CSI: Crime Scene Investigation

Now there’s an ending!

Something happening to Sara certainly wasn’t a well kept secret at all. So, I kind of half expected to be bored by this episode, since I figured I already knew the big spoiler. I certainly wasn’t expecting the absolute psychotic nature of the miniature killer. I mean, you knew the killer wasn’t right in the head based on the crimes themselves, but, wow, this girl was truly nuts. Nothing boring about her.

So Natalie Davis is the killer — a foster child of Ernie Dell, who (we learned) killed himself to protect her. As a kid, she pushed her sister off the treehouse and killed her, and tried the same thing with other girls in another foster home. As was suspected earlier in the season, bleach was a trigger that set her mind into a frenzy. Of course, it seemed a lot put her into a frenzy. As she’s running down Fremont Street, the lights overhead put her in a trance. At the end, she’s singing her dad’s ventriloquist song about a pain in the sawdust while in her own little world. Clearly one messed up girl. And now she’s after Sara. Grissom figured out why, because he’s the only person that could. The hunt for the killer caused Ernie Dell to commit suicide, and she’s getting back at Grissom by killing the person he loves. She was able to pick up Grissom’s infatuation with Sara from a crime scene where Gil touched her arm. It was an interesting way to hear the word “love” finally come out of Grissom’s mouth in reference to Sara. The other CSIs certainly gave a double take when they heard him talk about Natalie taking away the only thing he’s loved. It was odd to me as well, that Natalie was able to make it this far in life without getting into any trouble, considering that it seems like everyone that came in contact with her (aside from Ernie) could see she was crazy. I’m also a bit surprised that her employer gave her a job as a janitor in the lab, even though her boss could also see she wasn’t real straight. I understand she had no prior criminal record, but even for a cleaning job in a place that important, you’d think there would be some sort of “I’m not crazy” test going on, wouldn’t you? Or her boss should be a better judge of character.

So, about the other killings.... Am I to assume that she was a maid/janitor at all these places and the bleach just triggered her brain to kill? When she applied for her last job, the manager did say something about Izzy Delancey which I don’t think I completely caught. But I assumed it was on her resume that she worked for him. Didn’t mention anything about the other miniatures, though.

And now the search for Sara begins. The scene at the end with Grissom in the room with Natalie was CSI at its best. Gil tried to get her happy and chatty by complimenting her on how great an artist she was and how he was a huge fan of hers. And then, you get Natalie slashing open Gil’s throat. Now if only it hadn’t been just a vision in Natalie’s mind, that would have been a crazy twist. I certainly wasn’t expecting it, either way, so for a brief moment my jaw hung open.

And so, the cliff-hanger is that Sara is alive, under a car, somewhere in Vegas. Guess we’ll have to wait until next season to see what happens here. But with Jorja Fox probably opting out of the next season, could this end anyway but badly for her?

One thing I would certainly love to find out is if the writers had this ending in mind all along. I mean, if Jorja was definitely in for another season, would she be under the car at all? Or was there a different ending in mind from the start, and they reformulated their plan to get her character out the door. Regardless, it doesn’t really matter though. Whatever they had in mind, it was still a great way to end an up and down season.

Don't forget to head on over to our Online Video Guide here, to check out some great videos from the show.

Until next time, friends.

Hi all,

Dave Steed is still away enjoying his honeymoon, but I know last night's CSI was supposed to be a huge one, so chat away here in the meantime until he returns next week.

Fortunately for Dave Steed, he is off getting married. Unfortunately for us, he isn't able to share his take on this episode of CSI. So share your own thoughts on last night's episode so he can read all about it when he returns.

As I begin, it's now exactly 34 minutes past the end of this week's episode and I'm still laughing. What a riot this was. You know Brass always brings a little bit of humor and he dominated this episode from the start.

So, let's see. Our boxer "Happy" gets injected with snake venom, then has a severe allergic reaction to shellfish, which transferred to him via some "very special first-aid." Then as his lungs are tightening and he's about to lose all his air, he gets an arrow through the throat that actually keeps him alive and then he takes a crowbar to the skull. Oh, and that didn't kill him, either. A broken pool chair did.

The scenes inside the Sugar Cane Ranch were so funny. Right from the start when Brass is interviewing the owners, Binky and Doris, I was rolling with laughter. Between Binky telling Brass the last time he saw Happy was when he was being rolled away and Doris saying that she fixed his favorite meal — meat — you could just tell that stupidity was going to play a major role in this.

Inside the brothel you had Brass interviewing the girls, who all loved Happy until Brass threatened them. Then the ladies start saying he didn't pay, he smelled and he broke wind a lot. You had Greg working his swabs while one of the girls told him to "come see me later, I can show you a better way to get DNA." Binky told Nick the girls don't have any weapons, and Nick goes into a room and finds pepper spray, a taser, brass knuckles and the crowbar, among other things. Then near the end when they come back to get the bartender, he falls over drunk in front of Nick.

Back at the station you had Brass pinning the murder on everybody, only to have his cell phone ring and Dr. Robbins tell him he's wrong, every time. And then Catherine is down with the Doc, and she comments how Happy might have the "world's ugliest johnson." But I think the best line in the whole show was when the girl who devised the whole plan started singing to Brass and he responded with, "Do I look like Paula Abdul?"

There certainly were some softer moments, too, like in the trailer with the old man. After Sara told Nick it looked like the arrow came through the window, the old man said that "even an idiot could see that." But he was mighty impressed with Sara, when she started quoting Longfellow* back to him. A little Grissom rubbing off on her there.

Speaking of a little Grissom rubbing off, we've finally confirmed once and for all that Sara and Gil are gettin' it on. That was a cute scene with the two of them talking about sex. She asked him if he had ever paid for sex and then got this:

Gil: Sex without love makes you sad.
Sara: I guess I don't make you sad.
Gil: No, you make me happy.

That's certainly the most intimate detail we've gotten about GSR so far.

Overall, a funny, lighthearted romp and a lot of the Captain, which is always good in my book.

As usual, let me know what you thought about the episode and, of course, I'm sure there will be a ton of GSR talk, too!

Until next week, friends.

* Note: I'm assuming that since the old man was quoting Longfellow to Sara and Nick earlier, that she was quoting the same back. Though, just like Nick, I'm not familiar with the work of Longfellow, so that's just pure assumption on my part. And I didn't tape it, so I can't Google the lines she said.

A question mark. That pretty much sums up my feelings for this episode of CSI. What a bizarre ride this one was. I'm an outspoken guy and usually have plenty of words to convey my feelings, but I'm not sure what to say for this one. I can't take the straight-up recap approach because there was only about 10 minutes of new, interesting substance. So instead, I'm going to bullet-point my thoughts and you can feel free to comment on them.

— First of all, half of this episode was like a bad greatest-hits CD. Greatest-hits CDs are made for the casual fan or the newbie who's never listened before but would like a good summary of an artist. This episode wasn't even career-spanning but rather one of those late-period throw-offs. I would take a bet that the majority of regular viewers of CSI would have been able to remember the basics of the previous miniature crimes without having to recap them like this. I understand the other lab techs had to be brought up to speed, but there had to be a better way to show this. Maybe this was also a big help to those who haven't seen all the episodes this season, but for me, and I'll bet for most of you, seeing the recaps yet again was a waste of time.

— For a long time many of you have said how you wished they gave some more screen time to Hodges, but this didn't satify my taste buds. Through the first 45 minutes or so, I didn't learn much. We did see that the other lab techs pretty much think he's a doofus, but that really doesn't come as a surprise. We also saw that Hodges' ego is huge! But that's nothing new, either.

— Why did Hodges decide to just go for it today? Well, because it was his lucky day. He found a dollar, a hot chick, and got bags and bags of "lucky" potato chips with that buck. Kind of funny but ultimately very cheesy.

— Why even bother with the other stories? Five minutes spent on a dead guy with a drug-smuggling rat inside him; Warrick and Nick involved in something with lube and erotic athletes; Greg's only scene has him covered in blood/marinara sauce; and Sara gets a minute with a murderous clown. Other than the rat story, they didn't even say enough about the others to give me any clue what they were talking about.

— The only part I did like was the last five minutes with Hodges and Grissom. Clearly Hodges is a smart man, there's no doubt about that. So, I'm happy he seemed to find the bleach connection that no one else found. But it took a whole episode of recaps to get to that one new thing about the cases. At the end, though, I did get a good laugh out of Hodges telling Grissom, "I'm sorry if I crossed the line. It won't happen again!" Yeah, right! And the fist pump at the end was so after-school special-ish that I chuckled a bit.

So those are my ugly words about this episode. Sorry for being so negative about this one, but if you've read any of my blogs at all, you know that I may not always be right, but I'm always honest in my opinion. If you loved the episode, I'd be thrilled if you could explain why, because I think it was one of the weakest in recent memory.

Until next week, friends.

My apologies, but I will not be blogging on CSI this week. However, I'm opening the thread so you can chat on your own.

See you next week.

Can you believe it's been more than a month since the last new CSI episode? So what better way to rekindle my CSI flame than to give me an unusually high amount of bloody gore! This episode certainly was one of the more gruesome in recent memory. Six young showgirls all tied up with their throats slashed and a full half hour at least at the crime scene. It was kind of creepy, too. The gang doesn't usually come across victims that are still alive, so when the one girl reached out from under the bed, I admit, I jumped a bit. Not as much as Sara though, I'm sure.

One of the things I've always loved about CSI are those scenes where we watch the crime happen from inside the body — you know, the ones where we see every organ the bullet hit. The one they showed in this episode had to be pretty nasty. A knife puncture deep enough to hit spine (or maybe rib?) and hard enough to break off the tip of the knife. That's not the way I want to go out. And did you see how many puncture wounds that one girl had? There were dozens all over her body.

The way Sara found the killer was interesting. I mean, I guess in a way he found them, because there didn't seem to be much killer huntin' going on in this one, but to have Sara hold his hand and watch his eyes on her as he lay in the hospital bed was really creepy.

I do think I missed two things, though, and it might have been because once I realized the killer was Walton Goggins I started zoning out and thinking about what a badass Vic Mackey is and how I can't wait until Tuesday for the season premiere of The Shield! Anyway, the misses: did he slice his own throat? If not, who did? And what was his reasoning for killing all six girls? The one girl was flirting with him and then I understood that he really didn't feel anything bad about killing people, but did he ever really say what prompted him to kill all of them? Was it all from just a ridiculous amount of alcohol?

Before I close, a couple of random things for you to talk about:

1) Why did Hodges pick up the dead girl's phone? Doesn't quite seem like protocol there.

2) Greg got the shaft. $2.5 million to Demitrius' family, and we get to revisit it next week according to the promo.

3) Awwww, Grissom wiped away Sara's tears.

I'm looking forward to reading your comments since it's been a while!

Until next week, friends.

What a crazy little episode this was. To me, this was one of the least predictable episodes of the season, which is always a good thing.

We all know the high-school jock/cheerleader story. That's certainly nothing new. But the events surrounding the disappearance and possible murder of these kids was very creative. (Now's the time to insert your own "Didn't you ever watch [famous show]? This same story happened in Season 2 of [famous show] back in 1994. I'm positive my answer will be, "Nope, I didn't see it.")

The opening sequence was a little long and pretty generic while in the high school, but leave it to Grissom to liven things up. He's a fiesty one when you get him up on a Saturday. I loved when he was standing in empty space and turned to the cop and said, "What do you want me to test?" That's prime, grade-A Grissom right there.

The first twist I wasn't expecting was when Sheila died in custody. She didn't seem stressed at all about her best friend going missing, so I simply assumed she had something to do with Megan's disappearance. And just like her mom suspected, I assumed her headache was just a hangover. Of course, later we saw she got a camera to the side of the head. By the end we saw that she was just part of a prank gone bad, but that still contributed to Megan leaving her friends that night.

Then of course comes the twist where the teacher was having sex with her student, Ryan. Now, OK — that's a predictable one. But I wasn't expecting 10 minutes of the show to focus on Ryan's crabs. Yuck. They linked the teacher to Ryan through DNA from one of those little unwanted friends.

And finally, the big twist at the end, when we find out the teacher ran over Megan, took Ryan's body, snapped a bunch of pictures and then committed suicide draped over his dead body. Maybe you saw it coming, but I was shocked. I have to admit, too, that I was a little creeped out at the scene where Brass and the gang were walking through the building in front of all the slides of Ryan. It just seemed very freaky to me. Of course, it could have to do with my dislike of Laura Harris, who played the teacher. I dislike her only because she haunts me from way back on Day 2 of 24, when she played psycho bad chick Marie Warner. Every time I see her in a show I think back to the very vivid images of her craziness during that season. I think this picture best describes what I'm trying to say.

CSI is certainly on a hot streak now. That's at least three great episodes in a row, in my opinion. Unfortunately, just as it's really picking up this season, March Madness is right around the corner, to throw the show into reruns for a bit.

Until next time, friends.

Wait! Wait! Wait! Oh c'mon. You really didn't think I'd end my blog without talking about GSR for a second. For those of you who aren't familiar with my opinion of GSR: I'm fine with it, I'm fine without it. But what I don't want to see is what happened tonight. The last 30 seconds with Sara shaving Grissom, was significant because it really takes some trust and opening up for that to take place, which of course we rarely see from Gil. (I love my fiancée to death, but her shaving me with a straight razor scares the crap out of me.) However, this scene had nothing to do with the show. The end of the episode a few weeks ago, where Sara said he'd be seeing her later, was fine with me. Here, it was just a random scene for the sake of giving us GSR, and it just threw me off a bit. Plus, now I'm thinking about that, instead of thinking about the great episode that came before it. I'm curious to see what your comments will be on it.

I love the miniature killer! OK, so I don't love the killer himself, obviously, but I love what he brings to CSI. Once again, I was on the edge of my seat the entire episode, right from the start when we saw what essentially was a Grissom freak-out. I loved the opening scene when he was scurrying down the hall with a very panicked look on his face. After all, Gil is the guy who always believes the evidence will point to the suspect, and at the moment he was holding a fourth model, he knew it had led him astray this time.

I must give my props to Gil, though. I know he's great at noticing the little details, and, well, it's his job, but I would have driven myself nuts trying to find the ever so slightest of clues in a miniature model. But he found the date on the newspaper (kudos to the producers for using the correct date), the cat behind the books, the menus that were able to help them find the right building, the notes on the dolls, and best of all, he did an autopsy on the body to find the lungs!

The notes on the bloody doll faces were certainly the most intriguing of the findings. We've talked about what the dolls meant at length in previous blogs, and there have been lots of theories. I don't know if we're actually done with them yet, but I wasn't anticipating a message on them of "You Were Wrong." (Sorry, those were the three words I saw, but I know there were four miniatures, so I'm assuming there's another word that I just missed, right?) The best part is that I'm incredibly intrigued, and really, this could go in many directions now. I don't understand how the killer could possibly know they were going to get the wrong person, unless he and Ernie Dell had this plan going the entire time. Maybe they were all there for just this reason, but there has to be some significance to the doll itself. I was half expecting one of Ernie's old home videos to have the doll in it, with the blood on her face.

And of course, I was sure the killer was the doctor's brother, after everything that went down. So of course, when they found his tear at the crime scene I leaned back in the chair thinking he was caught. I just figured all three of the other victims were former patients and did something to the doctor that her brother didn't like. Of course, they threw me for a loop when it was revealed that he helped her commit suicide because he thought he could just blame it on the miniature killer.

But of course, however far away the crew might still be from catching the killer, they finally figured out a common bond between all the victims — Ernie's son. I suppose that's one step, because before this they were confused as to what the victims had in common.

There was a (very) brief point where I wanted this story line to close, but I must have been crazy to think like that. This is an exciting part of the season, and it keeps getting better. Give me some more every two or three episodes, and that's OK with me. Oh, and we had a minute or so of Greg talking about the deposition, so I suppose we'll be seeing more of that soon as well.

I'm excited, how about you?

Until next week, friends.

It's time for everyone to disagree with me again. When my opinion about an episode sways drastically one way or the other, it usually means everyone will think the exact opposite. So here's your chance. This was the best episode of the season!

If there were still any lingering questions about Keppler possibly showing up in a few episodes with Gil, they are all gone now. Last week, what I thought was a clear assumption that Keppler killed this "Amy" girl wasn't true at all. And thinking he killed the guy he thought raped her also turned out to be false. So I guess Mike really was trying to put his past behind him and move on. He was a cop that killed an innocent man, but in the end he actually didn’t seem that dirty compared to his buddy Frank. Man, Frank was really just going to hand the gun over so they could finger his buddy for the murder? That's crazy. And now, Mike is gone. A tough break since we finally saw some real emotion when he slammed the pimp's head into the table.

And hey, let's not forget the return of scraggly Gil Grissom! I kind of like the new Shaggy look on him and some time off gave him a much lighter side, too. He was very cordial with Sara. She told him that he looked good; he mentioned he'd see her that night. I had read that her initial reaction to his return would be negative, but I didn't pick that up in this episode. I mean, OK, she backed away because she smelled like garbage. But otherwise, Sara looked happy to see Gil back and he looked really happy to see her, too. Let's see how much this heats up again.

One of my favorite bits of dialogue was in this episode as well, when Grissom joined Warrick in the field and asked him what he was doing:

Warrick: I'm just following the leads off some serialized butt implants.
Grissom: I missed Las Vegas.

Ha.

So now without Keppler, Gil will finally open his box, and next week we'll be back on the miniature-killer case. But, I'm assuming Keppler will come up again since Catherine was way too distraught over his death. I know the episode I missed a few weeks ago ended with them having a drink, but maybe the night didn't end there? A little hanky panky between Cat and Keppler? There had to be something with them; otherwise, how could she be attached enough in this short period of time to show that much emotion over him? We shall see.

Until next week, friends.

Miss me? Nah, didn't think so. You guys did such a great job with the recaps last week, I seriously thought about making myself busy again and just letting you write it up again. But I couldn't go another week without CSI. I kind of wish I did, though.

Now, I told you last week that I would watch the episode over the weekend and then comment on it, and I didn't. So here's my comment. I watched the first 20 minutes, and then decided I'd much rather be playing Madden. Does that say enough? I couldn't rely on that option this week, though, so I toughed it out.

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How's that for a recap of this week's episode? OK, I'm just kidding. I'll discuss it a little bit. I'm sure it will be split down the middle with people that liked it and those that didn't. But I have to admit, last week there were more comments about the episode being boring than I can remember in a long time. I can certainly picture many of those comments being cut and pasted into this week's commentary, too.

The whole body-harvesting idea creeps me out every time it's used in a show. Usually, we hear about organs being removed, but tissue, too? And man, let's hope I never need a new hip or something. Who wants to find out they got a diseased hip? That can't be pleasant. Overall, I just didn't buy the story as a whole. Am I just not smart enough for this show? (Don't answer that. No please, don't answer that.) I understand that the guy just out of prison wanted to start a new life, so he thought that killing himself was the only way. But he then goes and digs up a casket and burns a body that looks like him? Seriously? That turns into a separate case against the mortician (Gordon Clapp of NYPD Blue fame) and, of course, who couldn't see it coming that both he and the lab were a little bit shady?

Speaking of harvesting, wasn't that a whole story line this season on Nip/Tuck? And who should appear in this episode but John Hensley, who plays Matt on that show. Interesting coincidence, but at least he didn't have a part in that plotline. The whole paying for a "relationship" line was a slow-moving drag until the very end when we learned that he misread the situation the entire time. But again, you kind of knew the dead woman was his mother long before it was revealed. I'm not usually the quickest at figuring out the cases, as I like to just watch it for what it is and don't usually try to think ahead that much. However, this is three shows in a row now (sans last week, of course) that my fiancée has told me exactly what the ending was going to be long before it was revealed. That's not good, as the element of suspense has always been what's kept me interested in the show.

For instance, I saw the words "difficult," "hurt," "eyes," and "I'll miss you" in Grissom's letter to Sara. "I'll miss you" is interesting indeed. Hmmm, is Gil walking away from her? That keeps me interested.

And the picture of the girl sent to Keppler could also keep me interested. Of course, then the preview for next week might have just flat-out said that he was involved in the girl's death. So, one minute I was intrigued and two minutes and two seconds later, I wasn't anymore.

I also really need to get TiVo, as I couldn't make out the last words said while Mike was in the mortuary. The first person to tell me gets… um, gets… the satisfaction of being the first person to tell me. Isn't that a gift in itself?

Until next week, friends.

Bad news, folks, (good news to some of you). Grissom invited me up to watch him lecture on Wednesday, so I took a trip to his school and sat in on him for a bit. Unfortunately, it's a long trip, and I didn't make it home in time to see this week's episode.

But, I'm opening up a string for you to recap and comment, and I'll watch it over the weekend and leave my own thoughts then.

Here's hoping you all enjoyed it, so I'll have something to look forward to.

Until next week, friends.

No, no, no. I'm just kidding with the title of my blog. I wouldn't want to start a quarterback controversy here. Is the show better off without William Petersen? Is the fresh blood of Liev Schreiber a nice jolt of energy? Can no one ever match up with Gil Grissom? All very good questions, which I can let you decide. But let me share my thoughts.

Hello, Mr. Mike Keppler. A nice dark, mysterious intro followed by him walking up to the body and touching it. Good start, buddy. And right there we begin a show filled with attitude, as Catherine chastises him for touching and explains how they do things in Vegas. Ain't no messing around in the Vegas crime lab. It wasn't just Cat, though. Almost everyone seemed a little on edge with the new guy in town. There was Sofia telling the Doc not to whistle as he cuts people open. Sara, jawing a bit with the slacker detective. Even Keppler was able to get in on it when Catherine asked him how he knew all the deaths were related, and he firmly said, "I do." But overall, the tension seemed subtle, and there wasn't any tension between Keppler and Warrick, who impressed him right away. I expected there to be some kind of negative interaction between Mike and Sara, and we really didn't see anything at all, (though, if you hung around for the previews, I might not be able to say that next week).

Liev is an acclaimed actor who's never done a television series before, so this is brand new territory for him. But if his first episode is any indication of what's to come, then the guy is made for the small screen as well as the big. He certainly has some big shoes to fill for a few weeks, but seems up to that task. The Keppler character comes in with a little quirkiness, as we saw right away when he poured out his coffee and crushed the empty cup into his pocket. He also arrives with some cockiness as well. Cat says that Mike knows what he's doing, but she put him in his place when he started getting all profiler on her. It should be an interesting relationship between the two of them for a while now.

How awesome was Ned Beatty, too? As Dr. Dave, he kept the same smile on his face when the investigators had nothing on him as he did when he turned into a numskull* and wouldn't even identify the ladies he killed.

With one case to focus on, we finally got to see some of the characters that had disappeared for a while. I was happy to see Brass in the first shot, as he always adds a much-needed dose of humor. Dr. Robbins calling the original examiner "a lazy bastard" was hilarious. I love the episodes like this that stick with a simple format and let us see more of the characters, which is something that has been sorely lacking this season. Overall, a great start to the Grissom-less era, though I still miss the big guy.

Now I want your thoughts on the arrival of Liev. Let the opinions flow.

Until next week, friends.

* - The term of endearment for Dr. Dave was changed at 4:30 am 1/20/07. The thesaurus said I could use, blockhead, dunderhead, halfwit or dumb ox as well, though I'm not sure anyone has ever used the term "dumb ox" before so I threw that one out. - Dave Steed

Welcome to 2007, everyone. I planned on an emotional ride for my first new episode of the calendar year, but I really didn't get that.

Grissom's going on sabbatical — we knew that part. How the last episode played out was going to be the story. But it really wasn't. There wasn't that much drama at all. Hodges was the first to find out and got him a college sweatshirt and started talking to Gil about his "crazy times" at the school since he was a student there. Cat then found out she was going to be acting supervisor and, like a good CSI, she'd be focused more on her cases instead. The moment with Warrick was good, when Gil told him he was "the rock of the team... be there for Catherine like you were for me." That's cool coming from a guy who gives out such little praise. Nick is certainly the funniest one, though. Thinking Gil won't be back at all, he goes up and hugs him:

Gil: "I'll be back in four weeks, stop hugging me."
Nick: "Yes, sir."

Ha!

The scene with Sara is what I was expecting, but it was still disappointing. "I'll miss you" from Grissom is about as lovey-dovey as he gets, but the big old L-word would have been nice, as would have been a little more interaction between the two of them. Typical Gil Grissom style, though.

The case Cat was working on was strange for me in many ways. First of all, in the opening scene, she really needed to put on a better poker face on the stand. It's one thing to answer a question that might cast some doubt on a conviction, but she was fidgeting, frowning and sighing. If I were a juror and the CSI made those faces, I'd vote not-guilty, too. Some other things that don't fly right for me: The sheriff told Cat that her best friend was killed the night all these murders happened, but three years later the bullet was still in the table (and Nick found it in 30 seconds). I know the sheriff isn't exactly Nick Stokes, but I would have thought she might have put some effort into that crime scene since the blood put her best friend right there. And how about back at the house, where nothing had been touched for three years? The blood was still around, the bullets were in the backyard. Maybe I shouldn't find it so hard to believe that with a confession the cops didn't bother to get the other bullets or clean the house up, but after seven seasons of CSI, I'm just used to 100 percent thoroughness. Also, can the Reno lab actually get any results? The Vegas lab can get your life story from a hair, but the Reno lab can't seem to find anything. Finally, how many of you are going to comment on the unprofessional technique Cat used on that Guffey guy the sheriff locked up? I could go either way on this one. I mean, sure you can say that she should be able to do her job without flashing the bra and showing some cleavage, but then you could also say she's clever for using what her mama gave her. In the end, who's going to argue with a little Marg Helgenberger boob shot? No sir. Not I. But it really all came down to the kid. I've said it before in my blogs: If you want to get the real truth, talk to the kid. A kid has no reason to do anything but tell the truth.

So I guess now we have a while to look forward to the guys below Grissom really bonding and maybe getting a closer look at each one of them again. I've enjoyed this season very much, but I feel that I've lost touch with almost all of the characters since there's usually one or two each week who get only three lines.

And of course!!! The doll is back. How naive of me to think that, even though we got no answer on what the doll meant in the miniature killings, that meant that the story line was over. The most talked-about story line next to GSR continues!

Looks like no new epiosde next week, so until the 18th, friends.

Happy New Year to all the faithful fans of CSI. The blog will be back on January 4th with the first new episode of 2007. Should be an emotional ride!