The bulk of the script, all the busyness around the D&J Killer, seemed to me to be largely noise. It served three extraneous purposes: to set up for Grissom's impending exit, to introduce Nate Haskell who will become a recurring character, and to introduce Ray Langston who will become a member of the team. These are all important dramatic functions. However, what I took away as the heart of the story was the two brief scenes near the start showing the different reactions of Hodges and Wendy Simms to Grissom's announcement of his departure. Wendy's was one of generosity and gratitude, while Hodges' behaviour showed him (again) to be acutely self-centred and entitled - a completely insensitive narcissist. Liz Vassey may have little difficulty in projecting Wendy's character - I suspect it's very close to her own. (Although I'm sure she pours her energy into it.) The optimism, the acceptance of others, the joy in life, it comes through. And what else would you expect of someone who co-runs a funny T-shirt company? But Hodges...? What do we do with him? Wallace Langham, I'm sure, is nothing like Hodges and it is a tribute to his acting ability that we have accepted his portrayal of such a loathsome character, albeit highly intelligent and capable in his job. I think the steam is building up in the pressure cooker. The audience can only take so much of a really obnoxious character before they revolt by ceasing to watch. The writers need to find some way to rehabilitate Hodges (or take him out in a villainous attack... terrorist bomb in the Trace Lab, anyone?) Anyway, bottom line for me, Wendy Simms has become one of the girders supporting the team structure, and Hodges needs either a Damascene conversion or to be nuked.
4 Reviews
One Excellent Episode
claudio_carvalho8 April 2023
A man kills another in his home, puts the body inside a plastic bag and dumps it from a hill in a creek. In the crime Laboratory, Grissom announces to his team that Catherine will be the next supervisor since he will leave the lab. Then he receives a phone call and heads to the place where hikers have reported to the police that there is a body. He finds that the body is completely decomposed, and Dr. Robbins gives his physical characteristics based on his skull and bones. When Grissom input these data in the missing persons database, he believes that the man may be victim of the notorious serial-killer Nate "Dick & Jane Killer" Haskell, who killed at least seven couples in the 90's in Nevada, California and Arizona. Haskell is serving two life sentences in Ely, Nevada, and only seven male bodies have been found, but no female body. When the CSIs identify the victim as Gerald Tolliver, they question whether Haskell might have an accomplice in his murders. The CSIs proceed their investigation while Grissom poses as a professor and attends a seminar promoted by Dr. Raymond Langston that will interview Haskell by video, trying to get answers to his investigation.
"19 Down" is an excellent episode of "CSI" that crosses with the case of Ian Wallace and Justine Stefani from "Leave Out All the Rest". The story of the serial-killer Nate Haskell is impressive and the performance of Bill Irwin is impressive. The scene when he calls Langston is scary. The investigation and the CSI's database are also impressive. My vote is nine.
Title (Brazil); "19 Down"
"19 Down" is an excellent episode of "CSI" that crosses with the case of Ian Wallace and Justine Stefani from "Leave Out All the Rest". The story of the serial-killer Nate Haskell is impressive and the performance of Bill Irwin is impressive. The scene when he calls Langston is scary. The investigation and the CSI's database are also impressive. My vote is nine.
Title (Brazil); "19 Down"
End of an Era
Hitchcoc24 February 2021
Grissom announces to his team that he is leaving CSI. But there is one case to solve. Brass has him enroll in a college classroom where a serial killer is being interviewed through closed circuit television. He is a cold monster who loves frightening the regular students. He seems to have no soul but knows how to play the game. There is a surprising discovery at the end. A part of this episode is the team having to deal with Gil's leaving. There are some touching scenes.
This is the most confusing episode of CSI ever
interestingstuff4 May 2022
You can watch this episode 10 times back to back and still won't have a clue about what's going on because it's really really confusing and impossible to follow. They throw name after name, name after name, make references to 50 different events from past including some past episodes and by the time you are finished watching the episode, you will have absolutely no idea what you just watched.
This episode should have been named "Confusion on top of confusion"
This episode should have been named "Confusion on top of confusion"
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