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brabbel123As a distraction from my ongoing "West Wing"-addiction - and at some point I'm planning on writing an analysis of my dislike of Toby, based on his behaviour in "17 people" (but not only that), and the way I absolutely adore Josh and "Noel" (well, not only "Noel" but in fact every episode he's allowed to show some vulnerability and depth of character) -, I stumbled upon Navy CIS... yeah, I know, not nearly up to par with TWW but it's entertaining enough to write about it as it got me thinking about the commitment issues within my favourite programmes, or rather the problem the portrayal of serious relationships in non-soap opera-ish series seems to pose.
But let's start at the beginning...
In my chronological run through the series I'm up to the beginning of season 5 but I caught a few later episodes on TV as well. However, I'm going to restrict my comments to, more or less, the 4 seasons I watched back to back.
First of all, I really like the dynamics between Gibbs and Tony. I wouldn't go as far as call it a father/son-relationship, as I've read in various comments. But I agree that there's an affection and level of trust that perhaps comes from each filling a need in the other's life. Of course, it helps that both carry their wounds and sometimes show a vulnerability the hard shell can't quite conceal. (Okay, I see a pattern there in what I like to see in my fictional characters - but I digress...)
Ziva's appearance kind of disturbs those dynamics throughout most of season 3. The good-natured sibling-like banter between Tony and Kate gets replaced by sexual innuendo and comments meant to hurt, rather than tease - especially "Boxed in" comes to mind. And I'm still not sure why Gibbs trusts Ziva. I think I've watched their dialogue in the forensics lab in "Killing Ari" quite a few times in order to catch all references, but still, I'm unable to actually discern the moment where Gibbs decides to put his life in Ziva's hands. Of course, it all pans out, but I don't know... there was the small remark about Ziva knowing of Gibbs' family - and that was it. He trusts her to have his back. Given the way Tony always has to fight for Gibbs' attention and praise, and even more importantly, the way Ziva's taunting of Tony goes unchallenged and unpunished, the easy and fast rapport between Gibbs and Ziva comes across with a bit of a sour aftertaste.
So, no, I'm not a fan of Ziva. I'd rather have Kate back because she was a better fit in the whole cast dynamics. But apparently, the producers not only decided to challenge Tony with Ziva's appearance, but also Gibbs with putting his past love-interest Jenny in charge of the agency. While I'm all for exploring a character's past, I'm not really happy with the way Jenny's personal feelings and her job as Gibbs' superior sometimes clash. I don't want them to be automatons, but the way Jenny keeps such a close eye on Gibbs and his team just rubs me the wrong way. She's the director, and I can't help but wonder if she pays as much attention to all the other teams out there as she does with "ours". Furthermore, at the beginning she wants to keep the past out their present association - but ordinarily, she's the one refering to it, openly or via (jealous) gazes. And let's not forget the whole Frog-business. In short, she comes across as someone who can't differentiate between business and personal life, who's not quite as qualified to lead this agency and its agents whose lives are on the line daily. She's not above using the agents as pawns in her own interests - and that's not someone I'd like to cover my back. And honestly, all previous sympathies I might have had for her from season 3 where she was portrayed as a thorn in Gibbs' side but not as a selfish bitch, were blown when she told Tony to suck it up with Jeanne quite literally, not realizing that he's getting in too deep in this misconceived undercover mess of an operation.
And speaking of Jeanne. I liked to see a different side to the usually goofing around Tony, a more serious side that's not afraid to show commitment - which is quite an issue with Tony, after all. It's really a shame that the relationship ends on such a bad note. I'd have loved to see more of it - but I guess I'm in a minority here.
However, it got me thinking: In most of my favourite TV-series, the protagonists are seriously relationship-challenged. There's lots of UST, but no real commitment to anyone outside the work area, especially if you're a male character. Then you're either a geek or a womanizer - both not really likely to start and keep a relationship. Is this due to a unreasonable fear to lose the character's flexibility? Or is a man who settles down in a serious relationship and perhaps starts a family considered weak? Or are the writers afraid to come up with a character that's worthy of being a protagonist's partner and equal and simultaneously immune to the inevitable enmity within fandom? It's after all easier to show a love interest of the week or rekindle some UST between the protagonists themselves than to deal with a enhanced supporting cast. Honestly, why is it so difficult to portray real people instead of workaholics who seemingly have no hobbies, don't suffer from continuous sleep deprivation, given the way they apparently spend 24/7 at work, and consider their colleagues family? I absolutely don't want a crime series such as NCIS, Criminal Minds etc to degrade into a soap opera, far from it, but a hint here and there that these are "real" persons with "real" problems would be appreciated.
And again, that's what I liked about Tony's relationship with Jeanne. Make no mistake, I knew from the start that seducing her was part of his undercover mission, but it nevertheless felt real and genuine. He did love her and that contributed enormously to his character. I think it's a shame that the writers didn't go the extra mile of trying to reconcile her with Tony's actual background. Having them break up the way they did, with Jeanne coming back later to have a final shot at Tony, was quite unnecessary, and in my opinion, even counterproductive. Tony's been burnt quite a few times, his childhood issues, Kate, Paula, Jeanne, later on Jenny... small wonder that he's not capable of a serious relationship later on which takes away quite some depth of his character.
I'm not going to write much about Abby, Ducky or McGee - because, while I like the first two (I could easily do without McGee, though, so I'm not even going to mention him any further), they're a bit removed from the action. I enjoy their input to the cases and their commentary about the team's dynamics but I think they're not essential to the success of the show... well, maybe Abby because she's a recognizable face that makes people remember the show, but to me the 2 main characters without who the show wouldn't work are Gibbs and Tony. The others are, in my opinion, interchangeable.
Finally my favourite episodes so far: Bete Noire, Chained, The Meat Puzzle, SWAK, Twilight, Boxed In, Bait, Hiatus, Driven (if only for that sexual harassment seminar, one of the most hilarious scenes ever), Grace Period and Bury your Dead.
And on that note, I'll stop my outpouring thoughts for now. I think I really have to get another hobby than watching (and obsessing about) TV-shows... yeah... not likely.
What else happened in recent weeks? I got around to watching "Black Swan" and now have the incredible urge to go and see "Swan Lake". *sighs* Maybe next season it's going to be on schedule in one of the opera houses here.
And on another note, I'm in the middle of moving to my new flat and I found out how incredibly difficult the planning of a kitchen can be - do I like cream coloured cupboards, do they clash with the white walls? Does the wooden counter top work with the wooden floor? Do I want to have either my dish washer or my oven or both elevated in height? Etc. And beyond those life-deciding questions I'm actually supposed to get something done at school?!? Yeah... not likely, either.
But let's start at the beginning...
In my chronological run through the series I'm up to the beginning of season 5 but I caught a few later episodes on TV as well. However, I'm going to restrict my comments to, more or less, the 4 seasons I watched back to back.
First of all, I really like the dynamics between Gibbs and Tony. I wouldn't go as far as call it a father/son-relationship, as I've read in various comments. But I agree that there's an affection and level of trust that perhaps comes from each filling a need in the other's life. Of course, it helps that both carry their wounds and sometimes show a vulnerability the hard shell can't quite conceal. (Okay, I see a pattern there in what I like to see in my fictional characters - but I digress...)
Ziva's appearance kind of disturbs those dynamics throughout most of season 3. The good-natured sibling-like banter between Tony and Kate gets replaced by sexual innuendo and comments meant to hurt, rather than tease - especially "Boxed in" comes to mind. And I'm still not sure why Gibbs trusts Ziva. I think I've watched their dialogue in the forensics lab in "Killing Ari" quite a few times in order to catch all references, but still, I'm unable to actually discern the moment where Gibbs decides to put his life in Ziva's hands. Of course, it all pans out, but I don't know... there was the small remark about Ziva knowing of Gibbs' family - and that was it. He trusts her to have his back. Given the way Tony always has to fight for Gibbs' attention and praise, and even more importantly, the way Ziva's taunting of Tony goes unchallenged and unpunished, the easy and fast rapport between Gibbs and Ziva comes across with a bit of a sour aftertaste.
So, no, I'm not a fan of Ziva. I'd rather have Kate back because she was a better fit in the whole cast dynamics. But apparently, the producers not only decided to challenge Tony with Ziva's appearance, but also Gibbs with putting his past love-interest Jenny in charge of the agency. While I'm all for exploring a character's past, I'm not really happy with the way Jenny's personal feelings and her job as Gibbs' superior sometimes clash. I don't want them to be automatons, but the way Jenny keeps such a close eye on Gibbs and his team just rubs me the wrong way. She's the director, and I can't help but wonder if she pays as much attention to all the other teams out there as she does with "ours". Furthermore, at the beginning she wants to keep the past out their present association - but ordinarily, she's the one refering to it, openly or via (jealous) gazes. And let's not forget the whole Frog-business. In short, she comes across as someone who can't differentiate between business and personal life, who's not quite as qualified to lead this agency and its agents whose lives are on the line daily. She's not above using the agents as pawns in her own interests - and that's not someone I'd like to cover my back. And honestly, all previous sympathies I might have had for her from season 3 where she was portrayed as a thorn in Gibbs' side but not as a selfish bitch, were blown when she told Tony to suck it up with Jeanne quite literally, not realizing that he's getting in too deep in this misconceived undercover mess of an operation.
And speaking of Jeanne. I liked to see a different side to the usually goofing around Tony, a more serious side that's not afraid to show commitment - which is quite an issue with Tony, after all. It's really a shame that the relationship ends on such a bad note. I'd have loved to see more of it - but I guess I'm in a minority here.
However, it got me thinking: In most of my favourite TV-series, the protagonists are seriously relationship-challenged. There's lots of UST, but no real commitment to anyone outside the work area, especially if you're a male character. Then you're either a geek or a womanizer - both not really likely to start and keep a relationship. Is this due to a unreasonable fear to lose the character's flexibility? Or is a man who settles down in a serious relationship and perhaps starts a family considered weak? Or are the writers afraid to come up with a character that's worthy of being a protagonist's partner and equal and simultaneously immune to the inevitable enmity within fandom? It's after all easier to show a love interest of the week or rekindle some UST between the protagonists themselves than to deal with a enhanced supporting cast. Honestly, why is it so difficult to portray real people instead of workaholics who seemingly have no hobbies, don't suffer from continuous sleep deprivation, given the way they apparently spend 24/7 at work, and consider their colleagues family? I absolutely don't want a crime series such as NCIS, Criminal Minds etc to degrade into a soap opera, far from it, but a hint here and there that these are "real" persons with "real" problems would be appreciated.
And again, that's what I liked about Tony's relationship with Jeanne. Make no mistake, I knew from the start that seducing her was part of his undercover mission, but it nevertheless felt real and genuine. He did love her and that contributed enormously to his character. I think it's a shame that the writers didn't go the extra mile of trying to reconcile her with Tony's actual background. Having them break up the way they did, with Jeanne coming back later to have a final shot at Tony, was quite unnecessary, and in my opinion, even counterproductive. Tony's been burnt quite a few times, his childhood issues, Kate, Paula, Jeanne, later on Jenny... small wonder that he's not capable of a serious relationship later on which takes away quite some depth of his character.
I'm not going to write much about Abby, Ducky or McGee - because, while I like the first two (I could easily do without McGee, though, so I'm not even going to mention him any further), they're a bit removed from the action. I enjoy their input to the cases and their commentary about the team's dynamics but I think they're not essential to the success of the show... well, maybe Abby because she's a recognizable face that makes people remember the show, but to me the 2 main characters without who the show wouldn't work are Gibbs and Tony. The others are, in my opinion, interchangeable.
Finally my favourite episodes so far: Bete Noire, Chained, The Meat Puzzle, SWAK, Twilight, Boxed In, Bait, Hiatus, Driven (if only for that sexual harassment seminar, one of the most hilarious scenes ever), Grace Period and Bury your Dead.
And on that note, I'll stop my outpouring thoughts for now. I think I really have to get another hobby than watching (and obsessing about) TV-shows... yeah... not likely.
What else happened in recent weeks? I got around to watching "Black Swan" and now have the incredible urge to go and see "Swan Lake". *sighs* Maybe next season it's going to be on schedule in one of the opera houses here.
And on another note, I'm in the middle of moving to my new flat and I found out how incredibly difficult the planning of a kitchen can be - do I like cream coloured cupboards, do they clash with the white walls? Does the wooden counter top work with the wooden floor? Do I want to have either my dish washer or my oven or both elevated in height? Etc. And beyond those life-deciding questions I'm actually supposed to get something done at school?!? Yeah... not likely, either.
