CSI 13.17 "Dead of the Class" Review

                                        
The episode opens with David (David Berman) acting all suspicious as he takes a knife from the kitchen as if he's going to kill someone, yes he actually looked that menacing.  But no David, he wouldn't hurt a fly, unless to dissect it.  He actually takes the knife into the bedroom and exclaims he can't do this, as a pregnant woman lies on the bed.  This happens to be his wife, Amy (Emme Rylan) as we get our first glimpse of her and as Hodges (Wallace Langham) will later tell him he has done well for himself!  David doesn't want to go to his reunion and takes the knife to the tag on his shirt, umm, scissors would have been safer.  Guess he's more used to using a scalpel.  Amy encourages him to go and that she'll be okay and will call him if the baby comes.

At the reunion it's all the same really, like being back at school and nothing's changed.  All the jocks are still jerks and the women think they're 'it.'  He mentions his name to Becca (Bree Williamson) but she doesn't know him, so he just takes his own name tag whilst he bumps into someone else.  Having a bit of a one sided conversation with someone, David notices blood in his cup and the bubbles, following them back to the bubble machine and to Becca's DB.

DB (Ted Danson) and Finn (Elisbeth Shue) arrive on the scene and he's done his best to keep everyone away.  He says Becca was pretty much head of the class, head queen, ha and even arranged the reunion and her throat is slit.  Doc (Robert David Hall) comes to examine the DB and finds she died from excessive bleeding.  Nick (George Eads) finds a nunchuck in a box of confiscated weapons and Greg (Eric Szmanda) doesn't understand why children would carry such weapons anyway.  Greg notices a bloody fingerprint on the tray with the soap and thinks he may be able to get a print, this means that somewhere in one of those bubbles a trace of the killer was carried.  Doc also finds a small piece of glass on her hand which Nick finds belongs to a photocopier and he prints some copied photos showing Becca was pushed against the glass.

Morgan (Elisabeth Harnois) questions Kelly (Michaela McManus) who says she wasn't in touch with Becca any longer and Finn meets Janet (Jeanette Brox) who is an attorney and she asks if they have warrants.  The best line she could come up with.  She was at Harvard and takes a swipe at David about not becoming a doctor.  Brass (Paul Guilfoyle) questions Grady Foster (TJ Ramini) Becca's husband who says she wasn't in contact with anyone.

David examines the DB and she comes alive as if she's talking with him, thinking he's finally seen her naked.  He says he didn't have a crush on her but someone else.  He finds a round shape inside her stomach  like she has an ulcer and Doc notices her throat, as well as having a cold sore on her lip.  Nick looks at the photos from the reunion and finds one where the bracelet matches the one in the photo printout.  It's worn by Kelly.  She tells DB that she was there since she found Becca handing out bingo cards of who was suffering from whatever ailment or some secret about them.  She tried to stop Becca copying more and her face got banged against the glass.  DB looks for his pen but can't find it cos Kelly is a klepto and returns it to him.  She's getting help but Becca's husband, Foster is her shrink.

Finn finds Foster won't tell them the names of the patients, so Nick discovers a novel way of finding out.  Foster's office is located near a gas station so he checks the numbers of the cars against the footage but doesn't find any matches.  Becca turns up at the office and looks through files, as does Foster.  He tells Brass that Becca was a gossip, but he loved those things about her.

Morgan checks the balloons for any trace and finds some on the wall.  Greg says he doesn't even want to think about the past but thinks since Morgan was a blond she would have had it easy at her reunion/high school.  Clearly from the look she didn't and hides something.  Greg receives a text about a DB on the field but turns out he's alive and had been drinking.  He's the gym teacher and he has Becca's bloody handprint on his back.  He's Sean (Lucas Bryant) and was a quarterback who dated Becca for four years.  Janet turns up and is representing him much to David's surprise and tells him Sean called her.  He was with Becca but she changed her mind at the last minute.  She had a cut on her hand that's how the print got on his back.

Hodges finds the trace was grey paint and she looks through the photos to show the paint was in a hole on the ceiling in the storeroom.  Morgan climbs into the ceiling and finds a bomb.  Parts of the bomb which aren't dangerous are given for them to analyze.  Nick finds Sean was recently fired from the school so he could have a grudge.  Thus it was the school which was the target and not the reunion.  Finn turns up to arrest Sean and finds Janet there also wearing a shirt.

Morgan checks out Sean's alibi and near the liquor store she finds the knife in a dumpster.  Henry (Jon Wellner) finds the blood matches Becca's but it was hydrated and it took him a while to be able to analyze it.  Greg analyzes some pieces of plaster also with the bomb and finds it's a mask.  David recognizes the face as being of Caroline who killed herself cos everyone made fun of her.  Hodges matches the prints on the duct tape to Max Dinello (Adam Busch) the man David briefly said hello to at the reunion.  He was Caroline's friend and his prints were found on the hatch.  He's a teacher now and he planted the bomb but his maths teacher understood him and he changed his mind about the bomb.  This was his chance to retrieve it.  But it was there all these years.  Hodges also finds everything matches to 1998, even the batteries so he thinks the bomb was planted back then.

Janet is brought in and a photo shows she's a dinnerlady and not a lawyer.  She never got promoted and it was always the pretty ones who did she tells Finn.  Having a Harvard education meant nothing.  She knows Max wouldn't hurt anyone but she framed Sean to take the fall.  Max admits he was there, as Hodges tells David that liquid nitrogen as used to defuse the bomb for a while.  David realizes Becca's cold sore wasn't a cold sore but a drop of liquid nitrogen burn.  Max says he tried to help her since she couldn't breathe and used the knife to try a tracheotomy but she fought him off and died in the process.

Finn doesn't look back at the past either since you grow up and move on.  Finn: "I was one of those freaks who liked high school."  David gets a call from his wife and at the hospital Doc and Hodges turn up to see his newborn son.  Funny how it was Doc and Hodges and not Finn or anyone else who turn up.  Hodges is envious of David.  An episode about David mostly and how he's done well for himself after suffering through the pitfalls of high school and ended up with a pretty wife too and now a baby.

Everyone's talking reunions, no one asked Nick about his, but DB recalls how they picked up hitch hikers in their van.  Also they've all got demons to deal with from high school, but Greg and Finn choose not to dwell on it. Sara wasn't around in this ep.  Though the part where David talks to Becca and she answers back reminded me of  7.3 Toe Tags.

Once Upon A Time 2.11 "The Outsiders" Review

An episode mostly about Belle (Emilie de Ravin) and how she became a monster/beast tamer, with reference of course to Rumples (Robert Carlyle) as she mentioned how she tamed him too.  This time round Dreamy (Lee Arenberg) thanks her for the advice she offered him and he tells her she should go on an adventure with the men who are looking for the Yaoguai; a fearsome creature.  She's read a book, which appears to be in Chinese or Mandarin and she tells the men she knows where the beast is, at the lake whilst she goes off to hunt for it herself.  It's really found in the mountains.  Here she meets Mulan (Jamie Chung) as the beast leaves its lair and Mulan saves Belle's life.  Mulan accuses her of spoiling her hunt as she was looking for it for over a week.  It only took Belle a day.

Back in Storybrooke, Belle opens up the library and is attacked by Hook (Colin O'Donoghue) she manages to throw a bookcase on him, really taken by a woman - again!  Someone's not their best on dry land, think his sea legs let him down, ha.  Hook having got the info from Archie (Raphael Sbarge) as to what Gold holds dear to him.  As well as the dagger, a robe which Bae used to wear which he kept in his safe.  Thus the attack on Belle was a diversion.  Wouldn't have thought Gold would be one of Archie's patients, it just doesn't add up.  His character is much more stronger than needing help from a Cricket since he didn't have much or any conscience until he met Belle.

Belle runs into the lift and calls Gold who manages to turn up but Hook has already left.  Gold having carried out his little experiment using Smee (Chris Gauthier) and by using a potion on his red hat he pushes him over the line and he still recalls who he is.  Thus he finds a way to leave without losing his memory and go in search of Bae.  Belle asks why Hook is after him and she can help him find her but he doesn't want her to, giving her a gun instead.  He tells her about his wife Milah and how she ran off with Hook and left Bae, as well as being dead.  Though not how she died since he wouldn't tell her he was the one who killed her.

Gold asks Smee where Hook has the robe but eh doesn't know.  Thus he tunrs him into the rat that he is as he scurries away.  belle ties up the books and finds a rope with a fisherman's knot, the monkey which tells her that Hook arrived here on hsi ship.  At the docks she locates the ship by the seagulls circling over head and also by the sound of the rigging int he wind.  On board she finds Archie and frees him but is caught by Hook.  He tells her Gold wouldn't have told her how Milah died and he grabs the gun wanting to rip her heart out too.  She gets the better of him again and makes her getaway with the robe, which she calls a shawl.

Gold rescues Belle on the ship and beats Hook with his walking stick.  She doesn't want him to kill him but Hook wants his heart ripped out, he's ready for it.  Well that was a bit of a let down especially since he came all this way to "skin a crocodile" and got skinned himself.  Gold tells him to sail away to the end of the world and never return.  Gold is now able to cross the line without losing his memory.  She'd love to go with him but can't.  She'll be waiting for him here.  Belle is given her sword by Mulan to catch the beast as she's wounded and she manages to put out its fire.  It writes a message asking for help.  When she does, it turns into none other than Phillip (Julian Morris) who was cursed.  She tells her he can help Mulan and he needs to find Aurora.  They search together.  Belle leaves them and is caught by Regina and taken to the tower, which is where Hook found her.  But here when Hook shows up she doesn't know who he is but she met him in the tower when he tried to elicit info from her about Rumples.

Hook arrives and shoots Belle just as Gold has crossed the line and she falls over it, forgetting who she is.  As Gold is about to wreak some magical havoc a car approaches and Hook is knocked over as the car crashes and stops.  Now who could that be, Pinocchio by any chance?  He's knocked out by a car now, oh really, this pirate needs more training on dry land!  SO what did he get up to in Neverland?

Elsewhere some of the residents say goodbye to Archie and Snow (Ginnifer Goodwin) is clearly overcome by the moment.  Snow wants them to find a house together but Charming (Josh Dallas) wants them to go back and rid their land of whatever ogres and other monsters are still there.  She's tired of fighting.  Emma brings home Pongo for Henry (Jared S Gilmore) and she wants them to stay in the loft and become a family.  Think Charming wants to go back since the Dwarves also ask when they can return home.

Archie tuns up at Emma's (Jennifer Morrison) just as Henry redesigns the loft to have an armoury in there to protect themselves from Regina (Lana Parrilla).  Didn't Emma hear the door since she reacts to Pongo running towards the door.  Henry says he knew Regina didn't do it, but will that be enough to stop her from turning evil again and siding with Cora.

What did Belle do with the fairy dust Dreamy gave her since clearly she didn't use it.  Emma asking Henry if he's "planning your escape from Shawshank."  He replies, no.  Isn't that a little above Henry's age range.  I mean I know he's seen plenty of evil and bad things but what made anyone think he'd know what that means.  I only thought that may be Pinocchio in the car since they showed Geppetto (Tony Amendola) at Archie's funeral and so it's about time he returned.  Also Frankenstein's brother also has to make an appearance.

Poor Belle just when you think she could be happy she gets into more strife.  Here and back in the Enchanted Forest too.  At least this episode showed her as more than just a pretty face and is able to get out of scrapes with the ability to see goodness in others when none seems to embody them.  Hook asks Archie about Rumple's dagger and that is his greatest weakness, it doesn't appear that he has a physical weakness but more one of holding onto power and his magic.  Though it's the dagger which bears his name on it and thus when found whoever finds it will kill him and become the Dark One. IS this what Hook is after to find the dagger and become the Dark One himself, cos he will if he's the one who kills him.  Didn't he bury it in the woods last season.

Phillip it seems was cursed by Maleficent as was Aurora and this is how Mulan falls for him.  Okay the car has Pennsylvania number plates and still curious about where Pinocchio disappeared to after the curse was broken.  Anyway I'm probably wrong!  They must be outsiders since that's the title.  Where was Cora hiding out during all this?  Holding her head in shame cos she did such a lousy job of hiding the ship!  It appears Belle has the ability to read peoples' hearts or see into them and is her power.
Belle: "I still see good in him...I believe he's changed.  Because his heart is true...yours is rotten."
Hook: "You have no idea."

"Fool's Gold" with Craig Edwards Review

                                                     
This is one to watch for all fans of actor Craig Edwards.  Craig plays a son to a scheming father, Frank, who's a con artist (and not a very good one at that.)  So like father, like son, Craig who plays Martin follows in dad's footsteps.  Laugh as they fall flat on their faces in their first con of the scene  Or would have if they didn't have to make a fast getaway.  Seems like dad is destined to "dream on" as the final plot twist leaves him alone and not standing very "tall"

Some great scenes, showing Craig can do comedy as well as portraying the put upon son, don't blame him for coming up with his own con the way he was treated!  Watch out for the bath tub scene, it's not what you'll expect! ha  Martin was great at coming up with the switch, a novel way to pull a fast one, as you're thinking, 'what a klutz.'  Poor ducky!
Loving the leather jacket too Craigie, very Ian Somerhalder/Damon-esque.

With his dulcet voice Craig is one future star in the making.  Not too distant future of course!
Way to go Craig.

Check out Fool's Gold here.  Directed by Matt Melling
http://vimeo.com/68076160

[Quite a bit of swearing in this, if you're a little sensitive.]

CSI 13.16 "Last Woman Standing" Review

A man walks into a hotel with a woman who doesn't want to come up with him, he makes a comment about how the beautiful ones always say no.  Later another woman finds the man in the lift with his throat slashed. Morgan (Elisabeth Harnois) and Greg (Eric Szmanda) arrive and find there are no cameras around.  The Vic was Peter Coe (David Cassidy) a poker player and Greg believes he didn't suffer since he severed an artery as shown by the spatter patterns.  Leading them to ponder how the killer escaped since there aren't any marks of any sort around, perhaps though the lift hatch in the ceiling.

Doc (Robert David Hall) examines the DB with Finn (Elisabeth Shue) there again, that's three weeks in a row she's been there and later she'll tell him she's here since no one else is around.  COD is identified as exsanguination.  Coe wore a bracelet alluding to his 1997 poker game victory.  However he lost last night and his bank account is empty.  Doc also finds he got a "poker lift" where all the wrinkles etc are removed by surgery so there aren't any tell signs left on his face.  There is a white powder on his shirt which Finn thinks could be cocaine.

Nick (George Eads) and Sara (Jorga Fox) arrive at another CS (knew the two were related) where a man is tied to the bed.  Nick sees something maybe in his throat which David (David Berman) removes, it's a piece of meat.   TOD was 3 hours ago and he is identified as Trent Aldridge (Scott Hoxby).  Finn tells DB (Ted Danson) that the woman who was seen with Coe was also playing poker and is labelled the "last woman standing."  That the white powder was pollen form a lily as she was presented with a bouquet in the photo.  Her name is Ava Rendell (Becky O'Donohue) and she has her own website, hotpokerbabe.com.  She gives poker lessons.  Greg and Morgan watch her play a game where she loses $8 million.  Hey he could have been cheating with his glasses!

Sara finds out the woman with Aldridge gave a $100 poker chip as a tip and her prints are on the chip. They match Ava.  Hodges (Wallace Langham) tries to find the murder weapon since there was the presence of plastic, could be plastic cutlery or not any of the picnic type.  So he goes through various weapons with 'jelloman' and finally gives up.  Morgan thinks he lost the plot when he got to analyzing plastic boomerangs, plates etc but none of them are a match.  But he does have another theory.  Gotta love Hodges' theories since he almost always proves them right.  He thinks that the killer wasn't in the lift at all but the only other exit were the doors.  So maybe he killed through the doors.  The only other way he thinks this could be done is via a playing card, since they're made of plastic too.  Thinking the card fell through he lift shaft.  So he sent Henry (Jon Wellner) to investigate which he relished.

Henry returns and says he found the murder weapon, the Ace of Spades which is covered in blood.  A plastic card could travel at 80 miles an hour and he's seen it done before in magic tricks.  Cue woman tied to a chair with a card being thrown at her neck.  It's part of a magic trick, Dr Jimmy's (Henry Ian Cusick).  He's working on a magic trick. Brass (Paul Guilfoyle) brings along a search warrant but Jimmy burns it to ashes.  He's arrested for obstruction of justice.  Jimmy didn't kill him he says and is rather adept on using big words.  His attorney arrives and Brass tells him "don't disappear Copperfield."  Doc finds seven chicken hearts which  were lodged in Aldridge's trachea and it had to hurt but that was the intention.  Finn deduces seven hearts refers to the Seven of Hearts card.  She doesn't believe it's a coincidence and the two cases are connected.  Nick also found the card thrower's DNA matches whoever fed him the chicken hearts.

Sara and Nick look over past cases and find the case of another poker player, Ed,who was poisoned with clover.  Clover, DB knows also refers to the Four of Clubs which is the shape of a clover leaf.  He punches out the four corners of the card and matches them to the marks on the DB.  Finn believes Ava is being set up.  Ava's DB is found with her head severed from the body.  Morgan is understandably shaken at the sight.  Doc finds it was a clean cut and Finn recalls playing cards have weapons depicted on them.  The King of Diamonds has an axe.  Thus weapon of choice.  Hodges finds the axe, aka war hammer, is sixteenth century and one was bought by Jimmy.  DB thinks there might be a message on the card which the killer is trying to send them.

Hodges finds a year, 1997 and a logo which Greg identifies as the Palermo.  Using his black book of poker which Greg has on his iPad he finds a poker game from 1997 in which all three took part.  Also he believes the game was rigged since the dealer was dealing second cards and not the top one.  They cheated Bo Mattison (Kevin Scott Allen) out of his winnings.  Henry's DNA test shows Ava was the dealer's daughter.  Also Morgan notices how Bo was holding his St Catherine's necklace.  This she thinks is cos his wife died of cancer and is the patron saint of sufferers.  There must be a connection to Jimmy.  Well it wasn't that he was his son or anything and when they go for Jimmy, his assistant Katie (Natalie Hall) tells him he's gone.  The axe is there, covered in blood and is the murder weapon.  That was convenient but it wasn't difficult to figure out the killer.  Had to have been Bo's child.

DB ponders who will be next with the King of Spades and assumes Jimmy could be the next Vic and not their killer.  Jimmy helped Coe and so was a co-conspirator.  DNA from the epithelials on the axe turn up and are matched to Bo, Katie is his daughter.  Jimmy's car is found where Bo killed himself under the jungle gym in the park.  Morgan finds Katy, real name Catherine and the shovel inside the car hasn't been used.  she admits to the killing and tries to bluff Morgan by saying she's already killed him.  But Morgan can see through her.  Nick finds Jimmy back on stage and Katy throws the card at Morgan who shoots her.  She's shaken again and Greg takes her gun.

Ecklie (Marc Vann) hasn't decided on the Sheriff's job yet and DB convinces him to take it.  He's right for it, just like he brought DB here.  He and Barbara talk everyday since she didn't want to move here, but they're working their way through it.  Morgan also wants him to take the job since he's a different person now since he was back then, just like her.  She's a little older but  a lot less wiser.  Ecklie tries to comfort Morgan afterwards and she's okay especially when he tells her he's the new Sheriff and he has a table reserved to celebrate, which she's in the mood to do.

Father and daughter finally continue to make headway and she wants him to take the job, it'll be good for him and he'll be good at it.  Morgan really is a novice when she has to deal with the severed head and then has to shoot Katy too, showing no matter how many bodies she' seen, she'll never get used to it.  Nor should she.  As for firing the gun, she's a CSI not a cop and this reminded me of Nick in that season 1 ep, Crate 'N Burial when he comes face to face with a gun pointed at him for the first time.  Hey I just worked out the 'N here may stand for Nick, ha.

The card being found in the lift shaft reminded me of CSI:NY's intro ep in season 3 of CSI:Miami  MIA/NYC - NonStop where the killer dropped the button from his coat down the lift shaft which was found by Mac.  Brought in David Cassidy to lie on a slab, funny.  Well considering he used to be the heart throb of millions of girls once upon a time, barring yours truly, not many would recognize him now.  Nice touch Nick asking Sara how she was and that she actually showed up for work too.  Henry Ian Cusick just reminded me of Volker on The Mentalist again but with cockney accent this time round.  Infact this ep kind of reminded me of the Lie to Me poker episode from season 2, Fold Equity.  Morgan even says she'll be okay after this killer "folds."

Oh and we got the Givenchy ad with Simon Baker too after this ep ended!  So handsome!!

Once Upon A Time 2.10 "The Cricket Game" Review

Hook (Colin O'Donoghue) tells Cora (Barbara Hershey) he's going to skin his crocodile.  She preventing from him from revenged since magic is here and so he will get into trouble  She hides the ship as they need surprise on their side.  As they explore Storybrooke.  Emma (Jennifer Morrison) and Henry (Jared S Gilmore) catch Snow (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Charming in bed together as she's going to make tacos for their welcome home party.

Everyone celebrates and Regina (Lana Parrilla) turns up too, Emma invited her.  Flash to Regina being told that Snow and Charming have defeated George and taken over the kingdom.  Regina tries to kill Snow which is what they already knew she'd do and so they capture her.  Oh Charming get yourself another fur cloak!  Snow offers her parley to negotiate the terms of her surrender and she chooses to kill Snow.  They use blue fairy dust to remove her magic from her.  She turns up with lasagna and Grumpy (Lee Arenberg) asks if there's poison in it.  Afterwards she's ignored again.  Emma thanks her for helping again but she wants to see Henry again sometime, maybe stay over, but Emma doesn't think so, causing Regina to snap at her since Emma's been a parent all for five minutes.  That'll be resonated throughout the ep again.  She gets angry when Emma blabs how Archie (Raphael Sbarge) told her she's trying to change and that's the only reason why she was invited.  Like she really wants to hear that.

Regina loses the plot at Archie for telling the whole world of her therapy and he promises no one will know, hetakes doctor/patient confidentiality which she jokes he only got his PhD cos of the curse.  Later Ruby (Meghan Ory) sees Regina going to see Archie where he's killed by Cora.  The cricket is squished!  Obviously Regina wouldn't do that.  Pongo comes for help, took him all night to get out!  Regina is arrested since Ruby saw her go in and Charming and Snow think she did it.  Emma is doubtful since she helped them and was genuinely shocked at Archie being killed.

Charming advocates killing Regina, an execution.  There's no other choice since she'll come after Snow.  He took the arrow to save Snow not Regina.  "There's no telling what she'll do."  They think Gold (Robert Carlyle) is behind the frame job since all the evidence points to Regina and it's all too easy.  Gold is trying to have a picnic with Belle (Emilie de Ravin) and he says Emma should use her own magic with the witness who was there.  A dreamcatcher can be used to capture Pongo's memories.  She has to try to see the memories, which shows Regina killing Archie.  Of course they didn't take Pongo to Regina since he was barking and knew it wasn't Regina.

They turn up to do challenge Regina again and Snow tells her it wasn't Gold who used his magic, but Emma, being told that Emma has magic now, so there'll be plenty of challenges up ahead for both of them to maybe face off together.  The Blue Fairy (Keegan Connor Tracy) tries to hit Regina with fairy dust again but she's already prepared for it.  Then disappears in a puff of purple smoke.

Regina is about to be executed , death by arrow, but Snow can't see it through since she saved her life once.  She taken back to her cell and later Rumples shows up asking Snow what's wrong.  He can help her even if he wants to see Regina dead and who really knows if he wanted her dead, they only have his word for it.  She is after all his 'apprentice.'  Or at least was and he wanted her for his own ends, to enact the curse.  As for Regina's father saying he should have done more to protect her and she says he's the only who stands by her, yeah that's why she banished him to Wonderland too.  Thought she said she loves Cora too last ep when she was lying in the crypt.

Snow releases Regina and lets her go but she takes the knife and stabs Snow.  Said dagger being magic.  Charming reveals Rumples used his magic on it but she can't hurt either of them now.  Rumples shows up to inform her his spell ensured she can't hurt them in this land, but if they're in another land.  Once reason for the curse as we already know was just a ruse on his part for her to go ahead with the curse.

Cora tells Hook, there's a way for them to learn everything about the residents of the town since she has Archie in his ship and he will be forced to help.  Regina being forced to think she's been tricked by Snow whereas in fact it's a test which she fails miserably.  Exactly why show your hand at the earliest opportunity and try to kill Snow, sh could have gotten away and well, okay she did get away by being banished.

Gold tells Emma she has "your mother's chin and your father's tact."  Cora telling Hook she doesn't know who she killed in place of Archie, funny, how would she.  Though Archie can't know everything about Gold and what powers he has up his sleeve.  Especially since Gold isn't exactly seeing him for therapy, and how many of the town's residents are.  Bit silly that line.  Begging the question what did Gold do with William Smee when he had him tied up for info, did he learn everything about Hook too.  Seems Cora has the same idea here by using Archie for the same purposes.  Showing us how vile she really is, when at least she says Regina's "lost" everything now. Also the way she tells him "don't tell me what I can and can't do."  Else she'll turn you into a fish, at least Hook threw him into the sea!

As shown in flashback Regina regrets she wasn't able to kill more and kill Snow which is similar to now.  Instead of showing she has changed or is attempting to, she uses her magic to repel Emma, that was fun, Emma being so self -righteous and changed her tune in a second, at the first time of trouble.  So now Henry won't even want to look at her.  But what did they expect when she's losing Henry, the only one who means anything to her in Storybrooke.  Emma and her "innocent until proven guilty" line, guilty by her.  Yeah cos she's a court of law now, judge, jury and executioner, all in one!   Snow and Charming warning Emma from going after Regina headfirst, without even thinking about it.  She really is so egotistical at times.  As she's been a parent for five minutes, she also has magic for all of five minutes too and she's going to take her on. Very clever Emma - don't think so!

Pongo in the forest in the opening credits, was he looking for a suitable tree? ha.  Or was he confused as to who was pretending to be his master as Cora manipulated everyone into thinking Archie had been killed.  Also why didn't Pongo bark at Archie if it wan't him.  Cora made herself with the surroundings of Storybrooke quickly.

CSI 13.15 "Forget Me Not" Review

                                              
Sara (Jorga Fox) sits alone all dressed up at a table in a restaurant when a man walks up to her with a cake.  It's her birthday and it's not clear if they know each other.  He claims he guessed it was her birthday and that he saw the way she was looking at the couples around her.  She asks him to join her.  They later go up to their separate rooms in the lift together, he presses 12 for her and 18 for himself.  When it gets to her floor, she doesn't want to get out and instead goes up to his room..

Greg (Eric Szmanda) arrives just as Sara is getting out of the lift who tells her about the DB on the 18th floor.  She rides back up with him and is shocked that the same man is the DB.  DB (Ted Danson) arrives and she tells him she knows the man and she was with him last night for an hour, but nothing happened.  Are you sure?  That'll come back to bite her  - it always does.

The DB is Taylor (carter MacIntyre) and David (David Berman) says he's been stabbed seven times but there aren't any defensive wounds.  As soon as seven was mentioned did anyone think of Sara's father like me, he was also stabbed seven times by her mother which clearly demonstrates this case is definitely about Sara.  Greg notices there's lipstick on the wine glass which he checks for prints and Nick (George Eads) asks since when do steaks not come with a steak knife.  He moves the furniture and finds a necklace, a heart.  They both recognize it as Sara's.  The prints also match Sara.

DB tells them what Sara said and wants this case treated like any other, i.e. they follow the evidence.  It was so nice to see that it was mostly Greg and Nick who investigated this case and had her back especially since they're friends, and family as Greg reminds them.  They've known her for years and still managed to remain objective, whilst still believing in her innocence.  Also liked the way Finn (Elisabeth Shue) was in her corner after her little talk with Doc (Robert David Hall) and that she didn't judge her about any indiscretions she may have been involved in.  She understands, well she would, considering the state of her personal relationships, ha, that's it's okay to do such things if your husband's not around.  Hey that didn't come out right.  I wasn't meant to be condoning extra martial affairs or one night stands!  Then again Sara's divorced, but we don't know this yet.  Morgan (Elisabeth Harnois) too takes the same stance of understanding.

Of course it would be left to Hodges (Wallace Langham) to show a different opinion, which is understandable, someone has to.  Especially when Morgan tells her what he's said.  Also liked the way he wouldn't let Sara into the lab, not for personal reasons, but cos he's just removed all traces of her from it so he can remain objective and not contaminate the evidence as he pulls a hair from her head.

As Nick and Greg process the CS, Sara is questioned by Crawford (Alimi Ballard).  He asks why she left so quickly.  Sara explaining she got a text from Gil (and what was in this text, we weren't told).   He shows her the phone records where she called Taylor at midnight for eight minutes.  She doesn't recall the call and tells him she took a sleeping bill.  Sleeping pill with booze, yeah that's a good combination.  Especially considering the past and how much trouble she got into after drinking and being arrested in one episode.  It's also recorded she returned to her room after two so there's almost three hours which can't be accounted for.

Greg finds a clump of Sara's hair in the shower drain (Sara shedding so much hair, it just looked like it had been cut straight from the head) as well as damp towels.   He wants to process the bed but the sheets are missing.  Morgan takes blood from Sara for a Tox screen.  Most of them think she cheated on Gil.  Finn tells her they've got her back and she should just go home.  When she arrives the dishwasher comes on and inside is the missing steak knife.    She tells Greg and Nick that someone is playing games with her.  Greg searches her house and finds an envelope with photos inside, showing her with Tyler outside and being very intimate.

Sara finally admits she met him two weeks ago and was shocked when he turned up at the restaurant.  The alcohol and drug levels in her blood are extremely high but she insists she only took one pill.    She finally comes clean and admits Gil is no longer her husband.  She didn't want to tell anyone.  Hodges finds the hair matches Sara's, as it would.  But that could have come from anywhere.  There was also a large amount of Zolpidem in her blood, which causes the person to forget.   Also leading to side effects such as sleep walking.  Sara sees her necklace on the monitor and asks Nick where that came from since she wasn't wearing it laat night.

She then says the necklace belonged to Edie and mentions Ronald Basderic (Adam J Harrington) the man stalking Edie from Frank's diner which they investigated a few months ago.  She meets Basderic and tells him she knows he's been stalking her, that he put the necklace there but this time she will get him.  He's aware of Sara being with Taylor and also how she hasn't told Gil she was with him.  She pushes him back out of anger.

Later she's taken ot the lab as she tries to get Basderic's phone records and sees him beaten up, claiming she did it.  Greg gets the footage which shows her pushing him, but that's the only camera and there's no other footage there of the actual beating.  Sara knows he did that on purpose so they couldn't see anything else.  Finn processes Sara and takes her clothes to analyze.  Nick and Greg are angry about her being arrested but Crawford tells them she's on the footage this time.  Nick questions Basderic  and Finn tells him there's no evidence of Sara beating Basderic and there should have been some sort of trace.  Thus he's making it up. Sara is released since he doesn't press charges and DB tells her to go home and is suspended.  Handing her a restraining order from Basderic.

She gets a call about her mother, Laura (Kay Lenz) who is in hospital for drinking again.  She had her moved to Vegas.  Sara then recalls her father and how he was stabbed seven times.  Her mother mentions Basderic coming to see her and Sara stabbing Taylor.  They find the sleeping pills had been tampered with, also Morgan finds the drain covers were swapped, the one taken from Sara's house was put into the hotel room.    Also Nick finds the hotel key could have been overridden providing Basderic with easy access.  Greg also matches Basderic's clothes to a capped man at the hotel on camera, both have coffee stains on his trouser leg and he's wearing the same shoes.  Greg works out what Basderic did with the other Vics too and realizes Basderic is trying to kill Sara and then will claim self defence.

Sara sits outside his house and doesn't answer Greg's call.  Nick and Crawford confront Basderic and take his gun whilst they talk.  Nick tells him he won't let him hurt Sara and Crawford gives him back the gun.  He returns home where Sara confronts him and he shoots at her, firing blanks, cos Crawford swapped the gun magazine.  Saw that coming.  Basderic hacked her e-mails and paid off Taylor to be with her.  Even paying for dessert.  Sara recorded Basderic's admission.

Sara returns to work and Nick and Greg tell her she should have come to them.  Nick adding through her they were tying to hold onto Gil.  They will always be here for her.

Sara was arrested for drinking in Bloodlines and yet she still manages to turn to drink even after she sees firsthand what it's done to her mother.  Sara telling her mother she's fine was her putting up a brave front cos she didn't want her to worry.  Since her mother would like to get to know her.  Thought of the episode with Catherine, Weeping Willows where Catherine's 'date' was accused of murder.

Brass (Paul Guilfoyle) wasn't in this episode cos he would have been too close to Sara to investigate but also showing that Crawford can do just as well, when he tells DB he wasn't entirely honest with him, that he's a detective now, but has been a cop for a while and knows how to read between the lines and DB tells him he told him everything they found, he focuses on evidence not 'reading between the lines'.  DB leaving the investigation to the other CSIs, especially those who are close to her but that doesn't matter since they will do the right thing.  Enjoyed this episode.  Strange Sara didn't want to go out with her former NTSB boyfriend when investigating the plane crash but she preferred to go out with a stranger.  Well suppose it was cos her marriage is finally over.  As Nick tells her, if it's over, it's over, there's no point dwelling on it!

Sara saying she didn't want to tell them since she didn't believe it herself.  probably only ended up getting divorced since William Petersen wasn't in the show, maybe things would have been different if he still was.
Finn and her usual shallow comments, ha; "I figured he'd have to be really good looking to get Sara's interest."
Doc: "...you're talking about people we know."  Then asks if they're Team Sidle or Team Grissom?
Doc: "I see no reason why we can't protect both."

One niggle though Sara knows the team are good at what they do and they eventually find out what really happened, so why lie about only meeting Taylor now?  They won't judge her, except Hodges as Morgan puts it, "might as well have cheated on God, in Hodges' eyes you pretty much did."

Revenge 2.22 "Truth" Part 2 Review

                                                
Continuing on from the explosion, everyone looks up to Grayson Global, there's a moment of silence when a chair falls to the ground.  Didn't that look a little like a plane seat, ha.  Maybe it was just me.  Nolan (Gabriel Mann) catches up to Emily (Emily VanCamp) who hasn't found Jack (Nick Wechsler).  Nolan will need to return to the office and locate Jack's phone.  Emily gets to the office and doesn't find Jack but someone's in the rubble.  That could only be one person - Declan (Connor Paolo).  Yet they didn't ask what he was doing there?  Since Charlotte (Christa B Allen) said she was with Daniel (Josh Bowman).  Only in the first part when Jack arrived someone was in the office but Jack didn't go in.  The Grayson's arrive, well Conrad (Henry Czerny) to take full advantage of the tragedy and Ashley (Ashley Madekwe) comments they should wait for the first responders.  Conrad "we are the first responders."

Daniel searches for Emily who comes out of the building claiming she was looking for him.  Jack arrives at Nolan's saying he got his message not to go to Grayson Global.  He got a text from Ashely so think she was behind it.  Charlotte sees Declan on the stretcher.  Nolan also calls Aiden (Barry Sloane) about what's happened and he arrives in search of Emily where Daniel sees him and tells the police he's the one who has info about the explosion.  But he gets away.  Conrad thinks Jack is dead so he can't be seen but Emily takes him to the hospital and gets him a nurse's uniform whilst she distracts Victoria (Madeleine Stowe) and Charlotte.  She's here for Charlotte when Victoria wants to know why she's here.  Well why was she here.  Declan tells Jack about the baby and Carl will now have a cousin.

Charlotte has her final moments with Declan when he tells her she'll make a good mother and that he wants the baby, well she'll have no choice now.  Aiden waits for Emily who tells him to leave.  It wasn't the same with Jack she tells him and a lot of things have happened since then.  She doesn't want to leave with him since she doesn't believe it will ever be over for her.  He gives her the keys to their villa in Italy for when she does leave.  Obviously he won't leave cos that'd be too easy.

Ashley tells Jack it must have been Conrad who sent the text after Victoria must have told him about Jack and he wanted to take him out, so he must have set the bomb.  Daniel tells Conrad about the money going missing and now they are penniless.  But he gives him a whole speech about how the Grayson's have their name and they will start again. He then admits he was the one behind the bombing and he knew about it.  Conrad wants Victoria at his side since he's now Governor elect.  Though it appears he tells Victoria the whole truth about the Initiative and how it doesn't exist.  It's just a consortium of business people who make money out of misery really.  Investments in security companies increased after flight 197 and they were ready to reap the rewards.  If she leaves him she'll be a penniless skank she always was.

Daniel packs for Paris after Emily tells Victoria the two children she has want nothing to do with her and that Charlotte will also be leaving with them possibly.  She sees the news when Aiden is arrested, well for someone who evaded the Grayson's for so long he became a little sloppy in getting caught like that.  Daniel hates anyone getting their life torn apart and knows Aiden wasn't behind the bomb.  Nolan searches for Jack and sees Decaln at the hospital where the doctor tells him they'll be prepping him for heart surgery.  He didn't want to tell Charlotte that since he wanted to leave her with a good memory.  Nolan will always be there for Jack.  Question is who will be there for Nolan?

Jack comes to the hospital and sees the empty bed with Nolan in tears.  Declan left him a message on his phone, his farewell to him.  Jack loses it and Nolan calls Emily who thinks he'll go after Conrad.  No he chooses Victoria first who tries to tell him she wasn't behind the bombing.  Then says he should shoot her.  He wants her to suffer. She should break the news to Charlotte gently but she doesn't tell her.

Emily arrives at the party as Conrad is about to go on and give his victory speech.  Ashley gave Jack a press pass.  Conrad isn't at all remorseful, well he wouldn't be.  Aiden waits at the beach house  Having been released by the FBI since they arrest Nolan and Daniel turns up for Emily.  They fight when he tells him Daniel won't be getting her.  Look another gun in a season finale.  Don't think Aiden is dead though as Daniel turns up hiding the blood on his his shirt.  That's too deja vu season 1.  Especially since Takeda was no match for Aiden.
 
That bit with Padma (Dilshad Vadsaria) and the video she made is revealed now, see most people forgot about that so I'm glad it was finally revealed.  Oh no poor Nolan for all the help he's been to everyone, Padma courtesy of Trask lands him in hot water.  When the FBI take him in for questioning instead and release Aiden.  So the FBI will be taking the word of a thief, Edith Lee/Falcon then instead of investigating all possibilities.  So is Padma really dead I don't know, have this feeling she's not.

Daniel stands by Conrad who feigns a tribute to Declan as Jack watches from the shadows.  Emily finds him.  Victoria opens the door to Patrick.  Emily reaches Jack in time and tells him not to throw isr life away over her mistakes.  That he knows who she really is but he didn't look at her.  Flashbacks to her as a child.   Emily: "Jack look at me.  Deep down you have always known the truth.  I'm Amanda Clarke."

Finally she tells Jack which has been a long time coming.  Only fitting he be told the truth since he's lost Amanda and now Declan too.  Didn't he already suffer enough and now to have his brother taken away... which pails in comparison to losing Sammy last season.  She stops Jack from killing Conrad but will she come to regret that too next season since he was behind all the misery and killings just for the sake of profit.  She stopped Jack from having his moment of revenge just as she seeks hers.  Maybe they'll join together as they have more than a mutual agenda now.

But Nolan being framed as Americon Initiative is too preposterous especially since all they had to go on were the tapes of him meeting with  David in prison.  SO he withheld info in the disappearance of Padma but that doesn't make him a terrorist.  Anyway as I keep harping on about it no one actually saw Padma's DB, did Aiden actually see if she was dead when he found her.  Maybe she and Aiden are in cahoots.  See what they make me do in this show, speculate plenty.  We'll have to wait until January to watch.  All those spoilers have to avoid when the show returns in the US.

See Ashley did a bit of a turn around for the books in actually seeming genuine when she was disgusted at Conrad's actions.  Also she was going to play Nate's tape at his speech.  Wonder what will happen with that now.  Probably not much since he's elected there'll be a lot for him to do.  Turns out he was even more despicable than Victoria, hey?  Or do they deserve each other?  There's that flashback when Helen makes Conrad that offer inside jail which he goes along.  It was too much for him to resist.  Victoria didn't really get to do much against him for lying to her about Daniel and committing murder.  Not that she hadn't murdered anyone before.  Maybe Patrick will be her ally.

Victoria: "You will soon learn there there are limits to what a woman will endure for appearances...whatever your reasons are for marrying him, you'll never convince me it's for love." Victoria telling Emily they are alike.  As her reasons for marrying Conrad were purely financial.  So she has a certain instinct when it comes to Emily and her 'feelings' for Daniel.  So it'll be a long seven months for us waiting for Revenge to be had...

Once Upon A Time 2.9 "Queen of Hearts" Review

                                         
Hook (Colin O'Donoghue) comes to rescue Belle (Emilie de Ravin) when she's being held in Regina's (Lana Parrilla) castle and he kills the guard.  He's not a slave "I'm a captain."  He wants info from Belle, who's been counting the days of her captivity on the wall of her cell.  Hook wants to stop the Dark One and she wants to talk to him as he's not a monster.  She doesn't know how to kill him, so he's not here to rescue her since she can't help him.  "So pretty, but so useless."  Regina says she's not useless.  Regina refuses to return his hook to him.  She knows all about him and what he wants to do to Rumples (Robert Carlyle). Regina can help him kill Rumples if he does something for her.  That being going to Wonderland through Jefferson's hat portal and killing Cora (Barbara Hershey).  She tells him about the curse and "a land without magic" so he won't need any magical weapons to kill Rumples.  Cora isn't to follow her there.

Charming (Josh Dallas) needs true love' kiss and won't wake until Snow returns.  Gold thinks that's optimistic of hRegina, saying "until" she returns.  None of them want Cora to return.  They must destroy the portal so they can summon magic between the two of them and stop Cora.  If they stop Snow (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Emma (Jennifer Morrison) Regina becomes Henry's (Jared S Gilmore) mother.  She doesn't want to lie to Henry.  She must prove it if she wants to be better.

Snow et al arrive at Rumple's cell where Aurora (Sarah Bolger) finds a scroll with "Emma" written several times on it.  Henry reads to Charming and Regina tells him it will happen.  She needs to prepare for their return.  Gold takes Regina to the mine and takes all the diamonds and the dust with a dead fairy's wand.  Regina returns Hook's hook (ha) after enchanting it to rip out one heart, Cora's.  Which explains why he was able to take Aurora's heart.  SO at least that question was resolved.    He has to take back Claude, the dead guard to Wonderland, "one goes in, one comes back..."etc

Cora reveals herself as the Queen of Hearts, which is who I said she was in an earlier review.  Hook is unable to take her heart as she's protected herself and doesn't keep her heart inside of her.  But she reaches for his and he's made to tell her everything.  Disappointed she didn't use her "off with his head line" here as she did with Jefferson.  So Cora took Jefferson's heart.  "when you hold a heart, you have the power."

Aurora throws the ink pot and seals them in Rumple's cell.  She's helping Cora.  Cora was wrong when she says Rumples couldn't escape from the cell. Actually he didn't want to escape.  Said that too.  Since he knew about the ink all along so he just wanted to wait and see the product of "true love."  That being Emma.
Hook says he wouldn't have abandoned Emma on the beanstalk and shows her the bean, a souvenir of his conquest and a symbol of hope and magic.  Hook to Emma, "Dried up, dead useless, much like you."  Yes loved that line, ha.  Oh another thought, could Hook have been taking about Emma her also, since it turns out she has magic.  Then again how would he know?

Grumpy/Leroy (Lee Arenberg) calls Ruby (Meghan Ory) and shows her the empty mine.   Emma blames herself for getting them into trouble, that's true. She realizes it was Gold's plan for her to break the curse.  Cora takes Hook to Lake Nostros where they will cross into Storybrooke.  She uses magic to make the water flow again.  Hook asks for honour for her to kill him.  Regina should have killed her herself.  Cora used Hook too, so he was used by both mother and daughter. She can give him what he wants.  Seems everyone knows of Hook's vendetta aginst Gold except for Gold himself.  She says the curse will make him forget but she'll help him remember.   Hook brings back Cora's DB and Regina says goodbye.  So who's heart did Hook give her?  Or didn't Regina ask for one.  She recalls Cora telling her "love is a weakness."  Regina loves her and she's her weakness.  Her grip on "my heart is just too strong" and she can't be weak for what she must do regarding the curse.

Hook returns and they set their plan into motion since Regina will need Cora in Storybrooke to pick up the pieces.  Also they must protect themselves from the curse.  She uses magic to leave a part of the Enchanted Forest protected by a 'dome'.  The curse will end in 28 years.  He'll be frozen with all those in this corner of the land.  Regina "will lose everything and that's when she'll truly need me."  As Henry is taken from her again.

They get to the well and await for Cora.  Snow realizes the ink is on the scroll and how she watched Cora practise magic.  "The spells were in the book."  Snow blows the words onto the cell and they escape.  Mulan  (Jamie Chung) will retrieve Aurora's heart.  Cora opens the portal.  There's a fight at the lake and Emma gets the better of Hook with a punch. What are you man or pirate, getting knocked out like that.  Mulan leaves Snow her sword as it deflects magic.

Emma and Hook's little tete a tete or heart to heart may appeal to fans.  Especially when he enjoys other activities when a woman is under him.  Emma takes the compass.   Hook catches Aurora's heart from falling in.  He can't have a woman lose her heart "unless it's over me."  Well he's captured many a hearts.  Snow tells Emma "good always wins."  Just as Cora tries to take Snow's heart, Emma steps in and she tries to take Emma's heart. But she can't.  Emma contradicts her by telling her "love is strength."

Henry wants Regina to stop but Cora will destroy everything she loves, including Henry and she can't let her.  Regina and her favourite word again, "destroy" you.  Should be her catchphrase.    Henry wants Regina ot have faith in him and Regina stops the magic, allowing them to return.  Emma thanks Regina and so does Henry.

Gold thinks he owes Emma an apology but she wants to know how he knew about her.  He didn't create her, she was the product of true love.  But he did set in motion those events and he needed them to find those things in the cell.  He created the curse and took advantage of what she is.  So she's powerful and done everything for herself.  Cora tried to rip her heart out and failed cos of magic and he didn't do that either.  Mulan and Aurora go in search of Phillip.

Hook and Cora arrive in Storybrooke as he uses the rejuvenating powers of the lake where he throws in the magic bean and it brings them through on his ship.  Well his ship is necessary for things to proceed as it will come into play later in the season.  Funny Emma didn't tell Gold about Hook and his revenge, well she doesn't think he'll come here.

It was kind of a good twist seeing Cora wants to help Regina whereas Regina doesn't want her setting foot in Storybrooke.  Of course it could all still be just a rouse, but imagine if they teamed up, what a formidable force they'd make, much to Gold's dismay!  Emma is revealed as having magic too which does make her a savior but not in the sense she thinks.

Many will be pleased with Snow and Charming reuniting with true love's kiss since they found each other as they always do.  Emma also thanking Regina but she's left all alone and Gold's words are no comfort that they may invite her to dinner one day.  Especially since right now she's all alone and vulnerable and would easily be manipulated by Cora and become evil again, just for the sake of it.  Though she would have kept Emma from Henry here as she did last season.

Hey just thought in last season's ep where Jefferson wanted Emma to make another magic hat, he knew she had magic already and she only now realizes this is true in season 2.  Just thinking of the possibilities they could have had with Jefferson still in the show, gosh darn  it!

Can't help noticing they've been alluding to Pirates of the Carribean a lot throughout as well.  Well there's the compass, the ship, Hook of course and there were little nuances of Captain Jack Sparrow in this ep of the show that Hook displayed.  The way he said "gentleman...pirate;"  he wouldn't let a lady lose her heart and so on.  Yes there is more which I'll reveal in posts later on.

Matt Smith Bids Farewell to Doctor Who

                                                 
So it's official, Matt Smith has confirmed he will be leaving Doctor Who after the Christmas Special.  That's a little heartbreaking since we had gotten so used to him playing the role now.  He excelled in the role after taking on the mantle from David Tennant and fast became one of my fave Doctors.  Okay, David was my first fave, but Matt kind of took over.  This is disappointing since he did confirm he'd be back for a series 8!

His funny antics, serious moods and just unsurmountable energy brought something special to each episode.  WE laughed with him, cried with him and he made bow ties cool and the Fez too!  Matt played the role since 2010 and brought to the screen a special kind of Doctor.  Admittedly he was the youngest so he had quite a lot to live up to with those that had gone before.  He said it was an "honour" to play the Doctor.  That it was his "most brilliant experience as an actor" which he put down to his fans, cast and crew.  Jenna-Louise Coleman will still continue as Clara.

Matt said: "thank you so very much for supporting my incarnation of the Time Lord, number Eleven..."
Stephen Moffat also paid tribute to Matt's time on the show, adding, "every day on every episode, in every set of rushes Matt Smith surprised me.  The way he'd turn a line or spin on his heels...or out of nowhere make me cry...he is one of the nicest and hard-working people I have ever had the privilege of knowing."

Going on to say: "...this Christmas prepare for your hearts to break, as we say goodbye to number Eleven.  Thank you Matt, bow ties were never cooler."  Yes our hearts will break just as they did for David before him.

SO the search will continue for someone to fill Matt's shoes.  Some fans now want an older actor in the role, so it's open for anyone to play him.  This will be the Twelfth regeneration and some have also questioned how long the show can continue.  Right now no 'older' actor springs to mind for me, how about you?  Leave a comment as to who you'd like to see as the next Doctor.  But I thought of Colin Morgan who did a superb portrayal of Merlin and would have a different approach to the role, as well as plenty of energy and pizzazz.  He would really make the character his own.  Well the beautiful Benedict Cumberbatch is otherwise occupied! Of course there could be a reverse regeneration to allow David to return; remember there's still a double of him out there with Rose (Billy Piper).  Yes I hear shouts of Colin Firth too.

WHOever takes on the part will have the time of their lives no doubt, as long as it's someone we can all warm too as well...

Sherlock "The Great Game" Review

                                             
Funny intro with Sherlock (Benedict Cumberbatch) with the killer who thinks he'll help him, though he did have time to give him a lesson in proper grammar, before he was hanged.  Then finding out Watson (Martin Freeman) has a blog and Sherlock doesn't know anything about the stars or the earth is round.  Which was obviously going to come into play later on otherwise it wouldn't have been mentioned, the stars that is.

Sherlock is bored and can't contain his boredom, resorting to firing Watson's gun inside.  Mrs Hudson (Una Stubbs) wasn't happy with seeing her wall like that.  Mycroft  (Mark Gatiss) wants him to take on a case involving national security but he's too busy for that, mundane work.  As he tries to annoy with his violin.
                             
                                      
                                       "Ah, precious..."

Mycroft gives the file to Watson  concerning the disappearance of some Ministry of Defence files, only he doesn't tell Watson that straight off.  Watson leaves and there's an explosion outside.  He spent the night on Sarah's (Zoe Telford) sofa, not lilo as Sherlock refers to it.  It's put down to a gas leak but it's more than that, it's a bomb explosion.  All this being done to catch Sherlock's attention of course.  Lestrade (Rupert Graves) calls and wants him on the case.  Someone left a letter for him, a note, which he works out is written in a lady's hand and the paper is Czech, Bohemian.  That was the Czech connection.

Inside is a phone which is pink, similar to the phone from the first episode but not the same.  Someone's gone to a lot of trouble to make it look the same.  It rings and there are five pips.  Which he puts down to a message as secret societies used to send a message with melon pips or orange pips.  There's a photo of a fireplace which he recognizes as being the one at the house.  It's the downstairs flat which Mrs Hudson can't let out.  Inside are a pair of trainers.  Needing to analyze these he returns to St Bart's and examines the pollen.  Molly (Louise Brealey) comes in along with Jim (Andrew Scott) from IT who wants to meet him.  Sherlock mumbling "gay" under his breath.  He drops a dish and leaves behind his card as Sherlock tells her.  He's rather abrupt as we know and she leaves in tears.  After giving her a blow by blow account of his underwear, his dyed eyebrows, and he uses hair product.  As does Watson, but at least he washes his hair.  He's saving her the trouble of finding out later.

Sherlock asks Watson to describe what he sees on the trainers and he notices the name inside and how they've been kept clean.  Sherlock finds pollen unique to a specific area.  When they leave he recalls the case about Carl, a missing boy who was later found dead.  He noticed he left his clothes at the pool but his shoes weren't found.  The police refused to listen.  The woman with explosives strapped around her reads out a message for him from a pager.  When he solves the case about who the boy is she's freed.  But he didn't find out who killed him though so that wasn't consistent with what the bomber wanted him to do  Other than the fact Sherlock linked the bomber to also being the killer.

The next pip is a photo of a car and Sherlock is called on the other line.  Sally (Vinette Robinson) referring to Sherlock as "freak." The man saying he knows he went to the police.  This leads to an abandoned car with blood on the seat.  The missing man was probably a banker as Sherlock infers, what another one, and his wife (Deborah Moore) arrives at the scene.  Sherlock feigns being his friend and his tears too.  Though he does cry since he wipes his tears afterwards.  She tells him more than she thinks as he uses the past tense to talk about her husband and she follows suit, but they haven't even found the body yet.

The caller tells him Janus Cars is a clue.  Since the car dealer's called Janus Cars and he was connected to the wife.  Sherlock asks for change to use the cigarette machine and notices his wallet.  He had a note from Columbia, was tanned.   Thus he disposed of the bankers DB in Columbia.  Janus being the God of two faces as Watson says.  Surprised no one saw that man standing in Piccadilly like that as suspicious and what happened to all that CCTV too.

Third Vic is a blind woman who calls and he has to look into the murder of a TV personality, Connie Prince (Di Botcher) who made people over.  Watson watches her show with Mrs Hudson.  There are scratches on her arms and the cut is made after she was already dead.  But no one noticed the botox injection marks, well Sherlock did , but didn't put them together right away.  Okay he did but not that we were meant to know this just yet.  He sends Watson to her brother's, Kenny (John Sessions) to question him and Watson notices the cat.  Also the gardener Raoul (Stefano Braschi) who kept the house spotless as Sherlock tells him.  The cat has disinfectant on its paws but Sherlock tells him she was killed by botox and Raoul did it.  Sherlock's Home office contact the Home Secretary owed him a favour and found Raoul had been ordering botox from the Internet.  He also finds that Carl's shoelaces were laced with botox.  He had eczema so was on medication.  He went swimming and was paralyzed, causing him to drown.  The blind woman (Rita Davies) tries to talk about the mysterious man but is killed.  She lives in a flat so 12 others are also killed.

The other case, well Sherlock waits for the call and sits around watching trashy TV.  He's sent a photo of the skyline and the river.  Looking at various reports which turn up nothing he asks if there has been anything found at the river.  Here there's a DB which he deduces was a security guard and that the Vermeer painting due to go on display is a fake.  That's not enough though.  Sherlock deducing he was killed by an assassin, a Golem (John Lebar).  Watson finds out about the guard as he's been reported missing and that he's a star gazer, another clue.  Also professor Cairns (Lynn Farleigh) called for him.   Sherlock uses his 'homeless network' to find out his whereabouts.  Would have called them his "Holmes network."  Hope you got that pun.

This leads them to the professor where once again Sherlock is attacked and almost strangled by the Golem.  Yes Watson you should have shot him like he told you to. He escapes though and isn't caught.  Heading to the museum, Sherlock tells the caller the painting is a fake but he needs more time.  The boy is given 10 seconds and then he finally gets it.  The Van Buren comet painted wouldn't have been around in the sixteenth century.  So he knows his comets but not his stars.  Hey you can't get a view of the London nightsky so clear.

Also they solve the Westie (San Shella) murder, killed by his fiance, Lucy (Lauren Crace) brother since he was a drug dealer and stole the stick.  Disposing the DB on top of  a train but it fell off when the points changed on the track.  Which pleases Mycroft who threatens Sherlock with another knighthood.

It's not all over yet as there's still one more pip left.  Watson leaves to visit Sarah but doesn't get there.  As Sherlock finds him at the pool with explosives around him.  Cue Jim Moriarty but he's not after the memory stick.  He wants to kill Sherlock but not yet.  He leaves after much conversation and his Westwood suit and Watson is saved, remarking how it would be suspicious if anyone saw how quickly Sherlock ripped his clothes off in a dark pool.  But it's not over since Moriarty returns and this time has several snipers trained on them.  Leaving Sherlock with only one dilemma...to blow up the explosives by shooting at them.  But that's for another series...

SO the phone battery didn't die, unless of course the phone was charged without us knowing.  But hey Sherlock doesn't need to charge a phone, that'd be Watson's area.  Continuity here again with A Study in Pink since we got the pink phone again and Watson blogging about this case.  Pink phone had to turn up since Moriarty has been watching every move and the blog.  A bit creepy if you think about it.  Sherlock watching Watson when he went on his case, Moriarty watching Sherlock.

Obviously Jim was so obvious and not just on fourth viewing.  Should have worked that out with his name, Jim, but too busy engrossed in Sherlock to have been paying attention.  Also when Molly introduced him as the IT guy, he's big on that as we saw last episode too. But glad they brought up Sherlock's character here with Watson thinking he's cold and just doesn't care about people.  He does his job cos he's bored and using his brain will alleviate that boredom.  He's not normal in that sense and so wouldn't do 'normal' things.  Still love his "shut up" line.  He's heartless which is brought up again at the end when he finally meets Moriarty face to face, with introductions this time round of course.  Adding some say he hasn't got a heart.

Disproved since he does try to save Watson, okay not just tries but wants to, has to.  Just like he does save the others too.  Guess Watson showed he had the bigger heart in that he held Moriarty to him and wanted Sherlock to leave, which he didn't.  Moriarty, criminal for hire, "criminal consultant" had a nice ring to it, being the polar opposite of Sherlock.  The only "consulting detective."

There was so much happening in this episode.  The five puzzles to solve, the Andrew West case, all linked, had to be.  Sherlock using his "science of Deduction" website.  Also notice he didn't eat again in the cafe, but Watson did.  Those nicotine patches must curb hunger pangs.  Moriarty wanting Sherlock to "burn!"  Also Sherlock with both hands on his hips after telling Molly Jim is gay! ha.

"Catch you later" was funny with it's double meaning.  He did catch him and we did too in series 2.  Watson and his "gottle of geer..." Already used in Doctor Who, The God Complex, with the ventriloquist's dummy.  Ohh bit of a rehash there.  Considering Mark Gatiss was also in that episode too!

It wasn't that much of a wait for series 2, not as long as we're having to wait for series 3!