I have to say that I like Mandy, Wendy, Henry, Archie and SuperDave providing the lab rat humor much more than Hodges doing it. I can't wait til Wendy is actually bumped to the credits (not sure why it hasn't happened yet).
Henry's 'never had a cavity' comment and following smile especially reminded me of this because it was so reminiscent of Greg's braces comment (and smile) seasons ago.
Also, as has been stated (deservedly, IMO) many times:
SuperDave/Cath scene = AMAZING
I have to say that I'm loving SuperDave more and more each episode, which almost makes me wonder why they don't just make him the coroner. He definitely gets better scenes and lines than Doc Robbins. I hope the writers keep his great scenes and lines up, but that they also work on giving Doc Robbins a little more personality. I thought his friendship with Riley was really cute and would definitely like to see more of it (and would love to know who won the Scrabble game). I also see a lot of potential for amusing scenes between Doc Robbins and Ray.
I hate to say it, but the character whose lines disappointed me the most in this episode was Vartann. Alex Carter plays him really well, but I didn't feel like he got as good lines as I would have liked in this episode. Still, I was definitely glad to see him again.
Overall, it was great to see a lot more favorite recurring characters. I do, however, wonder, how new viewers who are still trying to get used to the main cast felt about the sheer number of characters.
Loved the scene with Mandy and Wendy collecting DNA and prints from the employees. I've definitely seen a lot of fans (and, especially, fanfic authors) depict Mandy and Wendy as best friends, and I can tell why. Those two have great chemistry (and, again, platonic chemistry). It seems like, in many ways, they have almost-opposite personalities, but they play off each other well in terms of mannerisms and dialogue. Overall, their scene was perfect, partially because of their interactions and in large part because of the amusing employees. I love when the canon characters get in some humor, but it's still also great when they let hilarious (and hilariously stupid) persons of interest provide the comic relief on their own. I might have to say that that was my favorite scene of the episode.
I feel like they did a particularly good job, overall, at using especially amusing OCs and (small OC scenes) in this episode. Those might just have been the highlight of the episode for me.
-Scene w/ the bio-diesel hippies = PRICELESS. (I know wayy too many people like those two, and the characters definitely seemed in-character.) Using the more hippie-dippy characters as a balance, IMO, also allowed TPTB/the writers to say something about a serious political issue without getting preachy. They informed the audience about a serious issue that in economics, foreign policy and general domestic energy policy without being condescending, which takes a lot of tact and subtlety. Major props to the writers and TPTB on that one.
-The manager in the pink jumpsuit was hilarious. So ditzy, so out-there. I must say that I'm disappointed in Brass for not getting a better one-liner in there with her.
-moronic frat brother. I'm gonna have to quote the amazing Seth Meyers and Amy Poehler of SNL's Weekend Update on this one: Are You Serious?! Are you seriously showing your stolen paraphernalia to the cops, basically to show off?! Like it's no big deal?! Everything that guy did was a major WT*?! moment. Overall, he was a believable but hilariously pathetic spoiled brat.
Definitely major props to the writers on all of the OCs. I was very impressed.
Elizabeth Martin's character was (obviously) not an amusing character, but I really liked her. I know a lot of people like her as well, and I loved how CSI captured the dilemma so many hardworking people in similar shoes go through. It was an especially interesting contrast between her (the person who's "not supposed to be there") and the many aforementioned idiotic OCs.
For some reason, I really liked the scene where Ray and Cath checked in on each other in the morgue.
I'm still liking the emphasis on Ray. Greg is still my fave character and he barely got any screentime, but I honestly wasn't that disappointed this time. It'll be worth it if it helps viewers get more used to Ray. It really does feel like a cute new beginning.
Speaking of Greg, a comment in his interrogation of the husband definitely stood out: "There isn't enough booze in this town to make you forget murder" (or something like that). Something about the phrasing and the line's placement in the dialogue struck me as odd, like it was more of a personal lesson. Makes me wonder what exactly Greg was doing (or rather imbibing) after the Demitrius James fiasco.
I liked that we learned a little more about the characters in this episode:
-Riley had a high school job at a fast food joint.
-We heard a little more about Brass's experiences in Vietnam (or at least I'm fairly certain it was Vietnam). I definitely thought it was especially interesting since Brass is generally such a private person. I definitely felt like his convo w/ Ray was one of the most revealing conversations he's had.
-Ray speaks Mandarin (as does Archie, though we might have known or at least guessed that before).
Other highlights:
-how nobody actually got murdered. There was no character that you felt quite so sad for (other than Elizabeth Martin) who had his or her life cut short.
-how, with Ray, they've been getting back to the humor and quirkiness inherent in simple office matters. There's something about his quest to find an office and a place to eat that really brings me back to S1. It just feels more real, and shows that CSI can find the drama and humor in the simple, more normal things in life, rather than just in the more out-there murder stuff.
I liked this episode, I liked the interaction between Catherine and Dave about the hand cuffs... it was also great to see the lab rats again, even got to Archie for a second or two... i'm surprised to see that they didn't make room for ray in the new office with the others..
Hmm good point. I definitely think that that would have been interesting, and it would have provided more cute lab rat moments. Personally, I probably would have preferred that. At the same time, however, it's nice to see Doc Robbins get a few more fun scenes. Of all the series regulars, he is hands-down the least developed and most under-utilized, especially in terms of quirky scenes.
Yes, Riley has a tatoo i guess. When she said to Wendy about love triangles , i smell for a moment a sign about the future? Just a theory, probably i am wrong.
Hmm I totally missed the tattoo bit. I'm definitely curious about that though.
As to the love triangle bit, I remember seeing that in the preview. So many possibilities. My assumption (no doubt based on my ships though) was that Riley (based on the questions she's asked in past episodes about his sexual predilection) has a crush on Greg, and that he's involved with someone else. Wendy, meanwhile, has gotten tired of Hodges' man crush on Grissom. I mean, come on! He had an extra ticket to some interesting conference/seminar/whatever it was, and he chose to invite Grissom, not Wendy. I'm not big on the Wendy/Hodges ship, but I can understand why she would make that remark.
Didn't I see Bobby in a commercial during the show? About quitting smoking? First Ecklie in a pocket, now Bobby walking off buildings!
Yes! It was a NicodermCQ commercial. I've seen it many times before but never during CSI, I thought that was interesting. And I said "Hey it's Bobby!"
So technically, we did get to see Bobby during the episode, just not in the episode.
Yeah, I noticed that commercial too. Tptb and the advertisers should be jumping for joy that we are, apparently, watching the commercials too.
Lol
speedystokesgirl! :guffaw:
Now they know the trick to advertising efficiently to actually catch we fans' attention: include neglected lab techs/recuring characters. I would so love if they did more of that. The fact that there were two recurring actors used in the ads really does make me wonder if it was intentional. I would definitely pay more attention to the ads if they did that more often. It would be like a guessing game! The episode stops, we switch to ads, and we're wondering if it'll be Archie or Henry that we see next! :lol: Okay, probably a bit unlikely...
First of all, I agree that there were way too many Ray scenes. He had like 13 scenes. Nick came in second with 9 scenes and Cath third with 8. It seemed a bit unbalanced to me. :shrugs:
Yeah! I'm so sick of Catherine getting the short shrift lately!!! She hasn't hardly been on at all! It's almost like she has left the show too!!!
Eh. I think I'm done worrying about screentime. Inevitably, one character is going to get shortchanged in every episode and one character is going to get more screentime. Unless they make it a character-driven non-procedural (a la Grey's), which, IMO, would be awful, or cut down significantly on the characters we know and love (again, not an idea I love), I don't see how they could change that. It's just a part of what CSI is. Let's just hope they make every character's screentime, no matter how limited, count.
- Riley’s character still confuses me. Sometimes she’s quiet & robotic (like in this one.) Sometimes she’s quirky & funny. I wish they’d make up their mind.
Personally, I like that Riley doesn't always act the same. She's not a cardboard character, and she reacts differently to different scenes and acts differently around different characters. I get the feeling that she feels a lot more comfortable joking around when she's around Greg and Doc Robbins. Nick and Catherine are more intimidating presences and I think she's still getting her footing in terms of her relationship (and I mean like coworker, not romantic, relationship) with Ray, as his place in the Lab is a bit of an anomaly; he has a certain poise and sense of authority and he seems to command more respect from Catherine and the lab rats than Riley does, but, at the same time, he's still technically under Riley in terms of CSI level. I am not at all surprised that her behavior around him varies so much. Overall, Riley is a very confident character in some, but not all cases. Sara came in under similar circumstances, but Sara was a lot more brusk (and, IMO, did not have as strong social skills as Riley has). I think the differences in Riley's manner are indicative of a more diplomatic and politicking side to her character.
