Ranking the Show's Finales

[Crumbs]

Discussion’s been a little light recently and anticipation levels for the new season are at their very lowest whilst we all wait with dread to find out what the writers are going to screw up this year. So let’s reminisce over the better days the show has seen (or also towards points where the show was even worse). Simply put, how would you rank the finales the show has spurned out over the last thirteen years and write a little something as to why you’ve put it there?

Here’s a short summary of each finale (to refresh those Ray Langston moments you tried so hard to forget :lol :

Season 1: The Strip Strangler
The CSIs investigate a serial killer who’s been strangling their victims. Grissom gets hot-tempered with the FBI, Sara becomes bait, Catherine saves Grissom from being bludgeoned to death and the team have a lovely meal at Frank’s to finish things off.

Season 2: The Hunger Artist
A disfigured fashion model is found lying dead in a shopping kart. The team explore the glamour mag world and the homeless community. Grissom starts to lose his hearing.

Season 3: Inside the Box
Team Science investigates a bank robbery. Detective Lockwood gets killed (R.I.P.), Catherine finds out who’s her daddy and Sam Braun gets away with it. Meanwhile, Grissom goes into surgery to fix his hearing problems.

Season 4: Bloodlines
A casino worker is raped and identifies her attacker but the DNA doesn’t agree. Turns out it’s due to a rare genetic condition shared between the killer and his siblings. Sara gets a little tipsy and ends up on the wrong side of the law much to Grissom’s concern.

Season 5: Grave Danger
Do I really need to? Okay. Nick experiences life underground and gets a bit closer to nature. Grissom almost gets blown up. Then the entire team almost get blown up. Quentin Tarantino adds a bit of his spice to the show. The team are brought back together.

Season 6: Way to Go
A civil war re-enactor is found decapitated by a train whilst another man eats, drinks, drugs and ****s himself to death. Brass faces near death but pulls through (yay!), Ellie has a chance to make up with Jim but runs off (boo!), and the cat is finally out of the bag.

Season 7: Living Doll
The miniature killer is revealed, out on a personal vendetta against a member of the CSI team. The team find out more about the elusive killer. Sara gets kidnapped and left in the desert. Grissom lets slip to the rest of the team about his relationship with a colleague.

Season 8: For Gedda
The notorious, well-renowned mobster Lou Gedda is found dead, unfortunately Warrick is found with the body accused of murdering him with no recollection of the events. The team work together to identify what went down, hoping to clear his name. The good news, Warrick is found innocent, the bad news, looks like the LVPD are somewhat involved. The team have a nice chinwag at the end. Warrick leaves the bar and is shot by the undersheriff (R.I.P. ).

Season 9: All In
Greed leads to murder and destroys the lives of five people when two of them discover a stash of old casino chips worth $1,000 each on the collectible market. Also, Super-Ray shoots a guy.

Season 10: Meat Jekyll
Super-Ray talks to Nate Haskell seeking help to catch the mysterious Dr Jekyll. Brass and Catherine feud over the decision to take Haskell to PD. The team determine the identity of Dr Jekyll who has a tantrum and shoots Nick (eek). Nick then shoots and kills Dr Jekyll (hooray) and everything is good again. Oh and then Haskell stabs Super-Ray.

Season 11: In a Dark, Dark House
Super-Ray kills Haskell in the house he grew up in. Brass goes OOC to cover up some evidence. Then the team goes OOC to spin the evidence (neutral viewpoint be damned) except Sara who has some doubts. Super-Ray is then brought into IAB to determine whether the killing was murder or self-defence.

Season 12: Homecoming
The LVPD comes under scrutiny when a friend of the sheriff becomes involved in a grisly triple-murder. Finn’s history is revealed. Undersheriff McKeen rears his ugly head again. Cliffhangers galore ensure: Russell’s granddaughter is kidnapped, Finn finds herself in a tricky situation, Ecklie gets shot, the police department are put under investigation and Nick throws in the towel.

Season 13: Skin in the Game
The CSIs explore a series of prostitute murders relating to Dante’s Inferno. Ozzy Osborne turns up for some shameless self-promotion. Brass’ ex arrives in town, terrified for the safety of their daughter, Ellie. Morgan goes undercover, seduces some weirdo and gets kidnapped in an SUV. It’s then revealed the same people also have Ellie.




My order changes from time to time depending on my mood and how recently I last saw the episode but here are the ones I consider great episodes as well:

Inside the Box (Season 3) – not only my favourite finale, but my favourite episode overall. I love all the little moments which come with it from the team eating Chinese in the break room, to Doc Robbins personally delivering the bullet which killed Lockwood to the lab and Greg dealing with the aftermath of the lab explosion. It’s a Catherine episode through and through and I love the scenes between her and Sam Braun (a favourite recurring character of mine) but there’s a great sense of team unity throughout. The final scene is also classic Gil & Cath. A+

The Strip Strangler (Season 1) – like Season 3’s, this one doesn’t try to go too over the top and all big guns like a lot of later finales do. The scene with the team at the diner at the end is an instant classic and something the writers should strive to achieve in all episodes. The case also is compelling, realistic and there are lots of great sub-elements like Grissom’s feud with the FBI and Nick’s encounter with the reporter. A

Bloodlines (Season 4) – another example of keeping it simple, keeping it low-key and not making it too personal. One of my favourite cases throughout the series, dark, unconventional and completely unpredictable. It’s definitely one of the most sinister episodes the show has ever produced! The DUI side-plot isn’t a favourite of mine but it nicely sets up Sara’s breakdown mid-Season 5. A

Grave Danger (Season 5) – There’s no doubt that this is a fantastic two hours of television, but what stops it getting the top spot is that it doesn’t feel like two hours of CSI. Big guns, guest director, CSI in peril, I see the episode as the transition from the science aspects in to the personal aspect of the show and sadly it’s seen as the finale the writers feel they have to top, and none of its successors has even gotten close. The episode itself contains some absolutely fantastic acting, particularly from George Eads and William Petersen, it’s gripping, unpredictable and completely crazy (and completely flawed but I won’t go into plotholes ). As I said before, as an episode of television, it’s an A/A+ but as an episode of CSI, it’s getting an A-

The Hunger Artist (Season 2) – Easily the most emotional of the thirteen episodes in this list, the scene with the homeless sister showing the victim her face on the billboard does a good job at trying to blast through my stone-cold heart. The episode is a great insight into the ruthless world of modelling, albeit with a slightly one-sided perspective. For me though, the case isn’t quite as compelling as the others above hence its respectable 5th place position. It’s one I could do with watching again though. A-



Now we descend to the second-tier finales. Ranging from decent to merely mediocre but ultimately rewatchable.

For Gedda (Season 8 ) – there are some great moments in this episode, notably the last scene at the diner and the team’s internal struggle with the possibility that Warrick had murdered somebody, however at times the pace drags on a bit and the mood feels particularly depressing throughout. Whilst the end of Warrick’s character was an ugly decision, I’m pleased he left the show innocent, clean (from his awful storyline earlier that season) and missed. That final scene, difficult to watch, was done pretty well. B+

Homecoming (Season 12) – a middling episode for me. The case and the LVPD corruption angle had great potential and I thought was pretty interesting. The DB family/Finn drama I could have done without. Bringing McKeen back was done pretty well, and I liked that Nick got to get a bit up in his face. The cliffhangers of Ecklie being shot and Nick’s quitting piqued my interest but sadly most of the intriguing parts of this story were abandoned in the second half. A messy episode, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. B

Way to Go (Season 6) – without the Brass situation or the GSR reveal, the latter of which I don’t particularly care about, this would have been a pretty bog-standard episode. Both cases suffer from being rushed, underdeveloped and a bit boring to be honest. I think it would have been better if they ditched the B-case and expanded the A-case a little more. Grissom jumping about from the hospital to the crime scene felt a bit off as well. The Brass aspect is wonderful, even with the Ellie drama, and the scene where he wakes up seeing the team surrounding him is an absolute joy and saves this episode from going on the crap pile. B-

Meat Jekyll (Season 10) – the ‘more bearable’ of the Langston finales. Minus Super-Ray undermining the rest of the team it’s not actually a terrible episode. The Brass/Catherine drama is interesting, Haskell still hasn’t been butchered by the writers and there are some fun scenes such as everyone visiting Nick in the hospital. The one thing which really drags this episode down, the pointless Super-Ray gets shanked by Haskell ending. Not only does it feel radically out of place and out of left-field, it makes Super-Ray look like a complete moron and just showed the writers feel like they need a cliffhanger to end the season. B-

Skin in the Game (Season 13) – I’m still awaiting the premiere to truly determine my opinion but as a finale it leaves too many loose ends. The case was pretty dull, the Morgan undercover plot was unnecessary and ridiculous. Brass once again saves the finale from going on the crap pile (though if the premiere doesn’t tie things up neatly I’ll probably put it there). C+



Now we get to the crap pile, episodes I really didn’t like and ones I probably won’t watch ever again.

Living Doll (Season 7) – often regarded as one of the show’s best episodes, I think Living Doll is a very poorly written finale and sours the Miniature Killer arc in numerous ways. Despite having an entire season to build up the MK, the writers try to cram in about 6 months of backstory into the opening thrity minutes. The immediate reveal of Natalie loses any form of suspense and I hate the way the arc essentially turns into a plot device to move GSR forward. Team interaction is minute, Nick, Warrick and Brass are very much sidelined, Greg gets about two lines and Sara herself only appears for a couple of moments. This story had tons of potential it ultimately falls apart as the motive to catch a malicious serial killer is shafted to the motive to capture Sara’s kidnapper. I also forgot to mention that I think it’s one of the most boring hours of television the show has ever done. C-

All In (Season 9) – truth be told, I completely forgot what this episode was about and had to google a synopsis for it. I just remember it being horribly boring, unmemorable and with another stupid ending for the sole purpose of a cliffhanger. Do I need to watch this one again? Probably. Do I want to? No. D

In a Dark, Dark House (Season 11) – I find with this show there are two types of bad episodes: Boring episodes and ridiculously over-the-top, implausible episodes. This episode introduces an even worse dimension (well, continues from the rest of the Haskell arc) which is completely ruining the integrity of your show and characters. Tainting Brass’ character by having him remove evidence: Unforgiveable. Having the team spinning the evidence in Ray’s favour: Unforgiveable. Super-Ray being allowed to roam freely, even looking into the case despite being under investigation from IAB: Unforgiveable. Is this the most boring episode of the series? No, it’s not even the most boring on the list. Is it the most implausible and over-the-top episode? No. But it’s one which essentially collects together 10 ½ years of the show’s core ethos and message, shreds it down, burns it, and then (pardon my French) takes a big steaming turd all over the ashes. F



Doing this exercise has made me realise two things. This show is actually not very good at doing finales and that Greg is the only CSI has not had a significant role in any of the finales, despite being in all thirteen of them.

So what are your thoughts? Do you agree with my ranking or is it completely different? I rambled on a bit but I don’t expect you have to as well but I’d be interested to hear your thoughts.

P.S. I'm so sorry if you read every single word of that essay!

 

[byline]

Discussion’s been a little light recently and anticipation levels for the new season are at their very lowest whilst we all wait with dread to find out what the writers are going to screw up this year.

LOL, so true. I was about to post (and may well in the original thread) that this past season's finale wasn't as bad as I thought. OK, let's rephrase that: Hubby and I actually enjoyed the season finale, but my opinion was swayed by many of the comments I read here, and so I downgraded my overall opinion.

Even though neither one of us was crazy about the "CSI in danger" motif yet again, it wasn't as bad as it could have been. The pacing of the plot was good, the screen time among the regulars was evenly shared, and the guest journalist didn't bug me as much as he did the first time around. And while I originally thought that Annabella Sciorra's talents were horribly wasted, watching it again last week I thought she was actually used pretty well.

So I'm back to thinking that it was a pretty good finale, as these things go. I do agree with you that CSI does not do finales very well. I've generally disliked most of them and felt they were a step down from what the series was capable of.

Here are my rankings, which for the most part go down as the seasons progress:

Season 2: The Hunger Artist
I have a soft spot for this episode; without hitting us over the head, it sends a statement about our media-contrived "ideal" of the perfect body. The dead woman was such a sad, tragic figure ... victimized by the fashion industry she had worked for. Both she and her sister were mentally ill, a topic too often trivialized and/or sensationalized by the media. It was wonderful to see Grisson extend sensitivity, kindness and empathy toward the homeless woman and connect with her in a way that few people do ... especially as scripted in a television series.

Season 1: The Strip Strangler
No cliffhanger ... which I like. Just a good, solid case with believable actions/reactions from all involved, and the "CSI in danger" element (Sara) was minimal.

Season 4: Bloodlines
This one had little in the way of personal angst (till the end, and even that was downplayed), and I liked how Grissom solved the puzzle with the Chimera angle.

Season 3: Inside the Box
Here's where the personal involvement in cases (this time around, Catherine and Sam Braun) started to get on my nerves.

Season 5: Grave Danger
Never really felt like a CSI episode to me, more like a Tarantino showcase. And why, oh why was the grave shift investigating, when it involved one of their own? This is a question that CSI never satisfactorily answers every time there's a "CSI in danger/CSI directly involved in some aspect of the case" plot.

Season 13: Skin in the Game
Surprisingly, this one moves way up in my rankings ... for the reasons I explained above.

Season 6: Way to Go
Not crazy about Brass's near-death or the "big reveal" at the end.

Season 7: Living Doll
A silly resolution, IMO, to what had been a riveting story arc.

Season 8: For Gedda
Warrick's death was the only compelling (not to mention, shocking) thing that happened in the entire episode.

Season 9: All In
Very blah case and season finale. Almost like the writers were totally lost on what to do with Ray ... or the others in the ensemble.

Season 10: Meat Jekyll
Could we be any more over the top?

Season 11: In a Dark, Dark House
Yes ... sadly, it turns out we can.

Season 12: Homecoming
Loathed the granddaughter angst, the father/daughter/Ecklie getting shot angst, etc. Where was the case in all of this, and why were the grave-shift CSIs investigating (especially since D.B. was personally involved)? No good answer to any of these questions.

 

[Gloriana]

Discussion’s been a little light recently and anticipation levels for the new season are at their very lowest whilst we all wait with dread to find out what the writers are going to screw up this year. So let’s reminisce over the better days the show has seen (or also towards points where the show was even worse).

Yes, I think the dread is palpable, haha. Great idea for a thread, I was (no pun intended) stoked to see it when I hopped on. I liked reading your reviews and thoughts on the finales. Looking forward to seeing everyone's responses.

My order of favorites:

1. Inside The Box: 100% agreed with you on this one, Crumbs. This is one of those episodes that proves you don't have to provide a massive cliff-hanger to end a season with a gratifying conclusion. It's one of those episodes that's still gripping even after countless viewings, I have yet to tire of it. I'm still touched by how they handled Lockwood's death, still intrigued by the mysteries involved, and still moved by Catherine and Grissom's respective character developments. The scenes inside the safety deposit box vault still look fantastic too (All hail Danny Cannon!).

2. Bloodlines: For me, this finale comes in second all because of Nina Siemaszko and her performance. The plot itself works, but I think it's one of those plots that works the best the very first time you see it and can kind of wane a bit upon repeat viewings. I think it's her performance that elevates this one for me, because it anchors everything else. Every single time I so desperately want her to make it and I'm heartbroken when she doesn't. I think this is also one of the best examples of the writers taking something very out of the ordinary (Chimerism) and making it utterly believable. It's a hard episode to watch because it's so harrowing, but I think it's one of the best from all the seasons.

3. Grave Danger: I admit, I always look forward to seeing this one when I'm re-watching the seasons on DVD. I guess because it really is like the closest thing to a big-screen version of CSI there's ever going to be. I'm also a sucker for 80s television, and it feels like a throwback to that era of TV (and I pretty much lose it with excitement when I see John Saxon appear in ANYTHING since he was cast as the villain in all of my fave shows as a kid). This ep also never fails to get me emotionally involved, and George Eads was so good in this one (I cry every single time he wants to get out of that box but has to wait). There are definitely plot holes in it, but I guess I forgive that because I look forward to so many scenes (Hodges and Greg playing the old board game, Sam Braun chewing the fat about old Las Vegas with Tony Curtis and Frank Gorshin, Nick singing 'Lucky Too' at the beginning, etc). Not my favorite finale over all the others, but still so enjoyable for me.

4. For Gedda: I actually skip this finale sometimes, for obvious reasons, but I think it does stand up as a very good finale even without the emotional aspects (like, even if Warrick had lived, it would have stood up as a great episode). It's hard for me to watch because I agree, there is a real tangible darkness to this episode (and the surrounding episodes leading up to it), but unlike a lot of the other finales, it doesn't feel cheap or unearned, you know? It doesn't feel like a gratuitous dark turn, I think they did a good job at really getting everyone worried and concerned about the fate of Warrick in an honest way, and that's part of the reason it hurts so much when it ends the way it does. I always cry like a baby at the end, but not simply because a character dies. It's heartbreaking because the bad guys don't always get defeated in a tidy way, and because we were all pulling for Warrick to weather the storm of all the stuff that had been challenging his resolve during the season. Like I said, I skip this finale a lot because it's so emotional, but not because it fails as a solid episode.

5. The Hunger Artist: This was another one that didn't have the ginormous cliffhanger at the end, but felt like a perfect wrap-up of the season itself. It still foreshadowed things to come and left me wondering what was going to happen on some fronts, but focused on being a very solid episode about Las Vegas itself and the ugly nature that rears its head in that world. I like the episodes that provide subtext like that, and this is one of the best one of those I think. It really paints a stark picture of some of the ugly realities Grissom and the rest have to face doing their particular jobs in Las Vegas, and I really appreciated that in terms of the extra layer it gave to the series before Season 3 began. I think it did a good job at laying foundations for the subsequent season.

6. Living Doll: I agree with you, Crumbs that the reveal of Natalie at the very beginning does pretty much suck, and was not the best writing choice at all. I think that may have worked if that had been the immediate sequel to one establishing episode, not so much as a reveal after a whole season-long arc. Even though that was disappointing, I still like the episode over others as a finale, because I do feel palpable suspense and foreboding when I watch it. I do find Natalie to be a very creepifying character, and I still worry when Sara is trapped with her. I agree that it was a very sub-par ending to a really interesting serial-killer story, but I'm still engrossed in it more than a lot of the other finales. When I first saw it, I thought Sara might actually die so I guess that still holds over for me in terms of suspense, even if I pick at a lot of the dumber plot elements involved here (I do agree with many of your criticisms about this one, for sure).

7. All-In: I've been asking myself why I couldn't list this episode anywhere else in my list, because I agree it's not the best episode in this series or even really so great as a finale. Still, I enjoy the hell out of this episode every time I see it, it's one of the only episodes in Season 9 I really do enjoy. I really liked the idea of a pair of ne'er do wells stumbling across a cache of buried casino chips, and I really loved watching the fallout of that. I think I might also be biased because Gerald McCraney is another character actor I love, and I'm just pleased as punch whenever I see him pop up anywhere. So I think I'm basically rating this episode here simply because I just love watching it, even if the critic in my head says I shouldn't, haha.

8. Way To Go: I never really liked this finale because when I first saw it, it just felt like more pandering and putting a character in danger just for the sake of it. I watched it again recently, though, and it played a lot better to me. I was more involved in the B-story mystery of the wasp-waisted Civil War fella, and more involved in Brass' reasoning for putting himself in such a dangerous position (though, I still really don't care for the B-Story about the fella who didn't think he'd live past 40, it felt like an afterthought). And yeah, the scene where Ellie takes off but Brass' LVPD family is still there for him affected me a lot more than it did the first time (and makes me hope even more they give Brass a better resolution with Ellie than just killing her off once this new season starts).

9. The Strip Strangler: This one rates low for me only because I had the same exact problem with it as I did with the most recent finale; Why on earth would a CSI go undercover to help catch a killer instead of a police officer or Fed trained in such work? I know they tried hanging lanterns on it to justify it, but it's just one of those things where I can't suspend my disbelief. I usually like Gregg Henry in anything he does, but he just came off as a stock 'hard nose FBI guy' here and I just found it cloying I guess. I never felt Sara was in any real danger, and she came off as obstinate for no reason here. It's just not one of my favorite episodes, and one of my least favorite finales (though I do like a lot of the social interaction between the team, it just wasn't enough to save it for me).

10. Meat Jekyll, In A Dark Dark House, Homecoming, Skin In The Game: If I tried rating or reviewing any of these, I would just go off on vitriolic rants, so I'll just say I really can't stand to watch any of these. The Jekyll plot had me throwing my hands up at every turn because I thought it was ridiculous from the start, and Nate Haskell became stunningly irritating to me (I thought he was actually quite creepy in the first episode we ever saw him in, but he should have stayed there). I don't care for any of these seasons at all, and they're not seasons I'm ever going to buy or willfully revisit. I guess for me, my tolerance level stopped at Season 9. I know it might sound unfair and snotty, but I can't rate these in order because they all suck equally to me, you know?

I don't know if anyone will even read all that either, but I had fun revisiting the finales. Like you said, sort of like a trip back to 'the good times', haha. And again, I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's lists.

Thanks for the thread, Crumbs! :thumbsup:

 

[byline]

..., and Nate Haskell became stunningly irritating to me (I thought he was actually quite creepy in the first episode we ever saw him in, but he should have stayed there).

Hear, hear! Had they used Haskell only in the two-part Langston intro/Grissom exit, he would have joined Paul Milander as one of my all-time favorite creepy CSI characters (no small feat). But no, they had to apply the same treatment to him that they did to Ray — overkill — and ruin a good thing.

 

[sharp52092]

The Strip Strangler: This is the kind of finale I long to see again. A little suspense when Grissom goes down to see Goggle but a nice ending. The team at dinner not ending on another CSI in peril.

Bloodlines: Great case

Inside the Box: Great Catherine, Grissom, and a few Greg things.

Way To Go: Cases are kinda so-so, but the civil war one was enjoyable. Cliff hanger is probably one of my favorites

Grave Danger: Some great acting and case stuff, but I don't really care for Tarantino

The Hunger Artist: Good case, but it was never at the top of my list

Living Doll: While it ended on a serious cliff/CSI in peril it was almost my first and it was an incredibly long summer. Though now when I watch it certainly not as exciting as it was the first time

For Gedda: Pretty suspenseful. Very good case work, but I after the bittersweet diner scene I always turn it off. Can't watch the last minute

Meat Jekyll: Haven't watched in awhile, but there was some good case/team stuff if I recall. Catherine too. Haskell ugh, no comment there, and it wasn't a very good cliffhanger.

All In: Pretty boring episode

In A Dark Dark House/Homecoming/Skin in the Game: I agree with several things listed above

 

[Smokey]

My two cents....

I like the days of regular ol' episodes as finales. Every show these days tries to outdo itself with the crazy stuff.

Now, when CSI did start to get a little crazy, they did it right. Tarantino AND no cliffhanger...finished it up right there.

After that...things get a little fuzzy for me. Some of them were horrible finales. Have to say I was pleased that Nick took down Jekyll. But that damn Haskell story that carried on for THREE seasons is unforgivable.

And now? Geeze...DB's granddaughter kidnapped...Morgan kidnapped...Ecklie shot...Ellie kidnapped....stupid, stupid, over the top and unrealistic. Hate it.