Grimm Forum

Gang,

So I was chatting with an acquaintance from high school who went on to be a minor diector and actor so he is "in he know” just not “known”. With what caveat being said, here is what he revealed. The real motive for bringing Juliette back was the potential of a syndication run.

Apparently a show with very strong casting and scripts can syndicate a series that loses a central or prominent recurring character, but it is very hard for a show with weak actors and scripting to do so. People know the outcome and the acting and script is not compelling enough to make rewatching the series worthwhile when you know the ending of characters etc and the characters were not that compelling in the first place.

He indicated Grimm as at best a mediocre show with very limited talent, hence syndication is more perilous and you have to pass a lot of checklists to get it carried. Killing off Nicks girlfriend of 4 seasons would have been a big no-no. It would have made the many interactions of the first 4 seasons boring to unwatchable in terms of syndication, primarily because Juliette was never an empathic character, so there is no benefit to getting invested in such an empty character. Hence they could not just kill her off, as too much of the previous 4 seasons would have been neutered in syndication. On the other hand Kelly was not central in very many episodes. Same with Henrietta, etc.

At any rate I thought that was an interesting perspective and thought I would pass it on

It's always depressing to know that the fates of characters you've grown to like on a TV show are being determined by mostly monetary factors, and have almost nothing to do with simply telling a good story. This business could turn you into a real cynical asshole if you stay inside it for too long.

Quote:Killing off Nicks girlfriend of 4 seasons would have been a big no-no.

Then why the hell did they do it in the first place?! Stupid shallow cliffhanger stingers! Aarrrgghhh!!

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/ori...ac07e3.gif

(01-24-2016, 08:55 PM)Hexenadler Wrote: [ -> ]It's always depressing to know that the fates of characters you've grown to like on a TV show are being determined by mostly monetary factors, and have almost nothing to do with simply telling a good story. This business could turn you into a real cynical asshole if you stay inside it for too long.

Quote:Killing off Nicks girlfriend of 4 seasons would have been a big no-no.

Then why the hell did they do it in the first place?! Stupid shallow cliffhanger stingers! Aarrrgghhh!!

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/ori...ac07e3.gif

My guess is the writers are segregated from those trying to syndicate the show. It probably was already written and filmed when someone went "you did what to Juliette". Okay geniuses,now you have to bring her back.

Hi Izzy,
Thanks for your post. I had the opinion that the Eve plot was ridiculous and was forced due to money and/or contracts. Syndication is likely the culprit that caused the proper death of heinous Hexenette to be warped into Evil Eve. It is rather audacious that a prior episode was titled "Death Us Do Part." In Grimm Death is Spurious and therefore meaningless.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/tnt-lan...imm/134652
So was it NBC or TNT who should be blamed for ruining Grimm?
New Guy

(01-25-2016, 06:10 AM)New Guy Wrote: [ -> ]Hi Izzy,
Thanks for your post. I had the opinion that the Eve plot was ridiculous and was forced due to money and/or contracts. Syndication is likely the culprit that caused the proper death of heinous Hexenette to be warped into Evil Eve. It is rather audacious that a prior episode was titled "Death Us Do Part." In Grimm Death is Spurious and therefore meaningless.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/tnt-lan...imm/134652
So was it NBC or TNT who should be blamed for ruining Grimm?
New Guy

Grimm is already in syndication. TNT picked it up some time ago.

Hi Irukandji,
Your comment:

Quote:Grimm is already in syndication. TNT picked it up some time ago.

is correct. The B&C article was posted 10/07/2014. Episode 4.22, Cry Havoc, aired on May 15, 2015. The episodes are written and filmed months prior to air date, so it is possible that the original intent was a permanent death (as opposed to a phony death) of Juliette. That would have been consistent with the tragic love story of Kelly. I seem to recall that soon after 4.22 aired we were hearing that Bitsie would be in some flashbacks but there was no indication of this Eve concoction.
I believe the character Eve was forced and will not fit well in the plot. Attorneys are trained to write legal contracts, not dramatic stories.
New Guy

Hello New Guy-I wondered this very thing myself. I'm not wild about Eve myself. However, and I think I'm one of the few here, I don't credit Juliette's lack of screen appearance to Bitsie. While I never cared for the character of Juliette, I actually thought she did a fairly decent job as a hexenbiest. My issue with Juliette is two fold. As Juliette, Bitsie was not given stories that could showcase whether or not she could act. I actually liked her as the hexenbiest. The problem I saw with that is the rest of the characters were lame. Again, in my opinion, a sad lack of character development.

As for the Eve character, it isn't the first time someone's been brought back to life and given different personality traits. I suspect this might be due to some witchery, which actually might fit in with Grimm. I am hoping that she gets to shine in the new character.

She wouldn't be the first actor to be lackluster in a role. Remember George Clooney in Rosanne?

Hi Irukandji,
Note that Bitsie has two doubles. One plays the part of the hexenbiest and the other does the stunts. Bitsie handles the part of expressionless Juliette. I expect the part of Evil Eve will not requite much expression.

New Guy

(01-25-2016, 08:31 AM)New Guy Wrote: [ -> ]Hi Irukandji,
Note that Bitsie has two doubles. One plays the part of the hexenbiest and the other does the stunts. Bitsie handles the part of expressionless Juliette. I expect the part of Evil Eve will not requite much expression.
New Guy

Our expectations are all different aren't they? In my case, I expect Bitsie to totally convince me she is a different character. I expect that in relation to everything, including the lame acting I've seen on the part of the other actors this season. (None of them has been a standout by any means). If Bitsie can do that, she has my vote.

(01-24-2016, 11:12 PM)izzy Wrote: [ -> ]My guess is the writers are segregated from those trying to syndicate the show. It probably was already written and filmed when someone went "you did what to Juliette". Okay geniuses,now you have to bring her back.

I'm not too sure the writers wanted to KEEP Juliette dead. Otherwise, they wouldn't have written in a "backdoor" device where Chavez shows up with the H.W. goons to steal her body.

I don't necessarily have a problem with characters being resurrected. In this case, it was the way it was done that's cause for a migraine. Anyone remember Luke's conversation with Ben's ghost in Return of the Jedi?

LUKE: You told me Vader betrayed and murdered my father.

BEN: You father was seduced by the dark side of the Force. He ceased to be Anakin Skywalker and became Darth Vader. When that happened, the good man who was your father was destroyed. So what I have told you was true...from a certain point of view.

In any other situation, Luke would have been justified to yell "bullshit" right in Ben's face. Greenwalt and Kouf are pulling a similar stunt here. They stated point-blank to the fans Juliette was D-E-A-D. But when Bitsie actually returned to the show, they cooked up the Eve scenario so they could safely say, "See? We didn't lie at all! Juliette IS dead! This is a brand new character called Eve!"

It's this kind of aggravating "cleverness" among a lot of Joss Whedon-influenced writers that makes watching a show I really want to love difficult.