maplezbear

Hopefully you can wait to save yourself some money, but totally get it if you can't

shinebrighterxx

That's why I'll go with click & collect if I can over delivery . The delivery cost shouldn't be too bad once they are no longer a preorder. I presume if I preorder it is coming from Sydney or Melbourne. Once it is released it'll just come from my store.

florerr

Makes sense...

It sounds dreadful that you have a lockdown imposed until mid-Sept... You'd need something to keep you company...

This season offers one episode of Kensi & the garden gnome as well, if I recall correctly

maplezbear

Makes sense to wait

shinebrighterxx

hmm I don't actually know what was the last lot of special features I watched for this show. I know I hadn't gotten through them all, then I can't see any comments in the S9 thread so I think I missed the last three seasons...


Season 12: Greater by the Dozen

No surprise, covid made it hard to do this season. The EPs weren't sure how they would or if they could make this show. Much like NCIS, they all talked about how to do it & keep everyone safe while doing it.

Chris said they were separated, there were crew members he didn't even see this season. Mostly the cast was one or two members at a time.

LL thought they made good choices in what precautions were taken to keep everyone safe but still tell the stories they wanted to tell

Their first episode was a tester in a way to show how they could keep everyone safe, & what they could & couldn't do. If they could shoot outside, excellent, if they had to shoot inside could they do it without a roof... they cut back on extras. If there were scenes with four but they could do it with three they did that. If they could get them talking to screens or phones they did that.

Daniela said it created an intimate environment filming this way, & it allowed the writers to grow the intimacy between characters more. The directors had to be more creative in how they shot scenes since they couldn't do what they normally would.

Most scenes didn't have much contact between anyone. It worked for them.

ECO said they took it really seriously as they have people on the crew over 75 years old & they were looking after them as if they didn't that person could die. He said there was a sense of community, responsibility, & love, & that it was a best version of what a TV show can look like during a pandemic.

They wanted to explore Callen's history more & the history between him & Hetty more. They feel like they've got more to explore with Callen & that he isn't finished learning about himself yet. They don't know if he'll find happiness or things will settle for him for a while or just yet

Sam's life has been a bit tough since losing his wife, his kids went into the background a little, but now they're coming back more & exploring that & them as adults or becoming adults now. LL says Sam is someone who plays within the system, while his daughter doesn't, so they butt heads, but it is all normal parenting stuff being explored. It was a good exploration for the character as he's the only one with children the EPs felt. LL likes to see different sides of Sam, including his family & his humor side.

Daniela & ECO said wonderful things about the relationship between their characters. They've been through a lot but are still strong & wonderful together.
The EPs felt the LAPD thing had run its course, they weren't going anywhere with it, so they looked into if they could get him into FLETC & join NCIS. ECO is a fan of deeply flawed characters & this allowed him to really explore that with Deeks this season, along with the other things going on between him & Kensi. They've always wanted to bring Deeks into NCIS, this just became the perfect time. It all fell together. They were able to bring all the pieces together like budget issues in the police department. The vulnerability Deeks was feeling made his relationship with Kensi stronger ECO also said. The EPs like throwing hurdles at their characters (shocking, I know ). Daniela says her wet eyes in the moment Deeks gets his badge were real. The EPs looked at what he could be. He's an NCIS Investigator so he gets a silver badge, not a gold one.
It is interesting to play & watch the real problems an adult marriage goes through in those first few years & how everything works & comes together - like buying a house, having children. (I missed which EP said that) The original plan may have been for them to have a children, but life doesn't always work that way, so they're exploring that. Or that's how I'm understanding what is being said. Could be wrong. Having a baby is also an issue for TV as when they're out in the field there is also the question of 'who is with the baby', so it also sounds like they're putting things off for that reason too. They're finding more hurdles - like Kessler. Something I learned in this - Frank Military is a writer & producer on LA but also played that character which he created. Daniela said it allowed her something to think about as it was new for her character & it gave her more challenge. She doesn't need to really put thought on how Kensi interacts with Deeks anymore for example.

Frank Military says Caleb Castille & Medalion Rahimi are "shiny pennies", a great addition to the cast. It is nice for them to write for someone new & explore them, & how they interact with the team. Adds a freshness to the show. It is also amazing to have someone with Gerald McRaney's caliber on the show

Linda is special & they need to take good care of her. Everything was shot in her driveway. They set everything up on her driveway & she'd come out & shoot her bit. Supposedly her neighbours hated them, but it was important for them to have her on the show but also have her safe.

Now they're back to talking about how it was tough & exhausting to do this with covid, but everyone was amazing to do it. They celebrate each other for what they did & are really proud of everyone. They also never had to shut down production due to covid. They're still having fun doing this show. Daniela thinks it was one of their best. LL feels it gave a bit of comfort & escape from what was going on in the world still. Chris speaks about the chemistry of the cast & quality of the writing all makes the magic of the show. He said it far better than me .


Daniela Directs (her audio commentary is also for Russia, Russia, Russia)

Frank Military (EP) knew she'd be wonderful at directing & says she loved it. R. Scott Gemmill (EP) thought it was a great idea when Dani mentioned it to him. He also says she may peruse directing as a career one day & it is important to get the experience & opportunities which are there. He seems really happy to give her whatever experience they can give her so she can learn & get confidence.

Daniela didn't have the self esteem for this, she wasn't sure if she would have the skills for it or be able to handle that skillset. But she had people who kept asking her if she would & she convinced herself that maybe the universe was telling her she could. She watched others doing it & showed herself that she could do it so she gave it a shot.

R. Scott Gemmill wrote the episode early so she had lots of time to prepare for it.

Daniela wanted to avoid fancy camera work as she didn't feel it was necessary & it wasn't a skill she felt she had. She knew there was still a lot for her to learn too.

Chris O'Donnell speaks highly of her. She came prepared but also worked collaboratively.

She was really excited about it

ECO says it is his job to support whatever passion she has. He would've been 100% supportive regardless, but says she really was amazing & exceeded all expectations.

Because of covid they actually got to shoot in places they normally wouldn't as they were shut so could allow filming to take place. They had 20 extras on the show, so they added noises & sound effects to make it feel like there were more people. You can hear children laughing for example to give the atmosphere of families being there but there are actually no children on the set. The rides were all going but there was actually no one on them. A combination of those sounds, the visuals, & camera work (blurring the background, focusing in on characters, moving faster past the background, ect.) filled in those gaps of less extras. Giving you the atmosphere of the themepark thing they were at. It is all an illusion.

LL liked seeing a strong young lady doing her thing & really know what she was doing & succeeding. She related to them as actors since she knew & understood that. She was very detail orientated.

Daniela feels it is a collaborative process & anyone who tries to do it by themselves crazy as it isn't possible as you can't think of everything.

Daniela has asked R. Scott Gemmill if she can direct two episodes next season

maplezbear

Thanks for that Chelle! Interesting stuff. Funny that Linda's neighbors didn't like her/them filming in her driveway.

Hopefully Dani will get to direct her two episodes this season

shinebrighterxx

I'm not surprised they didn't like it, there probably were a few trucks around & that background set up would've been annoying to put together. They were probably noisy too . I was surprised to hear they brought all that set onto her driveway. I presumed it was all just a green screen

I hope so too

florerr

They were probably just happy to be there, and maybe everyone tried to be there at least for a short while

Thanks for the specials!

It sounded like that ECO had his doubts about Dani coming up with a solid episode

shinebrighterxx

I don't think he meant it that way. I also could've worded it wrong. He was being supportive but he was also saying that it is also his job to be supportive because he's her friend, brother in law, & some other things too. So because of that he'll support her 100% no matter what she does. Maybe he meant that there was a thought in his head that he didn't think that, but I got the impression that he was simply acknowledging that of course he's going to say she's amazing he kinda has to since she's family & his friend. But in all honesty she really was amazing.

maplezbear

I can see it that way you explained it Chelle

florerr

I've probably misinterpreted your short summary...

Now it makes sense, that he was just truly being supportive... Dani's episode was pretty neat... Hopefully, she can get her 2 episodes in the upcoming season...

shinebrighterxx

Its hard to write what they're saying & bring across how they mean at times. I didn't know how to put across what he was saying fully either.

I'm pretty sure he was being supportive anyway

florerr

I know what you mean... ECO is I guess especially hard to transcribe at times with his facial expressions and fast-paced speech...

shinebrighterxx

That is where subtitles come in handy but even then some of them talk so fast

florerr

True...

And it takes hours to time them - captions - properly ...