Roundtable Discussion – Part Two: NCISLA Season 7 Preview

With Season 7 only a few days away, the wikiDeeks staff continued their Roundtable Discussion, vocalizing their hopes and dreams for the upcoming season.  No one held back and there were some pretty heavy demands of the showrunners. Make sure you join in on the discussion and like our staff, tell us what you want to see for the new season.

Diane: What about Sabatino coming back? Will this affect Densi’s relationship?

Tess: They are not bringing him back for nothing.

Lindy: She couldn’t want that guy! If she does, I think I’ll pull my hair out. He’s sleazy.

Courtney: I don’t think Sabatino will have anything to do with the two of them. I think the writers are trying to play the two [Densi] of them safe and appease everybody by getting them together for the shippers sake, but then not showing much of them for the people who just want to see the show of the week. They are not very good at that balance right now, but the boredom with the two characters is just a way of trying to appease everyone. But the plus side of that for me is that now that they have been together for months and we know that they have been established, and if something bad comes out of this IA investigation, it will have even more impact to their relationship because they have been together for longer.

Gayle: When I saw Sabatino was coming back I was super excited because I really hope that they use this as a catalyst to go back and explain some things that happened in Afghanistan, because we still have Kensi’s reaction and fallout from all of that, and we have Deeks and what he did with the cleric, we have Hetty and her choices, good bad, indifferent or however how you want to see it, and Granger was in country the whole time and we haven’t necessarily seen the completion and the closure of that story, and that could be played out through a number of those characters… but as far as him getting in between Deeks and Kensi, that’s not happening.

Lindy: We all pray that’s true.

Randy: I could write it in a fan fic but I don’t think I can watch it on the TV!

Brenda: I don’t think he’s getting in between Densi, but I do hope Gayle is right that we have some Afghanistan resolve. Still too many hanging questions.

Diane: What would you like to see happen in the opening episode? Or let’s talk about some of the things that have happened and still need to be resolved?

Lindy: Does anybody think Deeks is going to go back to LAPD?

Courtney: They have been saying it for years but it hasn’t happened.

Lindy: Because that would be very interesting, I think.

Randy: Unfortunately, after Season 6, I’ve learned to lower my expectations. We need something to stir up Densi. Something to give them passion or some type of strife to make their characters come alive again. We want to see a progression and see something grow… so maybe going back to LAPD would add some tension, if he is not around every day for him to annoy her…. that could add a whole other dynamic.

Diane: We still haven’t gotten any background on Deeks yet and if we don’t see it in Season 7, will we ever get to it?

Lindy: Who’s left? It’s got to be Deeks and if they go on and try to do Eric and Nell, I’m going to go shoot someone.

Randy: Unfortunately for us, we are not the writers for the show.

Lindy: Doggone it!

Karen P: I feel like they are wasting all this amazing talent. They have all these facets of Deeks, who has this dark side that we have hardly explored. Eric Christian Olsen must have been so bored last season playing his role. It feels like a waste of an opportunity for them to explore this very interesting character and give him a story of some sort where we get to see more of his personality.

Lindy: He’s such a great dramatic actor, but they seem to be caught up in his comedy so much that they forget about how strong he is. When you see some of those scenes from “Spoils of War,” it’s just breathtaking to watch it. You’re right, they waste him.

Brenda: Agreed. But even with the less intense storylines this past year, I am still always amazed at his talent, particularly given some of the, um, “interesting” stuff he’s done in the past- I’m looking at you Dumb and Dumberer. I can’t believe someone of his caliber was not on a hit show until this point in his career. He seems to be someone who just does run with whatever he gets. So even though I think he is under-used, I still think the work he does is incredible.

Karen P: I think to some extent [Frank] Military has ruined the show for me because he, more than anybody, has shown us what the show could be in terms of being a little more adult and a bit more serious and a little less comic book. His episodes give Eric Christian Olsen a little more time to shine, so then when we don’t get those really special episodes like “Ascension” and “Descent” and “Spoils of War,” I know what I could be watching instead and it makes me a little bit sad.

Diane: Don’t forget Shane Brennan wrote an incredible vehicle for Deeks at the beginning of Season 2, “Human Traffic,” and we don’t see any more storylines like that either.

Colleen: Don’t you think it’s really strange that we haven’t seen a Brennan script since episode 100?

Tess: I’ll be stunned if he doesn’t do 150.

Courtney: I think he needs to be putting more out there because he does write quality scripts, and no offense to some of the writers, but if they don’t have something eye-catching, like the characters dressing really nice or putting them in very attractive situations, to distract us from the poor storylines then they fall flat and there is nothing to help keep the show quality high.

Diane: Does anyone think it’s odd that Dave Kalstein went on Twitter at the beginning of the summer to ask the fans what they want to see in Season 7? What was that all about? If they don’t know what we want to see by now…?

Gayle: When I saw that, I too was confused. I was wondering if they were being cheeky, or are they putting this out there to stir things up and make us think they are seeking input, which I can’t believe would be even near true. Were they doing it for their own entertainment purposes?

Brenda: I thought it was odd, but I’m not convinced it was a lack of ideas on their part. I wondered if maybe there are some fans that are more vocal than others and they were trying to solicit other opinions and viewpoints.

Randy: If they are floundering that bad that led to that question, then I’m kind of stunned that they would ask for input regarding the characters that they created. Because when I create a character I know where they are going to go from beginning to end. If we are in Season 6/7 and floundering as to where they want the characters to go, that makes me wonder how many more seasons do we have left?

Diane: So that begs the question… is there a future for this show? Do we need a new infusion of writers or something else to keep this show going?

Gayle: I definitely think we of all people are the hardest critics. Because we care so much about it, perhaps our worry, our doomsday scenario is not so close to reality as we might think it is because we’re so close to it. I think when you step back and look at the ratings as compared to the vast majority of other shows out there, they are still doing great. And that gives me hope. We’ve seen how great it can be and we now have this embedded history with a wide direction to go in, and they just have to take advantage of it.

Lindy: I really agree with that and with that many viewers, there is no way they are going to drop them like a hot potato. They are getting ratings that are millions more than some that are critically acclaimed, and people love these characters and continue to love them no matter how poorly they are used. There is still hope out there and I have it and will keep watching till the bitter end.

Randy: What scares me is that if Eric Christian Olsen is bored, what would stop him from moving on? We have seen that with the mothership who have had great characters that have moved on, and the show takes bumps and we move on. We always hear the rumors that Daniela’s leaving or Eric’s leaving… that would take a big chunk out of what would be a big part of the show. If Eric languished through Season 6, then what would happen? He’s an actor, he wants to be challenged, and maybe one days says, this is as far as he’s going.

Lindy: I don’t think that’s going to happen anytime soon. He wants to be home with his family, and I think that keeps people in place for a while. It may happen eventually, but I still think that’s three to five years down the road.

Randy: I hope you’re right. I want to see the characters challenged, but I also want to see the show challenged and take chances. Do something that the core fans don’t see coming so on the next roundtable we can say, “Holy crap, do you believe that happened?”

Lindy: I would just like to tell the writers, just like Kensi told Deeks, “I want to be bold with you”, we need to tell the writers that we want them to be bold, we want them take risks, we want to see things that are exciting, we want a villain that scares the crap out of us.

Tess: I totally agree. I would love to see a villain like Siderov, bring back Janvier… let’s have him out of prison where they have to bring him back and catch him. That last line from The Count of Monte Cristo from Janvier was a set-up, but they never went back to it.

Karen P: I would really like to see them embrace complexity a little more. I think it’s going to be hard to move them away from their comic book mentality since they are so successful with it, but I would like to see a little bit more of an adult content, and I don’t mean something sexy, although I wouldn’t turn that down… but just in terms of the seriousness with how they handle the storylines… it would be a nice change.

Colleen: They seem to have gotten away from the edgier, grittier storylines from the past and went more of the comic book route and it’s just not engaging.

Courtney: I totally agree that they underestimate how good they are at being dramatic, and the actors in those roles are just being underused, even though the comic relief is nice sometimes.

Brenda: I agree. I think NCIS:NOLA has done a much better job- and it was their first season- at drama with character development and great moments of comic relief.

Karen P: I think one of the lacking things in Season 6 was the lack of undercover work. This is an undercover unit… Sam and Callen got to do a number of things but Deeks, who arguably is their most talented undercover operator, played homeless twice, he was a waiter, he was a cook, but he never really did anything where he played a different character. He just dressed differently. And there are so many other great past episodes, like the scene at the spa [in “Anonymous”] or on the rooftop club [in “Lone Wolf”], and there was none of that last season. When they get to play someone other than themselves or when Densi does it together, it can really bring a lot of life to the story.

Brenda: I agree that the undercover piece is something I would like to see strengthened. I also think that they have, in prior seasons, done dramatic with comic relief, so I don’t think it’s an either or. And Deeks is particularly good at that. I’m thinking of Hetty behind the curtains when he was home with PTSD [in “Impact”]. It was a funny moment in a heavy episode that was entirely consistent with prior Hetty/Deeks alone times when he has been in trouble. Even, or maybe especially, in real life, people try to find lighter moments in heavier times because we can only handle so much drama/heaviness without a need for reprieve. Deeks is an excellent character (and Eric is the perfect actor) to really demonstrate that and provide that brief reprieve in dramatic moments. He has done that so well in the past – let’s see more of it!

Diane: In one word, what do you want to see in Season 7?

Tess: Just one word, smart. I want the writers to be smart, I want the actors to be smart, I want the characters to be smart.

Karen P: I’m going to go with adult.

Courtney: I would say intensity.

Randy: How about intriguing characters, cases where they draw us in and hold on to us through the whole season? They have such great characters and they are only scratching the surface, I want something with intrigue, and in depth.

Lindy: No surprise here… passion… between characters… in storylines. I want to be stunned and surprised.

Gayle: Mine relates to what a lot of people just said but I’m going to go with complexity, so that we are having those episodes that leave us breathless and there are twenty questions flying around your head about how it’s connected to things in the past.

Brenda: I agree with complexity, but I would add coherent complexity, something they did better in past seasons, where there are questions, but important, relevant, plausible ones, not questions due to a lack of continuity with prior episodes or inconsistency with the character or overall storyline.

Colleen: I would go with gritty or edgy. I don’t think the stories have to be so clean or so neat all the time.

Diane: My word would be emotional. I want the emotion back not only from the characters, but I want to feel emotional as well. So let’s hope for the best and get into a huddle and hope that the fans are given a great Season 7 and many more seasons to come!

In just a few days we will see if our wishes have been granted or not. We have our fingers crossed for the fans and for all who love Marty Deeks and the progression of this wonderful character’s backstory.  Let us know what you think. Leave your comments below.