Elizabeth Mitchell - Erica Evans #5: "We were going to win - just so you know."

Hamburgo1001 · 10-15-2013, 07:48 AM

Welcome to the 4th Appreciation Thread for
Elizabeth&Erica

:: She’s s m a r t and i n t e l l i g e n t
and all the things that you would want someone
who is protecting our country to be ::

Elizabeth Mitchell
birth name: Elizabeth Joanna Robertson
date of birth: M a r c h, 27th 1970. Los Angeles, California.
Raised in Dallas, Mitchell transitioned from a performing arts high school
to a BFA degree in acting. She further honed her craft at the renowned Dallas Theatre Company.
Her stage credits include productions of As You Like It, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to
the Forum and Chicago. Along with starring as Juliet on Lost, Elizabeth also appeared as
Mrs. Claus in the last two installments of The Santa Clause trilogy; time-traveled alongside
the likes of Dennis Quaid in Frequency; and played the girlfriend to Angelina Jolie in
her portrayal of supermodel Gia for the Golden Globe-winning telefilm.
Mitchell's additional credits include Neil LaBute's Nurse Betty a recurring role as
Dr. Kim Legaspi on ER, Wayne Kramer's Running Scared, The Lyons Den and the BBC series Man and Boy.
Further solidifying her course on the fast-track was her role opposite Barry Pepper as Teresa Earnhardt
in the ESPN original telefilm 3: The Dale Earnhardt Story.
She married actor Chris Soldevilla on June 13, 2004. They have a son,
Christopher Joseph (C.J.), who was born on September 4, 2005.

Erica Evans
Erica is a special agent with the FBI's Counter Terrorist Division.
She is a strong-willed, independent woman and also a single mom doing the best she can
raising a troubled teenaged son. After the Visitors arrive, Erica gets caught up in the
greatest conspiracy and toughest fight of her life, to save humanity and to keep her son safe.
Her relationship with Tyler deteriorates when he becomes a Peace Ambassador for the Vs.
Also, it suffers another blow when Tyler discovers his mysterious past. However, when
Lisa breaks up with him, Tyler seeks comfort in his mother, and the two begin to reconnect.
The two are shown to be very close after overcoming their issues. Erica also becomes close
with Jack Landry, who she helps to solve his doubts whether to trust the Vs or not.
The two decide to from a Resistance when they are shown the Visitor's true nature.
Both Erica and Jack are determined to show about humanity's positive traits,
as they both agree that they cannot be like the Vs and sacrifice innocent people in the war.

S u p p o r t e r s;

1. carolilly
2. _masquerade_
3. wingster
4. Hawthorn
5. AmyElizabeth
6. California_Here_I_come
7. Killith
8. siobeehan
9. Addison Montgomery
10. JB4EVER
11. HalesNLuke
12. Crystaline
13. lisagslack14
14. Hamburgo1001
15. DancingWithLife
16. Deiaa
17. Irulan
18. GrhmLz
19. ~ayumi~
20. Ford07
21. Anteeo^^
22. denise19
23. deadstars
24. SarahHh
25. Stay to the Lights

- Quotes -

“ It’s Elizabeth Mitchell’s Erica Evans who steals the show, however.
Within the first minutes of V, Mitchell had me pulled in,
so utterly immersed in her character as to make every moment, every line,
not merely believable but compelling.”
[Popculturereference]

“ The sensational Elizabeth Mitchell is absolutely captivating here as tough-as-nails Erica Evans,
a woman scarred by the breakup of her marriage, emotionally distant towards her son,
and driven by her job as a federal agent. It's impossible not to root for Erica as she kicks down doors,
solves crimes, and seriously kicks ass. It's especially nice to see Mitchell, typically more
reactive as Juliet, take a firm, proactive role here.”
[Televisionary Blog]

“ Enter Elizabeth Mitchell as FBI Counter Terorist Agent Erica Evans,
who isn't exactly ready to start drinking the Kool-Aid.
Mitchell is able to express so much without any words.
You'll immediately root for her as a mom trying to protect her teenage
son and a FBI agent trying to protect her country. ”
[Zap2it]

“ Elizabeth was a godsend.
We had a difficult time finding actresses who could do a kick-ass, take-names character
while tapping into the vulnerability of a single mother raising a child on her own.
The minute we heard her name we knew she would be perfect. ”
[Scott Peters]

“ Elizabeth is fast becoming the actress to turn to when
a TV production is in need of a stoic, intelligent and feisty woman.
One reason may be because there is this range of emotions she conveys
through her characters which make it very hard for the viewers to look away
from her blue eyes, blonde hair and defined cheekbones and chin.
The casting is perfect, Mitchell does a great job balancing between
being a tough FBI agent and trying to be a good mother but failing at it.
But the bottom line is, Mitchell is perfect because she’s the antithesis of Anna.”
[The Star Online]

“ She is the ultimate versatile heroine.
You look into her eyes and you see a vulnerability but you see a strength.
Plus, she has the bluest eyes I've seen on film.”
[Scott Peters]

“ A particular standout in the pilot is Elizabeth Mitchell as Erica Evans,
an FBI counterterrorism agent who features in an at-first unconnected subplot
involving the only terrorist group whose "chatter" spikes after the aliens arrive.
Her pursuit of this story leads to the revelation of a number of secrets the Visitors
don't want us to know. Mitchell is solid and grounded, an excellent anchor
for the show both in the FBI storyline and as mother of a rebellious son.”
[About.com]

“ There are so many strengths on the show. Not the least of which I think is the actors.
I think Elizabeth Mitchell is so strong. She's fantastic and she really brings a real realness.
I think she kinda roots the show in a sense of honesty. You can buy into it.
You can believe that aliens really are on earth, which is no easy feat to do as an actor. ”
[Mark Hildreth]

“ It was such a great moment for us to know that we had found our Erica.
She is absolutely the complete package. She’s able to be kicking ass and taking
names in one scene and you get to see a little small private moment with her where you
realize she’s a human being. She’s somebody who has a child and a marriage that fell apart
and is dimensionalized that way. And it really sends chills down my spine when I see her do her thing. ”
[Scott Peters]

. . .

- Season One Moments -

“ We help build a resistance,
we recruit… we'll fight. ”

Mom vs. Mom

" If I have to cross a line 
to blow that bitch out of the sky… I will. "

“ Anna and Erica together: Watching these characters pretend to like each other is incredibly entertaining.
Elizabeth Mitchell and Morena Baccarin do subtext unbelievably well, and while the two women made polite small talk,
you could feel everything going on underneath the surface.
Erica and Anna are trying to figure out how to use each other, and watching these two prizefighters
in pencil skirts size each other up was even more delicious this week than it was last week. ”
[Chicago Tribute]

" As a mother I know that if someone tried to hurt my son,
there's nothing I wouldn't do to stop them."

- I’m sure we will cross paths again soon. -
" I’m not going anywhere Anna."

" If she’s gonna use my son  then
I’m sure as hell gonna use her daughter. "

" Here’s to your children’s future Anna!"

. . .

- Elizabeth's Quotes -

“ What I enjoyed about Erica and how it kind of came to be is a little
bit of the flip side of that. It’s someone who is not broken yet. It’s somebody who every
single day of her life spends every second trying to protect her world, trying to protect her people.
She puts herself in harm’s way, she is very active in her life. She’s active with her son.
She was probably so active in her life that her husband left her.
She is not someone who has made these crazy, horrible choices so as a result
it’s almost like we get to see someone at the beginning of this journey, which I like.
And I like the fact that she’s tough, I like tough women, but she’s outwardly tough.
She’s an FBI agent. She walks around. You don’t want to mess with her.”

“ Sometimes it's hard reading Erica on some of the scripts.
I have to only read the scene once because it is so freakin’ sad.
So I have to memorise it really carefully and stay away from it.
Otherwise I am sitting there and my husband is saying,
‘Why are you crying?’ Look at what she is doing?
Why can’t I fix it? ”

“ Erica is so messy,
she is so much more human.
She’s more like me.”

“ I would like to know, in writing, exactly what Anna has planned
and then I would like to dissect that piece by piece,
tear it apart…blow up everything that I possibly can
and then have a romance with both Hobbes and Father Jack…
That’s what I would like!”

“ I'm a 40-year-old
female action hero.”

“ I’m pretty bored with people sitting in a room talking about
what they’re going to do, yeah. I’d like to be Han Solo.
I’d like a little banter. And I’m up for a little sordid romance.
I’d love to see Erica make some sort of horrible
misinformed move on Father Jack and have
him be like, “Uh, I’m a priest.” ”

[What originally drew you to the role of Erica?]

“ Well, it’s actually really interesting because since I was a little kid,
I wanted to play kind of a sci-fi hero protagonist woman. And that really was it.
That was the initial draw, and it was basically kind of a childhood wish fulfillment
— that sort of thing. Because that’s what I watched, and that’s what I love.
And then as I started getting into it and my character started getting more interesting,
I was like “Cool, okay this is cool.” So that’s what initially drew me to it. Actually, honestly that was it.
I thought it would be a really unique and interesting way to spend my time.
And I thought it would be really fun. I had been doing such deep, dark stuff, I thought
that taking a little kind of a popcorn movie would be great. Not of course realizing
that once I joined it, she would become twisted and dark.
But you know, that’s just me, that’s what I tend to do.”

. . .

“ Asses have to be k i c k e d ”

. . .

F i l m o g r a p h y;

Movies
☆ Comfort, Texas (1997) - Trudy
☆ Gia (1998) - Linda
☆ Molly (1999) - Beverly Trehare
☆ Frequency (2000) - Julia Sullivan
☆ Nurse Betty (2000) - Chloe Jensen
☆ The Linda McCartney Story (2000) - Linda McCartney
☆ Hollywood Palms (2001) - Blair
☆ Double Bang (2001) - Dr. Karen Winterman
☆ The Santa Clause 2 (2002) - Carol Newman
☆ Man and Boy (2002) - Cyd Mason
☆ 3: The Dale Earnhardt Story (2004) - Teresa Earnhardt
☆ Running Scared (2006) - Edele Hansel
☆ The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (2006) - Carol Newman
☆ Answers to Nothing (2010) - Kate

Television
☆ Dangerous Curves (1993) - Bethanny Haines
☆ Loving (1994) - Dinah Lee Mayberry
☆ L.A. Firefighters (1996) - Laura Malloy
☆ The Sentinel (1996) - Wendy Hawthorne
☆ JAG (1997) - Sandra Gilbert
☆ Significant Others (1998) - Jane Chasen
☆ Time of Your Life (1999) - Ashley Holloway
☆ E.R. (2000) - Dr. Kim Legaspi
☆ The Beast (2001) - Alice Allenby
☆ Spin City (2001) - Nancy Wheeler
☆ The Lyon's Den (2003) - Ariel Saxon
☆ Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2003) - Andrea Brown
☆ CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2003) - Melissa Winters
☆ Grammercy Park (2004) - Taylor Elliot Quinn
☆ Everwood (2004) - Sara Beck
☆ Boston Legal (2004) - Christine Pauley
☆ House M.D. (2004) - Sister Mary Augustine
☆ Haskett's Chance (2004) - Ann Haskett
☆ Lost (2006) - Juliet Burke
☆ V (2009) - Erica Evans

Theatre
☆ Amateurs (1992) – Jennifer
☆ Red Channels (1994) – Shelia Harcourt
☆ Three Tall Women (1995) – C
☆ Absolution (1999) – Gordon's Wife
☆ A Midsummer Night's Dream (2008) – Helena

P r e v i o u s T h r e a d s;

1. Because we can't wait to see Liz in a new tv show!
2. "I like tough women, but Erica is outwardly tough. You don't want to mess with her."
3. "EM is sublime as the FBI agent who uncovers the truth about the Visitors" - NorthJersey.com
4. "Mitchell is an excellent actress, displaying strength and vulnerability interchangeably." (Mania)

Hamburgo1001 · 10-15-2013, 08:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Heiots (View Post)

I kind of wish it was still going. Or, well, I wish it was still going. i'd love to know where it would've been today.

I think if the show had continued, the ratings would have fallen into the 1.1-1.3 range by now. The thing with shows like "V", Revolution, FlashForward, etc. is that they premiere to really huge numbers, but the ratings then drop like a rock because of the lack of quality. And once the ratings are down, they usually stay down because even if the show improves (big if!), most people don't care anymore by then and have moved on. IMO, the broadcast networks simply don't know how to do proper science-fiction/genre television. They buy these sci-fi/genre shows and instead of embracing the sci-fi/genre aspect, they 'water them down' a lot in an attempt to please everyone and in the end, they end up pleasing no one. If The Walking Dead had ended up on NBC like it was originally intended, the show would have been dead a long time ago. But on cable, it has grown into the highest rated show on all of television.

Hawthorn · 10-15-2013, 09:29 AM

Thanks for the new thread.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hamburgo1001 (View Post)

They buy these sci-fi/genre shows and instead of embracing the sci-fi/genre aspect, they 'water them down' a lot in an attempt to please everyone and in the end, they end up pleasing no one.

So true, sadly.

And for the record, I don't think there is anything wrong with doing more "light-hearted" sci-fi, but they should sell a series for what it is from the get go, instead of attempting to create buzz trying to make a show look like an innovative, edgy take on the genre.

Season 3 of V would've probably been an even bigger mess of S2, because the season-then-become-series finale was nothing but a last minute attempt to shock/intrigue people. Erica would've had nothing left to hold onto (I guess they would've pursued a romance with Jack at some point, but I can't think of anything else with Joe and Tyler both gone) so I don't know how she might have been written.

Hamburgo1001 · 10-15-2013, 03:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hawthorn (View Post)

Season 3 of V would've probably been an even bigger mess of S2, because the season-then-become-series finale was nothing but a last minute attempt to shock/intrigue people. Erica would've had nothing left to hold onto (I guess they would've pursued a romance with Jack at some point, but I can't think of anything else with Joe and Tyler both gone) so I don't know how she might have been written.

They would have Helena Cain-ed her for sure. Unfortunately, SR was of the opinion that Erica could only become an effective leader if her humanity and conscience go completely out the window. Everything the writers did was done to fuel Erica's transformation into a cold and ruthless killer. She wouldn't have fought for the greater good of humanity anymore, but for revenge.

I agree with you that the writers would have eventually redeemed Erica through a romance with Jack and just the mere thought still makes me want to hurl. I'm glad that I never had to see any of this play out. I like my own head canon a whole lot better than what the show would have given us.

ETA:

It's time for another round of survivor. #17 was eliminated in the last round:

Erica Evans Promo Picture Survivor

#1

#2

#3
Eliminated in Round 2

#4

#5

#6

#7

#8

#9

#10
Eliminated in Round 1

#11

#12

#13

#14

#15

#16

#17
Eliminated in Round 3

#18

#19

Hawthorn · 10-15-2013, 07:05 PM

#2 again

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hamburgo1001 (View Post)

They would have Helena Cain-ed her for sure. Unfortunately, SR was of the opinion that Erica could only become an effective leader if her humanity and conscience go completely out the window. Everything the writers did was done to fuel Erica's transformation into a cold and ruthless killer. She wouldn't have fought for the greater good of humanity anymore, but for revenge.

Vengeance would have been her main, if not only, drive. I think it wasn't a completely planned move, though. I still hold onto the conviction that Erica's son's death was a last minute, desperate solution to the fear of cancellation, and they didn't think about the long-term consequences of her losing her child. But after that, I don't see what other angle they could have gone for.

Quote:

I'm glad that I never had to see any of this play out.

I'm right there with you on that.

I don't think I've ever seen a showrunner/writing team screw up so many main characters in such a small number of episodes.

IloveJules! · 10-16-2013, 04:53 AM

Hamburgo1001 · 10-16-2013, 05:47 AM

I'm gonna go with #13 too.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hawthorn (View Post)

Vengeance would have been her main, if not only, drive. I think it wasn't a completely planned move, though. I still hold onto the conviction that Erica's son's death was a last minute, desperate solution to the fear of cancellation, and they didn't think about the long-term consequences of her losing her child. But after that, I don't see what other angle they could have gone for.

Definitely. No one can ever convince me otherwise. If the writers had planned Tyler's death for some time, we would have seen a completely different story play out. As it stands, there was never a real reason for the writers to keep Tyler in the dark about the V's for as long as they did. He died immediately after he found out the truth and the reveal wasn't even shown to us on-screen.

Quote:

I don't think I've ever seen a showrunner/writing team screw up so many main characters in such a small number of episodes.

Me either. That has to be a record for the ages.

Hawthorn · 10-16-2013, 12:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hamburgo1001 (View Post)

Definitely. No one can ever convince me otherwise. If the writers had planned Tyler's death for some time, we would have seen a completely different story play out. As it stands, there was never a real reason for the writers to keep Tyler in the dark about the V's for as long as they did. He died immediately after he found out the truth and the reveal wasn't even shown to us on-screen.

Not to mention the way they handled the last scene/interaction between Tyler and Erica. They knew the audience hated him, they needed something to spice things up (in their opinion) and they just threw his death in the finale.

Quote:

Me either. That has to be a record for the ages.

I should feel better about Erica when I think about what they managed to come up with for Ryan (who used to be the male lead).

Fortunately, a lot of things from that show are nothing more than a blur in my mind already.

Hamburgo1001 · 10-18-2013, 06:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hawthorn (View Post)

Not to mention the way they handled the last scene/interaction between Tyler and Erica. They knew the audience hated him, they needed something to spice things up (in their opinion) and they just threw his death in the finale.

The writers didn't even have the presence of mind to have Erica present for Tyler's death scene and the story leading up to it was so loosely put together that the scenes didn't flow properly. I guess sometime in season 3, Chad would have told Erica that he saw "Lisa" feasting on Tyler's body on the mothership.

I'm kind of curious if EK is capable of doing something similar with Charlie on Revolution if the ratings continue to drop and he sees the show's chances at renewal slowly slipping away.

Quote:

I should feel better about Erica when I think about what they managed to come up with for Ryan (who used to be the male lead).

Please don't remind me, Fran. It's hard to pick the single worst development on the show because there were so many, but the total and utter destruction of the Ryan character definitely has to rank somewhere at the top of the list.

On to a new survivor round. #13 was eliminated in the last one:

Erica Evans Promo Picture Survivor

#1

#2

#3
Eliminated in Round 2

#4

#5

#6

#7

#8

#9

#10
Eliminated in Round 1

#11

#12

#13
Eliminated in Round 4

#14

#15

#16

#17
Eliminated in Round 3

#18

#19

Hawthorn · 10-19-2013, 12:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hamburgo1001 (View Post)

The writers didn't even have the presence of mind to have Erica present for Tyler's death scene and the story leading up to it was so loosely put together that the scenes didn't flow properly. I guess sometime in season 3, Chad would have told Erica that he saw "Lisa" feasting on Tyler's body on the mothership.

Yeah, the whole Lisa thing, too. Erica would've started S3 trying to find and murder pretty much 80% of the characters left because of what they did or she was led to believe they did.

Quote:

I'm kind of curious if EK is capable of doing something similar with Charlie on Revolution if the ratings continue to drop and he sees the show's chances at renewal slowly slipping away.

I don't think she is at Tyler's level yet, or she is..? I thought the whole toning down the focus on her and "speeding up" her growth had helped some with the fans.

Quote:

Please don't remind me, Fran. It's hard to pick the single worst development on the show because there were so many, but the total and utter destruction of the Ryan character definitely has to rank somewhere at the top of the list.

I don't know if this is the right word, but besides being mistreated big time, I feel like they truly humiliated him and what his character stood for with everything they ended up throwing at him.

They crapped all over Hobbes, too, but he was never made as important to the story as Ryan.

Back to our game: #2

IloveJules! · 10-20-2013, 02:41 AM

Heiots · 10-20-2013, 03:26 AM

Hamburgo1001 · 10-22-2013, 06:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hawthorn (View Post)

I don't think she is at Tyler's level yet, or she is..? I thought the whole toning down the focus on her and "speeding up" her growth had helped some with the fans.

Not quite. Charlie has a lot of haters amongst the adult fanbase, but she does have supporters among the younger demographic. With Tyler, you could probably count the number of his fans on 2 hands.

I'm gonna go with #16 too. Current score:

#2 - 1
#7 - 1
#16 - 2

#16 is eliminated. Next round:

Erica Evans Promo Picture Survivor

#1

#2

#3
Eliminated in Round 2

#4

#5

#6

#7

#8

#9

#10
Eliminated in Round 1

#11

#12

#13
Eliminated in Round 4

#14

#15

#16
Eliminated in Round 5

#17
Eliminated in Round 3

#18

#19

IloveJules! · 10-23-2013, 05:11 AM

Hawthorn · 10-23-2013, 10:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hamburgo1001 (View Post)

Not quite. Charlie has a lot of haters amongst the adult fanbase, but she does have supporters among the younger demographic. With Tyler, you could probably count the number of his fans on 2 hands.

I must say, in comparison to Tyler, Charlie almost comes off as a good character.

I'm still pissed about how treated him on V more because of a matter of principle and due to just how ridiculously badly he was written off than anything else.

#2


Fan Forum > Archived Celebrities > Elizabeth Mitchell > Erica Evans #5: "We were going to win - just so you know."