Reruns on Cable
Cancelled
Not Watching Anymore
CSI
Bite Me, 10/06/05
Thursday
Weeping Willows, 05/05/05
Review
Show Ranking #12 of 25
Re-Hirings
Firings
Season In Review
Assume Nothing pt 1, 09/25/03
Inside the Box, 05/15/03
Play with Fire, 05/08/03
Inside the Box, 05/15/03
CBS
CBS' lineup
Last Laugh, 04/24/03
At the Movies, 04/10/03
Precious Metal, 04/03/03
Lucky Strike, 02/20/03
Lady Heather's Box, 02/13/03
One Hit Wonder, 02/06/03
Random Acts of Violence, 01/30/03
Got Murder?, 01/16/03
Recipe for Murder, 01/09/03
Recipe for Murder, 1/09/03
High and Low, 12/12/02
Blood Lust, 12/05/02
Holiday Meanderings Part III, Wednesday and Thursday
Snuff, 11/21/02
Fight Night, 11/14/02
The Execution of Catherine Willows, 11/07/02
Abra Cadaver, 10/31/02
A Little Murder, 10/17/02
Let The Seller Beware, 10/10/02
The Accused is Entitled, 10/03/02
Revenge is Best Served Cold, 09/26/02
The Accused is Entitled, 10/03/02
Revenge is Best Served Cold, 09/26/02
Thursday Nights
Whining Part IV, Wednesday and Thursday
The Hunger Artist (Air Date 5/16/02)
Cross Jurisdictions (Air Date 5/9/02)
Anatomy of a Lye (Air Date 5/2/02)
| Home |
CSI: Bite Me, 10/06/05
Sunday 10.16.2005
MattM || 07:38 AM
This show has definatly started swimming with sharks now. The only reason that I think I haven't given up completly on this and the only reason that it still stands out from others of its genre is William Peterson. For some reason he has some magic that keeps it working but that magic is fading and no matter how good he is the bizairness of sub plots is starting to make this show unwatchable. I hope that now that the reality show phase has ended that maybe we can move away from procedural dramas although given how CBS is addicted to them I doubt that will happen anytime soon.
2005-2006 Season, Alias, CSI, Everybody Hates Chris, Love, Inc., Reunion, Smallville, The Night Stalker, Without a Trace: Thursday
Thursday 08.11.2005
MattM || 07:18 AM
Thursday was once a strong hold for great shows. It was the must see night on TV. Now its the well lets see do we really want to subject ourselves to these shows night. The returning shows are Alias, Smallville, CSI, and Without a Trace. Alias has been swimming steadily with sharks after jumping the shark sometime around her dad not dying of radiation poison. The show, neglected by Abrams, is in desperate need of an overhaul but I know we won't get it. The biggest problem is the total lack of chemstry between Vaughn and Sydney. Since they broke up their chemstry has been more and more forced. Now he has to pretend she's having his baby. What would be great is Vaughn as the villian now that could save the show. They need desperatly to get rid of Sloan and Nadia too while they are it. Maybe have Vaughn kill her father now that would make for a great 6th season but I know this is a pipe dream and they don't have the guts to do it. Smallville is another show in serious decline. It makes me so mad at how they have screwed this show in the ground. I love Superman (although at heart I am a Batman fan) and they for the first time try to retell the Superman legend. They had a chance and they blew it. Much to often they ignore Lex but when they focus on him it usually winds up good. They turned Lana into this whiney person who most times I d like to strangle and they seem to have no idea what to do with Chloe. Although I haven't fully declared the series as jumped the shark but its definatly on the diving board and getting ready for the big jump and I fully expect it will this season. CSI will hopefully improve after that awful experiment of splitting the team up with out actually splitting the team up but what do they do about Katherine? Hello your promoted. HAHAHAHA just kidding! I don't know where they go from here but it might be intersting or in all likelyhood it will be stupid. This show has always been a tad overrated but now I don't know what they are going to do I just hope they get it righted because I do like this show. Without a Trace left us with the cliff hanger of who dies who lives. I vote Danny off the island because they just totally screwed up his character and the way they were handling it. I seriously doubt Martin is going. Vivian should definatly go away too. Still I just know how this is going to play out. They both somehow survive. Vivan comes back and the team reunites. Sam now at Martin's deathbed realizes she loves him and he has a miracle recovery. Tears fall, kleenex is needed, blah blah a wretched season follows.
Last year the effect of Lost reviving the near dead genre of sci-fi/horror shows has been stunning. This year could be the revival of sit-coms. Two strong shows on CBS as mentioned earlier and the another on UPN of all places. Chris Rock is one of the A-list comedians and a show narrated by him about his childhood I think has real promise to develop into a great sit-com. If CBS had any guts at all they would not have let this go to UPN. Although I think it is highly ironic it winds up here. After all it was Rock who called UPN the Under Paid Negros network. Of course the other new sitcom could set back sitcoms to extinction. Love Inc. aka the show that preemptively ran off Shannon Doughtery. So now they ran off a big name and they replace her with....Busy Phillips???? Ignoring that this is a huge rip off from Miss Match but to stick a no name in a lame plot sitcom? There is just no way on earth this could be good.
The new dramas start off with my other highly anticapted series in Night Stalker. I really like the concept and I have a feeling it is going to be good. Still I have my doubts about the actors in this series and their ability to handle it. Reunion is the other new series a show with the most orginal concept of telling the story of 20 different people at a reunion and how they got where they are in each episode. I just can't see how this works but maybe just maybe. Also what do they do about season 2? Another reunion? Surely they won't have the guts to do a revolving cast. Now that would be interesting.
CSI: Weeping Willows, 05/05/05
Saturday 05.07.2005
MattM || 12:57 PM
Apparently the crew at CSI was celebrating Cinco De Mayo when they filmed this episode. First off I am still mystified how they can break up the team without actually breaking them up. Second off there was this blonde chick that was part of Grissom's team did she fall off the face of the earth? Third off holy stupidity what the hell kind of gun grip was that Katherine used? I can accept a certain amount of unreality in this series much as I can in 24 for the sake of entertainment but that gun grip by Katherine when she is facing off with her real life hubby was just laughably stupid. Seriously holding your hand up in front of the gun your about to shoot while pulling the gun back like your about to punch someone is rank amatuer. She is supposed to be trained in how to use that gun or did she skip that training? The episode itself was so predictable it was boring. Two seconds in they all but wrote it on the screen Novack the leech was the red herring and stalker boy was the killer. You can't use the double herring play too often and they have so overplayed that now it's getting repititious. Still nothing really mattered after the stupid showdown scene where they made Katherine look like someone who has never handled a gun before instead of someone who wears it on their hip. Stupid, Stupid, Stupid. ***Starts humming the Jaw's theme and looks skyward for falling helicopters***
CSI: Review
Saturday 04.16.2005
alice ttlg || 07:50 PM
I don't know what happened between this show and me. I know that it ticked me off last fall with the whole Sonia in the slinky dress talking about her underwear with Grissom and then the silliness of splitting them up into different shifts but they still end up working together alot even tho previously they hadn't worked with other shifts and that annoyed me.
But since it started again this year after the Christmas/New Years break, it's just been boring. And the gimmicks they try aren't particularly well done, like last Thursday's attempt to show a day in the life from different viewpoints. It used to just fascinate me but now I find myself wishing it would hurry up and be over with so I could watch Without a Trace....
CSI: Show Ranking #12 of 25
Wednesday 11.03.2004
MattM || 05:40 PM
I will be quite honest and say that I am getting bored of procedural shows. The lack of character development and the its all about the case mentality just isn't enough of a hook for me to keep watching. The show is the best of the procedural dramas by far but I just wish they would do a little more character development then 2 seconds at most per episode they do.
CSI: Re-Hirings
Tuesday 07.27.2004
MattM || 07:31 AM
Ok apparently the message is garbled slightly. Hahahaha we at CBS were just kidding Jorja and George!!!! What a bunch of pranksters we are!!! Of course their rehirings come on the heels of the fact that others in the casts got raises and that William Peterson is demanding more money and has developed a heart condition that has shutdown the shooting anyhow. We thought 2.4 million those two got per season (don't you just love how they break it down per episode so it doesn't sound so bad) was alot combined they don't make what Peterson gets at 5.375 million per season and he wants more. Now he is sick (although CBS claims its legit and that their own doctors actually caught it). Now the production is stopped. This has got to be the silliest thing ever in show history hell they could make a great soap about the making of CSI the way it is going. They fire two actors (er one overslept and one forgot to send a letter in) for holding out while giving others a raise. Doesn't it make sense that if others are getting a raise you can ask for one also???? That the star of the show is demanding more money and now holding out er sick er really sick er maybe he is oversleeping so shhhh don't wake Mr. Peterson!! What a mess this show is and apparently the only one who isn't creating trouble and just standing there on the set wondering if she has a show anymore is Marg H.
CSI: Firings
Friday 07.16.2004
MattM || 05:47 AM
(Sound of Dial Tone) *Beep Beep Beep Beep* Hello Mr. Wells? Can I make it a trifecta and be on Third Watch now that I am out of work? Geeezzzzz talk about your power plays. Goodbye George Eads. Goodbye Jorja Fox. What Ms. Fox you showed up for work anyway? Goodbye I don't care. Thanks alot Everybody Loves Raymond cast for this. The network still fuming over the Brad Garrett incident has decided to send a universal message to all its shows. Ask for more money and your GONE. Mark my words this is the beginning of the end for CSI. William Peterson is definatly gone within a year or two. I guess Sara Sidle will disappear to rehab never to be heard from again but Nick Stokes is going to be trickier. I am pretty disappointed by CBS needless decision to do this and awed by their reckless fearlessness and over the top power play. Message sent and heard loud and clear.
CSI: Season In Review
Thursday 06.24.2004
MattM || 12:41 PM
A pretty blah season. It's pretty hard for these shows to ever truely stand out because it is always the same thing. Although clearly the class of its genre all the shows are the same. Lately the personal side of each character is getting and less and less. To the point now that we only get glimpses at the very end. Last year it Grissom and his hearing this year its going to be Sarah and her drinking. There is not a ton you can say bad about this show it is a solid solid performer. Still in order to be great you have to give us characters not cases otherwise it just becomes another Law and Order. At least CSI cases aren't completly stupid.
CSI: Assume Nothing pt 1, 09/25/03
Sunday 10.05.2003
MattM || 09:20 AM
Are CSI and CSI:Miami really related? Where as Caruso is horrific Peterson is a Master. Where as one show stumbles and bumbles rights self for a little bit then back to the stumble and bumble this show cruises in greatness might stumble a little but never for long. This episode was hands down one of the best CSI episodes EVER. Top three of all time. Although really now someone tell Peterson to put down the twinkees. I don't need to see a 500 lb Grissom. It was nice to see him have his hearing back and all that behind us. Nick saying to much was perfect and realistic. This show highlights what is wrong with almost every show out there. Yes the case was awesome off the charts with the shocking twist at the end that even I didn't see coming. I didn't expect them to be there but I wasn't expecting to find them dead but what made the show is the subtle character dramas that are going on all the while. Still is it just me or is Sidle getting less and less and less air time? Is she being phased out? It seems like I haven't really seening here since Feburary of last year. Lastly, I want to give out my name of the year award. The stripper who flirted with Grissom and whos Korean, Dutch and Irish name is Moon Bloodgood. Apparently from all I can tell thats her real name. There is no way in hell that name can be beat thats the best name for anyone I have ever seen. Bizairro parents there to name their kid that. Not like they did that to there other kid Kaitlyn. Moon Bloodgood???? I would say she got teased but I think I would be a little afraid to tease her she might turn me in to a frog or something.
CSI: Inside the Box, 05/15/03
Sunday 05.25.2003
MattM || 08:56 AM
I am sorry wasn't last weeks the season finale? This episode though very very very very good should have been flip flopped with the week before. A little tweaking of some of the plot lines of course and it would have been much more realistic for Greg to come back after a few months instead of so quickly. That being said I did like the way they played it and it was done well in those moments especially Grissom who gives him such a hard time but was there for Greg when he needed it. I really did like Catherine finding out about her father especially in the context of the case. I think it will be interesting to see how the operation and the fall out from it goes. I think it might be interesting if some time next year Grissom has to step down and Catherine who wants that job does not get it and goes to a new cast member (ok CSI guys think no-name actor not big name Caruso actor). I really did like this episode but they really should and easily could have flip floped these two episodes with some tweaking of course. The best moment in all this was Grissom telling Catherine and then acting like it was nothing which is so perfectly Grissom. I really think we are seeing something happening maybe not neccessaryily romantic between them but I think its building to the point where Sara is going to notice and the jealous and the full extent of their relationship will be known.
CSI: Play with Fire, 05/08/03
Sunday 05.18.2003
MattM || 11:23 PM
The one thing about CSI is that they can go along just cruising along nothing major happening then BOOM (literally in this case) they drop something roughly the size of a piano on you. Last year it was Grissoms deafness and this year it was Katherine's mistake and the lab and on top of that Sara suddenly pushing for more from Grissom without making it really clear if anything had ever happened between them. I still don't believe anything has but I don't think she is going to give up that easily. I really did like how they potrayed the accident at the lab and how realistic that is and also a reminder of just how dangerous the things they work with are. Just a really fantastic episode overall and their best all year but it makes me wonder what they have in store for the finale.
CSI: Inside the Box, 05/15/03
Saturday 05.17.2003
alice ttlg || 08:26 PM
And this was bizarro, too. I know we've seen Sam Braun around before but I don't remember much of the earlier plot line with him and then this whole thing about him being Catherine's dad, what the heck are they doing with that? Is this going to be some continuing thing? It's not very interesting tho.
And Grissom going to have the operation, I'm confused, is this a chance to restore his hearing or at least postpone total deafness? He waited till the absolutely last minute possible to tell Catherine but told no-one else.
I dunno, it just didn't interest me much. Oh well, maybe next season.
2003-2004 Season, CSI, CSI: Miami, Cold Case, Judging Amy, The District, The Handler, Without a Trace: CBS
Wednesday 05.14.2003
MattM || 08:56 PM
Click the Spoilers Link below for my thoughts on the upcoming season for CBS:
...there be spoilers below...
Monday
Leads off with three sitcoms that I don't get, don't like, and don't find funny Yes, Dear, Still Standing, and Everybody Loves Raymond (with that contract who can blame them!! It is then followed by the new sit com Two & a Half Men staring a load of really solid actors, Charlie Sheen, John Cryer, and Blythe Danner. That being said the concept is just so mundane and been there done that about 5,000 times. Just because you have great actors does not mean I want to the 10 million reincarnation of the same show. Lastly is the disappointing CSI:Miami. I really hope it pulls itself together in its second season but its on a short leash for me. If it continues to be as bad as it was in its first season I am going to stop watching after three episodes.Tuesday
Anchoring a very stable Tuesday with two shows that are geared to the other gender at 8 and 9 are Guardian and Judging Amy and since I am the wrong gender I think both shows suck. Leading off the night is the Jag spinoff NCIS or the gay police as we used to call them back in my Navy days. This organization will no doubtly be potrayed as heroic and wonderful when in fact its ruthless and often has no trouble killing someones career with little or no proof. Still it has two strong male leads in Harmon and Weatherly so even though it is a spin off of that even more horrible show JAG I will give it at least a one watch just to check it out.Wednesday
This night starts at 8 with King of Queens which I will always remember as the show that started with an all black family then was redone with an all white family. It is followed by yet another stinker of a show by the creators of Will & Grace (like thats some sort of great pedigree). It stars Judith Light one of the better actors on TV period but even that won't save this sinking Stones (sorry couldn't help that pun). Lastly the new David Kelly show, The Brotherhood of Poland, New Hampshire or from hereafter referred to as TBOP because I am not typing that stupid long ass title. TBOP is a clone of Picket Fences and has what is probably the one of the top casts on TV (at least on paper). Undoubtly TBOP will soar to great heights and so I will watch it but just as sure as I am of that it will undoubtly bottem out in either the second or third season.Thursday
Not a bunch to comment here since there is no new shows. CSI and Without A Trace are very good one-two punch and look forward to season two on both.Friday
This night might compete with ABC for worst night on TV. Staring with the new drama Joan of Arcadia about a teenager who sees and talks to God. And Agency got cancelled for this??????? I won't say anymore or I will throw a fit heretofore not seen since Joss Whedon walked out on the 100th Buffy celebration. It is followed by that most unrealistic show (including Fastlane) on TV, JAG. I hate that show because as bad as NCIS is the JAG core in the Navy is really amazing and the job they do is not done 1/10th the justice it deserves by this show. Lastly is The Handler. It has a great lead in Joe Pantoliano but the rest of the cast looks very shaky but still it has potential but its either going to be great or going to suck something awful.Saturday
The only network running a full slate on Saturdays and my show is no longer here. Leading off the night is Hack about a taxi cab driving cab fighter. Ok I think I would rather watch Joan of Arcadia then that. District is just about as bad as that with it is Craig Nelson who when properly reigned in is terrific but when let loose to run amock you get the things like Harry and the Hendersons.Sunday
Sunday has only one show on it and thats the new show Cold Case. I think this show could be really good if they delve in the character driven show side instead of just the standard fair of cop shows. That being said this is not what Jerry Bruckheimer produces. So I think it will be solid to good I think its just going to be another Without A Trace, CSI, CSI:Miami show but of those he has only done one really well and adding a fourth does not give me a whole lot of confidence.2003-2004 Season, CSI, CSI: Miami, Cold Case, Judging Amy, NCIS, The District, The Handler, Without a Trace: CBS' lineup
Wednesday 05.14.2003
alice ttlg || 07:30 PM
CBS put their fall lineup up today, the first network to offer some new shows that I'm actually interested in watching....
...there be spoilers below...
Sunday
First new one up is Cold Case on Sunday and it suddenly hit me where I knew that name from! There's a Canadian show by that name and the same premise (iirc), Peter Wingfield was on it for a season, I think and I watched it some, it was very Britishy tho and not very good I thought. This American version offers a not very well known cast and it's by Jerry Bruckheimer so it looks to be a sort of Without A Trace clone. This make four cop shows for Jerry Bruckheimer and Dick Wolf has four cop shows too, I'm not crazy about so many cop shows, give me some variety in themes! and even less crazy about eight cop shows from two producers, too much all the same all the time. Whatever happened to originality? Oops, I forgot that TPTB erased that word from their dictionaries. The remaining items on CBS on Sunday are 60 Minutes and movies.Monday
Here CBS is sticking to pretty much the same thing, sitcoms and CSI: Miami. There's one new sitcom but I won't bother to talk about it since it sounds atrocious. I stopped watching CSI: Miami months ago, too many bad episodes and not enough good ones, it's a very pale imitation of the original CSI.Tuesday
The Guardian and Judging Amy were renewed and still in their regular time slots, at 7pm, there's the Jag spinoff, NCIS and gah! I would have absolutely no interest in this show but I just noticed that Michael Weatherly from Dark Angel is in it! Eep! I might actually, um, er, watch an episode or two....it's a rerun for Mark Harmon, he already played a Navy criminal investigator, in the Presidio, with Sean Connery and Meg Ryan, he might not be toooooo bad, but we'll see.Wednesday
Here we have 60 Minutes II and two sitcoms, one new and also sounding atrocious and then at 9pm, we have one of the few new shows I'm looking forward to, The Brotherhood of Poland, New Hampshire. It's got quite a cast, Randy Quaid, Mare Winningham, Elizabeth McGovern and Ann Cusack. It's produced by David Kelley, looks like he's redoing his old Picket Fences show. I'll give it a whirl, Kelley's shows are good the first year or two and I liked Picket Fences. Plus it's NOT a cop show!Thursday
No changes here, Survivor at 7 (I don't watch reality shows), then CSI and Without A Trace at 8 and 9.Friday
Here we've got a ridiculous premise in Joan of Arcadia, a teenager who sees God in different forms each week, thanks much, I think I'll pass...JAG at 8 and then The Handler, Joe Pantoliano training impossibly young and pretty looking FBI agents, obviously nothing approaching reality here.Saturday
Nothing new here, just reshuffled shows, 48 Hours, Hack and The District. (Someone please tell me why Hack is still on the air??? Taxi driver as crime fighter, sheesh.)So, not too much here, except for the one new show I'm giving a green to, Brotherhood of Poland, New Hampshire.
[jerry adds] TBOP: If you do not like this show then you do not deserve to watch prime time tv. You see, we wait all season for an all-star cast and script...then it gets delivered; and, you know who you are; complain about the lack of creativity and want to run a genius like D. Kelly out of town. You just remember that when all that is left in prime time is the reality show line up... now thats original. Keep this show on the network and make it mandatory that a minimum IQ of 65 is required to view it....oh wait...there goes 75% of the national tv audience out the door to watch fear factor! (October 30, 2003 12:43 AM)
[bo adds] I came upon your website to find out cbs fall lineup 2004-2005, Boy was I surprised to see what you wrote about "HACK" I hope you get to see what a great show it truly is .Why?It's a show that you can watch with your family ,a show that has great actors, great writters and a great look about it. Yes I do think they can improve with a love interest thats why a third season is needed.I do hope "HACK" comes back. (May 9, 2004 09:47 AM)
[jo adds] I missed the last episode of The Handler....can somebody fill me in? (June 2, 2004 04:01 PM)
[alice ttlg adds] I never watched it so I haven't a clue and the show was cancelled so I'm not sure it matters anyway. If you go to TVTome (http://www.tvtome.com/Handler/guide.html ), they do have info about each ep there, including the last two unaired eps. (June 5, 2004 10:37 AM)
[Annette adds] I for one am very angry they cancelled Hack and The District. Every time a decent showed is started, it is yanked off the air! Why? Why? In the midst of all these vile, graphic and horrid shows, why can't we have a splash of decent material to watch??? (December 21, 2004 09:20 AM)
CSI: Last Laugh, 04/24/03
Sunday 05.04.2003
MattM || 08:59 AM
A.K.A. How many washed up no talent comedians can we get in an episode? Ok now this episode was taken right of L&O because it was stupid, pointless, and very boring. The confession on stage uh ok. I don't know apparently the regular writers were on vacation and the CSI:Miami writers took over. Bad episode really really bad.
CSI: At the Movies, 04/10/03
Thursday 04.24.2003
MattM || 12:28 PM
A very solid CSI episode but not one of the more memorables episodes either. One of those you watch and enjoy but forget 5 minutes later. I did like the stranger in a train references but it was just a little predictable. The second case about the teenagers was a bit more interesting and puzzling and quite well done but still you want to chalk it up to TV being unrealistic but you just know that with the Jackass TV show there are people stupid enough to come up with that trick.
CSI: Precious Metal, 04/03/03
Monday 04.21.2003
MattM || 12:30 AM
I can tell somone on this show creators likes Robot Wars. I think, however, they totally pushed their level of creditiblity with Greg going undercover....uh hello he's not even a full field CSI agent last time I checked and now suddenly he's super undercover man...um ok guys. Then there was the weird Grissom that showed up in this episode that resembled more the Mutant Grissom that Caruso does on CSI: Miami. I don't know this whole episode was just not very well done.
CSI: Lucky Strike, 02/20/03
Wednesday 02.26.2003
MattM || 07:27 AM
It sure was nice of CSI people to give Jorja Fox time off from the show during sweeps to make a bad Sci-Fi channel movie but still it seems rather odd to have one of their main characters be so AWOL for the last few weeks. I mean combined screen time of what like 5 seconds for the last 4 episodes? The main case was pretty good and a nice poetic justice ending but the secondary case seemed kind of weird and disjointed and not really fully explained.
CSI: Lady Heather's Box, 02/13/03
Thursday 02.20.2003
MattM || 11:35 PM
One of their better episodes all year. I liked finally showing the emotional cracks in Willow's jaded armor. I do think maybe they could have had the guts too have her kid killed because that would have really dramatically shaken her character but still they handled it well and did a great job. You can tell though she really hurt Sara with her comments because if there is a number 2 hero in her life its Catherine. I do like Grissom being drawn to Lady Heather only because they are both so highly intelligent and both so totally weird. I also like how they showed its not the dommes but the subs who wield the true power. The case was ok but I think it was far more interesting to see Heather be the one to first figure out that he's going deaf.
CSI: One Hit Wonder, 02/06/03
Sunday 02.16.2003
MattM || 08:38 AM
The whole evolution of a sexual predator was very well done (although that kind of rapid evolution is not very common). The secondary case of Sara catching the prosecutor in her lie was also well done. Still it is interesting that coming off a all male episode we have a female dominent episode.
CSI: Random Acts of Violence, 01/30/03
Sunday 02.09.2003
MattM || 11:09 PM
Look its the all male CSI. Well with no women in site they did a very good job. I liked that they gave Warrick something to do after ignoring him for awhile. I think it showed a lot of his character and the case was solid. I wonder if next week it will be the two girls.
CSI: Got Murder?, 01/16/03
Thursday 01.30.2003
MattM || 11:14 PM
After a flashy start this episode was flat, dull, and predictable. Man I am getting tired of writing negative reviews here but the TV lately has been just pure crap. First time I saw the daughter I called her as the murder that should tell you how predictable this was. The secondary case I can barely even remember and doesn't really matter. Just a bad CSI episode.
CSI: Recipe for Murder, 01/09/03
Wednesday 01.22.2003
MattM || 03:15 PM
Ok lets get this straight. Waitress kills Chef because she can't make toast. Owner and Su Chef slice and dice because they don't want to miss the rush. Coke Head to erase debt grinds body. UMMMMMMMM ok throw in a male model punching him out and I think we have a winner for the most convulated case they have ever done. That being said that wasn't the real problem the real problem was the over done endless stream of one liners they did. Yes I know they also do but here it just seemed like everything was just one one liner after another. The second case was much better and more interesting then primary gross out fest. Even so I still took exceptation to it because it inaccuratly decipts Bi Polar. Rapid Cyclers are the stereotype of Bipolar when in fact its very rare. I think they did a serious disservice to bi polar awareness instead of raising the level they brought it down.
CSI: Recipe for Murder, 1/09/03
Thursday 01.09.2003
alice ttlg || 08:57 PM
I love the new lab tech guy! "They said I had an attitude problem", he says, doing a wonderful Grissom-type exposition of the lab results. Finally, a match for Grissom, this should be fun!
And shades of Buffy and the Doublemeat Palace with the ground up body, I kept waiting for the relentlessly perky manager to show up in her striped uniform. :)
CSI: High and Low, 12/12/02
Monday 12.23.2002
MattM || 11:10 PM
I don't know this show seems to be bent on doing some weird stuff with the characters. Nick saying its not his thing then doing it. Sara's weird behavior lately. Grissom dealing with his impending deafness. Outside of that the case was great with nice twists. Still I really hope they have a plan for the characters because they seem all over the map.
CSI: Blood Lust, 12/05/02
Saturday 12.14.2002
MattM || 03:17 PM
A rather so-so episode. A decent case but it was the only case. Still there seems to be this weird interaction going between Grissom and Sidel that seems to go no where. Then the whole race relatons messages. I liked they didn't go for the cheap way out but still this just wasn't their best episode.
[forest adds] The actor who played the Indian cab driver on the episode called "Blood Lust" had such a likeable quality that you really felt for him when he got beaten up. I looked him up, his name is Anjul Nigam and looks like he is an emerging actor... leave it to CSI for finding some terrific talent! (December 18, 2002 01:10 AM)
[Carol Demano adds] You're right about Anjul Nigam... he is terrific. I just saw him in a DVD I rented "The First $20 Million" which was written by Jon Favreau. Anjul is so adorable and endearing in this movie, you just want to eat him up! Carol D. (February 3, 2003 09:27 PM)
2002-2003 Season, Birds of Prey, CSI, Dinotopia, ER, Enterprise, Fastlane, Friends, Law & Order, Presidio Med, Push, Nevada, Without a Trace: Holiday Meanderings Part III, Wednesday and Thursday
Monday 12.09.2002
alice ttlg || 10:36 PM
Wednesday
This has been the most disappointing night of the week for me, several new shows and all of them bad! Presidio Med, MDs: Presidio Med, another one that my brother and I disagreed on, MDs, pretty darn bad. Fastlane, Twilight Zone, Birds of Prey: The Fast and Furious ripoff is just that, fluff, but it's degenerated into fairly boring fluff. Twilight Zone was so uneven, every time I watched, at least half of it was bad so I gave up watching. Birds of Prey, just never could get into this one, for a variety of reasons, and the ep from last Wednesday (12/4) was bad, the familar old friend comes to town and baddie shows up at the same time and gee, duh, our superheros never connect the two until the baddie pulls off the mask to reveal the old friend, yuck. West Wing, still the best thing on Wednesdays, slightly slow start but picked up nicely and perking right along. My Wife and Kids, this was good over the summer but since the season started, it's gotten bad, using tired old gimmicks and celeb stars to make boring eps. Enterprise, I said this was missing something but it's found it this year! :) Great beginning and some terrific stuff this fall, I hope it keeps going like this all season. (I still hate the theme song tho but I'm really quick at hitting the fast forward button.) Law & Order, no improvement over last year as far as I can see, still pretty awful, badly done versions of the page 1 headlines.Thursday
Friends, Good Morning, Miami, ER: Friends is jumping the shark, GM Miami was atrocious and still is from what I saw last week. ER has been pretty good, nothing spectacular, just good decent shows every week. Family Affair: This was so awful, I couldn't stand to watch it even tho Gary Cole's in it. Dinotopia, Push, Nevada: I found Push Nevada terribly cliched, a badly done mish mash of a variety of other shows. Dinotopia, eh, so-so, not great, not terrible, but the talking dinos annoy me, special effects are a bit blurry too, I have a feeling this will drop off my radar simply because it's so bland. CSI, and still a great show, there's been a few boring eps but overall, it's still a really good show. Without a Trace: This one, well, in the beginning I complained about the two dimensional nature of the investigators but then they threw in some really awful soap opera dreck and the cases got more interesting so now I'm happiest when they leave the investigators in a two dimensional state.[MattM adds] Presidio Med is another show that you didn't give a chance and wrote off to early. (December 10, 2002 08:29 AM)
[alice ttlg adds] But I've read all your reviews of it (and Haunted) and we've talked about and it still doesn't interest me, I'm not interested in a suburban ER, the plot lines are not interesting to me. To each his or her own, just like you don't like Judging Amy and Guardian... :) (December 10, 2002 11:13 AM)
[marizon adds] csi 4th season is very boring. still a great show. but i was hoping they would ccontinue with the romance between grissom and sara. but in a little doses. coz it will be a disaster if its going to be full blown romance. csi is about crime solving. i like it that way. (May 8, 2004 07:14 AM)
CSI: Snuff, 11/21/02
Sunday 12.01.2002
MattM || 11:18 PM
Just when you think CSI can't get any more sick it goes and tops it. How does one ask cheerleaders eating cheerleaders (and I mean that literally)? Easy lets have a snuff film case. Ok thats just disturbing right there. Really how do they get this stuff past the censors. Remember a few years ago there was an uproar about David Caruso's butt on NYPD Blue? I like how the Christian Idiot Right complains about Buffy but this series they say nothing about. This was a solid CSI episode with a nice twist that she gave him AIDs back and of course the bug case done every so often to make us learn about the wonderful world of bugs but seriously YUCK!!.
CSI: Fight Night, 11/14/02
Wednesday 11.27.2002
MattM || 12:52 AM
I really liked the stuff the case with the boxer but the other cases were pretty weak. The thing was Nick was kind of interesting if only because he got what he wished for only it wasn't what he thought it would be. Is there anything Grissom hasn't studied? Also not that I am one to notice fashion but still Catherine where the hell was she going when she got called in? Even I noticed when someone is dressed in some black leather looking outfit that kind of sticks out. I guess with her case they were going with P Diddy persona but who cares really? Could have been better but it was interesting they went with three cases.
CSI: The Execution of Catherine Willows, 11/07/02
Friday 11.15.2002
MattM || 07:29 AM
Wow another superb episode for CSI. Still this is the second week in a row where the bad guys win basically and that is sort of odd. I like how they are establishing a crime that Grissom and the others get stumped on for a season or so. Gives us something to think about. I also liked how they took a death penalty case and instead of going for the innocence angle they went for innocence but still guilty angle because he wasn't the serial killer just a copy cat. They also tied the two cases on the show together very nicely.
CSI: Abra Cadaver, 10/31/02
Thursday 11.14.2002
MattM || 04:22 PM
Somehow this episode just didn't grab me. I think because the main crime was pretty convulated and at times hard to follow and the secondary case just wasn't that good. I liked the angle they were gunning for but it was a bit much. I mean what did happen to Zoey exactly? Or did I just miss that in this whole mess. This was a very pre-sweeps blah episode and I hope and it should pick up now that sweeps has started.
CSI: A Little Murder, 10/17/02
Friday 10.25.2002
MattM || 02:44 PM
This series is so good and this was another example of why. Two great cases that weren't what they seemed to be and turned into something else. An episode where you learned something. An episode that left us with a minor mystery that is sure to come back later (why is Grissom getting the Dwarf newsletter?) That being said, I do have one gripe. Why didn't Grissom ever check in on Catherine? Would it not have been a reasonable thing to do? Is there a point there? It seems to me they could have at least one scene where he asks if she is ok. They do seem to be fairly close friends, hence the dinners they share that cause Sarah to wish she could be invited. Overall though, it was a very good episode and I love Catherine Willows' character the more I see her and how tough she is and she still carries that stripper mentality throughout her life. That is one thing that I give the actress alot of credit for is that mentality that is very realistic.
CSI: Let The Seller Beware, 10/10/02
Friday 10.18.2002
MattM || 01:52 PM
Ok that was gross. I hope anyone watching it did not eat before. They really outdid the gross factor. "Tell me that's chicken skin" will stay with me for a long time to come. I think that did more for the don't do drugs then all the PSAs combined. There's a message for you, boys and girls. Don't do drugs because drugs can make you a cannibal (and as an added incentive e-coli too).
Ok now it is time for me to weigh in on the Sidel/Grissom debate. I do not think that there has ever been a relationship on any level between them. They are both the same when it comes to relationships with the only difference is that Grissom is more settled into his loner status. Sidel views him as a young girl would a rock star. He is a hero and a god to her. Yes she loves him but it is not true love. Grissom, on the other hand, views her as a protege/daughter almost. Someone who he can pass on his wisdom too. The sending her solo was the perfect example of this. For Sidel, that was a slight to be away from him and for him, it was a sign to her of how much he thinks of her.
CSI: The Accused is Entitled, 10/03/02
Saturday 10.12.2002
MattM || 01:09 AM
Wow, is this show ever good. A few more like that and this show will have earned elite status. This has to be in the top 5 for great episodes by CSI. I loved everything about this. From Grissom's struggle with his hearing to his battle with his sold-out mentor to how a defense team can wreak havoc on a case that is as solid as solid can be. I can go on and on and on but I think the one thing this show really brought home is just how guilty OJ is because we all see what his team did to a solid forensic case and this is just a great example of it. I much prefer the TV version to reality though.
CSI: Revenge is Best Served Cold, 09/26/02
Monday 10.07.2002
MattM || 11:00 PM
This show gets what so few do. The ability to make the crime the story but still work in little things that you learn about the characters and want to care about them. Yet another great episode and slowly moves this series into elite status. I am really interested to see how Grissom's impending deafness will play into this year as well. This was a great episode that had all the elements that makes CSI so good and what CSI:Miami is so far lacking.
CSI: The Accused is Entitled, 10/03/02
Friday 10.04.2002
alice ttlg || 06:06 PM
Another excellent episode, a believable portrayal of Hollywood star involved in a murder and the legal machinations by his defense intertwined with the problem of Grissom's growing deafness. Good casting in the part of the cocky, handsome actor accused of murder, his buddy procuring women for him and his self-assurance throughout that he won't be convicted. Bits of the OJ Simpson case throughout but a different version, not simply a replay of OJ. And the investigators' frustration as they each come off the witness stand at having their credibility destroyed over something small or unrelated was also well done.
CSI, CSI: Miami: Revenge is Best Served Cold, 09/26/02
Sunday 09.29.2002
alice ttlg || 11:35 PM
Now this is more like it! I thought CSI: Miami was good until I watched the real thing on Thursday. It's the minutiae, the trivia, the details, and then adding on a great, very *understated* cast with backstories that have very *quietly* unfolded and you've got a top show like CSI. That Monday night version is a pale imitation and I don't want to see that, the real thing, the real CSI, that I would watch twice a week. But that's not the real thing on Mondays.
2002-2003 Season, CSI, Dinotopia, ER, Friends, Push, Nevada, Without a Trace: Thursday Nights
Wednesday 09.11.2002
MattM || 11:28 PM
On Thursday night 3 dramas and 3 sitcoms premiere. The sitcoms are as most are this year, nothing truly special. Family Affair, a remake of a late 60's sitcom has a solid cast but an old concept, it could work, it might not and I really do not care either way. Do Over is the half hour version of That Was Then so I will be writing about this show tomorrow as well as today. Two sitcoms back to back on WB and not one is an orginal idea, what a shock. This "ultimate wish" fulfillment of going back and reliving and redoing your high school years is just like during the 80's when I swear they made about 7 or 8 movies with this same concept all in a row. This one is bad bad bad bad bad. The last sitcom is Good Morning Miami and only one thing can be said about this, a nun giving weather, NEXT. The dramas start with Dinotopia and you have to wonder who pissed off who here. Putting Dinotopia against Friends and Survivor is a death knell for this series which I have high hopes for after a solid late season three part miniseries. I hope they move this to another night like, say, Fridays at 8 where it can actually compete. Push, Nevada is going to bomb. The concept is revamp of Twin Peaks but this whole give away a million dollars thing is just trying to push the reality show concept way too far. Bad idea, worse concept, gone in 5 shows tops. Lastly is probably going to be the best show of this night: Without a Trace. A solid concept following the FBI's Missing Kids unit and a good cast, this show should thrive even against stiff competion from ER.
Of the returning shows I watch, Friends had best not marry Rachel off to Joey because, like Spuffy love, if that happens, the show is dead to me and good riddance. For the 10 MILLIONTH time, Rachel belongs with Ross, you do not spend 8 years building to that and then do a 180. When Matt LeBlanc goes public against the idea of Joey plus Rachel, you know you're doing something wrong. CSI should have a very interesting season, they have a real chance to humanize the characters, something they have lacked for a couple of seasons now. I think if they work something in about Sara Sidle's growth as a person, Grissom's impending deafness and maybe Catherine and her kids or Warrick relapsing, they can take this series to a whole new level. Finally ER, which had a very uneven year last year but this should be a whole new ballgame now. Gone are old cast members and finally Noah Wyle gets a chance to shine. I really believe this year could be one of their best and perhaps their last or next to last. I surely hope not though. I think they could make this series last another 5 to 8 years if done right.
2002-2003 Season, Birds of Prey, CSI, Dinotopia, ER, Enterprise, Fastlane, Friends, Law & Order, Presidio Med, Push, Nevada, Will & Grace, Without a Trace: Whining Part IV, Wednesday and Thursday
Friday 09.06.2002
alice ttlg || 07:44 PM
Wednesday
Presidio Med, MDs: We're big on medical shows this year (and cop/firefighter dramas). Presidio Med looks like it'll be awful show, although it has some good actors in it, Dana Delany, Blythe Danner and Oded Fehr who was marvelous in the short lived UC: Undercover last year. MDs also has some great actors, William Fichtner and John Hannah but it doesn't look much better. Fastlane, Twilight Zone, Birds of Prey: A Fast and Furious ripoff, a remake and a superhero show....my brother is excited about Birds of Prey but it just doesn't interest me. I will watch it tho, give it a chance but the storyline is beyond my familiarity with Batman (from back in the 60's and early 70's). West Wing, best thing on Wednesdays, one of the top shows, great cast, well written, nuff said. My Wife and Kids, I can't remember why I watched this show one night but I did and it was pretty good, so I started taping it during the summer, some of it has been painfully bad but overall, pretty decent and since there's not much else to watch at 7pm except... Enterprise, which I like but....it's just missing something, doesn't have the same punch that Star Trek TNG had and that theme song has got to go! Law & Order, oh yeah, another L&O that I always forget about, they seem to have lost the point of throwing in some personal touches so that we know who these detectives and lawyers are. Green has been a black hole since he came on the show. But Fred Thompson may liven up the last half hour so it might be worth watching again.Thursday
For *maybe* one season, I could sit down at 7 on Thursday and watch NBC for three hours.[Sean adds] How can you diss on fastlane? Fastlane is the best show on tv right now better than all that other garbage. (December 24, 2002 12:07 AM)
[alice ttlg adds] Well, actually what you commented on was written before the show aired and when it did start airing, I liked it fairly well, but lately, the last three or four eps have been pretty boring, they started off well but lost their edge somewhere so I quit watching. But I didn't like Fast and the Furious either, I thought that was a wretched movie. And now it's taking the time slot of one of my favorite new shows, Firefly, stupid Fox! (December 24, 2002 10:05 AM)
CSI: The Hunger Artist (Air Date 5/16/02)
Wednesday 05.22.2002
MattM || 10:09 AM
I am really at a loss to grade this episode. I mean let's face it, this episode has to be their most bizarre yet to date. Still I am happy they didn't put Katherine in bed with Grissom as had been much rumored and even reported as fact. I do like the subplot of Grissom finding out that he will go deaf and how that effects the show remains to be seen (Attention Dick Wolf, you seem to rip off ideas from this show, why not rip off the idea of using a subplot). The whole case seemed a bit rushed and I spent most of the episode going what the hell and ewwwww nasty. As a guy, it always angers me what some girls do to themselves in the search of perfection. I understand that it is a disease but it is the saddest thing in the world to me to see a pretty girl say how fat or how ugly she is. Well at least I am pretty sure this finale was better then Friends, I mean I didn't feel like throwing my remote at the TV this time.
CSI: Cross Jurisdictions (Air Date 5/9/02)
Wednesday 05.15.2002
MattM || 11:24 AM
A case of too much to do, too little time to do it in. This would have been better off as a two hour season finale. I think C.S.I.: Miami has alot of potential, Caruso and Proctor could be very good but the autoposy doctor? er, that needs to change. I can't remember where I have seen her before but talking to the body was just a bit much. I really believe this episode was a case of too much to do, too little time to do it in. This would have been better as a 2 hour season finale. I liked the killer and his denial of his wealthy status until the end but evil FBI agent I could have done without. Overall, a slightly above average episode with a lot of unfulfilled potential.
[alice adds] Khandi Alexander played Catherine Duke on NewsRadio, that's where we've seen autopsy doc before, much different character and not all covered up in medical gowns.
CSI: Anatomy of a Lye (Air Date 5/2/02)
Wednesday 05.08.2002
MattM || 03:38 AM
Gee, I wonder where they got the idea for Grissom's case, I just can't imagine. Ok, how long until Law and Order makes their episode based on that gruesome crime. I am not sure if they made it better or worse. In the real life version, the woman was high on X and just wanted to get home to screw her boyfriend, oh wait never mind, the lawyer looks better. C.S.I. was not up to its usual high standards, this episode was pretty boring, no real suspense, no real question, just the "how are we going to catch him". This was a sensationalistic crime but not really a good episode maker. I know CSI is trying to be CBS' Law and Order but I think they need to get away from this ripped from the headlines. It's novel every once in awhile but it gets old. I am, however, looking forward to next week's episode and seeing the possible launch of CSI: Miami, be nice to get a show out of the desert.
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