Uh? :wtf: I don't recall any of that. And I would. And others, too. So I guess it was cut out.
I think you're right as I don't recall any mention of Nick's absence at all so far. I tend to zone out of the episodes these days, though, so I can't swear.
"Frame by Frame" really annoyed me to no end, mainly because the 'faux-backs' were so self-conscious. Ecklie was being a bastard, so Sara has to say a line about how 'political' he is (btw, who actually says a line like that, even on television?). Greg was dressed in his old lab coat, so Catherine has to say a line about how he's a great tech but has to change certain things if he wants to get out in the field. Long time fans didn't need exposition like that, and those lines delivered nothing for newer fans. I'm guessing they were trying to highlight the "Look how far everyone has come" angle, but they utterly ruined it with those lines. We're not idiots, we didn't need blatantly obvious lines like that to get the point. It felt condescending as hell.
There was nothing organic about them, those lines hung a massive lantern on the "Look! We're in the past!" thing, as if the hideous soft focus and blown-out light wouldn't tell us?
Same thing with the 'retrospective' at the end, panning over all of the evidence. Yeah, they were supposed to be working an old case, but they just didn't emphasize the theme of time passing, or any kind of real reminiscing over so many years of cases. It came out of nowhere at the very end! They gave us what amounted to a highlight reel from past seasons, and didn't do one single solitary thing within the plot to earn the nostalgic moment they were trying to push. A mention of Grissom's name at the beginning, throwaway lines reminding us of 'how things used to be', and a couple of brief flashbacks do not earn that moment. All it did was invite comparison to seasons past, and shine a light on how terrible this show has become.
And yeah, showing Nick at the end without once explaining his absence was just awkward and shoddy. Also, I think it inadvertently highlighted the fact this show has lost any heart it ever had. Nick's character has always been the one with the biggest heart, and he wasn't there. Showing his face (and Grissom's) at the end just emphasized the sore lack of humanity in the show these days. A highlight reel ain't gonna bring that back.
Marg Helgenberger got, what, about three minutes of screen time, tops? I accept full personal responsibility for taking the bait all the time, but it doesn't change the fact the public relations team on this show are really getting pathetic. To me it just shows they have no faith in this show to stand on its own merits anymore, they have to keep resorting to sleight-of-hand tricks in press releases (and stunt casting).
It's just a show, granted, but it was one I really respected once upon a time. I really enjoyed it so much, and that's probably why this episode in particular made me so damn sad. I honestly feel like it has been inflated egos and the descent into 'style over substance' which ruined the crap out of this show, and I really feel that was wholly preventable.
At least we had Henry sashaying for the old time movie cameras. He's the MVP of this particular episode for me.
