CSI 14.10 "Girls Gone Wild" Review

                                                
Morgan (Elisabeth Harnois) comes rushing in to the lab to tell DB (Ted Danson) that Sara's (Jorga Fox) been shot and Finn (Elisabeth Shue) is missing, as they head over to the town where it happened.  Nick (George Eads) and DB fly over in a helicopter with Brass (Paul Guilfoyle) and find Sara is fine, the bullet grazed her head but it was a near miss.  The deputy however is dead.  She relays what happened to Brass, as Nick and DB search for Finn. We then see Finn trying to hitch a ride and is run over.  Oh come on, she didn't realize what that truck was going to do when it turned around and drove back at her at speed?  So naive for a CSI!

48 Hours Earlier

Sara is glad the day's over, or rather night and she just wants to go home and have some wine.  Finn's got paperwork, but Morgan has tickets to a spa, so she convinces them to come along and share her suite.  Cue using Finn's car, and girls going wild in the ride over, did Morgan really lift her shirt up and take a pic?!!  So car breaks down and a sleazy mechanic, Darryl (Kristoffer Polaha) is called.  He can't fix the car but he recommends the hotel and the bar at Larkston, plus it's Karaoke night.  This being up Morgan's street (not shirt! ha) as she loves to sing and surprises them with her rendition of 'Take A Little Piece of My Heart.'  Sara is impressed, but Finn is too busy making goo goo eyes at Darryl, who Morgan thinks is ugly, well she got that right.  Trust Finn to go after anyone she meets in a pair of jeans!  I mean over the series we've seen her with her ex, Det Moreno, she'd even go out with that fire investigator guy if she had her way.  Anyway, she calls it a night but wants to spend it with sleazy Darryl, so they make out, until she finds his wedding ring in his pocket, er, living in such a hot town (as in weather, ha!) why didn't he have a tan line on his ring finger, er, cos he doesn't wear that ring very often!

She doesn't want to be with a married man but he doesn't take no for an answer and tries to rape her, pulling out a knife.  Finn fights back and stabs him, before running back to tell the others, who see her with blood on her and she's been cut on her arm, which will need stitches.  They all return to the CS, only to find Darryl gone.  There are his bootprints leading away and also blood drops, showing he was helped.  Morgan takes photos of the tyre treads and the boots etc, until Sheriff Gardner (Patrick St Esprit) arrives.  He doesn't believe Finn's story and thinks they're just messing up his CS.  He places Finn under house arrest.

As Finn is patched up by the local coroner, Dr Kinney (Garrett M Brown) another sleazy looking man, who tells the sheriff her bruises look like she's telling the truth.  The sheriff isn't convinced.  Morgan still has the photos on her phone which Sara tells Brass about and she has Greg (Eric Szmanda) check the tyre treads. They match to a truck owned by Darryl's wife, Valerie (Erin Anderson).  She's found in Vegas and she was working the entire time, then drove here.  Greg also tells her about the trace of marijuana found in the truck, which Darryl used to borrow. Hodges (Wallace Langham) takes the plan of the area and sees how much electricity was being used, since a hydroponics lab would need a lot of power and the trails leads to a shed. Sara investigates with the sheriff and deputy Willis (Nico Swindell-Evers).

This is where Darryl used to store cars and Sara thinks they could be it them as a chopshop.  Inside one of the cars, she finds a DB of a woman, which is beginning to decompose.  Morgan takes a sample of something green on her shoe.  Sara wants Finn to help them cos she didn't have anything to do with this CS. Back at the lab,  Doc (Robert David Hall) finds she has ligature marks, was beaten with a hammer and also a pubic hair inside her mouth (yuck) which Greg can analyze as it has a follicle attached.  The girl's fingerprint leads to Brenda Whittaker, a missing woman who vanished , along with another two women who were also reported missing, whose cars were also found by Sara.

Darryl's abandoned car is found and she think Darryl could've got a bus out.  Sara is called by Henry, who wasn't in this ep, and is told about the DNA from the hair, since she pulls a gun on the deputy, as well as getting DNA from Darryl.  Appears he was in on the rape too and Finn wouldn't have been the first Vic.  He refuses to give up and fires at Sara, the bullet grazing her. Brass clears her and IA will do the same.  She thanks him for being here and he wants her to let him know when they find Finn.  The green trace on Brenda's shoe is algae and Finn is told this.  She goes out to find a body of fresh water where this is found.

Nick and DB check out her room and find what she was searching, after Nick asks DB for Finn's password. He first thinks of Bloodgirl and then comes up with Agnes, a favourite aunt of hers.  They head to the bar and the bartender, Gary (Gregory Cruz) tells them Finn asked for some off the map areas where freshwater is found.  He recalled Stone lake.  Nick and DB head here, to find Darryl's DB and a pool of blood beside him.  He was shot and the bullets suggest Finn's service pistol.  DB also finding a 'rape kit' as he calls it complete with duct tape, shackles.  DB posits Finn acted in self defence and Nick finds a bullet hole in the wall.  She shot him through the heart.  Nick processes the scene as DB heads back.  He sees broken light glass in the road and stops to find Finn.

Sara and Morgan process Finn and find a logo impression on the leg of her jeans when she was run over, 'MMC'.  Greg finds this belongs to an exclusive club, 'Million Mile Cub' and there's one registered owner in Larkston.  No surprises there for finding who that is.  See sleazy coroner Kinney, who was trying to be so helpful.  Nick talks with him  and he doesn't seem to understand that rape is rape and there's no ifs or buts about it. His used condoms were discarded in the campground where they found Darryl, showing he was also involved.  He puts this down to having sex with the girls, he didn't hurt them though, that was all Darryl and Willis.  Liked Nick's line where he said he's a CSI and a pretty good one at that!  So true. Also he was talking to a brick wall really since he didn't understand that what he did at the end of the day still amounted to rape.  He also tried to kill Finn so he wouldn't be implicated, which he calls an accident.

That was one town to stay clear off!  Sara and Morgan bring Finn a spa to the hospital with a basket of goodies and Finn has to go for the heavy bottle to pick up.  Remember the ep where the CSI guys went away for Henry's birthday in 10.9 Appendicitement (so strange Henry wasn't in this ep) and they ended up getting involved in a case, where this was pretty much the same but with the girls of CSI this time round.  Seems wherever they go, they always find themselves in some kind of trouble. For a minute there, it looked like this episode was going to follow suite and be a rehash of sorts of the ep where Catherine was actually attacked back in season 7 Built to Kill Parts 1 & 2, where she could have been raped, but wasn't.  But they had Finn fight off Darryl.  Though if he didn't have that knife, wonder if she still could've managed that.

Also remember the ep where Sara spent that night with a man she met in the restaurant and was framed for his murder, after first being accused of killing him, well this story wasn't that far behind, in terms of storyline. See 13.15 Forget me Not.   Finn, not one of my fave characters, so I didn't find it easy to sympathize with her predicament, she's always looking for a good time, irrespective of the consequences, not that I'm condoning what happened to her, but seems she's just that sort of a character.  Sexual assault being such a difficult subject to deal with in reality.

So anyway, Morgan fronted a band in California, Sara seems not to have heard of Beyonce, but clearly was trying to get out of singing on stage.

London Film and Comic Con July 2014

So, so you wanna know about #LFCC July 12th 2014. A memorable day for many reasons, not just cos it was meant to have been a great, fun time for everyone who had tickets, wanted tickets on the day, but cos of everything that was happening there. Guess the 'Comic' part said it all!

Finally getting round to writing something, even if it's not want people want to read cos I've been pestered into it!  As said it was memorable but for the wrong reasons, first impressions last and here were huge crowds, no organization, people not knowing which queue to join since they didn't know where it started or ended.  11am and the queue was still getting longer, not just for one building, but for both.  Luckily we only had to queue for half an hour, or should that read miraculously!

Better organization was definitely needed and perhaps a little under subscription, in terms of perhaps too many tickets, too many fans and not enough room!  Or a larger venue would've been better.  Once we eventually got into one building, it was hard to move about, so it was even more difficult getting out, cos you couldn't get back in.  Kudos to those who managed it.  I guess if you had a three day pass or intended to come for two days, it was okay cos you could split up your time and go do what you wanted on different days.  Not everyone could manage this, including me, cos of other commitments.  I have been to enough of these events to know chaos and disorganization when I see it.  OH dear did this turn into a rant?!

Anyhoo, it was a different atmosphere and event to #LFCC October 2013, understandable.  A lot of the fans were there for the Stan Lee signings, talk, photoshoot, since they had waited a long time for this.  Others were there for the Sherlocked Event preview, announced only a little prior to the event.  Which kind of added to the chaos on the Saturday.  It was all well and fine saying people can come just come along, buy tickets on the day and they will get in, but in practice this wasn't the case at all.  I'm not surprised plenty gave up, whilst others were still queueing at 5pm which is when we left.

Had a nice chat with Vincent M Ward from The Walking Dead, eventually since he didn't have so many people waiting to meet him and get his autograph.  That was another thing, once in, there were long waits for some people and not for others.  SO having told Vincent I don't watch the show, which he was surprised at, no, shocked, definitely shocked, I promised I'd watch from now on, which means going back to the beginning. Such a funny and sweet guy.  Hope he gets onto Dancing With The Stars show cos that's what he wants to do and Vincent gets to do theatre in London sometime in the future too.

Took us 4 hours to wait to meet Milo Ventimiglia, one of the highlights, of the show as I didn't get a chance to meet him when he was here for the Heroes publicity etc years ago.  A case of being on different continents back then also! ha.
Yes 4 hours, couldn't believe that too.  Especially since people got their 'virtual tickets' but somehow either didn't come back when they should have, or couldn't come back in, who knows?  But we were determined not to leave the queue this time!  Got my Heroes book signed, had a longish chat and my official photo too.

I guess missing out on meeting Dina Meyer was a bit of a bummer, cos I had looked forward to it and just didn't get the chance, being sent away and told to come back in half an hour, 2 hours, 20 minutes etc  Still have our 'Virtual Tickets' if anyone wants them?  No, seriously, what was the point of that.  Cos later in the evening, she had 2 photoshoots, so wouldn't be coming back for anymore signings and I really wanted my NCIS book signed by her, as well as meeting her after all these years, you know, Point Pleasant and all that!  As she was in 2 eps of the NCIS too, Jet Lag and Guilty Pleasure.  Guess that memory, or lack off, will last for a long time and all for the wrong reasons.  Can I sue?

The closest we got!

Yes I like catching them on camera when they're not looking back atcha!

Not even getting a glimpse of the Sherlock set made up for that day.  Well only slightly!

Right up next is DSTL 2014! Will have much better organization at ExCeL.

Books here: and amazon.com and other book sites!
http://www.amazon.co.uk/My-Ncis-Unofficial-Unauthorized-Guide/dp/1291032177/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1406761149&sr=1-1&keywords=mila+hasan

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Heroes-Uncovered-Unauthorized-Mila-Hasan/dp/1291913823/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1406761149&sr=1-5&keywords=mila+hasan

CSI 14.9 "Check In and Check Out" Review

                                               
A pizza delivery guy delivers pizzas to a motel room and finds the DBs of a couple, and then promptly makes a pizza delivery of his own, ha, okay it was an uncalled for bad joke!! Brass (Paul Guilfoyle) comments on him finding the DB's and this ep marks the return of Nick (George Eads) to the fold.  There were several scenes where Nick reminded me of Gil Grissom with that beard of his!  When he was walking to his truck and spots the old man in the room next door, for starters.

Nick processes the CS along with Finn (Elisabeth Shue) and recalls he's been her before.  Finn recalls it was when the man ODed outside but he recalls being inside the motel room.  He remembers the neon sign from the window.  Finn also now remembers she had a case here too.  David (David Berman) tells them they've both been here cos he's been here twice before as well.  He's given up counting the number of stab wounds inflicted on the DB.

The motel manager, Trent (Chad Todhunter) tells Brass how his family owned the motel and now he's taken it over.  Cue my suspect straightaway!  It's me, suspicious of everyone, ha, not really.  Well there's not much that could've happened there without him knowing about it, or being in on it.  His family used to run it, now it's just him.  It's not the Bellagio, but it's Brass's job to find out what happened as Trent tells him.  Also adding that he doesn't keep a list of guests cos it's only $39 a night and the clientele aren't that exclusive. Reminded me of that other famous motel, as in Bates!

Morgan (Elisabeth Harnois) brings out the files for the past two cases there and will go over them with Greg (Eric Szmanda).  Mark Bell (Jeremy Craven) was killed there eleven weeks ago after someone stabbed him in his legs when he was in bed, which were almost severed from his body.  Two weeks later, Alex Garnez (Arturo Del Puerto) was attacked whilst he was smoking in the bathroom, the killer also clubbed his wife, Tina, to death.  Morgan says he survived and is in hospital.

Hodges (Wallace Langham) analyzes the evidence collected and concludes there was a third person in the motel room, number 114, with the couple, Anne and Richard Smith, as he found traces of the drug used for headlice, as well as for scabies.  Nick also found a bloody footprint at the CS and no shoes were found. Leading Hodges to determine that the suspect was most likely homeless.  There's a shelter that's run nearby.

Finn and Nick search for Rudy (Brad Carter) and he's found with the scissors from the motel room that were missing, most probably the murder weapon.  As well as Nick finding a third toothbrush and red hair in the drain.  Leading them to Rudy.  He's a schizophrenic and bi-polar, he doesn't recall killing them, but knows he did it.  He doesn't know if he killed the other two Vics.  Finn can't help feeling sorry for Rudy even though she knows he did it.  DB (Ted Danson) trying to tell her as much.  Greg tells Brass that Alex is well enough to speak with them, physically but not mentally.  

A search on the DNA found in the room, on the bed spreads and the mattresses focuses on Randall (Lea Coco) who has a recent record for sexual battery.  DB commenting on what is found on the sheets in motel rooms and Henry (Jon Wellner) adding not to walk barefoot on the carpets either!  Yuck! Randall is questioned and until recently he was in a male show and he fancies himself, period, ha, as a bit of a woman's man, and he used the room to have encounters with women.  He didn't kill the couple or the other two, but he says he was defending himself when the woman he was with turned all psycho on him and thus the charge against him.

Morgan questions Alex with Greg but he can't recall what happened.  He says he was knocked out in the bathroom and he can't ID the killer from any of the men in the photos.  A call comes in after a woman runs out of the same room wielding a broken glass bottle, she's bloody and is raving about numbers.  She's tasered.  Greg finds Alison (Jordin Sparks) wasn't meeting the pupil for a secret rendezvous, but a message one her phone shows he called her feigning needing help.  She wasn't going to drink with him and poured the alcohol down the sink.  She tells Brass and Nick that she was possessed.   DB can't believe they have another murder on their hands when they already arrested Rudy.

Hodges and Henry are sent to analyze the motel room and as Henry takes samples of the carpet and bed, etc, Hodges thanks him for giving him the bathroom.  As Hodges checks it out, he's sprayed on his face from the soap dispenser and begins to act violently.  He knocks Henry back against the mirror and reaches for the pry bar.  Henry manages to get away and call for help.  He tells Nick what happened and then takes a swab from Hodges after he's been treated with a sedative.  Henry's analysis leads him to a potent version of LSD. Nick and Greg check out the bathroom and see blue spots around the floor and the wall.  Finding the dispenser, they see it's connected to the room next door.  Leading back to the God ranting man, Oscar (Armin Shimerman).  He also has a TV in his closet which leads them back to Trent's room.  Trent made him keep the things in his room and he's been watching all of the rooms.  As well as collecting souvenirs from the guests and Vics.

Trent tells Brass that his family never went on holiday so he got curious and started watching the guests through peepholes.  But as technology grew, he started using other means of watching them.  He saw it was fun watching husbands beat their wives etc.   He doesn't think he did anything wrong.  Brass telling him he'll have 25 to life to realize what he did and he'll be watched too in a tiny room.  Morgan has to tell Alex that he killed Tina and that he's going to be arrested for it.  So Trent gets off on watching people kill each other and yet others also have to pay the price for his senseless, stupid voyeurism. So thoughtless and having scant regard for the lives of others.  He should definitely get life, especially since he still finds it all so highly amusing and refuses to accept responsibility for what he's done.  With the survivors having to live with their guilt, especially Alex, who not only tried to kill himself, but also can't bear to look at himself in the mirror, since the face he glanced wasn't that of the killer's, but his own.

American Idol winner, Jordin Sparks appears as the drug induced school teacher, Alison, in a small role, which quite frankly anyone could've pulled off!  Not into American Idol myself.  Hodges and Henry in the end scene, were quite sombre as Hodges clearly unaware of what he might have said apologizes to Henry for saying it.  Henry having to tell him, it wasn't so much what he said, but did.  He apologizes again, which must have been difficult for him given the nature of their relationship, but Henry accepts and shakes his hand. Though Hodges hopes he won't get him back for it in the future.  Henry says he won't but he'd watch out for the coffee. Obviously meaning it's not that good!  Leaving Hodges wondering.

Morgan's comment that the room is responsible, made the ep sound sinister, more than it was, with Nick's comment about The Shining.  Not the first time CSI has delved into such areas, recall the fortune telling woman ep, 6.19 Spellbound; who foresaw her own death the Sherlock ep, Who Shot Sherlock that was a good one and many more.  Yet there wasn't any explanation as to where Nick had been, he just turns up, with that beard! Ha.  As Sara is conveniently absent this ep.

CSI does it with the title again, check in and then leave as a DB!  At least Nick got the final line before the opening credits!  Wonder why no one realized there might have been a camera involved, especially since Finn looks around the room and up at the ceiling quite a few times for the blood spatter.  Then imagines herself in the place of the killer, stabbing the Vics.  Not much for Doc (Robert David Hall) to do this ep other than saying in his years of work, he's never come across anything so gory.

Chad Todhunter has also been in CIS:Miami 10.6 By the Book ep and CSI:NY 7.6 Do Not Pass Go. See my blog review for this.

CSI 14.8 "Helpless" Review

                                                 
As a couple wait for their friends to arrive for wine, the man notices a large ball coming towards them, stopping in front of them, with a bloodied man inside.  Cue DB (Ted Danson) and his jokes of whatever happened to him, spinning, how he saw one of these hamster balls at the state fair, and David (David Berman) needs to collect all the evidence which is inside the ball, so has to take it back to the lab.  Brass (Paul Guilfoyle) commenting on how snags at the fair was no fun for the DB and telling David, "he'll have a ball."  Great to see Brass getting back to his one liners.  Or rather getting his one liners back.

Back at the lab, Finn (Elisabeth Shue) and David collect evidence and trace.  Hodges (Wallace Langham) analyzes the fauna he found and again makes a joke, but then that's just Hodges and well, he's allowed.  This leads them to the DB's house where they find all sorts of other items which show Zach (Gabriel Sunday) was into claustrophilia.  Meaning he liked tight spaces.  Looking at his video album they find he had a female playmate and the lack of oxygen and confinement led to all sorts of inhibitions being lost and arousal.  Finn finds trace on the statue which was used to hit the DB causing the blunt force trauma that David mentioned in the beginning.

The doorbell rings and a large package is delivered which DB can't lift. No, seriously it was only a woman inside, what was he implying, she was that heavy! Ha.  Doc (Robert David Hall) finds that rigour already had set in, hey that actress kept a perfectly still composure with her arms and legs in the air, usually you can still spot them shaking.  Anyway her husband is brought in and he says how she wanted to do this as she needed her own space, or confined space, rather and he agreed to save their marriage.  She said Zach was just a friend and yet they were both together, which he didn't like.  Brass asks him what he does for a living and he replies he looks after horses.  Thus incriminating himself cos the trace Finn found was from their feed.  He hit him with the statue and he rolled away from him.

A bit of a silly and obvious case which was so boring, that it seemed it had been done before but using a different scenario.  You know all the fetish eps, such as Fur and Loathing, oh let's not forget nappy man! 5.15 King Baby.

The second case was more interesting, as this involved Morgan (Elisabeth Harnois) investigating a rape of a woman in her own condo.  Apparently this was investigated by Dawn Banks (Sherry Stringfield) from swingshift and Morgan introduces her to Greg (Eric Szmanda).  Funny Greg didn't know her.  Anyway, the assailant, raped two other women and had the same MO, like leaving the TV open, but the Vic, Amy (Noell Coet) adding she did that herself as she falls asleep to the news.  (Ironic? Ha)  Also in the first two rapes, there was an open window which the rapist didn't use to gain access and made mistakes like that.  Leading Morgan to determine that she was the actual target and the other two were just like practice runs.  That was a bit obvious.  The Vics were all brunettes.

Amy thinks it was her ex Jared (Mark Famiglietti) as she recalls she faintly smelled him.  Jared is brought in with his father, Ken (Christopher Cousins) who is quite adamant Jared is innocent, but is unwilling to let his son 'man up' as Brass puts it.  Jared leaves but Dawn tries to antagonize him by wanting his DNA, hoping that he'll spit at her or something, though he does attempt to go for her juggler.  It backfires.  CSI trying to get back to season 1 with Nick and that pro ep 1.15 I-15 Murders, where the security guard spat on her and they used his DNA in that way to show he assaulted her.

Dawn tells Morgan that his father refuses to let him own up cos that'll show he's a failed parent.  More lilely cos he's the main suspect as far as I was concerned.  Also her comment is a reflection of her own personal life, as she hasn't seen her son, Tyler (Adam Hicks) in a while.  Greg and Morgan go to Dawn's apartment as Dawn doesn't run up for work and find she was working.  She takes a photo of an email open on her computer which shows there was smog absorbing material found at the CS, which Morgan links to a trailer park.  They find Tyler there and he just came in for food, but he doesn't know where his mother is. Morgan adding that Dawn is worried about him.

At the lab, Sean (Matt Davis) comes in and he's heard about Dawn being missing, so he accompanies Morgan to the trailer park.  Where he hears Dawn's phone ring when Morgan calls her and she finds it under some trash.  DB lets Hodges and Henry (Jon Wellner) search the trailer park and Henry finds a trailer with a security camera.  Inside it's not wired, but they find a jacket belonging to Jared, as well as porn videos and Hodges notices a white hair on the jacket.  Thus leading it to be Kevin who is the rapist.  That was a giveaway since as Dawn said, he wouldn't really man up either and take responsibility for his actions.  Having a pathetic excuse too for not only being a perv but also a rapist!  Anyway they find him in photos, clinging  a little too close for comfort to Amy and since Jared lost her, he wanted her.  Walking in on her in the shower, hiring call girls who looked like her.  Then finally getting his chance to attack Amy.  What a twisted man he was!

As Brass questions Tyler about his mother since Dawn's abandoned car is found off the route to Reno, Morgan believes she had evidence that the rapist is Tyler.  However it appears the Reno police informed Dawn of her son's death, as he was homeless and they found his driving licence.  Brass realizes he's not a suspect in a rape but she had his clothes for DNA purposes.  On the way she took a detour after stopping at a truck store and brought pills and booze.  Morgan asks where she would most likely be and why that spot would be important.  Tyler finally helping by replying they went camping there.  Dawn is found barely alive and is taken to intensive care.  Tyler realizing his mother's love for him after all.

So really the CSIs had three cases this ep.  Though Sara (Jorga Fox) disappeared after one scene and Greg didn't feature much either, once again allowing Sean to take an active role on screen and in Morgan's worklife again.  But it was good to see some good come from the story when Tyler agrees to stay with Dawn as he feels for her when she believed he would have died so young.  Also Hodges telling Dawn how much he likes her was a good scene.
Dawn: I can look into it. You're busy.
Hodges: Did I mention my fondness for you? I like her.

Marl Famiglietti was also in the CSI season 1.4 ep, Pledging Mr Johnson. Who could forget that ep? ha.

CSI 14.7 "Under A Cloud" Review

                                              
Greg (Eric Szmanda) drives back to the lab in the rain and Sara (Jorga Fox) calls him to pick up a veggie burger for her, Morgan (Elisabeth Harnois) asks him to do the same and a grilled cheese for Finn (Elisabeth Shue).  When he arrives back, a sinister looking man waits for him in the rain and serves him! Of course we had to think something more dramatic was about to happen, having known already what the ep was going to be about! Sara and Morgan talk about Greg getting food and Henry (Jon Wellner) thinks he can pick him up some soup too.  DB (Ted Danson) walks in to assign another case and it's Sara's turn to go out.  She arrives at the hospital with a man barely alive, or seems to be.  He was found in the flood channels and his satchel caught him from going out any further. Opening his satchel, Sara finds a bomb inside and it activates.

For what appears to be the longest time holding it, the bomb disposal expert, Anthony (Jason Gerhardt) arrived and helps her to give him the satchel.  It's destroyed as a controlled explosion outside and Sara barely gets her legs and her breath back, asking for the bomb parts.  At the hospital she processes his fingerprints and receives a match on AFIS, but it's a fake ID, showing the photo of a black man.  With a fake address, Snowdrift Drive in Atlanta.  Brass (Paul Guilfoyle) asks Sara how she is and it's good to see the old team still have such concern for each other, cos they've been through so much together over 14 years.  Sara also uses her App to find out what he's repeatedly saying over and over, saying 'pearl', the rest of it is not clear.

DB introduces Finn to the investigator, Jennifer Rhodes, a defence criminalist  from the Innocence Project, she's going to be assisting to investigate a case Greg was assigned CSI on, when he was still new back in 2006.  Gus spent 7 years behind bars for a crime he didn't commit and Greg is accused of planting the blood evidence collected from Gus and planting it on the crowbar.  Finn hates she has to investigate Greg cos she was under the same IA investigation in Seattle and DB investigated her, hating every minute.  That's why he assigned her to it and tells her to get over it.  Later evidence which wasn't available at the time, Jennifer calls it, 'touch' evidence, identified another suspect who raped women and killed them.  Gus was seen as a voyeur and was seen by the women when he peeked it through their windows.  It was claimed he took it further with the Vic as she actually reported him to the police.

Finn ignores Greg cos she can't speak to him and he takes that as personal.  Greg just wants access to his notes from back then, but he's not allowed to and DB puts him onto desk duty.  When looking through the evidence, they see Greg took photos of the bedroom first where the DB was found, then the rest of the house, then returned to the house again.  Finn says she processes the serious CS first as well.  Then notices that the photos of the crowbar indicate it's been moved in the second picture he took.  It also has blood drops on it now.  Greg received a sample of blood from Gus to check and eliminate him.  They think he returned to the CS again in the bedroom and planted the blood on the crowbar.  Yet the question they didn't ask is why he would do that and what exactly would he have to gain, especially since he so desperately wanted to be a CSI out in the field and the trouble he went to, to ensure he made it.  Also he was a lab rat before, so if there was evidence planting to be done, sure he'd have had several opportunities there and also in other cases.  So as a plot point in the ep, it was a little obvious he wasn't guilty and secondly we all know Greg by now and how he's not a corrupt CSI!  Oh perish the thought.

Jennifer notices blood spots on the pavement outside the house in photos, which aren't there in the first photo Greg too.  Having decided he's guilty since he head enough time to take blood from the sample tube and also reseal the bag.  Wendy was the lab rat who analyzed the evidence and signed that the bag was sealed when she received it.  Henry does an analysis of the blood from Gus and says there are traces of EDTA in it, but then it's found in most other things too, including, soap, etc.  He wants Finn to include it in the report, adding he's known Greg for along time and he's the most honest person he knows.  Then saying he'll add it to his report himself.  Finn replying she will do that too.  The blood drops were found to be gravitational.  Also there was blood on Gus's handkerchief, found in his pocket, with Finn positing Gus doesn't look like the type to carry one.

They talk with the officer assigned to the case, Yancy Langer (Derek Smith) he said Gus had a nosebleed, which he helped Gus with, putting his hand on his nose and then giving him his own handkerchief.  Why would you use your fingers to stop a nose bleed, for all sorts of health reasons.  He snuck in to take a look at the DB, since he hadn't seen one before and he tripped, but he put everything back.  Thus explaining that's how he repositioned the crowbar.  So he was responsible for an innocent man going to prison for seven years.  He's sorry but he didn't follow the case and didn't realize what had happened to Gus.

Greg is cleared as we know he would've been, and Finn tells Sara about her own investigation and how she still hasn't forgiven DB for it.  She might be new but she cares about him too, which she needs to tell him. She apologizes to him and she knew all along he was innocent but had to remain impartial and go along with Jennifer.  So what would Finn have done if Greg couldn't be exonerated.  Anyway they go for grilled cheese and she offers to pay for it.  Yeah as if that'd make up for it.  Also loved how Sara brought him Baklava from the bakery (love Baklava! ha.) Where she also found out what Agakian (Scott Connors) was saying.
Greg also gets to mention Gil Grissom again and how he followed everything he was trained to do, cos he loves this job and wanted to carry on doing it.

Great to see Sara support Greg since they've been through so much and it's so much like a brother/sister relationship with them.  She tells him how tough this job is and they've all been under scrutiny before, but before she can say anything else, she's called away by Brass.  He's found the hotel where the man was staying.  After they went public with his photo on the news.  Here Morgan finds his passport, identifying him as Agakian, a US Armenian and Sara finds a flashdrive in the toilet roll, well if he was meant to be a professional, it wasn't a very good place to put it.

Sara finds Doc (Robert David Hall) brought him back to the lab since the hospital weren't able to run tests on him and finds he's got ceramic fillings, meaning he's been in the US for along time.  He keeps repeating the same words over and over.  They find Agakian planted a bomb at the Mediterranean Casino since Greg is 'picked up' by the new chemist, Terri Royce (Deirdre Henry) to help with some evidence, reassuring him, they've all had their fair share of investigations, asking him if he did it, cos if he didn't then he'll be fine.  Greg IDs the mark as a grease mark and finds oil was spilled at the casino.   Terri was good, very sassy, being from New Orleans, hope we get to see more of her in future eps!

Sara takes Anthony to help at the casino and she finds there's blood on the fence where it was cut to get into the flood channel.  She takes a sample back to her SUV, but doesn't find any results.  Officer Mitchell (Larry Mitchell) tells her Agakian is dead.  At the hospital morgue, David (David Berman) is greeted by the FBI, who take his DB, as it's their investigation now.  They also return to the lab for the remaining evidence and Morgan accesses the password on the flashdrive after Sara tells her to use the address of the fake ID. Agakian was FBI and was infiltrating an Armenian ring.  He had to get inside by planting bombs but they were fake.  This being determined by Hodges (Wallace Langham) who reconstructs the bomb, much to Henry's disapproval, after first trying to make it go off, using bulbs instead of explosives, the bulbs explode. Then Henry notices the white substance in the tube which should've burnt out if the bomb had gone off.  It's not real, so the bomb was never meant to go off.

Agakian planted the first bomb and then was planting the second one when he slipped and fell into the channel.  The FBI would've removed the bombs and this would've got him into the ring.  But had to abort the investigation now.  Loved the banter between Hodges and Henry when Henry tells him of his life flashing moment, when he had dental surgery to remove his wisdom teeth.  He had a reaction to the drugs and told the dentists he loved her.  Which is more than just an awkward moment for him.  He's still got his wisdom teeth.  Hodges doesn't tell him about his own experience, preferring to leave that until later.

Was that an indictment on Wendy's ability as a lab rat, seeing as how she didn't check all the evidence and especially on the handkerchief, why dismiss all the evidence like that, it didn't necessarily have to be Gus's, could've been someone else's.  Great to see Greg and Sara get centre stage in this ep, but would've been good if Greggie had gotten a much more meatier storyline in terms of getting more screen time, since a frame up was just too pretentious,   He'd never do that, as said before.  But it did serve to show some friction between Sara and Finn and Greg, for having to do this, which was a little too easily explained away, cos it happened to Finn and she was loathe to do it. Anyway don't much like Finn, she always comes across as smug to me.

Jennifer wasn't bothered about nay personal vendettas and just wanted to get to the truth, even if it was at the expense of a good CSI.  Funny Morgan finally getting that veggie burger for Sara who will eat when she gets her appetite back.  But shame Morgan wasn't shown to have any words with Greg over his predicament, in the same way he's been there for her in the past, like when she was kidnapped.  Greg being frustrated at having to go through this, but as Sara tells him, he's dealt with hundreds of cases since then and won't recall this one.

Recall CSI:NY doing something similar in season 1.23 The Closer, when Mac had to reopen a case he investigated when a bloody hammer was used to convict a man who turned out to be innocent. turned up.  CSI:NY 7.3 Damned if You Do involved a crowbar, also been done in CSI in the past, such as 7.21 Ending Happy.

CSI 14.6 "Passed Pawns" Review

                                                 
Jeremy Sikes (Eric Frentzel) a homeless man enters Pike's Casino and goes on a winning spree.  The pit boss, Bobby (Steven Bauer) thinks he's cheating and replaces the dealer, Kristi (Shannon Lucio) but Jeremy decides he wants to quit now.  Should've quit while he was ahead.  Bobby offers him a room where he can clean up and then come back and play again but he wants to cash out.  Jeremy is later found in an alley, apparently stabbed.  Morgan (Elisabeth Harnois) is at the CS when Sean Yeager (Matt Davis) turns up from Dayshift, telling her it's his case since her shift was over two hours ago.  He wants to get in touch with her Supervisor, cue DB (Ted Danson) who is called by his wife, Barbara (Peri Gilpin) as he needs to pick her up from the airport.  He mentions Sean being CSI 2 and he needs one more case solved for promotion.

They work together and Sean finds a bloody briefcase in the dumpster.  David (David Berman) says there wasn't a wallet and Sean says he already looked which riles him up cos he can't touch the DB without his say so.  Sean just looked and there weren't any bulges.  Back at autopsy, Doc (Robert David Hall) finds the wounds look familiar as two of them seem to be bigger than the others and thinks it could be a familiar pattern.  Greg (Eric Szmanda)says he'll check the cases to see if there's anything there.

Morgan processes his clothes and finds a pawn ticket for Ruby's pawn shop.  It's called Ruby's but is run by her sons, Kyle (Max Adler) and Zeke  (Harrison Thomas).  Here she finds that Jeremy pawned a watch and a ring. Zeke knows the name and address of Jeremy from memory and what he pawned.  The watch is found to belong to Simon Holt who happens to be Kristi's husband.  She also has disappeared, so Morgan and Finn (Elisabeth Shue) posit that Jeremy and Kristi were both cheating together at the poker table and she killed him to take the money. Stabbing him in the back.  Morgan doesn't believe in coincidences and she doesn't believe in luck either. Sean saying they should call it destiny then or fate.  Also adding that he's Rizzoli and she's Isle's.

So Hodges (Wallace Langham) and Henry (Jon Wellner) analyze the cards at the casino and the shuffling machine and find that everything was in proper order.  Hodges agrees with Morgan however that Jeremy must have been cheating.  They also watch the video from the casino but she's not cheating.  Also noticing that Bobby talks with Alonso Pierce, thinking he was sent to kill Jeremy.  Especially since Jeremy wrote 'De' with his own blood.  Kristi's husband was killed in a home invasion and they believe she hired Jeremy to kill him. Considering she didn't report the expensive watch as stolen.  However video also shows that Kristi was being interrogated by Bobby at the time of Jeremy's murder.

Kristi is found and interviewed by Brass (Paul Guilfoyle) as she says she was hiding out from Bobby.  She claims she found her husband dead when she returned home and she bought the watch for their anniversary. His life insurance paid off his debts.  Of course it had to be a woman cos in their flashbacks, the outline of the killer is that of a woman, not many women were in this ep, aside from Kristi and Ruby (Illeana Douglas) narrowing down the suspects.  So if Kristi was with Bobby, that leaves Ruby.

Alonso  is seen on footage from the pawn shop, bringing in some speakers and a stereo.  Zeke gives them to Morgan and she finds money inside.  He's impressed she can use a drill.  Sara (Jorga Fox) walks in and watches Morgan and looks at the photos.  She notices Alonso doesn't have any blood on him and he didn't have time to change his clothes from the time stamps on the videos.  Instead, Brass finds Bobby with a gun, having shot Alonso and stuffed him into the boot of the car.  Bobby admits he did it cos he was old school, it's not like the days when Sam Braun used to run the casinos, where they'd threaten the players.  He didn't tell Alonso to kill Jeremy but just rough him up and get the money back, but he stole from him.  Also it's a question of honour. He tells Brass he wants to be put in prison with the old boys, out of honour.

Greg tells Morgan that Doc found the tip of the knife was actually a bullet, so Jeremy was shot twice and the killer made it look like he was stabbed, thus trying to hide the actual method of killing.  There was an old case like this where an informant was stabbed after being shot and the suspect was Delgado (Jason Manuel Olazabal) a member of the Mala Noche who has moved here from Miami.  Well they had to get that name mentioned in Vegas, as an homage to CSI:Miami possibly, ha.  Delgado was involved in a home invasion a few months ago and was shot.  He survived and he is the owner of the ring Jeremy stole.

Delgado runs a strip club and tells Brass he didn't report the ring stolen, thus he can't have it back.  Also saying he couldn't have shot him cos he was with his elderly mother.  DEA surveillance shows this is true.  It transpires there were similar home invasions, where one member was found dead.  Jeremy was actually being hired to kill them and then was given the unreported items as payment.  A search of the pawn shop reveals all the items that were stolen and in all cases, an item wasn't reported as stolen by the owners.  Kristi admits she hired him to kill her husband who was cheating on her and also used to beat her up as DB surmizes.  But she never knew that Jeremy was the man who had done this for her.  As Morgan puts it, that was just dumb luck.  She mentions the pawn shop and that Ruby had set up the hits from there.

The pawn shop has been shot up by Delgado and he's taken Zeke in return for the drugs that Ruby stole. Kyle is killed and Brass confronts Delgado telling him the drugs are gone and he's never getting them back. Brass shoots one of his men in the knee and he then says it's up to him if he wants to die.  Zeke is found safe and Sean tells Morgan she has a fan.  She replies he's just impressed with her power took skills.  She and Sean will see each other around and he lets her have the case cos she worked on it and deserves it.  Oh look, potential love interest for Morgan in the form of Alaric from the Vampire Diaries.  Okay I had to get that in, ha. But don't tell Hodges or Greg! Obviously she and Sean were going to argue as soon as she got on the scene and it seems Morgan may follow Ruby's advice when she tells her he's a keeper.

Elsewhere things looked to be prickly between DB and Barbara as she arrives at his office.  She knows he's busy and she tells him that Charlie has been offered a scholarship at East Indiana, but wants to tell DB in person.  At the end they find time for dinner, as Finn is covering for him.  She tells him she knocked on the door of the house in Seattle they always wanted to buy.  She's ready for that now cos he can't work forever and it's getting to him and something's bothering him.  He denies this but also says they have a house here. He promises when he's ready they'll knock on the door together, but for now he's staying.  She says he's got a family in his CSIs.

Brass also had some hairy moments this ep as if he was goading Delgado into making the first move, so he could have a shoot up.  Telling Delgado, "we all gotta die sometime."  Seems he is still affected by the events with Ellie.  Showing the differences between DB and Brass in terms of his doing the job for so long and maybe it's about time he calls it quits. Whereas DB still wants to continue, he's still go so much to do.  Brass is very much a man from the old days of Vegas and one reason why I think producers wanted to bring in some changes and have his character bow out.  Still a shame though cos he had the best one liners in many of the eps!

Somehow I didn't really enjoy this ep that much, it was mostly done before and used a tried and tested storyline of a casino winner getting killed apparently for his takings and then uncovering some other plot twist which wasn't that interesting.