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Wednesday 4 July 2012

CSI: NY - 7.4: "Sangre por Sangre" Review


Mac investigates the deaths of gang members, which at first appear to be linked to a rival gang, before the suspects are narrowed down to one in particular, whom Mac had a past association with.

Mac (Gary Sinise) bleeding from a wound to his arm, chases a man to a deserted building.   He raises his gun and fires at Mac.  This chase scene was reminiscent of the one he had in season 4 DOA for a Day, when he cornered the serial killer, Suspect X, in the building and also shot and killed her too.

12 Hours Earlier


Mac is called to a CS at a hotel, where a DB has been discovered impaled on  the spike of an awning (and still they persist in having these dangerous spikes everywhere.) He is identified as Panthro Torres (Eddie Fernandez) from the El Puno gang.   Flack (Eddie Cahill) believes it to be a hit from a rival gang.   The room is in shambles, Flack: "This is why they take your credit card when you check in."  He was shot twice and fell back through the window, or as Flack more poetically puts it, "...hazing out the window...ends up a shish kebab."  That's another shish kebab allusion there, the first was in CSI's Blood Moon episode by Doc Robbins.  (Robert David Hall.)  Mac: "A lot can change in one day."  So true as we'll see.

These split screens are put to  much better use in CSI:Miami, they seem out of place here.   Sid's (Robert Joy) out of the lab for a change and finds defensive wounds on the Vic, gun shot wounds from a large calibre, through and through and another went through his chest.   Inside, Lindsay (Anna Belknap) finds no signs of forced entry.   Danny (Carmine Giovinazzo) makes the same comment Flack did about it possibly being a rival gang.   He finds something in a bottle which he describes as "something ugly." As well as 2 glasses.   Lindsay sees lipstick on a mirror.

Sid comments on there being 6 million ways to die and that Panthro died from 3: a cracked skull from hitting the awning, a ruptured vena cava from a fragmented .45 and he would have died from exsanguination too.   Jo (Sela Ward) jokingly tells Mac to "give me 'til lunch" to solve the case.   All she did mostly this episode was to stick sad 'smiley' faces onto deceased gang members, sadly for me, that wasn't much! Instead we had to endure Lindsay with her rolled up jacket sleeves, someone should've told her that went out in the '80's!  Also Danny and Lindsay working the CS together again, does not make for interesting viewing either!   Jo tells Mac, Lisa (Yara Martinez) is the brains of the outfit; Rick (Yancey Arias) is the 'muscle' and the least brightest.  

Mac pays a visit to the restaurant owned by the El Puno gang and is told by Luthor (Edward James Olmos) he'll give him his word there will be no retaliation for Panthro's killing until after his funeral.  Luthor tells Fernando Flores (Mario Ardila Jnr) he should go to Mac if he needs to as he's  "a fair man."  Luthor and Mac shake on the undertaking he won't take matters into his own hands, Mac put away Luthor for assault.   If he does get involved he'll put Luthor away and this time he won't get out and he was right.

Adam (AJ Buckley) doesn't find any prints on the glasses, but only 2 separate DNA profiles, one from the Vic and the other one isn't in CODIS.   (See later with this major bloop!) He doesn't know what the fishy thing in the bottle is, but he knows a man, who knows a man, etc.   He looked so uneasy there when he said that.   Hawkes (Hill Harper) says the bottle was tampered with.  Danny gets a DNA match on the lipstick to Hazel Ortega (Lymari Nadal), an escort.

Hazel carries a .45 and Flack apprehends her.   En route to the station, well he's hardly left the alley when he's ambushed by 2 men with guns.   In one of Flack's best action scenes (my bias again!).   He anticipates it's a hit and tells her to get down, saving her life and fires off bullets to defend themselves.   Hazel is wounded and Flack  tells Mac: "I'm good, I'm pissed" she was shot on his watch.   Hawkes finds the bullets are marked with a letter 'P', which Flack says are for intimidation.   Mac wants them found as they fired 50 rounds into a police car.   (Yeah more worried about the car than the Flack!)

Neat trick, cutting to the ambulance, making us think for an instance, that Flack maybe didn't get a shot off or was hit!  Also before this scene when the shooter had the gun pointing to him, it appeared Flack turned around and just froze, as he did in one of last season's episodes and couldn't fire his gun, like he almost hesitated - luckily he just ducked!  Great to see him saving his prisoner when faced with fire from all directions.   He was on the ball with his quick thinking and reflexes to determine it was a hit.   Good to see he was concerned about Hazel being wounded on his watch too.   He's come a long way from season 1.

Adam calls the fish head in the bottle 'Fishzilla' - a snakehead fish which are illegal to the US.   Jo at the hospital, talks down Hazel from holding a policewoman hostage and she insists she didn't kill Panthro.   He was alive when she left, but someone else came in but she won't say who, out of fear.   Mac meets with Luthor once again and doesn't believe his getting out of prison and the deaths are just a coincidence.   Luthor doesn't hustle, he won't look Mac in the eyes and lie.   He didn't order the hit on Hazel but someone in his gang did.   The men will surrender themselves at a designated place.

Hawkes discovers the stria from Hazel's gun don't match, but he pieced the bullet fragments together to find a 'P', revealing it to be an inside job.   That was obvious when Adam made the comment about the snakehead eating its own.   Flack says much the same thing with his "someone inside's eating their own" comment.   None of the El Puno gang can be found, but Mac comes across Fernando running from the restaurant, seconds before it explodes.   Lisa's body is found inside, along with a cut gas line, a palmprint and Danny finds another bottle.   Mac determines a Molotov cocktail was used to start the fire.

Sid tells Mac there was no smoke in Lisa's lungs, she was shot twice, he found "mushroom .45s."   Danny finds another snakehead, "Cajun style."  Adam's source informed him of the arrest of a smuggler who sold 3 of the snakeheads to a Puerto Rican man.   Fernando turns himself in and will only talk to Mac as he's "a fair man."  Lindsay calls him telling him she matched the palm print.   Which was to Luthor.   Funny that when Adam examined the DNA on the glasses he only got one hit back and didn't get one for Luthor, as he's an ex-con his prints would have been in the system and should have come back much sooner!

Mac finds Luthor and Rick together and warns Rick he's the next target but he doesn't believe him.   Rick fires at Mac, thus the wound in his arm in the opening teaser, and then runs away.   Turns out the man Mac was chasing in the opening was Luthor.  Luthor's motive was the way in which the 3 of them had changed the ideals of the gang from the old days, it was not about protecting the neighbourhood any longer.   Luthor fires at Rick, Mac turns around to see Rick fall to the ground - only after he's got off 3 rounds of his own at Luthor.   He doesn't want Mac calling for help.   He started it and he ended it too.

Going back 12 hours made very little difference to the plot of the episode or the outcome, since it w as apparent Mac would not be fatally wounded in any way.   Due to Luthor's conversation of the 'old' days and ways, Mac should've realized Luthor wouldn't kill him, since Luthor had kept his word on all occasions with Mac, like not going after the others until later.   Although Luthor wanted to be the one to bring the other gang members to book for corrupting his gang.

The  chases were left to Mac this episode.   Think these gang episodes are better suited to CSI:Miami, got to admit they do them so much better.   With Mac stealing Horatio's (David Caruso) line here of telling Luthor "you should've come to me" and they would have taken care of it together.   Mac didn't need to get 3 shots off since he just appeared to be going for a kill rather than defending himself.   It was a case of what Hazel said to Jo about 'whoever got off the most kill shots, survives.'  That's what Mac did here, but he shot at the wrong man and from their 'understanding'  and they shook hands, Luthor had too much respect for Mac.   He was there to kill Rick and that's what he eventually did, to the detriment of his own life.   Shooting his own brother to save Mac isn't too heroic since he wanted him dead anyway.   Mac again just appeared to be there for the job and to get it done "at all costs"  in a cold way.

The title meaning "blood for blood."

CSI:Miami's Spring Breakdown episode had a DB falling out the window and being shot by a flare gun, before landing on  a large protrusion.   Also the episode, Dude, Where's My Groom, where Jesse (Eddie Cibrian) discovered a palm print on the limo which lead to the identity of the killer.

NCIS - 7.22: "Borderland" Review


The death of a marine, discovered without feet leads to Mexico, where Abby is sent by Vance and it's all part of Gibbs' past catching up with him, as we near the end of the season.

A DB bleeds from a car in a scrapyard.   Ziva (Cote de Pablo) goes over the First Amendment.   Tony (Michael Weatherly) is on  his computer, as usual, sometimes you think he spends more time on there than McGee (Sean Murray) does.   Tony reminds her this Amendment  includes his freedom of speech.   Ziva; "Clearly they did not have Tony in mind when writing that."  Well they didn't have a lot of people in mind when writing.   Tony is on the website and is 'Nexted'.   (Something similar in CSI:NY season 7.2 episode was also done.)  Ziva comments Tony keeps getting 'nexted'.   Tony says it only takes 10 seconds.   One girl online says he's old, 'like 40'.   Which he is, (but over 40 in real life, ha.  Yeah it's like we're not all going to get to 40.)    Tony puts on a Graucho Marx mask, well many people won't even know who that is, Tony, talk about showing your age! Ha.

Tony: "Hi boss, not what it looks like.   Just out of curiosity, what does it look like?"  Gibbs (Mark Harmon) has no answer for that.  Gibbs: "Grab your gear and a little self-respect DiNozzo!"  Marine Corporal Ray Collins was found in the scrapyard.   Ducky (David McCallum) "Discarded like trash in an old junkyard."   Feet are missing too.  He was court martialled.   Tony comments on the Ducati motorbike and McGee says he can't afford them.   Abby (Pauley Perrette) says Vance (Rocky Carroll) wants to see her and if her "Gibbsometer" is working, then Gibbs should walk in right now.   Abby is flustered.   The DB had tissue under his fingernails but there's no DNA match.   Gibbs thinks the killer isn't in the military, "rules out Director Vance."

Abby is worried about seeing Vance means a bad omen, "it does not bode well for my future."  Gibbs says he has her back, "always have, always will."  So I ask, who's got Gibbs' back here, Abby?  Abby was also right about her omen.   Abby: "What the biohazardous material is this?"  When Gibbs gives her the mini Caf Pow.  We didn't  see Gibbs coming in it the Caf Pow, where did he hide that?  Though it was small enough.   Ducky mentions a Persian proverb about having no shoes, then met someone who had no feet.   Palmer (Brian Dietzen) does a Fred Flintstone impression.   Ducky: "Yabba Dabba Do."   COD: he bled to death, he wasn't conscious when his feet were cut.   They were sawn off and Ducky notices a welt on the side of his neck with '666.'  (Going back to Abby's omen.)

Vance is sending Abby to Mexico with McGee to accompany her cos he never goes anywhere, aside from LA and Mexico isn't really a good place for him.   Alejandro (Marco Sanchez) wants her to speak at a Law Enforcement Symposium.   Abby: "As long as it's not McGee, he's been acting all squirrely, when Alejandro tried to undress me with his eyes." Tony and Ziva go to the address found from the GPS on the Vic's watch, a truck and find it full of feet.   Tony's 'charming' was funny.

Benito Juarez, Mexico:   This house features a lot, ranging from JAG to Charlie's Angel's.   McGee comments that Monte Zuma got his revenge on him last time he was in Mexico.   Abby says he should stick to bottled water.   McGee gets a text from Tony telling him they're on the hunt for a serial killer, when McGee isn't there, not what he wants to hear.   Alejandro has cold cases for Abby to look through and conveniently, used loosely, one comes up in relation to Gibbs.   Alejandro calls McGee Agent Magoo, hey that's Tony's name for him., well one of his names.   The cold case is all about drugs and the escalating drug wars.

Tony: "I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say serial killer."  "Can I give you a hand," these are terrible jokes.   Ducky finds they were all unconscious when dismembered.   Ziva says sulphuric acid is strong enough to destroy bone.   They have the killer's trophies so probably will kill again.   Tony calls Palmer the 'autopsy Gremlin' again.   The killer is targetting bikers judging from the tattoos.   McGee now eats the local yogurt which Abby tells him is unpasteurized.   McGee asking if that's bad, er, he's a geek, he should know.   Geek used in the nicest way possible.  

Abby always wanted to be a teacher.   One woman, Natalia ( Stephaane Escajeda) asks her, after they stare at Abby's sense of dress, "who told you the Day of the Dead was in May?"  Natalia, Abby replies, is ovulating.   Tony and Ziva hit the biker bar.   This one's mainly full of women and Tony doesn't get any  response.   The barkeep, Velver Road (Claudia Black) (suspiciously my suspect) tells them to leave.   Cos she was trying to be helpful in the CSI:Miami way, i.e.  when they're too helpful, they're guilty and have plenty to hide.   Besides she was actually the only suspect.   She says the Corporal was sleeping with everyone.

Abby takes the class out on a field trip and is met by a woman from the drug cartel.   She, Paloma Reynosa (Jacqueline Obradors) talks about Pedro Hernandez, who was shot and killed 20 years ago.   The fracture pattern on his skull shows the bullet was travelling at high velocity so the police report was wrong.   McGee says a long range weapon was used.   of course we all know who uses those, or used to use those.   As said, all roads lead to Gibbs here.   She gives Abby the bullet which she wore as a necklace.   McGee offers to be held in their place.   This is Reynosa Cartel family business.   Abby tells her he wasn't shot point blank.   Paloma says he was killed by a sniper on the ridge and the sniper left behind a message in the form of the bullet.   She likes Abby's shoes.

Ducky and Palmer talk about toe cheese, oh please.  Ducky regrets not having a window.   Er, but they've been in the truck for several days though.     The feet have been salted which retards bacterial growth but not insect activity.   The first one was cut about 2 months ago.   All the Vics were already dead and were poisoned.   Gibbs knows serial killers do not change their MO.   Abby has a bad feeling about the cold case.   McGee has a bad feeling about the bed.   They remind us they shared a coffin together.   Abby mentions Ziva taking the couch in Paris (episode 7.11 Jet Lag).   McGee tells her Tony said he took the couch in Paris and they look at each other.   They've told them different stories, to get our goat and to begin yet more rumours about Tony and Ziva.   McGee brushes his teeth and uses the tap water.   Abby's developing her own gut, like Gibbs.   McGee's put on a few pounds.   He was joking.

Tony tries on a gas mask in front of the computer webcam, he can't get past 10 seconds before being 'nexted.'  Telling Ziva he's earned his pay.   Ziva threatens to tell Gibbs.   Gibbs: "Gibbs is gonna find out anyway."  Tony says Ray is the serial killer.   Ziva has a photo of an illegal right turn from the truck and he started killing when he returned here.   Abby finds a clipping with the news of Gibbs' family being killed.  Pedro's DB has been exhumed and sent to Ducky.   Lapua is a fave bullet of snipers, as we know going back all the way to season 1 and the season 2 finale when Kate (Sasha Alexander) was killed by Ari.  

Vance approved Abby going to Mexico but the request came from Alejandro.   Probably cos Allison (Mallision) was behind it.   Well her or Paloma.   At least Allison is meant to be our chief instigator cos she was here for Bell, then she was insistent that Alejandro should meet with Abby.   Tony: "Ola McTaco" and asks if he brought anything back for him.   How about some unpasteurized yogurt.   Tony tells McGee about the killer's antics on purpose cos he knows McGee isn't well.

Ducky mentions Pedro Hernandez and Gibbs drowns out Palmer's voice.   Flash to Gibbs shooting Pedro.  Ducky concludes Ray committed the murders but he doesn't know what his motivation was.   Gibbs signs for the bullet for Abby and acts remarkably suspicious in the process.  Also the looks that pass between Abby and Gibbs.   The poison used on the men was snake venom neurotoxin, from the sand viper found in Afghanistan.   The killer was targetting drug dealers.   Drug cartels cut off the feet of drug dealers.   Tony is glad McGee is back cos it's nice to talk to someone for more than 10 seconds, but Ziva was still around.   McGee was getting his revenge on Tony for making him fall in love with a non-existent woman when Tony faked his profile on the Net.   So he set his browser to stay for 10 seconds before he's 'next ed'.   Yes but I think Tony would have been next ed irrespective of this.

Velvet killed Ray.   The '666' impression on his neck was from her ring.   So his DNA must still be on her ring.   They have her DNA from his fingernails.   She's immune from the poison and he tried to kill her, she claims it was an accident.   She made him look like a Vic and was hired by the Reynosa drug cartel.   Abby's in Gibbs' basement this time and there's no boat, he's not building anymore.   He knows why she's here.  She matched the bullet from Pedro's head to Gibbs' sniper rifle and he killed him in cold blood.  "Gibbs doesn't do things like that - now I don't know."  Abby didn't find this out by accident and he quotes Rule 40: "if someone's out to get you, they are."  Abby wants vilification from him.   Gibbs can't reply that she's wrong.   Abby wants him to tell her how she's a daughter to him and he loves her.   She needs to know he'll love her no matter what.

Well there had to be a closure to this story sometime since it was on going from season 3 finale, with the flashbacks.   Seems it took Allison to bring it to the furore and for Gibbs and Abby's friendship to be tested and maybe altered.   Will the others find out.  It's obvious Alejandro is also involved, insisting on Abby coming to Mexico and handing her that particular cold case.

Tony finally gets a Gibbs slap, haven't seen that in a while.   Also Tony's line to Ziva: "You wouldn't understand - being irritating is second nature to you." That can be said of Tony too, ha.

Tuesday 3 July 2012

CSI 12.16 "Unplugged" Review


A nanny, Shelby (Laura Fraser) and the boy, Harper (Aiden Lovekamp) go missing from the house.  Brass (Paul Guilfoyle) tells DB (Ted Danson) and Finn (Elisabeth Shue) that Riordan, (Jeffrey Pierce) the father, claims he was sleeping when Shelby put him to bed.  He's dressed in a tux.  Brass: "I dress a little less formally."  In Harper's bedroom there's blood everywhere which is tacky and Finn finds a bloodprint on the headboard too, which she sends to Morgan (Elisabeth Harnois) before there's a powercut.

DB notices Saturn is missing and metal particles are also found which Finn thinks could be transfer from the kidnapper.  Hodges (Wallace Langham) tells Henry (Jon Wellner) to hold the lift but he doesn't and forces Hodges to stop the door closing with his case.  Henry didn't want to hold the door.  They need to find Harper within three hours.  DB: "if the lights don't come back on we'll find the kid in the dark."  Morgan calls and tells him all the 'iss's' are down."  So they can't run the print against any database.  DB tells her to "use your head, use your hands" and to go back to basics.  Hodges tells DB that Morgan will dial faster for help if she knows he's in the lift.  Oh come on that means they have something going on together which no one knows about yet, which is more obvious at the end of the episode.

Finn finds white residue and blood patter on the ceiling.  Which DB explains means the kidnapper was already in the house.  That narrows down the suspects.  There's a void on the floor where the rug was taken, presumably someone was carried out in it.  They assume the blood could be Harper's but DB says they don't know whose blood it is.  Finn: "go old school."  Greg (Eric Szmanda) needs to use ABO typing to find the blood type.  Sara (Jorga Fox) found no sign of  a break in. When Sara mentions the number of candles in the house, it was apparent there was some sort of a seance going on there.  Nick (George Eads) spots blood drops on the table and floor leading towards the door.

Riordon says Shelby was his nanny since he was born and his wife died five years ago.  He was going to go out but fell asleep.  He doesn't know Harper's blood type, which is what DB and Sara were talking about a few episodes ago and how he and Catherine used to keep their children's hair or bandages in the fridge in DB's case it was bandages, just incase.  He recalls there may be Harper's bandage in the trash.  Greg tells Morgan to be creative when it comes to analyzing the residue.  He finds Harper's blood type is O.

Finn suspects Riordan.  DB: " I have a feeling this case is not gonna follow the rules."  Well not many cases do otherwise they wouldn't make for interesting TV.  Sara and Nick find the missing Saturn and the rug outside with Shelby inside.  Also a note is attacked to her with the knife, reading, "We have Harper."  Doc Robbins (Robert David Hall) can't see to conduct an autopsy but she was stabbed with a double edged blade, like the type that was recovered.  David (David Berman) makes his own version of a bright light using luminol and permanganate.  Doc concludes it could be a straightforward case of kill the nanny, take the boy.  Sara thinks there was an accomplice.

Greg and Morgan bump into each other and he suggests she use crystal test for the remaining 10% of her analysis since she can't find what narcotic the residue is from and an old fashioned microscope.  She finds it was ketamine which was kept in Riordan's medicine cabinet.  Greg also finds Shelby was AB and the blood type on the handle was O, belonging to Riordan.  Brass contacted the San Francisco police department and he neglected to tell them his wife, Natalie (Lauriane Gillieron) drowned in their pool.  Riordan admits he had a seance and used his blood.  So that's a clue as to who took the knife and also to the kidnapper.  His mother-in-law, Patricia (Bess Armstrong) was there and the medium, Karen (Rachel Roberts).  Anyway Karen could have said whatever she wanted.  He misses his wife.  He's a father and not a murderer.

Nick finds prints with tented arches on the note and Sara finds the same on the headboard and no match to Riordan.  Nick: "computers have really spoiled me."  Finn still suspects Riordon.  As said before it's not their job to suspect until all the evidence is in.  The kidnapper calls and asks for Natalie's jewellery as ransom.  Patricia believes Karen when Natalie told her Riordan didn't kill her.  Karen claims to have left with Patricia and tells Brass Natalie told her that Riordan betrayed her and he was holding onto her for selfish reasons.  His grief is all about him.  It was a giveaway when Karen calls him, "my husband."  Again she could have said whatever she wanted.

Henry posits they're CSIs, "of sorts" so they should analyze the metal particle for themselves whilst still stuck in the lift.  Nick notices there aren't any rear windows on the van and the kidnapper escaped out the back.  Shots are heard and they find the kidnapper wearing a red cap shot outside.  The jewellery is still there.  The prints match Trevor (Anderson Davis) as he has tented arches.  Sara finds Natalie's wedding ring is missing from the jewellery.  Greg also finds Harper's blood type is O and Shelby's is AB so she can't be his mother.  He already worked that out, it took him this long to tell DB.  Thus Shelby was a surrogate and there was no affair.  Natalie died accidentally and drowned in the pool whilst drunk after she threw his ring in there and later went to get it out.

Nick finds a wire transfer of money was sent to Trevor and the was signed by Natalie.  Power returns and Sara tells DB the metal particle was magnesium used in mag wheels, from a building across from the wire transfer place.  A part of town with abandoned buildings.  Nick finds Karen used fake ID to send the money.  At her place they find Harper.  Karen became obsessed with Natalie and became her.  DB finds Karen downed in the pool, like Natalie, only she was wearing the wedding ring and Natalie wasn't when she drowned.

Hodges claims it's good to have the "iss's back.  Just like Morgan did so there must be something more here between them.  As Morgan replies "it's good to have everything back."  Greg says they may "go ancient" again so she should keep the microscope, which she does. DB tells Finn he's good at hiding losing faith better than her.

This episode not only reminded me of the CSI episode Gentle, Gentle, about the kidnapped baby, where the baby was found dead.  But also of CSI:NY  2.11 Trapped, the panic room episode when Danny got stuck in the panic room and had to analyze the evidence the old fashioned way and had to improvize.  Stella found a bloodtrail leading from the room.  A knife was also the murder weapon and prints confirmed the suspect - but his prints were on the knife as he made himself a sandwich.  Here Riordan has the blood/seance alibi.  Another suspect's wedding ring is found in jello (jelly) again the use of a wedding ring as motive which was stolen by Karen here.  Danny discovers the ear of the DB's brother as 'proof of life' which is also what DB tells Riordan to ask for.  There were accomplices also in this episode.

Though CSI didn't need to do much.  That ABO blood typing was laborious though and there was potential to get it wrong too, as many would say, just like Nick, thank goodness for computers.  CSI has had many kidnapping episodes, including Gum Drops. A particular fave of mine.

Supernatural - 1.16: "Shadow" Review


Sam and Dean finally meet up with Dad and encounter Meg again, who has more up her conniving supernatural sleeve for the boys. dad leaves again cos it's too dangerous to be together. Dean wants Sam around with him all the time.

Chicago, Illinois.   A woman hears  a noise in an alley and is later attacked at home.   Shadows can be seen on the walls.

One week later.   Sam (Jared Padalecki) reads the paper as a manhunt continues for the killer.   Dean (Jensen Ackles) comments how, "Dad made it fine without all these costumes."  He feels like a high school drama dork.   They dress in overalls.   He recalls Sam in the play he did at school, Our Town, he was cute.   There were no signs of a break in at the woman's home and the alarm is still on.   Everything is in perfect condition, but Meredith (Melanie Papalia) was in pieces, could be the result of a wild animal.  Dean uses his EMF and he spoke with Amy, "the charming, perky officer of the law."  Meredith's heart was missing.   Sam doesn't think it's a werewolf as the cycles aren't right, but it could be a spirit of some sort.

Dean sees  a symbol, like a Z' shape.   Dean chats up the bartender (Nimet Kanji) and gets her number on a napkin.   Sam: "Do you mind doing a bit of thinking with your upstairs brain, Dean."  Lots of this upstairs/downstairs stuff going on.   The symbol isn't in any books or journals.   Someone named Ben, was found mutilated in his home but there's no connection.   For Dean the only successful piece of Intel he got was the bartender's number.   Sam spots Meg (Nicki Lynn Aycox).   I have this strange urge to call her 'Peg leg' everytime I hear her name.   She's in from California, only reason she was headed there in 1.11 Scarecrow, was cos Sam was.   So it's more than a coincidence that she's found him now.   Meg says she's from Andover, Massachusetts and Dean coughs, cos Sam, hasn't introduced them.   She tells Dean to cover his mouth.   Oh, Meg, one of those women you wouldn't mind bitch slipping.   Sorry thinking out loud!

She has a rant at Dean, telling him to stop dragging Sam around everywhere.   Yeah like Sam can't speak or decide for himself.  Meg: "If it were me, I'd kill him...show him a hell of a time."  Dean asks who she was and Sam can only reply, 'weird.'  Dean: "You bitchin' about me to some chick," and gets angry.   Cos this 'chick' ain't worth the hassle.   Sam thinks something strange is happening here, which Dean thinks is about him, ha.   Dean: "tell me about it, she wasn't even that into me."
Sam: "No, our kind of strange."  Dean thinks random consequences happen, but not to them.   Sam can't quite put his finger on her.   Dean, with his one track mind, "I bet you'd like to...maybe you're thinking a little too much with your upstairs brain."   They need to find out if she's real.

Sam watches Meg and Dean calls him, as he's lurking outside her apartment.   Dean: "You've got a funny way of showing your affection."   Dean suggests he should invite her to a poetry reading.   The symbol turns out to be Zoroastrian, 2,000 years before Christ.   It's a sidral for a Deva which means "a demon of darkness." (Or you could say diva, ha.)  A Zoroastrian demon is animalistic, like a demonic pitbull.   Sam wonders how Dean worked all this out.   Dean: "you don't have the corner on paper chasing around here."  Sam asks the last book Dean read, and he admits he called Caleb.   The Devas bite the hand that feeds them and haven't been seen for millennia and no one knows what they look like.   Dean tells him to give her a stripogram.   Sam: "bite me."
Dean: "bite her, don't leave teeth marks though." Meg changes in front of the window.   Look Sam's not interested in you, right!  A woman coughs at Sam and calls him a pervert, like Dean did.

Sam follows her to an empty building, where he notices a black alter and cup.   She speaks in Latin.  Telling 'It' not to come as they're in town.   Sam sees a symbol on the alter in blood.   Dean: "Sam's got a thing for the bad girl."   Sam says she was talking into the cup like witches scrie into crystal balls.   Someone else is giving her orders.

Dean got a favour from Amy and the first first Vic was from Lawrence, Kansas and so was Meredith.   Meg is connected to the demon.   Dean leaves a message for Dad (Jeffrey Dean Morgan.)  Sam thinks they've found the demon and if so, it'll be over tonight and he'll sleep for a month.   But it couldn't be that simple, cos we have miles to go with this show.   Sam could go back to school, which Dean thinks is great for Sam.   Dean: "it's never gonna be over, there's gonna be others, there's always gonna be something to hunt.   I don't want you to leave the second this thing is over, Sam."  Dean asks why he got Sam from Stamford in the first place and takes him everywhere.   Sam thinks it's cos Dad was in trouble.   Dean wants the three of them to be a family again.   Sam: "Dean, we are a family.   I'd do anything for you, but things will never be the way they were before." Sam doesn't want to go back to that life, "I'm not gonna live this life forever...when this is all over, you're gonna have to let me go my own way." This is when Dean realizes, for Sam, it's all about living his life and not hunting.   That Sam will never want to be a hunter again.

They hide in the building and Meg summons the Devas.   She knows they're there.   They're attacked by Devas and are tied up.  Dean: "Sam, your girlfriend's a bitch!"  The Vics being from Lawrence didn't mean anything.   The trap is for Dad.   Dean: "Oh sweetheart, you're dumber than you look!"    He's not in town.   Meg says they're his one weakness and he will be killed by the Devas.   She saw Sam watching her.   Dean: "get a room you two."  Dean tries to untie himself and she hears him.   Sam's got his own knife and he turns over the alter.   The Devas attack Meg and throw her out the window.   Dean: "Sam, next time you wanna get laid, find a girl who's not so buckets of crazy."

Dean sees a shadow at the window, it's Dad.   (He did look like the demon from behind.)  He saw her go out the window.  Demons have tried to stop him before.   They can't be with Dad yet, he doesn't want them hurt.   He hugs Sam and is thrown back by Devas.   Meg is okay and has a medallion with the symbol on it.   Sam uses flares to light them up and escape.   Dean realizes Dad can't be with them cos they'll use them to kill him.   Dean: "Dad's vulnerable when he's with us - he's stronger without us around."  Dad tells them the fight is starting now and they will be a part of it.   Sam must let him go.   Meg watches them drive away.

Can't believe they didn't realize that if Meg has some sort of a connection to the demon, then she won't be killed that easily.   Plenty of laughs as is the norm with the show and Dean wanting Sam to meet a girl, but not this one Dean.   At least he's been out getting numbers.   Also Sam wants to get out once this is over, but it's not, so he has to stick around, never mind.   Meg says they're vulnerable when together, which we'll see later in the season and in other seasons too, but it's not just when they're with Dad, it's also when they're with each other, since they'll do just about anything for each other.   As Sam says here and we'll see later on.   It's the brotherly love they share.

CSI: Miami - 9.4: "Manhunt" Review


Horatio continues in his pursuit of Meemo as he leaves a trail of carnage in his wake. All tying in with his daughter and how no one helped her when she was placed in foster care; with flashbacks to Marisol.

The hunt is on for Meemo (Robert Lasardo) hence the title, as he goes on a killing spree.   Tripp (Rex Linn) tells Walter (Omar Miller) all air units etc are out in the search.  Horatio (David Caruso) catches one escapee on the bus, except for Meemo.   Flashbacks to Marisol getting killed.  Horatio says they'll get him, "if it's the last thing we do."  Well it wasn't.   Meemo boards a yacht, kills the husband and steals the jewellery.   In another episode where Horatio no longer has the final word before the opening credits.

Ryan (Jonathan Togo) finds prison shoe treads on the yacht.   The dead man's wife rips off her necklace when Calleigh (Emily Procter) questions her and tells her she can't blame herself.   Ryan has no idea how he's getting away.  Natalia (Eva Larue) finds Meemo's girlfriend, Ivonne (Melonie Diaz) works at a drycleaners.   She denies being in contact with him or seeing him.   She wants to get her daughter Elsa (Faith Dyer) back so she can't see him.   There's nothing on her phone but the earrings matching the necklace are found.   It was apparent she was lying.   Delko (Adam Rodriguez) loses his cool a lot lately, since he returned to the show.   She was going to sell the jewels and put them into savings for Elsa.

Meemo goes to the hospital and shoots two workers there when they give him the wrong answer on when they started work there.   He let's a third one off, not only cos the policeman fired at him, but cos she's new there.   CSI:Miami in an unusual departure from its violent episodes doesn't show such graphic scenes of people getting shot like that, and did this time in an unprecedented scene of violence directed particularly against women.   The social worker, Aaron and Kenneth aren't shown being shot but the women were.   He leaves his clothes behind under the truck covered in fresh spatter, as well as stealing a 9mm handgun and the dispatch radio to listen in to the police.   Then hides in a garbage truck.

Horatio is contacted by a civillian on the radio.   Aaron (Khary Payton) tells him he needs to be arrested for not doing his job.   He doesn't want to die.   On the contrary, Aaron was doing his job and wanted Elsa removed from the foster home, so Meemo killed an innocent man, not that he hasn't already done that.   Meemo shoots him regardless.   He's got unfinished business, as does Horatio.   It's been 5 years since Marisol was killed, as he reminds Horatio and us, oh what for, we don't need to be reminded now after all this time.   Was CSI:Miami really clutching at straws for storylines in its ninth season.  Marisol hasn't been mentioned for so long until now.   Horatio: "I'm gonna kill you for that."  That's one threat he wasn't able to keep thus far in the episode.   He usually keeps all of his promises.

Ivonne tells Delko Elsa isn't in her life but he tells her she let Meemo back into hers.   He wanted to see her but he couldn't  and she opened her big mouth, so it was all her fault those killings took place.   She told him Elsa was in foster care.   Elsa was taken to hospital when she was injured and she told Meemo about the accident.   Horatio agrees she shouldn't have done that.   Walter asks Kenneth (William Ragsdale) if he was familiar with Aaron's case and he claims not to know anything.  Elsa was taken to hospital with secondary burns.   Walter gets the address of foster mother, Joanne (Annie Corley) who was only shot in the leg by Meemo, why leave her alive.   The hospital couldn't take her in rightaway which is why he shot the two intake workers.   As Walter draws the conclusion that's why Meemo asked when they started work there.

Look it's Ryan with Horatio this time and not Delko.   Elsa didn't come home from school.   She was missing two days and she didn't report her, that would've been enough to get her shot by him but he let's her off.   Ryan can't believe she didn't report her, "are you kiddin' me?" Hey that's Flack's (Eddie Cahill) line.   Horatio says they'll find her.   So why's Meemo persistently calling Horatio when he can find her himself, just to taunt him and why's Horatio reassuring him that they will find her, in order to save some lives, but not like that will help.  

Ryan, Walter and Delko process Joanne's house and Walter finds a small torn piece of paper in the garden and Delko finds the same under Elsa's pillow.   Ryan finds someone broke into the house.   The paper was from a drycleaning leaflet, again leading to Ivonne and this was getting rather boring.   She was there to be near Elsa and left her a glass teddy.   Delko hopes it's a promise they can keep and find Elsa.   Calleigh hiding behind the desk and Delko just standing around when they were meant to be investigating, but there's not a shred of paper or anything else before them on the desk.

Calleigh says one person should know where she is.   Hey Delko still standing around, when Ryan comes to inform them about Joanne.   Aaron recommended Joanne be removed as her foster mother.   Kenneth knew everything about the case and has Elsa.   Meemo hears about Kenneth's sighting, which was stupid broadcasting it over the radio when he has one with him.   Then Horatio and Delko are surprised when he turns up where they've stopped Kenneth.   Delko demands Meemo doesn't talk to him about family and threatens to shoot him on several occasions, but doesn't.   Meemo takes Kenneth hostage and shoots him.   Horatio has flashbacks to Marisol, as Meemo escapes once more.

Another routine episode, but I have no idea how anyone can find needless and senseless carnage thrilling, even if it is CSI:Miami.   There wasn't anything exciting about it and it's a wonder CSI:Miami actually was renewed for a tenth season.   I used to like CSI:Miami  once upon a time, especially in its heyday, but then it got all about drug lords and gangs and Russian mobsters pretty quickly.   It was my fave CSI show at one point (now replaced by CSI:NY - wonder why.)  With a newer, fresher approach last season, CSI:Miami has now returned to its familiar action-orientated stance.   I wouldn't have minded so much if it had newer villains, but returning to the older characters doesn't make it interesting.   Lots of posturing over Marisol.   No one lined up gunning for Horatio, though only one escapee was actually shown being arrested and that was by Horatio too.   He didn't appear to be menacing or gunning for Horatio, he was getting away.   So much for LaBrock's warning previous episode that they'd be out for a "red-headed detective."   Not even Meemo gunned for Horatio.

A hardened criminal and killer like Meemo was placed in a private prison, instead of maximum security was ridiculous.   He may have been searching for his daughter, but his first act out of prison is to shoot an innocent man for the fun of it and to steal from him.   There's no sympathy that can be garnered for such a vile human being, even when he finds out about  Elsa he still goes on a shooting rampage and yet through it all he has the audacity to demand Horatio gets her back.   Plenty of people lose their children, but his action was extreme.

Monday 2 July 2012

Without A Trace 3.4 "Upstairs Downstairs" Review


A family are at dinner with their baby and have plans of going to Paris, Roma and Milan.  Terri (Susan Floyd) the mother of the baby is drunk and her father tells her she’ll turn the baby into an alcoholic as she’s breast feeding.  Lawrence, (Chad Lowe) the father tells June (Esperanza Catubig) that the nanny has stolen one of her dresses and jewellery.  So she’s upset with her and he’s letting her go.  June and baby Nicki go missing.

9 Hours Missing
June’s mother doesn’t know where she is.  Danny (Enrique Murciano)  and Sam (Poppy Montgomery) search her house.  Jack (Anthony La Paglia) questions Lawrence and Terri.


10 Hours Missing
Terri is on medication as she’s depressive post partem.  He doesn’t know if Terri is an alcoholic.  They’ve been married 9 years.  She could be an alcoholic but he’s not having an affair with June.  They’ve been trying for a baby for 3 years.
Martin (Eric Close) finds the house alarm was set at 1:20am and went off at 4:12am.  She left her mobile behind.  Martin thinks June and Nickki may have been kidnapped. Terri let her try on her rings.  June reminded Terri of herself at that age.  June couldn’t imagine that Terri has everything and she let her borrowthe necklace.  Then she accuses June of betrayal.  Jack says if June took Nicki then the motive is important.
Sam finds an Armani dress and jewellery in June’s room.  Her mother says terri gave her the dress.  Danny asks how she could afford the plasma TV?  Her mother says they should be looking for her daughter not treating her like a criminal.  Jack finds a dummy in the cot.

11 Hours Missing
No one saw June at the train station.
The housekeeper has worked there for 32 years and raised Terri herself after her mother died when she was 9.  June idolized Terri.  She caught June eating caviar with Anthony de Bellis (Anthony Joseph De Santis) the gardener.  He’s worked here for 20 years and his father passed the business onto him.  June was out of line with the guest at the dinner party, he accuses her of having “greedy eyes.”

A ransom demand is made from a mobile phone at W 42nd St Manhatten:  The call is made through a voice distorter.  Computer analysis is done on the tape.  Sam finds it hard to belive that June isn’t involved.  Viv (Marianne Jean Baptiste) says the low tech voice distorter was bought at the leectronic district.

Jack tells the family that if June is innocent then he has an obligation to involve her family, if she’s guilty then their reaction could tell them something.  Jack says they have 2 options; either pay the kidnappers the ransom and then follow them or use decoy money, arrest them and force them to talk.  He recommends the latter.  June’s mother wants the ransom paid and then see.  June’s sister comments they’re worried about the money.

13 Hours Missing
June called him at 3:45am and told him she’d been fired and was saying goodbye.  They’d been sleeping together a few weeks, it wasn’t serious.
Sam says her sister works on W36th St and was out of the office at the time.  Her sister says June called her this morning from a bus and sounded afraid.  She took Nicki because Terri was abusing her and wanted to protect her from them.  

14 Hours Missing
Lawrence doesn’t believe it.  Terri wouldn’t hurt their baby.  Jack tells Terri about the call and abusing Nicki.  Jack tells her June betrayed Terri so maybe it had something to do with the gardener: Terri’s either sleeping with him or June is.  Terri wanted June fired because she saw them together.  Anthony told June Terri was beautiful and happy.  June says Terri doesn’t love Lawrence.  Terri loved Anthony since they were 15 and it was the only time she was happy.  Her father stopped her form seeing Anthony.  Laurence didn’t know so she made up the stealing story.
The housekeeper tried to straighten Terri out by telling her father that Anthony shouldn’t be around because Terri loves him.  Terri won’t make it without Nicki.

Jack calls his daughters, he’ll see them next weeked with their favourite bagels.  Hannah won’t talk to him.  They showed June’s photo to bus drivers.  The call came in at 10 from a 314 area code, that of St Louis.  She must have borrowed a phone from another passenger.

Jack gets a call.  Nicki is dead.  She was buried in a shallow grave.  Danny says it was dug in a hurry.  COD was suffocation there were no signs of abuse.

Martin questions Anthony and tells him Nicki was buried in the woods outside the family home.  He’s not protecting Terri and he didn’t make plans with June to Kill Nicki.  A man lent June the phone at Pennsylvania, the next stop is Pittsburgh.  Here June is found on the bus.

Viv thinks perhaps someone paid her to kill Nicki.  Jack thinks it could be a black market deal gone wrong.  He asks Viv to question her.  June was read her rights.  She was afraid of the police as they’d blame Nicki’s death on her.  She ddin’t kill Nicki and wants to talk with Laurence.

Jack talks with him.  Jack tells him Terri was abusing Nicki and June saw it so he sent her away because she knew too much.  Terri killed Nicki.  Lawrence says there was no abuse but an accident.  Terri was feeding her and suffocated her by falling asleep on her.  June came in and saw what happened.  Lawrence gave her the money and forced her to leave or he’d call the police and tell them June did it.  They’d believe him.  He couldn’t tell Terri because she’d kill herself.  He put Terri to bed and buried Nicki.  He thought June would go away.  Jack tells him he believed he could hire an expensive lawyer and get away with it.  Lawrence wants to tell Terri himself.  He’s going to arrest them both.

Jack goes to his office and cries after he thinks of his daughters.  Viv asks June why she ran and didn’t just stay and tell the truth.  She’s not rich or powerful and everyone thought it was her all along.   Viv explains it's because she ran.

 A family orientated episode which hits close to home for everyone, especially Jack.  He’s more involved this time around because of his daughters and sends Viv in to question June.  Also because of season 3 episode 3 when he took out his anger on the abused man.

Another episode where Danny very much “finds” the dead baby and again it gets too much for him. As he walks away when Jack opens up the bag, he can’t bare to watch.

In this episode Sam believes June is guilty and took the baby but she thinks differently of the missing mother in episodes 6 and 7; so her attitude isn’t consistent or synonymous with all victims, except may be the ones who remind her of her own situation, at least it appears that way.  What prompts her to suspect June is guilty anyway?

Terri’s father says he’ll turn the baby into an alcholic but what about a drug addict by popping all those pills. Terri says June can borrow the necklace “when you have a hot date,” she already knew about her and Anthony.

Martin: “wouldn’t be surprised if we get a ransom call soon.”  Which they do.
Kidnappers using the old ploy of voice distorters as did the one in the season 1 episode.  But the voice isn’t distorted much as it still sounds like a woman.

Jack: “Is it possible June witnessed something to prompt your wife into you firing her?”  Jack is right about this.  June did witness something only Terri didn’t know.
Danny: “…wrapped in her baby blanket with a lot of care.”  Who would wrap up a baby so carefully, only someone close to her.

Jack: “I think you should take a crack at her.”
Viv: “Why?”
Jack: “I don’t think my approach would be particularly useful right now.”

June has posters on her bedroom wall of Britney Spears, Ashton Kutcher, Lindsay Lohan and Orlando Bloom.
For afficiandos of both this show and CSI, this episode was straight out of CSI season 1 epsiode Gentle, Gentle  where they found the missing baby buried at the golf course behind the family house, after their other son had smothered him.

This episode was a foray into the dysfunctional family life of people who have too much money and can buy silence.
Danny likes to keep his sensitive side hidden – when he couldn’t sit around Jack looking at the baby.  Now sporting a bangle on his wrist. Like Sara in CSI Danny also gets cases which have an impact on him: either anger or sadness or both.  So who does he talk to about all this when it gets too much for him?

Viv asking why Jack wanted her to talk to June when the case was too close to home for him.  When he cries at the end, not that we get to see his face: private grief.  In the clip with his baby daughter, he probably never used to wear black back then, as he also never wore black in the pilot episode.

The ending was obvious, Terri suffocated the baby.  Clue: when she was feeding the baby under the blanket in the flashback she practically smothered her.

CSI: NY - 7.3: "Damned If You Do" Review


Mac arrests a suspect on the basis of his mother's ID for his father's murder and her own attempted murder. However his mother later tells Mac it wasn't her son who was the killer. The CSIs must examine all the evidence to piece together.

Whilst his parents have been brutally attacked, Billy Travers (Taylor Handley) lives it up at a party.   Appropriate choice of music with Phil Collins' In the Air Tonight, but that was going back a few years.   Mac (Gary Sinise) arrives at the CS and elicits from the mother the identity of their attacker.   She uses finger motions to indicate her son from the family photo.   Flack (Eddie Cahill) arrests Billy.  Hawkes (Hill Harper) asks Danny (Carmine Giovinazzo) and Lindsay (Anna Belknap) if they would have had the foresight to ask her the same questions as Mac did in order to obtain an ID.   No they wouldn't have and also because it's not conclusive.   Even if she may not survived, her ID would still not have been enough to convict her son, but it would have carried some weight.   They analyze the CS and collect trace evidence and samples.

Jo (Sela Ward) questions Billy, who can't believe his mother would have accused him.   He denies everything.   She's been a detective for a long time and "this is as bad as it gets."   Everyone's so sure he's guilty and the evidence isn't even in.   Flack questions Billy's girlfriend, Jules (Crystal Reed).   Asking her to go over her story again, she'll only "say something different if she's lying."   She is sure Billy's innocent.   Prompting Flack to reply: "I'm gonna let you into a little secret, everyone has it in them to do something like this, everyone."

To me, Flack seemed to be speaking from personal experience, like he was referring to how he pulled the trigger on Angell's (Emmanuelle Vaugier) killer in the season 5 finale (Pay Up), out of revenge.   He also tells her it's usually 6 months into dating that he can say for certain whether anyone has 'homicidal tendencies'.   Good to know!  (What about after 6 months?) To which Jules quips: "You're kind of a bitch you now that."  No retort from Flack , only a smile.   Flack didn't use any "severe threats" when interviewing Jules either.

Jo has to establish Billy's alibi and he tells her he was alone in his room before the party, to which she comments, "because you're not man enough to admit what you did" she'll have to resort to Math and she hates Math.   Er, you need Math in order to take up any discipline involving science.   Danny failed algebra and Jo hates Math.   Jo was calm with Billy and didn't throw her weight around (that's probably my oft-used phrase).   No, she's cool, calm and collected and doesn't let any of her tactics slip.   She was left to conduct the interview alone this week.

Jo questions Sid (Robert Joy) on the nature of blunt force trauma and he's taken aback by her and Jo asks if he didn't expect her to be female.   We know Sid has an eye for the ladies, look at the photo of his ex later in the episode.   Also because nobody introduced her, again.  There are puncture wounds on the father's DB, TOD (Time of Death) is narrowed down to between 9-10pm and the weapon is probably a hammer, crowbar or tyre iron.

Flack informs them about a prisoner in Rikers, Owen Hicks (Alex Solowitz)  whose cellmate, Manny Ravarra (Marcos de la Cruz) confessed to the crime.   Manny was an escapee and was picked up last night.   Danny and Flack question Manny, not one of their usual interrogations.   Danny tells him they have an eyewitness who says it wasn't Manny.   He just replies "sometimes crackheads tell the truth" and he's got nothing to lose since he's already serving life.   Danny's "not buying it" and rightly so, since he states the attack was personally motivated.   He suggests they look in the sewer.   Flack and Danny were calm when they questioned Manny at Rikers.   No threats or manipulative diatribes of any kind, that was different for them too.

Lindsay and Hawkes find the shoe prints were from the officers and EMTs and none of the blood matches Billy.   Lindsay comments he either didn't do this or he was really careful.   That's strange, how can someone who brutally attacked in that way be really careful, since even if none of the blood matches, there has to be other evidence.   No one can be that careful.   Mac doubts his decision to question Grace Travers (Stacey Edwards) "maybe I pushed too hard in the moment."  Gotten used to seeing Stacey Edwards in mother roles now.   She played Debbie Montenassi in CSI:NY  season 1 episode, Tanglewood.   Where her son was a gang member, killed by one of his own gang.

Flack and Danny check out the sewer, actually Danny does it.   Well he is the CSI.   Flack thinks Manny's probably laughing at how "two moke detectives are knee-deep in crap"  Danny tells him it's "one moke detective."
Flack: "I don't do sewers."  Since when,  he was in  a sewer with Danny last season, chasing the Compass Killer!  Danny finds a crowbar.   Hawkes sees Danny is going to date the rust from the crowbar but it doesn't match the rust from the door, so Manny wasn't there.   Grace tells Mac Billy wouldn't do this and tells him to leave.

Sid tests his neurone reactions to seeing familiar faces in a photo and when he has an emotional connection to the woman in the photo, the results go off the scale.   That was a reaction to alimony.   He concludes Grace's memory could have been affected and the movements in her hand could just have been ceasures.

Danny tells Jo, Manny and Billy were at the same police precinct at the same time, so he could have overheard the policeman talking, calling upon his girlfriend to dump the crowbar in the sewer.   Giving Jo an idea using the polygraph.   For which she needs Adam's (AJ Buckley) help as a polygraph expert.   Wonder how Jo convinced Adam to take part in the polygraph ploy, anything more about his file, ha.   Using big words Adam forces Owen to come clean.   Even timing it down to the nearest second when Owen will crack.   Manny wanted to see his girlfriend more, so if he confessed he'd be at trial for a year at least.   As he confessed, there wouldn't be a trial, only a sentencing hearing!

 Jo reads the DD5 on Grace's misidentification and places it back on Mac's desk.   Of course, Mac being Mac, had to see her.   Jo admits she "sees history repeating itself."  But this isn't Mac's history, she was under oath to reveal any wrongdoing she may have witnessed in the FBI.   She knew Frank for 12 years and "trust became just another word."  She doesn't regret what she did and wouldn't hesitate to do it again.   Mac: "my team does not sacrifice integrity for a desired result."

So we find out what that reference Adam made about Jo's whistleblowing was in reference to.   Mac reassuring her she won't have the same problem here.   Again alluding to the integrity of his lab and his workers.   Think back to the dressing down he gave Aiden (Vanessa Ferlito) in season 2, when she falsified evidence against the rapist she was after and Mac referred to the integrity of his team/lab and how she jeopardized it.

Lindsay (always interrupts them in the office) links the shard of glass found in the bed, to 'Glasphemy' where people go to take out their aggression.; and to a worker, Paul Benson (Brian Guest).   He grew up in the Vic's (victim's) house.   What is it about Danny and Flack that gives them away as cops.   I sense a chase coming on, that's almost expected everytime they're in a scene together and second one for this season.   But not like past chase scenes when they had to run quite a bit to collar the suspect.

The dirt on Paul's shoes matches the soil from the house.   Danny likens him as the guy "you loved to hate in every John Hughes film."    Flack and Danny talk about how he had everything going, which was a good scene, seeing as they had to apprehend him.  They don't normally share like that, we usually go straight to an interrogation.   They had nothing but Paul's girlfriend's statement about him raping her and his parents testified against him.   Jo reassures his parents they did the right thing.   Mac tells Paul he was old enough to accept responsibility for his actions and not to hide behind his parents, whom he betrayed.

Mac visits Grace in hospital and to say sorry to Billy, "sometimes we lose sight of how hard it is to be called a suspect."  That's true.   Mac's anger is better suited when it's directed at the suspects and criminals that deserve it, not his own team.   Then his character really comes into his own, since that's where you see all the years of hard work and dedication to the job and you know it isn't really a job to him anymore.   It's almost a calling.   Mac having the last word, that he could've made something of his life when he got out, but instead he destroyed an entire family and

The opening was good - how Billy was having a good time at the party whilst his parents had been attacked.   They painted him as being so cool and carefree at the same time.   Also the parallels, in some respects between the two families: both had sons, one set of parents turned in their bad son and Billy's mother was convinced her son was good.   Mac tells her she's lucky at the end, can't help but think he wasn't only commenting on Billy and having a good, caring son, but also her being lucky to survive.

As for the title of the episode, "damned if you do" the family who testified against their son, and "damned if you don't" the family who had nothing to do with Paul, but were unfortunate enough to be in his line of fire.   As for making snap judgements, and decisions over the guilt of Billy, that's something CSIs aren't meant to do.   They need to "follow the evidence" as we've heard often enough.   Letting the evidence lead them to the suspect.   That's why it was a bit of a shock seeing Mac rely solely on Grace's ID to pursue Billy.   Sid spelled out what I also said, that a good defence lawyer would discredit the case.   Since when can you solely rely on statements made by someone who has just suffered such a traumatic attack and hasn't even received proper medical care yet.   It should've occurred to Mac that she was reaching out for her son in the photo for comfort/safety after what she endured.  An episode clearly showing, you can't decide until you've got all the facts.

CSI:Miami episode, MIA/NYC-Nonstop (the crossover/introductory CSI:NY) had a similar storyline, where a man ordered a family killed, only the wrong family was killed as he was dyslexic.   Wrong family, wrong address.  The dead couple's son was framed as a suspect for their murder.   Here Paul killed the wrong family, and wrong address.

This case was loosely based on the real life case of Chris Porco who was accused of killing his father with an axe and attempted murder of his mother, who survived.  The case on him being a leading suspect was centred on him as the investigating detective at the CS asked his mother to ID his killer and he asked if it was her son, to which she nodded.  He was found guilty on both counts.
CSI episode Blood Sports where a coach was attacked and went about his normal routine before he collapsed and died, was also based on this case.

NCIS - 7.21: "Obsession" Review


As the title suggests Tony becomes obsessed with a TV reporter after she disappears, whilst working on a story. Allison returns with a man in tow, who looks awfully suspicious. 

A man crashes his car outside a hospital.   McGee (Sean Murray) tells Tony he has two reminders from Brenda Bittner, she's posted on line that she's in a 'committed relationship' with Tony (Michael Weatherly).   She's the barista from Gibbs' (Mark Harmon) coffee shop.   Ziva (Cote de Pablo) asks when Tony was going to tell them about being in a committed relationship (cos we all know how committed Tony can be, ha.)  Tony's not dating her, they only spent the night together.   Tony hasn't set his private settings correctly.   Ziva thinks he's getting too old for these one night stands.   Oh she got that expression right.   Tony will settle down when he meets the right girl, whom he thought was Jeanne, luckily she wasn't Ms Right.   Gibbs tells Tony, "don't ever settle DiNozzo."

The Vic was Lt Jeffrey Hutton.   Ziva asks what Tony is looking for in Ms Right? Tony: "Very independent, intelligent, successful, professional."
Ziva: "What would this woman possibly see in you?"

Ducky (David McCallum) can't determine the COD.   The Vic's sister is ZNN reporter Dana Hutton, (Ashley Scott) Tony want to accompany Ziva to interview her.   Gibbs lets him.   She's blond, really cute but Tony's a professional.   Brenda calls Tony and they find Dana's apartment trashed.   Allowing Tony the chance to snoop around, he looks at the piano and her photos.   I have to admit, I immediately thought of the movie Laura as soon as I read the one line summary for the episode.   Though I was waiting for someone to mention it in here and finally Ziva did.

Gibbs: "We don't answer anything," to Navy Operations Command.   Tony says NIOC has secrets and he's obsessed with Dana already  Abby (Pauley Perrette) has the laptop.   Jeffrey's CO, Capt.  Austin Sears (Bobby Hosea) asks if it was an accident.   Ducky can't find any reason for his multiple organ failure, he was in perfect health.   They'll need SecNav clearance as he was working on a classified project.   Gibbs asks Tony about his pal at NIOC, whoever he was cos we didn't get to see him.

Dana's producer, Rex (Jonathan Kerrigan) tells Ziva and Tony that her old friend was killed in a car accident and she was overseeing the sale of his bookstore.   Ziva clearly flirts with him.   She was working on a piece on Private Military Contractors (PMC).   (Cue Hart and Bell.)  Tony sits on Dana's anchor chair.

Rivera (Marco Sanchez) is from the Mexican Justice Department and Vance (Rocky Carroll) says he's here courtesy of the State Department.   Rivera's legal counsel for the Justice Department in Mexico.   Allison Hart (Rena Sofer) helped secure Bell's release.   Enough with the 'Mr Gibbs' already!  Vance gives her temporary employee status.   That was easy for her to obtain, especially with her past associations with Bell and she wasn't even vetted!  Abby says the Tox screen will take time and Tony hugs her.  Palmer (Brian Dietzen) tells him she's in a foul mood.   Abby threatens them with the guns in the ballistics lab, for someone who doesn't like guns.   Palmer suggests a double date with Tony and Brenda.

Tony's 'missing' from work and is watching Dana's interviews and asks McGee for her number.  "Give me the number or I'll Gibbs slap you." Tony wants to check out the bookstore.   Besides wouldn't Tony be able to get her number without McGee's help, he's an agent after all and an obsessed one at that.   Ziva is curious as to how Tony knows, "called research Da-vid." Palmer worked on the Vic and found a small puncture wound on his shoulder.   Ducky lets him remove the dot.   Abby says it looks like a bowling ball, she'd say that.   Allison brings Rivera to the lab and he invites Abby to Mexico.   She's too busy to give him a tour of the lab.  Why is Allison (Mallison) ordering Abby around, she's not her boss, she should have complained.

There's a sax player outside the bookstore, recall Tony undercover as a singer outside a restaurant in season 4.   He meets Maggie Reed (Kerrie Keane).  Now she was an obvious suspect, having access to the bookstore.   The safe inside is open and empty, also how could she have missed that.   Gibbs has clearance now and the DB was Charlie Baskum.   Jeffrey was doing a report for the joint chiefs at PPMCS.   McGee says Dana was working on the story and Abby realizes Jeffrey was murdered.   Ducky says the metal pellet contained ricin inside.  Abby comments Gibbs hates it when she asks him to guess.   Ducky concludes he was killed by a cold War weapon and recalls 1978 and the umbrella murder, when Gregor Markov was killed when a passer-by with a folded umbrella injected him with a pellet.   The hospital couldn't help since there's no antidote.   Dana was writing on the negative aspects of PMCs like Bell, thus the presence also of Allison.  Who turns up in Gibbs' basement.   If he locked his front door he wouldn't have a social life.   She knew he was investigating PMCs and Dana was a friend of hers, small world.  

Rex was Dana's boyfriend, which makes Tony jealous.  "There are consequences for misleading Federal Agents."  But nothing's serious with her and she uses people so he let her use him.   Which prompts Tony to grab him by the collar.   Abby loves the word 'symposium'.   McGee comments Rivera probably wants to know how many tattoos she's got.   Abby teases, perhaps she's got another one.   Tattoos were mostly discussed in seasons 1 & 2 when Kate (Sasha Alexander) was around and when McGee got one too, to impress Abby.   1985 was the year of the spy.   There were many arrested on US soil.   Ziva says Charlie's death was an accident and he had the name of a dead man who emigrated from Canada.   Ziva asks Gibbs if he's spoken with Tony.   He went to ZNN and got "physical" with Rex.   He might be obsessed with Dana, not might, he is.   Tony plays her piano and leaves her a message on her phone.   Ziva worrying about Tony again, as she did in season 4 when he was seeing Jeanne and making all those hospital trips.   Then telling Gibbs about Tony once more.

Finally Ziva turns up and mentions Laura (1944).   Tony: "Ziva making a film reference - go figure."  Ziva claims Dana won't walk through his door as this is real life, she was wrong.   Ducky finds the COD was "pink tooth."   The use of an arsenic compound from Russia during the twentieth century.   Vance recalls the legend of Yuri, a mole in the DC area, who funded KGB operations in the US and Charlie fits this profile.   He had $10 million in a slush fund.   Tony associates him with Kevin Costner's landlord in No Way Out (1987) mentioned again.   McGee thinks these would be great characters if he was writing a novel.   Gibbs says it's about the money and they search the bookstore.   Dana calls Tony and they meet at Gibbs' fave backdrop.  

Gibbs finds Microfiche which is the earlier version of the flash memory as McGee tells Gibbs.   Who refers to them as the 1970's version of those memory plug in things in the side of the computer.   Dana has been in hiding and he tells her about Yuri/Charlie.   She opened the safe and found Russian documents and codes.   She told Jeffrey and they did their own research.  There's no money in the safe cos it was obviously in his books, the first editions, etc, William Shakespeare's works were worth $6 million and the Guttenberg Bible printed on vellum was worth 10 times $2.5 million.   Dana thinks it was "probably the same person who killed me." She's been injected too.   (Didn't this remind you of the season 4.16 Dead Man Walking episode with Ziva and her brief love, Roy Sanders.   The parts with Tony and what happeend to Dana at the end, I mean.)

Vance says Fornell owes Gibbs dinner.   The microfiche was a ledger and Gibbs sees one name on the list stand out: Maggie.  He converses with her in Russian, she wanted the KGB money.   She was at the bookstore all this time and didn't think there might have been something of value there.

Tony's turn to acquiesce Gibbs' basement now for some bourbon.   Dana died peacefully.   Tony's not fine, he broke Rule number 10: never get personally involved in a case.   Gibbs: "it's the rule I've always had the most trouble with."  As we know from past experience.

Well they had to make this episode eventually, even if it took 5 years to get there; the number of times Tony's mentioned the film Laura, only in this episode Dana dies.   In Laura, played by Gene Tierney, the detective who falls for her was played by actor, Dana Andrews, wonder if that's why Dana was named so.   Ashely Scott was in Dark Angel and Michael actually got some scenes with his former co-star, which he didn't get with William Gregory Lee.   Laura was first mentioned in season 2.17 An Eye for an Eye.    Tony and his allusion to No Way Out again as in 5.5 Leap of Faith, where he said, "sort of an Arab version of Kevin Costner in No Way Out."  Clearly a movie that can be applied to many genres and nationalities.

At least this episode was enjoyable and as atmospheric as a film noir, especially the haunting music in the scenes where Tony is obsessing over Dana.

Tony got involved personally in this case, but we knew that was coming, they all do, one way or another as we know, they either fall for the suspect, like Ducky and Gibbs in the past, or the object of their obsession is killed, like Ziva's amour in season 4.   Which no one mentioned here, but Ziva was more involved than Tony was, he only just briefly met her.   Tony turns to Gibbs in his darkest hour.   And Brenda was all but forgotten.   Think Tony believed Dana could have been Ms Right, but he didn't really know her and Rex said she used people, so, probably not right for him anyway.   Besides at the end of the day, she was just the woman on the other side of the TV screen for Tony.   However Tony tends to get 'obsessed,' at least intense over his female counterparts, friends, colleagues, or should I just say women, in general and be done with it, when he's genuinely concerned about them, jealous, or just plain fancies them.   Such as with Ziva in season 6 after he found out she was keeping secrets about her relationship with Rivkin and felt he had to protect her from him.

McGee's tattoo, or the possibility of him having one was mentioned in season 1's Sub Rosa and Kate's tattoo which Tony was so curious about was in My Other Left Foot.   Allison's there for a reason, has an ulterior motive for being there and not just cos she was friends with Dana, curiously the episode started out with Dana investigating PMCs, as Allison is so connected with those and ended up with Russian spies.  

Also Ducky calls the umbrella murder Vic, Gregor instead of Georgi Markov, who was actually Bulgarian, not Russian.   Though his hit was ordered by the KGB.

Sunday 1 July 2012

Desperate Housewives - 7.8: "Sorry Grateful" Review


Thanksgiving for us and for Wisteria Lane has everyone revealing their doubts and insecurities, Renee about her choices with men, still wanting Tom; Susan missing Mike, Gaby plotting to keep Grace.

Mary Alice (Brenda Strong): "Felicia (Harriet Sansom Harris) knew many things: Paul killed her sister, had to find proof and needed help.  She knew she was lucky to have a daughter who did what she was told."  Beth (Emily Bergl) hasn't been able to find out anything about Paul (Mark Moses) and Felicia realizes she slept with him.  Beth considers it a sacrifice for her aunt.

Mary Alice: "Thanksgiving: defrosting turkey; visiting family; performing in pageants, shopping and stress."  Just like the ghosts in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol (2009), each of these is going to be 'visited' upon the residents of Wisteria Lane. Gaby (Eva Longoria) - I've dropped the Parker from her name - forces Carlos (Richard Antonio Chavira) to cook to celebrate his Mexican culture.  She's Mexican too, isn't she?  Grace's (Cecilia Balagot) parents would prefer to eat Mexican food on Thanksgiving.  How does she know they would, she's only known them a short while and socializing with them is so beneath her, she's only doing it for Grace.  Carlos' culture is contained within the two shopping bags.

 I can't help but think that celebrating with Mexican food was just a metaphor, or rather an underlying story that Grace's parents were illegals, so Gaby could get her grubby little paws on grace for good.  Just as Paul appears to be scheming with Beth, it seems like he's just toying with her and stringing her along because he knows who she really is, that Felicia is her mother and once he's got his way with her, the penny will drop and he'll admit everything.  (Penny dropping is an English term meaning "it will occur or happen.")

In the same way that it seemed Gaby forgot to bring home the pies on purpose because she could take Hector (Rolando Molina) with her and made him drive on the shoulder so he would be arrested.  She only had a sip of wine that we saw and claiming she couldn't drive.  Well when Hector is arrested and deported back to Mexico that's strike one for Gaby and one parent taken care of. Renee (Vanessa Williams) invites Lynette over for dinner and Lynette (Felicity Huffman) wants Susan to come too, but as a guest, not the hired help.

Susan (Teri Hatcher) doesn't like the idea of sleep training, she hates to listen to babies cry.  Paul tells Beth he thinks Felicia has mental problems as who else would cut off their own finger to frame him for murder.  That's rich coming from him, didn't his son also have so-called mental problems?  Which makes Beth begin to wonder too.  Seems almost like acting on his part, I can't believe he really doesn't know about Beth.  Also all Paul wants is vengeance on his neighbours.  That's not exactly healthy.

Mary (Nancy Travis) apologizes to Bree (Marcia Cross) with flowers, her marriage to Richard (John Schneider) is strained.  Bree tells her to make him aware of her feelings and invites them to dinner. Tom (Doug Savant) brings Renee a cream pie from Lynette, it'll be eaten at their house and sees her in her blue towel.  He recalls every detail of her in her blue, striped towel, way back when.  She admits to fishing for compliments from Tom, who develops a clumsy streak all of a sudden, surprised her towel didn't just "fall off!"

Carlos says Gaby didn't cook, she just did her hair for two hours and so now has to pick up the pies she forgot.  As said, that was convenient for her.  Hector doesn't have a licence as he's illegal.  Another notch on Gaby's belt for taking care of people selfishly and an obstacle removed furthering her foray into getting her grubby, little paws into Grace for good.  She drives home and complains of not being able to use the stick shift on Hector's car and blames him for driving on the shoulder like it was his idea.  Juanita in true Gaby fashion can only think of where the pies are.  Well, substitute Prada bags for pies!

Susan can't resist doing her job and attending to Paige when she cries.  That's the job of a nanny though, looking out for the baby, not pandering to the whims of parents.  Lynette wouldn't expect a stranger to let Paige "self-soothe" (maybe she would) then she'd sue them for neglect!  Mary demands a divorce from Richard and Bree insists that wasn't the advice she gave her.

Beth tells Paul about not having a proper Thanksgiving when she was little.  She invited a boy over, Danny Sullivan, one year and her mother wouldn't let her answer the door to him.  A bit dangerous name dropping like that, Paul's sure to recall it when he needs the dirt on Beth; or at least to find out who she really is, if he doesn't know already.  Beth realizes her mother may be "damaged." She's thankful for Paul. Susan quits as she can't bear MJ crying himself to sleep over Mike (James Denton) every night and so does she.  That's another reason why she can't bear to see Paige cry.  Lynette allows her to call him from her phone, but not for long.

 Renee has a sob-story moment with Tom that she could have chosen any man she wanted but she chose the rich ones, unlike Lynette who knows how to pick them, kind and gentle, like him.  Oh have your one night stand with Renee already and get it over with!  Either that or tell Lynette about the past, 'cause either way the truth will out. Keith (Brian Austin Green) comes to believe marriage is futile since his parents are divorcing after 35 years, but Richard tells him it was leading to divorce anyway.  He shouldn't be cynical and Bree hopes to be married again one day.

Richard tells Bree he knew she was special from the moment he saw her.  Cue him making a play for her soon, in my opinion.  He's going to do something bad. Beth visits Felicia and admits Paul didn't kill her sister, she can't believe what she's hearing and tells her to join a wine club and get him drunk enough to confess, then tells her to leave him.  She won't, he's her husband.  You wouldn't expect Beth to be so naive or stupid.  She writes to a man in prison expecting never to meet him, then marries him and falls for everything he tells her.

So whose idea was it to chase Paul, probably Felicia's. Grace is a US citizen, causing the wheels in Gaby's brain to turn faster as she now plots to keep Grace all to herself, since Hector is deported and her mother will have to go into hiding.  Sure that thought crossed her mind on many occasions.  Mary Alice: "Once a year we remember to...count our blessings; thanks for friends who understand us, lovers who make us happy, children who do our bidding...thankful for what we are given, even if it's just an opportunity." The title is from a song in the Stephen Sondheim musical Company.

CSI: Miami - 9.3: "See No Evil" Review


A blind man overhears a woman being attacked, who is then kidnapped for a ransom. Horatio meets up with an old nemesis with links to the abduction, sparking a hunt for escaped prisoners.

A blind man in an 'out of order' public toilet hears a girl being attacked and backs further into the toilet, making a noise.   He tells him he's blind and begs for his life.   The attacker calls him worthless and won't shoot him.   The blind man heads straight for the police and lo and behold said police turns out to be Horatio (David Caruso).   Who just happened to be nearby.   Horatio runs to find the van taking off with the girl inside.   The blind man knew the police were there as he heard the clicks from the sirens.   Ben (Jonathan Keltz) describes the scene to Ryan (Jonathan Togo) and Natalia (Eva Larue)  both given the dirty jobs of analyzing the toilet.   That was left to Walter (Omar Miller) in last season's In Plane Sight episode.   This time Ryan has to do it after he blatently refused last time.

Ryan whispers to Natalia that he doesn't know how good a witness Ben will be as he didn't see anything.   Well the moral being you don't have to see a thing to be helpful.   Ryan should know that from when he got  attacked by a nail gun in his eye a few seasons ago, in 4.8 Nailed.   Showing how everyone takes their sight for granted.   Ben tells Ryan that he's standing in front of him and waving his hand in front of his face too.   Ben heard footsteps, a crash and the sound of metal on metal.   Something dropped down the drain, which turn out to be dog tags belonging to a Todd Peterson (John Allen Nelson).   Natalia thinks the girl must have pulled them from her attacker.

Todd tells Horatio the dog tags belong to him and she's his daughter, Lyndsay (Kaili Thorne).   Delko (Adam Rodriguez) had to accompany Horatio.   Yet more assumptions are made from Delko.   Lyndsay called him for the PIN number to the account to withdraw money.   Her mother, Claire (Erika Eleniak) says she's talking to Lyndsay right now on the phone and Delko clumsily attaches the wire to the phone to begin a trace.   The kidnapper heard him and knows the call is being traced.   Horatio promises Lyndsay won't get hurt in yet another routine kidnapping episode.

The kidnapper tells Lyndsay to wear the vest attached with C4.   Calleigh (Emily Procter) and Walter ask for Ben's help in listening to the call to ppssibly  identify which branch of the bank the kidnapper is near to.   Calleigh says he can Id the sounds.   Calleigh in yet another desk job, hiding behind the desk that is.

Ben hears a recycling truck.   Lyndsay walks into the bank to make a $50,000 withdrawal.   Ben also hears dogs barking.   Calleigh thinks it's a kennel.   Both are located to one street where Ryan and Horatio arrive.   Horatio asks Lyndsay to turn to her left so she can be photographed by the ATM camera.   Ryan gets a look at the kidnapper and describes him to the sketch artist, April (Keelin Woodell) with whom he also flirts.   Claire identifies the kidnapper as her hairdresser, Dominic Giordano (James Carpinello).   Of course she'd tell him everything about the family, cos that's what happens at hairdressers.   She blabbed they keep lots of money in their accounts.

Horatio catches up with Dominic which isn't shown how and gets heavy handed with him.   Delko also tries to play rough in this season too.   He won't name his partner as he'll kill him.   He's somewhere Horatio will never look, well he got that wrong.   Calleigh comments the money doesn't belong to the Petersons and Todd admits he puts money from Japanese investors into his account in return for a fee.   Todd says he's not a criminal and he doesn't get arrested in the end either.   For all he knows they were probably money laundering.   It was obvious Dominic wasn't working alone since that wasn't his voice in the toilet.

Horatio looks at the ATM footage.   Tripp (Rex Linn) finds Dominic only has a DUI in 2007.   Horatio recognizes the signature of the bomb panels as belonging to Joe Labrock (John Sharian).   He was after Kyle in prison.   Labrock is being held in a private prison.   Ben hears Labrock's voice and identifies him as the man in the toilet.   Labrock gives himself away by saying Ben is "blind and crazy."  If he'd never seen him before how'd he know he was blind.   Labrock has the audacity to ask Horatio about Kyle.  He uses being behind bars as his alibi.   Ryan tests his hands for explosives, testing positive.   Horatio: "Shocking."  Labrock and Dominic were in detention together, where he came up with the plan.   Labrock tells Horatio, Lyndsay is probably dead or dying.   Prison won't be anything he'll need to worry about if she's dead, threatens Horatio.

Delko checks out the prison cell and he doesn't even wear any gloves.   Walter processes Labrock for trace.   Then finds sodium alginate when he analyzes the trace evidence from his shoes.  This is used in pet foods and meat.   Calleigh recalls Ben said Labrock smelt of fish, thus he must be near a fish factory.   Leading Horatio and Ryan to Labrock's location and his half of the money, as we ll as to Lyndsay.  Labrock's hideout is close to the prison.  Delko discovers the object he found in the book was a make-shift wrench used to remove the screws from the toilet attached to the wall.   A tunnel has been dug which leads to his hideout.   The guard puts the prison on lockdown and finds 8 other cells like this one.

Horatio and Delko only find 3 other prisoners in the tunnel and Delko is attacked by a prisoner with a syringe, then chooses to ignore Horatio's advice and doesn't get it checked out.   So anything happening there then with perhaps a pending future storyline.   Like Stella in season 3 CSI:NY episode, Heart of Glass where she cut herself with a bloody piece of glass from a CS.   That's stupid of Delko not to be checked out, since the syringe came from the prison.   Horatio wants the city locked down.  "Let the manhunt begin."  The title for the next episode.

Natalia thanks Ben for his help, he helped them and proved Labrock wrong, he's not worthless.   Well we gathered that already.   Horatio tells Labrock he missed his "own jailbreak."  He told them to wait for his orders.   Horatio's going to lock him in a deep hole.   Labrock lets him know that the prisoners are talking about a certain redheaded lieutenant.   Horatio replies; "I say, bring - it - on."  Yeah why's Horatio still only a lieutenant after the number of criminals he's caught.   There was a joke there with Ben using a toilet which is out of order and it wasn't very funny either.   If he didn't use it then he wouldn't have stumbled across the kidnapping.

Labrock was in the season 6 episodes Inside Out and Chain Reaction with Kyle.   More of a routine episode as I said and one that's been done many times in CSI:Miami: not only the kidnappings but the prisoners too and prison escapes.   What was with Labrock returning to the prison for an alibi, when he was out, what made him think he'd need an alibi since Dominic was too afraid to even name him.   All he had to do was take the money and run.   Also why are the other prisoners hanging around waiting too get back at Horatio, when they can be long gone.   He didn't even know there was a prison escape from an inefficiently run private prison.   The emphasis being on private.   Yeah cos state and federal run prisons don't get prison breaks!

Delko siding with Horatio aplenty thus far this season - when Horatio almost always did the job alone.   He's also coming across as aggressive this season, following Horatio's lead.   Walter didn't have much to do this time round and as I said before there's no more joking around with him and Ryan, as there was last season.   Everything's pretty glum and all routine work.   There's less focus on characterization also and more on fast-paced action, as in the 'old' CSI:Miami days.   Only those episodes were far more interesting.