I got kicked out of the story when...

[kytdunne]

I got kicked out of the story when Semple came onscreen. The guy was so much overkill for this series that it appeared that the writers (for lack of a better target) couldn't write humor without making it over-the-top comedy.

Hank being cute in the elevator. Just put a toddler there looking up at mommy and daddy arguing and you'd have the same effect. Too cute.

Stories are all about suspending your disbelief and accepting the reality as presented by the storyteller. To maintain audience confidence in the storyteller, the storyteller should never bring attention to him or herself. To do so is to break the story-telling spell, so to speak. The more it's done, the more likely it is that the audience will abandon the story.

BLIND JUSTICE managed to stay within the boundaries very well, especially for so many different people involved, and it's one of the things I appreciated most. But there were those moments.

At least in the above two, I can overlook both problems. Still notice them, but overlook them (mostly) because Hank really is an adorable dog, and Semple was a crackup.

Kyt

[maggiethecat]

Great stuff to ponder, and I'll ponder and return, but quickly:

When did Blind Justice do humor well? Sonny. Sonny is genuinely funny, and, because he was so wound into the storyline both times he appeared, it worked. I still giggle over the notion of a blind coke dealer who couldn't identify his clients -- but, again, that's the kind of humor that comes out of story.

Absolutely Glen was funny -- chillin' on the futon?! -- but on reflection he did seem out of place in that a wheezing old gasbag like that would have done his twenty and long since retired. But maybe comic relief was needed in what is a very dark episode, and that's why he was there . . . or because a young virile partner would have been right behind Terry in the stairwell, which would have put paid to the plot?

Hank in the elevator was over the top, and I could imagine the trainer offscreen giving signals to make him turn his head.

I appreciated the humor when it worked as a leavener, but that's not why I watched the show. I liked it dark and gritty and complicated, I liked the characters cranky and snapping at each other, and I'm on record as preferring Angsty Jim to Sunny Jim as dramatically more interesting. So I would have to say that, with the notable exceotion of "Doggone," the first six remain my favorites, as one long and rich story arc that takes us through the locker room confrontation. After that? There didn't seem to be as cohesive a thread to the episodes until they tackled the gun issue. And do not get me started on ballroom dancing. Talk about cute.

[doobrah]

I got kicked out of the story in the final episode when we go into the soft focus, saccharine sweet daydream sequence of Jim & Christy (and their dancing body doubles) in evening wear waltzing their tushes off in black and white.

Calling Dr. House: Viewer needs insulin STAT !!!

[inuvik]

For me, Blind Justice was not about humour. I loved the blindness! That's the only reason I tuned in, I don't normally like cop/legal shows and had never heard of any of the actors.

I loved it for what I considered was a realistic portrayal of a man struggling to come to terms with his new life.

I loved the way I became involved with the characters.

I got the show on tape all at once, and I remember racing home from work to watch it. I limited myself to an episode a day. I will never forget that feeling of joy and excitement.

And, last but not least, I love BJ because my obsession caused me to find Blind Justifications, and then this Board, and get to know everyone here.

Edited to add: I just realized I didn't answer the question--I don't believe I ever got kicked out of the story, except for Under the Gun. I just never connected with that episode.

[mlm828]

I think the humor worked when it wasn't just gratuitous -- like Hank in the elevator -- and showed us something about the characters and their relationships. For example, Jim pulling Tom's leg about the spiders and snakes in Iraq and, of course, his "You're black?" routine. Those were not only funny, but they also showed us that, by the second half of the series, Jim had relaxed enough to let his sense of humor show. In the first six episodes, Jim was so uptight, we rarely (if ever) saw that side of his personality.

Another example is Marty's biting sense of humor, at Jim's expense -- answering "Bin Laden" when Jim asks what was dug up in the Criders' back yard, and his "Helen Keller moment" crack.

[maggiethecat]

Okay, now I get it, and thanks to doobrah for showing me how the game is played (although she did take the best one).

I got kicked out of the story when . . .

. . . Jim tripped and fell in dance class, and everyone was so solicitous in getting him back on his feet. I couldn't tell you exactly why, but it made me squirm a little. Maybe it was a little maudlin, a little cliche (although much has been written here about how they thought it showed his willingness to "keep going"). I saw it as a kind of softening, sentimentalizing the character. A little . . . icky.

But, again, that's just me. ;D

[mlm828]

Back to "the call of the question" -- I think I understand where this is going.

Another too-cute moment in "In Your Face" (in addition to Hank in the elevator), which kicked me out of the story, was Jim and Karen and the librarian. The scene had the stereotypical Madame Librarian:


. . .and Jim and Karen, speaking in unison, "Yes, ma'am."


Need I say more?

[bjobsessed]

I don't think I ever got kicked out of the story except at the end with the dance scene. I might have been able to handle it a little better if they hadn't used doubles for most of it. However, as we have all discussed, it was not a worthy or fitting ending to such a great show.

All the hovering when Jim fell in dance class didn't bother me. I laughed because I've had the same thing happen to me many times. I could say the same for the way Glen Semple reacted toward Jim as well.

And I am a sucker for animal cutesy, no matter how cute. Like everyone, that's just me.

[greenbeing]

This is about those moments that make us realize, suddenly, that we're sitting on the floor in our living room with a half-melted bowl of mint chocolate chip in front of us, right?

Here's my two big ones:

IYF--Miss Librarian:
This author writes about this... This author writes about a thief who owns a bookstore... Ah, here we are, Byron Fountain.

He's the second name on the list! What'cha doing, skipping around? Or, as your pointing suggests, you're just reading the lines and trying to act disapproving?

And the second bit that gets me is in UotR, when Karen kicks the lid off the trashcan. Twice. And it's very loud. I guess the editors needed proofreaders and copyeditors and a few more people to watch it first...

--GB

[Dreamfire]

IN Seuol Man I found my self fighting to get back in when Jim turned his coffee cup around. "Aw Jim, did you have to?" I had to work very very hard to convince myself he just bought coffee from this guy for so long that he KNEW he would be handed the cofee that way.

And then sucked straight back in ( Phew!) when the offending cup is knocked straight out of his hand!

Pushed toward the exit when he draws the gun on the street and sucked in even harder when he fumbles looking for the shooting victim.

(Couldn't find a screen cap in the next moments)
Nudged when Karen calls out "Tape" and he ducks and then superglued when he has a hissy fit after Marty's jibes hit home and Jim shakes off Karen's offer for an elbow, "I'll just use my cane". Stuck for life with a BJ obsession with his reaction when she asks "How will you find the car?" Cruel Karen Cruel but very very realistic! Superb acadamey award acting in my opinion - Made me believe it is all real.

[Dreamfire]

bjobsessed said:

I don't think I ever got kicked out of the story except at the end with the dance scene. I might have been able to handle it a little better if they hadn't used doubles for most of it. However, as we have all discussed, it was not a worthy or fitting ending to such a great show.

All the hovering when Jim fell in dance class didn't bother me. I laughed because I've had the same thing happen to me many times. I could say the same for the way Glen Semple reacted toward Jim as well.

And I am a sucker for animal cutesy, no matter how cute. Like everyone, that's just me.

I felt he dance scenes were from another show, I didn't midn the glen semple charicature because I didn't feel we had others like that so one was OK, and he was just so Gross!!

I like the fall over in class moment. No cringe factor for me, tugged at my heart really - being so unexpected and all.

I agree it was a throw away/up ending.

[Dreamfire]

inuvik said:

For me, Blind Justice was not about humour. I loved the blindness! That's the only reason I tuned in, I don't normally like cop/legal shows and had never heard of any of the actors.

I loved it for what I considered was a realistic portrayal of a man struggling to come to terms with his new life.

I loved the way I became involved with the characters.

I got the show on tape all at once, and I remember racing home from work to watch it. I limited myself to an episode a day. I will never forget that feeling of joy and excitement.

And, last but not least, I love BJ because my obsession caused me to find Blind Justifications, and then this Board, and get to know everyone here.

Edited to add: I just realized I didn't answer the question--I don't believe I ever got kicked out of the story, except for Under the Gun. I just never connected with that episode.

I'm with you Inuvik, I have found it fascinating to watch this man as he pushed the envelope on what he could do, and battle to overcome his own reactions when he found things he absolutely could not do. He is just fascinating to watch. Wacthing people watch him and have reactions to him is also compelling.
And I thank this hsow for introducing me to all you guys and to Ron Eldard whom I would probably not have noticed had it not been for a show I heard was on about a Blind Man. ( who happened to be blonde, blind and dop dead georgeus!)

In the interview when he said he "I'm really kind of a freak. I used to practice that stuff (being blind) anyway" he won me over 100%!

[anna]

The only time I got kicked out was the scene in which Jim is making absolutely sure that Nancy knows he is blind in Marlon's Brando. The writers and director and maybe RE were so over the top. Ok, we get it already! The white cane would have done it. You didn't have to intentionally fall over a chair, too.

[shmeep]

anna said:

The only time I got kicked out was the scene in which Jim is making absolutely sure that Nancy knows he is blind in Marlon's Brando. The writers and director and maybe RE were so over the top. Ok, we get it already! The white cane would have done it. You didn't have to intentionally fall over a chair, too.

That scene was a bit unfortunate. Part of me liked it--or at least what it was trying to do--but then that scene was used against the show in a parody on The Soup. The Soup mocked Blind Justice the entire time it was on the air, but one of the worst was when they were making a joke about how the show was drawing attention to the fact that it was a cop who couldn't see. "We get it already!" they said. They had a counter and added one each time Jim drew attention to his blindness as that scene was shown out of context so it really made it look like he just went around doing that all the time. It was funny, but very misleading. It probably made people who weren't familiar with the show think it was completely stupid. I would have thought so if that was my only exposure to it.

[housemouse]

As a Ron Eldard affecianado, I got kicked out the story every time I saw a lip bite. Every time he did it I forgot for a split second that he was Jim Dunbar and remembered he was Ron Eldard.