I like the points that you brought up and mostly agree. Well I do agree- but I do want to reiterate some of what you brought up-
1) Ryan's actor is ex-military and therefore has a clue; Ben doesn't.
2) Poor writing/directing will take down even the greatest actor in any given situation. A perfect example, imo, is Halle Berry in Catwoman. Halle Berry is an exceptional actress, but Catwoman was a horrible movie!
3) Ryan was a recurring/expendable character, Becker was a main cast member. And alas, Becker was also a wasted main cast member.
I would have loved to have seen Becker as a recurring on the security team under Ryan (no slash puns intended at all. Not my cup of tea) and the character who took over in series 2 after Ryan was killed, to see his growth and then promotion. Alas- I think that would mean more forward thinking on the parts of the writers.
I do agree with your assessment that in front of his team he was more stoic in series 4 and 5. In series 3, he was very much the soldier boy, allotted to XYZ (though poor writing had him sometimes not living up to that allotment) but by the time Abby/Connor/Danny disappeared and a year passed of trying to find them, Sarah's death (totally uncalled for IMO), and the essential rebuilding of the ARC, he became more emotionally invested. Because at that point, except for Lester, he was the *only* core member left. So I think in some ways when Abby and Connor finally returned, it was a relief and a weight off his soul to not feel the failure to them.
Ultimately, if we do go strictly by his age and the writing/directing- no Becker isn't a good soldier and is a very good hero. If we think outside of the box and "fix", in our own head canons, what the writers did to the poor character- I do think he is a good soldier that was thrown into a very unexpected situation and he had to adapt quite quickly. Hope any of that rambling makes sense. Pretty sure I am still a little bit asleep.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2012-07-20 02:26 pm (UTC)1) Ryan's actor is ex-military and therefore has a clue; Ben doesn't.
2) Poor writing/directing will take down even the greatest actor in any given situation. A perfect example, imo, is Halle Berry in Catwoman. Halle Berry is an exceptional actress, but Catwoman was a horrible movie!
3) Ryan was a recurring/expendable character, Becker was a main cast member. And alas, Becker was also a wasted main cast member.
I would have loved to have seen Becker as a recurring on the security team under Ryan (no slash puns intended at all. Not my cup of tea) and the character who took over in series 2 after Ryan was killed, to see his growth and then promotion. Alas- I think that would mean more forward thinking on the parts of the writers.
I do agree with your assessment that in front of his team he was more stoic in series 4 and 5. In series 3, he was very much the soldier boy, allotted to XYZ (though poor writing had him sometimes not living up to that allotment) but by the time Abby/Connor/Danny disappeared and a year passed of trying to find them, Sarah's death (totally uncalled for IMO), and the essential rebuilding of the ARC, he became more emotionally invested. Because at that point, except for Lester, he was the *only* core member left. So I think in some ways when Abby and Connor finally returned, it was a relief and a weight off his soul to not feel the failure to them.
Ultimately, if we do go strictly by his age and the writing/directing- no Becker isn't a good soldier and is a very good hero. If we think outside of the box and "fix", in our own head canons, what the writers did to the poor character- I do think he is a good soldier that was thrown into a very unexpected situation and he had to adapt quite quickly. Hope any of that rambling makes sense. Pretty sure I am still a little bit asleep.