Anyone else disappointed in "The Blacklist"? It seems to be an endless series of

[Flaxbee]

scenes with Lizzie being stupid (really? this woman is an FBI agent?) to her declaring that Red is a monster and she never wants to see him again. There have been a couple of scenes / episodes where she and Red worked together and it was fun - he tossed her a clue, she improvised, they riffed off each other, etc. But lately it's just ... deteriorated, I think.

I tuned in initially because of James Spader, and I keep coming back because of him, but I wish they'd give him more screen time and Lizzie and her angst less. I like the actress playing Lizzie, I just wish they didn't keep making her so stupid. And manipulable.

Anyone else have opinions?

[First Speaker]

1. Basically, yeah. Lizzie had plenty of reason to be suspicious...

...of her husband early, but he "cleared" himself. And I still wonder why she believed it for an instant, especially as Red was still warning her about Tom--and she shouldn't reject anything Reddington tells her by this point. On the other hand, sometimes people can be brilliant about everything except for what's in front of their nose. Even tonight--she has Tom handcuffed and at her mercy, and he escapes--easily. And on the way out, he tells her he's still a "good guy". Tell that to the two people he murdered in cold blood. I just hope all of this--Tom and his organization, Alan Alda and *his* organization--the same one?--"Berlin", the dark secrets of Red's past, and the "truth" about Lizzie and her connection to Reddington--all turns out to be worth it. Most long-running mysteries in TV series turn out to be busts...:-/

[Flaxbee]

9. I know - where the heck did Alda go? Why is Red in peril again?

WTF was "Berlin"? Why do they make Lizzie an emotional, whiny idiot?

I want Alan Shore to come back and whip this show into shape.

[Squinch]

2. That WIG! Blech! Every scene she is in, all I can think about is the bad wig.

The show is losing me, in spite of Spader, too.

[Flaxbee]

10. I hadn't really thought of her hair much, except that her hair looked a little

funky last night. You think it's a wig?

[Squinch]

22. Yes. And a poor quality one. And it always looks like it has slipped forward on her forehead.

[Fla Dem]

30. Yes, she has pretty short hair. I hate the wig too. She looks great with short hair. See pics

[Flaxbee]

31. Wow! Yes, she should have that hair on the show!

Suits her quite well.

[hlthe2b]

3. I love James Spader, but stopped watching after a few episodes.

The focus on the "damsel in distress" angle just couldn't sustain my interest.

[Flaxbee]

11. Last night they actually gave Dembe some lines - I was shocked!

He wasn't just used as a menacing presence.

There are some elements that could really make the story better - like, more Spader and the actor who plays Dembe and "Mr. Kaplan", less idiot Lizzie. Really, why is Red such a wimp about Lizzie? Why didn't he tell her she was being an idiot about Tom last night?

[Squinch]

23. Right? Could that guy be more of a cardboard character? I do hope they do something with him.

[Iggo]

4. Lost me after about an episode and a half.

Couldn't suspend my disbelief.

Super-young FBI "expert." And then she and her buddies turn out to be the same kind of law enforcement dunces that're on all these shows (see The Following). I mean, I'm no fan of cops in general in the real world, but that doesn't mean I think they're stupid.

[Flaxbee]

12. Stupid, gullible, overly emotional -- yes, she's young, but the only reason her ass hasn't been

fired is because of the connection with Red.

Stupid, stupid writing and plotting.

[RobinA]

32. This ^^^

I lasted about one half an episode. Utterly ridiculous.

[The Second Stone]

5. She finally gets him tied up in a chair admitting he is some sort of spy

and does she question him? No, she lectures and whines about how she loved him and breaks his thumb. She is a Mary Sue wondering about the double lives of all the men in her life.

[Flaxbee]

13. I know! Jeez, woman, get your sh*t together!

Hard to suspend disbelief.

[The Second Stone]

25. It's about my "feelings"!

and my needs!

[libodem]

6. I think I may hate

All tv drama these days. I'm so sick of all crime scene investigations, no matter what city. I particularly despise the special victims unit. Exploitive of morbid curiosity beyond belief, as far as I'm concerned.

Oh, yeah, GET OFFA MY LAWN.

[Sherman A1]

8. I agree with You

on SVU, it seriously needs to be retired as to the others, well, you are correct as well. They have all become very predictable and use the same group of plot devices.

[libodem]

16. Re - runs on network tv

Start after school. They ought to be run at 11:30pm. I hate exposing kids to perversion for entertainment. It normalizes aberration in your living room.

[Tom Ripley]

29. Or you could expose the kids to the "SVU Drinking Game"...

where one has to take a drink whenever the words "anal tearing" or "ejaculate" are heard.
Good times...

[mnhtnbb]

18. and the same dialogue. "What happened next?"

is a line in EVERY show.

[Tom Ripley]

27. The departure of Meloni was the death knell for SVU

It has never recovered from loss of Stabler and his over-the-top "You scumbag! I have daughters!" intensity.

[RobinA]

33. I Agree

Give me Ice-T and Hargitay and revamp the rest. She needs a hard guy partner and he needs a weirdo. Like before.

[Flaxbee]

14. I know - all the Law and Order stuff seems so prurient

anymore. Yuk.

I just had high hopes that a Spader project might have some quality elements - but alas, it is not so.

[libodem]

17. It feels like propaganda

For the police state. And it increases expectations that police use all those techniques at their disposal to solve real life crimes. They don't.

It's a real let down to learn that in real life rape kits are not supplied like in Sara Palin's Alaska or that they are shelved and not processed. What is the point of that? To make the humiliation of the exam and the procurement of evidence the sole function? Making reporting the crime not even worth it? Enough.

Yeah, I tried to watch blacklist last night because the first one was pretty good. Last night's didn't hold my attention at all.

[Flaxbee]

21. definitely - programming the watching population to accept

ubiquitous police presence and that the police can do no wrong - they are only doing what they do to protect you!

[RobinA]

34. Or...

educating the public that the police lie. Thanks to that show, if a police ever waves supposed evidence in front of me, my response will be, Not one word until you show it to my lawyer.

[Tom Ripley]

28. +1000

[Tom Ripley]

26. But if you remove the prurient from SVU, all that remains is self righteous melodrama

I always enjoyed SVU as campy tabloid pulp at its finest, but sadly its finest days are now long in the past.

[Squinch]

24. Oh, lord, yes. I have never been able to watch that show.

[Sherman A1]

7. Yes,

during the first episode, which was slow and very predictable. Stopped watching at the end of that one.

[Flaxbee]

15. Compared with some of the British shows I've been watching on Netflix, The Blacklist is

soooo dull and predictable. Spader is always good to watch - but the support staff / stories just suck.

[Blue_In_AK]

19. I watched the premiere and didn't get hooked.

I haven't watched since.

[Jenoch]

20. I watched the first five or six episodes and then lost interest.

The writing just is not that good.