NeonHumidity Posted March 23 Report Share Posted March 23 22 minutes ago, RedDragon86 said: My issue is not so much if she is Cuban or Italian its the fact that Sandra plays her mother, it ruins the viewers emotional investment in it, for me anyway I just can't take it seriously. Someone like Maria Conchita Alonso should have played her mother. The fact is, Gina being her mother’s “mirror image” (in Klaus’s words) and having an identical singing voice were a major plot point because they served as karmic vengeance on Pedrosa to the point of madness again. Also, many mothers and daughters are that similar. You’re free to think a different actress was needed, but I hope you feel that way about all the highly-dramatized episodes MV did… 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbie C. Posted March 23 Report Share Posted March 23 53 minutes ago, RedDragon86 said: My issue is not so much if she is Cuban or Italian its the fact that Sandra plays her mother, it ruins the viewers emotional investment in it, for me anyway I just can't take it seriously. Someone like Maria Conchita Alonso should have played her mother. Completely agree. Like I said, I get that they wanted to showcase Sandra (a bit too late, maybe), but this just doesn't work for me. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViceFanMan Posted March 23 Report Share Posted March 23 57 minutes ago, RedDragon86 said: My issue is not so much if she is Cuban or Italian its the fact that Sandra plays her mother, it ruins the viewers emotional investment in it, for me anyway I just can't take it seriously. Someone like Maria Conchita Alonso should have played her mother. For me it actually deepens the emotional attachment or aspect…playing her mother helped connect more to not only Gina, but her past & backstory as well. Plus, it really gave Saundra a chance to “shine”, as she got to show & utilize her singing talents as well. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedDragon86 Posted March 23 Report Share Posted March 23 (edited) 8 hours ago, ViceFanMan said: For me it actually deepens the emotional attachment or aspect…playing her mother helped connect more to not only Gina, but her past & backstory as well. Plus, it really gave Saundra a chance to “shine”, as she got to show & utilize her singing talents as well. Yeah but you say to yourself the first time you watch it "that's Gina isn't it?" something you would see in a Quantum Leap episode. It takes away all the seriousness, it's a bit daft imo. Edited March 23 by RedDragon86 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViceFanMan Posted March 23 Report Share Posted March 23 21 minutes ago, RedDragon86 said: Yeah but you say to yourself the first time you watch it "that' Gina isn't it?" something you would see in a Quantum Leap episode. It takes away all the seriousness, it's a bit daft imo. I’ve known both girls & boys, men & women who are practically splitting-images of their parents. The joke is usually, no one can say they were adopted! So, although yes it’s Saundra playing both roles, it doesn’t take away the seriousness of it for me at all. It drew me in almost immediately, as I knew it was going to revolve around Gina & her past. It actually helped enhance or deepen the plot and seriousness, in my opinion. I think Saundra did a superb job, playing both parts & helping develop the emotional attachment for her in the present & her mother in the past. The only unrealistic aspect to me is Klaus & Pedrosa…neither one aged much in 27 years, lol! But, it was the 80s…you were supposed to use your imagination and just go with it. One thing I loved about Season 3 is it started with Gina…and it ended with her. I was glad to see one of the other cast members being focused on more, instead of it always being Crockett & Tubbs over & over—once in a while Castillo was given a couple moments. But, I thought the character of Gina was really given a chance-to-enhance during this time, and “Heroes” is one of my favorites from the season! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vicegirl85 Posted March 23 Report Share Posted March 23 Honestly, it didn't bother me. Elena is shown with a different hair color and style; as well as a style of dress and makeup that was more 1960-appropriate. Would it have been better if another actress had played Gina's mom? Maybe. But for me, it worked. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViceFanMan Posted March 23 Report Share Posted March 23 8 minutes ago, vicegirl85 said: Honestly, it didn't bother me. Elena is shown with a different hair color and style; as well as a style of dress and makeup that was more 1960-appropriate. Would it have been better if another actress had played Gina's mom? Maybe. But for me, it worked. I actually don’t think it would have been better. If some other actress had played Gina’s mom, it would not have had the emotional impact we needed to connect with Gina & her character. And they would have had to “explain” a lot more to let viewers know it was supposed to be Gina’s mother. In my opinion, the way it was done & handled was perfect! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vicegirl85 Posted March 24 Report Share Posted March 24 It's within the realm of possibility that another actress might have worked better for those who were bothered by Gina's mom looking so much like her. We can see that some found it disconcerting and it "ruined the viewer's emotional investment." It certainly worked for me and I didn't have a problem with it. But I think it's OK for different people to have different reactions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeonHumidity Posted March 24 Report Share Posted March 24 (edited) 26 minutes ago, vicegirl85 said: It's within the realm of possibility that another actress might have worked better for those who were bothered by Gina's mom looking so much like her. We can see that some found it disconcerting and it "ruined the viewer's emotional investment." It certainly worked for me and I didn't have a problem with it. But I think it's OK for different people to have different reactions. But are they the same people who were also okay with Sonny being his evil amnesiac alter ego and then allowed back into OCB (for that matter, Gina/Elena can be viewed as the distaff and time-shifted counterpart of Crockett/Burnett), Castillo being a ninja, or anything extra-melodramatic that happened to Tubbs? Or are they the same people who just want to use it as an excuse to dismiss Gina and not pay attention to a huge part of her story? Edited March 24 by NeonHumidity 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViceFanMan Posted March 24 Report Share Posted March 24 31 minutes ago, vicegirl85 said: It's within the realm of possibility that another actress might have worked better for those who were bothered by Gina's mom looking so much like her. We can see that some found it disconcerting and it "ruined the viewer's emotional investment." It certainly worked for me and I didn't have a problem with it. But I think it's OK for different people to have different reactions. Absolutely there was a possibility that they could have used a different actress to play Gina’s mother, and for some it may have seemed “obvious” that Saundra Santiago played both roles. But, there’s a definite possibility & probability (although not 100% absolute ) that Gina would greatly resemble her mother…and that “emotional connection or investment” was why they had Saundra play both parts. By no means does everyone have to like that …but understanding the reasoning behind it may help a little at least, of why it was handled that way. I totally get-it, and love how the episode was done. It may be the season finale, but it’s one of my favorites of the season & probably my favorite Gina-centered one. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedDragon86 Posted March 24 Report Share Posted March 24 (edited) I just think Gina playing her mother was a typical, corny 80's thing, something right out of Donald P. Bellisario's book. It's a shame we never actually get to see her mother. And I don't care whether or not Sonny becoming this evil guy was realistic at the end of 4 the show was downhill at that point anyway. These are different questions anyway. Edited March 24 by RedDragon86 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbie C. Posted March 24 Report Share Posted March 24 17 minutes ago, RedDragon86 said: I just think Gina playing her mother was a typical, corny 80's thing, something right out of Donald P. Bellisario's book. It's a shame we never actually get to see her mother. And I don't care whether or not Sonny becoming this evil guy was realistic at the end of 4 the show was downhill at that point anyway. These are different questions anyway. Completely agree. Although the decision could have been made because they couldn't get who they might have originally wanted for the role (due to cost or availability), had they been after someone else. The realities of TV production and all that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedDragon86 Posted March 24 Report Share Posted March 24 7 hours ago, Robbie C. said: Completely agree. Although the decision could have been made because they couldn't get who they might have originally wanted for the role (due to cost or availability), had they been after someone else. The realities of TV production and all that. Yeah that might have been the case. Gina playing her mother just doesn't sit right with me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbie C. Posted March 24 Report Share Posted March 24 4 minutes ago, RedDragon86 said: Yeah that might have been the case. Gina playing her mother just doesn't sit right with me. I've never cared for it, either. But they never seemed to put quite as much effort into episodes that weren't showcasing DJ or EJO. At least to me. PMT always suffered in that regard, and they never gave Olivia Brown much respect, either (especially after Season 2 or so). And don't get me started on how they wasted Switek... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViceFanMan Posted March 24 Report Share Posted March 24 4 hours ago, Robbie C. said: I've never cared for it, either. But they never seemed to put quite as much effort into episodes that weren't showcasing DJ or EJO. At least to me. PMT always suffered in that regard, and they never gave Olivia Brown much respect, either (especially after Season 2 or so). And don't get me started on how they wasted Switek... I agree, it seemed like either DJ or EJO were the ones who had the best episodes centered around them…the rest of the cast just had little pieces of backstory here and there, or the episode involving them wasn’t the greatest. But, I do really like this episode…I liked Saundra playing both roles, and I thought this was one that actually truly focused on & even “cared for” her character of Gina. The plot, and finally her character, had depth. And it didn’t have C&T rushing in & taking over, and “solving” everything for her. Gina handled most of this herself. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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