Person of Interest - New TV series

I just got a new TV recently and it's freaking me out because I can SEE the makeup on a lot of TV shows now, something I almost never noticed before.

 

The latest episode recap:


Kids that act way too old and/or are annoying at center of episode
Figured out who the mole was a mile away
Didn't see the reveal for the head of The Brotherhood coming
Looks like Elias will be forming tighter bonds with our heroes
(How did Elias get out of prison, anyway?)

 

I enjoyed the twist at the end and did not see that one coming. Shaw is going to be out for revenge when she finds out she had him all along.

 

I gotta say, the show is looking muddy and weird this season. Once in a blue moon, they have a bright day shot that looks great... and then they go to a bar scene and everybody is blue and super-dark. They're going to extremes this year, which is strange. The makeup doesn't bother me either way, but I notice both Caviezel and Sarah Shahi (both former government killers) both talk in that whispery monotone, which is a little affected to me. At least Michael Emmerson and Amy Acker speak up, as does the cop. The whispery stuff does not work for me on a busy NY street, not when you're 4 feet away from the person you're talking to.

 

The whisper voices are my biggest complaint about this show - always have been. If you crank up the volume to hear Reese you get blown out by other voices, background, etc.

 

I believe the sound mixers on the show also struggle with the "low talkers'" dialogue, so it's a known issue. Having been on film sets many times, I'm frustrated by actors who speak in a normal volume when they're just talking as themselves, then they take their voices way down to a whisper when it's time to do dialogue for a scene.

It's even worse when you have three characters: one who speaks normally, one who SHOUTS all the time, and then one who whispers all the time... all in the same scene. Maddening. And there's no polite way to tell the director, "hey! Direct these actors and make them talk like normal people!"

They do a very, very good job on Person of Interest in getting all the noise out of the show, and I have to say the levels are pretty good, considering what they have to work with. It does floor me that Michael Emmerson -- a stage-trained actor -- is just about perfect in terms of performance, articulation, and having an interesting character to his voice. Ditto with crazy girl, whatever her name is, the computer nut.

 

So based on what you are saying Jim Caviezel (Reese) is making the decision on his own how to talk on the show? That seems strange. I always assumed that the director was the one that told the actors how to play a character or scene.

Crazy girl is Amy Acker (Root).

 

AgreedOTE="rockclassics, post: 11245602, member: 11537"]The whisper voices are my biggest complaint about this show - always have been. If you crank up the volume to hear Reese you get blown out by other voices, background, etc.[/QUOTE]
Agreed and other shows also

 

I wasn't excited to see this last (kids) episode, but the ending had my attention. It was downright cold-blooded.

 

Not when it's a huge name actor making $100K+ an episode. In fact, the actors usually resent the director giving them specific instructions on how to interpret the scene or lines. They'll accept guidance like, "on this line, look in this direction, pause, and then walk over there." But some get very fussy about performance issues.

There are always exceptions. If you're a day player or a guest star on the show and you're not a regular, they'll beat the crap out of you until you give them the performance the director wants. And in TV, the producer can overrule the director (to a point).

Amy Acker is actually pretty good at managing the line between crazy and interesting. She's made an interesting transition from psychotic villain to eccentric killer/good guy.

 

I would love to see a scene between Jim Caviezel and Jason Beghe (Voight on Chicago PD). It would be a rasp-off for the ages. Kiefer Sutherland could do a cameo.

 

I absolutely love the show, but does anyone else think Jim Caviezel's character is based on "Dirty Harry"?

 

Glad to see Elias back in the mix, hope I never see those kids again.
When Shaw whipped off those heels, I remembered Eddie Murphy's old routine about his mother whipping off a shoe and throwing it in 3 seconds flat.

 

Nice episode last night. I am starting to get tired of the Samaritan plot, it's a really neat plot twist, but the inevitable finish of taking down the wrinkly man, the blonde psycho, and the system seems like years away (I also think Root will then be killed, IMO) and like Black List, they need to get things moving. But the acting here is much better as a whole than Blacklist, which just has Spader. They almost veer into those weighty Star Trek kind of issues here, which is interesting as well. I'll keep watching, but I don't know how we'll feel about it next year if Samaritan is still the boogieman.

 

Yes and no. I thought last night's episode was phoned in. Maybe this series is getting a little long in the tooth, but it is, as you say, better than Blacklist.

 

I wonder if any show doesn't get a Budget cut after the first season, this show used to be fine looking ,now it looks like they are using go cameras , Boardwalk Empire still looks ok ,but looks like they have the budget of a Anthony Mann movie
The Knick was the best looking show on TV now

 

IMO Hannibal is the show to beat for cinematography and "the best look." In all aspects Hannibal is in another league from POI. But I don't care that much about the look of the show, Person of Interest's this season doesn't bother me. Shahi and Acker are still on and Emerson and Caveezel are still dishing out the goods.

 

If Root goes, so do I.

 

I'm with you, the Samaritan thing has never appealed to me, it's just a background thead running through the episodes

 

This show requires continuous remote volume adjustments depending on who's on screen, Caviezel inhaling his words.

 

I don't have to adjust volume during the show at all. I play my DVR through my stereo.

 

(Still) Love the show. Maybe more now, than ever. It has re-invented itself into something more interesting & whose scope is immensely larger than how it originally began.

Caviezel/Reese's lines actually contribute very little to moving the overall storyline. It's almost always something similar to: "I have to help them, Finch.", or "I shot him. So...?"

 

I largely agree with this. I may not like everything they are doing now but at least this show is able to make you feel like it is making big moves advancing forward unlike shows like The Blacklist that sometimes feel stuck in neutral.