Ages?

[wildhorseannie]

Jun 5, 2014 11:08:32 GMT ziggy said:

Annie, no pressure....take as much time as you need but hurry up with your catching up, lol! I'm curious to hear your initial thoughts on the remaining seasons.

Thanks! I'm excited to catch up...it's the technology that's really holding me back right now
And I really am excited to see that my silly little question about ages has struck up such a rich conversation! Starting this post on page 9! Woohoo! 

[snacky]

Jun 5, 2014 23:42:27 GMT wildhorseannie said:

Jun 5, 2014 11:08:32 GMT ziggy said:

Annie, no pressure....take as much time as you need but hurry up with your catching up, lol! I'm curious to hear your initial thoughts on the remaining seasons.

Thanks! I'm excited to catch up...it's the technology that's really holding me back right now
And I really am excited to see that my silly little question about ages has struck up such a rich conversation! Starting this post on page 9! Woohoo! 

But I can't think of anything to say to this comment, so to continue the rich conversation, I throw in:

[wildhorseannie]

Haha, anytime George can be thrown in, it's a great conversation to me!

[ziggy]

Lol! George. That looks like his Egyptian Mummies Curse board. He was well in his element in the Evil Eye and thoroughly enjoyed his brush with fame.

[ziggy]

Jun 5, 2014 16:22:48 GMT snacky said:

Jun 5, 2014 11:02:01 GMT ziggy said:

An independent woman woman isn't one who is defined through a man.

I don't think it's the ongoing relationship that has reduced Julia's "action" role, though.  There is of course the danger of veering the other direction into the "soap opera'. It's up the writers to put the mystery first

IMHO, what did shove Julia into the background was her switch to psychiatry, which is a "softer" science, and affords less opportunity for field work and "action".

That’s what I mean when I say it is not a good idea to bring these women in as love interests for the men and have them take on regular roles in the show. Everyone views Julia as William’s love interest……oh and she happens to be a doctor. She was displaced from the morgue by the presence of Emily who was also brought in as a love interest. Everyone is reviewing Emily’s love boat that is yet to sail and not the work she is doing.

Julia didn’t actually have a reduced role, in my opinion. If anything, she was thrown everywhere in order to appear more often with William due to shipper pressure to see them together, sometimes appearing unannounced. The problem was putting her in psychiatry, especially with her own personal experience. The role doesn’t suit her particularly when you have seen her work in “real medicine” as Darcy put it. She comes across as “interfering with” rather than “contributing to” police work. Strangely enough, I didn’t quite see Dr Roberts like that in that role but then, his first job wasn’t as anyone’s love interest. I still think they should have left Julia at the morgue as a senior pathologist. She could have done some of the autopsies since Emily is not present in every episode without making the morgue look over crowded. Even if Emily were present in the same episode, Emily could be in the lab running tests or doing the research work or when she does perform the post mortem, Julia could take on a consulting role for the case.

But now that they’ve moved Julia out of the morgue, they could let her continue with her own practice so she can have the flexibility to pursue her interests in women’s affairs.

[wildhorseannie]

I still haven't finished Season 5, and so don't have a huge frame of reference as to Julia's current role, but I do maintain that Emily's role was somewhat of lazy writing. The show didn't NEED a female coroner to continue being successful. I'm certainly not the world's biggest Julia fan, but I think she was good at her job and should have kept it.

[snacky]

Jun 8, 2014 2:43:52 GMT ziggy said:

That’s what I mean when I say it is not a good idea to bring these women in as love interests for the men and have them take on regular roles in the show. Everyone views Julia as William’s love interest……

 Everyone is reviewing Emily’s love boat that is yet to sail and not the work she is doing.

The problem was putting her in psychiatry, especially with her own personal experience. The role doesn’t suit her particularly when you have seen her work in “real medicine” as Darcy put it. She comes across as “interfering with” rather than “contributing to” police work. Strangely enough, I didn’t quite see Dr Roberts like that in that role but then, his first job wasn’t as anyone’s love interest.

But now that they’ve moved Julia out of the morgue, they could let her continue with her own practice so she can have the flexibility to pursue her interests in women’s affairs.

I don't mind the alternative love interests - it just makes things more interesting as far as I'm concerned. Don't you like the Anna detour?

Also, I agree the Emily situation is at risk of totally drifting away from her work as a coroner. Though this just gave me an interest thought. What if Emily were to become pregnant - either by Leslie or a THIRD PARTY UNKNOWN! Emily could opt not to reveal the father. Since the Georgina just got married, this might be a way to handle it if she decides to have children right away. Then Julia could go back to the morgue at least temporarily because Emily would be in "morals" trouble. Emily would have to face the same questions that Julia did, but now the Law would be scrutinizing her to prevent her from getting an abortion. She might have to get married to someone just to provide a father, and that someone wouldn't be George.

Ultimately, I think Julia should run her own Women's Health clinic, though, and be as awesome as this woman. who came up in the 1902 thread. Interesting observation about Julia coming across as "interfering" with police work - you may be right. Dr. Roberts didn't come across that way because William went to him to solicit his services. But you're right: he also wasn't anyone's love interest. I miss Dr. Roberts. He was so eerie! Much better "alienist" than Julia.

[snacky]

Jun 8, 2014 2:58:14 GMT wildhorseannie said:

I still haven't finished Season 5, and so don't have a huge frame of reference as to Julia's current role, but I do maintain that Emily's role was somewhat of lazy writing. The show didn't NEED a female coroner to continue being successful. I'm certainly not the world's biggest Julia fan, but I think she was good at her job and should have kept it.

I like Emily, but I have to agree with you about lazy writing. Though it might seem repetitious to have another female coroner (though we wouldn't blink twice if there were a series of male coroners since the "default" professional is male), Emily had some unique qualities going for her. From time to time I compare her with Wednesday Addams, and the episode Staircase to Heaven gave some possible underpinning for that vibe. That Emily could have been more developed. I also like Super Croquet Competitor Emily.

But it was a mistake to try to develop an Emily/George relationship because it did mirror Julia/William, and it could only be a pale shadow of the Epic Romance of the show's central characters. Besides - George is sort of a buffoonish character, and that doesn't go well with Emily's eerie qualities.

Since Julia could not serve as the model Independent Woman on the show, Emily should have done that. Get another woman if a love match is needed for George.

[ziggy]

Jun 8, 2014 3:01:20 GMT snacky said:

Jun 8, 2014 2:43:52 GMT ziggy said:

Don't you like the Anna detour?

Also, I agree the Emily situation is at risk of totally drifting away from her work as a coroner.  What if Emily were to become pregnant. She might have to get married to someone just to provide a father, and that someone wouldn't be George.

Ultimately, I think Julia should run her own Women's Health clinic, though, and be as awesome as this woman. who came up in the 1902 thread.

I don’t mind the occasional love or romance but where is Anna now? She’s not been around for several seasons and is not detracting from the main focus of the show. That's the way it should be. Julia and Emily cannot be seen as alternative love interests or detours. They are main characters with regular roles to play. Mrs B is actually married to a very popular main character but she is not thrown at us everyday snogging her husband whilst he is trying to work.

I’m not sure about making Emily pregnant or sick or having yet another main character with personal issues for the constab to spend valuable time dealing with. The show is being sold as a murder mystery show and not about the main characters and their personal struggles.

I agree. It’s the best option since she was displaced from the morgue. I loved her at the morgue though.

[ziggy]

Jun 8, 2014 3:17:35 GMT snacky said:

Jun 8, 2014 2:58:14 GMT wildhorseannie said:

But it was a mistake to try to develop an Emily/George relationship

Since Julia could not serve as the model Independent Woman on the show, Emily should have done that. Get another woman if a love match is needed for George.

Emily/George relationship really was a mistake. They should move on with Emily as the bright, hardworking coroner that she is with all her eerie ways and keep her focused on her job. They can find another love for George off screen if he must have one.

[snacky]

Jun 9, 2014 4:05:57 GMT ziggy said:

where is Anna now? She’s not been around for several seasons and is not detracting from the main focus of the show. That's the way it should be. Julia and Emily cannot be seen as alternative love interests or detours. They are main characters with regular roles to play. Mrs B is actually married to a very popular main character but she is not thrown at us everyday snogging her husband whilst he is trying to work.

I’m not sure about making Emily pregnant or sick or having yet another main character with personal issues for the constab to spend valuable time dealing with. The show is being sold as a murder mystery show and not about the main characters and their personal struggles.

I agree. It’s the best option since she was displaced from the morgue. I loved her at the morgue though.

I don't see your point about Anna: she's away because she's supposed to be dead. Julia is here because she is not a "detour" - she has been a main character from the first episode. She has a leading role. You may not like that fact, but it's a fact. You can't call it "shipper pleasing" 7 seasons later if the show was set up that way from the first episode.

MM is being sold as a murder mystery AND a lot of other things: that's the key to it's success. It's not JUST a murder mystery. Why reduce it to that? If it gave short shrift to character development, people would have tuned out shortly after the pilot. What would be the point?

I do agree with you that Julia belongs in the morgue. T_T

[snacky]

Jun 9, 2014 4:11:36 GMT ziggy said:

Emily/George relationship really was a mistake. They should move on with Emily as the bright, hardworking coroner that she is with all her eerie ways and keep her focused on her job. They can find another love for George off screen if he must have one.

Well let's see what happens this season. MM doesn't have much room to maneuver since their budget didn't go up, but they are now top heavy with a lot of senior, and very popular, cast members who deserve a raise. What remains will go into production, not expanding the ensemble.

[lovemondays]

Jun 9, 2014 4:51:05 GMT snacky said:

Jun 9, 2014 4:11:36 GMT ziggy said:

Emily/George relationship really was a mistake. They should move on with Emily as the bright, hardworking coroner that she is with all her eerie ways and keep her focused on her job. They can find another love for George off screen if he must have one.

Well let's see what happens this season. MM doesn't have much room to maneuver since their budget didn't go up, but they are now top heavy with a lot of senior, and very popular, cast members who deserve a raise. What remains will go into production, not expanding the ensemble.

MM's writers have shown so much creativity over the last 7 seasons that I'm sure they will find a way to keep it fresh and interesting. The show has always been foremost about the mystery but developing characters in their own story arcs is an investment in viewer loyalty and series longevity, IMHO.  

[Ｅｇｏｔｉｓｔｉｃａｌ]

May 29, 2014 2:35:35 GMT lovemondays said:

Wiki is so full of inaccuracies that students in Ontario are not allowed to cite it in research papers.

Maureen had bachelor William hooking up with both Enid Jones and Amy. I'll take her word for it.

Now how old do we figure Julia is? On the show she is a hybrid of Maureen's characters Dr. Ogden who was in her 40's at least (I think) and Amy, in her 20's.

We're not?! 

Well, there goes another site -

[lovemondays]

My kids weren't allowed to cite Wiki, doesn't mean they did't use it to give them a starting place, lol!