"A Space Oddity" Discussion *SPOILERS*

Hodges little speech in the end was pretty much the lab rat version of Grissom's little speech at the end of Butterflied, I gotta say.

I'm with Henry-Hodges just do it! You love that girl, so do it!

 

I was thinking that. Could you imagine the look on his face if she punched him, then kissed him, then walked out of the room? :lol:

I laughed at "He's dead, Jim" even though I have no idea what the reference is.

See, I love Wendy and Hodges, but the fantasy sequences drove me crazy. Don't really know why, they just got annoying.

 

It's funny, I thought that I was going to be annoyed by the fantasies when I saw the preview, but I ended up liking them a lot. I loved Star Trek, thought, so I thought it was cool that the fantasies had the same types of sets and costumes and lighting. It made me sentimental. I will say, though, that my favorite parts were the scenes near the end with Hodges and Wendy: the fight, them helping to solve the case and then not knowing how to act around each other. I just found it very real and very sweet.

 

Here is an article on tonight's CSI, on Entertainment Weekly's Watching TV with Ken Tucker. His thoughts on the episode and such.

 

The fantasy sequences... oh god... MAKE IT STOP!!! Alright, sure, it's way funny, but so difficult to watch.

[[edit]] Oh god, that whole "you're having fantasies, good, but don't blame me" dialog was sooooooooo fanfic.

Don't get me wrong, I'm liking this episode, I really am. Decent crime, great labrat screen time, but oh god... some of it is too much.

 

First off, as a sci-fi (or at least BSG) fan, I did really like it. My sci-fi fan friends were all really excited for this episode, and were not disappointed.

Things I loved, as a sci-fi (or at least BSG) fan:

Sci-fi cameos and notes pointed out by Colleen, my wonderful sci-fi extraordinaire friend:

How perfect that Ellen was the killer! Kate Vernon plays killers well.

Very accurate in depiction of sci-fi convention -- especially the sex. Loved the transponder.

Cameos--

- Jamie Ray Newman (Stargate Atlantis)
-Grace Park (BSG)
- Ron D. Moore (BSG)
- Kate Vernon (BSG) (media expert & killer)

I'm surprised that Rick Worthy didn't make another cameo. He turned up in 'Miscarriage of Justice' wearing basically the same clothes he was wearing in his first episode of BSG, which I thought was another great BSG homage.

Aurebesh from Star Wars = language of Hodges' message to Wendy

Our TV room turned into a squee-fest when Grace Park (BSG's Boomer/#8/Sharon/Athena) turned up as a cameo among the disgruntled fan after the screening. Also, we absolutely LOVED how it was Ron Moore who complained about Redux. It was clearly a nod to the BSG finale that he created and that left so many fans upset.

"He's dead, Jim" --> another major lol moment

---

As a CSI fan:

I love Henry.

Cath: "Life's too short" Awwww. I was definitely getting some Yo!Bling vibes from that comment. Poor Cath.

Did you ever actually see one? - Archie

I still don't like Hodges, but he did well this episode. Still, it's hard to separate my bitterness as a Greg fan. Greg was once again stuck doing Archie's job, which was very frustrating, and back when Greg was a lab tech, he never got this kind of episode.

I really do love Wendy, but I'd like to see her treated as more than just a love interest for Hodges. She's a wonderful character in her own right (and, IMO, a better one than Hodges). I loved Wendy in this one, but I would have loved it a lot more if her job wasn't to be Hodges' love interest. I don't think there's any quicker way to destroy female characters.

 

I loved the humor Wendy brought to the lighter scenes, and I think Wendy and Hodges are great together. Wendy stands out whenever she is in a scene. she is a strong character who does not blend into the background. I don't understand why they don't have her in more scenes.

 

I agree with that. I was especially happy since in the scene right before that he was talking about whether or not she had found a camera, in a kind of teacher-ish tone. I was, like, "Ray, she's a higher-level CSI than you. She's not stupid."

 

Summary
- - - - - - - - - -
- I think I lost my focus for this episode after the first Hodges/Wendy fantasy, because it all seemed to go downhill after that. I still can’t erase that stupid image from my brain. Yeesh!

- This episode just reinforces my stand that they need to give Liz Vassey a much larger role in this series – every week, not just occasionally. I didn’t really care for the extra Hodges stuff, but it was great to see a big Wendy episode.

- Cath & Hodges scene was cute. With that scene, were the writers trying to apologize for going down the crappy GSR route, and realizing how they turned two decent characters into unethical hypocrites? Oh wait. I guess not, since this episode wasn’t written by the regular CSI writers, but by the former Battlestar Galactica writers. Maybe it was a nice slap in the face to the regular CSI writers.

- Is this what it’s come down to for Greg these days? Splitting time in the A/V lab with Archie? It’s truly disheartening for the writers to keep brushing off this unique character, and making him no more than a seldom-seen labtech.

- the episode storyline: well, I’m not a fan of sci-fi, so I’d say that I could care less about any of the story/plot. I liked the Wendy/Hodges interaction (minus the icky fantasy stuff)

- Nick has totally fallen away from any character traits that actually made him likeable in the first 6 seasons. I guess I don’t really care for his character anymore. He seems to be too high & mighty these days. He was pissy to Hodges & Wendy. He was a bit rude to the bartender, until the bartender gave him a dose of reality.

- I loved funny Super Dave, and I love how Doc Robbins showed his annoyance and put David back to reality.

- Brass was just kind of so-so in this episode, but he really didn’t have much script to work with.

My full review can be found here

 

Alright, well, now that I'm posting in the correct thread (because, somehow, when I first posted what I'm about to post in here, it was in the "Bones" thread in General TV & Media), I hope to get an answer. Here's what I posted (in the wrong thread):

 

I loved the fantasy sequences in this episode. They reminded me of "Galaxy Quest" and made me laugh so hard I snorted. I have to go along with everyone else who thinks Wendy should be getting more screen time. There's obviously a lot to her character that's still under the surface.

 

I was jotting things down as I watched tonight and some pretty interesting stuff was brought up, so here's my take on this one.

Overall great ep. Light. Fun. Character exploration. A+

Nicky Undo harshness. His words could have been snarky and still well intentioned, but his tone really seemed like there was unnecessary attitude here. What's up with that, Nick?

I love Hodges imagination though, but he needs to stop smelling Wendy! That is a touch on the creepy side.

it's kind of an uncomfortable position for the audience at first... I mean the writers seem very aware that we as CSI geeks have a lot in common with their hordes of nerdy suspects. But I still feel they tend to portray the geeks as your typical socially awkward, obsession driven, wannabe with no life outside their fandom. As an audience to CSI we are Hodges. We are Wendy. And we are their kin. But for a show that lives and breathes on their ratings, our attention, it feels like an honest indication of how TPTB regard us.

That is until Nick speaks to the bartender and after a shot but impacting story about his tour in Iraq, Nick's shown he's not quite giving these dorks the credit they deserve. Bonus points for later, when he gave Nick a dvd and Nick was good enough to rise above the social cliches and just accept it as a nice gesture. Wonder if he would have felt the same if the geek in question hadn't served his country.

I'm glad they thought to include Nick, as well as the others, actually watching the dvd Nick was given, and the fact that Langston is a bit of a fan already bodes well for offering the counter point that you can be a normal person, a social/professional success and still indulge in some hardcore nerdity.

Typically we view them all as geeks, and nerds after a sort since they're kind of the geek squad of the police department, but really there's a visible difference between the kind of nerd Nick is, the kind of nerd Greg is and the kind of nerd Hodges is and I'm still undecided as to whether or not I feel like they just reinforced a normative agenda or if they really did manage to insist upon understanding above all.

Liz Vassey is a brave girl for some of those outfits.. but what the hell, she's amazing looking so why not work it.

Anybody think Patrick Bristow looks like the Mythbusters guy?

Oh Hodges, just when I'm starting to sympathize with you, you go and act like a jag off. Blaming Eve for the sins of Adam, is tiring. Especially for a vivacious, and smart woman like Wendy. But I have to say Wendy's reaction is one of the best I've seen from female character and I'm GLAD she's amicable, but not exactly willing to pretend like he hadn't just behaved like the douche nozzle he is. I admire that she's not making up with him so quickly. Boy, needs to get his act together to be deserving of a woman like her.

Bonus for Henry hilarity. <3

Media semiotics! One of my favorite subjects!

The vic does represent everything I hate about TPTB. So, naturally, I can't help but feel like I'm being pandered to when he's killed by his maker.

My biggest criticism was the startling lack of Greg, but hopefully that's not going to become a trend.

I totally agree. I have so much untapped love for Wendy and her comment about loving the AstroQuest character who was under written makes me think maybe they're going to try not to let that happen to Wendy!