This week's episode goes back to the two storyline format of older CSI episodes, and was - in my opinion - a solid but slightly underwhelming episode.
The "A" story involves a UNLV college student who appears to have been bitten by the T-Rex in a dinosaur show. Sadly, Langston is still around, but I was very pleasantly engaged by Hodges' childlike dinosaur obsession (think posing with them for pictures, leaving the lab "sick" to see them....)which actually made me chuckle. The weaker of the two stories, the killer's oddly nerdy, semi-erotic dinosaur obsession was poorly acted, and the actual means of killing was a gigantic, dinosaur-sized stretch.
The brighter side of this episode was the "B" story, which surrounds the death of a man Nick recognizes as the father of a missing and presumed-dead girl. At first blush the death looks like a suicide (insert come crass remarks to that effect from newcomer Katee Sackhoff), but becomes a much more involved homicide that ends in the recovery of the bodies of two missing girls.
Overall it was decent. I missed Sarah this week, and Catherine's presence was minimal. I'm (clearly) a huge fan of the old crew, and I've never particularly cared for Katee Sackhoff, even in Battlestar. I don't understand why every new character has to have some odd quirk that's so immediately apparent no viewer has to think for him or her self. Sackhoff's character has already been established as crass and overly physical (grabs and threatens a suspect, kicks down a door, etc.), and I really wish the writers had let her develop slowly. Looking long-term at the series, the initial (successful!) focus was always on the crime and its solving, never on overt, in-your-face characterization. Roughly through the departure of Grissom, the writers kept characterization and back story development to the subtle and eventual process it should be; introducing such an overblown character so suddenly and forcefully feels desperate and inspires the "oh no, not again" eyeroll.
The "A" story involves a UNLV college student who appears to have been bitten by the T-Rex in a dinosaur show. Sadly, Langston is still around, but I was very pleasantly engaged by Hodges' childlike dinosaur obsession (think posing with them for pictures, leaving the lab "sick" to see them....)which actually made me chuckle. The weaker of the two stories, the killer's oddly nerdy, semi-erotic dinosaur obsession was poorly acted, and the actual means of killing was a gigantic, dinosaur-sized stretch.
The brighter side of this episode was the "B" story, which surrounds the death of a man Nick recognizes as the father of a missing and presumed-dead girl. At first blush the death looks like a suicide (insert come crass remarks to that effect from newcomer Katee Sackhoff), but becomes a much more involved homicide that ends in the recovery of the bodies of two missing girls.
Overall it was decent. I missed Sarah this week, and Catherine's presence was minimal. I'm (clearly) a huge fan of the old crew, and I've never particularly cared for Katee Sackhoff, even in Battlestar. I don't understand why every new character has to have some odd quirk that's so immediately apparent no viewer has to think for him or her self. Sackhoff's character has already been established as crass and overly physical (grabs and threatens a suspect, kicks down a door, etc.), and I really wish the writers had let her develop slowly. Looking long-term at the series, the initial (successful!) focus was always on the crime and its solving, never on overt, in-your-face characterization. Roughly through the departure of Grissom, the writers kept characterization and back story development to the subtle and eventual process it should be; introducing such an overblown character so suddenly and forcefully feels desperate and inspires the "oh no, not again" eyeroll.
