It's easy to take shows like the original CSI for granted. (I often hear from viewers wondering why no one makes a bigger fuss over the better procedurals of the day, from Cold Case and Without a Trace to the various incarnations of Law & Order. The simple answer: Glut exhaustion.) Which is why I found Thursday night’s “Lab Rats” episode of CSI so captivating. Switching up the formula a bit, adding welcome doses of humor and even a bit of slapstick, while never losing sight of the joy of the puzzle, CSI delivered one of the most purely enjoyable episodes of anything this season.The idea was to give the lab-bound geeks a moment in the spotlight, taking advantage of Grissom’s absence in the morgue to do their own digging into the crime-scene miniatures that have haunted the show most of the season. (The episode was also a nifty primer of this mystifying case for those who might have missed an episode along the way. Which in this age of Grey’s Anatomy compe...
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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 ...
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I'm going out on a limb this week, and I'm choosing a DVD set I haven't seen for my "Pick of the Week" (minor mix-up at the PR firm) - Not Just The Best Of The Larry Sanders Show. Though this is a dreaded "best of" release (please, please continue with the series in seasons sets), there are tons of bonus materials on the release. Garry Shandling is joined by Peter Tolan for commentary on two episodes, with Todd Holland and Judd Apatow doing one episode a piece. There's a documentary about making the series, deleted and extended scenes, alternate takes, and interviews with Alec Baldwin, Ellen DeGeneres, David Duchovny, Tom Petty, Jerry Seinfeld, Sharon Stone, Jon Stewart, Carol Burnett, Penny Johnson, Wallace Langham, Scott Thompson, Janeane Garofalo, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Sarah Silverman, Jeremy Piven, Bob Odenkirk and Linda Doucett. Those special features join 23 episodes of the series on 4 discs. The only thing that would make this set better? Well, that would be the rest of the seas...
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