Re: Post - "Grave Danger" Episode Discussion/Review ***Spoi
I was told to post this here.
This is for a Anglican newsletter I'm running, and being the editor, I have lots of freewill-lol.
This is merely from a Christiain perspective folks. It is definately not an attack on QT'S brilliant production of Grave Danger. I have nothing but highest admiration for the man.
And it is also my way of relaying the message about the power of prayer, which I often wish CSI had some of, but being a science show..I doubt for that.
Just my opinion, no arrow pleae.
GOD WILL HELP YOU IN THE NICK OF TIME
Anyone who knows me, and knows me well, knows a few things about me. That the loves of my life include God, my daughter,my pets, my friends, U2, politics, writing and last but never the least, CSI-Crime Scene Investigation. Featured Thursday nights at 9 pm on CTV, it depicts an eccentric group of forensic scientists who use the laws of science and reason to solve crimes in the fantasy world of Las Vegas.
The season finale for this year, however, moved away from the usual banter of DNA and finger print. Under the direction of gore film director, Quentin Taratino, featured a two-hour show where fear took a hold of the group and made it the driving force behind one of the most frightening TV tales I have ever seen. The last time a program put me on such a roller-coaster ride was the nail-biting Jays game in 1993. This time, however, I embarked on the dark side of human nature through this finale.
Titled Grave Danger Volumes' 1 and 2, character Nick Stokes, played by George Eads, is dispatched to a fake crime scene. Nick is grabbed from behind and knocked out by ether. He later finds himself buried alive in a plexi-glass coffin with additional air supply, cut off unintentionally by his co-workers who receive a link to a web cam in his coffin. There was a light in the coffin that was also being run by the same battery operating the additional supply.
Actor George Ead's performance was both realistic and heart-wrenching as he took us through the stages of coping with such a horrible situation. First is character, Nick, pushes the coffin's lid in a futile effort to escape, then screams in frustration when he realizes the futility. Second stage finds him passing the time singing, the third recording a goodbye tape, the final stage where is rescued he decided to end his suffering by pointing a gun to his chin. However, his friends rescue him from such a fate when they uncover him and pull him out sobbing and traumatized.
Being a Quentin Taratino show, we are treated to a mixture of science and horror and emotion. And while this made for wonderful drama, it was also a spiritually draining show for someone with a strong faith in God because as realistically frightened as the character was shown, thanks in good part to the fine acting depicted by George Eads, the brutality of the torture was so that I myself wondered what I would do in such a predicament. For certain, I'd be the same way, however, I'd add something more to help me cope. I would endlessly pray for my survival and for strength from God to get me through this horrid time.
Nick is the Job of the show. He is a soft-spoken, empathetically character with heart of gold, but with the of luck of Job as his character is put through many trials over the seasons from dealing with murder, his own life in jeopardy many times over to just constant re-affirmation of human cruelty to one another. But throughout it all Nick's heart is full of empathy and for his friends and for victims of crime.
Job was also a man with a heart of gold and loving nature. His faith was so strong, that God chose him to be the devil's personal punching bag. Like Nick, towards the end of his torture, Job was becoming mad with fear and anger over the traumas inflicted on him and at one point questioned God, but his faith remained strong throughout the Devil's torture. God never left job, no matter how bad things got. Eventually, Job’s life turned around as the devil realized Job was not going to turn on God even though trauma and pain had captured his existence.
CSI is a science show that for all its wonderful drama lacks spirituality about it. And in fact, seems to show a cynicism towards spirituality. In showing the depravity of our society, however, I find every week I gain a new appreciation for God, as it seems the show’s characters are all a miserable bunch no matter how successful their careers are, or how good-looking they are because they are knee deep in society’s depravity through the crimes they solve.
God is with us, no matter how buried deep we are in our own troubles and sorrows. At times he seems as if he is far away from us. Had Nick been a real person, God would stay with him, even if he had never asked for it. However, I think having the character pray to God to see him through this ordeal instead of holding a gun to his head to escape his misery would have a been much more positive message for viewers out there, some whom like myself felt traumatized by watching a beloved character tortured. However, a show based on pure science figures it also makes for great drama to have a character attempt suicide. I fell hard for it as my tissue box was empty by this time watching Nick go from a macho science man to an emotional and traumatized wreck within 12 hours of captivity.
Life is about pain and suffering, unfortunately, that is why it is important for us to put God first in our lives, as opposed to the cold reality of science, because while science is an important and much needed tool, is not a comfort zone, but simply a reminder of life's trial and tribulations. God on the other hand is about hope, hope when there is none, hope when we are buried in life's Plexiglas'coffins and being bitten alive by its sorrows. We've all been in Nick's frame of mind at one point of our existence, seeking a way out of our miserable existence using tragic means, and this where we need to turn to the Lord even more for his guidance and love to give us that inner peace we need to see us through until we can be pulled from the hole and continue to journey forward.
Editor
