Re: S6 - the most uneven seasons of all? S7 - speculations.
I definitely was not a huge fan of Season 6. Most of my friends over in shipper central know I almost left the show mid-season (which had nothing do with with my ship. It had to do with my distaste for the writing).
I felt like the characters were taking too much of a backseat, and that the continuity was seriously lacking. Gum Drops was an INCREDIBLE episode, and then we went through a lull with the ok-two parter, then KKBB sorta pulled me in again. Another lull until Unusual Suspect and Roshamama.
POTR didn't work. And please don't pull ship into it, that has nothing to do with this one, for me. The story could have been so much more powerful, but somewhere, in the execution, the power was lost.
Same problem with "Still Life." I thought the idea of it was intriguing, but the execution of it made it really bland. Something just never clicked, never worked.
Poppin' Tags was ridiculously crazy. The episode itself was ok, I even enjoyed a lot of it, but it really felt more like "look at all our current references and rap stars!"
Killer: I've said a thousand times that if this was an episode of a brand new show, I'd love it, but it just wasn't CSI to me. It was an interesting idea, following the killer through the episode, and the actor was incredible, but it was just not CSI to me.
I Like to Watch: Another one where the idea intrigued me, but the execution was lacking. It just felt a little stiff, and the camera crew aspect of the show ended up being a distraction more than anything else.
Daddy's Little Girl: Oh yes, let's completely kill off the Kelly Gordon storyline by having her commit SUICIDE. Yes, this way, we don't have to worry about the storyline anymore and Nick can have some kind of resolution... um, no!
Room Service: An interesting episode in how it was shot, etc, but the main message just seemed a little weak. The message that rich or poor, we're all the same in a bodybag, was easy to obtain at the top of the episode. Also, the connected cases was a little, erm, too coincidental. It just happens a lot more as the seasons go on, which is unfortunate.
Spellbound: An ok episode. It just didn't stick to your ribs. It's funny that this episode had a concentrated amount of Grissom, and yet it's nowhere close to my fav ep of the season.
Dog Eat Dog: Is it bad I hardly remember this episode? Yeah...
TOYD: It's not a bad ep. It's not a great ep. That's the problem with it. The characters in this ep are incredible, especially those little minor character who blip on the screen and are heard no more (like a tale told by an idiot.... erm... sorry). I thought it was a good setup for those unfamiliar with Gris/Sara who were tuning in for May sweeps and might be confused by the finale otherwise. And I enjoyed the concept, but some parts of it just dragged too much for me to get wrapped up in it.
BB/WtG: I want to talk about these collectively. The first half, Bang Bang, was a blast to watch. It may not have been an armchair gripping ride, but it was fun, and finding out that Sammy had been dead for a while was a great little twist. I mean, I suspected something like that all along, but I'm weird. It was still fun.
WtG was not enough of a continuation. I understood the need for one case during Brass' ordeal to show that things do keep moving in Vegas, but two felt like they were pushing it. I remember seeing a clip of Grissom looking like he had tears in his eyes in one of the promos, and someone on a spoiler board I'm on said there was a really great emotional Grissom scene in the finale... It looks like that was cut, and I think this one little scene could have been enough to help those who felt like Brass' siutation wasn't effecting people enough.
Episodes I actually remember the casefile and thought them pretty good: Bite Me, Shooting Stars, Gum Drops, ABRTI, Werewolves, KKBB, Unusual Suspect, Roshamama....
Bite Me: It was just a twisted story. I mean, true, we got another teen murderer, but the idea of it was really interesting, and I did wonder for a bit if the woman's own father had killed her. The episode definitely held my attention.
Shooting Stars: Still don't think it was the greatest ep, but it was intriguing, especially that ending with the one girl who survived. That ending sorta stuck with me.
Gum Drops: Probably my fav dramatic episode of the season. This and Roshamama were my highlights. It's a shame they were so many months apart. Though the script was not originally intended for Nick, it became a great ep for him, and showed some actual continuity. "I was rescued." Yes, you were Nick. We remember! And I loved Sara being there for him. She's my fav character, and I remember this ep had a lot of her at her best.
ABRTI: While parts of it drove me nuts, it brough some new stuff in for PG, and that's good enough for me. It also had a lot of fun interaction between all the characters. Everyone felt connected in this two-parter. And, this gave us some continuity in the future for Brass... with his situation mentioned in Dog Eat Dog, I Like to Watch, and the finale. Nice.
Werewolves: It was an intriguing story, and while the condition was not the star of the episode, I think that young lady was, for me. It was nice to see the CSIs, especially Catherine, being really human, showing concern.
KKBB: How great a guest star they had, but that wasn't what made this ep great. It was all about the characters, and Greg shined here. He was absolutely hilarious, a joy to watch, and I remember thinking "Look! It's the old Greg! YAY!" This episode was just FUN to watch.
Unusual Suspect: Not a lick of Grissom in it, and it's one of my fav eps of the season. It was just something a little different. Yes, another young killer, but the way it all happened was intriguing. I was a bit peeved that our dear Sara was deceived, but after consideration saw this as a bit of continuity. God bless her, she sometimes lets her obujectivity get clouded, and this little girl took advantage of that!
Roshamama: What can I say about this episode? My favourite "light" ep of the season. The four different point of views were great to watch, and it was so fun to get inside the heads of the characters. I really hope that CSI attempts more episodes like this in the future. It wasn't just about the story, but the characters in this ep. I loved them talking about the diner, and about random silly things like they used to. The lock down was great because we got to see them sleeping, and complaining. Nick and Warrick's scene is still one of my favs because it's so honest. What do we do? We complain about work to our buddies! It's part of life... Ah... Loved it.
Woah. I seriously did not mean to write that much, but you can see that I've thought out my arguments! Viva Las Vegas was an interesting start, with them seeming to try to go back to early-CSI, but the rest of the season didn't follow that example at all. As a whole, this season wasn't great. I mean, I was ready to give up on CSI many times this season. What saved it for me? Episodes like Roshamama. Episodes like KKBB, or Gum Drops. These episodes were so much fun to watch! They made it interesting, while showing a LOT of the characters. I know a lot of people watch just for the science, but for me, it's all about these characters and their relationships as they use science. Science is a part of the equation to me, not the answer...
Here's hoping next year is better. I'm onboard to give season 7 a try. I really am, I just hope it works.
