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Celebrating 1,000 NCIS-franchise episodes
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S01.E07: Mercy Moment Murder Measure

Tara Ariano

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Thalia

Thalia

I agree with Sarah.  I found this to be a waste of an episode, made worse by the fact that last week's was pretty good.  I really want to like this show.  Nay, I want to love it.  But whoever is in charge of the writing, pacing, whatever, is making it soooo hard.   And I continue to turn back to a book 99% of the time when I see Abraham on my screen.  

 

How many episodes are left? 

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EyewatchTV211

EyewatchTV211

(edited)

I have a harder time blaming the show.  I read one of the books about the spies (not the one the show is based on), and the real Abraham was pretty much as he is portrayed from what I can see.  He was constantly nervous and faltering about his participation.  He was always asking for payment for his costs related to his spying.  I was surprised he was made the main character of the show.  I'm waiting for one of the other main players to be introduced....

I AM annoyed with the family/relationship drama, though.  Especially since I'm pretty sure Abraham wasn't even married at the time.  Guess the writers think we'll be bored with straight up history.

Edited by VMepicgrl
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Sarah D. Bunting

Sarah D. Bunting

 

I really want to like this show.  Nay, I want to love it.  But whoever is in charge of the writing, pacing, whatever, is making it soooo hard.

 

I want to love it too! And I don't find Jamie Bell as snoozy as some of y'all (in fact I think he's kind of cute, faux-nytail notwithstanding), and I don't think there's no place for romance/sexual tension, but the moments when I'm looking up the real historical figures for the Show-o-Matic are the most interesting bits of the experience some weeks, and that's just really not great.

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ComeWhatMay

ComeWhatMay

3 episodes left IIRC.

I think the show fares better when more evenly split with Abe & Ben. Like last week. Not feeling Abe much at all. Too sniveling & cowardly a guy who is not keen to sleep in the bed he made with Mary. Whatever he was obliged to do, he did it & made a baby & Anna is married to a man in prison. Move on & man up dude. The ship sailed. Be a man. Focus on helping badass Ben.

Seth/Ben is a tall drink of water in that uniform. The scene where Ben learns his brother is actually dead should be killer. The way Seth/Ben hopped out of that chair & the joy & relief on his face was something. BTW, there's someone I would like to see get a little loving. It wouldn't be adultery & screwing people who don't deserve it, you know. Abe & Anna is tough to root for...

I love the historical aspect of the show, but it is a show, so I'm down with creativity in certain areas.

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Kabota

Kabota

Can we at least dare to hope that this finally puts the kibosh on the contrived triangle?!

I was all set to start on a tirade, but I read Sarah's review, and decided to save myself the time and second pretty much everything. I think this is possibly my least favorite episode of the season, and after the momentum of the last couple of weeks, what a bummer. Thirty seconds of Ben being gullible, no Washington and Sackett, no Andre and Abbie...dull episode indeed. Simcoe wasn't even creepily entertaining....he was just plain creepy.

BTW, there's someone I would like to see get a little loving. It wouldn't be adultery & screwing people who don't deserve it, you know. Abe & Anna is tough to root for...

As long as they've gone out of their way to let us know he's a virgin...like, what?!
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bentley

bentley

 

He was constantly nervous and faltering about his participation.

 

Oh lordy, I hate to hear that. I keep hoping that he's on a hero's journey, and the sniveling, indecisive, cowed-by-his-father boy we see in season 1 is not the brave, committed, daring man we'd see in season 3 (assuming the show made it that far). If the guy we see now is the only guy there is, I just don't know if I can hang. When he asked for a reload tonight and was prepared to try and shoot Simcoe again, he got interesting to me for the first time in the series. So naturally he lets his father talk him out of it, and we're back to sniveling, indecisive, cowed-by-his father guy. Blecch.

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attica

attica

I will nitpick about dueling protocol, about which Simcoe certainly. would have been well-versed: If Simcoe is the challenger, he does not get to pick the weapons. That privilege goes to the Abe as the challenged. Time and place get decided by the Seconds in conference. I did like that the Seconds seemed well-trained in their gigs on the day, so there's that.

 

Richard's howling about it being illegal was probably incorrect as well -- it was starting to fall out of favor in the colonies at that time, but changing the laws hadn't happened yet and wouldn't for another few decades.

 

I really want to see what Simcoe's actual hair looks like.

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bosawks

bosawks

I just want Abe to stop being so ABE, you know.  He makes me want to channel my inner Cher and slap the snot out of him, "snap out of it!"

 

When the show is firing on all cylinders I find it quite compelling but it continues to have a tendency to sputter along a great deal of the time.

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Thalia

Thalia

I think that those of us who love history and historical drama will stick with the show and continue to wish it well.  Unfortunately, the only other person I know who was watching (and who is not a history fan) has dropped out.  

 

This is not PC, but when Rogers and his two companions were walking across a field last night, I was fairly bored, and all I could think was "an Indian, a Scot and a slave walked into a bar..." 

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green

green

(edited)

If it wasn't for the actor's delivery of Simcoe's one line, "My turn" said with such understated glee at the duel, this episode would get an F- from me.  Because of that I gave it a D.  But then he didn't shoot Abe so it went back down to F territory again.

 

I'm also tired of the wife Mary being written negatively.  She did what she was suppose to do back in the day.  Married who everyone wanted her to marry.  Had a kid.  Loved her husband.  Was FAITHFUL to Long Island's version of Hamlet all this time while he was sending her thought waves of "you are such a drag, wish I had the hot chick at the tavern who is married to someone else instead".  Glad she ratted out Hamlet ... ah Abe ... to Tory Dad.  Abe and Tory Dad are made for each other.  Both selfish, stubborn idiots.  Maybe they should go off together and live miserably ever after.

Edited by green
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OakGoblinFly

OakGoblinFly

There was entirely too much Abe-drama and not enough Ben.  :(

 

I understand (I think I understand) that the powers-that-be want to ramp up the human drama so we the audience can become invested in these characters and the risks they undertake for the sake of the Revolution, however, I think the drama reads more "Desperate Housewives" than "spy ring" which is a real shame.  I don't need love triangles or daddy issues to create the drama ... I would think that the drama comes form the actual spy work.  

 

I wish the powers-that-be stuck with the original idea that the show would focus around Tallmagde and spying and not Abe and the days of his life.

 

Well, only three episodes left ... I will stick it out and hope against hope that those episodes improve.


 

 

I really want to see what Simcoe's actual hair looks like.

 

 

In the episode where he was captured by Ben and Caleb his wig was off ... I think he's shaven pretty close to his scalp; just a little stubble not much hair.

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ComeWhatMay

ComeWhatMay

(edited)
I wish the powers-that-be stuck with the original idea that the show would focus around Tallmagde and spying and not Abe and the days of his life.

 

My mother would always say to me "go with your first instinct -- it's usually right." I think its safe to say they should have done so here.

Nothing against Jamie Bell (who I do think is quite talented) as he has to play what's written (grown ass man cowed by his father & mooning over & making out with his married ex-fiance whose husband was locked up in Hell when he has a beautiful family who love him), but what's written makes Abe hard to like or respect & I don't think that's where they should be placing the emphasis or focus the show as it tries to build a following.

The showrunners seem to know the appeal of Ben/Seth per an article about the show I read in which one of them noted Ben is "true blue" & Seth is the "heartthrob." Hopefully, they will play that up for the remainder of the run all the while bestowing a backbone & manhood upon Abe. It's like the episode came alive during the brief time Ben (& Caleb with Ben & solo to be fair) were on the screen. There's a presence & a vitality with those two I don't see in Abe, but I don't blame Bell for that necessarily.  

Edited by ComeWhatMay
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OakGoblinFly

OakGoblinFly

My mother would always say to me "go with your first instinct -- it's usually right." I think its safe to say they should have done so here.

Nothing against Jamie Bell (who I do think is quite talented) as he has to play what's written (grown ass man cowed by his father & mooning over & making out with his married ex-fiance whose husband was locked up in Hell when he has a beautiful family who love him), but what's written makes Abe hard to like or respect & I don't think that's where they should be placing the emphasis or focus the show as it tries to build a following.

The showrunners seem to know the appeal of Ben/Seth per an article about the show I read in which one of them noted Ben is "true blue" & Seth is the "heartthrob." Hopefully, they will play that up for the remainder of the run all the while bestowing a backbone & manhood upon Abe. It's like the episode came alive during the brief time Ben (& Caleb with Ben & solo to be fair) were on the screen. There's a presence & a vitality with those two I don't see in Abe, but I don't blame Bell for that necessarily.  

 

 

I don't mind the fact that Abe is conflicted about the rebellion and hesitant about what he should and should not do to aid the Rebels' cause nor am I particularity upset that Abe acquiesces to his father's demands; that all rings very true (at least to me).  I don't even mind having Abe married (he wasn't when he was a member of the Culper Ring) as it ramps up the personal stakes.  If the show left it at that I think Abe would have been more tolerable.  Unfortunately the show went all soap opera and create love triangles and other nonsense that aren't really needed (in fact, I think they deter from the story).

 

As far as the writers now knowing the popularity of Tallmadge and hoping they gear the rest of the episodes that way, I'm afraid that boat has sailed as all the episodes were "in the can" before they even aired.  The only hope is that if by some miracle this show gets more episodes/second season that that show runners work it so that there's less soap opera and whiny Abe and more actual spy work/spy adventures.  Goodness knows that the actual events (both spy and battles) are enough to keep the show interesting and exciting - for the human component, show the effect Abe's spying has on his wife, father; the worry Abe & Anna have about being caught by the Regulars; Ben's concerns that his spy craft isn't enough to protect his friends; and so on .... there's enough material there without creating fake triangles and removing Abe's spine.

 

And I too agree that Jamie Bell is doing a good job with the role; I shudder to think what Abe would be like in the hands of a lesser actor.

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Kabota

Kabota

(edited)

I assume that when plotting out the season, the powers that be decided that they wanted to focus on a less traditional hero. We have Ben as the idealist, scholar, soldier. Caleb is the fearless frontiersman/sailor and loyal friend, and Anna as the strong woman with the backbone and savvy to take on any of the men. Any of these would be expected to lead the show. I respect that tptb were trying to do something unexpected by centering the show around a character who, like many, really wanted to stay out of the conflict, recognizes that even winners lose in war, and has his own personal concerns as more pressing. Nontraditional heroes, though, are notoriously tricky to pull off, especially in a setting and among a cast of dynamic action takers on both sides of the battlefield. I wasn't familiar with Jamie Bell before this, but he seems to convey a naturally sympathetic sort of presence which is a good thing here. I agree, though, that the circumstances surrounding the triangle just do not make the "star crossed lovers" likable together, and that detracts from their ability to be likable apart. When added to the daddy issue, the dead sainted brother issue, the forced wife issue, etc...it's all too much and overwrought. Any one of these problems would have been enough, if developed properly, to engender empathy. (I've read a few other recaps and reviews of this episode and there were things to appreciate in it, for sure. I was just so distracted by the issues above, the positives didn't resonate with me at first.)

I almost wish they had decided to do this as a miniseries. It would have encouraged a tighter plot, less filler, and the definite inclusion of some of the more interesting escapades towards the end of the war. If a second season is unlikely, I'm still glad to have learned a bit more about a period in history about which I was pretty ignorant. And it's put on my radar several actors, the careers of which, I will definitely be following in the future.

Edited by Kabota
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ganesh

ganesh

 

I understand (I think I understand) that the powers-that-be want to ramp up the human drama so we the audience can become invested in these characters and the risks they undertake for the sake of the Revolution, however, I think the drama reads more "Desperate Housewives" than "spy ring" which is a real shame.

It a story about how the USA *became* the most powerful State in human history. It's literally the biggest upset in the history of nations. I don't need more than that.

 

When Abe asked for the reload, Simcoe's face went like "oh *shit*". I didn't think that they would kill him off because he's a perfectly smarmy slimey character. I thought for just a half-second that Abe was going to snap and shoot Tory Dad (I still can't follow all the names.)

 

He (TD) was all so pissy bitch when he found out about the affair. Yes, TD, sometimes people have sex with other people that they shouldn't. 

 

Please please please, Show, Do Spy Things. It's interesting that Abe is this reluctant hero-spy. I mean at the time, I figure some people must have been like, 'this is the British Empire, they're the most powerful nation on the planet, and we're going to win this?'

 

Are they building up to a moment where Abe says, 'fuck it, I'm all in?' Because that could be cool.

 

This happens on a lot of shows. TPTBs need to know the show they have or have to ask themselves, what exactly is our show? Do tv viewers want to see a 250 y/o soap opera 'triangle?' Because on all the other 2571 shows I've watched in my life the exact total of the times I've said, 'wow I'm really interested in seeing where this triangle goes' is exactly zero. 

 

It's the Revolutionary War. It's spies! Don't write a 'tv show'. Tell the story you want to tell. You're actually on a network that is pretty cool with that. Come on!

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OakGoblinFly

OakGoblinFly

Please please please, Show, Do Spy Things. It's interesting that Abe is this reluctant hero-spy. I mean at the time, I figure some people must have been like, 'this is the British Empire, they're the most powerful nation on the planet, and we're going to win this?'

 

Exactly - and even more so because Abe Woodhaul (the real one) was a very reluctant spy (at least in the beginning).  Show that, show him trying out new techniques to gather information, show him conflicted because he is going against his family values, show his concern for being caught ..... don't show me Abe not wanting to be with his wife and sending meaningful glances at his childhood sweetheart.

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ganesh

ganesh

It's amazing how television people can fuck up actual drama. Think of the pitch meeting. "Our show is about the first spy ring in the Revolutionary War." Sold.

 

I must have said 100s of times, TPTBs need to get the hell out of the way and let a show just show.

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fayster

fayster

My hubby and I have just caught up on the season and the episodes are running together, but I think it was this episode: at one point they show Abe's house from afar and in the sky there must have been 5-7 jet contrails criss-crossing the blue sky. It totally caught my eye but hubby, the plane geek, didn't catch it until I said WHOA and backed it up to show him. I mean, their budget must be miniscule if they can't fix that in post production.

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Haleth

Haleth

Jamie Bell must be really short. All the other actors tower over him.

I love the British soldier that lives with the Woodhulls. As deliciously evil as Simcoe is, it's nice to see an "enemy" who is honorable and respectful of the people on whom he is imposing.

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OakGoblinFly

OakGoblinFly

Jamie Bell must be really short. All the other actors tower over him.

I love the British soldier that lives with the Woodhulls. As deliciously evil as Simcoe is, it's nice to see an "enemy" who is honorable and respectful of the people on whom he is imposing.

 

 

Bell is tiny ... I think he's 5'6".

 

That would be Ensign Baker.

 

I do like the fact that the show is trying to show that an individual is not bad simply because he's wearing a Red Coat ... that some of the soldiers are decent people trying to make the best of a bad situation.

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Marigny

Marigny

Ok, I know I'm like a year late but I decided to binge this show since I'm on vacation. Is anyone besides me annoyed as all get out by Anna? At first I couldn't put my finger on it but I really think it's because the expression on her face never changes. I feel like I'm watching a puppet and it makes me not want to invest in her character. She is grating my last nerve. 

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