Review: CSI: New York--'Do Not Pass Go'

CSI Files

CSI Files

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A killer leads two grief-stricken parents on a race around the city in search of their son’s remains. Synopsis: Charles and Elizabeth Harris, whose son Jeremy has been missing for a week, follow a specific set of instructions in the hopes of finding Jeremy alive… but are instead lead to a car on a roof [...]

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Great review.

I totally forgot about the Flack line about his first words. :)

I didn't find the performances of the parents to be all that great, but I did like the performance of the killer even if I thought her motives and timing to be a bit ridiculous.

The biggest plot holes for me were the scenes where we find out the mother has gone off on her own to follow the instructions of another voice mail and then they track her down. It was way too jarring to go from what was presumably late morning/early afternoon when they found out about it to late night when they found the mother. Add in the fact that the mother could've escaped after she set the fire and that whole scenario brought me right out of the story.

I absolutely adore Jo and love her chemistry with everyone on the team, but especially Mac. I've never been a very active shipper and I don't like the idea of the leads hooking up, but I find myself pulling for something to develop between Mac and Jo. She just brings out such a different side of Mac that no one has been able to, past or present, that I can't help but love it.

And Sydney Park was great as Ellie. I'm curious if they'll bring biological family into the picture at some point. We know her mother is serving life without parole, so it wouldn't make sense for it to be her, but I wonder if another relative will pop up at some point.
 
Maybe I should just start out all of my review comments with 'GRAUK' ("Great review as usual, Kristine"). :p

The storyline was pretty interesting, but I'll admit that the character moments were my favorite part. I am loving Jo so far, and seeing her with her daughter was fun. She's such a mama, it's great. :lol: For so long, NY was a show filled with single, childless characters (aside from Sid, whose family gets zero focus, and Reed, who isn't really Mac's kid). Danny and Lindsay getting married and having Lucy should have added a 'family' touch to the show, but when I compare that storyline to Jo's interaction with her daughter, it doesn't feel the same. I don't know if it's the writing, or if it's Sela bringing a lot of herself to the role, but Jo just feels like a woman with a family outside of work. She has mentioned her kids several times, and seeing Ellie this week just cemented it. I like the dynamic that adds, and hopefully if anything, Jo's presence will bring out a more natural 'family' element to The Messers beyond the seemingly ubiquitous, almost cryptic comments they get in pretty much every episode. (You know, the comments that remind longtime fans that they're married without necessarily saying 'remember that we're married' in so many words - like the comment this week about finding your kid's body. For longtime fans, it was obvious that they were talking to each other about Lucy, but for anybody who watches more casually, they might not even realize it was more than two coworkers speaking hypothetically.)

Also, I love that Jo is a complete slob. :lol: The post-its, OMG! :lol:

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I think Jo has fabulous chemistry with both Mac and Flack - whether they take it to a romantic place or not remains to be seen, but I do love the chemistry there. Losing Melina sucked, but I really feel like Sela has added something fun to the show.

Oh, and one last thing - this might seem like an odd comment, but I thought about it when I was watching "Blue Bloods". "Blue Bloods" is very much a show about family, and it is clearly meant to appeal to viewers who want to see that type of interaction on screen. Jo's mama personality :p, as well as her interaction with Ellie (and hopefully Tyler at some point), has that kind of family dynamic. It's not that I think they included it on purpose or anything, I just think it's a nice thing to have on a show leading in to such a family-centric program. Maybe it'll help with some crossover viewers since "Blue Bloods" does get higher ratings. ;)

(Also, I vote for a crossover - what say you, fellow NY fans? :))
 
I really haven't been into "Blue Bloods" that much simply because I feel like their family dinners are cramming their "Big Damn Morals" down my throat - even though both sides of the issues are explored
- but I wouldn't be against a crossover. I'd love to see Tom Selleck interact with Gary and Sela.

I agree about Jo bringing the "family" element to NY. The Messer family is so canned and formulaic and more often than not I hate Anna's portrayal of Lindsay and I don't think she and Carmine have any chemistry so they never come off as more than the "token CSI family" to me.
 
Yeah, "Blue Bloods" definitely has a more conservative viewpoint (which isn't automatically a bad thing, obviously). I think it works for the type of show that it is, but it's pretty different from NY in a lot of ways (even if Mac has a similarly conservative viewpoint IMO). I'm not sure a crossover would work, but I still kind of want one. :p Back-to-back crime dramas set in NYC - it would practically write itself if the shows didn't feel like they were on different wavelengths. :lol:

Danny and Lindsay are a family, but they don't really bring a sense of family to the show for me. I think I only realized it when Jo showed up and it suddenly felt like family was a big part of one of the characters. There are all sorts of mothers, don't get me wrong, but Jo feels like a mom in a way that Lindsay has never felt like a mom to me. *shrug* I'm not sure if I'm making sense. :lol:
 
Faylinn said:
Danny and Lindsay are a family, but they don't really bring a sense of family to the show for me. I think I only realized it when Jo showed up and it suddenly felt like family was a big part of one of the characters. There are all sorts of mothers, don't get me wrong, but Jo feels like a mom in a way that Lindsay has never felt like a mom to me. *shrug* I'm not sure if I'm making sense. :lol:
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I agree and I think it comes down to the actresses. Anna Belknap has no depth or warmth to her acting, IMO, and that makes the "loving family" aspect of The Messers ring false. Plus I think they've focused a lot more on Danny being the doting father than they have Lindsay being the loving mother and that makes a huge difference. And it's hard when the child involved is still quite young. You can't get the interaction you can get with an older child like Ellie. With Danny and Lindsay they've always told instead of shown and when they do that with their parenting it's hard to get a real sense of any close knit family vibe.
 
Question re the review. What does 'MVP mean? as in "and in a scene that once again proves why Eddie Cahill is this show’s MVP"

Also, re the comment about Mac 'sniffing out the invisible hand stamp', I thought he had the UV light to show the blood on the apron to the suspect, and it just happened to shine on the guy's hand by accident - and that's how Mac saw it.
 
Ceindreadh said:
Question re the review. What does 'MVP mean? as in "and in a scene that once again proves why Eddie Cahill is this show’s MVP"
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MVP means "Most Valuable Player."

Also, re the comment about Mac 'sniffing out the invisible hand stamp', I thought he had the UV light to show the blood on the apron to the suspect, and it just happened to shine on the guy's hand by accident - and that's how Mac saw it.
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I was just watching the show again to see if I liked it any better (I didn't, BTW) and you're right.
 
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