Favourite and Least Favourite CSI Episodes
The following is a list of my favourite and least favourite episodes of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Fave episodes:
Sex, Lies and Larvae: Loved Sara in this feisty and kick ass
Crash and Burn: Hate Hank for what he did to Sara, but it makes a great storyline
Bloodlines: The sub-plot that started after Crash and Burn reaches a climax. It's been simmering away for over a year, and finally boils over. A great example of what makes this show so great
Nesting Dolls: Breath-taking acting by Jorja, as we finally find out why Sara takes Domestic Abuse cases so personally, anothe great example of the excellent "slow burn" storylines that make this show so great.
(are you starting to notice a pattern here? ;) ;)
Commited: Builds upon the revelation made in Nesting dolls, brilliantly acted out by Jorja and Billy.
4x4: Sara in a decon shower.. 'nuff said. :ph43r: :dev:
Organ Grinder: Really cute and funny scenes between Sara and Greg.
Strip Strangler: Sara acting as bait for a serial killer against Grissom's wishes makes for a tense episode.
Too Tough To Die: Sara getting passionate, feisty and determined with the Pamela Adler case. This episode shows so much about why I just love this character, the depth of the writing and Jorja's acting is superb.
Living Doll: That insanely sadistic cliff hanger with Sara trapped under the car and all of the dark, eerie, trademark CSI scenes leading up to it
Dead Doll : The Season 8 opener. Grissom teetering on the edge of losing control of his emotions, the entire team being frantic to find Sara, and of course the guts,determination and will to live of Sara herself make this an absolutely brilliant episode.
Goodbye and Good Luck: Sara's exit is nothing short of astounding. By now the Character is really beginning to spiral into emotional turmoil and PTSD after the events of Living Doll and Dead Doll. Jorja shows this through her body lanuage, tone of voice, expressions etc. It all boils over and Sara loses it when interrogating Hannah West. When Marlon West, Hannah's brother, is framed by his Sister for murder, the CSI team fail to prove his innonce, and he commits suicide. Sara finds this to be the last straw and she splits, hating to leave Grissom but at the same time terrified of self destructing in front of him, which she knows will happen if she doesn't get away. All in All a brilliant episode, a fitting and satisfactory departure for my favourite character on the show. (as a regular at least)
For Warrick: The finest dam premiere of the entire series. Everyone has a chance to shine as the team struggles to come to terms with Warrick's death. Sara makes a wonderfully in character and dramatic come back in this episode. She has changed so much since getting away from Vegas and is so much happier and at ease. This again is really shown well by both the writing and Jorja's acting.
The scene between Grissom and Sara has all the things that made this relationship great. You can see that despite the fact that getting away from Vegas and the job is exactly what she needed and how much she has benefited from it, Sara has missed Grissom terribly.
You can see that in the way she clings to him and tries everything she can to comfort him in their renuion scene in his office.
Nick is particularly great here too, he's pissed and depises McKeen for killing Warrick.
Their confronation scene is just intense, with McKeen taunting Nick, who comes thisclose to actually killing him, but doesn't in the end, knowing that 'Rick wouldn't have wanted that. George Eads and Conor O'Farell are brilliant here, they really make the scene a powerful one.
The Happy Place:
Following on from "For Warrick" the CSI team is clearly still reeling from the death of their friend and colleague, Grissom is finding it particularly tough and the scene at the beginning where he's just pleading with Sara to stay, is really emotional.
She tries to convince him to leave with her, each of them longing to be with the other, but unable to bring themselves to do so on the other's terms (at least not at that point....) . So very much true to the nature of the couple that was developed all through the years.
This epiosode serves as a sequel of sorts to "Too Tough To Die" and after eight years, we re-visit the case of Pamela Adler. Sara Shines in this episode, all of the traits that make her such an engaging character are shown, she hasn't lost a bit of it. She's just as impassioned, feisty and determined to get justice. She's snappy and abrupt with Brass and generally in her trademark won't take any shit attitude.
It's also great to hear Thomas Adler, Pamela's husband, mention that they missed Sara when she left. This certainly implys that she kept her promise at the end of Too Tough To Die to visit them, thus making the character all the more endearing, and richer, in such a sublte and low key way.
The case involves the fact that Thomas, pulled the plug on his wife's life support machine, he clains that this is because Tony Thorpe, the man who was suspected to have raped and beaten Pamela Adler eight years prior, but was never proven quilty, has said he's raped her again, and would continue to do so. Thomas Adler states that he cut off the life supoort machine to spare his wife any more assualts.
When the suspect in the case is discovered to have been paralyzed for over a year, it becomes clear he couldn't possibly be guilty.
It turns out that Thomas Adler made up the whole thing. He had just gotten to breaking point and could no longer handle seeing his wife like that. So he pulled the plug himself, just wanting it to be over.
At first Sara is upset that he lied to her, but when she hears how desperate he has become, his situation ressonates with her. It serves as an extra resolution, not that she needed any, that she has to be away from this world now.
So yeah, all of my absolute favourite episodes are Sara and/or Grissom/Sara centric. Others that are favourites for more generic reasons are listed as follows...
Hounourable Mentions:
Viva Las Vegas: Not sure why I like this one, could possibly be something to do with one of the guest stars. :hmm: ;)
Grave Danger: Very emotional episode, George Eads is fantastic in this. Everyone else is great too, brilliant ensemble.
Jackpot: Grissom constantly being one step ahead of some seriously dodgy locals.
Stalker: Great Nick centred episode and pretty creepy.
Gum Drops: Again a great Nick centred episode, and another brilliant ensemble.
The unusual Suspect: Another great ensemble and nice twist ending.
Who Shot Sherlock: Greg passes his profeciency .
So those are my favourite episodes. Please note, that "least favourite" is meant as just that! I don't really hate any episoes of the show, just there are some I like significantly less than others...
Least Favourite episodes:
Cross-Jurisdictions: Calleigh and Horatio from CSI: Miami, who put me off of that spin off are in it, so really don't have as much love for this one.
Fur and Loathing: Kind of boring compared to other episodes
Weeping Willows: Pretty meh episode.
Fave episodes:
Sex, Lies and Larvae: Loved Sara in this feisty and kick ass
Crash and Burn: Hate Hank for what he did to Sara, but it makes a great storyline
Bloodlines: The sub-plot that started after Crash and Burn reaches a climax. It's been simmering away for over a year, and finally boils over. A great example of what makes this show so great
Nesting Dolls: Breath-taking acting by Jorja, as we finally find out why Sara takes Domestic Abuse cases so personally, anothe great example of the excellent "slow burn" storylines that make this show so great.
(are you starting to notice a pattern here? ;) ;)
Commited: Builds upon the revelation made in Nesting dolls, brilliantly acted out by Jorja and Billy.
4x4: Sara in a decon shower.. 'nuff said. :ph43r: :dev:
Organ Grinder: Really cute and funny scenes between Sara and Greg.
Strip Strangler: Sara acting as bait for a serial killer against Grissom's wishes makes for a tense episode.
Too Tough To Die: Sara getting passionate, feisty and determined with the Pamela Adler case. This episode shows so much about why I just love this character, the depth of the writing and Jorja's acting is superb.
Living Doll: That insanely sadistic cliff hanger with Sara trapped under the car and all of the dark, eerie, trademark CSI scenes leading up to it
Dead Doll : The Season 8 opener. Grissom teetering on the edge of losing control of his emotions, the entire team being frantic to find Sara, and of course the guts,determination and will to live of Sara herself make this an absolutely brilliant episode.
Goodbye and Good Luck: Sara's exit is nothing short of astounding. By now the Character is really beginning to spiral into emotional turmoil and PTSD after the events of Living Doll and Dead Doll. Jorja shows this through her body lanuage, tone of voice, expressions etc. It all boils over and Sara loses it when interrogating Hannah West. When Marlon West, Hannah's brother, is framed by his Sister for murder, the CSI team fail to prove his innonce, and he commits suicide. Sara finds this to be the last straw and she splits, hating to leave Grissom but at the same time terrified of self destructing in front of him, which she knows will happen if she doesn't get away. All in All a brilliant episode, a fitting and satisfactory departure for my favourite character on the show. (as a regular at least)
For Warrick: The finest dam premiere of the entire series. Everyone has a chance to shine as the team struggles to come to terms with Warrick's death. Sara makes a wonderfully in character and dramatic come back in this episode. She has changed so much since getting away from Vegas and is so much happier and at ease. This again is really shown well by both the writing and Jorja's acting.
The scene between Grissom and Sara has all the things that made this relationship great. You can see that despite the fact that getting away from Vegas and the job is exactly what she needed and how much she has benefited from it, Sara has missed Grissom terribly.
You can see that in the way she clings to him and tries everything she can to comfort him in their renuion scene in his office.
Nick is particularly great here too, he's pissed and depises McKeen for killing Warrick.
Their confronation scene is just intense, with McKeen taunting Nick, who comes thisclose to actually killing him, but doesn't in the end, knowing that 'Rick wouldn't have wanted that. George Eads and Conor O'Farell are brilliant here, they really make the scene a powerful one.
The Happy Place:
Following on from "For Warrick" the CSI team is clearly still reeling from the death of their friend and colleague, Grissom is finding it particularly tough and the scene at the beginning where he's just pleading with Sara to stay, is really emotional.
She tries to convince him to leave with her, each of them longing to be with the other, but unable to bring themselves to do so on the other's terms (at least not at that point....) . So very much true to the nature of the couple that was developed all through the years.
This epiosode serves as a sequel of sorts to "Too Tough To Die" and after eight years, we re-visit the case of Pamela Adler. Sara Shines in this episode, all of the traits that make her such an engaging character are shown, she hasn't lost a bit of it. She's just as impassioned, feisty and determined to get justice. She's snappy and abrupt with Brass and generally in her trademark won't take any shit attitude.
It's also great to hear Thomas Adler, Pamela's husband, mention that they missed Sara when she left. This certainly implys that she kept her promise at the end of Too Tough To Die to visit them, thus making the character all the more endearing, and richer, in such a sublte and low key way.
The case involves the fact that Thomas, pulled the plug on his wife's life support machine, he clains that this is because Tony Thorpe, the man who was suspected to have raped and beaten Pamela Adler eight years prior, but was never proven quilty, has said he's raped her again, and would continue to do so. Thomas Adler states that he cut off the life supoort machine to spare his wife any more assualts.
When the suspect in the case is discovered to have been paralyzed for over a year, it becomes clear he couldn't possibly be guilty.
It turns out that Thomas Adler made up the whole thing. He had just gotten to breaking point and could no longer handle seeing his wife like that. So he pulled the plug himself, just wanting it to be over.
At first Sara is upset that he lied to her, but when she hears how desperate he has become, his situation ressonates with her. It serves as an extra resolution, not that she needed any, that she has to be away from this world now.
So yeah, all of my absolute favourite episodes are Sara and/or Grissom/Sara centric. Others that are favourites for more generic reasons are listed as follows...
Hounourable Mentions:
Viva Las Vegas: Not sure why I like this one, could possibly be something to do with one of the guest stars. :hmm: ;)
Grave Danger: Very emotional episode, George Eads is fantastic in this. Everyone else is great too, brilliant ensemble.
Jackpot: Grissom constantly being one step ahead of some seriously dodgy locals.
Stalker: Great Nick centred episode and pretty creepy.
Gum Drops: Again a great Nick centred episode, and another brilliant ensemble.
The unusual Suspect: Another great ensemble and nice twist ending.
Who Shot Sherlock: Greg passes his profeciency .
So those are my favourite episodes. Please note, that "least favourite" is meant as just that! I don't really hate any episoes of the show, just there are some I like significantly less than others...
Least Favourite episodes:
Cross-Jurisdictions: Calleigh and Horatio from CSI: Miami, who put me off of that spin off are in it, so really don't have as much love for this one.
Fur and Loathing: Kind of boring compared to other episodes
Weeping Willows: Pretty meh episode.