TPTB
did it again. They fooled me. Ah, gullible me! I assumed, along with quite
a few other fans, that this episode was about Harm regaining his night
vision. I was speculating based on the episode title, Second Sight. After
the preview last week, I had to rearrange my thoughts. Good thing I did.
For Second Sight was not about Harm and his night vision. Instead, this
episode is about Mac getting a "second sight" with regards to her
dysfunctional family. Yes, Second Sight is a Mac episode.
Mac
and Catherine Bell fans had been asking for more Mac, and they got it.
Remember the old saw about "Be careful what you wish for, you may get it"?
That happened with People v. Mac. (It is safe to say that People v. Mac
has the dubious distinction of being one of the fans' least favourite
episodes of JAG. I find it very revealing that the ratings for the rerun
of People v. Mac were quite low. Obviously many fans could not bear to sit
through it again.) I am sorry to say that it happened here again, with
Second Sight. It is not a pretty "sight".
This episode is a taste of what JAG would become when TPTB write according
to the dictates of some
segments of fandom, and give them what they are lobbying for. We have very
little Harm; we have lots and lots of Mac; we have many scenes with Tiner;
we have the Admiral, Bud and Harriet, acting like predictable caricatures
of themselves. We have a flat and boring show.
David James Elliott was away filming a movie, The Shrink Is In, so we got
this "treat". As you may already have guessed, I was not overly impressed
with Catherine Bell's acting in this episode. I will say again that she
has improved considerably from her debut season, Season Two, but she does
not yet have the acting ability to carry an entire episode. Perhaps that
was why TPTB threw in the other two storylines to divert us.
At this point I want to make a small but pertinent digression. TV Guide
here in Canada had a cover story on George Clooney some weeks ago.
Clooney, star of ER, was talking about acting. He said that as an actor,
he considered himself to be a "hack". [I don't know whether this is a true
assessment, as I've never seen him in anything.] He related a story about
the time his uncle, Oscar winner Jose Ferrer, came to see him in a play.
Clooney thought he had a great dramatic part that would really display his
acting talents for his famous uncle. He got to yell, cry, spit, and pound
and kick at things, and he was all over the stage. Afterwards, he asked
his uncle what he thought of his acting. His Uncle Jose told him to "...
lose the scenery... you don't know where it's been..."
I
would venture to pass along Mr. Ferrer's advice to Catherine Bell.
Ironically enough, the child playing the young Mac understood that, and
provided the only really outstanding bit of acting in this entire sorry
mess. Those were the only genuinely emotion-fraught moments in Second
Sight.
As for catharsis, forget it! Tragedy this ain't!
I had thought, after People v. Mac, that TPTB could not further destroy
the character of Mac. I am wrong, again. Mac is now rude, mean (she
doesn't even have the excuse of being drunk this time), selfish, and just
plain childish. This is very disappointing.
I had found the character of Kate (Harm's first partner) - the very modern
woman who was able to have her great career and all the men too -
difficult to identify with. It was too much of a stereotype. Meg (Harm's
second partner) - the quintessential all-American dream girl - was
wonderful to watch in the same way that I loved to read fairy tales about
princesses. But Meg was too perfect and therefore out of reach. Mac
(Harm's current partner) - with all her initial suggested character flaws
- was more human and therefore easiest to identify with. I was just
getting quite comfortable with the Mac character when TPTB decided to
destroy it this season. Sorry, TPTB, I don't want a heroine that is a
mean, selfish, childish, lying, adulterous and stupid alcoholic. Maybe
that's your vision of the perfect dramatic heroine. It's not mine.
I know TPTB are very fond of reiterating that Mac is a lean mean Marine,
and her fans have taken up the refrain. Well, Mac may be a lean mean
Marine, but she can't handle life in an adult way. She has a lot of
growing up to do. There is an excellent role model right there at JAG HQ,
Bud Roberts Jr. Bud isn't lean. There's not a mean bone in his entire
body. He's no Marine. But by gum! Bud meets life's adversities with grace
and courage.
I
find it very interesting that of all the main characters on the show, Harm
is the only one with a family that is not dysfunctional. The Admiral's
divorce shattered his family and hurt his daughter Francesca. Bud's father
systematically abused both him and his brother. Mac's family we already
know about. Then there is Harm. He may have lost his father at an early
age, but there has been no indication that his was not a happy childhood,
with a doting mother and later a stepfather who also loved him as an only
son. There is nothing wrong with a normal happy family, TPTB. There is
also great dramatic potential in good normal people. I don't believe that
it is necessary to make monstrous freaks of your characters in order to
make worthwhile dramas.
It is very nice of you, TPTB, to listen to the fans. However, there is an
inherent danger in that. Now that the fans know you are monitoring their
opinions, we have lobbyists. If you only listen to the lobbyists, you may
find that they have drowned out the silent majority. While you are
climbing into bed with the lobby groups, the silent majority may be
changing channels. My recommendation? Listen to your muse. You'll have a
far better and truer show. Who knows, you may even gain the professional
critics' respect for JAG as a serious drama
TPTB
did it again. They fooled me. Ah, gullible me! I assumed, along with quite
a few other fans, that this episode was about Harm regaining his night
vision. I was speculating based on the episode title, Second Sight. After
the preview last week, I had to rearrange my thoughts. Good thing I did.
For Second Sight was not about Harm and his night vision. Instead, this
episode is about Mac getting a "second sight" with regards to her
dysfunctional family. Yes, Second Sight is a Mac episode.
Mac
and Catherine Bell fans had been asking for more Mac, and they got it.
Remember the old saw about "Be careful what you wish for, you may get it"?
That happened with People v. Mac. (It is safe to say that People v. Mac
has the dubious distinction of being one of the fans' least favourite
episodes of JAG. I find it very revealing that the ratings for the rerun
of People v. Mac were quite low. Obviously many fans could not bear to sit
through it again.) I am sorry to say that it happened here again, with
Second Sight. It is not a pretty "sight".
segments of fandom, and give them what they are lobbying for. We have very
little Harm; we have lots and lots of Mac; we have many scenes with Tiner;
we have the Admiral, Bud and Harriet, acting like predictable caricatures
of themselves. We have a flat and boring show.
I
would venture to pass along Mr. Ferrer's advice to Catherine Bell.
Ironically enough, the child playing the young Mac understood that, and
provided the only really outstanding bit of acting in this entire sorry
mess. Those were the only genuinely emotion-fraught moments in Second
Sight.
I
find it very interesting that of all the main characters on the show, Harm
is the only one with a family that is not dysfunctional. The Admiral's
divorce shattered his family and hurt his daughter Francesca. Bud's father
systematically abused both him and his brother. Mac's family we already
know about. Then there is Harm. He may have lost his father at an early
age, but there has been no indication that his was not a happy childhood,
with a doting mother and later a stepfather who also loved him as an only
son. There is nothing wrong with a normal happy family, TPTB. There is
also great dramatic potential in good normal people. I don't believe that
it is necessary to make monstrous freaks of your characters in order to
make worthwhile dramas.
