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doranwenI've only seen through 3x02, but I'm already prepared to say that Profiler S3 is a noticeably different show from Profiler S1/S2.
The first thing I noticed, watching the first few minutes of 3x01, was the lighting. In S1/S2 it was rich, warm, even intimate at times (case in point: the Sam/Bailey conversation about Barbara Chapin in 1x10 Shattered Silence), except for the blue lighting in Jack's scenes (which is intense blue). In S3 it's cold, washed out a little; the characters don't look as good in the new lighting.
This is particularly noticeable in the beginning credits/theme, which is radically different from S1/S2. Now, Profiler isn't the first show I've seen to change themes mid-show; the Pretender did it as well (same network, makes sense), as did one of my favorites, 1-800-Missing, which changed so drastically from S1 to S2 (the name change to Missing is one of the smaller changes) that I still haven't watched the rest of the show. But the new Profiler theme is all creepy weird and blue/cold-colored. Like Sam's being haunted/tormented. I'm not a fan of it at all.
Which brings me to the character changes. Sam doesn't feel like quite the same character. She's saying and doing things that are just slightly "off"—Bailey too. It's hard to pin down exactly what about it isn't right sometimes, but the argument Sam and Bailey had not even halfway through the episode made me think "wait a minute, that's not in character"—I knew they'd changed things then for sure. Her lying to Bailey and the others about her house, faking ill to sneak out… none of that makes ANY sense for Sam. She does some foolhardy things at times but that, no.
The actress change for Chloe, that I already knew about, and had dreaded. And now that I see the new actress, I am not reassured. I'm sure she's a wonderful actress, but she isn't Chloe. Her hair's reddish (Chloe was always a blonde like Sam, no red tint), she is several years too old (Chloe should be nine, not eleven or twelve! and DEFINITELY not talking about crushes on boys yet), and she doesn't really look like Sam's daughter. S1/S2 Chloe did to me - and she particularly looked like she had the face shape of her grandma (Tom's mother Helen) which fit nicely into the world. So this new "Chloe" is going to take a while for me to warm up to, if I ever do. I wonder why they felt they needed to change actresses? Caitlin Wachs was doing a terrific job as Chloe.
And then there's all the *other* inconsistencies. I'll leave Jack alone (I'd been accidentally spoilered for Lucas not actually being Jack before I got to S3 but I'm waiting to see how it all plays out), but Sam's own life was a bit of a mess. Did the writers not keep any kind of notes on what backstory they'd already given Sam? Her religion should have been easy to keep straight. (And you can't tell me Bailey didn't already know where Sam grew up.)
Beyond inconsistencies are just other changes, things I've noticed that they're putting into the season that weren't there in S1/S2. For instance, the VCTF suddenly not having a plane. They rode in the chopper most of the time in S1/S2, yes (the chopper sounds might be our only clue much of the time but they imply it, and it IS possible to travel a lot of the distances they did by chopper), but they did have a plane they flew in at least twice in S2! Suddenly they're taking commercial flights (and getting bumped) and Bailey's trying to get them a plane. No explanation of how that happened, but then, they never explained where Nathan went (and now Marcus), so. One funny comment I saw on the old LJ comm was that Marcus "fell into a plothole". XD
In addition to all of the above, there's the type of scenes shown. In S1/S2, we don't see that much of the actual villain. We certainly never see their face ahead of time, until the VCTF figures out who it is and catch them. But 3x01 showed Lucas alone long before he was caught, and 3x02 showed quite a few scenes with the villain (at home and other places) before the VCTF figured out who it was. I don't like it as well. The mystery in the way it was shown in S1/S2 is definitely better; other than the occasional suspenseful bit, why do I want to see a killer I don't know or care about going about ordinary life? Give me more detective work by the characters I love. They did show more scenes with the actual main cast interacting - but it doesn't feel like real character development when they change so much and ignore some of what they'd already set out as fact. I'm not going to stop watching—I'm waiting till I've seen through Reunion to read quite a few fics that declare themselves set around it or have spoilers for it—but I'm already making a mental file to divide S1/S2 from S3 in terms of canon, and I will probably consider most details introduced only in S3 as optional and not solidly canon the way anything from S1/S2 is.
My favorite Profiler fanfic author (because it's solid writing for my favorite ship, lol) wrote a few stories (like 15 years ago) as a slow burn Sam/Bailey romance series (sadly, a perma-WIP now but what there is is SO incredibly good), and they started them just before the end of S2—and now I can definitely see why. One would have to deliberately decide on that, because some of the changes in S3 are significant enough that you have to either ignore S1/S2 canon for them, or set your fic in S1/S2 and ignore S3. I'm now wishing I were capable of writing a really long fic without a LOT of handholding, because I'd write my own Sam/Bailey get together fic. (I kind of am—set in early S2—except it's ridiculously tropey. And there's a big chance that it won't get finished and I'll have to post it as a perma-WIP, because I don't have an alpha reader.)
So I'm of the firm opinion that the S3 writers didn't quite know what they were doing, and they definitely didn't have the same grasp on the characters that the S1/S2 ones did. Anyone else agree?
The first thing I noticed, watching the first few minutes of 3x01, was the lighting. In S1/S2 it was rich, warm, even intimate at times (case in point: the Sam/Bailey conversation about Barbara Chapin in 1x10 Shattered Silence), except for the blue lighting in Jack's scenes (which is intense blue). In S3 it's cold, washed out a little; the characters don't look as good in the new lighting.
This is particularly noticeable in the beginning credits/theme, which is radically different from S1/S2. Now, Profiler isn't the first show I've seen to change themes mid-show; the Pretender did it as well (same network, makes sense), as did one of my favorites, 1-800-Missing, which changed so drastically from S1 to S2 (the name change to Missing is one of the smaller changes) that I still haven't watched the rest of the show. But the new Profiler theme is all creepy weird and blue/cold-colored. Like Sam's being haunted/tormented. I'm not a fan of it at all.
Which brings me to the character changes. Sam doesn't feel like quite the same character. She's saying and doing things that are just slightly "off"—Bailey too. It's hard to pin down exactly what about it isn't right sometimes, but the argument Sam and Bailey had not even halfway through the episode made me think "wait a minute, that's not in character"—I knew they'd changed things then for sure. Her lying to Bailey and the others about her house, faking ill to sneak out… none of that makes ANY sense for Sam. She does some foolhardy things at times but that, no.
The actress change for Chloe, that I already knew about, and had dreaded. And now that I see the new actress, I am not reassured. I'm sure she's a wonderful actress, but she isn't Chloe. Her hair's reddish (Chloe was always a blonde like Sam, no red tint), she is several years too old (Chloe should be nine, not eleven or twelve! and DEFINITELY not talking about crushes on boys yet), and she doesn't really look like Sam's daughter. S1/S2 Chloe did to me - and she particularly looked like she had the face shape of her grandma (Tom's mother Helen) which fit nicely into the world. So this new "Chloe" is going to take a while for me to warm up to, if I ever do. I wonder why they felt they needed to change actresses? Caitlin Wachs was doing a terrific job as Chloe.
And then there's all the *other* inconsistencies. I'll leave Jack alone (I'd been accidentally spoilered for Lucas not actually being Jack before I got to S3 but I'm waiting to see how it all plays out), but Sam's own life was a bit of a mess. Did the writers not keep any kind of notes on what backstory they'd already given Sam? Her religion should have been easy to keep straight. (And you can't tell me Bailey didn't already know where Sam grew up.)
Beyond inconsistencies are just other changes, things I've noticed that they're putting into the season that weren't there in S1/S2. For instance, the VCTF suddenly not having a plane. They rode in the chopper most of the time in S1/S2, yes (the chopper sounds might be our only clue much of the time but they imply it, and it IS possible to travel a lot of the distances they did by chopper), but they did have a plane they flew in at least twice in S2! Suddenly they're taking commercial flights (and getting bumped) and Bailey's trying to get them a plane. No explanation of how that happened, but then, they never explained where Nathan went (and now Marcus), so. One funny comment I saw on the old LJ comm was that Marcus "fell into a plothole". XD
In addition to all of the above, there's the type of scenes shown. In S1/S2, we don't see that much of the actual villain. We certainly never see their face ahead of time, until the VCTF figures out who it is and catch them. But 3x01 showed Lucas alone long before he was caught, and 3x02 showed quite a few scenes with the villain (at home and other places) before the VCTF figured out who it was. I don't like it as well. The mystery in the way it was shown in S1/S2 is definitely better; other than the occasional suspenseful bit, why do I want to see a killer I don't know or care about going about ordinary life? Give me more detective work by the characters I love. They did show more scenes with the actual main cast interacting - but it doesn't feel like real character development when they change so much and ignore some of what they'd already set out as fact. I'm not going to stop watching—I'm waiting till I've seen through Reunion to read quite a few fics that declare themselves set around it or have spoilers for it—but I'm already making a mental file to divide S1/S2 from S3 in terms of canon, and I will probably consider most details introduced only in S3 as optional and not solidly canon the way anything from S1/S2 is.
My favorite Profiler fanfic author (because it's solid writing for my favorite ship, lol) wrote a few stories (like 15 years ago) as a slow burn Sam/Bailey romance series (sadly, a perma-WIP now but what there is is SO incredibly good), and they started them just before the end of S2—and now I can definitely see why. One would have to deliberately decide on that, because some of the changes in S3 are significant enough that you have to either ignore S1/S2 canon for them, or set your fic in S1/S2 and ignore S3. I'm now wishing I were capable of writing a really long fic without a LOT of handholding, because I'd write my own Sam/Bailey get together fic. (I kind of am—set in early S2—except it's ridiculously tropey. And there's a big chance that it won't get finished and I'll have to post it as a perma-WIP, because I don't have an alpha reader.)
So I'm of the firm opinion that the S3 writers didn't quite know what they were doing, and they definitely didn't have the same grasp on the characters that the S1/S2 ones did. Anyone else agree?
no subject
Date: 2024-04-22 08:59 pm (UTC)I will definitely look up those stories you mentioned; it's a million years since I read any Profiler fanfic and I'd love to revisit it!
no subject
Date: 2024-04-22 10:59 pm (UTC)I've written five ficlets already on AO3 and I'm pleased with the last one (but the others aren't terrible either, I don't think) - so you're also welcome to check them out if you like, and I can rec some other good ones that I've found here and there (I need to make more time for my fic db so I can get Profiler added in at some point).
I'm up to 3x04 and sort of watching slowly because I started a super tropey fic set just after 2x03 that's very, very Sam/Bailey, and I'm having fun indulging myself there. Haven't posted it anywhere yet, though. I'm pasting bits to a friend on Discord that is watching Profiler (they saw a few eps years ago but don't really remember it so they're watching it straight through from the start, haven't quite finished S1 yet though), and we'll see how long I can manage writing it before I run into a brick wall.