Season 4 Discussion

[PraetorCorvinus]

Greetings.

I enjoy reading the feedback many have left for the discussions of seasons 1, 2 and 3. How about we move on to season 4?

This was a season that, for me, doesn't stand out as much. It still had a number of very good episodes though. Which ones did you like? Didn't like? Feel free to elaborate on why for each.

My favorites: "Fur and Loathing" (for the sheer oddity of it), "Jackpot" (classic Grissom episode), "Eleven Angry Jurors" (an overall fun episode) and "No More Bets" (great Sam Braun episode).

Least favorites: "Coming of Rage" (the suspects disturb me), "Getting Off" (I dislike clowns) and "Bad to the Bone" (just don't care for it).

Two episodes worth noting:
-"After the Show" A particularly dark episode based on a real-life case.
-"Bloodlines" Another dark episode with a fantastic story. My only complaint (and I'm showing my geek here) is that the culprit was the voice of Superman on the Justice League cartoon. Every time I watch it, it sounds like it was Superman who raped and murdered those women.

What else did you like or dislike about this season?
-Sara's apparent alcoholism?
-Greg officially being trained?
-"Butterflied"?
(just to name a few)

List of episodes:

401: Assume Nothing
402: All For Our Country
403: Homebodies
404: Invisible Evidence
405: Feeling The Heat
406: Fur And Loathing
407: Jackpot
408: After The Show
409: Grissom Versus The Volcano
410: Coming Of Rage
411: Eleven Angry Jurors
412: Butterflied
413: Suckers
414: Paper or Plastic?
415: Early Rollout
416: Getting Off
417: XX
418: Bad To The Bone
419: Bad Words
420: Dead Ringer
421: Turn Of The Screws
422: No More Bets
423: Bloodlines

Please discuss anything and everything. And please keep it civil.

 

[Desertwind]

This was my favorite season when Grissom was still on the show, In S/1 all new and fresh, S/2, still geting it together, S/3 better, but by S/4 they were all fine tuned and had a better view of what to do and how to do it. I've watched all of these so many times it's pathetic, but it still holds up:bolian:

My favs.:thumbsup:

Assume Nothing The woman in the hotel room with her throat slit, and Nick jeopardizes the case when he discusses it and it turns up on the news~

Homebodies The old woman dead in the closet, riveting~the girl who testified and ended up dead with Sara crying in the car a tear jerker for sure~

Invisible Evidence Poor Warrick with the evidence all screwed up, and Grissom asking for 24 hours to prove who committed this crime "The "pin me down scene" a real wnner for GSR fans

Fur And Loathing Weird ep.,the furries and plushies, a strange but real cult in Vegas. Brass with "who should I arrest "Rocky Racoon":lol: and it ended up being a freaky accident~

JACKPOT A total Grissom favorite he was so awesome in this, and it was mostly him [BTW, it was filmed in Fawnskin by Big Bear/Lake Arrowhead, CA.] gorgeous scenery. The severed head and finding out who and why it happened. So good I loved this the most~

Gotta run more later~

 

[Athersgeo]

Season 4 is definitely a little bland in patches. I think, though, that I like it more than I like season 3.

There aren't any episodes that I strongly dislike; at the same time, there aren't any episodes that I strongly like, either.

Two things that I DID dislike about the season (as a whole): Sara's alcoholism and the promotion.

The promotion is something that I just disliked for the sheer pointlessness of it. Where they ever actually going to follow through and have it happen? I doubt it. Which means it was done purely as a means of getting conflict to occur between Nick and Sara (in the main) and Grissom, Nick and Sara as an offshoot, and it just comes across as a very cheap ploy. And that line Nick gives to Sara in Bloodlines, about how hard it is for her to say congratulations? I think I might just have smacked him for it. So. Very. Patronising.

The alcoholism, by contrast, was done pretty well. Sara's slow slide towards Nesting Dolls is a story arc that plays out really well and is, for the most part, really well written. Where I have a problem with it is the fact that out of everyone, the only person who notices she's got a problem is Brass. REALLY? Don't get me wrong; the scene in Early Rollout between Brass and Sara is fantastic and the fact that he knows what the problem is speaks to his own experiences and makes a lot of sense, but I just can't buy that no-one else notices that there's something wrong with Sara until the final scene of the season. That they don't necessarily get exactly what's going on (as Brass does) would be fair enough, but to not notice at all? These are supposed to be some of the most observant people in the country and, more to the point, Sara is supposed to be their friend. Granted, they probably wouldn't have been able to help her (as the conversation with Brass indicates, she didn't think she had a problem and if you don't think you have a problem, of course you don't need help), but just some acknowledgement would have gone a long way.

Onto the episodes, then.

The closest I come to the dislike scale is probably Butterflied, mostly because I've watched it two or three times now and I still can't see the resemblance between Sara and the dead body (which is, after all, at least two thirds of the point of the episode!). I also dislike the fact that the whole episode is so unresolved. I might possibly think on it with a bit more favour if they'd brought Dr Lurie back either later in s4 or maybe in s5, but as it is...

After The Show is another episode that I'm not wild about, possibly because the way the episode unfolds is so very close to the real life case, or possibly it's Sara's whole footstomp "MY CASE" tantrum which just... Wow. And that whole bit of Sara, Catherine and Nick arguing over who's senior - what is this? High school?! Ugh. I think if I'd been Grissom, I've had been tempted to bang their heads together.

Hmm. Maybe I dislike it more than I thought!

On the other end of the scale, you've got Eleven Angry Jurors which has an interesting 'A' plot and a 'B' plot to make the science geek in me, well, geek out. (Doesn't hurt that it's Nick's sub plot *grin*, but I can comfortably say I'd have enjoyed it whoever was doing it!)

Coming of Rage WOULD tend to fall into my "wholly believable but wow it's depressing" category (a little like the 'B' plot from Strangers on a Train from s3), but I really, REALLY like the 'B' plot in the episode, just for the extremely cool use of very basic physics in the ballistics lab. (See previous remarks regarding science geek and geeking out.)

Fur and Loathing is incredibly entertaining (though it was a little on the awkward side, having to explain to my mother that yes, there really ARE people who do that - I'm not sure what horrified her more; the fact that furries are real or the fact that I knew about them!), while Feel the Heat is one of those really touching stories that CSI does from time to time. Not exactly heart warming (pardon the pun) but it is nice occasionally to see two stories where there aren't any real villains, just bad circumstances.

About the rest of the season, I'm pretty ambivalent. I'll watch it if it's on, but I tend not to go out of my way to put the DVDs on.

 

[Desertwind]

Some more of my favorites from S/4

Grissom vs the Volcano The bomb exploding at the front of the hotel on the Strip, great graphics on this one, and the frightening possibility of terrorism becomes a bit to real, but soon leads down the odd trail of a school science fair. And the guy who lead a double life. And the 1st wife was reponsible for the bomb. B story a musician's girlfriend found dead in a with Sara and Warrick realized she killed herself sue to her own unhappiness~

11 Angry Jurors A hung jury ends up with the guy who died, it was his allergic reaction to a "bee sting" "so it was an outside job" Grissom and Sara were great working together in this ep.~

Butterflied All time fav. Grissom finds dead girl with a erriely resemblance to Sara. How he didn't sleep for days what good acting so believeable His speech at the end, to the doctor "And now you have nothing" Doctor "I'm still here" Grissom "Are you"? was riveting and I thought He'd be nominated for an Emmy for this~

Suckers Another total favorite the fake Oriental art, and them finding the wherehouse full of it. At one point when they go to this wherehouse and it's all cluttered with mega stuff. Brass goes 'Somehow I always thought your place would look like this Gil" Nick laughs:lol: part B story a vampire type guy who killed a girl, and drank her blood~

Dead Ringer The marathon race at the beginning awesome, the whole team running. Grissom find a dead body on the side of the road. The investigation gets complicated when all the suspects turn out to be cops. Meanwhile Sara and Warrick investigate the apparent murder/suicide of two cops in a hotel, but evidence suggest foul play~

Turn Of The Screws The Rollar Coaster derails and what happened, shoddy maintenance, or something more sinister. Yes, the jealous boy, who loosened the screws, but forgot to tightned them again and had bludgeoned the other boy to death, du to jealously. Grissom with his riveting intergoation The end with Grissom and Woody sharing Rollar Coaster stories "It's about the thrill"~

Bloodlines THe season finale, a rape victim is able to identify her rapist, but DNA evidence suggests that he is not the person responsible, leaving Grissom and his team to find the crucial evidence. The guy was a Chimera, two different DNA's. Meanwhile Grissom comes to the rescue of oe of the CSI members who lands on the other side of the law~

I liked all of them but these stood out above the rest:bolian:

 

[WP_Rocks_MY_World]

Season 4:

It was the Season Grissom grew the sexy beard! :drool: His hearing problem went away. Yay! It got on my nerves in Season 3. :lol:


Jackpot: What can I say? It was all Grissom. :thumbsup:

Fur and Loathing: So many funny lines in this ep. Just a classic Cat + Gil episode.

--------------------

 

[Nick3167]

SEASON 4 what I call CSILV's most boring season ( SORRY)

the only epi's I liked -Eleven angry jurors

-Dead Ringer

-Turn of the screws

the rest just bored me sorry but season 4 I really did not watch I own the DVD's but I still have a hard time watching them but again this is just my opinion don't take it offensively please

 

[Elayne]

Fur And Loathing has the best opening scene "end line" ever! Instead of his usual witty, ironic statement when he and Cath find the guy in the raccoon suit, Grissom gets this "WTF?" look on his face. And while we're on Great Wordless Reaction shots, the looks on Sara and Nick's faces when he tries to lift a print on the samurai sword in Suckers is priceless, as is Nick's follow-up line. "Gris, what sort of insurance do we have?":guffaw:

 

[lil_janie]

For me, this season was pale. There are no particular epps that I like or dislike - none took my attention and mind with it.
On the other hand, I liked things about the characters. Nick's talking to Sara about the case (or them not leading it if I remember correctly) is similar to his calming down Greg when arguing with Catherine (when she took him off the high profile case in the first epp of the tenth season). He showed loyalty, and as strange as it may sound - both authority and subordinance. Those traits are his greatest strenghts, and I like him for that so much more. He knows when to listen and when to act - and that is why I think that he would be better as super than Cath, seniority or not. And like I said here somewhere before - he is the one that holds the lab together not only now, but even before Grissom's departure. It is as if Warrick's death did that to him, as if he realized that the lab can be broken as easy as family. It's not only that it's who he is, if you can understand me. All that he's been through made him what he is now - and I like this Nick.
On the other hand, I agree about him being patronising. He does that a lot, and until Athersgeo said it out loud I couldn't wrap my mind on what is the thing about Nick that was bothering me so much. And that's it. He's doing it all the time, and it is his worst trait. Oh well, nobody's perfect.
Greg's going to field was fun. Warrick's talk about kits and so, and talk with him before he went to see Grissom unprepared - it blew my mind. I think that Warrick's high point was during seasons four and five - and after Grave Danger he started slipping. It makes me sad, he was such a good guy, dependable, and he became so responsible only to be crushed by guilt, self doubts, wrong marriage and, at the end, pills. But still he was trying to do the right thing up 'till the end. Anyway, I liked him the most during this season, and the next one. He was just a great guy and an excellent CSI to have.
Sara... She annoyed me beyond all. Her story was well done, no doubt about that, but still. I never liked her to much to begin with (well, lately she's better - being married to Griss seems to have improved her a lot, taking away competitiveness, and time away from the lab took care of I-must-do-best attitude - she relaxed and got a life, which made her character more real).
Cath... I don't know. She faded to background.
And that's about that. I was looking more at the characters than the cases. The cases were lame (though I liked the story about the angry guy in 'Coming of Rage' - creepy), but the people were more than good. Now, if writers would make a season with good plots, excellent cases, and nice glimpses of characters - it would be perfect. Oh wait... They have But it's not this one, so it would be off topic

 

[Geeno]

Season four is a great season for me with some average or exciting episodes.

My favorite episodes of the season are
- Invisible Evidence
- Feeling the Heat - Cool! I mean, three great stories!
- Jackpot - Grissom helping the local police of Jackpot, Nevada; Catherine hit the jackpot!
- Eleven Angry Jurors - fun episode
- Bloodlines - In my opinion, one of the best episodes of the series. The writers did an excellent job researching about that medical mystery and incorporating in a thrilling episode.

The rest are average episodes but still are good.

 

[Dizzney]

Episodes I enjoyed in season 4 were "Fur and Loathing" because it was so odd and had funny moments in it.

"Eleven Angry Jurors" was good too. And it showed that Greg was getting more and more restless in the lab.

"Bloodlines" was a great season finale. I am always very intrigued during the whole episode.

"Turn of the Screws" because it is Greg got to really experience being out in the field and investigating a huge scene.

"After the Show" I always enjoyed also. Liked seeing everyone get to help out in that case in the long run.

Dislikes, "Paper or Plastic", "No more Bets", and "Getting off".

 

[kaylyne]

I just realized that I haven't chimed in on season 4 yet.

Season 4 was kind of Jekyll & Hyde for me. A lot of good episode, but a lot of 'clunkers' mixed in.

The best thing about season 4 was that it was probably the season with the most Cath/Sara interaction - AFOC, After the show, getting off, etc

First of all - the clunkers:
Coming Of Rage, Eleven Angry Jurors, Paper or Plastic, Invisible Evidence, Suckers, Homebodies, Turn Of The Screws

Now, the ones I actually re-watch:
Assume Nothing - Nick being in Grissom's 'doghouse' was cute. I love the way that Cath knew what was going on just by observing Nick. Can't forget about Grissom's wink to Catherine at the beginning - and of course the vibrating bed scene. Gotta love it. Also love when they clean out the dead body in the ice bin (bucket brigade).

All For Our Country - Cath & Sara's bloated floater case makes this one of my favorites. The two ladies working together in the bathroom to clean out the tub makes me smile. I also laugh when the two seem clueless when they're at the sports bar.

Feeling The Heat - So sad with the dead baby case. Love Arye Gross' performance here. I remembered him from Ellen's old tv show. I also love Cath's struggle with the subject of her case - especially the scene in DNA with Greg.

Fur And Loathing - plushies & furries. Enough said!

Jackpot - surprisingly, not a big favorite of mine, but it is a decent episode. I like how Grissom improvised after losing his kit.

After The Show - Cath/Sara angst. I love the way they played that storyline out.

Grissom Versus The Volcano - The explosion at the beginning was great. Also loved the cute scene with Cath/Gil seeing the volcano on the table.

Butterflied - It was a nice way to give the show a different look by having Grissom continuously at the house. And the bathroom...gotta love that bathroom!

Early Rollout - Unfortunately, this was the intro to "the snake" (aka Chris Bezich). Otherwise, the rest was fairly enjoyable.

Getting Off - everyone likes clowns, right? Well, maybe not! My love for this episode is Cath/Sara working together on the case. And unfortunately, I have no clue what the other case is about! :lol:

XX - Love T.R. Knight's performance, but I actually enjoyed the other case (at the prison) much better.

Bad To The Bone - For some reason, I really enjoy this one. The guy is just so bad, with no cares for any consequences, and all of the crap that he takes, just for the heck of it.

Bad Words - this one I really love because of the guest appearance from Tracey Needham.

Dead Ringer - CSIs running and having fun. Cath in shorts. Cath/Gil with the 'choice in music' banter. Everything after the first 15 minutes was a bit dull.

No More Bets - Sam Braun. Enuf said!

Bloodlines - not a real big fan of this one, but love the performances by the guest actors.

 

[Grissom rules]

This is a great season .I especially liked Feeling The Heat because of the emotional story about the baby that died inside the car.I also liked Jackpot(one of the best episodes ever),Invisible Evidence,After The Show,Eleven Angry Jurors,Butterflied,Dead Ringer(the opening scene is just great) and Bloodlines which is an awesome finale!!

My least favorite episodes are Fur and Loathing,Cominf Of Rage,Getting Off.