Without a Trace

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 10/22/2008 20:07:53

SmithBye wrote: Okay, I just watched the clips from last Sunday's show and Jack is acting like quite the Jackass! I mean, come on, how juvenile can you be? "Too bad you couldn't have stayed a little longer?" (when Weber's character is back from D.C.). Ugh.

Wrong thread. There's a separate thread for episodes. The question is whether you believe Jack's demotion is fair?

Oops, sorry. I was just reading everyone else's comments and then replied. You're right, wrong thread.That being said - No, I don't think his demotion is unfair. In "real life", he would have been fired many times over!

In real life, he would be facing criminal charges.

Yes, I think that what Jack does is necessary to get the job done.

A few considerations: 1) I think what happened to Jack was fair, he made many mistakes, he had to pay. 2) No storylines was dropped, some of them simply ended: Martin's addiction, S/M's love story, Ann's relationship with Jack. D/E are going on, but they can't and have not to show us them, we simply DON'T CARE to see the single characters going home, kissing, hugging once it is established which one their relationship is, the show isn't about this. I love seeing some of their lives, a little here and there, like they always did. 3) The drop in ratings is general. "Desperate h." had 25 mls viewers at its premiere last year, this year they were 15 mls. "CSI M" started this year with more than 17 mls viewers, at its 2nd ep they were around 13. People can download eps extremely easily, sometimes it's even possible to see them on the networks' sites, this is the reason why. Wat last year was the only show to finish its season increasing steadily its public, I hope it will be the same this year.

I agree that storylines weren't "dropped", not in the writers' minds anyways. They were just concluded extremely badly. You don't have someone fall into serious addiction, get cured in 1 episode and NEVER revisit the story again. You don't start a relationship between 2 agents (Danny/Elena) and completely neglect it for a whole season with not even one reference. You don't have the star's girlfriend lose a baby, break up and leave town all in one episode and NEVER mention it again. And so on. The writers just don't know how to write a personal story. Just my opinion.

Unfair? Heck no, Jack Malone is a jerk. He should have been fired years ago. He was great in S1 and S2 but since then he's been nothing but a bully and out of control. He is no longer fit to be an FBI agent much less lead a team. He should be fired and Sam along with him...both are unfit.

jenniff wrote: No, I do not think he what happened to Jack was fair. He should have been fired so he was actually given a big favor by the powers above by being allowed to keep a job in the FBI. The Jack of today is not a Jack I recognize. I want Jack the badass SAC, solving crimes by using his head and heart, not his fist. I hope this demotion allows him to figure things out with Claire so he can return to the great man we know he was and hopefully can be again. I also hope they resolve this mess and get back to quality storylines and intriguing stuff for the entire team. I am growing weary of the Jack and Sam show. I watch for Danny, Martin, Vivian and, heck, I'd even prefer more Elena time over more JS. Then again, that may be because I am still very bitter about what became of MS. I mean, come on, do the WAT PTB seriously think we have amnesia and forgot?

jenniff, blame the writers for Jack not being fired. After all, it is his starring role, not Viv, Sam, or anyone else. The writers probably wanted to shake it up a little and showcase ALP's great acting and Jack's emotional attachment to the people he tracks.As far as MS, Sam put that to rest rebuffing M. Who is Claire? If you are referring to one of the producers, what could you possibly be referring to?I am a huge lover of WAT and it concerns me that it has dipped in the ratings. I think it is due to this new storyline that has Medina in charge. It was obviously not going to happen for Viv when J supposedly was leaving for Chicago and his wife told him not to come. That in itself added the storyline of Viv's dissatisfaction with her position/demotion and blames J and gives him attitude all the time. I know MJB is supposed to be a good actor and she does well being a bitch in this series, but I think it would be better if she would be a lot nicer too.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 10/26/2008 03:37:22

Julia58 wrote: I agree that storylines weren't "dropped", not in the writers' minds anyways. They were just concluded extremely badly. You don't have someone fall into serious addiction, get cured in 1 episode and NEVER revisit the story again. You don't start a relationship between 2 agents (Danny/Elena) and completely neglect it for a whole season with not even one reference. You don't have the star's girlfriend lose a baby, break up and leave town all in one episode and NEVER mention it again. And so on. The writers just don't know how to write a personal story. Just my opinion.

Just a few words, because I know I think differently from many others. You have 40 mns for each episode, just 40. It's not possible, in so little time, to carry on and on and on every storyline, create others and do what's most important, tell us the case of a missing person. The various team members' storylines add pepper and interest to the general plot but they HAVE to be dropped or we will be watching "The bold and the beautiful" and not Wat. Do we want Ann to come out again saying: Hey Jack, I'm back! Martin didn't get cured in 1 ep, they simply didn't show it and that's okay for me. As for D/E, I'm sure we'll see more of it.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 10/26/2008 03:46:29

amphenol2 wrote:

Julia58 wrote: I agree that storylines weren't "dropped", not in the writers' minds anyways. They were just concluded extremely badly. You don't have someone fall into serious addiction, get cured in 1 episode and NEVER revisit the story again. You don't start a relationship between 2 agents (Danny/Elena) and completely neglect it for a whole season with not even one reference. You don't have the star's girlfriend lose a baby, break up and leave town all in one episode and NEVER mention it again. And so on. The writers just don't know how to write a personal story. Just my opinion.

Just a few words, because I know I think differently from many others. You have 40 mns for each episode, just 40. It's not possible, in so little time, to carry on and on and on every storyline, create others and do what's most important, tell us the case of a missing person. The various team members' storylines add pepper and interest to the general plot but they HAVE to be dropped or we will be watching "The bold and the beautiful" and not Wat. Do we want Ann to come out again saying: Hey Jack, I'm back! Martin didn't get cured in 1 ep, they simply didn't show it and that's okay for me. As for D/E, I'm sure we'll see more of it.

I think you hit the nail right on the head here. IMO the writers use their "artistic license" and choose only to actually show or continue with the storylines they consider to be major arcs in the show. We don't have to see everything happening to know that they are.

They ARE the writers and therefore they can follow any "artistic license" they prefer, because it's up to them. In my opinion, they're doing a very good work, in some episode better than in another of course, but the level is extremely high. And if you don't believe it, compare Wat's stories and storylines with what we can see in CSI, Cold Case and so on.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 10/26/2008 04:32:24

amphenol2 wrote: They ARE the writers and therefore they can follow any "artistic license" they prefer, because it's up to them. In my opinion, they're doing a very good work, in some episode better than in another of course, but the level is extremely high. And if you don't believe it, compare Wat's stories and storylines with what we can see in CSI, Cold Case and so on.

That was my point ITA with you.

Excuse me, what does ITA mean???

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 10/26/2008 05:12:11

amphenol2 wrote: Excuse me, what does ITA mean???

I'm sorry, it's short for "I totally Agree"

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 10/26/2008 11:06:26

amphenol2 wrote: The drop in ratings is general. "Desperate h." had 25 mls viewers at its premiere last year, this year they were 15 mls. "CSI M" started this year with more than 17 mls viewers, at its 2nd ep they were around 13. People can download eps extremely easily, sometimes it's even possible to see them on the networks' sites, this is the reason why. Wat last year was the only show to finish its season increasing steadily its public, I hope it will be the same this year.

Not being American I find the ratings hard to understand but apparently it is not so much the total viewership as the number of viewers in the 18-49 age group. This is what the advertisers base their decisions on how much to place on and in the end it is how much revenue the Networks take from advertising which calls the shots. The increase in viewers for WaT at the end of last Season was surely mostly due to the move back to Thursday from Sunday with the big lead-in from CSI.Neilson which is the company responsible for producing the ratings in the US runs a site TVByTheNumbers which uses a formula to preedict which shows will survive. They have an uncannily accurate track record. It's not based on previous Seasons therefore the change of night would not affect it.Althoiugh WaT is still doing reasonably well with older viewers and maintains a place overall in the top 20 it has lost a lot in the 18-49 demos since last year and since this Season's premiere has shed a few more.Based on initials figures WaT was rated as a possibility for cancellation however, as of October 22, it has been downgraded and is now listed as "cancellation by May."

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