"House Of Hoarders" Discussion **Spoilers**

I finally got around to watching this episode... I thought it was good, but for two things. First, I hate that Ray = New Grissom. Hate it. There is plenty of writing talent on that show... You can do better character development. Seriously. That conversation at the end between Ray and Nick made me mad... Nick is not Ray's subordinate. The tone was all wrong - the time for Grissom to sit poor naive Nicky down and explain the birds and the bees is long gone.

And speaking of Nick - if he could maybe not be portrayed as a narrow-minded jackass, that would be great. He's grown too much in the last ten years to act like that. Disagree with Sara? OK. Hold your ground? OK. All good. No need to be bull headed about it. That's not Nick.

 

A little behind, but thought I'd throw in my 2cents worth.

Best episode in a loooong time! This is the type of socially relevant episode that, when well written, CSI excels in. Kudos to George for suggesting it.

Loved the scenes with Sara, Nick and Greg. I honestly didn't miss Catherine, and if the episodes are written this well, I think the show can survive without her; although, I would like to see her as an occasional recurring character.

I feel like I'm a pretty hard core GSR fan, and I don't mind the way it's being handled. Sure, it would be better if Grissom were around, but the reality is WP has moved on. Splitting them up would seem more out of character than keeping them together and allowing the viewers to assume that they are happy, and dividing their time between Las Vegas and somewhere. We see them for one shift a week; we don't really know what goes on the rest of the time. I remember Jorja saying in an interview that she feels that Sara and Grissom are secure enough in their relationship to go off and do their own thing, then get together when they want. Sounds like a solid relationship to me, built on love and trust and mutual respect (for each others' career choices). Two extremely independent people making it work.

My favorite moments: Sara and Greg in the home (North Star, bubble wrap, 'Where ARE you?' :lol: ; Sara and Nick and Greg in the gunshot scene (I suspect there was some ad libbing going on there with the laughing ); Sara walking out when Ray was talking (loved it! so in character); Sara's scenes with the mother and son. I think these scenes, especially the one with the son, were to explain how Sara could return to the job; she had dealt with her 'ghosts' and is able to go on with her life.

I do think this episode shows that Nick and Sara and Greg make awesome co-stars, and a single 'lead' is not necessary. Solid episode, solid ratings.

 

I truly think that the shotgun scene will definitely go down in history as one of the best scenes every in CSI. )

One of those scenes that seems everyone loves. )

This episode definitely had some great scenes.

I hope the do a commentary on this episode with George, Jorja, and Eric. That would be cool, being that they've worked so long with each other.

 

It was great to see the old team together with an added radiant new CSI, Dr. Langston, and how he fits in with all of them totally. That TPTB chose him and they couldn't have picked a better actor or character than this man. Big cheers

 

This is an awesome episode. I thought Sara's near slip on the one spot looked cute. Great moments include Nick's face when Sara told him to smile, Nick's "Y incision" and Doc Robbins' remark on that, the shotgun, and quotes from Nick, like "rat with a saddle" as well as remarks about going through or clearing a path through the house. I was expecting Nick or Greg to compare that home with their old dorm rooms. I think either one of them already did in an old episode.

I like watching Hoarders as well, though, I'm not a fan of the show. It's nice to know that George acknowledges that show, and put it as a CSI episode. It worked perfectly with Vegas. But, I'd like to see something similar like that in New York or Miami, and see Danny and Don (NY) react to it, especially the science/forensics-illiterate Donny. But, it fits with Vegas well, as the other shows have become too polished or glamorized; Lots of action and hardly any forensics. At least Vegas sticks more with the forensics and relate to the blue-collared society, even though it can seem dragged on or, at times, boring.

I can't consider myself a hoarder, if by choice, but more of the opposite of a hoarder. People tend to give me their stuff that they don't need, and it can pile up around me. I'd rather live in an almost empty treehouse than some junked up warehouse. Usually, I really can't see furniture or objects as being of sentimental or memorable value that I can't throw away. Through the years, I'd lose, misplace, wear out, or break (which I highly regret due to my small temper) some things. But, sometimes, I'd wish that I hadn't lose some of the things I have or kept it well so I can look back at it and remember somethings related to that object.

If I want to go back to a time or a place, I'd usually do it with music. Like listening to Bobby Brown and going back to 1989. Or some G. Jeils Band song and picture myself going to school by bus when I was 5. I don't know why I can't find that same kind of feeling when it comes to objects. I guess I should consider myself lucky otherwise I'd be "holding on" to too many objects. I don't even like make up, brand names, or jewelry, so I'm pretty much opposite of being a hoarder.

As for the Nick/Sara arguement, it's nice to know where Sara stands in this situation. I feel for her when she spilled about her parents to Julian, I thought that I'd be seeing some serious waterworks from her. And it's nice that Nick still has flaws, even if he seemed ignorant or narrow-minded about the hoarder's situation. I'd be thinking like him too, if I wasn't educated on the condition of hoarding and as a cop, a dead body was found on the home where the hoarder/suspect roams around, whether aware of the dead body or not.

Though, I'm not sure if hoarding is something ancient that many people are aware of, but I do know that OCD is nothing new. And reading up on Delta Burke's situation of hoarding and having storage units full of her stuff, I didn't think much of it nor how long has she had that condition. But after watching Hoarders, it got me thinking that there are some among us, which can include ourselves. I do like that idea of Nick being a closet hoarder, as someone mentioned.

The Nick/Sara arguement just shows that they have their flaws and imperfections, even when related to the job. It shows their commitment to bringing justice to the victims, as well as the suspect. Instead of just being there to do their jobs only when they feel like it. Awesome episode!

 

You summarized the episode well; I LOVED it and couldn't agree more that it was the best ep in quite a while.

 

I still love this episode for all the :guffaw: moments.

Nick stepping in the corpse :guffaw:
The look on his face :guffaw:
Sara taking his picture 'Nick, smile' :guffaw:
They all hitting the floor when the rifle goes off :guffaw:

:guffaw::guffaw::guffaw: So dang funny!

 

I think TPTB just screwed up on the write-off for Gris...I would have much preferred the teaching or consulting or whatever scenerio as well. He could be in Vegas without being onscreen. And LOL at the Danny and Lindsay comment. (though that show should have done like LV did and split them up on different shifts...IDK why they didn't.)I saw comments from folks who thought Gil and Sara were like that toward the end of WP's run...it seemed that Gris and Sara got paired up on cases a lot.

But back on topic, sort of...how come we're getting a rerun this week? I never figured that out. Although as I think I missed some of this ep, I am curious to see it. The review sounds vaguely familiar, but I need a refresher. The early part of the season had me having a hard time getting back in the groove of watching it without Grissom around, and there was some other stuff too. Anyway, it sounds like it won't be too bad.

 

Ooo... good. I was hoping this one would repeat sometime before the DVD's for this season came out and went WAY down in price LOL. I'd been pointing out to my husband the other day while watching the 'Harvest' that I'd missed a fair bit of the original airing of this episode trying to remember where I recognized the son from. :guffaw:

I must say, it was fun reading through all the past comments on here... the feelings of how Nick and Sara each reacted towards this case, and the different thoughts on how people either get or don't get hoarding... and all the unique perspectives between.

As, I think it was Byline that made the connection, said hoarding is a sub-behaviour of obsessive compulsive disorder. Although that is the general feeling, it's not 100% certain if that's the case or not. There are certain key problems that sort of steer it away from it being a symptom of obsessive compulsive disorder (namely that there are cases of hoarders without any other OCD symptoms, and that hoarding symptoms do not respond to the same medications that other OCD symptoms respond to). Though it is very likely there is a connected pathology.

I myself have obsessive compulsive personality disorder, in addition to mild OCD. It's similar, but different to OCD. I've always had it, and yes, the obsessions and compulsions are completely irrational. One thing a LOT of shows like Hoarders, CSI, and Monk (do NOT go to an OCD group and talk about Monk, that's just asking for trouble :guffaw don't really show is the fact that more often than not, the people with the condition KNOW it's irrational. That's part of what makes the anxieties that come with it even worse, when you can logically tell yourself that what you're obsessing over or the compulsion you have is completely irrational... but there's too much anxiety/discomfort to believe your logical mind over the irrational.

I also have some VERY mild hoarding tendencies. I have a closet full of my Grandparent's clothes, shirts and a few jackets that even the idea of someone getting rid of them sends me into a panic. They are nothing more than clothes, that the scent of a Grandmother who died 20 years ago has worn off of and that at least a few shirts a Grandfather never actually wore but had received as gifts before he gave them to me before he died six years ago. But to get rid of those clothes now would be almost as painful as their passing was. It physically hurts to think about it.

As far as Nick and Sara's reactions go... I know it probably goes against what everyone would automatically think... but I'd rather encounter people with Nick's perspective over Sara's any day. There's a few reasons for this.
One being that Nick's perspective is what's common. With time and a little explanation, they tend to go one of two ways... respecting the difficulties and interested in learning more, or they continue to look at you as a whack job. The former, great; the latter, bye!
Another relates to the first a bit... for those that learn to respect the difficulties and choose to further their knowledge, they generally don't treat you like damaged goods. If I had to wager a guess, this is where Nick would likely end up.
On the flip side, folks with Sara's perspective do tend towards one of two things, either they treat you with kid gloves or they treat you like a case study.
The big one for me, why I personally hate seeing people come with Sara's perspective of empathy... the only people who can truly empathize with someone with OCD or hoarding type behaviours is someone else with that condition as well... and I'd rather no one else ever have to go through it. Sure, it's not a deadly disease, but I still wouldn't wish it on anyone in the world.

And for anyone that's curious about it, don't bother watching Hoarders/Obsessed/etc... the best documentary I've found is OCD: The War Inside. It is a VERY difficult watch. I saw it shortly after my own breakdown and diagnosis, and my husband even ended up crying because of how accurate it is to not only the experience of the person with OCD, but also those who live with them.

So for everyone who said Nick was being an ass... Maybe, but now he's got a chance to learn... which is something Sara likely won't think she needs to do, because of her sense of empathy. (Not that empathy is normally a bad thing... but in this case, it results in her being less likely to seek out further information than Nick would be).

 

Did I? Wow, I posted something intelligent for a change, LOL!

Seriously, thank you for the extensive personal insights into OCD. We're getting ready to move a long distance, and the thought of feeling trapped by overwhelming anxieties over getting rid of stuff -- along with all the normal stress and anxiety that accompany a move -- is almost unimaginable.

As I think I mentioned before, my mother is a hoarder. Certainly not one of the worst-case scenarios, but enough that it puts a strain on her, as well as her relationships with anyone living with her. (As you point out, her rational mind recognizes how irrational these impulses are, which only increases the emotional anxiety.) Among the things we moved many times when I was a kid: countless coffee cans filled with rocks that my sister and I collected on camping trips. They will never come out and be of any use, my mother will never take them out and look at them, yet they had to be moved each time. They are heavy, cumbersome . . . and they are still sitting somewhere in the basement, along with all the other piles and boxes of stuff filling almost every square inch of space (except for the "pathway" cleared out in between).

It's actually very freeing for me, and brings a huge sense of relief, to be able to say, "If we're not using it, out it goes." So we've been shedding a ton of stuff over the past few weeks, and will probably shed still more before we move. That includes a lot of family dishes that were just sitting around in boxes upstairs, collecting dust. (I'm pretty sure my older sister did something similar with the dishes Mom gave her.) If my husband and I were "china cabinet" people, or if I had a genuine emotional attachment to any of this stuff, it would be different. But neither is the case, and there's no changing that. The joy was that when I took them over to the Habitat for Humanity ReStore (where they sell items like these; the money helps fund the building of more Habitat homes), the workers' excitement over receiving all these items was incredibly gratifying. So, instead of collecting dust up in my second bedroom, they will go to someone who will really use and appreciate them. But I know this is something my mother would never be able to reconcile within herself, so I'm not even going to try to explain it. But I'm not going to feel guilty about it either, because I know I did the right thing.

Whenever the time comes that my mother passes away, I know that my sister and I will face a monumental task of helping clean all the "stuff" out of her house, because she can't bring herself to do it. Of course, that's nothing compared to being without our mother . . . but it's not something that we look forward to, either.

 

Sara putting Langston in his place! Its about time somebody did :lol: