"Shock Waves" Discussion **SPOILERS**

I've watched it twice.

I have to say, again better than I thought it would be. Justin Bieber or not.
His part was minimal but let me tell you, if he is responsible for targeting cops and if something happens to Vartann, Catherine won't be the only person coming after him. I'm hoping that's not some sort of foreshadowing down the road when Cath said "it's not over." It could be a way of writing Marg out, Catherine loosing Vartann but I'm really hoping that's not the case.

I have always been a sucker for an emotional Nicky. That scene with him and Cath and they were both on the verge of tears, well let's just say I was on the verge as well. Some of the best scene between the two of them. Although Cath is happy and in love (says Marg) Nicky and Catherine have a special friendship/bond. Sort of like Cath and Gil in the old days.

I'm crediting the "Next time Brass tries to beat you up, or you beat yourself up..." part to Don McGill. That is something straight out of Special Agent Gibb's mouth. I loved it and thought it was a fantastic insight into Catherine and Lou's relationship. Please keep up those moments between them. But next time when they work a case together, can you please have them work a dead golf ball salesman from Ohio instead of all the chaos from a Police Officer's funeral? Thank you.

And PTB, please no more explosives, bombs or CSI/COPS in peril please. It's sort of boredering on the ridiculous and unbelievable.

Another touching scene was the interaction between Ray and Doc. LF is such a fantastic actor that this scene had me also on the verge of tears.
I just get tired of Ray being the center of each case. I really enjoyed his brief talk with Doc about how we can't control everything in life... more great work.

Overall, I enjoyed this episode. A good start to the season.

 

Very good episode. I loved the intimate character moments and the scenes with the bombs. Justin Bieber... I don't even know what to say about him. It was stunt casting for ratings which may or may not have worked. His part was a lot more minimal than what the promos led me to believe, and I don't think his character was even that interesting. I guess the bombings and the militia will be a major theme for several episodes throughout the season.

 

I liked it and I wasn't expecting to.

I enjoyed all the Nick related stuff and his conversations with Catherine (at the funeral scene and in the lab) were very well done. It was also great to see everyone else: Greg, Brass, Vartan, Super Dave, Sara and Ecklie. Was I the only one who thought there was more to Sara's reluctance to go home at the end of shift than just being tired?

I liked the bomb tech. Her introduction was low key and nowhere near as anvilicious as Riley's (or Sophia's) was. She was just kind of there doing her thing. I'm not sure why but she reminded me of the pretty Asian tech (Jesse Menken) who occasionally helps out with animal related stuff.

What I didn't like: Langston being all 'Mr Bomb-y Bomb Expert' and directing things from his hospital bed a la Denzel Washington in the The Bone Collector. Isn't that what we have the new bomb tech for? It really irks me that he went from being a professor who was an expert in serial killers to being Super!CSI Dude who's an expert in, well, pretty much everything. They really need to tone him down or dial him back or whatever. rolleyes: x a million)

I did like his scene with Doc Robbins, tho....and mostly because of Doc Robbins.

 

Excellent season premiere.Like so many of you said,the character moments were the best of the episode.I am a sucker for Nick and Catherine scenes.And both of them in such an emotional scene(remembering Warrick) had me almost with tears in my eyes.The case was pretty good as well and kept me interested until the end.Hope this season continues like that.

 

Initial thoughts:

· There was something that made me uncomfortable during the opening scene, not sure if it was LF’s performance, but something was weird about it, and once they’d got the hospital.
· Was that supposed to be flirting between Kacey and Nick? :S (I don’t like her accent even if it’s real)
· Nick not being able to hear was adorable! As was that little scene with Greg he had.
· The scene where Cath and Nick talk about Warrick was fantastic. The writing was an excellent mix between reminising and pain, and it fit well within the plot. Marg and George played it perfectly.
· Good to see Jude Ciccolella
· Greggo found the plane squee!
· Loved the conflict between Brass and Catherine. It wasn’t over played and you can understand both their views.
· Bieber did alright.
· It’s annoying how they keep contacting Ray.
· I like Kacey in this ep, she fits, but I’m not bothered about seeing her again.
· Why was Nick even at that scene with Bieber’s brother after that conversation with Catherine?
· Good scene between Ray and Doc Robbins, I like their friendship.
· The scene with Sara in the locker room reminded me of the one in The Chick Chop Flick Shop.
· The tension built really well towards the end! I knew it was coming but I was still on the edge of my seat Yay for Greg saving Vartann

 

I agree, it felt very unnecessary and made the others looks dumb.

Definitely, I was watching an older ep the other day with Nick and Warrick shouting at each other and thought that they don't really do that any more! People can have differences of opinion without losing their respect for each other or their friendship. It worked well.

I liked Ray's other scenes, they fitted in with the situation, for most of the video scenes I was wondering why they were doing them rather than paying attention!

I agree, I had some major cringing going on

It was an opportunity to explore that, but I think with them finally having some aftermath for Nick it was too much to have it for Greg too.

Yes, especially in the scene where he was talking to Brass, Cath and Nick, it felt like he was in charge.

I thought that too.

Believe me we don't! I've never heard anyone talk like that except on US TV :S

I didn't notice Wally not being in the episode until I saw it on here

 

This was the first time I was NOT looking forward to the premier (because I am sick to death of JB) but I was pleasantly surprised, I enjoyed it and even Justin's acting wasn't too bad (IMO).

 

I don't think that'll happen for awhile. Otherwise Boom Girl will be out of a job unless she can be the new DNA tech on the side. Or maybe, Langston will be the new DNA tech from his hospital bed?:lol:

Either way, after this episode my hate of Boom Girl has not been lowered. I couldn't help but think "Why is she here?" everytime she was on screen.

 

Well he's got two kills now to have to deal with (okay, his wasn't necessarily the kill shot on the bomber, but he got off enough rounds that it might as well be).
Question, before the finale, had Nick ever actually shot anybody before? I know he was firing his weapon in the S10 premiere, but had he ever actually killed somebody? I do hope we see a little of his interaction with the shrink and that it's not just glossed over with a throwaway comment from Nick that he's been there and that's all.

 

What I loved:

-Vartillows. Squee. I love how it was so subtly done. A touch here and there, a boost of confidence after some not so nice words from Brass, the love and concern in each other's eyes...beautiful.

-Marg Helgenberger. Seriously, this woman proved in this episode why she deserves every bit of that $10 mil she made last year. I love, love, love how they wrote Catherine in this as a strong leader. I feel like in the last year and a half, they had her look kinda weak by her CSI's doing whatever they wanted and nothing really being done about it. But this episode...damn, you could just feel Catherine's power, concern, and authority. Since when does she order two people to go home in one episode? Other than after Ray ignored her in the 2nd to last episode, she's never done that. And add to that, it was clear everything was taking a toll on her, as in the last scene she looked tired too, and Lou noted that. It's awesome to see Cath as a good leader though.

-The Nick/Cath scenes. Marg and George both did a really good job of displaying concern and fear here. Like you could feel the anguish from both of them, and it was nice that they touched on how Warrick's death affected Catherine. Whether you liked it or not, there was that flirtation there and there really never was closure, but this kinda did give it. The scene where they shoot Alex was good too. I wonder if they are gonna do something with PTSD for Nick.

-Cath and Sara: I'm not a huge Sara fan (sorry) but she's slowly growing on me. I really liked the scenes with her and Cath. In the beginning, when Cath was panicking about Ray, Sara comforted her with a simple touch, and at the end, Cath showed her concern by not letting Sara go to a scene. Very touching.

-It was good seeing Caryn Mower on again. She's an awesome stuntwoman (she was the one who kicked Cath's ass in The Gone Dead Train, and she got decked in this one by Sara). Good scene. I also liked the DNA swabbing/whatever thing.

Cath - "I work for the people of Clark County."
Head Dude - "Do you?"
Cath - "...........shut up."
:lol: Love her.

The Things That Were Meh/Whatever:

-Though I like how fast it was cleared up, I'm with everyone. It seemed weird that Ray was directing things from a hospital bed. =/

-Beebs - he wasn't great, but he wasn't horrible either. He looks just too cutesy to be a bomber, ya know? I can't wait to see him again come February~!1 I'm sure he'll do better than next week's guests though.

-Kacey. I mean, she wasn't horrible, but she wasn't like OMG either. She was just kinda...there.

Things I Didn't Like Too Much:

- Liz being out of the opening credits. I mean, I knew it was coming, but it still sucks. =(

-Brass/Catherine going at it so much. I mean, I'm all for continuity and following up on things, but the two shots at Catherine from Brass just seemed so unnecessary and harsh. Like, you know Catherine felt terrible about what happened to Ray, and for Brass to put Nick's injuries on her too (especially without warrant) just was so...assholeish.

-Cath's shirt. LOL

All in all, it was a decent show. I'm really hoping that they give Marg some good scenes to work with throughout the whole season and they keep up the good writing.

 

It's not unusual to have staff changes in a PD Why do they have to explain a new bomb tech? She's just...a new person. So what.

Justin Bieber though...oh god. Talk about BAD CASTING. Have him be the victim of sexual abuse, he could probably pull that off, what with the hair and the little baby eyes and pouty lips. But a BAD GUY? SERIOUSLY? First of all, his 'acting' is completely passive..there's no energy behind his words. And trying to make him out to be some genious mastermind..come on. I wanted to laugh at the end when he made that 'evil face'.

 

I thought that this was a pretty good premier, not one of the best, but better than I had been expecting with all the focus on Justin Bieber.

First thing.. My lovely Jorja back in the opening credits was great to see, guessing that means that we'll be seeing a lot of her this Season, that's really good to know. I love the character and can't get enough of her, so that's definitely a good thing.

I loved the way that Sara just punched that woman who came flying at her, that was cool, she's always been tough and kick ass, so it was fun to see that aspect of her character woven into the episode. Her line about it afterwards to Ray was classic, very funny. :lol:

And dam she's still so hot :drool: Still seriously lusting over her, even after all this time, don't see that changing anytime soon. :adore:


Nick has obviously got some issues from the shooting of Officer Clark, that should be interesting to explore further, and it definitely showed that George Eads is an awesome actor, he really nailed the emotions that his character was feeling, particularly in the funeral and shoot-out scenes. Very good turn by him this episode.

Ray... Sorry but still not a big fan of his character, I could not have cared less if anything happened to him, he's not awful, but I'm still not as enamoured with him as with the other characters.

Cath and Brass seem to have some kind of conflict between them, Paul and Marg played that excellently, the tension was very apparent in their interactions... but... I may have to re-watch Season 10 for some sort of explanation, because that appears to have come out of nowhere.... Maybe I'm forgetting something from last season. So as it stands, the fact that it seems to have just suddenly happened for no apparent reason, kind of detracts from how effective it is when played out on screen.


Greg was great too, loved his comment about the car, nice bit of humour thrown in there, Greggo is always good for that.

So Justin Bieber.... The guy really isn't much of an actor, sorry but for me, there was nothing there.. Should probably stick to his day job. Although the way that the episode wrapped up, I'm thinking, he'll be back. That's a little disappointing, truth be told, if they are going to have yet another serial bad-guy storyline, would have preferred to see it given to someone with a bit more acting talent.

So overall, a pretty decent episode... Looking forward to seeing what the rest of the season has in store.

 

I just watched this again, so here's my review:bolian:

Fantastic premiere-from the beginning till the end, those fabulous writers~

Ray being rushed to the hospital & having tremors and almost a seizure, from his traumatic stabbing and started hallcinating, thinking it was Haskell giving him the IV, when in fact it was Nick-so great and so beliveable such a great actor. And how all his co-workers were so shocked and so concerned. An on Ray working after losing a kidney. At one time or another almost all of them have been slugged-mugged-drugged, beat up, shot, buried alive and left in the desert to die. But they were all back working almost immediatley all brave, and he is too. He's a virile, healthy man and not at all a wuss. he's strong & didn't want drugs to cloud his mind. Big kudos to him. Some people have a high tolerance to pain. Nick got shot and blown up and didn't want to see a thearpist, both in pain, one physcial and one mental and physical. And nut job Haskell with his face all distorted, he's really crazy~WOW, Icky Ecklie is back

The funeral with Brass asking Nick to leave. It was so real to show that the officer who got shot in "Meat Jekyll" it was sad and sad for poor sweet Nick, who went to the SUV and cried. He's so sensitive and caring. He then sees the creepy crawlers & then the bomb underneath the other car. [what did the bugs have to do with this]? His expressions and then the double explosion Nick although all messed up looked so handsome. He was all f*****d up and Greg asking him for his jacket. NIck:: "My best suit" Greg:: "Have you seen your car"?

Brass at the hospital to see Ray, and asks how he's feeling he replys "How's Nick"? Brass: "He's lucky to be alive" Ray is wincing in pain. Brass : 'You know what that button is for"? Ray: "Morphine clouds my thinking" They discuss Haskell. Doctor tells Brass about his kidney' And goes "God gave him two"

Brass visits Haskell he's so creepy and scary. "Rverytime he unzips his pants he'll think of me" Brass: "Yeah and he'll always remember what a PUTZ you were"

Cemetery w/ Nick and Casey. Why is she on this show? she added nothing, we've got Cath and Sara. She's an expert on bombs and their inner workings but Ray had that covered. Cute British accent though. Cath and Sara at graves and finding bomb fragments. So their were 3 bombs with Ecklie, Cath and Brass talking to Ray via web-cam 1st bomb to scare, 2nd to send mourners into the path of the 3rd van bomb. SHOCK..RUN..KILL Ray says. So it wasnt Haskell says Ecklie:"who was it"? Cath: "Someone with a grudge against cops"

Cath and her pep talk to Nick "She was great in this episode, so puzzled, angry shocked and hurt, more great acting. "Go home Nicky, you're tired" Nick: "Everyone is tired" Cath: "Everyone wasn't shot and blown up" he laughs:lol:Cath: "It's not funny, I almost lost you, I almost lost Ray and I don't want to lose this case" You need to sit down with the dept. shrink, it's mandatory, you can't just John Wayne this like everything else" she brings up Warrick, she never got over him I think and no matter how much you work you can't erase memories. Nick: "I never knew that about you" Cath: "I'm good at hiding things, make that call"

Doc and Sara find a tiny sim car transmitter in the corpse of one of the dead officers. Doc tells Sara 'I told his wife, he's in a better place" Sara: "Do you believe that"? Doc: "I believe it helped her"

Greg and Casey disecting wires run the sim, a # comes up Sara: "we've got the bombers number" So it belonged to a Marine who was killed over seas in Afghanistan, Brass gives his condolences to the wife, and asked her where the cell phone is. She gave it to a Community Center~

Enter Baby Bieber, the police storm this radical group at the center, and he's there. He's so cute and acts so lousy A fight ensues and Sara punches out a woman:wtf: One guy [the groups speaker] says to Cath "I'm on your side, and do you know who you work for" She goes "I work for the people of Clark County" He keeps blabbing she goes "Shut-up":rommie:

Sara visits Ray in the hospital Sara: "Just say no huh" :lol: Ray: "You pack a mean right hook" Sara:"Like Ghandi, I turn the other cheek" [cute banter between them] Ray shows her the little plane on his pc screen. Brass and cops haul a group of the fanatics down to the station.

Greg with Ray on the speaker finds the plane up a tree [did all you Greggies see enough of him?] Nick and Casey find a radio controlled detonator.~

Nick and Jason, the Beebs is OK he did seem like his lines were too rehearsed. I don't think he'll win an Emmy for this, but he was tolerable. He's so darling to look at He gives up the brother they find him surround him he pulls a gun they shoot him. Brass "One less whack-job off the street"

Doc and Ray..He brings him a awesome cane and shares his stories about losing his legs but can still dance with the wife and shoots hoops once a week "Ray "I can't be a kidney donor" Doc: "No matter how much we think we can control life, there's always something we can't" and the hug, so tender, so sweet and heart warming. They all love Ray~

Nick calls the shrink..another explosion and Cath says "It's not over" The the eerie last scene with Beebs, OMG, he was totally involved and lied to Nick he did have a hand in the bombings it gave me chills, that sinister expression:cardie: I give this a A+.. fantastic:bolian:

 

I thought the Premiere was great!! I really like Nick in this one. Poor guy has been through a lot, and I totally agree with Catherine that seeing a counselor would help him out. I really liked Greg saving Vartann. Lastly I really like the Doc Robbins and Raymond scene. It was very touching. I can't wit to see Ray back in action for real.