Episode 8x16 - "LA" ***CONTAINS SPOILERS***

Discussion in 'CSI: Miami' started by FieldMouse, Feb 27, 2010.

  1. greatfan

    greatfan Captain

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    Agreed about the over hype.Being that I was sick,I probably should have gone to bed and caught it later.
    I don't think it was up to Calleigh to say something to the suspect about the exchange with Ryan about his height,Ryan's an adult.I think Ryan's look to Calleigh was more,"do you believe this guy"?
    Natalia was great as she always is when she appears.
     
  2. Michya

    Michya Lab Technician

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    Isn't that tptb purpose to over-hype the episode. Lucky I didn't had any expectations for this episode, so I think it was all right. Still quite typical Miami except that I don't feel that there was a particular 'case' at all. The 'cases' were solved too easily. The episode was more focused on getting to know the characters that are involved in Jesse's story and how all of them screwed up and and how they are all exposed together.

    The height joke was unnecessary and ridiculous. Maybe they are trying to make that dude look stupid or something. Well he is anyways. Btw why do they keep showing that "Hollywood" sign like > 5 times! They were never in Miami anyways. :lol:

    Natalia was great and really nice to see her sharing her experience and trying to help Anna.
     
  3. bogglesthemind

    bogglesthemind Dead on Arrival

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    I agree with the general assessment. Not the worst, not my favorite. I thought it was a little better balanced with all the characters (maybe except Ryan), but that's about it.

    A couple of thoughts. First, did anyone catch the Cisco advertisement? They've been playing all over the TV lately, so when they pulled up that video conference and not only displayed the Cisco logo on the screen, but also mentioned it by name, I was a little surprised and possibly a tiny bit irked.

    Second, part of the problem with Miami is that they don't seem to know how to maintain sinister. The opening scenes were great, but it's hard to maintain a dark and creepy feel to the show when they then show bright sunny days and the Hollywood sign in every other scene. They love their bright colors, and I admit, that's partly what I like about Miami is that their trademark is bright, colorful, vibrant, slightly cartoonish shots. That said, if they are going to hire a director like Rob Zombie to come in for an episode, it would be great to see them change their style...do something a little more edgy. It would highlight their depth rather than sacrifice the unique Miami style, IMO.

    I liked the sleazy attorney...I wanted to punch him in the face, so I think that part was well played. I thought the other guest stars were meh, except Adam. Not sure I love his hair right now...there was one shot where it looked a little more fro than I prefer on him, but I thought his acting was excellent in this one.

    Also liked the Calleigh/Jesse exchange in the parking garage. I thought the actors did a nice job with that interaction.
     
  4. mjszud

    mjszud Captain

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    The intro was the best ever -- I was incredibly pumped & grinning ear to ear, loved it! From that point on, it fell a little flat. I still enjoyed the episode & liked what Rob Zombie brought to it -- other than that, there was no team seen in this one, nor enough science.

    A few random thoughts:

    Walter was too cute defending Jesse to Rebecca -- he had that "yeah, you get her, H" attitude :lol: I found it interesting that he reacted the way he did, yet Calleigh treated Jesse as a potential criminal.....didn't like that at all. "Step away from the car" was a bit too much from a colleague & not necessary. :rolleyes:

    Oh how I love it whenever I hear Horatio tell someone to shut up. :devil:

    Eric: Hair. Fix it. Please. Looks like someone drew a line across his forehead & then colored the rest in with a Sharpie. :wtf:

    Of course loved the Natalia/abuse/Anna situation. Thoughts on that one are going in her thread. :p

    Overall, it was good but not as mind-blowing fantastical as it could've been.

    'A+' for Zombie's hard work & personal touch. ;)
    'C' for the episode as a whole.
     
  5. CSI-AJ

    CSI-AJ Lab Technician

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    I enjoyed the episode and it had some nice cinematography especially when they were in LA...

    I don't know about anyone else but I actually thought both Adam and Emily had some really good performances.

    When Nat gave that lady her card, it reminded me of how Horatio always gave his number to victims or their family to call him if they want to talk. Nice to see the boss's traits pass on to his crew :)

    I didn't expect any less from Malcom McDowell. He was the best of the three guest actors and did great with what little he had. Madson was being Madson and the others were ok

    Rating ****/5
     
  6. Delquesne

    Delquesne Prime Suspect

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    I agree ... I'd say that the 1st 5 minutes (the murder at the masquerade ball) were the best part of the episode. That was really Rob Zombie at his best.:thumbsup: The rest of the episode was OK, but fell a bit short of all the hype. The writing seemed a bit choppy to me, and I was never really able to get into a "flow" with the storyline. Nice cinematography though; especially the shots of the L.A. landmarks.

    Malcolm McDowell was a gem as smarmy lawyer Darren Vogel, basically stealing every scene he was in. :rommie: Mini Anden pleasantly surprised me with her acting range as Anna Kitson. Michael Madsen and William Forsythe were too under-utilized for their characters to make much of an impression.

    Of course, I really enjoyed seeing my favorite "Awesome Twosome," Horatio and Eric, working together again. They have an effortless father-son-colleague chemistry that's always nice to see. It was also good to see Natalia in some meaningful scenes in this episode ... her interactions with Anna were particularly good. Loved the exchanges between Ryan and Coop Daly ... they both have that dry, sarcastic sense of humor, so it was fun to see them play off each other. :lol: And I think Ryan held his own very well in their scenes together. And, like bogglesthemind,I also enjoyed that scene between Calleigh and Jesse in the garage ... it was tense, loaded and uncomfortable, just like it was meant to be. Calleigh was virtually radiating distrust ... kudos to Emily Procter for portraying that so well.

    All in all, not one of my favorite episodes, but not one of the worst either. Zombie gets major props for the cinematography, but otherwise, "L.A." was just OK. It certainly wasn't the thrill-ride from beginning to end that the previews were hyping it up to be.
     
    Last edited: Mar 2, 2010
  7. slower

    slower Lab Technician

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    Maybe I should rephrase: IMO they were in the middle of an interrogation, the conversation was inappropriate, Calleigh (to my understaning) is second in command and should have not allowed the suspect to control the atmosphere of the questioning by insulting Ryan. Ryan is an adult, but she still needed to step up and put an end to that. :)
     
  8. MiamiWolfe

    MiamiWolfe Pathologist

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    Overhyped but not a bad episode. Again the promos built it up to be more there than there ended up being.

    Random thoughts:

    --Thought the beginning was very creepy. It was interesting how they incorporated 1922 Nosferatu along with the murder.

    --I alway love Horatio but I really loved him in this episode. He was everything I like about the man: unflappable, tough, determined and loyal to those who work under him. I would shut up if he told me too.

    --Was glad that Jesse wasn't a dirty cop, although when Walter and Calleigh found the listening device and traced it back to him, it didn't look good for awhile. I wonder if this will bring a little resolution for Jesse, but why do I have this feeling we haven't seen the last of Tony Enright?! Pretty good acting by EC.

    --Ryan and Natalia didn't have many scenes (more than I thought they would) but made the best of the ones they did have.
    -Ryan looked good and it was great to see him working with Calleigh again. I wasn't crazy about the whole height scene but I thought Ryan handled himself well. Coop was trying to bait him and Ryan didn't fall for it; in fact, I thought he might have been a little amused by Coop. I, on the other hand wanted to reach through the screen and punch Coop in the head. Ryan got the last laugh, catching Coop in his slip up and calling him genius:lol:
    -I thought Natalia did a good job with Anna using her experience with Nick to empathize with her. Glad to see a little continuation.

    I rather liked the guest star trio of William Forsythe, Macolm McDowell and Michael Madsen. Each had their good moments.

    Was it more than hinted at that Vogul (Malcom McDowell) actually planted that cuff link?

    I liked the music; especially California Dreamin' when LA was first shown.

    This eppie raised a couple of questions. Maybe they were addressed before I don't know. Why and when did Tony Enright kill Jesse's wife? Sutter and Jesse were both sure Enright did it. Do they have a lot of evidence and if they did would they have enough to take it to trial? Will this happen later this season?

    All in all not the best but not bad.
     
  9. CSI_Natalia

    CSI_Natalia Prime Suspect

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    I thought the scene with Ryan's size being made fun of was cute, and could've been better HAD they had Calleigh tease him about it later on... I hate that most scenes can be cut up and rearranged and the flow of the show (or even season..series) would be non-the-wiser..

    The CSI's in Miami were way under utilized (save Natalia...but even with her, I don't know something was just missing..perhaps a lack in empathy/socialization with the other CSIs)... I don't know if I was too tired when I watched it, but I felt detatched from the entire episode... save the first scene, which I highly enjoyed. There was not enough, (nor is there ever, inter/personal-csi interaction.

    I still don't understand the use of high numbers and constants & variables, in to regards to TPTB... x amount of writers (who get shuffled around), y amount of directors...producers... etc... Why not stick to the formula that works that best??? -- It's very evident to me (and probably most of us) that there is no clear cut PTB. As each episode as some kind of disconnect and/or nonsensical history misstep... the fans no the show better than TPTB...maybe they should higher one of us to do their fact checking or 'grade' the scripts/episodes before they air.

    It's season 8 (almost 9) already, they need to move past the lights and mirrors and focus on the characters and team.. it can't be said enough. One episode of character development here and there is not going to cut it... SO far I am disappointed in the 2nd half of the season...
     
  10. vsuga

    vsuga Rookie

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    I thought it was going to be soooo much more that that. I was hoping for something creppy and dark, but only the first several mins was. Overall I was very disappointed. What was the point in Rob zombie again?!?
     
  11. greatfan

    greatfan Captain

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    Okay,I see what you're saying.
    Quite a few of us have wanted character develpment and focus on the team for a while.
     
  12. Jag Lady

    Jag Lady Lab Technician

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    I thought it was good. Phenomenal? No. Good? Yes. Mixing the scenery with Nosferatu was good and original.

    :guffaw::guffaw::guffaw: I love that one, mjszud!

    Personally, I never cared who directs something; I care only whether it's good or not. Never heard of this "Rob Zombie" or whoever he is. He did a good job, imho.

    Malcolm McDowell was great as a scumbag trial lawyer.

    So I understand Delko now works for the U.S. Attorney's office. But in what capacity? Incidentally, where's IAB if Jesse Cardoza's involved in something? Even though I'm glad Rebecca Nevins was back, I don't understand why Delko would've been involved, except I know tptb are finding any excuse to bring him back. Incidentally, thank you for not foisting another E/C moment on us. Sorry if you're an E/C shipper.

    I fear storylines and scenery are getting recycled from earlier seasons. My husband said "They got a thing for helicopters in high places." The first scene with the LAPD captain landing on the helipad just reminded me too much of Rio.

    All in all, good. I have to agree though--overhyped.
     
  13. BauerAlmeida

    BauerAlmeida Rookie

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    I too think the beginning scene was simply chilling and amazing, what I would expect from a director like Rob Zombie, but the rest of it was a little weird and bizzare.....

    I still think the best famed director CSI franchise episode is the one done by Quentin Tarantino for CSI's season 5 "Grave Danger", now THAT one was truly a director making his mark.

    Rob did great with what he had, but I guess I was hoping for a bit more. Still, though, it was a decent episode.:)
     
  14. Court

    Court Prime Suspect

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    I'm a huge Rob Zombie fan so I was totally geeked out by this ep.

    The "Nosferatu" scene with Horatio in the shot had me practically jumping up and down on my couch and when H told Enright to shut up, I was like "Yea!" at my tv (I've been submerged in snow for the last four months so try not to judge me too much, I take my happiness where I can find it).

    I love all things Michael Madsen so I was jazzed to see him. He was good but not "Reservoir Dogs" good or anything. As much as I like Ryan, I like how Madsen antagonized him.

    Malcolm McDowell is the man. I bow down to his greatness.

    Best part yet (for me), no soapy E/C moments.

    I may be completely alone, but this was my favorite episode so far this season. :thumbsup:
     
  15. greatfan

    greatfan Captain

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    Actually Ryan handled the "pintsize comment" pretty well.And I loved how Ryan got the genius because he tripped himself up with the lambskin condom comment
     

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