Video(s) of the Week - Christopher Sean Times Two!

Monday's Crush, Christopher Sean, is currently on two shows - Hawaii Five-0 and Days of our Lives. Just to give you an idea of his range, here's some work from both of them:




Days of our Lives - CS plays Paul, a former pro pitcher currently breaking up Salem's only gay marriage. :)




Hawaii Five-0 - CS plays Gabriel Waincroft, Chin's brother in law and all around bad guy. (Warning: pretty brutal scene in the middle of this one.)

Monday (Not Quite) Movie Musings - My TV Week

(<--- This guy's got a busy week ahead. I think that's why he looks so serious in this picture.)

Sorry, don't have a movie to feature this week. But it's a busy TV week, so that's a decent replacement, right?

MONDAY marks both the start of the network upfronts (when the networks unveil their schedules for the fall season) and the season finale of Hawaii Five-0. I'm excited (and nervous) for the finale, but even moreso for the upfronts, as Fox is revealing their schedule at 3 pm. Will I Hate My Teenage Daughter be on the schedule, or will they hold it as a midseason replacement? With only two hours of programming a night, and large chunks of primetime real estate already claimed by the X Factor and American Idol, nothing is guaranteed until the schedule is out there in black and white.

Oh, and I'll be watching the second to last episode of Chicago Code and sniffling.

ETA: FOX has released their primetime schedule a few hours before their upfronts! I Hate My Teenage Daughter will be on Wednesdays at 9:30 following The X Factor. This is excellent scheduling because a) following a sure-fire ratings juggernaut will bring a built-in audience to the show, and b) I don't already watch anything during that time slot so I won't have to make any hard decisions!

Then there's TUESDAY, with Glee (only a couple of episodes left!) and more upfronts. Not sure which networks roll out the schedules. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens with ABC, since soap fans are planning to protest outside. Also have heard that The Chew and The Revolution, the shows destined to replace All My Children and One Life To Live, are looking pretty lame. Awesome work, ABC Daytime!

Then, at 10 pm, there's a new episode of Body Of Proof, with this guy named Eric Sheffer Stevens in a guest role. If you've ever read this blog, you may have heard of him before. I think I've mentioned him once or twice. (translation: OMG SQUEE I'VE GOT IT SCHEDULED ON MY DVR ALREADY CAN'T WAIT.)

WEDNESDAY is set aside for CBS upfronts, which I'm really only interested in because of Hawaii Five-0 (and now that it's been announced ahead of time that it's been renewed for next year, I'm just waiting to see if they've switched nights.)

Nothing more really exciting that I know about until SUNDAY, when apparently that guy I just mentioned is also guesting on Law and Order: Criminal Intent. (translation: OMG HOW DID I NOT KNOW THAT UNTIL TODAY I HAVE FAILED AS A FANGIRL BUT AT LEAST I'VE MANAGED TO SCHEDULE IT ON MY DVR NOW.)
ETA #2 - First promo pic for IHMTD! ESS is second from the left. That's the costume he wore in the pilot. Wheee!

So there you have it, my TV week in a nutshell. What are you watching/following/looking forward to?

Damaging A Character

Monday night is date night TV night in the Davies' household.



First Chicago Code (sob!), followed by Hawaii Five-0 (just renew the damn show, CBS, okay?), it's appointment TV night for my husband and me. (I also watch Glee on Tuesdays, but that's not his thing.) We go from gritty to sun-drenched in the space of two hours, and I love both shows.

But I discovered something about myself as a viewer, and the shows I watch, last Monday. Because my two favorite characters on these two shows brought up a specific issue, and my reaction to it was diametrically opposed.

WARNING - SPOILERS AHOY!

On the Chicago Code, main character Jarek is a cop with an ex-wife he still has feelings for. They have a child together. And all season, the two of them have been sleeping together, regardless of the fact that he has a fiancee he theoretically loves as well.

On Hawaii Five-0, Danny Williams is a cop with an ex-wife he still has feelings for. They have a child together. And in the last five minutes of Monday's episode, we find out that apparently they've been doing the infidelity dance as well.

(The whole WTF exchange: Steve says, so, you and Rachel. How long...? Danny responds, "a little while.")

So why do I accept the infidelity on the part of Jarek, but get infuriated at the thought of Danny doing the same thing?

Well, on Chicago Code, Jarek has been set up character-wise to make this choice believable. He cuts corners. He skirts the edge of legal when it suits his purposes, and rarely has a qualm about it. He is a gray-area character. More importantly, it's been a thing all season long, and one of the defining elements of his character.

On Hawaii Five-0, Danny has been set up all season as the moral compass of the team. He's the one shouting about procedure and suspect's rights and doing the right thing. Does he always manage it? No, but he tries, because it matters to him.

So for him to apparently start sleeping with a married woman - regardless of the fact that she's his ex - struck me as out of character and, more significantly, out of left field.

Yes, the pining (on both Danny's and Rachel's parts) has been signposted throughout the season, and the troubles in Rachel and Stan's marriage have been mentioned before. I actually liked that element, as we watched them grow from battling exes with "Psycho" ringtones and custody battles that required intercession from the governor into two people who were finding a way to be friendly co-parents.

I was even fine with the forehead-kissing and falling asleep on the hospital bed and the pining glances as she drove away. The lost love you always regret is a fantastic trope in a TV show like this, and it really worked for them. But to suddenly (and confusingly) suggest that they're actually sleeping together and have been for a while? It made no sense to me. And I believe it made no sense for the character.

Gracie also factors into this. The child is not stupid. And if her parents, both of whom she loves, are suddenly making googly eyes at each other and hugging and acting all couply, she's going to start hoping they'll get back together. And unfortunately, for these two, love wasn't enough to conquer the issues that tore them apart previously, issues that are even more looming now. Danny's dangerous job? Even more dangerous. Financial issues? Not going away. And on a practical, TV show note, happy couples aren't interesting over the long run. No way are the PTB going to allow Danny to have a happy home life for any length of time. So how much is it going to mess up that little girl to have her hopes for a reunited family dashed AGAIN?

In short, because of the way the character of Danny Williams has been revealed to us over the season, I was disappointed and angered by the turn taken on Monday's episode. And much as I hate to admit it, it makes me look at him in a less positive light now. I hope that changes soon, because I really do love the character and would hate to have that color the way I look at him from now on.

One good thing I'll be taking away from this is the reaffirmation that motivation and character development matter. And you can bet I'll be applying that knowledge to the characters I write as well as the ones I watch on my television screen.

Random Post of Randomness!

* Take A Chance On Me, my upcoming title from Samhain, is now on the Coming Soon pages, and available for preorder! Better yet, it's discounted - so if you buy it now, you'll save some coin, and it'll show up in your account on release day. It's also on the Men In Uniform bestseller list already. Cool, huh?

* Silent House, a horror film from the team that produced Open Water, screened at Sundance over the weekend and just sold to Liddell for $3 million. Congrats to the cast and crew, which includes Eric Sheffer Stevens as the uncle, and the reason I'm even tracking the sales information for this film in the first place. A huge thank you to Parrish Hurley, who verified the sales info for us. You rock, Parrish! (And ABC News, FAIL. Next time, be sure there's a sale before you report it, because we believed you.)

* Loved Hawaii Five-O last night. Glad the ratings were good! Just wish the DVR hadn't cut off midway through. Would have enjoyed watching it again. *stares meaningfully at On Demand*

* That's it for me at the moment. What are you up to?