If Wishes Were Horses

[hoosier]

If you were lucky enough to have the ear of the powers that be at a network(doesn't have to be ABC) or the money of a Bill Gates and could just hire the entire cast and team back, what would you like to have seen in season 2 of Blind Justice. What was left unsaid, what was left kind of open-ended, were you not happy with an outcome or an ending, would you like to see the return of a certain character or would you like a follow-up on a character to see how they are doing??? What would you like? The sky's the limit!

Personally, here are some of my ideas--
1. we never saw any of Jim's year after the shooting and his rehab. Also his getting Hank
2.have Terry reappear--this could result in a flashback to their days as partners--Terry might even recall how they were partnered up in the first place!!!
3. have Jim and Marty team up on a case--excuse could be Karen was on vacation!
4. Anne Donnelly shows up
5. Maybe get an explanation of what Sonny meant when he said the old Dunbar would have come out shooting like it was the OK corral--guess another flashback is in order!!!

[anna]

Everything you said, plus:
- I would like to have seen something about Jim's and Christie's families
- Show more about Tom - His character took a backseat to Marty because of the importance of the conflict between Marty and Jim.
- What really WAS going on with Sonny when the guy called him "Sonny boy" - did that mean anything or not?
- Jim and Christie's counseling sessions with Esther
- More Galloway!

[maggiethecat]

hoosier said:

If you were lucky enough to have the ear of the powers that be at a network(doesn't have to be ABC) or the money of a Bill Gates and could just hire the entire cast and team back, what would you like to have seen in season 2 of Blind Justice. What was left unsaid, what was left kind of open-ended, were you not happy with an outcome or an ending, would you like to see the return of a certain character or would you like a follow-up on a character to see how they are doing??? What would you like? The sky's the limit!

Personally? I would have liked to see Jim Dunbar tell his wife that he was sick to death of ballroom dancing lessons and if they wanted to do something together how about getting a sailboat (two person 16-footer, great for a blind guy and an observant partner), or maybe try horseback riding in Central Park. Or even -- if she was determined that it be dance of some kind -- swing dance. A little Count Basie or Benny Goodman would be infinitely better than that damned recording of "Call me Irresponsible," right?

And definitely more Galloway!

But that's just me . . . ;D

[mlm828]

All of the above, plus:

• More about all of the characters' lives away from the 8th precinct
  
• A case where the squad has to work with cops from another precinct, showing how the other cops react to having to work with Jim
  
• The end of Karen's "bad history picking guys"
  

[bjobsessed]

Definitely more Galloway. Also:
--obviously we would have seen Jim without his gun. Would have loved to have seen how Jim and everyone else reacted to that since it was such a big deal in the first season. Marty was starting to accept Jim as a person and as a cop. How would the lack of a gun change the way they interacted with each other?

[Eyphur]

I'd like to have seen more interaction between Christie and Karen. I think it would be interesting.

[housemouse]

I think I would like to see more of Jim's perspective. Get an idea of exactly what the world looks like to him. Is it completely black? Can he make out shapes or bright lights? It would be interesting to see more of what we saw in the first few episodes: inside of Jim's mind while he is working a crime scene.

[shmeep]

housemouse said:

I think I would like to see more of Jim's perspective. Get an idea of exactly what the world looks like to him. Is it completely black? Can he make out shapes or bright lights? It would be interesting to see more of what we saw in the first few episodes: inside of Jim's mind while he is working a crime scene.

From what I've read about the show and from what Jim says himself ("I can never see anything") I think we can assume that his blindness is absolute. When, in the earlier episodes, they showed us Jim's POV, it was just mental images suggested to him by what he was hearing and figuring out for himself. I read somewhere that they were just trying to show his mind's eye, but that Bochco backed off doing that after a time because it was a difficult thing to show and because it wasn't working out exactly as they had hoped. Also, it was causing some confusion, making people wonder if Jim was seeing something or if it was in his mind. I liked how, in the pilot, his Judo instructor came to him as a blue shape while Randy Lyman was red, indicating danger and hostility. I also liked, throughout the series, that when Jim pictured something specific (the crime scene in Marlon's Brando, the fence in Four Feet Under), his mind gave it details not seen in the real image of it. Nice touch, but many reviewers missed the point altogether, saying that Jim's mind's-eye POV was too detailed. Didn't they see that the details didn't match the reality?

I don't know that Jim's mind's-eye strengthened the storylines when it was used. In some cases, it almost seemed like too much "telling" when an actor of Ron Eldard's caliber can show everything we need to know in his face and his actions. I almost think more shots of him exploring things his own way, as a blind person, and a few more questions from him to show us where his mind is headed would have made the points even better. Any excuse to see Mr. Eldard stretching still further as an actor is fine with me. The only time I thought the mind's-eye POV furthered the plot was when he kept seeing Christie. I didn't really care for the images of her and, even less, the moaning noises accompanying them, but it would have been difficult to show how shaken Jim was by the case and the reason behind that without the Christie images. But...think about it. Even in that situation, might it not have been even stronger had we been in the same boat as the other cops throughout the episode, seeing Jim wig out and not quite knowing why? Then, when he tells Karen he had a nasty image in his head, we could have been kept in suspense, wondering what he was seeing and then we would have known at the end when he told Christie. Yes, I think that would have made the story even stronger because Ron Eldard could have pulled it off without any kind of gimmick.

So...I see your point, Mouse, but I would go the opposite way if given the chance to get some more Blind Justice. I would want to see absolutely nothing from Jim's POV but I would want to see him become a bit more open about what he can and can't do in order to let the others (and us) in on what things are like for him. I would like to see his character let his guard down a bit. I would also like to see more about what kind of process he had to go through in order to accept a blind version of himself and what had given him the strength to go on, whether in a flashback or in a storyline that mirrored his own experience, kind of like how Up on the Roof brought so much about Terry to light while carrying the story yet further.

[doobrah]

I would have liked an episode filmed entirely from Dunbar's point of view. That is, we don't see the crime or the other characters. They did a little bit of this in one episode, where the camera focuses only on Jim and his questions and reactions, and we only hear the voices of everyone else. What a great episode for those of us who like to just look at our favorite blond dude.

Also, I would have liked an episode where Karen goes on vacation and have Jim partner up with Marty. Can you say fireworks?

And I would like an episode where Jim takes up swimming. 'Nuff said.

[housemouse]

doobrah said:

And I would like an episode where Jim takes up swimming. 'Nuff said.

Swimming, or bicycling (maybe using a tandem bike), or shadow boxing, or weight lifting, or even just going to a toga party. Ahhh what might have been.

[hoosier]

doobrah said:

I would have liked an episode filmed entirely from Dunbar's point of view. That is, we don't see the crime or the other characters. They did a little bit of this in one episode, where the camera focuses only on Jim and his questions and reactions, and we only hear the voices of everyone else. What a great episode for those of us who like to just look at our favorite blond dude.]

This sounds like a fantastic idea! Really see what its like form Jim to get through a 'normal' day.

[maggiethecat]

hoosier said:

doobrah said:

I would have liked an episode filmed entirely from Dunbar's point of view. That is, we don't see the crime or the other characters. They did a little bit of this in one episode, where the camera focuses only on Jim and his questions and reactions, and we only hear the voices of everyone else. What a great episode for those of us who like to just look at our favorite blond dude.]

This sounds like a fantastic idea! Really see what its like form Jim to get through a 'normal' day.

Amazing idea, and I know they would have made it work. We did get a little bit of this, once, in "Up on the Roof." (Oh, here she goes again with "Up on the Roof." ) But we -- like Jim -- only heard the two shots, which of course they did to protect the mystery of what had really happened. And that was great, since we were left wondering and working on information only heard and not seen.

[mlm828]

doobrah said:

I would have liked an episode filmed entirely from Dunbar's point of view. That is, we don't see the crime or the other characters. They did a little bit of this in one episode, where the camera focuses only on Jim and his questions and reactions, and we only hear the voices of everyone else. What a great episode for those of us who like to just look at our favorite blond dude.

That would have been fascinating, and as maggie said, I'm sure they could have pulled it off. I think they did a little of this at the beginning of "Leap of Faith," where the four detectives are in Sam's apartment for the first time. The camera was focused on Jim (always a good thing), and we heard the others' answers to his questions.

Another character I would have liked to see again in a second season is Walter Clark. I liked his interaction with Jim, and he seemed to be one of the few people Jim could really talk to.

[housemouse]

mlm828 said:

doobrah said:

I would have liked an episode filmed entirely from Dunbar's point of view. That is, we don't see the crime or the other characters. They did a little bit of this in one episode, where the camera focuses only on Jim and his questions and reactions, and we only hear the voices of everyone else. What a great episode for those of us who like to just look at our favorite blond dude.

That would have been fascinating, and as maggie said, I'm sure they could have pulled it off. I think they did a little of this at the beginning of "Leap of Faith," where the four detectives are in Sam's apartment for the first time. The camera was focused on Jim (always a good thing), and we heard the others' answers to his questions.

Another character I would have liked to see again in a second season is Walter Clark. I liked his interaction with Jim, and he seemed to be one of the few people Jim could really talk to.

This is one of the amazing things about this show. Seemingly throw away characters like Walter make such an impact that we still want more!

I agree whole heartedly that an episode from Jim's perspective would be great. I would also like to see a little more of Tom and Marty's personal lives and to find out if Fisk even has one. It just occurred to me that we didn't see any of these folk's significant others at Walter's retirement party.

[hoosier]

And they said that there was a lack of possible storylines for another season of BJ! Boy were they ever wrong! Look at what we came up with in a few days!

I loved Walter and he is one character that had huge possibilities. I really think he was a mentor of sorts to a young Jim. I also wouldn't have minded seeing Greg Hermanson again just to see if he was able to get his life back on track.

I agree that they could have taken more time with character development--ie:showing the squad's personal lives. All we know was Marty had a kid and Tom a girlfriend and that Karen had bad luck with men. Man---just irks me that we won't be able to explore these fascinating people!