October 9, 2006: Where's Tyra When You Need Her?
I have to admit that this week's episode left me cold - dead cold, as Horatio might say. What's fun about
CSI: Miami is that it's so over-the-top about the Miami money and celebrity culture; unfortunately, male models are not a culture I care about all that much. The whole story line almost seemed more like an excuse to introduce the subplot about Natalia's abusive ex-husband than a fully formed idea in and of itself. In fact, it felt a little like "America's Next Top
Nip/Tuck: Miami."
In terms of the four episodes that have aired this season, I think this ranks just above the season opener. It's nice to finally be rid of the Ray Caine action, but it seems that this void will instead be filled by Natalia's troubles. (On another note, how is it that Natalia has worked in the lab, and yet seems to be completely in the dark regarding how to process crime scenes?) I won't dismiss the ex-husband plotline just yet, because I'm interested to see how far they'll take it, but I hope that they start focusing more on the evidence like they used to, and still do on regular
CSI. This episode seemed to rely more on motive, which may have been why it didn't really connect all the way through. It's unfortunate, because last week's episode ("Death Pool 100") gave the impression that the show had found its footing again after that completely out-of-character Brazilian premiere. I certainly hope we get to see more of Horatio and the Hummer as the season progresses, since David Caruso has always been the highlight of the show.
There were some fun moments this week. The idea of killer lip gloss was just far-fetched enough to make up for the lack of a signature Horatio line (the closest we got was, "It seems that in this case there's a reason they call them proof sheets," - and that was from Calleigh!), and of course there was the heartwarming scene where Alexx had to have Ryan identify an obstruction for her. These are the instances that remind me why I have so much fun watching this show. While it might not always make a whole lot of sense, it certainly makes you smile.
