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Ronnie!
May 8, 2005 16:49:37 GMT -5
Post by Peach on May 8, 2005 16:49:37 GMT -5
Ok gang, here's something I've been wanting to discuss for awhile, and I'd love it if everyone would 'weigh-in' with their opinions on it, because it sure seems to stand out to me... Why is it that, in the evolution of The Shield over the last four seasons, we have gotten some back-story and/or in-depth exploration of most of the Strike Team members - except for Ronnie? Why is he the odd man out? Is anyone else but me as curious as I am about what his "story" is? I thought for sure we'd get to hear more about him after Armadillo burned him (Season 2, ep 8, "Scar Tissue", I believe) but we didn't. Does anyone know *anything* about the ever-present Ronnie? He has been getting more screen time this season, and a few more lines, but an awful lot of those seem to be "Yeah, what Vic said!" kinda lines. I for one would really, really like to see more of Ronnie, and learn more about him (and not just because I met David Rees Snell on our visit and found him *adorable* )... What do you guys think?!?!?! ! ~peach
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Ronnie!
May 8, 2005 16:51:44 GMT -5
Post by Peach on May 8, 2005 16:51:44 GMT -5
One more thing, I seriously have it in my head to go back and watch the DVD's just to see if we have gotten *any* personal info about Ronnie at all, so if any of you guys know of some, let me know!!!
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Ronnie!
May 8, 2005 17:00:14 GMT -5
Post by Peach on May 8, 2005 17:00:14 GMT -5
Ok, now I'm just getting angry.... Just visited the FX official site for The Shield and in their "downloads" section, they have Wallpapers of everyone on the Strike Team *but Ronnie*, and AIM icons of everyone on the Strike Team *but Ronnie* - if I'm not mistaken, Ronnie is a full-fledged member of the Strike Team, and not some kind of junior member 'cub scout' - WHAT GIVES ?!?!?!
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Ronnie!
May 8, 2005 17:29:50 GMT -5
Post by thekyoteh on May 8, 2005 17:29:50 GMT -5
*IF* I remember hearing correctly, Ronnie is one of those that was doing a part for a friend or something and wasn't going to be a full character but the actor did so good he ended up getting in periodically. Does anyone remember hearing that or am I losing my mind?
Anyways, I think if that was the case then they probably just haven't gotten around to fleshing out the character. Personally I think it's working. He's there in the shadows a lot yet no one *really* knows him. With a well liked character in a position like Ronnie, the writers can *really* have some fun later! He's one I've always kinda liked and I don't recall hearing any real info about him being mentioned.
Ky
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Ronnie!
May 8, 2005 17:30:41 GMT -5
Post by qb on May 8, 2005 17:30:41 GMT -5
I hear ya! Ronnie/Snell has been neglected!! I am not sure when I first noticed him at all, actually... like, I didn't realize he was even on the Strike Team at first! He has a dedicated following of fans pining for more development of the character, too. They must have had some hope in season two but it didn't pan out. I think it's too late now...his character has been relegated to the periphery of the ongoing storylines, and I doubt they'll have the screen time to do anything more with it. Listen, if you could give the writers an idea for a Ronnie-driven arc...what would it be?
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Ronnie!
May 8, 2005 17:45:04 GMT -5
Post by Peach on May 8, 2005 17:45:04 GMT -5
Hmmm...excellent question, CC. Off the top of my head, I'd love to see/find out that Ronnie was a totally trusted friend of Vic - more so than we've seen. I'd like to see Vic go to Ronnie for support in a difficult time? Like bouncing ideas off him what to do about Shane? All we've seen is Vic's super-macho-tough-guy image, so maybe it goes against type, but I really feel like even the toughest guys have at least one person they rely on. Sometimes its their wives, but for Vic of course that's out, and otherwise it would probably be Shane...but that's out too. So what if Vic confided in Ronnie?
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Ronnie!
May 8, 2005 17:59:24 GMT -5
Post by Peach on May 8, 2005 17:59:24 GMT -5
Here's another idea - what if Vic had Ronnie working all along, in the background, to investigate and/or dig up dirt on Rawling? So that if things ever went bad between them, that Vic would have some leverage? That's an angle that's never been explored and is certainly intriguing...plus they've already kindof said that Ronnie is the "techie" of the group, so he'd be a natural for that kind of "research"...heh.
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Ronnie!
May 8, 2005 20:06:31 GMT -5
Post by qb on May 8, 2005 20:06:31 GMT -5
Here's a thought...Ronnie sees Army shooting Antwon's Lt. thanks to the garage sting camera. Now he knows the whole story and he has it on tape. What could the writers do with him then??
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Ronnie!
May 9, 2005 12:23:44 GMT -5
Post by fju2112 on May 9, 2005 12:23:44 GMT -5
*IF* I remember hearing correctly, Ronnie is one of those that was doing a part for a friend or something and wasn't going to be a full character but the actor did so good he ended up getting in periodically. Does anyone remember hearing that or am I losing my mind? Anyways, I think if that was the case then they probably just haven't gotten around to fleshing out the character. Personally I think it's working. He's there in the shadows a lot yet no one *really* knows him. With a well liked character in a position like Ronnie, the writers can *really* have some fun later! He's one I've always kinda liked and I don't recall hearing any real info about him being mentioned. Ky You're correct; one of the weblog entries that a member of the cast or crew write every week on the official FX site for the shield is as follows, after episode 2 of this season: "And Ronnie. Ah, yes, the forgotten son, Ronnie Gardocki. A word about Ronnie: Dave Snell, the actor who embodies Ronnie, is best friends with our Maestro (Shawn Ryan). He agreed to help Shawn out and essentially work as an extra on the pilot. When the series got picked up, Dave came along. Unfortunately there are only so many characters you can service with story, so because Ronnie was never conceived as a series regular, he's often relegated to off-camera footwork. I would like to personally commend Dave Snell of a thankless job well done. He has given Ronnie - with no help from our writing - dimension and personality. This season he is the rock of the strike team. The only constant in an ever- changing, often dangerous, environment. Kudos, Dave Snell, you're "on it"." I think they'll eventually give him a better part in one or two episodes and see how it goes, but not this season. Probably next season when they need to start going back to other members the'yve neglected, like Julien...they really only touched on his issues last season, even though we found out he secretly had homosexual desires no matter how hard he tried to fight them off (when he was sperm-doning, for example). I mean, who didn't see that..we all knew about that; they never really progressed his character except maybe in the first couple of eps of season 3 when he broke what's-his-name's arm. honestly, the only aspect of the show I consistently dislike is how they bring up plotlines, follow them through one or maybe two episodes as "filler" between the main storylines, then drop them for weeks. I read another weblog entry about how they write the show that way; doing the smaller plotlines first and then having to cut some of that stuff out to make room for the bigger picture, but it can get frustrating. can't complain much though; still the best show on tv right now.
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Ronnie!
May 9, 2005 12:53:49 GMT -5
Post by thekyoteh on May 9, 2005 12:53:49 GMT -5
You're correct; one of the weblog entries that a member of the cast or crew write every week on the official FX site for the shield is as follows, after episode 2 of this season: "And Ronnie. Ah, yes, the forgotten son, Ronnie Gardocki. A word about Ronnie: Dave Snell, the actor who embodies Ronnie, is best friends with our Maestro (Shawn Ryan). He agreed to help Shawn out and essentially work as an extra on the pilot. When the series got picked up, Dave came along. Unfortunately there are only so many characters you can service with story, so because Ronnie was never conceived as a series regular, he's often relegated to off-camera footwork. I would like to personally commend Dave Snell of a thankless job well done. He has given Ronnie - with no help from our writing - dimension and personality. This season he is the rock of the strike team. The only constant in an ever- changing, often dangerous, environment. Kudos, Dave Snell, you're "on it"." Thanks for confirming that! He *is* getting mentioned periodically now (like Vic giving him credit for the garage sting) so I'm thinking they're already looking at ways to bring him into the light a little more. It'll be interesting to watch. Ky
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Ronnie!
May 9, 2005 12:57:17 GMT -5
Post by Peach on May 9, 2005 12:57:17 GMT -5
Yeah, FJU, thanks for the great info... One other thing I forgot to mention - but goes to Ky's last point as well - during our visit Chem and I did mention that we think the fans would like to see more of Ronnie next season, and Adam seemed interested... now we just have to make sure he remembers!!
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Ronnie!
May 10, 2005 12:05:05 GMT -5
Post by CopperHead on May 10, 2005 12:05:05 GMT -5
Background check on Ronnie/Snell:
He is married in "real life" to actress Melanie Myers who plays the cop "Paula" on the show.
**unless they're divorced now.......
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Ronnie!
May 10, 2005 14:08:49 GMT -5
Post by fju2112 on May 10, 2005 14:08:49 GMT -5
is that just wishful thinking on your part, or do you really have reason to believe they're divorced? ;D
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Ronnie!
May 10, 2005 21:23:17 GMT -5
Post by qb on May 10, 2005 21:23:17 GMT -5
Paula's pretty cute. That's one I wouldn't mind seeing more of...I even thought she might make a love interest for Dutch. Wasn't she big, fat pregnant during last season and so all we got to see of her was from the chest up? Copperhead, I am proud of you. You are new to the series but you know stuff like a veteran! Who knows, you might win the trivia contest! Here's a starter question: When will CHICKchick have the second contest ready to post?? Answer: when she gets off of her arse and gets some good trivia questions together!! (the judges will also accept "who the hell knows" as the answer)
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Ronnie!
May 11, 2005 1:14:49 GMT -5
Post by Peach on May 11, 2005 1:14:49 GMT -5
Peach has an IDEA!!!! (Peach is talking about herself in the third person! Oh no! Get help immediately!)
Hey CC, what if you and I put our heads together and come up with some trivia questions based on stuff that Chem and I saw/learned/heard while we visited the set? A nice tie-in don't you think? I will give it some thought and send you a PM if I think of anything suitable. Hopefully it won't be too hard or off-topic....
~Peach
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Ronnie!
May 11, 2005 12:05:18 GMT -5
Post by CopperHead on May 11, 2005 12:05:18 GMT -5
"Who the hell knows." That's my final answer. Do I win??
Yes, let's do trivia!! I like trivia!!
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Ronnie!
May 11, 2005 16:28:43 GMT -5
Post by leadinvestigator on May 11, 2005 16:28:43 GMT -5
Not sure what C.c. will think, but I like the idea already. That way we'll have to pay attention! I'm ready when you're ready! --hands on keyboard--
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Ronnie!
May 11, 2005 19:11:17 GMT -5
Post by qb on May 11, 2005 19:11:17 GMT -5
I agree! This would be a good contest to celebrate THE VISIT.
Go to Second Contest to see a pic of the prize! ...to stimulate those competitive juices!
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