*Without a Trace*

[TVFan]

My top two are Viv and Danny. Viv is such an interesting character (especially now that they have included some personal stuff for her), and I thought she handled the whole "Jack's Back!" situation very well. She's very focused on her work while maintaining a home life with a son. Very impressive, and a good role model.

Danny just seems to have such a warm heart. He's very kind, and he has such compassion. Enrique does such a nice job with his potrayal of Danny. His back story with his brother is very intriguing as well.

[mokka]

Yes, Danny is such a warmheart. He always gets so involved in the cases and shows his emotions so truly without feeling embarrassed about it. I love that in a man!!! ;D

[CC Fan]

I really liked the episode on thursday! I loved how Parishiltony it all was and I thought the girl who played her was very believable. At first I felt really bad for the older brother who lost his sister, but then he went all psycho on us and I was like "ewwww i hope they get him" ang OMG! When Martin lunged at him from the stairs, I swear to god i was dying. i love martin!

[TVFan]

I liked that episode as well CC Fan. It was straight out of Paris Hilton's playbook too. The kidnapping and the fact that she was a publishing heiress reminded me of Patty Hearst. So, I guess they mixed them both together. I liked the way they really developed the Paris Hilton character. I went from despising her, to really feeling bad for her. Nice writing.

[TVFan]

So Sam knows Viv's secret, and everyone seems to know about Sam and Martin. I guess Viv won't be able to keep her possible medical probelm a secret from everyone else for too long. Depending on how it develops, there are going to be times when it affects her like in the Paris Hilton ep.

This was a disturbing episode. It's hard to see what these women go through and how they're tricked into it by money-grubbing men. I've seen similar storylines on Law & Order: SVU that were equally as disturbing. I went from despising the missing victim to really liking him in the end. He sacrificed everything to save women he hadn't even met. He's a good person, but I fell for the red herron and thought he was one of the "pimps."

Overall, a good episode.

[TVFan]

Well, it seems that everyone will soon learn about Viv's medical problem. The ending didn't look good. It seemed like she couldn't even respond to Jack and Danny. Her husband was really sweet when she was having her check up. He wanted to walk her out and everything. Viv isn't doing herself any favors by ignoring the problem. Clearly, it's not going away. She needs to face it so she can try to fix it. Running around chasing leads and looking for missing vehicles off a cliff is not the best idea. I feel bad for her because she wants to be able to do her job just as she has in the past, but the medical problem is quickly catching up with her.

The case - I knew that the new husband was sleazy as soon as we met him. He did not give off good vibes. I'm so glad Danny and Viv found Stephanie before she died down in that ravine. I thought that this was going to be an episode where the missing person wound up dead. It was sad to see all of the harsh treatment that Stephanie endured, especially from her boyfriend and family.

[Disasterfreak]

I've been missing so many eps I had no idea about Viv's medical condition till I saw this week's ep. She has a heart condition, which, to my knowledge, is progressive, serious, weakening to the point of being incompatible with her job, and incurable--except by heart transplant. Think they're looking for a way to write her off the show? I hope not. I like her character; it's never been paid the attention it's due, IMO. Hope this will be a way to build it--not destroy it.

[Tati]

Disasterfreak - I'm worried about Vivian too. I read in another board that (highlight to read, it's big spoilers) Viv is going to die at the end of this season. I'm not sure how I would feel about the show if that happened - I can't imagine it without one of the 5 agents.

[r2k]

Viv's condition will probably end up okay. It is the world of television and the writers can do whatever they want. The case was interesting but showing a little resemblance another show we know. Can you say "Daniela"? Without a Trace also had a missing inmate. Talk about living the same moment twice. Seems like the Bruckheimer shows are copying off each other and Cold Case did the ideas first.

[Disasterfreak]

Replies to spoiler....

THE IDIOT DOESN'T REMEMBER HOW TO POST INVISIBLE SO PLEASE IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BE SPOILED DON'T SCROLL DOWN...




Ok, the loopy idiot remembered how to it now thanks to Naj. So don't be afraid to scroll... But if you wanna see you'll have to highlight.
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Tati--that's awful. I don't know what to say--right now I feel that it's in pretty poor taste. Of course, if they want to be original I guess they'd have to shock us like that. Still.. I don't like it. And the implications it may have on other shows, like CC (if these things are allowed to happen as part of the plot, I mean), kinda scare me.

[CC Fan]

ok i dont know whats going on, but i dont remember what happened in the episode! i remember the ending but i dont remember the wife or husband or anything. ahh.

ETA: haha nevermind, I remember now... that was a really good episode! i felt so bad for her but i also understood why people would be angry, but still, i felt bad.

[Disasterfreak]

I just watched the Paris Hilton-like episode last night. It was so good! That girl was just brilliant at portraying this type of person. But I don't suppose anything like this has ever happened to the Hilton girls, has it? We would've heard about it.

[TVFan]

Not to the Hiltons (that I'm aware of), but something similar happened to publishing heiress Patty Hearst.

I thought that episode was very interesting too Disasterfreak. From the outside that girl had it all, but when you looked closer, you realized how empty she was.

[Disasterfreak]

Yes, I don't envy that type of person at all. Maybe I'm just weird, but "having it all" doesn't seem that attractive to me. What's the use of having all that money, fashion and style if you've got no one worth spending it on? And nothing worth doing? What's the point of doing anything if you've already got everything you want, for free?

I'd rather just be myself, even if I have to work for a living.

[TVFan]

Totally agree Disasterfreak. Money surely doesn't bring happiness, love, friends, or health. All of those things are much more important to me. Like you said, what's the point of "having it all" if in reality, you have absolutely nothing that matters?

[Disasterfreak]

*Cough*
Just wanted to say, belatedly, that I really liked the episode about the missing pregnant 15-year-old. I thought it was a pretty realistic situation on the whole, and my heart really went out to both the girl and the mom--the girl, for making such a stupid (frequent and avoidable!) blunder, and the mom for not coming across as someone who could help and not blame her. The girl's comment, "Can't tell my mom, she'll shoot me and then herself", is something I've heard from many, many pregnant teenagers (I recently spent 16 weeks working in a Maternity)... and most moms, after the initial comprehensible blowout, are actually pretty understanding. Too bad the teenagers don't know that, and would rather go through many extreme measures than tell them.

[Tati]

Thanks to TV Fan at the News forum:

Question: I read that Without a Trace is adding a new female agent, to be played by Roselyn Sanchez, to the cast to fill in for the "crisis-plagued" team. My concern is why would the producers mess with one of the best ensembles on television? As it is, the five characters don't get enough airtime (especially Danny) because they deal with a case each week. Why would CBS make changes to a show that is more successful than it has ever been? It doesn't make sense. Casting sexy new "stunt" characters is usually for shows that are in trouble. — Anna

Matt Roush: This year many of CBS' procedurals are adding new cast members, including a new female detective on the Cold Case team, and the way the producers have explained it to me is that it gives them more, not fewer, opportunities for stories and for ensemble interaction. I've seen a lot of mail from Trace fans in particular who get frustrated that the characters don't get more opportunity for juicy stories. That, in part, is why Marianne Jean-Baptiste's character underwent her health trauma last season. But I'll hold off on opining about the new cast changes until I actually see the results.

Argh! I don't like this at all. I completely agree with this girl that asked the question. Danny and Vivian are not used to their full potential (may I add that I consider them, especially Viv, the most interesting characters), I think another character is not necessary. I'm really worried with the way the next season of WaT is coming because this last one was way too soap-opera-ish for me, and completely different from the 2nd season that got me hooked on the show. Did anyone else feel worn out by Jack's separation (I was not pleased with having one whole episode dedicated to that audience with his ex-wife) and then the drama of Sam & Martin (was Sam annoying toward the end or what??) ?

Gosh, I'm cranky today. :smile6: Sorry guys. It's just the beginning of a new semester at college, it always has that effect on me...

[TVFan]

Thanks for posting that in this thread as well Tati!!

I couldn't agree more. I've lost a lot of interest in this show because of the soapy-ness that occupied it last season. I'm still planning on watching, so I'm hoping this problem is fixed this year.

Just as with Cold Case, I don't feel that adding a new regular does anything other than diminish the small roles the set cast currently has on the show. Viv and Danny are my favorite characters as well, Tati. They definitely don't get enough of the story (that seems to go to Jack - one of my least favorite characters). I'm worried that another agent is just going to take away even more from them. Total bummer!

The Jack divorce storyline was completely over done this past season. I couldn't believe they devoted an entire episode to it! I might be in the minority, but I also disliked the journey through Jack's future episode as well. Just completely pointless for me.

[Trublu]

I agree with both of you on both counts, adding a new cast member (which i didnt know about) and the Jack story line.

I dont get why people insist on messing with the cast. As far as i know ( i havent looked at ratings or anything, but) WaT is doing fine. They were just starting to spread around the storylines a little bit (Sam with Nickel and Dimed, Danny with the episode about his brother, Martin with the ep about his aunt, and Vivian with her health problem). All those episodes were tastefully done, and they hit close to home, which always makes it more interesting to watch the characters. But now with a new detective... thats going to affect the balance that they finally found. Not to mention there is going to be trouble in the office... The sexual tension will probably be thick enough to cut with a knife!!

And the Jack storyline...oy, so many things to say about that. They over played the divorce thing. Its been in so many episodes... just let it go. Enough. And the episode that was "must see Jack TV" (not!) (cant think of the name right now...). But the one you were describing TVFan. Not only did the whole episode not click together (I mean what was up with that trying to kiss Sam thing?) but the end left me saying, "Wow, that was really stupid."

[Disasterfreak]

I think I'm the only one who actually liked that episode, the "Jack-future-dream" one. It was dumb, but I wasn't expecting it, it caught me off guard and I always enjoy that. That being said, you're totally right about WaT becoming too soap-opera-like (I also lost interest because of that, and missed many many episodes). And Jack's taking up WAY too much time. I like him, but not everything has to be about him. Now that they didn't finish off Vivian, I actually think her disease was pretty cool. I just hated it when I thought it was a way to tastefully write her off.