New posts

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="CMQ" data-source="post: 96111" data-attributes="member: 1092">I think those that dislike her are probably stuck on her weirdly inappropriate introduction into the series at the end of Season 7 (Karen's just been kidnapped why the hell are you giving Mack a daughter out of no-where when he's clearly got plenty on his plate)  and then her complete mishandling and misuse in season 8.[USER=107]@TommyK[/USER] in one of his fantastic essays for his blog "That's alls I know' highlighted that her character basically hijacks a majority of the storylines in Season 8, stealing all the meatiest plots and that Miss Sheridan "has neither the instincts nor the skill to pull off a fraction of what's required of her. But somehow, that fact seems to go unnoticed by the powers-that-be, who keep expanding her role and praising her to the high heavens....Sheridan, it must be noted, will ultimately become a fine actress, able to hold her own against the show's most formidable veterans. But in Season 8, her first full season, she still can't say one line convincingly, or master even the most straightforward statements...one can only imagine that the writers and producers were blinded by her looks, because they seem catastrophically oblivious to her acting limitations. She seems to have no capacity for even the most straight-forward of line-readings; her deliveries are alternately distant and smug, and she intrudes everywhere, like visiting royalty."Then in Season 9 "...the writers try to weave Sheridan back into the fabric of the show, and to find some softness beneath Paige's tough exterior....they offer up a mea culpa for how they let Paige shanghai the show in Season 8, as -- one by one -- Mack, Abby and Sumner put her in her place, reminding her that she'll never have the upper hand while they're around. The principals essentially reduce Sheridan to a supporting player, as she should have been all along. The writer's send her back to the barracks and make her come up through the ranks. It's training that will pay off handsomely the following season, when she has to transform herself from vixen into heroine -- and has (finally) acquired the skill set to do so."Harsh but fair, although I think Lechowick and Latham's sloppy and disjointed writing had a lot to answer for that season. Her character really didn't seem planned out or structured correctly at all during season 8.But then she's dialed back and slowly developed with much greater subtlety in Season 9, before her star-turn as series heroine in season 10. And it allows you to put her character traits from the first year down to Paige being young, petulant; and as such on the warpath seeking retribution for her emotionally depraved upbringing. In 9 and 10 she's finally growing up and develops a conscience and morality (remember the 'Abby Scale' speech), while also reinventing herself as a tenacious businesswoman.And all the while Miss Sheridan completely rises to the challenge, playing Paige with much greater depth and sincerity - but then again her character is finally written with much greater depth and sincerity.Once she was properly utilised and the writers worked out who Paige was (they had no freakin' clue in S8) she became one of the most compelling characters to watch as she matured and forged her own path. It certainly made for compulsive viewing.</blockquote>

Verification: 6 + 4 =