chrisodonline

[chrisodonline]

Another one from TVLine itself on the article for the franchise's 1,000th episode.

#ncis la cast #chris o'donnell #there was another one on instagram where he's in the back row with the others on a riser #and he's still kind of hard to see over other people #bless him

[chrisodonline]

Sometimes I still randomly check LA-related things -- out of habit. But I still never expect to see anything. From MattMitovich's Twitter (X now I guess, who even knows!).

#chris o'donnell #ncis la cast #if that's still a tag i can use #looking well-rested and very un-callen-y #i have no doubt there has been plenty of golfing #it feels weird to post something... #but here i am

[chrisodonline]

You saw that post that says I’m Gus??? That means you’re my Shawn. I have to get a company car so you can destroy it with your shenanigans 🥰🥰🥰

I am ready and willing to be the Shawn to your Gus! I accept my destiny!

#ask #aprylynn #ride or die #except the part where you have to leave the house to ride

[chrisodonline]

Throughout the year, I kept telling myself I needed to pop in, say Hi, and check on everybody. But the back half of this year has been less than great and there was never any good news to share.

However, I do hope everyone is doing well, has had a wonderful year, and will be (or has been) celebrating the winter/holiday season. <3

#z talks

[chrisodonline]

Thought this would be a good one to end on! Yes, I was spammier than I thought. Whoops!

People Extra, 2010

More here

#happy birthday chris o'donnell!

[chrisodonline]

Like so many others before it, I had to include this one -- or something from the show. It's how I met all of you! <3

Promotional Image for NCIS: Los Angeles, Season 1

More in the gallery

Chris and LL Cool J, or Todd, getting ready to start a TV show and go fight some bad guys. 

#happy birthday chris o'donnell!

[chrisodonline]

Another one of my fave photoshoots!

Improper Bostonian

More here

#happy birthday chris o'donnell!

[chrisodonline]

Batman Forever finally makes an appearance! I wrote an essay for the original post, so no need to write another.

Screencaps from Batman Forever, notice a family resemblance in the second one?

Find more in the gallery!

There’s this tiny, tiny little work Chris did where he plays someone who loses his family then starts fighting bad guys, which merits a secret identity. His character’s name is G. Callen  Dick Grayson. He later goes by Robin. Ring any bells? 

Yes, we are finally at Batman Forever - the movie whose 20 year anniversary is the reason I’m doing this project. Like I said in all the preview/explanatory stuff about the project, this was when I first became a fan of Chris.  I was rather young, 8, but it was time I moved on from crushing on the different Power Rangers. (Though I still wanted Amy Jo Johnson to be my friend. You know, I’d probably be happy with that even today.)  

Seeing the Batman movies was kind of a family tradition, which included cousins and aunt/uncles.  There was even a slumber party and viewing of the previous installments the night before we went and saw this one. So, yes, special place in my heart for multiple reasons.  

#happy birthday chris o'donnell!

[chrisodonline]

Okay, yes, I'm reblogging more than I expected. I promise just a few more after this!

It's hard not to have something with Grey's Anatomy on here.

Promo image for Grey’s Anatomy “Name of the Game”

The first of several Grey’s Anatomy posts because, come on guys, he was a vet! (Also, I have a lot of images.)

Chris played Dr. Finn Dandridge, vet to Meredith’s and Derek’s dog, Doc.  This is from his first episode, which he appeared in very briefly at the end.  

Trivia: Chris discussed on Jimmy Kimmel Live the naming conundrum this role put him and his wife in.  When Chris and his wife were expecting their fourth child, she had the name Finn picked out if it was a boy.  When the baby was born and, indeed, was a boy, Chris didn’t want the baby to have the same name as his current role.  They ended up compromising on Finley, though he still goes by Finn.  

#happy birthday chris o'donnell!

[chrisodonline]

Oh look, one of my favorite photoshoots! So much so, Colette made me a theme with it!

George 1999

More here - one of my faves

#happy birthday chris o'donnell!

[chrisodonline]

Yes, another movie still. But, come on! It's Fried Green Tomatoes!

A couple of years ago (maybe) I read an interview with the actress who played Young Idgie. She said that "Little Bit" was just something Chris ad libbed when talking to her. It's one of my favorite things about the character. <3

Screencaps from Fried Green Tomatoes

(More in the gallery)

Hey, look! It’s Buddy Threadgoode! (Seriously, who doesn’t like Buddy?) I definitely have a soft-spot for this movie. Steel Magnolias was more popular and viewed in my household at the time, but I later watched Fried Green Tomatoes annually on USA when they’d air it opposite the Super Bowl.  

The secret’s in the sauce!

Chris actually tells a cute story on a DVD featurette for the movie about how his mother made fried green tomatoes around its release. 

#happy birthday chris o'donnell!

[chrisodonline]

Reblogging this one since it was his first movie! (Also, links to my old site won't work.)

Anyway, enjoy a stop on memory lane!

Promotional Still for the movie Men Don’t Leave

(More are in the gallery)

Kicking off the 20 Weeks for 20 Years Project with Chris’s first film, Men Don’t Leave.  He filmed it in the fall of 1988 when he was 18.  He started college that spring.  The film co-starred a few ladies he would later work with again: Jessica Lange (Blue Sky), Joan Cusack (Kit Kittredge), and Kathy Bates (Fried Green Tomatoes - though they shared no scenes).  Chris also skipped out on one of the auditions because he had a crew meet. (I really have too much trivia in my head for my own good.) 

If you’ve never seen it, it’s a touching film about a grieving family with some funny and sweet moments.  Also? Infant!Chris is adorable and awkward to the point of being adorable again. 

#happy birthday chris o'donnell!

[chrisodonline]

I know I haven't been active, and that's for several reasons: busy with life, work, and -- full confession -- I'm in another reading spree. (If I'm reading, I can only be a reader. Any and all other hobbies just don't happen. Cooking barely does.)

BUT, enough about me. It's Chris O'D's 53rd birthday, and I wanted to post a link to a project from 8(!) years ago now: 20 weeks for 20 years. It's wild that Batman Forever is now almost 30 years old! (Because, yes, that's my fangirl genesis for this particular gentleman.)

I might reblog some of my favorite posts from the project throughout the day (scheduled, of course). But we shall see!

#z things #happy birthday chris o'donnell!

[chrisodonline]

I know the dashes feel kind of dull on Sunday nights now. So here's a pic of the Birthday Boy. He's 14 today!

#z things #cats! #right here right meow

[chrisodonline]

BECOME UNFOLLOWABLE

#*elmo in flames gif* #yessss

[chrisodonline]

TITLE CARD: ONE WEEK LATER

I am writing this post as quickly as possibly since I've got to go fold laundry, and I still want to have time before I go to bed to do some reading of a book I just bought. So no promises on proofreading.

I am still perfectly content with the finale. I've been watching the show over 14 years (not just seasons), and it...very much felt like the show I've been watching for 14 years. It's the show they wanted to make, and the one everyone there was happy with. They very much made a show they'd want to watch, and that goes for multiple people behind and even in front of the camera. Listening to the cast over the years always gave me a good redirect reminder on overprojecting onto people.

Shows, and their pilots, are supposed to be "story engines." The ending was "The story continues, but there are also new stories and always will be." And I dig it. I have had a week of reading interviews, after also watching them in the retrospective, and also reading comments and thoughts from fans across all platforms and with all different preferences. I've always been interested in reading different opinions, even if some weren't always painless to read because I take weird things personally. As I've gotten older, met more people, learned new things, and learned to look at things in other ways, I feel like it's good to take away feeling humble whenever you can. Some out there are so into the ending storyline they truly do want to see a movie about that. Because it is very much something the show would have done. And they've very much been watching the show. (I'm personally good, though. Don't need one.)

I think my favorite comment among hundreds, but possibly even 1,000+, when someone was claiming the ep felt like the show instead of something else: (Paraphrasing) "Why would they change the recipe just because this is the last time they're baking the cake?" Look, I was even surprised to find that I was happier with the finale the more I thought about it instead of less. But I knew what bakery I was going to. I knew that I'm far, far from their only customer. I knew that I could've always stopped going to that bakery and the bakers would've been fine. It's their product but also their passion, and they aren't going to miss me because I didn't understand why they wouldn't break their rules to give me a custom order. (I've worked in customer service for a very, very long time and have also been a customer service manager for a long time. Yes, there is always the threat of people creating fake crimes in The Court of Facebook, but we aren't going to screw over other customers who are truly loyal for one loud so-and-so who never seems happy with anything. We don't need that person.)

From a logistics standpoint, the show was always going to be limited by a late-in-the-season cancellation, the availability of actors, and squeezing in enough to pay homage to everyone who's had a hand in the show over 14 years. They weren't going to be able to stick the landing with any new tricks at the eleventh hour (hello, cornucopia of metaphors and idioms). And they definitely weren't going to do well if it's not something they didn't truly want to do. The show didn't always know its limits, and that only led to cringe-y things. This was the finale: I wanted 0 cringe. And while I may have wanted slight tweaks to things, those are personal wishes. And you can wish in one hand, and...well you know the rest. There was just the right amount of sentiment without it feeling like the show was trying to be a cutesy sitcom or maudlin soap. I don't like a lot of super sweet icing on my cake, in general, and when they start going wild with those giant rosettes and borders...no. Not the cake for me. Fine cake for others. Nothing wrong with liking it. But I go to this bakery because they stay chill on the rosettes. (We can always go to AO3, er, our own kitchens, and add our own rosettes or whatever decorations we want.)

This isn't the kind of show you can actually give letter grades to, either. Save that for your more prestige-y and thinky things. It's very much a pass/fail if it's anything. And they passed.

I will miss it, but it was time. And not every cake may have been for me, and yes, some of them you could tell the bakery team was not on their A-game. However, I'm grateful for all the cakes.

#z rambles on #show: ncis la

[chrisodonline]

Light Housekeeping

First off, if you read the recent post, you'll know that this week has been...wild. And this weekend has been my trying to be productive while still recovering from a week when it felt like the Wild West in my brain.

There are definitely several pics and things I've been meaning to post -- not to mention all the GIFsets I need to queue up. But alas: any mental free time seems to have gone to writing stories in my head (and if you think this means I continue to plot things for those two widowers who meet at a crossword convention, you are correct). And other times have gone to biting my tongue and then Kraina having to have me scream about things in her DMs. Because I don't want to even risk being a little messy, and I am nobody's mother. I'm not responsible for making sure, especially unsolicited, anyone is making sound commentary and correct arguments in their own spaces.

Moving on before that starts to sound meta-messy.

I don't like to not tag things for organizational sake and also if anyone needs to block anything. But I also don't like putting everything in the main (usually tracked) tags and clogging them up. So I'm going to try for future posts like that to use the tag show: ncis la. I will probably go back and put that on older untagged posts, as well.

So if you need to block that one, feel free to.

#z things