Attention to Detail

[mlm828]

We've had a lot of fun pointing out bloopers, but there's a flip side: all of the little details they got right. Here are a few I've noticed.

In "Up on the Roof," Jim is sitting at the bar in the apartment, talking to Christie as they finish dinner. When he wants to put down his wine glass, he reaches out with his other hand and locates the counter before setting the glass down:



At the beginning of "Marlon's Brando," Karen leads Jim to the victim's bedroom, and his shoulder hits the door frame when entering the room.

We've all noticed how Jim's locker moves around, but there is one constant: his locker is always the one with no photos, clippings, etc. on the door:

[bjobsessed]

In the pilot, the wall where Jim throws the ball and then catches it has marks all over it in the shape of the ball. Jim obviously did this a lot since he was good at catching the ball and it was a stress reliever for him too.

Sorry I don't have a screencap. I'll try to get one.

[bjobsessed]

I got one, but you might need a magnifying glass to see the wall. This happens everytime I put a photo in the photobucket album. The picture takes up most of the screen on my computer. As soon as I put it in the photo bucket it shrinks to about a quarter of the size. I don't know why.

Does anybody know? I'll post the pic for now, but would love to know how to fix the problem.




mlm and maggie--what program do you use? Maybe the photobucket doesn't like mine.

[mlm828]

bjobsessed, I have no clue why your pictures come out so small. I'm basically a techno-dummy and do things on the computer by trial and error (mostly error).

I thought of another detail. When Jim takes off his dark glasses while at his desk, he usually puts them in the same place, presumably to make it easier for him to find them. For example:

In "Leap of Faith":



. . . and in "Doggone":



But not always, as in "Marlon's Brando":

[maggiethecat]

bjobsessed said:

In the pilot, the wall where Jim throws the ball and then catches it has marks all over it in the shape of the ball. Jim obviously did this a lot since he was good at catching the ball and it was a stress reliever for him too.

I remember noticing this the night the Pilot aired, and it knocked me out -- still does. The brilliance of the set designers!

[hoosier]

mlm828 said:

I thought of another detail. When Jim takes off his dark glasses while at his desk, he usually puts them in the same place, presumably to make it easier for him to find them. For example:

In "Leap of Faith":



He also puts his housekeys etc. on the little counter, mirror thing thats right inside the front door when he comes home every day.

A few other things I have noticed--

How Jim fumbled with trying to find the checkbook Pete shovd at him in Shall We Dance and later when he and Pete manage to find each other's hands to shake in the diner

How Jim held his hands out to be sure of the door frame as he followed Karen into the breakroom in In Your Face

Finally, Jim running his hand over the door to the hospital room to find the door handle in Marlon's Brando
.

[bjobsessed]

In the church in "Up on the Roof", he runs his hands over all the pews as he's leaving, probably to give himself and idea of where he was in the aisle.

[hoosier]

When Jim leaves one of the interview rooms, he is usually the one who locks the door and he turns completely to face the door, locks it, turns back around, orients himself and then heads for his desk.

[hoosier]

WOW! I went up a grade---cool Anyway, I wasn't quite sure where to post this one but have you noticed just how often Jim perches on Marty's desk? He never sits on Karen's or Tom's and definitely not the Lt.'s! I know its handy and he probably feels more secure sitting (he's either at his desk or on a chair when interrogating suspects )since he can guage where everyone and everything is in relationship to himself. Just a little observation!

[mlm828]

I may have mentioned this somewhere else, but it belongs here, too. In the Pilot, Jim and Karen are questioning Lynn Bodner's roommate. He asks the roommate if Lynn was selling sex. The roommate responds by nodding her head but doesn't say anything. Karen immediately speaks up and tells Jim "yes."

[shmeep]

One of my favorite things about this series was how picky they were about detail and my favorite detail was one that came up repeatedly through Ron Eldard's portrayal of Jim Dunbar. We all know he was brilliant, so this almost goes without saying, but it's a subtle thing he did at least once--often several times--in each episode. I'm talking about the head tilt.



Sometimes it was subtle:



But it was one of the most real things about this portrayal. A blindism many actors would overlook. Another layer of nuance added to an already complex character. Imagine playing the part of a blind guy who used to be able to see. He would have some sighted mannerisms mixed with the new blind ones and so he wouldn't look blind all the time. He would sometimes be focused on trying to appear to be looking in the right direction (not always getting it quite right):



But sometimes, when his guard was down, he would go into some kind of comfortable "neutral" position, unconsciously exposing how he was now different from other people.



Sometimes he might do this when he's thinking.





Sometimes when he's listening or getting his bearings.






Sometimes when he's genuinely vulnerable.





To be able to switch from that neutral head position--one that might come naturally to a person now experiencing the world through different senses--to this heated moment of contact that can be felt--



--is an amazing accomplishment. The way he seems to be looking Christie right in the eye is also realistic, but many actors wouldn't be able to pull it off without blowing the entire "blind" persona.

Without this kind of portrayal, all the other attention to detail wouldn't even matter because no one would buy it. It goes far deeper than a character who keeps his eyes blank and trips a lot. He made us believe Jim Dunbar was a blind man.

[anna]

My favorite scene of the type that Shmeep describes is in the first interview with Eric in RTT. Jim spends the beginning of the interview with his head tilted down, but, as things become more heated, he lifts it and faces Eric.

[dogma]

i can't find the episode to get the screen cap,, but the one that made the biggest impression on me was the scene in the locker room between marty and jim
the one where jim says "good thing we're not dogs"
when marty is yelling at him, jim is unsure if marty is going to take a swing at him, you can see that jim is using every fiber of his senses to be able to tell if indeed marty is going to take a slug at him,
if someone can find it, or tell me what episode it was,, i'll try to find the screen cap

[shmeep]

dogma said:

i can't find the episode to get the screen cap,, but the one that made the biggest impression on me was the scene in the locker room between marty and jim
the one where jim says "good thing we're not dogs"
when marty is yelling at him, jim is unsure if marty is going to take a swing at him, you can see that jim is using every fiber of his senses to be able to tell if indeed marty is going to take a slug at him,
if someone can find it, or tell me what episode it was,, i'll try to find the screen cap

That was in Seoul Man, the moment after Marty angrily slammed his locker shut and Jim stepped back, getting his bearings and seeming ready for Marty to take a swing at him:



There's not really a good cap of Jim's reaction to that one (that I can find), but this next one is just a few moments later while Jim is still trying to get himself together during that confrontation.

[dogma]

thank you so much,, and quite a quick reply