Season 8 Discussion

[PraetorCorvinus]

Season 8. An interesting season that could best be described as being split into two different parts - each with their own overarching storyline. The season itself was shorter than most due to a writer's strike that impacted much of Hollywood.

The first part covered the end of the Miniature Killer story arc and the effect in had on the team. Most importantly, the burnout and departure of Sara Sidle.

The second part focused on Warrick and his downward spiral into self-destruction following the breakup of his marriage and other factors not revealed until the following season.

Other notable events of the season:
- The departure of Sofia Curtis
- Introduction to reoccurring characters Ronnie Lake and Lou Gedda.
- Grissom's proposal to Sara.
- Crossover with Without a Trace.
- The betrayal of Undersheriff Jeff McKeen.

What episodes were your favorite and least favorite. Why?

What else about this season did you like or dislike?

Episodes:

801. Dead Doll
802. A La Cart
803. Go To Hell
804. The Case of the Cross-Dressing Carp
805. The Chick Chop Flick Shop
806. Who and What*
807. Goodbye and Good Luck
808. You Kill Me
809. Cockroaches
810. Lying Down With Dogs
811. Bull
812. Grissom's Divine Comedy
813. A Thousand Days on Earth
814. Drops' Out
815. The Theory of Everything
816. Two and Half Deaths
817. For Gedda

* The story started here continues into the Without a Trace episode "Where and Why".

Feel free to discuss anything and everything about this season. Please keep things civil and be mindful of the Moderators' rules on the discussion of ships.

Previous discussions:
Season 1, Season 2, Season 3, Season 4, Season 5, Season 6, Season 7

 

[sharp52092]

season 8 was a real rollercoaster like s9

also if it hadn't of been for the writer's strike, this would have been grissom's last season, imagine how different things would be now if the strike hadn't happened

don't forget drops made an appearance, hannah also but that goes with sara's goodbye, there was also the two and a half men crossover

sophia dissappears w/o a trace (literally), i hate the way they wrote her off, they could have at least said she switched shifts or transferred elsewhere

sara leaves but she didn't die at least, and her and griss evenually had their happy ending

warrick had a pretty rough season with his divorce and pills, and then the final moment of the season

favorite episodes: a la cart, goodbye and goodluck, and the theory of everything

least fave episode: two and half deaths- the two and a half men crossover- i will probably never watch that episode again, another episode i did not like was the chick chop flick shop

deleted scene: i hate it whenever a movie or tv show delete scenes, plus it was really a really great and funny scene watching cath snoop around and ask griss about gsr :lol::lol:

dead doll- the season opener: i waited all summer long and i found it rather dissappointing (says a gsr fan), there were some parts i like but it was not very satisfying

without a trace crossover: csi's best crossover if you ask me

lou gedda: too bad they killed him off, they could have made some more episodes about the mob, other dirty cops on his payroll, etc.

mckeen: his betrayal wasn't anything new, he had probably been a dirty cop for quite awhile, remember when brass was talking about him in for warrick and then in the episode redrum- he had to be dirty then also

ronnie: i did not like her, she was pretty annoying

i'll try to add some more later

 

[Grissom rules]

Season 8 is an underated season in my opinion.Ithad some great episodes like A La Cart(great final scene),GoTo Hell,You Kill Me(best lab rat episode),Grissom's Devine Comedy,The Theory Of Eveything and For Gedda.
This season included Sara's departure and Warrick's actions that ultimately led to his death.The return of Drops was hilarious although the crossover episode with TAAHM was one of the worst episodes ever.The crossover with WAT was awesome by the way(although I haven't watched the conclusion of the story).I liked Ronnie a lot-so bad she isn't in the show anymore.

 

[Elayne]

season 8 was a real rollercoaster like s9

also if it hadn't of been for the writer's strike, this would have been grissom's last season, imagine how different things would be now if the strike hadn't happened

. . .<snip>

I totally agree with you. I think the original master plan for season 8 was something like this: first 5-6 episodes showing events leading to Sara's departure; the next 7-8 episodes covering Warrick's arc, ending with his murder and McKeen's unmasking in the last 2 eps. of Feb. sweeps; and the rest of the season covering Grissom's meltdown and eventual recovery and departure. We would have had a whole summer to chew over and get used to the idea of Ray Langston, instead of him popping up in mid-season.

As far as McKeen's crookedness goes, in For Warrick Brass indicated that he'd been suspicious of McKeen ever since Brass came to Vegas. I think that the first clue the audience could have had that there was a high-ranking mole in the department came in the first part of season 6's "A Bullet Runs Thru It." How did the drug gang know to have an assassin ready to take out the cop killer unless clued in on where and when the raid would take place?

 

[Geeno]

Season 8... one of my least favorite season. The premiere was boring. I also didn't like Warrick's self-destruction story. I just don't like gang related stories at all. But I like the finale. My least favorites episode ever is in this season, Go To Hell.

The episodes I like are: A La Cart, The Case of The Cross-Dressing Carp, Goodbye and Good Luck, and For Gedda.

 

[AFIS]

Ronnie Lake in season 8 was a waste of space. I know she was basically a plot mover for Sara's absence but still, she was not needed. Everyone knew Sara was burned out/having a mental breakdown.

Has anyone ever seen the Without a Trace crossover? I've seen the CSI episode but have never seen the Without a Trace part. It's not on iTunes...must not have been very good.

Favorite episodes: A La Cart(Yobling memories) and You Kill Me(The first episode of CSI that I had ever watched.), and Two and a Half Deaths(Am I the only person that liked that episode? I thought it was cute and fun to see Grissom and Brass in LA. Especially the jumping the shark comment by Brass.:lol.

 

[PraetorCorvinus]

Has anyone ever seen the Without a Trace crossover? I've seen the CSI episode but have never seen the Without a Trace part. It's not on iTunes...must not have been very good.

They actually include this episode on the season 8 DVD set.

Time for my personal thoughts on the season (since I like to keep the opening post as neutral as possible).

I think what really impacted this season as far as quality was the writer's strike. From what I understand, the Warrick storyline was going to be stretched out further in order to give the character more development leading up to his ultimate fate. Instead, they were forced to rush the storyline which made Warrick's downward spiral appear sudden and out of character. Had the season gone on it's usual length, we would have been treated with more episodes of the original cast (sans Sara) and might have even featured the introduction of Sara's replacement sooner (Riley or whomever they would have gotten at the time).

As far as the opening arc involving Sara, I feel it was handled as appropriately as they could. Her departure felt natural given the portrayal of the character up to that point. She appeared on to be on her own downward spiral ever since the previous season's "Empty Eyes". Unlike Warrick, Sara didn't feel rushed and I think this led to a more natural characterization in regards to her.

The episodes:

Favorite
"A La Cart" - A rather fun episode following the season premier. Both cases were enjoyable and each had their fair share of humorous moments from the characters.

"The Case of the Cross-Dressing Carp" - While I didn't care much for the 'A' case, the 'B' was very entertaining. Then again, I always enjoy the episodes dealing with old Vegas.

"The Chick Chop Flick Shop" - a surreal episode that, while quite implausible, was still entertaining. The final, horror film setup of the ending was a nice touch. And who can forget the image of Wendy Simms getting sliced in half?

"You Kill Me" - The 'breather' episode dividing the two story arcs of the season. This is personally my favorite of the Lab Rat episodes. You can tell that the cast had fun with this, and the whodunit, 'Clue' style of the cases was great. It deserves a few rewatches just to pick out the small details of how Hodges views the CSIs - from Catherine chewing gum to Nick and Warrick having their collars up looking 'cool'. Great stuff. :lol:

"Bull" - Another episode I'd call fun. If only for the scene when Nick and Greg find the 'electronic stimulator' used on the bulls and Wendy's overshare regarding it. :guffaw:

"Drops' Out" - 48 Hours, CSI style. Drops has always been one of my favorite guest characters. Just seeing him interact with Brass and Nick is always a treat.

Hated

"Go To Hell" - For some reason, I just can't stand this episode.

"Cockroaches" - The 'start' of Warrick's arc. This whole episode felt off and the unusual cliffhanger ending exemplified this.

"Lying Down With Dogs" - Actually a pretty good episode. The case itself bothers me, however, and I find I can't have any repeat viewings of it.

Special Mentions - Episodes which I didn't love or hate but deserve a shout out.

"Goodbye and Good Luck" - A downer episode in regards to Sara. I did like the Hannah West case though and found the ending to it very satisfying in seeing Hannah's breakdown.

"Grissom's Divine Comedy" - I never understood why Grissom, Nick and Greg are sick. Wouldn't they run the risk of contaminating evidence? The case itself was okay. What I loved though was Bonnie Bedelia as Maddie Klein. She was a great character who I would love to see again if possible.

 

[Desertwind]

This was a rough season for me after Sara bailed, I was sad, but the ones she was in, plus my probably favorite EP. was the "Crossover" "Who & What" I was a hugh "WOAT" fan and loved seeing Anthony LaPaglia and Billy work together, so different in everything & on everything. In a TV Guide cover, with a article inside La Paglia said "Working with Petersen, you've got to raise the bar", much respect going on between them, they were tantalizing together, spectatular. Jack came to Vegas, and in pt. two Grissom went to New York~

JACK AND GRISSOM

MORE


Other favs. from this seaons for me were!

"DEAD DOLL"
"GOODBYE AND GOODLUCK"
"GRISSOM'S DIVINE COMEDY" w/ Hank:lol:
"FOR GEDDA"

 

[jafox]

Season 8 was definitely a rollercoaster ride for me. Dead Doll was a high point, then I was gutted to hear JF was leaving. Then TCotCDC was great, as was GBaGL.
I thought Sara's exit was beautifully done.
I actually did like Ronnie.
After this it went downhill. With Sara gone, and the writer's strike, the rest of the season just sucked IMO. I hated Cockroaches. Although they did rescue Warrick's character a little towards the end of the season, I didn't much care for the way it was done.
One other good episode was Grissom's Divine Comedy.

I know they advertised season 9 as the 'season that changed everything', but IMO, it started here, and the pain just continued through the summer and into season 10. I was depressed for over a year. Not only were the crimes depressing, but so were the characters. The cloud didn't lift til the end of One to Go, when we finally saw some light.

Favorites:
Dead Doll
A La Cart
The Case of the Cross Dressing Carp (loved both cases,and the proposal )
Goodbye and Good Luck
Grissom's Divine Comedy

OK episodes:
You Kill Me
Bull
The Theory of Everything

Hated:
Cockroaches
Lying Down With Dogs (hard to watch)
Two and a Half Deaths
The Chick Chop Flick Shop

 

[ladyhunter]

I did find that season 8 was sort of divided by the writers strike. There was talk of Marg leaving but the strike prompted her to stay longer.

I wasn't a fan of the miniature killer arc, so the rescuing of Sara was sort of MEH for me. I just wanted to see how it Gil and Sara's relationship would all come out.

I guess I liked the latter half of the season better than the first half

Liked;
Cockroaches
Lying down with dogs. I know it was hard to watch but it was so good, I had too.
Two and a half Deaths- I was torn with the writers swap, but this one was pretty funny. I had to watch it a few times to really see how funny it was. I also liked the Two and a half Men episode with the CSI writers too.
You Kill Me- Lab rats episodes are always funny and a breath of levity to some pretty heavy episodes.
For Gedda- some closure on Warrick and a surprise ending no one saw coming. I like those.
A Thousand Days on Earth- Another great Catherine episode. A stand out in this season if you ask me.
Were okay;

Case of the cross dressing carp. We saw a little flash of Cath and Gils relationship being revived. "I can still turn you on." Was a fantastic line.
Go to Hell- same thing. A flash of how great Catherine and Gil work togetherA Thousand Days on Earth. Another Great Cath episode. Sort of a stand out for this season if yo ask me.
A la Carte- the repercussions of Gil and Sara's relationship. Not what it should have been, but hey, what are you going to do? And a glimpse into Cath and Warricks flirtation.
Goodbye and Good luck-Sara needed to go...
Grissom's Divine Comedy- The saving grace was the ADA.

Didn't like;
Dead Doll
Chick chop flick shop-a waste of an episode.
Bull
The Theory of Everything

 

[kaylyne]

I wasn't much of a fan of season 8.

Highlights:
Appearances from Bonnie Bedelia, Katey Sagal, and Ty Murray.

My favorite episode from this season is "Bull".
It featured great music - Johnny Cash, George Jones, and appearances from Jewel & Shooter Jennings. This episode was a bit cheesy on all of the cowboy cliches, however. But hey, I like cowboys and watching them getting bucked and bounced around like ragdolls!


Other good episodes include:
Chick Chop Flick Shop: loved Martin Klebba as Dickie Jones and his flirting with Cath, Wendy being in a previous horror flick, and I even liked Ronnie Lake here as well.

You Kill Me: I liked this one much better than the previous "lab rats" episode. The beginning of the Wendy/Hodges attraction vibe.

Grissom's Divine Comedy: not big on the case itself, but Bonnie Bedelia's role as DDA Maddie Klein was great. I wish she would have been a recurring character.

A Thousand Days On Earth: Very dark subject matter with the death of a child. Loved the way they showed Cath's progressive emotional state through this. And the ending was suspenseful.

The Theory of Everything: I enjoyed the way things all intertwined, and it all had a humorous edge to it. The tin foil lady was funny. and I loved the extra Hodges screen time in this - especially as "the nose" and crawling under the house & finding the dead squirrel.

Two and a Half Deaths: Loved the use of Katey Sagal as both the 'star' and her stand-in. The story itself was quite lame, and the jokes even worse.

The rest of the episodes I'll probably never re-watch again.

Didn't like;
Dead Doll
Chick chop flick shop-a waste of an episode.
Bull
The Theory of Everything

I guess we're not twins after all, Heather! 3 of the 4 I actually like! :lol: