism (I can´t believe choking really does exist!) but that episode gave JJ a time to shine and expose a different side to her character than before. And the actress AJ Cook gave a phenomenal performance.
It was such a nice change to have an emotional episode which gave the character of JJ and new depth and made her more nuanced while at the same time keeping the realism about her, And that is one of the reasons she is such a good character.
And of course it can´t go without mention that AJ Cook is a great actress.
She is a former media liasion and a current profiler. She is also a mother and married to a cop. JJ is portrayed as being extremly good at her job, particularly in communicating with people (where the rest of the team generally fail except Morgan). She is shown to be smart, tough and has some serious martial arts skills. However she is also a mother and a wife. JJ is the most normal character on CM and she is also the only character I can think of in a crime series that is both an agent, wife and a mother. And that gives her a definite edge as a character.
She is clearly more adept at communicating with people and has an easier time relating to them and understanding their concerns.And her maternal side has been instrumental sometimes in helping them solve cases. And I am very happy with the fact that her home life is actually portrayed. It´s not without it´s faults but it´s refreshing to see a character on TV that is not only a skilld agent but also has her own family with the ups and downs that follow. CM has done an exceptional job of portraying JJ´s family life, concerns and how it affects her as a person.
I have always enjoyed the episodes where JJ is the focus of attention and where they portray her family life. It givs the series a sense of normalcy and realism. One of my favourite episodes of Criminal Minds is 5x13 Risky Business when they investigate a string of strange suicides among teenagers in Wyoming. Not only did CM handle the episode material with great care and realism (I can´t believe choking really does exist!) but that episode gave JJ a time to shine and expose a different side to her character than before. And the actress AJ Cook gave a phenomenal performance.
It was such a nice change to have an emotional episode which gave the character of JJ and new depth and made her more nuanced while at the same time keeping the realism about her, And that is one of the reasons she is such a good character.
And of course it can´t go without mention that AJ Cook is a great actress.
Sunday, January 6, 2013
NCIS - Upcoming Ziva plot
NCIS begins next week and I am very excited for it to begin again! This season of NCIS has been very solid and good to watch. The episodes aren´t exceptionally exciting or groundbreaking but I am always satisfied and pleased with them. But the next episodes coming after Christmas look incredibly exciting.
Ziva´s dad Eli makes his return to Washinton DC and seems to be seeking redemption from Ziva. But why? And how can someone like him expect to find redemption from his daughter? I mean he did leave her in a terrorist camp in the Somali desert to die. I am really looking forward to seeing how this plot will be played out and I am looking forward to seeing Cote de Pablo´s awesome acting skills. But the promo suggest that at the end of the episode next week Shabbat Shalom there is an accident and I am guessing that Eli dies.
And the next episode the week after that will be about Ziva´s grief and how the team seeks justice.
I am really looking excited to this storyline and how it´ll will develope and be played throughout the season. It´s beens a while since there was a good Ziva plot. Not to mention that there are so many exciting ways how the plot can develope and extend and help Ziva´s character grow and change.
Ziva´s dad Eli makes his return to Washinton DC and seems to be seeking redemption from Ziva. But why? And how can someone like him expect to find redemption from his daughter? I mean he did leave her in a terrorist camp in the Somali desert to die. I am really looking forward to seeing how this plot will be played out and I am looking forward to seeing Cote de Pablo´s awesome acting skills. But the promo suggest that at the end of the episode next week Shabbat Shalom there is an accident and I am guessing that Eli dies.
And the next episode the week after that will be about Ziva´s grief and how the team seeks justice.
I am really looking excited to this storyline and how it´ll will develope and be played throughout the season. It´s beens a while since there was a good Ziva plot. Not to mention that there are so many exciting ways how the plot can develope and extend and help Ziva´s character grow and change.
Monday, December 31, 2012
Kudos to actors
So I´ll be able to end the wonderful year of 2012 (it has been great in my personal life) I am going to compliment the actors on my favourite TV shows.
They all great actors and clearly dedicated to their craft and what they do. They make the TV shows enjoyable and thoughtful to watch and have a high standard which is good.
They keep their personal life seperate from their private life. I have not once found an article in a gossip magazine (which I flick through occasionally I admit) or in the local newspaper gossip section that mentions any of their names or their latest scandal or has a demenaing photo of them. It´s refreshing to see Hollywood/American actors that are not obsessed with being famous and/or being in the tabloids.
And that is something I greatly respect them for.
Happy New Year!
They all great actors and clearly dedicated to their craft and what they do. They make the TV shows enjoyable and thoughtful to watch and have a high standard which is good.
They keep their personal life seperate from their private life. I have not once found an article in a gossip magazine (which I flick through occasionally I admit) or in the local newspaper gossip section that mentions any of their names or their latest scandal or has a demenaing photo of them. It´s refreshing to see Hollywood/American actors that are not obsessed with being famous and/or being in the tabloids.
And that is something I greatly respect them for.
Happy New Year!
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Racial Diversity on TV - TV Equals and my thoughts
I recebtly discovered that TV equals (a good website) posted a great article abut racial diversity where they compared various TV shows on various networks and how they represented racial minorities. It was very interesting to read through the article and it´s very informative.
Click here to go to the article
I´ve already done something like this on my blog but I only looked at my favourite crime TV shows.
I was impressed to see that Castle scored an A grade because the have characters representing two minorities, African-American and Hispanic with three characters. And the officer running precinct number 12 is an African-American female! Now that is in my opinion a very good choice, seeing that most high ranking police offers on Crime shows today are Caucasian males. And the actress is also awesome.
I was not surprised with NCIS:LA scored a C. LL Cool J is the only African-American person (a person of racial minority) on the show. The rest are all Caucasian. But they regularly have people of minorities appear as minor characters and diplay racial diversity through their choice of extras and guest actors.
NCIS scored a B as they have an African-American and a Hispanic actrees (whom plays a Jew oddly enough). They like NCIS:LA display racial diversity through their choice of extras and guest actors. And they are the only series on American TV (I know of) that has a Jewish character which is odd, seeing how many American are of Jewish descent/are Jewish.
Criminal Minds scored a C as well and like NCIS:LA they only have one character of racial minority, in their case Derek Morgan as African-American (in fact biracial). And they don´t expres that much racial diversity in their choices of extras in my opinion. And what´s up with having Morgan only interrogate Af-Am suspects, not the rest of the characters? But Criminal Minds has touched upon racial profiling several times which is an important subject.
I am interested in seeing how racial diversity and different ethnicites are portrayed on TV show. It´s a messy business but interesting to observe.
Click here to go to the article
I´ve already done something like this on my blog but I only looked at my favourite crime TV shows.
I was impressed to see that Castle scored an A grade because the have characters representing two minorities, African-American and Hispanic with three characters. And the officer running precinct number 12 is an African-American female! Now that is in my opinion a very good choice, seeing that most high ranking police offers on Crime shows today are Caucasian males. And the actress is also awesome.
I was not surprised with NCIS:LA scored a C. LL Cool J is the only African-American person (a person of racial minority) on the show. The rest are all Caucasian. But they regularly have people of minorities appear as minor characters and diplay racial diversity through their choice of extras and guest actors.
NCIS scored a B as they have an African-American and a Hispanic actrees (whom plays a Jew oddly enough). They like NCIS:LA display racial diversity through their choice of extras and guest actors. And they are the only series on American TV (I know of) that has a Jewish character which is odd, seeing how many American are of Jewish descent/are Jewish.
Criminal Minds scored a C as well and like NCIS:LA they only have one character of racial minority, in their case Derek Morgan as African-American (in fact biracial). And they don´t expres that much racial diversity in their choices of extras in my opinion. And what´s up with having Morgan only interrogate Af-Am suspects, not the rest of the characters? But Criminal Minds has touched upon racial profiling several times which is an important subject.
I am interested in seeing how racial diversity and different ethnicites are portrayed on TV show. It´s a messy business but interesting to observe.
Actors of "international origin" on TV shows
As a Scandinavian that speaks 5 languages, there of 3 fluently and happens to have an obsessive interest in foreign languages I am always happy to discover American actors that speak more languages than English and are of foreign origin. And I am very partial (jokingly) towards actors that are of Scandinavian origin.
And to my endless delight, many actors on my favourite TV shows are of international origin.
Eric Christin Olsen is of Norwegian origin
Kristen Vangsness is alo of Norwegian origin
Daniela Ruah is Portuguese (and apparently a huge star in her own home country!)
Cote de Pablo is from Chile
Stana Katic is of Serbian origin
It´s always nice to hear Cote de Pablo speak Spanish. Considering how many Americans managed to butcher Spanish pronounciation it´s a delight to hear it spoken correctly and fluently. Not to mention what an incredible actress Cote is.
Eric´s character Deeks has mention regularly that he´s Norwegian-American and I´ve read interviews with the actor where he describes himself as 100% Norwegian so I am guessing he considers himself Norwegian.
Kristen Vangsness is just an awesome actress!
Stana Katic speaks Serbian and has a great name. Funnily enough, any person from my country pronounces her name right on first read (stah-na with a as in cat) but the actress has mentin in interviews that a lot of the time people call her stay-na. It´s great to have an actress with an unusual name. Not to mention that apparently she speak several languages.
Daniela Ruah is Portuguese and a very popular actress in her home country. I laughed out loud when I watched an interview with Barret Foa when he visited her in Lisbon and he was completely surprised that she was a huge star in her home country. And it´s great to hear her prattle away in Portuguese, surprising American interviewers. And to boot she speaks French well,with the correct accent and everything.
I like all the actors on my favourite TV shows but let´s face it, Norwegians on American TV are always awesome ;)
And to my endless delight, many actors on my favourite TV shows are of international origin.
Eric Christin Olsen is of Norwegian origin
Kristen Vangsness is alo of Norwegian origin
Daniela Ruah is Portuguese (and apparently a huge star in her own home country!)
Cote de Pablo is from Chile
Stana Katic is of Serbian origin
It´s always nice to hear Cote de Pablo speak Spanish. Considering how many Americans managed to butcher Spanish pronounciation it´s a delight to hear it spoken correctly and fluently. Not to mention what an incredible actress Cote is.
Eric´s character Deeks has mention regularly that he´s Norwegian-American and I´ve read interviews with the actor where he describes himself as 100% Norwegian so I am guessing he considers himself Norwegian.
Kristen Vangsness is just an awesome actress!
Stana Katic speaks Serbian and has a great name. Funnily enough, any person from my country pronounces her name right on first read (stah-na with a as in cat) but the actress has mentin in interviews that a lot of the time people call her stay-na. It´s great to have an actress with an unusual name. Not to mention that apparently she speak several languages.
Daniela Ruah is Portuguese and a very popular actress in her home country. I laughed out loud when I watched an interview with Barret Foa when he visited her in Lisbon and he was completely surprised that she was a huge star in her home country. And it´s great to hear her prattle away in Portuguese, surprising American interviewers. And to boot she speaks French well,with the correct accent and everything.
I like all the actors on my favourite TV shows but let´s face it, Norwegians on American TV are always awesome ;)
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Numb3rs
As I have seen every single episode of NCIS, NCIS:LA and Castle mulitple times I don´t watch old episodes of those series very much but rather the new one´s with excitement. And now that exam season is upon me at University I had to find a series to watch that would be entertaining, intelligent, I had not seen before and would help me rest my brain from all the studying. And the series I ended up choosing was Numb3rs.
I know that is kind of strange since Numb3rs was cancelled two years ago and I don´t get the feeling that a lot of people watch it anymore. But the series looked interesting and fun, I had seen some episodes before that I liked and I thought the characters were likeable and realistic. And I have not been disapointed in this series. I have infact enjoyed watching it very much. It´s not the best series I have seen but it´s very high quality and has a lot of things about it I appreciate. And in some respects it´s even better than my current favourite series. And here´s why
-There is a great emphasism on family. You meet the Eppes brothers and their dad and you watch their relationship and interaction and how they grow and develope. They are not perfect and there are troubles that come up regularly. In fact they behave like a normal family and this is a component of the show I particularly enjoy.
-All the women in the show as portrayed as intelligent, strong and successful in their careers. There is no sexualisation or degrading portrayance of women. Their looks are not important and it´s their personalities that matter, They are good characters on their own and are very strong. It´s such a relief to watch a series that manages to portrayes women in such a positive and empowering and yet realistic light. I am very happy with the characters of Megan Reeves and Amita.
-The relationship between men and women and coworkers is so well portrayed, both nuanced and realistic and I gratly appreciate that.
-The characters are all realistic and nuanced. They are highly skilled at their job but they are portrayed as hman with their positive and negative traits that both empower them and prove a hindrance in their job. No one is perfect and here is obvious care in developing and portraying realistic round characters.
-The math component is brilliant. I am certaintely no math geek but I love the quality that math brings to the show. It makes it more intelligent and the math is explained (most of the time) in a simple and intriguing way. I know that the way with which they use math in the episode is not the most realistic but it´s so cool to watch. I personally love discovering those math theories and how they work in the show.
-The storylines are always interesting and well executed. There is ample respect towards various things and great care in delivering a good and thoughtful hour of entertainment.
In some ways it´s a great pity that Numb3rs was cancelled as it really is a brilliant show but the good thing is also that because it was only 6 season, the episodes were high quality and enjoyable to the end. And I am now a proud Numb3rs fan.
I know that is kind of strange since Numb3rs was cancelled two years ago and I don´t get the feeling that a lot of people watch it anymore. But the series looked interesting and fun, I had seen some episodes before that I liked and I thought the characters were likeable and realistic. And I have not been disapointed in this series. I have infact enjoyed watching it very much. It´s not the best series I have seen but it´s very high quality and has a lot of things about it I appreciate. And in some respects it´s even better than my current favourite series. And here´s why
-There is a great emphasism on family. You meet the Eppes brothers and their dad and you watch their relationship and interaction and how they grow and develope. They are not perfect and there are troubles that come up regularly. In fact they behave like a normal family and this is a component of the show I particularly enjoy.
-All the women in the show as portrayed as intelligent, strong and successful in their careers. There is no sexualisation or degrading portrayance of women. Their looks are not important and it´s their personalities that matter, They are good characters on their own and are very strong. It´s such a relief to watch a series that manages to portrayes women in such a positive and empowering and yet realistic light. I am very happy with the characters of Megan Reeves and Amita.
-The relationship between men and women and coworkers is so well portrayed, both nuanced and realistic and I gratly appreciate that.
-The characters are all realistic and nuanced. They are highly skilled at their job but they are portrayed as hman with their positive and negative traits that both empower them and prove a hindrance in their job. No one is perfect and here is obvious care in developing and portraying realistic round characters.
-The math component is brilliant. I am certaintely no math geek but I love the quality that math brings to the show. It makes it more intelligent and the math is explained (most of the time) in a simple and intriguing way. I know that the way with which they use math in the episode is not the most realistic but it´s so cool to watch. I personally love discovering those math theories and how they work in the show.
-The storylines are always interesting and well executed. There is ample respect towards various things and great care in delivering a good and thoughtful hour of entertainment.
In some ways it´s a great pity that Numb3rs was cancelled as it really is a brilliant show but the good thing is also that because it was only 6 season, the episodes were high quality and enjoyable to the end. And I am now a proud Numb3rs fan.
PS. I feel like I should say something on the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting. My hearts and prayers go to the families that lost their children that day and to all the people that lived through terrible circumstances that day. May God heal their souls and bind their wounds.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)