Grade 'Yahrzeit'

[Curiosity]

Grade = A

for the best episode of the season so far....

I agree the pacing was slower, but the material was compelling and held my attention throughout.

There are probably a number of different routes the writers could’ve taken in depicting the Holocaust, but in the end, they were very judicious in their choices. The use of the neo-Nazi trophy rooms, the personal testimonials, and the story of the Schnitzler family were very moving and effective as was the simple yet very personal memorial at the close. It was tough to watch the fate of the Schnitzler family, but if we had only heard the words, the magnitude of Braun’s betrayal might have been muted. Kudos to the writers for their handling of this sensitive and emotional material.

As others mentioned, the guest actors were quite good in this episode – Ed Asner as well as the actors protraying Elgers and Lesnick. I figured that Klein had something to do with the murder but did not see the actual twist coming. And Yikes! Elgers is one scary guy. I have to admit my jaw was on the floor a few times because of the language in his interrogation scene, but it certainly added to the sense of realism.

As for the regulars, I think this was a standout episode for Mac. Gary Sinise got some deep, gritty material to work with, and he delivered on it. I think Mac may’ve run the full gamut of emotions in this episode – certainly a wide range. It was a bit odd seeing Mac mention God in one interrogation and in the other saying “Back in the day, I would’ve shot your racist %&@…” But such is the dichotomy of Mac Taylor and I guess it fits with the impression of intense emotion rigidly constrained. There was a moment during Elgers’ interrogation (after he alluded to Hawkes as an animal, I think) when there was a hard shift in Mac’s expression, and I wondered if he would totally lose it with Elgers, but just as quickly, he reined it in and took a different approach to get the information. Great acting by GS.

Danny’s run-in with Elgers also was a memorable scene. Seeing Danny lose control like that was troubling, but at the same time, it was interesting to see this dimension of the character come out again after seemingly lying dormant for a while. I will be curious to see where this storyline is going (assuming the writers pursue it.)

I also liked the Danny/Hawkes scenes, especially Danny comforting Hawkes and giving him a hug. I mentioned in another thread that Hawkes needs to have a closer relationship with someone on the team, and it looks like they might be trying to emphasize a stronger connection with Danny. Will be interesting to see how that develops and whether it impacts his friendship with Flack in any way.

Adam was great, too. Guess he got to ride shotgun with Mac on this one, and it was nice to see Adam being more comfortable despite a few awkward moments. (Too much information, indeed!)

Flack and Stella were sorta in the background here, but Flack still got a few zingers in, ”…I don’t speak ignorant.” (Go Flack!) And Stella got to play with that cool, giant touchscreen, so I can live with it,

Spoiler: future episodes

especially since it looks like Stella and Flack will get some meaty stuff to deal with (i.e., the coin case and the finale events, respectively) in the remaining episodes.

There were a few nitpicks that kept me from giving the full A+, but they seem small compared to the whole, so I won’t bother with the detail….

Overall, an episode that moved me, made me think, and will stick with me for awhile, and that’s probably the highest compliment I can pay to an episode of television.


Well done, CSI: NY! :thumbsup:

 

[Nightrider]

This was a damn good episode, all the way around. Not perfect (I'll get to that later), but damn good.
The good:
~ Gary's lines in the interrogation scene were priceless! When he said the word "cracker," I almost spit soda out of my nose! Sure, there was some overkill, but I think there were some Emmy-worthy moments. Just give the man his statue. Plus, Gary looked cute in a yarmulke!
~ Flack's disgust when they found the secret room and the teeth spoke volumes. I nearly threw up at the sight.
~ Adam and Mac's fist bump: I hated the slow mo, but I loved it anyway. That was so cute!
~ Danny: Dammit I love that man! His reaction was over the top for his job, but not for real life. You can't tell me there wasn't a line of people miles long that wanted to do the same thing.
~ Wow, we didn't see Stella's cleavage this week. Score!
~ Ed Asner broke my heart. I should have seen it coming, but I didn't. In a single second, the man turned from a sweet old man into a monster. Damn he's good. Really good.
~ To the guy who plays the neo-Nazi: You make me hate you so much. A+.

The bad:
~ Mac and God: Alright, already ... we get it. Thanks for the sermon, CBS.
~ As cold as it may sound, the part where Mac finds out about his father seemed kinda cheesy to me. It was sweet, but you knew it was coming. Super Mac and his super family. Yeah, OK.
~ Oh, so now we learn something more about Sheldon. Way to be, CBS. Better late than never, eh?

~ Fin ~

 

[Poppet]

Did I hear right that Abraham/Klaus grew up in Strasbourg, Germany? Strasbourg is in France? although it came under German rule in 1940 for a few years, between 1918 and 1940 (presumably when Klaus was growing up) it was French.

There's a Strassburg in the North-East of Germany (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern), a Strassburg in the centre-West of Germany (Nordrhein-Westfalen) and one in Austria (Kärnten). That I know of. And it wouldn't surprise me if there were more, (e.g. in Poland, etc.). Just my two cents on this one.

Ah, I see, I thought it was a bit weird. I've only ever visited the French one, so that was what came straight to my mind.

 

[LyzabethSay]

It was a strange episode

About a quarter of the way in, I was sure this was going to be one of those episodes that EVERYONE thought was going to be brilliant was would end up going down the pan but I was surly mistaken.

True to the fact that the episode was a bit slow but it had good content which i feel made up for a lot.

I love the ideas of the sorta flashback into the history of Esther and what actually happened... They've never done that before. They should do more of it...

I think it was an interesting twist with the whole Abraham is Klaus thing. I would never have guessed. Love angry Mac. GREAT acting. Believeable which is what I think is the most important thing.

Not alot of Stella but then again isn't the 2nd to last episode like 'her' episode? So i guess maybe she was too busy filming that?

There was also very little Hawkes and yeah, the part about his Uncle... Well I thought it wasa bit 'random' to kindda insert it unless that have like a follow up or something. I hope they have a follow up. Maybe we learn more next episode.

On the topic of next episode, yes <3 Adam's facial expression but for someone with a phobia of pregancy and giving birth it's going to be REALLY uncomfortable for me. Maybe I skip the episode... No, can't do that!

How do you actually pronouce the name of the episode, 'Yah-zet' 'Yar-zeet'?

 

[nel2h]

Gary's real age is 54 years. But in the series he plays as 45-year-old. Therefore he would have to have had a very old father in the birth.

 

[Mynerva24]

The case was unpredictable, and the way the team works together (Danny with the phone records, Adam with the murder weapon, and Stella with seeing the whole missing puzzle) was absolutely brilliant. What impressed me most, however, was how the characters deal with the whole issue. I'll start with Doc's standing on racism. His total admiration to his remarkable uncle determine his positive reaction towards those who look at him as less than human, simply because his skin color is black. He even was able to make Danny looking at the case with better glasses. Then, of course the holocaust. All people in their right mind will look at the time of holocaust as the darkest and most horrible time in human history so far, and we are certainly hoping nothing as horrible or even worse than that will ever happen again. This episode brought the memory again, and it teaches us a lot, again. As someone says "Those who failed to learn from the past, are bound to repeat it". This episode could very well be seen as a way to ensure that the repetition of that history won't happen. And for that, i give a standing ovation for TPTB. How Mac reacts towards everything, represent the kind of attitude we all should have towards such event. In addition to that, it was a great thing to see Mac showing that deep of emotion. When he listen to the records of one of the holocaust survivals that was helped by his father, i cried. When he gave Hannah Ester's jewelry, i cried all the harder (and note that i don't cry often). To have a father like that, no wonder that we have our Mac as he is. Bottom line: Excellent!

 

[Ceindreadh]

Gary's real age is 54 years. But in the series he plays as 45-year-old. Therefore he would have to have had a very old father in the birth.

45 years old would make him born in 1964.
If his father was serving in 1945 then he'd have been say 25 then, and 44 in 1964.
That's older than average, but not especially so.

 

[Mynerva24]

Gary's real age is 54 years. But in the series he plays as 45-year-old. Therefore he would have to have had a very old father in the birth.

45 years old would make him born in 1964.
If his father was serving in 1945 then he'd have been say 25 then, and 44 in 1964.
That's older than average, but not especially so.

Hmm, let's see...
I'd suggest that Mac's about late 40s to early 50s, based on the following:
Reed is said to be 23 (Stella said that on 'Taxi' if i'm not mistaken). Let's say, Claire gave him up for adoption when she is 20. That make Claire, if she's still alive, 43 now. I'd imagine Mac to be 3-4 years older than her, so he is aorund 46-to early 50.
That would make him born on mids 1960, and his father would have been around late 30 to early 40 when he was born. Still not really added up, cause at that time, people had children in younger age. But, maybe because Taylor Sr. was in the army, the marriage, or having a child part was delayed until a bit later? *shrug*

 

[cSiNyFrEaK30]

Gary's real age is 54 years. But in the series he plays as 45-year-old. Therefore he would have to have had a very old father in the birth.

45 years old would make him born in 1964.
If his father was serving in 1945 then he'd have been say 25 then, and 44 in 1964.
That's older than average, but not especially so.

A lot of soldiers that served in world war two were fairly young, though, like recently graduated from high school. It's entirely possible that Mac's father was only 18 or 20 in 1945. If he was born in 1960, it would only make his father about 35, which is even younger.

 

[fm62]

Delurking again, just to put my tuppence worth in.

I'm on my own again, I wasn't particularly impressed by this episode at all. For me it went down the typical Hollywood one-dimensional storytelling that strong subjects tend to garner.

Undoubtedly the Holocaust was horrific and gut-wrenching and as a disabled person I would have been one of the first to be destroyed, so I approach the subject very seriously. Ed Asner was excellent, though I quickly knew he was the killer and what the 'twist' would be, as it has been regularly used in TV and film many times before. To me it would have been much more interesting if his character had lived as, and raised his son as a Jew, due to his shame about his father's position in the SS and his involvement in the Hitler Youth. Undoubtedly a great number of the Hitler Youth were as fearful of the Nazis / SS as the Germany population. Not all German's were 'evil' and were terrified of being the next victims. The instant change in Ed Asner from little old Jewish man to evil Nazi, was very Scooby Doo, to me (if it wasn't for those pesky kids).

Gary Sinise was chewing the furniture on this episode and surely the story would have been as dramatic without the need for another SuperMac entering the story. How remote a chance is there that a survivor mentioned Mac senior in the videos. Of course a story is not important unless Mac is central to the plotline.

Poor Danny, can Hawkes get some development that doesn't make Danny look like a prat, please. He's already been diluted and destroyed by having Lindsay tied round his neck, now he has to make wrong decisions to allow Hawkes to pontificate, to show how strong his morals are (also blue Flu ep). The poor boy is drowning fast, don't have two people dragging him down. Oh and remember, the original Danny doesn't do hugs, remember his discomfort when Mac hugged him when Louis was critically injured. Now he's manhugging everyone, surely just trying to accomodate the fans, but I wanted to understand the background of his difficulty with showing his emotions in this way. I wanted to understand the complex Messer, but they have chosen instead, just to dilute the character, than to address the issues.

Strangely, the strongest performances in this episode was the bad guys, Elgers is an excellent character, I'd like to see him back before the season ends and Ed Asner is an amazing actor. They should keep interaction with Elgers to Flack. He is calm, strong and professional when dealing with this type of character and it works so much better than the strong arm tactics used by Mac in the interview room. No doubt, it would be easy to use excessive force in the arrest but this is less likely in an interview room, where a lawyer is possibly likely to be on his way. Mac's Mr Angry in the interview room makes me as annoyed at him, as I am with the perp.

Think I'll give next week a miss, babies not related to me are not my thing. I am due another great-niece or nephew any day now though.

 

[Poppet]

Undoubtedly a great number of the Hitler Youth were as fearful of the Nazis / SS as the Germany population. Not all German's were 'evil' and were terrified of being the next victims.

When I was at Auschwitz they told us how several of the SS had been sent to the gas chamber for being to lenient with the prisonners, which in turn ensured the other soldiers were extra brutal. The SS soldiers understood the brutality of the regime more than anyone and lived in fear of it. Only the Germans in high ranking positions that gave orders were evil.

 

[Desertwind]

HI fans, I rarely post on the CSI/NY thread, sorry.. but this episode brought me to my knees. Lordy Gary Sinise is a fabulous actor:bolian:, the whole skinhead/Nazi scenerio, I can't imagine in my wildest thinking anyone who would be so predjudiced or so racist, unbeliveable:klingon:. And Ed Asner, so great in this role as the Nazi who pretended to be a Jew, riveting performance. The ending I cried, when Mac went to the Jewish candle lighting ceremony and had one lit for his father who saved the poor guy from the concentration camp. [BTW that was Shelly Berman a long time comedian, who I didn't realize was still living]..Excellent episode A+

 

[ladyhunter]

Welcome to the NY forum Desertwind. :hugegrin:

I'm still at a loss as to what to say about this episode.
It's been two days and several viewing later and it still brings me to tears. This has to be one of the best episodes of the season if not ever.

Taking on the Holocaust was a huge gamble in my opinion. It can either be done extremely well or not. And I don't mean any disrespect for the families of the survivors, I'm just saying it's not an easy theme to tackle in a 45 minute crime show.

That being said, the way the producers and writers handled it was excellent. No blood and gore, not over dramatic scenes or not violently disturbing images. That to me showed the utmost respect in a TV world that doesn't always do that... pay people respect.

Besides the slick fast paced beginning which made it hard to believe you were going to watch anything relating to the Holocaust were Mac's tirades.

As a self-proclaimed Mac Taylor whore :lol: I have to say lately he has gotten a little to sanctimonious. I love Brooding Mac, don't get me wrong but it does get tiresome week after week. But.... his interrogation of the racist was genius. He didn't pull one of his usual 'fly off the handle in anger' moments we have seen lately, it was more to get the guy on his level. Again genius acting by Gary.

The part that got me is that when we met Abraham, Mac felt like he respected him. But when we found out Abraham was Claus, then all the respect crumbled. I guess I wanted Mac to turn the tables on Claus since Claus was the one who turned the tables on us and everyone in his life by pretending to be a Jew just to stay in America.

The other problem I had was Mac's age. I see I'm not the only one who was conflicted by this.
If is father served in WWII, Mac would be like somewhere between 55-65. That doesn't make sense unless is father was very young when he joined the military or his father was on the older side when Mac was born. Again some that stood out in my mind.

To me, this was one of the best written and best acted (and not just Mac, I have to give props to Sheldon too) episodes I've seen.

 

[Curiosity]

He didn't pull one of his usual 'fly off the handle in anger' moments we have seen lately, it was more to get the guy on his level. Again genius acting by Gary.

Yes, that's pretty much how I saw it. I was actually a bit shocked at some of the language coming out of Mac's mouth, too, but I guess he felt like he had to take the hard line with Elgers and make him fear for his freedom in order to get any useful info.

The other problem I had was Mac's age. I see I'm not the only one who was conflicted by this.
If is father served in WWII, Mac would be like somewhere between 55-65. That doesn't make sense unless is father was very young when he joined the military or his father was on the older side when Mac was born. Again some that stood out in my mind.

Well, as nel2h mentioned, Mac should be about 45 years old now. ("The Thing About Heroes" indicated that he was 44 years old during season four.)

I guess there are several different scenarios that could fit with Mac's father being on the older side when Mac was born. He simply might've married (and had children) at a later age, Mac's mother might've been his second wife, or Mac might be the youngest child in a family with multiple children.

 

[recoba__20]

One of the most emotional CSI:NY Episodes .. My eyes teared when the man in the video was talking about Mac's dad .. it was just overwhelingly emotional .. !!
I liked the part where AJ Buckley joked with Mac about being in " between GF's " phase and having time in hand .. then after Mac's strange look .. he said " Too much Information .. !! " this cracked me up .. .. !!
Hitting case sensitive like the holocaust was portrayed in a good way in the Epi .. and really they did a very good job .. !!
Lots of things were in this episode and they seemed in long times .. like the lengthy interview with Abraham when Mac first interviewed him then the longer interview with the other guy and seeing the video .. and they all seemed to fit fine .. .. !!
I liked the balance they made by not hurting anybody's feelings .. and made the right formula to make this Epi as neutral as it can be .. !!