Here are the questions I would ask Jon Bokenkamp, if only:
Continue reading ‘2:8 Decembrist: Q’s for Jon Bokenkamp (11/11/2014)’
@Belle I had also concluded that Fitch was doing the surveillance. It would make sense that Fitch would be surveillancing Liz because of his interest in Red, but this dialogue threw me off:
[ Door opens where they are monitoring video feeds from Liz & Tom’s house ]
– Oh, the one night you’re on time. I was really looking forward to the make-up sex.
– Do you believe he’s innocent?
– It can’t be that simple, right? The only thing that’s clear to me is that he [Tom] doesn’t work for Reddington.[!]
– Well, then, who the hell DOES he work for?
Continue reading ‘2:8 Decembrist: Fitch & Tom? Huh? (11/16/2014)’
@Belle Thank you for your thoughtful response and entirely plausible theory. I regretted posting that as soon as I did. It was late, I was tired. It’s true I stopped watching Downton Abbey and Game of Thrones, but there other reasons, too. The fact is, I will likely keep watching The Blacklist just to watch Spader’s incredible acting. I am annoyed at the long hiatus and at something Jon Bokenkamp said in an interview: essentially, that the showrunners try to constantly upend viewers’ expectations. Sure, that keeps it engaging to watch, but it seems to go against character development, Liz’s bizarre (and unbelievable) imprisonment of Tom being a great example. I’m not the only one:
“NBC, plots are one thing. You can draw people in with interesting plots. But it’s the CHARACTERS AND THEIR RELATIONSHIPS that keep people interested. It’s Writing 101. Pretty sure half of your fanbase is better at it than you. If you keep this shit up, I guarantee you, the ratings are going to drop tremendously once you make the shift to Thursday nights.” http://bit.ly/1uf1PrB
You likely have read The Rolling Stone interview about James Spader’s upending the production schedule over what the writers were doing with his character in the Anslo Garrick episodes last year http://rol.st/XJRtDS. I guess I sense a lot of tension between Spader and the creative staff. I also saw a series of tweets between Megan Boone and a reviewer with her expressing concerns about the way her character was written. I don’t know what the proper mix is. My background is literary criticism, where you’re always dealing with a finished work. The stresses of doing a TV series of this caliber must be enormous. I really want this show to be a great success. It has all the potential. I just hope they keep the characters coherent and relatable. They could have done more with both the Fitch and Berlin characters and it’s a shame they’ve made it impossible to revive them while literally resurrecting Tom from the dead and – according to one interview, signed up for next season http://rol.st/XJRtDS. I actually find Tom boring and un-sexy and stupid as an antagonist to Red. (I realize there are those on this blog who really like Tom…)
I hope the showrunners decide on whether they want the audience to be more engaged than startled. This blog has been all about engagement, trying to use the clues the show provides to guess where it’s going. The question of Zoë’s identity is a good example (timeline issues aside). An attentive, engaged viewer could pretty much figure it out from the clues provided. But, when they do things like Pepper’s key, with no context so the NBC staff have tell us it’s important, or like turning what Red took from Fitch from “some very damaging information” to an enigmatic “thing” in the course of a single episode – it reeks of too much emphasis on goofy plot twists that leave character coherence and thematic development in the lurch.
I hope the actors – who really have to put the meat on the bones of these characters – continue to make their voices heard, especially Spader. Usually, I’d say the writers should have creative control, but if they treat characters like sacks of flour to toss around, actors like Spader need to speak up. He can easily find another project at this point. I would primarily be afraid he’d leave TV entirely for film or the stage (as he has in the past). It would be a great loss for TV, but he would either get paid more (film) or not have to work as hard (stage) – both of which he deserves. Better than spending Thanksgiving on the phone arguing with Jon Bokenkamp.
Rant over – I hope ♡ ૂི•̮͡• ૂ ྀ♡…
P.S. Why doesn’t Red just kill Tom?
[Cross-posted at WSJ speakeasy]
I hold to sort of an Occam’s Razor theory of literary/film analysis: don’t make it more complicated than it needs to be. Just a reminder of the fact that Red said he learned about Tom from his forger. Red also said that Gina Zanetakos was “taking the fall” by fingering him (1:6). I mean, would Red, who is entirely adept at money-tracking, put money that could be easily traced to an off-shore account of his in boxes clearly marked with her scar sign that Tom also used when sending her photos intended to incriminate him? Don’t forget that Liz was persuaded by this that Tom was innocent when Tom clearly was NOT innocent.
Also, how would Red have gotten the murder weapon to put in the box? Did Tom or Gina return a dirty pistol to him? Even if they had done such a thing, would Red have kept it and put it in a box with money that could be traced back to him?
I’m sticking with the more straightforward view that Red and Tom’s “about us” relationship occurred late in the game, soon after Tom’s imprisonment began. Ezra may have figured it out or Red deduced it when he said he did, when he realized that Lizzie had a “Secret Santa” source as to where Berlin kept his money (2:2 Monarch Douglas Bank).
Red’s character is consistent. When he can give a straightforward answer to a direct question or needs to respond to an incorrect assertion, he does so, very often with a simple yes or no. “You’re a monster.” “Yes.” Or “You put Tom’s picture in Gina’s apartment.” “No.” If someone asks him a direct question that he doesn’t want to answer, he’ll say something non-responsive: “That’s a pretty blouse.” Or “Who decided on this paneling?” Or “So you went with the gray” (lol). If he needs information, he asks for it precisely. “Tell me what you saw” (not how you felt). Then with Sherlockian precision, he presses on, “He’s Serbian Orthodox; he wouldn’t have a tattoo.” Spader says his haircut reflects this no-nonsense attitude.
Yes, Red lies, but his lying is minimalist, not superfluous, and he has a clear sense of priorities. In particular, he will lie (or kill) to protect Lizzie’s life. I assume there are other things among ‘those which he holds most dear,’ though I’m not sure what. Naomi, perhaps. Maybe I’m naïve to see it this way, or lazy – too lazy anyway to want to rewrite huge parts of Season 1 to explain away Tom’s pointing a loaded pistol at Lizzie’s head.
[Original; not cross-posted at WSJ Speakeasy]
NBC’s series The Blacklist starring James Spader and Megan Boone
Series created by: Jon Bokenkamp
Program air date: 9/23/2013 in the US
Permalink: http://wp.me/pDKwi-4Eo
Episode in Tweets: http://wp.me/pDKwi-4EB
AVClub Episode Summary: http://bit.ly/2obggzr
IMDb Episode Details: http://imdb.to/1NtJ668
Source: Raw Script from Springfields: http://bit.ly/1QciD0C [ dump of captioning ]
Continue reading ‘🔴 Script 1:1 Pilot ~ Ranko Zamani’
2:8 Decembrist: Original Pilot Script (11/19/2014)
Tags: 12/24/1990, @NBCBlacklist, academies, adoption, Anapolist, Annapolis, Blacklist, Boone, criminal, drama, Elizabeth Keen, fire, gay, intelligence, James Spader, Keen, Liz, Lizzie, Lizzy, Luddite, Megan Boone, mother, NBC, NSA, original, pilot, Red, Reddington, scar, script, serial, service, Spader, The Blacklist, TheBlacklist, timeline, TV, West Point, Zamani
For the record, I think Red is straight. I was making a “the case can be made” type of argument.
_________
I have a copy of the original script for The Blacklist pilot (it precedes even the online version which in turn is not identical to the performance). It has more information on Liz’s youth ➔ but it may be more important to know that they did decide to change certain things: it could mean they definitely are NOT going with these ideas. For instance, they apparently decided to change the time of the fire from when she was 14 to when she was four (or else there were two fires). Obviously, the final production is what matters. But, just fyi: about Liz’s youth, it says [stage directions in parentheses]:
Continue reading ‘2:8 Decembrist: Original Pilot Script (11/19/2014)’