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NCIS MODERATORS' BLOG 5
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ANOTHER RATION ON NCIS & CLIFFHANGERS - Man! Are we on a roll here! :-)
2nd August 2009
Never one to miss a gauntlet thrown so blatantly at my feet *snicker* More like I didn't have anything else in mind, so why not continue the topic, thought I?
I concede that the 'cliffhanger' is not a modern phenomenum; nevertheless, in recent years it has become a sine qua non condition for virtually every series wishing to stay on the air to resort to this tactic sometimes more dramatic others less so. I won't go into them in relation to old Hollywood serials since I never followed any, therefore I can't comment. My opinion is limited to the few BBC serials / Spanish serials / US serials watched, and although not many I think they're sufficient to base an opinion, in that there is a growing tendency to make these "cliffhangers" more dramatic, and it's not exclusive to NCIS - Spanish serials are becoming a dab hand at it too.
I think what it is about these "cliffhangers" is all the pre-episode hype that we get, with a lot of tension creating marketing comments made regarding the trailers shown prior to the episode in question being shown, it's rather like the modern rollercoasters at funfairs, which are getting higher too so that when you come down the impact is greater. Then of course there is the increase in risk/action sports - it's as if people could no longer enjoy life if they hadn't previously been placed in an extreme adrenaline pumping situation prior to the enjoyment achieved through the relief obtained - and if that doesn't reek of BDSM, what does?
Having said that, I am no way advocating that NCIS or any other series should finish their seasons on a bland note, far from it and certainly not rosy; but there are times when they or their marketing departments abuse this creation of tension. As far as I'm aware nobody's had a heart attack or suffered an attack of apoplexy with the tension generated regarding these cliffhangers, however, it is not unknown in soccer matches in important matches and other sports, where the tension has been too much for the spectators.
Regarding the series MargyW mentions, erm never heard of Xena, and as for Buffy, and although a great fan of the same, I would never have classified any of the season ends as a cliffhanger in Dr. Who (original series), unlike those of NCIS, although when you watch it dubbed in Spanish, for me at least a lot of the tension is actually lost. I only experience the tension of certain episodes when watching in the original version!!! I wonder if this is due to what's known as "professional deformation", i.e. I'm unconsciously grumbling at the dubbing/translation quality of an episode that they become bland to a certain extent. You see when I watch the series the 2nd time round in the original version, i.e. English, on DVD I can feel the tension/humour/angst, etc., which is rather curious since it's not the first time I'm viewing the series but the second. So is the fault perhaps with the dubbing? Certainly to date on LaSexta we have never got any of the hype leading to the drarmatic episodes on NCIS or any of the other US series shown on this channel or other channels, not even the "darling" of Telecinco CSI gets any hype, except for when a new season is starting!! Now that I think about it, I've only just started viewing Buffy in English so maybe there are some cliffhangers out there.... Although I watched Dr. Who/StarTrek (original series) in English, and certainly don't recall the episodes being cliffhangerish, although the films thereof did have them.
Getting back to NCIS and other modern day series, it seriously does make me wonder whether life now is generally pretty bland as our basic needs/comforts are covered therefore we need some kind of stimulus to inject emotion/thrills, since we're used to the horrors of life suffered by those living in the third world, or in war situations, that they no longer affect us as they should, thus forcing the need for stronger emotions, which requires extra stimulus per se such as the cliffhangers for TV series. Even the reality shows such as Survivors make the tests the contestants have to undergo harder and harder in order to keep the audience captive.
Are we so hardened/numbed by all we see around us, on the TV news that we need to be jolted in order to feel? I have my doubts at time, and it saddens me to think this may be the reason why our emotions require the "electroshock" of the "cliffhanger" to feel alive. And again I would appeal to Luís Marcos Rojas or Freud (if he were alive) or Eduard Puset for an explanation on this, it would be interesting to have a psychoanalysis of this, or a sociological analysis of this (Puset is an economist/sociologist).
I think there's food for thought on this topic at both a superficial and an in-depth level. I'm feeling a little introspective today in case you hadn't noticed.
LAST UPDATE ON 2nd August 2009 8:26PM - CET
SUBMITTED BY Sorgiña
NCIS & CLIFFHANGERS - A DIFFERENT POINT OF VIEW
1st August 2009
A couple of days ago Sorgina did a blog entry on NCIS and cliffhangers in general. Now it's time for me to put in my two cents worth. *grins*
The cliffhanger is not a modern phenomena. It comes to us from the old Hollywood serials, where every episode ended with something potentially terrible/terminal happening to the heroine. Quite often she was, quite literally, left hanging from a cliff screaming for the hero to come and rescue her. (Anyone else remember the Ray Stevens song "Along Came Jones"?). Hence the term "cliffhanger".
As television slowly took over from the cinema as the primary source of entertainment, the need to keep the viewers interest engaged became paramount. So the old cliffhanger ending came back into play. Of course, the old cliffhanger wasn't going to cut it in the modern world. These days the heroine was as likely to be the butt-kicker as the hero was. Can you imagine Xena hanging off a cliff? Or Buffy? Maybe Giles hanging off a cliff screaming with Buffy coming to the rescue would have been a good one. Hmmmm, I sense a possible fan fic in that.
NCIS has had some wonderful cliffhanger endings. Season 5's splitting up of the team was probably the best one. The raw shock at seeing "our" team disbanded and flung to all corners of the world, goaded massive viewer response. As a newly appointed moderator on this site I got a baptism of fire dealing with the response, which went as far as to include death threats against Shane Brennan! An extreme reaction, I think you will agree.
The season 3 cliffhanger left me personally in deep shock. Noooooo, Gibbs couldn't leave NCIS. I could barely bring myself to watch the start of season 4...and I was anxious for several episodes until it was obvious Gibbs was staying.
Season 2's was a doozy with the death of Kate. That was one I and most other NCIS fans did not see coming.
I wouldn't call the end of season 1 or of season 4 cliffhanger endings. But that is my personal opinion. If you disagree with me, I would love to hear from you as to why.
In my opinion there is a valid place for the cliffhanger ending in television today. It keeps us alert and heightens the anticipation for a new season of our favorite show. It also gives us much topic of conversation on this site. One thing guys, let's just keep the death threats to a minimum, please? *grins*
LAST UPDATE ON 2nd August 2009, 11.56AM Australian Time
SUBMITTED BY MargyW
NCIS - COLD TURKEY - MOUSE ARREST
31st July - St. Ignatius of Loiola
Bear with me here please, I'm going through cold turkey (abstinence syndrome) here coupled with being under mouse arrest (translation work overload), so, if you're all sitting comfortably then I'll begin.
You may or may not have noticed there was no blog entry from me yesterday, but there's a reason for that, one I was under extreme mouse arrest and to aggravate matters LaSexta - the Spanish TV channel, which broadcasts NCIS, robbed us of the Christmas episode, i.e. Silent Night, without a by or leave, they just calmly broadcast the following 2 episodes Caged and Broken Bird - excellent by the way. Unfortunately, they didn't warn viewers that the double episode showing last night would be 2 NEW episodes instead of the usual 1 new - 1 repeat. Of course, that has left many an NCIS viewer/fan either in the depths of despair or bubbling with anger.
This episode "skipping" has of course led to a very bad case of cold turkey being a self-confessed NCIS addict, when a dose goes missing the whole system goes haywire, had to find time today to watch the repeat episodes at 7.30 to reduce the shakes and sweating, well and all the other symptoms associated with cold turkey, particularly as I'm under mouse arrest today and all weekend, not to mention how unethical it would have been to go 2 days without writing a blog entry. I mean it wouldn't do for MargyW to go OD writing more entries than correspond, occasionally, well, it's OK gives time for recovery, which works both ways of course.
In the light of my tale of woe, I think you will all understand how I was totally incapacitated to write an entry yesterday, but I'm strong and I'll get over it provided LaSexta doesn't b***** us about again - they had already moved the series from Tuesday to Thursday because of a mini summer soccer competition, and of course in Europe soccer rules, and everything stops for this sport, programmes are shuffled everything to keep the soccer sponsors happy. Maybe I and other viewers of NCIS in Spanish should take them to court for causing us extreme mental anguish, which of courses translates into the physical as well. I suppose I should be grateful for minor mercies in that I have a lot of work and couldn't afford to sleep last night to meet my deadline, and a thank you to the fanfiction sites that sustained me during this difficult night when I took breaks from the keyboard.
Wow! This public declaration of my addiction to NCIS has been quite cathartic, although I'm obviously still a little more than grumpy about the missing episode, a slight like that is not easy to forget, nor should it be forgotten, since we must be on the alert for those who are aiming to cure our addiction, and let them succeed under any circumstance.
LAST UPDATE ON 31st July 2009 9:08 PM - CET
SUBMITTED BY Sorgiña
DAVID DAYAN FISHER - Q&A - 25TH JULY 2009 - PART 5
30th July 2009
Below is the last part of the question and answer session with David. I hope you have enjoyed it. Once again, thank you to David for allowing us to transcribe the session on here.
Q: what was it like working with the cast of charmed ? i know that was a while ago but that's when i became a fan .
A: Charmed girls were wonderful. Very cute. All very small. Miss Milano I had a soft spot for.
Q: Tell us honestly, are our message boards read by NCIS?
A: I do believe they do read these threads. They were the ones who told me that every time I am on the internet goes mad. So yes. They read. Why not. You guys are important.
Q: Are you currently filming anything? Or is anything coming in the near future?
A: I have a few scenes in a horror movie that is seeking a home. And just auditioned for a movie. But right now Hollywood has had a bad year and is recovering from a huge lack of productions. A new Hollywood is emerging within the business. NCIS has just started filming season seven so we will see.
Q: What was it like working with Armand Assante?
A: Armand was wonderful to work with. A charming man. And again a pleasure to be in his company. A gentleman.
Q: Since you are a recurring character on NCIS, do you try to follow what's going on with the show ?
A: I watch the show for sure. I love it. And always have to follow as there is stuff still unknown ...... I have to watch. Playing the bad guy is far better than not. We are all good, all civil, and all within the law most of the time. Being bad you get to enjoy it without the risks of prison, pain or death. I just get to be on the screen and get paid to be bad. Quite god like to be bad and not suffer the consequences. Kort is a wonderfully powerful head to be in. Imagine knowing all he knows and what he can do.
Q: David.. Would you be so kind and tell us all about your donations/sales????
A: When I reach 5000 sales on the book I will give $1000 dollars to one lucky book buyer. 500 bucks to a charity of their choice and 500 to them.and so on10000 books sold and $2000 dollars. split etc etc .... And everyone who does not win still remains in the charity pool. So this is a gift that keeps giving. A collective way for everyone who buys to give back, and also maybe win. Imagine buying a book and 3 years later you get to donate a large sum to your choice of charity, and get a nice sum to keep. Each seller sends the receipt with name and address to the address on the group on facebook. And as the sales are reached a name will be drawn.
Q: Have you had any scenes with just abby ? Rumor has it you've rescued a couple of dogs from a shelter.... How are they doing?
A: Not done Abby scenes yet. That would be a fun mix .... My dogs Burton and Monkey. Both rescue terrier mutts. They are my boys. We are a family. Mark Harmon met Burton and loved him. He is a big dog lover. They bring me great joy. In fact they have been playing all this time around me....... squeeking toys....... thank god this is online. Its very noisy
Q: would you ever want a stable role in a series ?
A: I like not being stable on a series. I like being a gypsy and moving around. But I would not say no. Holly .......... Wow. I got to have some dinner..,....
LAST UPDATE ON 31st July 2009, 6.30AM AUSTRALIAN TIME
SUBMITTED BY MargyW
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, Aug 2 2009, 2:28 PM EDT
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| Started By | Thread Subject | Replies | Last Post | ||
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| Sorgiña | Another of Cliffhangers | 8 | Aug 2 2009, 8:46 PM EDT by Sorgiña | ||
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Thread started: Aug 2 2009, 2:32 PM EDT
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Not very inspired today so wrote a kind of waffling comparison between the 2 previous entries
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| MargyW | NCIS & Cliffhangers - A Different Point of View | 6 | Aug 2 2009, 5:32 PM EDT by MargyW | ||
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Thread started: Aug 1 2009, 10:01 PM EDT
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Hi everyone. My blog entry today is my take on a subject Sorgina covered a few days ago.
I hope you enjoy. Please let me have your feedback. It would be greatly appreciate.
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| Sorgiña | Today's blog entry - a touch of humour | 6 | Aug 1 2009, 5:36 AM EDT by MargyW | ||
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Thread started: Jul 31 2009, 3:08 PM EDT
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Today's entry is a bit of light humour
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