Blood Tells: Characters, Storylines, Actors

[Sarah 103]

12 hours ago, wknt3 said:

 And of course the mandatory bad haircut to establish the era. I can picture it now...

I am really very sorry if this next statement makes anyone feel old. Please tell me those pictures are really good photoshop jobs. He couldn't possibly have looked that bad/ridiculous in the 1980s. 

On November 5, 2017 at 1:25 AM, Beroglide said:

They should totally do a Joe flashback.  Not including anything close to the timeline of him being involved with Blue Templar, just something that resembles the normal show format with him involved. 

This could work in a really interesting manner. Instead of the usual Frank story, Danny story, wildcard (which usually goes to Erin or Jamie,) it would be Frank story, Danny story and a Joe story. 

Edited November 6, 2017 by Sarah 103

[MissLucas]

3 hours ago, Sarah 103 said:

I am really very sorry if this next statement makes anyone feel old. Please tell me those pictures are really good photoshop jobs. He couldn't possibly have looked that bad/ridiculous in the 1980s.

He! Welcome to the world of the 80's. And believe me: in about 30 years someone will post pics (God knows where - probably on a literal retina display) of Justin Bieber and young ones will not believe it*returns to her rocking chair*

Edited November 6, 2017 by MissLucas

[wknt3]

6 hours ago, Sarah 103 said:

I am really very sorry if this next statement makes anyone feel old. Please tell me those pictures are really good photoshop jobs. He couldn't possibly have looked that bad/ridiculous in the 1980s.

What makes me feel old is the pictures of him and the rest of NKOTB performing these days. And the fact that my friends now have $75-100 to spend on a nostalgia act to relive our elementary school days.
 

6 hours ago, Sarah 103 said:

 This could work in a really interesting manner. Instead of the usual Frank story, Danny story, wildcard (which usually goes to Erin or Jamie,) it would be Frank story, Danny story and a Joe story. 

Blue Bloods - The 80's
Danny story - already covered.
Frank story - goes on vacation in Hawaii and ends up investigating a crime and solving the case.
Joe Story - we see him ending all student misbehavior as a hall monitor at St. Francis Catholic Academy. Later he goes missing. After three days they find him in the chapel, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions, and all who hear him are astounded at his understanding and his answers.

[kwnyc]

Quote

I don't  think that Eddie would fit in at Sunday dinner.

I think she would. She's smart enough to want to have a good career in the department, so if she were brought home to the Commish for Sunday dinner, she'd be SO polite and just attractive enough (not sexy for puritan Frank & Grandpa).

[MissLucas]

Well, I certainly hope she keeps her thoughts about going to mass every Sunday to herself.

[Brookside]

On ‎4‎/‎25‎/‎2015 at 4:42 PM, kassygreene said:

 

Baker should definitely have a spin-off.  I would not fast-forward that.

Baker for the win. After any scene she's in I yell at my TV "Only three seconds?  Really?" Can you imagine the awesomeness of a show with her and Garrett (and no moustaches)?

[jaimesommers]

After reading all these outstanding thoughts and opinions, I’ve decided to take one for the team and throw myself into the ring for consideration as Jamie’s soulmate. I’m a white collar worker who loves to read, have good long talks and discussions, play board games, I’m housebroken, and I’ve had all my shots. Jamie would love me! ?

[Sarah 103]

On 12/14/2017 at 7:26 PM, Brookside said:

Baker for the win. After any scene she's in I yell at my TV "Only three seconds?  Really?" Can you imagine the awesomeness of a show with her and Garrett (and no moustaches)?

I would love an episode where one of the plotlines focuses on Garrett, Baker, and Sid. Baker should be given far more to do, and I loved the scene in a recent episode where the three of them were talking to each other. It was a fun dynamic to see and one I'd like to see more of. 

[MissGradenko]

Don’t worry, no spoilers here!

Okay, I love Blue Bloods. It’s one of my favorite shows. Now that I’ve said that, I’ve just got to vent a few things that have been bugging me lately. I think Tom Selleck is perfect to play Frank Reagan, but...he sighs a LOT. I know Frank deals with many issues being the PC and all, but the sighing is a bit much. Maybe I’m just nitpicking haha.

Nicky is annoying. Sure, she’s growing up and becoming more opinionated, but the self-righteous smug attitude makes me hate when the storyline gets to her. It doesn’t help that I can’t stand Sami Gayle in the role, either. (The forced vocal fry is just...ugh.)

I love Danny. I’m actually okay with how much focus his cases get; although, it would be nice if Jamie got more scene time also. I know Danny becoming the focus of the show is a common complaint, but what do you guys think?

Edited January 21, 2018 by MissGradenko

[Sarah 103]

I wish Sean and/or Jack would get a proper storyline (or more of them. There's no reason now that the boys are older Nicky should be the only grandchild who gets storylines). I want a flashback to Danny and his generation as kids or teenagers. I also want a flashback of Frank as a cop walking the beat in the early 1970s or as a detective later on in his career. Based on stories told, we pretty much know what Henry was like, but I do not have a good sense of what Frank was like earlier in his career.  

[MissGradenko]

@Sarah 103 I can’t believe I forgot to add that. Was it Sean that wanted to go in the Marines, and Linda was scared? That was the most storyline Sean or Jack have gotten so far. We’ve seen Nicky at college, and in an event with Thomas Wilder (I won’t say what so I don’t accidentally spoil anything for anybody who hasn’t seen it), but Linda and Danny’s boys are pretty much extras at the dinner table right now.

I know it’s called Blue Bloods so it focuses on the law enforcement aspect, but I’d love to learn more about the rest of the family. I love the characters so much and I think the cast has awesome chemistry.

I would also like to see flashbacks of a young Frank as a cop, and even Henry back when he was the PC.

I may be the only one on this, but I honestly don’t care either way if Jamie and Eddie become a couple. Just because Jamie is good looking, it doesn’t mean he NEEDS a girlfriend. I want him to be happy but he’s very dedicated to his job and loves having Eddie as his partner.

[Misslindsey]

10 minutes ago, MissGradenko said:

I may be the only one on this, but I honestly don’t care either way if Jamie and Eddie become a couple. Just because Jamie is good looking, it doesn’t mean he NEEDS a girlfriend. I want him to be happy but he’s very dedicated to his job and loves having Eddie as his partner.

I feel the same way. I do not care either way. Though it is to a point with me where I just wish they would pick one already and stick to it.

I do not mind Nicki. I actually like that she is more opinionated. I have to admit that I pretty much root for anyone who goes up against Frank, Danny and some of the others. The family is so sanctimonious. 

I also find that the more Baker gets to do, the more I dislike her. She is definitely no Margaret from The West Wing for me. I adored Margaret. Baker not so much.

[MissGradenko]

3 hours ago, Misslindsey said:

I feel the same way. I do not care either way. Though it is to a point with me where I just wish they would pick one already and stick to it.

I do not mind Nicki. I actually like that she is more opinionated. I have to admit that I pretty much root for anyone who goes up against Frank, Danny and some of the others. The family is so sanctimonious. 

I also find that the more Baker gets to do, the more I dislike her. She is definitely no Margaret from The West Wing for me. I adored Margaret. Baker not so much.

@misslindsey I like that Nicki is her own person, but she’s just so self-righteous. I’m not a fan of Erin, even though most times she’s right. As for Baker, I don’t particularly care because she’s not a huge character. She’s very stiff and boring. It’s weird; as much as I dislike some characters’ traits, they all work well together. It’s hard to explain.

[webruce]

I like Jamie and Eddie together myself. But maybe instead of an exclusive relationship and all that entails. Ohh we can't be partners on the job etc. that maybe for now they don't be "exclusive". But I know being a religious family that probably don't fly. But the "friends this week", "not talking next week" is getting old. They are in 20's not teens. They tried splitting therm up with the other 2 cops in their cars and at times that would be fine. But just because you 2 don't agree on something either Eddie or Jamie thinks is best that you don't talk for a week, that is a no. There should be more support for each other like has happened on some episodes. You can disagree like most of us do, but not hate each other.

I to think Sean/Jack/Nikki should have their own story lines, maybe ones that stretch over episodes. Problems with school, and growing up. The boys now missing a mom, and problems that curtails. Nikki has been Dadless in her life for a few years, but she still has College/growing up problems. I do like that her hair has grown out.  She is opinionated, but as we know, between being a Reagan and a teen, they all seem to know it all.

It would be nice to see "past Reagan" story lines, of Frank, Henry, Danny, 2 Mrs. Reagan's. We have heard some of Franks wife, but not of Henry's too. Maybe even stories of Erin and her marriage? Not sure how they would work this, but it could be interesting. I had thought also Det. Baker, Det. Baez(we know little of her), Garrett and Sid Gorman could have more.

So many times the same story "theme" is used over 2 or 3 different story lines in the show. Expand on this, or have 2 or 3 totally different stories.

Edited January 23, 2018 by webruce
added thoughts.

[wknt3]

On 1/21/2018 at 11:14 PM, Sarah 103 said:

I wish Sean and/or Jack would get a proper storyline (or more of them. There's no reason now that the boys are older Nicky should be the only grandchild who gets storylines).

 

On 1/22/2018 at 11:26 AM, kwnyc said:

It has occurred to me that maybe Jack and Sean can't really act. They can learn lines, and fall off bikes, but you can't really build a storyline around them. Nicky/Sami has picked up some acting skills, and in fact mimics Erin's style and voice much as a young woman who resembles her mother might.

Brought in KWNYC's post from the episode thread, because it sums up my  thoughts on this pretty well. Based on what we saw when they got more material earlier this year it's clear that there are issues with their acting, the wrting, or both. I think it is much easier to get a good story or material for Nicky as it is easier to do a nuanced emotional scene with Bridget Moynihan than with Donnie Walberg and I can't see them letting Frank indulge them the way he does his granddaughter and without that element of "she's just a silly girl, but she has a good heart" you have yet another scene of Tom Selleck sternly moralizing to an outclassed actor, which is enough of a problem already.
 

On 1/22/2018 at 3:18 PM, Misslindsey said:

I also find that the more Baker gets to do, the more I dislike her. She is definitely no Margaret from The West Wing for me. I adored Margaret. Baker not so much.

I said before that the problem with giving Baker, or any of the other underused supporting characters more material is that it is written by the same writers who write everybody else. Most of the appeal of those characters is that you have great actors adding a lot to very few lines and giving us as viewers a sense of potential. Once they are given more material it almost always disappoints since what the writers come up with almost never lives up to the actors talents and what they've developed on their own.

[kwnyc]

...following up on kid actors, it's a crapshoot when you hire a kid whether they will grow into someone who has acting chops. Most kids are hired because they are smart, small for their age (so they can play younger) and directable. As you get older, the standards get higher, and you can see who really has talent/developed a craft, and who hasn't. This also goes for adult actors who haven't had much experience when you put them in with a seasoned cast: if they pay attention, they get better at it.

[MissGradenko]

@kwnyc You make a good point. That actually crossed my mind recently. Perhaps if the boys who play Jack and Sean really aren’t good actors, they can have them on less and less when it comes time for their characters to go off to college. I really don’t like Nicky and kind of wish she blended into the background like Jack and Sean.

[Magnumfangirl]

If we're getting rid of characters, I vote to ditch Eddie and bring Vinny Cruz back from the dead.  They could also ditch Baez (she's so blah) and bring back Jackie, too.  

[Misslindsey]

I prefer Baez way more than Jackie. I just wish Danny's partners were allowed to solve the case, be right occasionally, and do more than prop Danny.

I am the one person that likes Eddie, so I would keep her around. I just wish the writers would either drop the Eddie/Jamie as a romantic pairing or put them together. Just decide and stick to it.

I would get rid of Frank, but I know that will never happen.

[Sarah 103]

There's a character I would love to see the show bring back. I can't remember his name, but he was the Jewish police detective Danny worked with in "Under the Gun." 

2 hours ago, Misslindsey said:

I would get rid of Frank, but I know that will never happen.

I could see this being the series finale. It opens at a funeral. You see a wide shot of the mourners, but from the back so the only face you see is the preist. He's talking about the years of service the deceased gave to the NYPD and mentions serving as police commisioner. You think it's Henry's funeral, but then the camera reveals that it's Frank's funeral. I don't know if Catholic funerals have a picture of the deceased or not. You could show that as the reveal, or pan across the mourner's faces and one of them is Henry's. 

Edited January 28, 2018 by Sarah 103

[Sarah 103]

I came up with another idea for a story. Flashbacks to thier first/early days in different positions. I would love to see Erin's first case. It would be fun to see Danny's first day walking a beat. I would also like to see Frank or Henry's first day as detective or commissioner (Frank's first day as detecitve/Henry's first day as commissioner or Henry's first day as detective and Frank's first day as commisioner).

Also, why don't they tell us anything of what Frank was like earlier in his career. Henry has told a ton of "in my day" type stories so we have a pretty good idea of what he was like, but we have almost idea of what Frank was like. I picture him being like Jamie, but I would love to hear stories from him. I understand him for whatever reason not wanting to tell those stories to his family, but he could tell them at the office to Baker, Sid, and Garrett.    

[mtlchick]

So I made my way to the Blue Bloods set this week as they are wrapping up the season.  And I'm going to put this in spoilers. 

 

Spoiler

They normally shoot 1 dinner scene per episode.  This time they shot another one where EDDIE gets a seat at the table.

[Magnumfangirl]

6 hours ago, mtlchick said:

So I made my way to the Blue Bloods set this week as they are wrapping up the season.  And I'm going to put this in spoilers. 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

They normally shoot 1 dinner scene per episode.  This time they shot another one where EDDIE gets a seat at the table.

Barf.

[MerBearHou]

On ‎3‎/‎30‎/‎2018 at 10:05 AM, mtlchick said:

So I made my way to the Blue Bloods set this week as they are wrapping up the season.  And I'm going to put this in spoilers. 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

They normally shoot 1 dinner scene per episode.  This time they shot another one where EDDIE gets a seat at the table.

1000% please no.

[MissLucas]

He!

Spoiler

 

Edited April 7, 2018 by MissLucas

[Sarah 103]

On 3/30/2018 at 11:05 AM, mtlchick said:

So I made my way to the Blue Bloods set this week as they are wrapping up the season.  And I'm going to put this in spoilers. 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

They normally shoot 1 dinner scene per episode.  This time they shot another one where EDDIE gets a seat at the table.

Maybe it's a dream sequence. 

[pennsygirl]

One nitpick --
This season,they've shown Nicki drinking whiskey with Frank and Erin, when she set down a glass and Erin said that she was 21. they've shown her at a bar, and they've shown her sharing a bottle of wine with her mother.  So why isn't she drinking wine at the family dinners?

[Katy M]

On ‎4‎/‎18‎/‎2018 at 8:12 PM, pennsygirl said:

One nitpick --
This season,they've shown Nicki drinking whiskey with Frank and Erin, when she set down a glass and Erin said that she was 21. they've shown her at a bar, and they've shown her sharing a bottle of wine with her mother.  So why isn't she drinking wine at the family dinners?

So, Jack and Shawn won't complain that they don't get to drink?  Or, she just doesn't want to? 

[pennsygirl]

Possibly.  Although I think that the boys understand that it's an age thing.

[Sarah 103]

I recently finished watching The Deuce, an HBO series about prostitutes, pimps, pornography, police corruption and organized crime in Times Square the early 1970s. Seeing this (and I understand it's a TV show and not reality) gave me an idea of some of what Frank may have seen or heard early in his career on patrol and it's now frustrating me even more that they almost never have Frank tell stories from early in his career. I get that he wants to maintain/project a certain image to his children and grandchildren, but let him talk to Sid, Garrett, or Baker about it.   

[iwasish]

One issue I have with Eddie is that she was angry at her dad for being a crook and stealing from so many folks and pretty much cutting him out of her life for a long time and yet she still drives the fancy sports car he bought her for her graduation. Knowing he used money that was stolen, I would have thought she’d have felt guilty and sold it.

[Katy M]

6 hours ago, iwasish said:

One issue I have with Eddie is that she was angry at her dad for being a crook and stealing from so many folks and pretty much cutting him out of her life for a long time and yet she still drives the fancy sports car he bought her for her graduation. Knowing he used money that was stolen, I would have thought she’d have felt guilty and sold it.

If she were perfect, yes, she would have sold it and given the money to charity.  But, it just makes her human.  Nobody is perfect.  With the possible exception of Jamie.  I love him, but has he ever done anything wrong in his life?

[iwasish]

17 minutes ago, Katy M said:

If she were perfect, yes, she would have sold it and given the money to charity.  But, it just makes her human.  Nobody is perfect.  With the possible exception of Jamie.  I love him, but has he ever done anything wrong in his life?

 She just seemed so angry at her dads behavior that driving the car everyday I thought would eat away at her. Even if she had sold it I wouldn’t have expected her to give the money away, just replace the car with a less flashy one.

Jamies cut corners a couple of times.

The money from the dead guys apartment that he let the  mother of the special needs boy take instead of turning it in. That stands out.

[Sarah 103]

23 hours ago, Katy M said:

If she were perfect, yes, she would have sold it and given the money to charity.  But, it just makes her human.  Nobody is perfect.  With the possible exception of Jamie.  I love him, but has he ever done anything wrong in his life?

I had an idea for a story where another officer does something wrong/colossally stupid and tries to blame Jamie. The bad cop's plan falls apart in an afternoon. At the bar that night everyone is teasing Jamie, because even the idea that he could do something like that is laughable. Jamie is proud of his reputation, but he's not thrilled with the idea that he's seen as an overgrown boy scout. 

[mtlchick]

Going to tag this as a spoiler

 

Spoiler

Jamie WILL be made a sergeant this year.  Friend saw them filming in her area and Will's character was addressed as such. 

[kwnyc]

Going to see the lovely Baker (aka Abigail Hawk) in a play in NYC this weekend. Starring and written by Dorothy Lyman!

[Biscuit Tin]

I don't think Tom Selleck's health is good.  When you do see the Frank Reagan character walk, which you rarely do, he walks like someone with problematic knees and hips. And sometimes Tom's face is very round and he looks over-all puffy, like one does when one is on steroids for arthritis or COPD.  I mention COPD because I've noticed in watching talk show appearances of Selleck from the last couple years on You Tube, he becomes short of breath extremely easily, especially if making broad gestures. When you have COPD, lifting and waving your arms can make you short of breath. You almost never, ever see the Frank Reagan character walk and then immediately talk, either.  He might say one sentence - like this week, "Everybody know everything?" to the two cops in the diner - and then the camera cuts away, and when it cuts back to him, he is sitting and rested.  I don't think we've seen him walk AND talk in several seasons.  I expect Selleck's acting is going to be more and more restricted to facial expression and voice inflection while he sits at the desk, sits at the conference table and sits at the dinner table. I wonder if that is part of why the writers are making Frank so irascible, this season, to make his always-sitting character seem more dynamic? I wish they'd stop it, if so. I like a well-reasoned Frank Reagan, whose decisions are consistent from week to week. 

[Evagirl]

Good point.

[AnnA]

I hadn't thought about the possibility of health issues.  ☹️  I just posted in the episode thread that I felt he didn't want to work as much anymore.   I read that he's in NY only a few days at a time to film his scenes.  

[Biscuit Tin]

Replying to my own topic, if that's allowed, I am half way through watching Season 5 again on CBS All Access, and it's SO INCREDIBLY DIFFERENT! We see Frank walking down the hall with Garret, waving his arms and talking his head off.; following a lady around in a beauty shop, talking earnestly to her; standing the whole time he's in his office, too agitated to sit, talking with Sid and gesturing emphatically.; standing at the window, then turning to talk; striding angrily out of a meeting; leaving Garrett's office, deliberately leaving the door open when Garret says "closed." (That was a funny scene.)  Not only do we not see Tom Selleck talking and walking in Season 9, we rarely see him standing and talking. I don't think he has the joint strength or the breath, It appears he has had a terrible last couple of years, health wise.  Visually, the show is very different now. When you look back at these episodes where Frank regularly walks  and talks, enters and exits rooms, etc., you realize the problem the show-runners are faced with, regarding how to make the Frank character active and dynamic when he is always sitting. Bless his heart, I am a big Tom Selleck fan. I hate that he seems to be so debilitated. 

Edited December 13, 2018 by Biscuit Tin

[Biscuit Tin]

Just finished watching Season 6, Episode 13, "Stomping Grounds" on Amazon. Enjoyable episode. Tom Selleck's health still appears good, as he is still doing a fair amount of talking while standing and/or walking. I had forgotten the Jamie-Eddie story line in it, namely that the precinct training officer, Ray, kisses Eddie in a bar and she kisses him back.  It's consensual, but Eddie regrets it, because he's her training officer. Jamie figures it all out without Eddie telling him a thing, and he tells her how wrong Ray is, and he is abusing his position and affecting her training, yadda, yadda, yadda. Then Jamie lectures Ray. Then Jamie gathers former trainees of Ray, who call themselves the Raylettes, in a bar and has Ray come in. Then Jamie tells Ray he won't rat him out,  if he transfers to Staten Island. (I don't see how that's a solution, as I'm pretty sure they have women officers there, but, whatever.) Interesting hard line for Jamie to take, given that later on, he will be cool with being Eddie's boss.  

[elocs]

I've enjoyed watching Blue Bloods over the years because Tom Sellick is one of my favorite actors.  One thing I've noticed is how intertwined drinking is with all that the Reagan's do.  They drink at meals, they drink just being around the house, they drink when they're happy and they drink when they're sad.  They even manage to sneak alcohol into a hospital.  The Reagans seem to casually consume more alcohol than any other family I've seen on tv.  Is this being done deliberately to make some kind of a statement?  Because the newest medical studies have found that no amount of drinking is good for your health and if a drink a day for women is moderate drinking and 2 a day for men, then the Reagans seem to exceed that amount.

[Magnumfangirl]

It gets repetitive when binge watching, but I don't think there's any ulterior motives or "statements".  Pouring, swirling, sniffing, and sipping gives actors something to do in a scene besides talk.  It creates a little action where there otherwise wouldn't be any and TV productions have been using it as a crutch since smoking was banned from TV.  The boozing on Blue Bloods is nothing compared to the boozing on Dallas back in the 1980s.

[Biscuit Tin]

You know where else they drink excessively? Bewitched. Darrin, Larry and Samantha are always in need of a drink.  ALWAYS. Check it out, the next time you see it on TV Land.  Re: the Reagans drinking at Sunday dinner, I'm sure red wine films better, but they do eat chicken and fish, sometimes. And duck. Yet they never have white wine. That annoys me.

[Biscuit Tin]

I like the way Erin and Kelly met and talked - very natural, it seemed to me. And I liked the way Kelly and Frank later discussed his relationship with Erin - also very natural. I was having trouble picturing a manner in which Kelly could be introduced into the family group, if the writers decide to go that way. Having Erin work with her independently is a great idea. Erin could encourage Frank to pursue Kelly. That  makes more sense to me than Frank saying one Sunday, "Here's Kelly. I have the hots for her, so...everybody adjust." Odd that Kelly was with the Attorney General's office all previous episodes and this week is a lawyer for NYC. (I had to Google "Corporation Counsel.") At one point early in this season, I thought she had *become* the Attorney General.  Beats me. Maybe Corporation Counsel ultimately answers to the governor, not the NYC mayor. Besides, we're 14 episodes in to this season, now, and we haven't seen the NYC mayor once, or heard the mayor referred to by name or as "he' or "she."  For 8 seasons, the Mayor has been integral to the way Frank does his job. I miss Frank having to answer to a boss.
P.S. Shallow comment - Bebe Neuwirth is a 60 year old woman who looks more lovely with long hair than any other sixty-ish actress I've ever seen. It totally works on her. She's gorgeous, I think. 

Edited February 12, 2019 by Biscuit Tin

[Magnumfangirl]

1 hour ago, Biscuit Tin said:

You know where else they drink excessively? Bewitched.

LOL!  So true.  Just another thing Matt Weiner "borrowed" from Bewitched for Mad Men.

[dirtydi]

Some cops drink after a long day, some don't.  Some smoke, like doctors and nurses.  I know teachers (I am one) who like a glass of wine after a bad day (I don't.)  A drink or two or three a week is not a bad thing, unless your are an alcoholic or you have a condition that prohibits from you doing so.

Dallas, you brought back memories.  They had great glassware.  I also remember the clinking of the ice cubes in JRs glass.

Edited February 12, 2019 by dirtydi

[wknt3]

8 hours ago, Biscuit Tin said:

Odd that Kelly was with the Attorney General's office all previous episodes and this week is a lawyer for NYC. (I had to Google "Corporation Counsel.") At one point early in this season, I thought she had *become* the Attorney General.  Beats me. Maybe Corporation Counsel ultimately answers to the governor, not the NYC mayor. Besides, we're 14 episodes in to this season, now, and we haven't seen the NYC mayor once, or heard the mayor referred to by name or as "he' or "she."  For 8 seasons, the Mayor has been integral to the way Frank does his job. I miss Frank having to answer to a boss.

Kelly wasn't the Attorney General, she was Inspector General originally, before she resigned because she just liked Frank too much to oversee and investigate him. It gets a bit confusing as there was also the NYS Attorney General doing basically the same plot, about civilians trying to exercise oversight of the police and why that's a bad thing. When she came back last leason she was the Corporation Counsel asking Frank to look into a case to avoid having an Assistant Corporation Counsel suing NYPD, which set up the whole Baker undercover thing. Incidentally since CBS seems to be desperate for exclusive content for their streaming service I'd watch a "Baker Undercover" series starring Abigail Hawk investigating politically sensitive cases around NYC....

As far as the mayor is concerned there are a couple of possibilities. One is it's a casting thing and they don't want to box themselves in until they know if Lorraine Bracco is coming back. The other is that the mayor character has usually been a proxy for commenting on national politics and it's possible that the Bracco character was conceived expecting something different than what happened and the show hasn't figured out if they want to comment on that or not since it's likely to alienate their core audience.

[3 is enough]

I do think they are perpetuating the whole "All Irish people drink like fish" stereotype to a certain degree.  

And Jamie's full name is Jameson, like the Irish whiskey.  I think that was mentioned in a past episode. 

Just saying...

Edited February 13, 2019 by 3 is enough

[Brookside]

I take a sip every time Frank sighs.  I can't remember the end of any episode so I'm not sure whether they drink too much.