TVSquad

For the most part, I was extremely disappointed in this episode. First off--there were so many things that were so unbelieveable, I couldn't even concentrate on the story. I kept getting distracted by the little details that the writers half-assed, so much so that I found it nearly impossible to suspend disbelief for the length of the episode.

They didn't really show how Natalie managed to put that car on top of Sara. That skinny little Natalie lifting Sara into a trunk, lifting Sara off of the ground in the desert to put her back in the car, lifting Sara AGAIN to position her underneath the car--I just can't buy it. Sara using that little piece of metal from the taser to unlock the bind around her wrists--yeah right. A "perfect storm" of weather to ensure that Sara would have the worst chances possible. The fact that it took Sara what seemed to be HOURS to figure out that she was in SAND, and she could start digging from underneath to get her arm unpinned. Not to mention the fact that the place was flooding and the water would displace the car (which--was that what ultimately happened? It was hard to tell). Natalie writing the location of the junkyard on a bulletin board right next to Sara's photos for Nick to find so easily (yet it took him forever). FOOTPRINTS?! Seriously, FOOTPRINTS?! The last time we saw Sara, she had managed to free herself from under the car and it was POURING rain and flooding. How is she going to leave footprints in the sand?? I could probably go on longer, but I think I've made my point. I understand it's TV, and I usually cast aside things like this, but there were just too many stupid things in one episode of television.

The other thing that bothered me was that this was a complete repeat of Nick's near-death experience. He was kidnapped by a woman, too, right? The daughter of a suspect/killer? The other CSIs were on a wild search for him before time ran out. Same shit here. And they found him JUST in time. Same thing here. Nick lived. Once again, the same.

The only thing that would have saved this episode for me is if Sara had actually died. I don't particularly dislike Sara, but it was time for someone in this situation to die. And this would have been the perfect opportunity for the writers to do it.

The miniature killer storyline started off really well, it kept me hooked, but the way they tied up the loose ends was unoriginal and just plain boring. In my opinion, this episode deserved two thumbs down--way down.

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I have to agree with Heather this ep was the poo. CSI is about following scraps of evidence to determine the 5 W's. Seems like we knew almost everything there was to know about this ep before it started except for whether or not Sara would be dead.

And then all the silly things that occured in the desert, foot prints, Sara not staying with car, and finding some random DB. Sigh Im glad this storyline is wrapped up and we can get back to the show at heart - stand alone CSI crime solving.

PS - I still prefer Griss with the facial scruff

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"The other thing that bothered me was that this was a complete repeat of Nick's near-death experience... "

Well I didn't nit-pick the episode like you did, even if some of them were legitimate "nits" that deserved to be "picked". but that was my main complaint. We've seen this done before and done better.

"Sara not staying with car..." I could overlook somestuff that was pointed out, but this seriously bugged me, the first rule is if you don't know where you are is stay put. And she must of known everyone was looking for her, I mean they found Nick that one time.

Maybe she was afraid Natalie would come back and kick her ass again, I thought Sara not being able to overpower her when she escaped from the trunk was a little unbelievable. If ever there was a time for an old fashioned eye gouging.

Buuuttt.. I still liked the episode, even though it was similar to nicks episode it was nice to see the juxtaposition of her being able to fight her way to freedom.

Im glad she lived even if it did short circuit the drama of the doll maker story arc. For some reason Sara is one of my favorite characters on Television, theres something very zen about Jorja's performance that I haven't seen on any other show.

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Well said, Heather. This episode was awful. They need to get back in the lab and do what CSI does.

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I was happy with this episode. I think it was well made, but I wanted Sara to die and was very disappointed. I think the death of a main character good have shook things up a bit on the show.

http://redlightnaps.wordpress.com/2007/09/28/csi-dead-doll-season/

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Yeah they now copped out of everything. First the old guy killer, than the "who?!?" orphan girl... and now she killed every one on her list but sarah. Boring.

They should've killed her off, that would've been at least something. The relationship between her and Grissom doesn't interest anyone anyway. It feels creepy, he's 20 years older an a bug guy, she's an orphan, and they still don't really connect. And now that they have something to connect over she gets written out of the series or what?

Great...

Still, the episode was well crafted. Good camera movements, good overall setups, a lot of suspense... over nothing :-)

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This was the first CSI Episode where at the end my impression was "Well that show just jumped the shark". That's saying a lot considering the show is filled with far off future tech and been-done-already antagonist cliches. I love CSI, and I think it would have set a much better tone for the season if Sara had died. It would have been a message to the audience that no cast member is safe. The danger would be more "real". Even if they did Sara flashbacks for the first half of the season to keep her employed, that would have been a much better solution then a miraculous survival.

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I was very pleased with the season opener. I don't get why everyone said it sucked. They had to lead us somewhere from last seasons finale...and if CBS or Jorja Fox wasn't ready to leave yet, well thats probably why she lived. As for Natalie lifting the car; she went to the salvage yard...and the guy at the salvage yard said that he took it to the desert, so I would assume that he probably helped, but didn't know it to give the viewers the feeling that Natalie is weirder than she already is.

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One more thing I wanted to mention about this episode was the scene when Sara was pinned under the car and the wolf came up to her. I thought this could've been a great scene but instead the wolf sniffs her hand theres a lil bit of thunder and he leaves, talk about anti-climactic.

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People still watch this show?

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This show was poor. JF was excellent as always.

I am extremely disappointed that JF is leaving CSI and will not watch after she departs. The show has become stale and not worthy of my time most especially once JF leaves and is replaced by some "vivacious analyst" (per Yahoo news). All three CSI's have degraded into prosaic stories with very little science and a superficial cast lacking realism and intelligence. It will also end the Sara-Grissom relationship - most disappointing of all. The relationship (an architect of William Peterson himself) got into an area the show had not explored. The intellect and chemistry the two characters share is unique and one not easily replaced. William Peterson is left a giant amongst a throng of amateurs.

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My families favorite part is when Grissom looks through his binoculars and sees three stones, he then takes 12 steps forward to be at the stones!! Give me a break, 12 steps away and he needed binoculars, the stones weren't THAT small. I agree with a lot of what's been posted here, way too many unrealistic inconsistencies for me to be able to enjoy the episode but I'll probably keep watching the show for at least a few more weeks and see if they can get back on track.

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I do not dislike the Sara Sidle character ... however it would have been more powerful had they found her dead.

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Hey - if they can have an old guy lift an unconscious Nick (dead weight must be at least 175 lbs) and carry him to a truck making no noise and doing it fast enough so that the cop on the scene didn't catch him, then obviously the showrunners think pinning someone under a car and virtually drowning her is just a walk in the park.

Spoiler Warning:
They could always still have her commit suicide to explain her leaving in November. Wishful thinking I know....

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Ammon, I forgot about that. Using binoculars to see rocks 12 steps away... I was laughing my ass off.

And the wolf... it all sucked soooo much.

My fiance hates episodic television. He NEVER watches it. But for some reason, he gets hooked into certain episodes. He is a movie buff, so he watched the Quentin Tarantino (sp?) directed episodes (the aforementioned Nick kidnapping/near death experience) with me a few seasons ago. We had a friend visiting from out of town when last season's finale was on, so in an effort to spend time with the friend and me, he watched it with us. He liked it, so he was actually looking forward to watching the premiere with me to see how it all ended. Instead... his hatred for TV shows was reinforced.

The promos for the season premiere were so good... a few times, I actually got chills (I love that song they used). For me, it just didn't live up to all the hype. Sara should have died. It would have been really heartbreaking to see Grissom and all of her friends not be able to find her in time--and that would have been good television.

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Too bad Sarah wasnt the miniature killer. *That* would have been interesting.

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Where's the "who cares?" option?

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I wanted Sara to die. Can't stand her, can't stand Jorja as an actress. Thought the episode was necessary but boring. We're all wrapped up now, can we get back to CSI-ing? Please don't turn Vegas into the goat f***that is Miami.

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When the car was on top of Sara, the car slowly descended, with mechanical noises faintly in the background. I think Natalie had the car hooked on (forgive me for not knowing a better term) an automated jack-thingy/for changing tires and she just had her foot on the mechanism or her finger on a button. Out of all of the "what?" moments, this wasn't one for me. I may be wrong (I already deleted the ep) but if you have it, go back and look again, I'm pretty sure that you'll hear sounds in the background and see the car slowly descend onto Sara's arm.

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