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I decided it's time to watch it all from the start to finish again. I don't want to skip ahead, so I have a question now. The number three cop in the pilot - he has a few lines, "It's from the Bible", ends up being Franks boss at the end of the series, right? But I think they just reused this actor, becuase in season three he is a big boss at the FBI. Do I have it right?

The pilot holds up so well. I foudn it interesting how Frank talks about being "numb to it" until his family was threatened. Because when I first saw the guy pulled out of the coffin with his body sewn up I was horrified for a few days, but now it's just another horror scene among so many I have seen. I hope I can wake up without having someone scare me in real life like Frank.

Of courese I don't go to slashers like Saw etc., so maybe there is hope for me?

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Guest MillenniumIsBliss
I decided it's time to watch it all from the start to finish again. I don't want to skip ahead, so I have a question now. The number three cop in the pilot - he has a few lines, "It's from the Bible", ends up being Franks boss at the end of the series, right? But I think they just reused this actor, becuase in season three he is a big boss at the FBI. Do I have it right?

The pilot holds up so well. I foudn it interesting how Frank talks about being "numb to it" until his family was threatened. Because when I first saw the guy pulled out of the coffin with his body sewn up I was horrified for a few days, but now it's just another horror scene among so many I have seen. I hope I can wake up without having someone scare me in real life like Frank.

Of courese I don't go to slashers like Saw etc., so maybe there is hope for me?

Yes, this is correct, I don't know what they call him in season 1, but he plays McClaren in Season 3. His character kind of annoys me in season 3 because he just keeps doubting Frank. Frank has this legendary reputation in the FBI and proves himself time and time again, and McClaren just keeps acting like Frank is a crazy old hoot. I guess they just wanted that dynamic between the two characters. I guess it made for good story writing.

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Guest Moriarty
Yes, this is correct, I don't know what they call him in season 1, but he plays McClaren in Season 3. His character kind of annoys me in season 3 because he just keeps doubting Frank. Frank has this legendary reputation in the FBI and proves himself time and time again, and McClaren just keeps acting like Frank is a crazy old hoot. I guess they just wanted that dynamic between the two characters. I guess it made for good story writing.

Yes, the character of McClaren was somehow 1-dimensional. I feel that the writers did not know where to go with him. But that's also the case with Baldwin. That character had much more potential and was underused. Instead they focused more on Emma which was ok but then again, why bring Baldwin and McClaren into the show when the writers did nothing with them? I think that creating 3 new charcaters in one sesaon is too much. They could have easly combined McClaren and Baldwin in 1 character thus creating more debt into it. Anyway, that's how I see it.

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Guest ZeusFaber

I think bringing in Baldwin and McClaren and supporting characters was only a good idea. It fleshed out the surroundings and gave more depth to the FBI, rather than just being Frank and Emma as the only characters we ever saw. Sure, there could have been more done with them, but I think it's important to remember that they're only meant to be supporting players, not trying to turn the series into an ensemble show like CSI.

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Guest MillenniumIsBliss
I think bringing in Baldwin and McClaren and supporting characters was only a good idea. It fleshed out the surroundings and gave more depth to the FBI, rather than just being Frank and Emma as the only characters we ever saw. Sure, there could have been more done with them, but I think it's important to remember that they're only meant to be supporting players, not trying to turn the series into an ensemble show like CSI.

Yes, I agree, I think they were just tools for the writers to use developing story lines revolving around Frank and Emma and developing those two characters. I guess McClaren was around just to give Frank another obstacle to overcome in making him kind of an Underdog, overcoming the odds and the naysayers. In fact, that is what I categorize McClaren as, a classic naysayer. :oneeyedwinK

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Guest ZeusFaber

Yes, as Chris Carter stated in his audio commentary, one of the running themes of the show was the divide between the people who see the deeper connections, like Frank, and the people who don't, like Bob Bletcher in S1, and Andy McClaren in S3. Keeping that theme alive was no bad thing in my book.

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Guest MillenniumIsBliss
Yes, as Chris Carter stated in his audio commentary, one of the running themes of the show was the divide between the people who see the deeper connections, like Frank, and the people who don't, like Bob Bletcher in S1, and Andy McClaren in S3. Keeping that theme alive was no bad thing in my book.

I agree, I think it really added to Franks character and how much the viewer admired him, although I think his character is probably too good to be true in the "real world". We rarely saw a chink in Frank's armor, but hey, it's TV and they can make the leading man as magnanimous as they want. The way his character dealt with all of the adversity and with his detractors, such as McClaren and Baldwin, certainly made for a heroic main character.

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I agree, I think it really added to Franks character and how much the viewer admired him, although I think his character is probably too good to be true in the "real world". We rarely saw a chink in Frank's armor, but hey, it's TV and they can make the leading man as magnanimous as they want. The way his character dealt with all of the adversity and with his detractors, such as McClaren and Baldwin, certainly made for a heroic main character.
As usual, very good points put forth by ZF, Moriarty, and MIB..I can only speak for myself, but i really found McClaren's character to be 100% annoying and frustrating...no matter what Frank said, presented as evidence, McClaren was always there with a denial or refusal, always spouting the company line of protocol when in Frank's case, his whole professional life was spent "outside" the very box that McClaren tried to keep him in...this conflict, i felt somewhat diminished S3 in its intensity....just my thoughts..

4th Horseman...

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Guest SouthernCelt
As usual, very good points put forth by ZF, Moriarty, and MIB..I can only speak for myself, but i really found McClaren's character to be 100% annoying and frustrating...no matter what Frank said, presented as evidence, McClaren was always there with a denial or refusal, always spouting the company line of protocol when in Frank's case, his whole professional life was spent "outside" the very box that McClaren tried to keep him in...this conflict, i felt somewhat diminished S3 in its intensity....just my thoughts..

4th Horseman...

McClaren seemed to get Frank involved in things in which the Group had involvement but whenever Frank raised an objection to the Group being around or tried to explain why the Group couldn't be trusted to help the FBI, McClaren would throw out his statement about knowing that Frank had a problem with the Group and then disregard any details Frank offered to show why the Group had their own agenda. I was never clear on whether McClaren defended the Group because he believed in it or just didn't want to get into the hassle of taking Frank's side. I really got tired of his put-downs of Frank's explanation about why the Group deserved investigation if not outright banishment from participating in FBI business.

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Guest MillenniumIsBliss
As usual, very good points put forth by ZF, Moriarty, and MIB..I can only speak for myself, but i really found McClaren's character to be 100% annoying and frustrating...no matter what Frank said, presented as evidence, McClaren was always there with a denial or refusal, always spouting the company line of protocol when in Frank's case, his whole professional life was spent "outside" the very box that McClaren tried to keep him in...this conflict, i felt somewhat diminished S3 in its intensity....just my thoughts..

4th Horseman...

I think his character diminished S3 somewhat too. I think it diminished it's believability as well. As a one time character, McClaren would have been fine, but when he just continues to doubt Frank, even after Frank is proven right time after time, it loses it's believability, unless McClaren is manic depressive and we are just missing his manic stages. I can see what they are trying to do with his character, but I think they go way overboard. It would have been fun if at one point Frank told McClaren that he really needed to get laid. :oneeyedwinK

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