Tell me what you think?

[kapuahi]

So I have a question, there seems to be a metric crapload of people opposed to Lori. I have my own opinions and I know a lot of you share them. Before we start this is not character bashing, I'm just curious. I've never in any of my other fandoms had a character (a starter or introduced later) that seems so universally hated. Frankly I don't have the energy to deal with people that will argue with me because OMG she's the bestest thing that has ever happened to the show and the problem is that Steve is a misogynistic asshole, and I'm not going to argue because everyone has a right to their own opinion.

Now I know my reasons for being a) violently opposed to the character and b) not particularly caring for the actress either. However I'm curious to know why seemingly everyone else is so indisposed towards her.

Wanna share?

Comments

[gyri.livejournal.com]

I was prepared to give the character a chance, especially since Lauren German endeared herself to me on the red carpet at SOTB. During her interview, fans began screaming for Alex, and she did a very silly, but cute and funny imitation of the fans yelling Alex's name.

But, the character does nothing for me. She just doesn't seem to fit, and there is no further demonstration of why she was added to the team, at special order from the Governor himself.

And to make matters worse, she just seems to be inserted into scenes with Steve that could be---SHOULD be---filled by either Danny, Kono, or Chin. ESPECIALLY Danny. The cynical, pessimistic side of me (along with other fans), whispers that some homophobe higher up in the Network thought the "bromance" was coming on too strong, better tone it down and substitute Danny with a blond female.

Which brings me to my third point: her presence seems to have marginalized Kono's participation. I've come to love each member of the team and the ohana they represent. I don't want to see Kono taking a back seat to a "just there" character.

I like Lauren German, but she isn't quite able to fit the bill here. I'm sure it has a lot to do with the way her character is being written, but also perhaps a certain lack of acting skill. She's just very......flat.

[bluedelft.livejournal.com]

When I heard a new female character was going to be decided to give her a chance and not make any decisions of liking or not liking her until a couple of episodes had aired. Now that a couple of episodes have aired I can say that I really don't like her at all and don't think she adds anything to the team at all.

The scene last week with Chin in the hotel was just so wrong and I thought the acting was so bad. As gyri said she is very flat and I fully agree with that comment. There is nothing at all to the character and if you watched Prison Break she reminds of Veronica on that show. I've found in the case of Robin Tunney it was the character that I didn't like and not the actress since I really enjoy her in The Mentalist.

I think that also has to do with the way the character is written along with the way the actress is bringing the character to life as well.

Let's just say that if the character is written off the show I'm not going to be missing her at all.

[stellarmeadow.livejournal.com]

Rather than repeat everything, I'll just say, "Ditto." She had so much personality at SotB, but it's like they turn a camera on her and she switches off and becomes a robot. And they're certainly not doing her any favors with the writing--I'm not sure someone who can actually act or be the least bit believable could still pull off what they've written for her.

[tarnishedangel2.livejournal.com]

Hi, Kapuahi

I am not in the habit of disparaging female characters, and it annoys me when this fandom does it repeatedly. But, unlike Rachel/Catherine/Jenna/Mary, etc., Lori is deserving of the hatred thrown her way. She is a weakly written character portrayed by a weaker actress who doesn't have the talent to rise above the thin script. In fact, my biggest problem with the character of Lori Weston is Lauren German. There is no nice way to say this, but I just think German is a poor actress. When she says her lines, they are spoken in a flat monotone voice. Her face never shows any emotion. She just looks blank. And, when you compare her performance last night with other actresses who had less screen time like the lady who played Kensi and lady who played the sister to the man who was murdered in last night's episode it becomes readily apparent that German is an amateur. The nickname Loribot suits her to a T because she is very robotic in the way that she delivers her lines. I think that I could like Lori if I found German credible. But I don't; so, I just want her to go away already. Every time I see her, I groan, roll my eyes, and want to throw things at the TV. Only one other actor on this series has inspired such feelings, and that was Nick Lachey in ep 1.17.

Unlike, a large portion of the H50 fandom, I have no problem with Steve and Danny having love interests. I enjoyed the Steve/Catherine banter last season as well as the brief return of Catherine in ep 2.04. I still am a committed Danny/Rachel shipper, and I'm willing to give Danny/Gabrielle a chance. I also entertained notions of Steve/Jenna in my head. So even though I love the Steve/Danny slash, I'm not scared of the het. LOL!!! I feel that Lori is simply a bad fit for Steve and for the the H50 team. She doesn't mesh with this group and has no chemistry with any of the cast least of all Steve. I just want her gone...like yesterday.

Take care!!! : )

Tarnished

[azziria.livejournal.com]

I was very aware going into 2.02 and meeting Lori for the first time that I was likely to have a bias against her after all the unfortunate 'love interest' and 'female McGarrett' stuff. So I bent over backwards to try and be objective about the character, and give her a fair chance.

I'll also say upfront that I have no beef with any of the characters having a love interest, I just have a problem with that love interest being on the team, which would inevitably take time out from the core Steve/Danny relationship and affect its dynamic.

So I've tried to like Lori, I really have. But it's not working.

Firstly, the character is not being well-written. I can't get a handle on who she is - the test for me being that I couldn't include her in a fic because I have no idea who she is. She doesn't seem to have a clear personality, she's blank. I can't 'hear' her in my head the way I can almost everyone else on the show (including characters who've had far less screen time). And she doesn't seem to have a clear skill set that she's bringing to the team - I can't see clearly what she adds professionally. She's doing things that the other team members do perfectly well (or better). The writers are not showing me why Lori needs to be there and why I should like her. The worrying thing is that I'm starting to think that 2.02 was a high point for her character - at least we had her protesting to the Governor about her appointment, and standing up to Steve when he sidelined her. Since then - nothing. Empty page, blank slate.

Secondly, however bad the writing is, Lauren German is not a good enough actress to even make the most of what she *is* being given. She's wooden, and the throat-clearing and eye-rolling are *painful* to watch. I haven't seen any of her other work, so I can't speak about her acting ability in general (although a quick trawl of YouTube doesn't help her case, just saying), but I can say that this role isn't working for her. I'm sure she's a sweet girl, but she's not what this show needs right now.

Finally, the way she's been introduced sucks. Yes, I know I have a problem with being told what I should like and not like, but seriously, even if I was a more mild-mannered and easygoing individual, having her thrust into centre stage like that and being expected to like her straight off would annoy me. They stuck her straight into an established team and gave her a major role without giving us fans any time to adjust to her. Then they gave her other characters' scenes and recycled a popular line from last season to try and make us love her. And to cap it all, they denied she was ever a potential love interest even though the actress herself says she auditioned as one and the first five scripts strongly suggest that they were/are going for a Lori/Steve sexual tension thing. Even if she'd been well-written and well-acted that would have been a tough call to pull off.

So to sum up my reasons for not liking Lori: her character just doesn't exist for me, I can't see who she is; she doesn't add anything useful to the team, she just takes time away from the characters I *do* care about; the actress can't act (not in this role, anyway); and they've shoved her at us, given her far too much screen time in an effort to force us to love her, when they'd have done better to ease her in gently and let us get to know her and grow to like her.

Nothing new here, I know, but I've spent far too much a lot of time thinking about this (repeat after me, it's just a TV show, it's just a TV show, it's just a TV show...)

[kapuahi.livejournal.com]

My sister keeps saying the same thing to me, and every morning when I drive her to work she gets the full run down on 'why Lori needs to go." and the only answer I get is it's just a show.

I knew from the first press release that I was going to have issues with her. It wasn't even the love interest part, because I can deal with that. possibly my favourite character on the show outside of our Four is Catherine. I love her I love the dynamic she has with Steve and I have no problems with him waking up with her every morning (though I would prefer him in a Catherine/Danny sandwich). And frankly I can't wait for Danny to have a date we get to see with Gabrielle. But we have a female McGarrett already, Kono, we don't need another.

And I seem to be the only one that was ticked off by her very first scene. It was reverse sexism that got my back up, and honestly she hasn't done anything that hasn't irritated me since.

If I didn't know they had planned Lori, I would say she was a speedy insertion at the insistance of a homophobic CBS exec because the only thing she seems to do effectively is break up the bromance chemistry.

Whether they fix her or not I'm here for the long haul. They can screw the show into the ground and I'll stay because I'm committed to the characters that they made me love, even if I have to ignore the ones that I hate. i only wish the writers had the same sort of loyalty to the characters that they had created.

[alassenya]

Why I hate the character:
-- she was badly introduced
-- she has been given seriously crappy lines
-- there has been no acknowledgement of her "babysitting" or reporting-back function since ep 2.02
-- she appears to be forcing herself on Steve which is not cool at all
-- she is taking time away from Danny, Kono and Chin-Ho
-- she is not adding any value of her own - I think there was one small mention of someone on a DHS database in ep 2 but nothing since then, and I suspect that Chin could have got the info just as easily as she did.

Why I hate the actress:
-- she couldn't deliver a line convincingly to save her life
-- she appears to exude some sort of ability-sucking toxic gas - not only is her own performance poor, but she has a profoundly disturbing effect on every single actor in scenes with her
-- she flounces around like she owns the show which I find really, really irritating (I know this is a very personal reaction, not at all objective, but it's my reaction to her)

I am very much looking forward to Lori's demise. I hope it is suitably gruesome, preferably involving Wo Fat and copious quantities of C4.

[azziria.livejournal.com]

"Whether they fix her or not I'm here for the long haul."

Me too. At the moment this show is like an addiction for me - I know I should probably give it up, all this obsessing over Lori etc is bad for me, but I just can't quit it. The problem is that they designed and cast Steve McGarrett to hit just about EVERY SINGLE ONE of my buttons, and then they put him with a team of people that they made me care about. So now I can't seem to just walk away, even though what they're doing with the show is causing me grief. Watching it each week is not the fun it should be - I can't look forward to an episode unreservedly like I did last season, and when I'm actually watching my enjoyment of the good bits is marred by the fact that they're shoving Lori in everywhere, and she really grates on me. I wish I could just sit back, relax and enjoy the ride, and block Lori out, but she's so ubiquitous that I can't. Or that I could just say "This is upsetting me", turn off and leave it alone. But that doesn't seem to be something I can do, either.

I want my squee back, damnit!

[tarnishedangel2.livejournal.com]

Hi, Kapuahi

Like you, I'm also in it for the "long haul" because as Azziria stated Steve "pushes [most] of my buttons", and Danny pushes the rest of them. As long as these two characters are part of H50 than I will watch the series. If one or both of them left, or if the writers decided to wreck their characters by turning them into skirt chasing cads than I would leave. Otherwise, I will continue watching H50; although, I don't get as excited about the new episodes the way I did last season.

There are three reasons why my enthusiasm has dimmed:

1. There are currently no female characters that I can root for, and I've never watched a show where there wasn't at least one female character that I could support. I like Kono, but I don't love her nor am I particularly interested in her storyline. I find Lori to be boring, one dimensional, and annoying. I thought last year's supporting female characters enhanced the fabric of the series by giving us insight into our male leads, but yet they were strong and interesting characters in their own right. Lori on the other hand doesn't enhance the plot; she detracts from it. Instead of weaving her into the background, the writers have placed her in the foreground which would be fine if she had an interesting storyline or if the actress were more skilled. But, IMO she isn't; so, all of her scenes fall flat, and she just seems in the way.

2. I MISS little Gracie. Part of why I fell for Danny was because of his devotion to his daughter. I was a Daddy's girl, and I've always been a sucker for a man who puts his child first. Granted, Gracie has been referenced, we've seen Danny speaking to her on the phone, and in 2.06 he went immediately to the murder victim's son to prevent him from seeing his father's body and to inform him of his father's death, but it's not enough, I want to see the cute interactions between Gracie and her Danno. I know she is coming back for the Halloween ep Monday; so, I hope this sets up a pattern.

3. I MISS the Steve/Danny banter. There are fewer scenes of them together, and frankly, I don't think it is the addition of Lori and Joe (as an aside I really like this character; he can stay) that are solely to blame for it. 7 characters isn't an ensemble. It is a normal sized cast for most shows. If the writers can't balance this number of characters than they should quit their day job. Nope, my gut says that CBS has received letters and emails from viewers and watchdog groups asking them to dial down the bromance, and Lenkov was issued that directive. I may be wrong, and goodness knows CBS and company will never admit it, but something is definitely going on there.

I HOPE the series gets back on track, but even with all its problems this year, I'd still rather watch these characters and this show than 95% of what is on TV right now.

Take care!!! : )

Tarnished