CSI: New York--'Obsession'

CSI Files

Captain
Synopsis:

A cold winter's day in New York brings two dead bodies for the CSIs: a barely dressed young man in a shopping cart, and an elegantly dressed one in an unused condo. The man in the shopping cart was participating in the "Idiot Run," where New Yorkers race each other in shopping carts. Danny and Detective Angell head to the after party, where a young woman named Rita identifies their victim as Bruce Abbott, a member of her team. After their cart crashed, disqualifying them, Bruce wandered off to sabotage other teams. A woman named Carla, dressed as a dominatrix, fell victim to Bruce's machinations: she tripped on a grate he covered with snow, causing her to break her heel and toppling her team. When Dr. Hammerback tells Danny and Dr. Hawkes that Bruce was apparently kicked to death by a woman's foot, they take foot impressions from both Carla and Rita, but neither is a match.

Detective Flack tells Mac and Stella that the apartment the well-dressed man was found in has been unoccupied for quite some time. The CSIs find rope and duct tape, indicating a kidnapping, but Dr. Hammerback tells them their victim, who was stabbed to death, doesn't have any marks on him indicating he was bound. The CSIs theorize he might have been the kidnapper, but where is the victim? They briefly suspect there might have been a second kidnapper involved because of a blood pool that was cleaned up in the condo, but it leads them to an ex-con named Artemis Hunt, who is able to prove he was in Atlantic City at the time of the murder. A car outside the condo gives Mac and Stella an ID on their victim: Alex Martin, a real estate agent handling the sale of the condo. Horse hairs and wood shavings in the trunk of his car lead Mac and Stella to their kidnap victim: Elizabeth Grayson, who owned a horse at a nearby stable and hasn't been seen in two days.

Danny and Hawkes turn to the shopping cart Bruce Abbott was discovered in, going over it carefully. Danny finds a white dog hair, and Hawkes is able to determine the pilfered cart came from a store called Delfina's Market. They take a trip to the store and find a white dog in the alley beside it...as well as a prosthetic female leg with nailpolish and blood on it. When Danny spots a homeless man he saw getting upset during the shopping cart race, the CSIs realize they have their killer. Bruce stole the cart from the man, and when he came across a very drunk Bruce with the damaged cart, he killed him in a fit of rage, claiming the cart was all he had. Flack talks to Elizabeth's ex-husband, Terry, who claims to still love her and is concerned about her disappearance. Elizabeth turns up at Sacred Heart hospital, claiming she was kidnapped and raped by Alex Martin. She admits to struggling with Alex and then stabbing him and fleeing, telling Mac she tossed the knife in a garbage can on her way out.

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Excellent review, as usual. ;) (Although I did chuckle at the use of 'antidotes' instead of 'anecdotes.' :p)

The cases were just blah from what I saw on a first watching. The murderer in the shopping cart race was interesting, and allowed the audience to connect to the case somehow, but I'm noticing a tendency lately to have victims/suspects that we just don't feel empathetic toward as viewers. I mean, I didn't exactly feel bad for the dead guy in the shopping cart.

That whole bit of science about the snowflake seemed far-fetched, and while a single snowflake would be a certain way at a certain temperature, blah blah blah--is that kind of thing really believable? If you started talking about a snowflake at a trial where I was in the jury, I'd probably wonder what in the hell you were on and wait for the other evidence to show up. While these shows are always looking for new and interesting ways to do the same old thing, not everything is going to work. Ultimately, they need to be more concerned with making the same old thing new again--interesting motives, unexpected plot twists, characters that you empathize with even if they're only on screen for a few minutes; not more bored rich people with kinks and some science that makes you scratch your head.

Adam is a total gem. He brightens up the scenes he's in, as does Hammerback. Those two definitely need to stick around. ;)

The friendship between Danny and Hawkes is a nice development, and I'm hoping it provides the opportunity for plenty of little character moments for both of them. Now if only the writers would take the time to show the friendships between all of the characters, I would be a happy bunny. ;)

So yeah, I agree with the review--it wasn't a horrible episode, but it wasn't the most memorable one either.
 
Excellent review, as always. :)

I think the problem was it had to do with a new writer. Isn't Jeremy Littman a new addition to the writing staff? And to me it seems a little late to be adding a new addition to the staff, especially this far into the season.

The cases didn't hold my interest, either, Fay. They seemed dull, boring and in aspect to "Love Run Cold" (one of my least favorites from this season) this one really didn't do much.

Going with everyone else, not the best episode this season.

(I also think nearly a month of no new episodes kept my interest low) :rolleyes:
 
^Thank you! :) I think he is new. This one wasn't quite as bad as "Love Run Cold" but I agree, it was down there. It's been a good season in general, so the average eps look worse than they might otherwise.

Faylinn said:
Excellent review, as usual. ;) (Although I did chuckle at the use of 'antidotes' instead of 'anecdotes.' :p)

Thank you and oops! :lol: That will teach me to try to spellcheck at 1:15 in the morning before posting a review. :eek: I will have to fix that tonight.

That whole bit of science about the snowflake seemed far-fetched, and while a single snowflake would be a certain way at a certain temperature, blah blah blah--is that kind of thing really believable? If you started talking about a snowflake at a trial where I was in the jury, I'd probably wonder what in the hell you were on and wait for the other evidence to show up. While these shows are always looking for new and interesting ways to do the same old thing, not everything is going to work. Ultimately, they need to be more concerned with making the same old thing new again--interesting motives, unexpected plot twists, characters that you empathize with even if they're only on screen for a few minutes; not more bored rich people with kinks and some science that makes you scratch your head.

I imagine the science was sound because CSI shows are usually good with that, but there's a fine line between a stretch and something that sounds absurd. Even if it is possible, in fiction one of the most important things is making your viewer believe in the story. The snowflake was too much of a stretch.
 
Great review!

I am glad you brought up the snowflake....often I am amazed at the evidence details that lead to solving the crime, but that one had me a bit lost.

I also agree about the scene between Hawkes and Danny, the light moments, small and brief as they sometimes are really add to the insight of the characters and the relationships that continue to evolve.
 
Didn't they use the same line in Love run cold, about the dead guy being in a race and finishing "dead last" or am i imagining it?
 
^I don't remember, actually. But if they did that's a pretty big "oops." I think they should definitely be done with races for a while.

Thanks Camelot! :D I think with so many crime shows on the air right now, the lighter moments are invaluable in really creating a unique atmosphere for the show. The ones in this ep really stood out, but I wish there had been more of them.
 
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