CSI - TV Fanatic

CSI Review: A Killer Make-Over

jim@tvfanatic.com (Jim G.) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 03:12:00 EST

Our first post-Catherine episode of CSI, "Tressed to Kill," may have also been the most eerie offering so far this season. I can safely say that I didn’t see the murderer being a mama’s boy, with a hair fetish, fulfilling a desire to make women over in her image and then kill them.

This episode officially creeped me out, and I don’t think I will ever be able to listen to Charlie Rich’s “The Most Beautiful Girl” again without the images of the first victim popping into my head.

I also have to give full props to Charlie Brewster.... I mean William Ragsdale. Although he played a schmuck recently on Justified, I didn’t see him being the culprit; my money was on the son Adam Kemp (David Gallagher) from the moment he and his vapid mother came on screen.

I knew going into this episode it was going to be a transition episode with Catherine was gone, yet Elizabeth Shue's Julie not yet on board. Transition episodes usually involve the characters all reminiscing about the exiting character so we know they really are gone.

What I was surprised by was how many references or discussions about Catherine there were, including Russell calling her at the end. I love Danson as DB, but this is the first scene he has done on CSI that I felt could have been better. It would have had more of an impact had he being doing it face-to-face with another character such as Brass. After all, Brass and Russell made up almost all our best quotes this week anyway.

Maybe I’m a cynic when it comes to exiting characters. I know Catherine and DB bonded over her last few episodes, but having him attempt to play on that connection felt forced and awkward to me. Maybe if they had done one cut away to Catherine on the other end of that conversation it would have worked better.

Did anyone else feel like Sarah’s attempt to comfort DB seemed far from genuine? Granted, being “comforting” has never been Sarah’s strong suit, but balanced against DB, there was something kind of flat about it. Sorry, Sarah, I’m sure you’re great at poker with your expressionless face.

Let’s hope the dynamics all change for the better next week when Julie Finley joins the team. Of course, I've enjoyed nearly everything she did in the 80s and 90s (except for the Back to the Future movies,) so there every chance I’m going to like her right from the start. Anyone else looking forward to Shue's addition to the show?

CSI First Look: Welcome, Elisabeth Shue!

jim@tvfanatic.com (Jim G.) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 09:53:52 EST

Goodbye, Catherine Willows. Hello, Julie Finlay!

With Marg Helgenberger having bid farewell to CSI this week, it won't take too long for the CBS drama to replace this key member of the team: Elisabeth Shue will make her debut as Finlay on the February 15 installment, "Seeing Red."

"Elisabeth's character will share a past, in another crime lab, with [D.B. Russell]," Don McGill, executive producer, said in a statement. "The first time things didn't go so well between the two of them. Maybe the second time's the charm, or not."

Get your first look at Shue in the CSI lab now:

CSI Review: Farewell to Catherine

jim@tvfanatic.com (Jim G.) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 05:22:41 EST

I'll admit it: I will miss Catherine a little bit. More than any other character (except maybe Greg), she was part of Las Vegas. Her father was in organized crime and owned casinos, she was originally a stripper, she now owns part of a casino her father left her. Hell, I'm surprised we don't hear the "chink, chink, chink" of coins falling when she cries.

That said, it felt like a different team wrote "Willows in the Wind," based on the notes from the writers of the last episode. Except there were certain things they were told they had to include, so they just went down the list:

Summarize personal history from stripper to cop? Check! Get help from random criminals who really have a heart of gold? Check! Mention something is missing in your life? Check! Praise the team ad nausea? Double Check!

While I was sure how Catherine departed was going to involve her taking a new job, I was shocked that the episode ended with so many questions left hanging.

First, what happened to the job that the undersheriff put her in for at the Pentagon? Last we heard, she was “considering it” when the undersheriff left her. It was never mentioned again.

What about Lou? While I know they were no longer in a relationship, I was stunned there was no goodbye scene with Detective Vartann. After all the start and stop, some closure for the viewing audience would have been nice.

Closer to home, why is Lindsey not at home? I caught that Catherine mentioned Lindsey was no longer there... but then she stopped. Where is she? School? College? Star Fleet?

Then we have the case du jour, where FBI Agent McQuaid turned out to be dirty and killed fellow agents while faking his own death. Yet we are expected to believe he had enough feelings for Catherine to have “warned” when he missed with his first shot at her house? Really?!? The cold-blooded killer flinches when it comes to a woman he's attracted to? I didn't buy it when George Lucas tried this with Anakin Skywalker, I'm certainly not buying it here.

But I can appreciate how there was an attempt to do a double twist by having McQuaid really be dead after we learn he faked his death. Sadly, the delivery of this twist confused and annoyed me long before we got to the big reveal.

I mean, they used the worn out twist of “faking deaths off camera,” that has been done to, well... death. Second, at no point during the shootout last week did we see (or hear) the “friendly fire” incident. In fact, according to my count (when rewatching) all of the masked men that went in through the back came out the front chasing Catherine.

Then we have the beetles, which had eaten the body down to the bone in less than four hours when they needed 14 hours for the same effect on the previous bodies. Finally, they used the old-as-dirt-boring “faked deaths off camera” trope!! (that one annoyed me enough to be mentioned twice.)

For the record, TV Fanatic reader Frank Lee called it last week, even after I defended CBS. He was right and I should have gone with my gut instincts.

So, in conclusion, after 263 episodes spanning 12 years, Catherine Willows (soon to be Agent Willows) has left the Las Vegas Crime Lab to take a job with the FBI that she earned by not getting killed by a rogue FBI agent. Wait - isn’t this how the Empire promotions worked in Star Wars?

Were you happy with Catherine's goodbye? Are you excited to see her replacement in a couple weeks?

CS-Bye: Our Top Catherine Willows Moments...

jim@tvfanatic.com (Jim G.) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 14:56:32 EST

After 12 years of crime-solving, Marg Helgenberger says farewell tonight, as her character of Catherine Willows bows out of CSI.

Will she be killed? Take another job? Retire?

CSI Promo: "Willows in the Wind"

We'll find out soon enough, but first we send Catherine off with a countdown of our favorite moments from her time on the CBS hit. Listed, in chronological order, there's been...

Catherine finding out that long-time family friend Sam Braun was really her father on "Inside the Box" (S03E23).
Catherine gaining sole custody of Lindsey after her ex-husband was murdered. "Lady Heather's Box" (S03E15).
Sam dying in her arms on "Built to Kill, part 2" (S07E02).
Catherine winking at Grissom as he walked out the door for the last time on "One to Go" (S09E10).
Catherine's relationship with Lou Vartann peaking with a steamy love scene on "Blood Moon" (S11E03).

Will we need to amend this list after tonight's episode? Perhaps. Did we miss any standout moment? You tell us!

CSI Preview: Farewell, Catherine

matt@mediavine.com (Matt Richenthal) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 12:52:35 EST

I felt the need to kind of step back, because I had been playing this character for 11 and a half years, to reassess and regroup... and I'm excited about the great wide open, the future and all the possibilities.

So said Marg Helgenberger recently about her decision to exit CSI, which finally comes to fruition next Wednesday, as Catherine Willows says farewell. How will the character be written out? Your guess is as good as ours, following the events from last week's major episode.

Get your first look now at the beginning of Catherine's end, via the following CBS promo:

CSI Promo: "Willows in the Wind"

CSI Review: Know When To Walk Away

jim@tvfanatic.com (Jim G.) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 03:50:03 EST

Why does it take a major character leaving for the intensity and excitement on CSI to be cranked up to 11? I haven't sat with sweaty palms watching this show since Warrick exited in 2008.

CBS has been making sure we knew that Catherine Willows only had two more episodes remaining. Given that Marg Helgenberger has called the show home for more than a decade, I'm glad to see the writers are giving her a complex and emotional send off. But the big question is still how she is going to leave.

Most fans have been thinking that the when Sheriff Liston told Catherine she had put her in for a job in D.C. several episodes back that she would be written out, heading for greener pastures. I certainly thought so, and after the introduction of Agent McQuaid (Grant Show), I had hypothesized that she might even make a love connection there and end up moving for a job and a guy. Sounds very "happily ever after," right?

Apparently I forgot this is CSI, and all of those theories were dashed during "Ms Willows Regrets," as Agent McQuaid was killed and burned along with Catherine’s friend Laura because a professional hit team out smarted the FBI.

I’m not a big fan of important events happening off camera" especially any type of character death. Too many times writers will use the fact we didn't see someone die as a loophole to bend reality and bring a character back from after they were decapitated, blown up, hit by a meteor or dropped in a volcano.

So I have to say thank you to the writers for the handling of McQuaid and Laura's death. Even as sad as it was, having Catherine walk up to the car and take a long look at the bodies, allowing us – the viewing audience – a chance to reconcile that they were the ones killed (and really dead) was well done.

This, of course, lead to the climactic final scene where Catherine managed to escape from three highly trained hit men by running into the street and the convenient arrival of DB. Don’t get me wrong, she was shooting back, so I can understand why they hesitated to follow her through the house. The part I didn't get was why DB was there, or how he had any idea that she was in any kind of trouble.

Because the episode ended on a To Be Continued... note, I may get answers to these questions next week. I should also mention that those questions are very minor, given that the overall episode was very well done. I enjoyed DB stepping up and taking the heat from Brass. It’s rare to find a supervisor that’s willing to do that for you. It's these moments that make me like DB a little more each time.

But we still have the question of exactly how Catherine will be leaving. How do you think the powers that be are going to have her depart the show:

Death?
New Job?
Witness Protection?
Ride in a Tardis?

Sound off now with your best theories!

Jesse McCartney to Guest Star on CSI

matt@tvfanatic.com (TV Fanatic Staff) — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 07:52:42 EST

Jesse McCartney has booked a role on CSI.

The singer/actor - who has also appeared on Greek and All My Children, among other programs - will guest star on a February episode of the CSI drama, according to a popular fansite.

McCartney will portray a recent college graduate named Wes who crashes his car and ends up working with Wes to determine what the heck happened.

The episode - titled "Seeing Red" and airing on February 15 - will mark the debut of new series regular Elizabeth Shue.

CSI Review: What's Up Doc?

jim@tvfanatic.com (Jim G.) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 04:03:40 EST

We learned more about Doc Robbins home life than we witnessed in the last two seasons combined on this episode of CSI. That’s saying something, given how close Langston and Robbins got during Ray’s tenure.

It was nice to meet Doc Robbins' wife. It was about time, right? I was thrilled that "Genetic Disorder" took the path less traveled by having Judy be faithful to Doc and the murder actually not related to an affair.

It would have been easy for the writers to put an affair into a show where we have never met the spouse of a long-running character. We see it all the time because they feel it makes “good TV.” But I'm glad a program like CSI can achieve the same effect via different means.

Drams such as Burn Notice, Justified, and Leverage have raised the bar for crime programs several notches, resulting in the audience not being as tolerant to the same old tropes. Look no further than Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior for a perfect example of a crime series that had a built-in audience and should have succeeded with ease... but came up short - and cancelled as a result.

The only disappointment for me in this episode was actually a result of CBS hyping it as The countdown down to Catherine Willows departure all week and then only getting about two minutes of this character when she spoke with Greg. Why start hyping her departure on an episode she was barely in?

Speaking of Greg, bravo to him for being able to keep an open mind and let the evidence tell him what happened. While DB and Morgan were also unbiased, they have not known Robbins as long as the rest of the team, so they had no problem keeping it all at arm’s length.

It looks like this is our last episode for 2011. CSI will be back in Mid-January. I hope you all have wonderful holiday season and I will see back in in 2012 for the real countdown to Catherine's departure.

CSI Review: Guns and Ammo

jim@tvfanatic.com (Jim G.) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 04:24:15 EST

Nothing like coming back from turkey-feasting break to an intense episode of CSI such as "Zippered," where bullets went flying when Catherine and Agent McQuad were trapped in a truck trailer.

To start, I was thrilled to see Grant Show and Matt Lauria guest staring as McQuad and Pratt, respectively. Because they have both recently been on my other show Burn Notice, it was nice to see a couple familiar faces, especially when you enjoy their work.

The way they were building up the relationship between McQuad and Catherine, I wondered if they were setting him up as the basis for her to take the job in DC. It would have been a good hook that the guy she likes just started a new job there.

Since we know that Marg Helgenberger is leaving the show and that Elizabeth Shue will be replacing her, I through maybe this would the beginning of that transition. If you watch the way Catherine looks around D.B.’s office right at the end of the episode, you can see that Catherine has decided internally that she doesn’t want to be the boss there again.

We also learned a bit more about D.B. this week, as he mentioned a little about his workings in Seattle. I really like the guy. While I had my doubts early on about Ted Danson coming to CSI, I’m so happy with it right now I could dance.

He brings such a lighter, yet more confident energy to the entire team. I can’t tell you why specifically, but he really does remind me of the Grissom. Maybe it’s his obsession with plants, akin to Grissom and his bugs.

We didn’t see much of Morgan this week. In fact I think we saw more of Xiomara (the gun expert) than we did of Morgan. I’m okay with it, though, I really enjoyed Monique Gabriela Curnen on Lie to Me during its last season, so seeing her working with the CSI gang has been a treat.

As far as the case went, I’m going out on a limb and say that we have not seen the end of this one. If the story felling incomplete at the end wasn’t enough, TV Fanatic recently reported that Lauria and Show have been signed for a multiple episodes. Add to that Titus Welliver was also reported to be a new bad guy and you get a pretty compelling argument for not staying away for too many episodes if you want to see how this ends.

Finally, it looks like we are going to get at least one more installment before the winter holiday break, so maybe a few mysteries will be revealed. If not, maybe we can ask Santa for spoilers.

CSI Season 12: A Look Back, Forward

jim@tvfanatic.com (Jim G.) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 16:05:56 EST

The May finale of CSI brought with it the end of two eras: Nate Haskell as a serial killer; and Lawrence Fishburne as Ray Langston.

When CBS filled the latter void with Ted Danson, I wondered if the man responsible for Sam Malone and Dr. Becker could pull off such a serious role as D.B. Russell. But the result has been a welcome and refreshing change that makes me excited to review CSI every Wednesday night for the rest of the season.

D.B. has quirks that reminded me of Grissom. He's a lot lighter and more bohemian than Langston ever could have been. The writers also brought him in at the top of the investigative food chain, with Catherine being demoted due to her involvement with Langston’s adventure in Los Angeles.

Another new team member is Elisabeth Harnois' Morgan Brody, who had to leave Los Angeles after helping Langston and has returned to Las Vegas to reconnect with her father, Conrad Ecklie. While I would love to have seen Wendy Simms (Liz Vassey) re-enter the fold - her departure was both abrupt and frustrating, given her slow burn romance with Hodges - Morgan has been a great addition.

So, as I prepare to launch weekly CSI reviews beginning this Wednesday, here's a look back at the ups and downs of the season so far:

Best Storyline Russell and his family adapting to Las Vegas, from a phone call in the middle of a case looking for a farmer’s market to watching him with interact with his son.

Best Episode “Brain Doe.” Any episode that starts with “what’s with this extra brain down here” can’t really go wrong, can it?

Best Character Interaction Ecklie and Morgan after she is rescued from the helicopter crash in “CSI Down." Nothing starts the healing between father and daughter like a near-death experience

Weakest Storyline Catherine being offered a position at The Pentagon. She has gone weeks without an answer and Russell seems to have no idea she's been recommended, and that would have been Liston’s first stop.

Weakest Episode. "Crime after Crime." The introduction of throwaway police characters for a cop turned vigilant on his deathbed left me confused and needing a map.

Strangest Character Interaction Russell coming down on Stokes for not having some reports done. The scene was totally out of character for Russell and seemed wedged in or forced into the story.

Still, overall, the season to date earns a strong A- from yours truly. I hope you join me each week going forward to find out what else D.B. and company have in store.