miamirocks
Lab Technician
Hey everyone,
Regarding comments that Cal and H never had a close friendship, and that Eric is H’s Stella/Catherine, I beg to differ, as Horatio would say.
I have to respectfully disagree b/c:
a) Calleigh has been working at the lab for at least 10 years - she's Eric's senior.
b) Horatio used to call on Calleigh all the time in big situations (see "Kill Zone;" "Big Brother;" "Lost Son;" - just to name a few.) They used to work together all the time. If you re-watch Seasons 1-3 you'll see what I mean. They put Calleigh in that supporting role after Meghan Donner left.
c) H basically trusted Calleigh to train Ryan and bring him up as a CSI. It's also apparent that the members of the lab look up to Calleigh and respect her.
d) Eric, unfortunately, has had a lot of problems that have compromised his abilities as a CSI — first his "toothing" thing; then the Marisol/pot issue; then the bullet-in-the-head incident... When the chips are down, Cal's the one to go to, it's just that H hasn't been doing that for the last 20 episodes. Why is still a matter I haven't heard any clear-cut answers to, but am interested to find out...
I would agree that this is the case now, but if you watch the first three seasons (and even parts of seasons four and five), you’d see things quite differently. Horatio and Calleigh were very friendly in Seasons 1-3 (the last scene in “Lost Son” highlights their friendship best), and I believe he even calls her “pal” in Season 4’s “Shock.” Horatio and Calleigh always had each other’s backs “back in the day.” To say that Horatio and Calleigh have never been close, it doesn’t reflect their history together. (See “Losing Face;” “Broken;” “Kill Zone;” “Dispo Day;” “Simple Man;” “The Best Defense;” “Big Brother;” “Lost Son;” “Under the Influence;” “After the Fall;” “Under Suspicion:” “Going Under” — just to name a few.)
I would specifically point to Calleigh’s conversation w/Horatio in Season 3’s “After the Fall,” where she convinces Horatio to let her look at the evidence against him when one of the suspects charges Horatio with police brutality. Calleigh’s obviously concerned for Horatio, and stepping out for him as a friend. She also challenges him in this scene, pushes him – and I think that’s something Eric would never do, and something no one seems to do anymore, which is why Horatio seems so untouchable. That episode is also where we got that great line that sums up Calleigh perfectly, and it was said by Horatio (to Stetler): "Rule #1: Never Mess With Calleigh Duquesne." That line alone demonstrates Horatio's trust in Calleigh.
Horatio has always been a father figure to the team, up until recently. It seems Horatio has distanced himself from the team since Speed died. (He never really got close to Ryan, not like he is with Eric and Calleigh.) As for treating Calleigh like his subordinate – well, she is his subordinate, and so is Eric. Horatio and Eric have a bond b/c of Marisol, and that’s why we keep getting these scenes w/them together. But in those scenes, particularly in “Bang Bang, Your Debt,” Horatio is still acting like more of a father figure than anything else. I don’t see any evidence that he treats Eric differently from Calleigh, professionally speaking, other than the fact that we never see Horatio interacting with Calleigh anymore.
I think the show has suffered b/c H is so distant. Also, it's interesting to note that it was Calleigh — not Horatio — who helped Eric through most of his troubles after the brain injury - she worked the cases w/him, she dealt w/that woman who's garnishing his paycheck, she caught a mistake Eric made that could've cost the team the case.
Where was Horatio in all this? MIA. It appeared that he let Calleigh take the lead and handle Eric when he returned. I'm sure Cal had to talk to H about Eric - about his problems. How do you think H found out that Eric was possibly having hallucinations of Speed? I think it's logical to assume that Calleigh told Horatio about it. (Personally, I believe Eric wouldn’t open up to Cal about this b/c of the whole “Jake” thing.)
Horatio has not "been there" for Eric like Calleigh has - and it’s not just Eric that Calleigh’s done this for – Calleigh’s been there for the whole team - for Ryan (the eye problem, the gambling thing, the time when he froze at a shoot-out, etc), for Eric (as mentioned above), for Natalia (Calleigh was the olive branch after the whole “mole” thing), and even for Horatio (she defended him to John Hagen in Season 1; helped him find his brother’s “killer” in Season 2; got the police brutality charge dropped in Season 3; was the person holding it all together during “Under Suspicion” in Season 4; ran the lab in “Rio” in Season 5 and saved Eric’s life by calling Horatio to tell him that Eric dropped out of GPS range.)
Well, that’s probably b/c of the Marisol connection (which the writers play up big time), and the fact that Eric was almost killed last year. Of course it appears that H is more open to Eric – they have scenes together all the time, while Horatio and Calleigh have no recent scenes that we can use for comparison. Horatio could be confiding in Calleigh all the time, for all we know – we never see any interaction. If they had a few scenes together lately, maybe we could better gage their relationship, but without any “hard evidence,” there’s only speculation.
I will say that, in the past, Horatio has confided in Calleigh. Watch “Under Suspicion,” just for one example. I think that’s the closest I’ve seen Horatio come to confiding in anyone, (other than Rebecca Nevins in “After the Fall” and the confessional scene in “From the Grave.”) I’ve never seen Horatio confide in Eric about his problems, even where Marisol is concerned – it’s always been the other way around.
I agree that having strong women in the forefront is a great thing – and I think Miami did this in the beginning. Now it seems to be all about the cleavage, etc. I think Calleigh’s the strongest female on the show, and I don’t see why she can’t fill the role that Catherine and Stella do.
At the end of the day, look at who Stella and Catherine are — they're the senior leaders of the team, next to their boss - they are people the other CSIs look up to. They are the next in line. And that's what Calleigh is.
Quite frankly, I think Calleigh could run her own team, and I think she's overdue for a promotion - I mean, she's been doing this for a long time, even before Horatio became the sole leader of the team. If you look at the timeline, Eric started as a CSI just as Horatio replaced Meghan as the team leader (about six months before the season 1 premier—see “Golden Parachute”), but Calleigh started around the time of Ray's apparent death (at least a year or two earlier- see “Grave Young Men”). She also had prior cop experience in Louisiana, where she got the nickname "Bullet Girl."
If it came down to it, and H had to leave for some reason, I don't think Eric would be in charge of the lab - it would be Calleigh. To put Eric in charge would be a slap in the face to Calleigh, simply b/c of her seniority and experience, along with the fact that she's been loyal and dedicated to the team for over a decade.
Also, I don't think Eric brings H down to earth like Calleigh does, which is why everyone keeps talking about "robo H", etc. Calleigh's cheerful optimism is a great counter-balance to Horatio's brooding moodiness. Eric just kind of brings that same moodiness to a scene w/H - he's like another H. What you need is a balance - which is why Grissom has Catherine and Mac has Stella.
That’s, unfortunately, what I think the problem may be. Have you heard anything specific, b/c I’d really like to know. Perhaps DC was worried about having a “co-star” or whatever, since the character of Calleigh has been seen by many as the female lead on the show. Who knows what’s going on behind the scenes, but I sure wish, if in fact there is an issue, egos would be put aside for the good of the show. Even Dennis Franz and DC had scenes together in NYPD Blue when they didn’t get along. Surely this can’t be as bad as that blow-up was, can it?
Regarding comments that Cal and H never had a close friendship, and that Eric is H’s Stella/Catherine, I beg to differ, as Horatio would say.
I have to respectfully disagree b/c:
a) Calleigh has been working at the lab for at least 10 years - she's Eric's senior.
b) Horatio used to call on Calleigh all the time in big situations (see "Kill Zone;" "Big Brother;" "Lost Son;" - just to name a few.) They used to work together all the time. If you re-watch Seasons 1-3 you'll see what I mean. They put Calleigh in that supporting role after Meghan Donner left.
c) H basically trusted Calleigh to train Ryan and bring him up as a CSI. It's also apparent that the members of the lab look up to Calleigh and respect her.
d) Eric, unfortunately, has had a lot of problems that have compromised his abilities as a CSI — first his "toothing" thing; then the Marisol/pot issue; then the bullet-in-the-head incident... When the chips are down, Cal's the one to go to, it's just that H hasn't been doing that for the last 20 episodes. Why is still a matter I haven't heard any clear-cut answers to, but am interested to find out...
I would agree that this is the case now, but if you watch the first three seasons (and even parts of seasons four and five), you’d see things quite differently. Horatio and Calleigh were very friendly in Seasons 1-3 (the last scene in “Lost Son” highlights their friendship best), and I believe he even calls her “pal” in Season 4’s “Shock.” Horatio and Calleigh always had each other’s backs “back in the day.” To say that Horatio and Calleigh have never been close, it doesn’t reflect their history together. (See “Losing Face;” “Broken;” “Kill Zone;” “Dispo Day;” “Simple Man;” “The Best Defense;” “Big Brother;” “Lost Son;” “Under the Influence;” “After the Fall;” “Under Suspicion:” “Going Under” — just to name a few.)
I would specifically point to Calleigh’s conversation w/Horatio in Season 3’s “After the Fall,” where she convinces Horatio to let her look at the evidence against him when one of the suspects charges Horatio with police brutality. Calleigh’s obviously concerned for Horatio, and stepping out for him as a friend. She also challenges him in this scene, pushes him – and I think that’s something Eric would never do, and something no one seems to do anymore, which is why Horatio seems so untouchable. That episode is also where we got that great line that sums up Calleigh perfectly, and it was said by Horatio (to Stetler): "Rule #1: Never Mess With Calleigh Duquesne." That line alone demonstrates Horatio's trust in Calleigh.
Horatio has always been a father figure to the team, up until recently. It seems Horatio has distanced himself from the team since Speed died. (He never really got close to Ryan, not like he is with Eric and Calleigh.) As for treating Calleigh like his subordinate – well, she is his subordinate, and so is Eric. Horatio and Eric have a bond b/c of Marisol, and that’s why we keep getting these scenes w/them together. But in those scenes, particularly in “Bang Bang, Your Debt,” Horatio is still acting like more of a father figure than anything else. I don’t see any evidence that he treats Eric differently from Calleigh, professionally speaking, other than the fact that we never see Horatio interacting with Calleigh anymore.
I think the show has suffered b/c H is so distant. Also, it's interesting to note that it was Calleigh — not Horatio — who helped Eric through most of his troubles after the brain injury - she worked the cases w/him, she dealt w/that woman who's garnishing his paycheck, she caught a mistake Eric made that could've cost the team the case.
Where was Horatio in all this? MIA. It appeared that he let Calleigh take the lead and handle Eric when he returned. I'm sure Cal had to talk to H about Eric - about his problems. How do you think H found out that Eric was possibly having hallucinations of Speed? I think it's logical to assume that Calleigh told Horatio about it. (Personally, I believe Eric wouldn’t open up to Cal about this b/c of the whole “Jake” thing.)
Horatio has not "been there" for Eric like Calleigh has - and it’s not just Eric that Calleigh’s done this for – Calleigh’s been there for the whole team - for Ryan (the eye problem, the gambling thing, the time when he froze at a shoot-out, etc), for Eric (as mentioned above), for Natalia (Calleigh was the olive branch after the whole “mole” thing), and even for Horatio (she defended him to John Hagen in Season 1; helped him find his brother’s “killer” in Season 2; got the police brutality charge dropped in Season 3; was the person holding it all together during “Under Suspicion” in Season 4; ran the lab in “Rio” in Season 5 and saved Eric’s life by calling Horatio to tell him that Eric dropped out of GPS range.)
Well, that’s probably b/c of the Marisol connection (which the writers play up big time), and the fact that Eric was almost killed last year. Of course it appears that H is more open to Eric – they have scenes together all the time, while Horatio and Calleigh have no recent scenes that we can use for comparison. Horatio could be confiding in Calleigh all the time, for all we know – we never see any interaction. If they had a few scenes together lately, maybe we could better gage their relationship, but without any “hard evidence,” there’s only speculation.
I will say that, in the past, Horatio has confided in Calleigh. Watch “Under Suspicion,” just for one example. I think that’s the closest I’ve seen Horatio come to confiding in anyone, (other than Rebecca Nevins in “After the Fall” and the confessional scene in “From the Grave.”) I’ve never seen Horatio confide in Eric about his problems, even where Marisol is concerned – it’s always been the other way around.
I agree that having strong women in the forefront is a great thing – and I think Miami did this in the beginning. Now it seems to be all about the cleavage, etc. I think Calleigh’s the strongest female on the show, and I don’t see why she can’t fill the role that Catherine and Stella do.
At the end of the day, look at who Stella and Catherine are — they're the senior leaders of the team, next to their boss - they are people the other CSIs look up to. They are the next in line. And that's what Calleigh is.
Quite frankly, I think Calleigh could run her own team, and I think she's overdue for a promotion - I mean, she's been doing this for a long time, even before Horatio became the sole leader of the team. If you look at the timeline, Eric started as a CSI just as Horatio replaced Meghan as the team leader (about six months before the season 1 premier—see “Golden Parachute”), but Calleigh started around the time of Ray's apparent death (at least a year or two earlier- see “Grave Young Men”). She also had prior cop experience in Louisiana, where she got the nickname "Bullet Girl."
If it came down to it, and H had to leave for some reason, I don't think Eric would be in charge of the lab - it would be Calleigh. To put Eric in charge would be a slap in the face to Calleigh, simply b/c of her seniority and experience, along with the fact that she's been loyal and dedicated to the team for over a decade.
Also, I don't think Eric brings H down to earth like Calleigh does, which is why everyone keeps talking about "robo H", etc. Calleigh's cheerful optimism is a great counter-balance to Horatio's brooding moodiness. Eric just kind of brings that same moodiness to a scene w/H - he's like another H. What you need is a balance - which is why Grissom has Catherine and Mac has Stella.
That’s, unfortunately, what I think the problem may be. Have you heard anything specific, b/c I’d really like to know. Perhaps DC was worried about having a “co-star” or whatever, since the character of Calleigh has been seen by many as the female lead on the show. Who knows what’s going on behind the scenes, but I sure wish, if in fact there is an issue, egos would be put aside for the good of the show. Even Dennis Franz and DC had scenes together in NYPD Blue when they didn’t get along. Surely this can’t be as bad as that blow-up was, can it?