CSI:NY -- Thoughts on Sam Flack

I was re-watching "Veritas" (love the CBS streaming video) and I realized that they did a great job in creating the character of Samantha Flack. CSI:NY usually does a fair job of making minor characters interesting, but with Sam there are some great possibilities.

She is a perfect example of a rebellious girl in a "good" family. She's pretty, cool and has just the right amount of anger and hurt to make her real. I also like that she was presented ambiguously. She could just be what she appears to be -- a nice person just trying to get by -- but she does run with a bad crowd. She poses an interesting dilemma: If she didn't know the type of person she loaned her car to, she's remarkably (and dangerously) naive for someone who lives the way she does. If she knew more about what was happening then she said, exactly how much did she know? Either scenario works for the character. I personally think that she knows more than she let on -- not that she was involved, but just that she "don't ask, don't tell me" policy when dealing with people: she doesn't care if you are breaking the law, she just doesn't want to know.

I look forward to seeing what they are going to do with the character in the future. There is so much potential conflict with her. What I'm looking forward to -- what I'm HOPING to see -- is a flawed Sam.

Her hurt in the show was very real. She obvious does have a lot to live up to and just as obviously feels that she can't. She feels left out of the family -- worse yet, she feels judged by her family. And she's not completely wrong. She lives life on the edge by choice and has been in trouble before. I'd like to see that continued. I'd like to see her as someone who gets in over her head, who makes impulsive "rebel" decisions that get her in trouble. Someone who is so stubborn, so determined to prove to her family that she is right in her choices, that she digs her own grave and does so with a determined smile, claiming all the while that she hadn't made a mistake.

She has so much potential to be an interesting character full of a great many conflict possibilities. I don't want her to be "bad", I just want her to be the wonderfully interesting, conflicted, not-perfect character she has the potential to be.

I have pretty good faith in the writers. I'm hoping that Sam gets the same type of "family" status that Reed has. The writers did good by him, I'm hoping they do good by Sam, too.

Growing up is hard to do

How the hell does anyone survive being a teenager?

I am always completely amazed at the number of stories where people voluntarily choose to go back and relive their teenage years. There is no way in hell I would ever do that. Being an adult may be work and responsibility, but there is nothing that would ever get me to choose to go back and relive that time.

Teenage years are nothing but high emotion... be it bad or good. Everything hurts so much and everything feels so good. And while that purity of emotion may be great in a fleeting moment in adult life, it's gotta suck when it's on 24/7.

It's a damn hard thing trying to figure out how to be an adult. Our pop-culture society -- with its hatred of responsibility and quick fix mentality -- makes it even harder.

It's a miracle that anyone ever grows up.

Partially related question:

It's homecoming weekend. There is a pep rally, snake dance and bonfire. Parade and game tomorrow. I get a call at 7:30 from Myr, hysterical because she lost her camera and asking if I could pick her up right away. I drive there, pick her up and bring her home. Then I spend a half hour trying to calm her down, looking through her backpack and mentally retracing her steps. I ask: Do you want to go back and look at the school courtyard again? The answer was yes, so we take a flashlight (because it is now dusk) and head back. Miraculously, we find it, hidden under a bush at the side of the building. My promises that we could replace the camera are, fortunately, not needed.

I then drop her off at the park with her friends because, crisis over, she can have fun again. At 9:30 she calls. Could two of her friends (A and S) stay over. Sure, why the hell not, what's too extra 15 year-olds? They show up with Z in tow, promising that he won't stay the night. Like that would even be an option. They are hungry, so I order pizza hut and pick it up. They are now watching Hercules -- because even teenagers aren't too old for Disney films.

So.. do I get an A for being a good mom tonight?