"Burn Out" Discussion **Spoilers**

Nish said:
Okay so I have finally seen the epi and I have to say I was tremendously impressed.

I've also managed a few hours of sleep so hopefully my comments will make sense.

First off, Alan Tudyk was phenomenal. He managed to make the character some what sympathetic and remarkably creepy at the same time. Wow. I've been a fan on AT since his Firefly days, but this performance just blew me away.

Second, I've had problems with Sara the character in past seasons but this season I am REALLY liking her. I loved how she came to Greg's defense in this episode, even though I believe he can take care of himself, it was nice to see a return to the brother/sister dynamic that she and Greg have shared in the past.

I believe that Sara was probably aware of Grissoms migraine issues. She's in a relationship with him, she would know, but she is secure enough in that relationship to be able to say, "Hey, I know you're not well but don't be an ass."

I love the fact that with the GSR we're not getting buried under constant Anvils of Sappiness. Considering the characters involved, "Oh honey, your head hurts, come here and let me make it better." would not be believable at all.

That being said, on to...

How damn sorry I felt for Grissom in this episode and how WELL, yes well I felt the character handled the strain both physical and emotional he was under.

The scenes between he and the pedophile were briliantly written and played. Those two men on screen together were stunning and I was rivited by their interaction. IMO this was some of the best writing and acting in any season.

The groundwork for the impending Grissom sabbatical was laid very nicely here and if you take all seasons as a whole to this point you can clearly see why he needs the break.

My take on Grissom is that he really doesn't cope, he just stuffs all the bad stuff into corners and doesn't deal with it. Since the end of season two he's had a number of challenges both personal and professional to deal with and largely hasn't.

This episode was a prime example of that, he was miserable physically (Like many of you I too am a migraine sufferer and there is little pain like that in the world.) and had the worst case possible for him, but he stuffed it all away and did what needed to be done.

Grissom, as a character, didn't have a choice, so his way of dealing with the strain was not dealing with it and just doing the job.

That's my take on that, anyway.

Next...

The Nick/Superdave moment was awesome. 20 seconds of realistic "this job can suck" observation. I love how the writers show the effects of a tough case on all the characters in little ways even though one character my be the focus of the story line.

Grissom isn't alone in feeling the pressure of the job.

Onward ho,

I am mad loving Sophia. Her interrogation of the Grandfather was awesome. You could see how disgusted she was with that man and LL also played the scene brilliantly. I also loved how gentle she was with Jason. This character has come a long way and I am enjoying her more and more all the time.

Ah, my Brass...how do I love thee, let me count the ways.
1...42...89...125... you get the picture. PG never dissappoints.

Hodges for once wasn't snarky, not really, he was actually attempting levity with the fill up the tank comment. It was nice to see some sensitivity come from Hodges and support too, in his own Hodges-esque manner. Short seen between he and Greg but I really loved it.

In some ways I think Greg was the antithisis of Grissom in this episode because he's been demonstrating some real grace under pressure. He didn't get irritated with Grissom's abrupt manner with him, he just calmly and professionally explained himself. I loved that!

Greg came to the table with solid evidence against Carl for arson, so one way or another the pedophile was going down.

The confrontation between Carl and the Grandfather in the hall was amazing, oh wow. "You drove them right to me." Simply amazing.

Over all, this episode rocked and rocked hard. It was difficult to watch, creepy, profoundly tragic and held my attention from beginning to end.

One of the best in any season. 10/10
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nish
since when can you read minds? i had it all worked out in my head what i was going to write. and it all comes down to, more or less, word for word what you said! and i mean word for word...WOW
i really dont have what to add.
the only trhing that you wrote that i wasnt gonna say was being a fan of AT, cause he looks familiar to me, but i dont know from where. he is an amazing actor. i knew that it was him from the beginning, but he was very convincing. i love the looks that grissom gave him.

brass had some awesome lines.

nick called superdave 'super' and 'buddy' it was sooooo touching. beautiful scene. the writers are great. really. i can totally see those 2 as friends. im not sure if outside of work, but im sure that when they have breaks at the same time, they wont sit on opposite sides of the breakroom. maybe even they are friends outside of work.
no offense to sara's followers, but i liked the fact that she wasnt in it much. cath and warrick werent in it much, but im not complaining, even though i like them. im not complaining AT ALL.
the ep was nicely done, nice story, good acting, great guest actor,grissom was amazaing, as was brass, greg...WOW. i think that grissom may have been imporessed with greg after. after sara called him on how he was acting...later on, he said thanks to greg, and it looked like he realized that he was impressed. as i said the superdave and nick scene was great. and OF COURSE my david. he had a david edge to his voice, the whole hodges-y thing going on, but he really wasnt mean to greg at all. i have to see his scenes again. when i was told this morning that his scene was with greg, i thought that maybe he'd tease him, but really he was nice to him. and the gasshoppah thing was ADORABLE.


strong ep
 
This episode was very, very well done. The content was distrubing, and so was its effect. What struck me most was how they treated the pedophile character. He wasn't sympathetic -- Brass' constant barbs ("I'm too old for you") helped with that -- but he wasn't really demonized either. That makes for great storytelling because it's not what you'd expect, but I'm not sure how I feel about it, either. He's a pedophile, but I don't hate him. It's hard to reconcile.

I also thought the episode harkened back to season 1, especially in being reminded about Grissom's sensitivity to cases involving children. And his demeanor this episode, of course, was compounded by his migraine (I think the last time that came up was "Strip Strangler"). I'm anxious to see if that's the start of something because by itself, in this episode, it doesn't quite fit in. But I can definitely see its purpose as part of a larger story arc.

Also, generally speaking, I've been pleased with the way Sara-Grissom scenes have been written and acted. They're looser, more natural. (I guess taking sexual tension away will do that.) Earlier episodes this season have made their scenes lighter (which I like). That wasn't the case this time, and rightly so, given the tone and subject matter. But the writers took that chemistry and the way they interact now, and really molded it to fit into this episode. Grissom's reaction to the music thing, and Sara's forthrightness in telling him to lighten up on Greg, I think is a wonderful insight into their relationship. In that instant, Grissom realized he was being crabby, and Sara knew there was some reason for it. But none of it was said.

Anyway, I've just been really impressed by this season so far as a whole, and I hope they keep it up.
 
Are we looking at possibly one of the strongest seasons in the shows history?

I think so. This season we have had so many strong episodes (even though we have had few), and this episode was powerful.

Grissom's chemistry with Alan Turdyk was amazing and was really enjoyable to watch. I'm also enjoying the amount of screen time Sofia is getting this season. Kudos for that.

But, did I miss Greg's bruises? Or has enough time passed for them to go away?
 
i agree with you, there hasnt been a bad episode yet. especially last season there were several 'meh' episodes, but so far the writers (with a few close calls) havent failed to impress me.
the csi episodes progression is pretty much real time with dates and such, so three weeks after a beating like the one greg got i think bruises and scrapes would be gone in that amount of time.
the only criticism i do have, is that sometimes it would be nice if the kidnapped children come out of it alive (i know, im an optimist :p) aside from the downer at the end it was a very well written, well executed episode. some of the first few episodes of the season jumped around a bit without good transitions, they seem to have worked out that issue.
 
It looked like he still had some residual bruises, but they were fading fast, the part where he was at the scene with Nick, it sort of looked like he still had some bruising on his cheek.

And they were talking on one of the entertainment shows about a month ago and they said that this season of CSI is going to be the most creative one yet.

I really have to say, between this epi and Fannysmackin', just those two epi's alone it's been wonderful so far. I thought all the interactions were fantastic, the writing, the direction, just one great episode.
 
pabzi said:

nish
since when can you read minds?
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*Chuckle* Talent I picked up while selling Life Insurance. :D

vegaslights said:
Are we looking at possibly one of the strongest seasons in the shows history?
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I really think so. I for one love how the show has evolved. I disagree with those who think that moving away from the "science" is a bad thing. After six full seasons the show has to start evolving...think about it you've been with the same characters forever now, isn't it time you knew more about them?

Do I want to watch CSI: Days of Our Lives? No, of course not, but I don't think that by adding depth and dimension to the characters you get that. I don't see CSI:LV going soap operaish...that's CSI:Miami territory. :rolleyes:

The writing this season is some of the strongest ever, we're getting to know more about the characters without the show going over the top. For me it's more involving and honestly more comprehensive. I am loving every minute of it.

Change is not necessarily bad, and for CSI:LV it is working beautifully. This episode in particular showed the nuanced depth of the characters without beating the viewers over the head with the hammer of angst. It was brilliantly done on every level from writing, acting to the cinematography.

I've watched it again and I still love it as much if not more than my first viewing.

There is a difference between being the number one show on television and the best show on television. If the writers keep up the momentum they have shown so far this season, CSI:LV will continue to be the best show on Television.

:::Edit::: I can spell, I just choose not to.
 
True...I don't think I want the show to necessarily (sp?) stay only on the science of the show, but I'm not too sure how I feel about the show mostly moving onto the character's lives....If I'm not mistaken, they did an awful lot of it last season. I think that, after seasons 1-3, this could be the strongest one.

But Still. Lacking in the Greg department. Although, I would only consider a show not lacking in Greg if he was in every scene. :)
 
Nish, you are right, there is a difference between being the number one show and the best show, same with movies, when they were talking about this season on one of the entertainment shows, they were saying that CSI could be number two, but this season is going to be it's most creative and it pulls in about 20 million viewers, and no one is going to sneeze at that.
 
I didn't read all posts in this thread (because I'm short on time before sleep :p)

I love the time loop idea, we see Grissom, lying on the couch fighting his migrane, hear the lawyers arguing through the door... and *flash* back to the Amber alert in the briefing room.

Then the transition of Grissom walking out the door and into the crime scene = excellent.

Brass, while interogating Carl, was very biased. Carl, even while a person with an 'issue', still deserves to have his comments taken down and to be treated like any other victim, until they become a suspect obviously. Even then there is some professionalism expected.

Even Grissom, with his problems with crimes against kids, showed restraint and respect with Carl. Despite his migraine.

Also "Didn't we talk about this Greg?" is NOT chewing Greg out... you have to remember that Greg did this often while in the lab, and that behavior would have carried over a tad when he became CSI, and Grissom went with the logical assumption.

However, before I break down the episode into specifics, I just have to say, I loved the acting by everyone... and too be honest, I'm kinda glad to see Grissom go for a while... it will be interesting and very nice to see GSR people reacting :devil: (I'm a fan of Greg / Sara (whatever the f you people call it))
 
Hehe loved the Nick/David scene. Nick actually called David "Super". lol. It was nice seeing David show his emotions even though it was just a second. I really loved it when he told Nick sometimes the job got to him.

It's interesting that Grissom went to Brass' office to lie down instead of his own. Hm. Perhaps it was because Brass' office was the closest room to him at the moment.
 
oh, i thought that that was grissoms office.
the nick and superdave scene was great. touching. and it really was adorabe that he called him super :)
 
I thought this was one of the most amazing episodes ever. It was so heart wrenching AND thought provoking.

Gissom's final discussions with Fisher were just awsome. I had to immediately replay that.He sums up so well. I think Grissom has been showing amazing depth of thought for the audience to re-think about personal responsibilty. Like in the locker scene in the end of Fannysmakin'.

I think this is not only Grissom at his best but WP!
I was so involved in the character trying to keep objective, not show his hatred and keep his migrane from stopping him catch the guy.

If WP does not get put up for an emmy it will be a scandal!
 
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