Peyton, you bitch, you broke Mac's heart.

Actually, I guess I'm glad she's gone. But did they have to break his heart?

Please, please, please let Peyton be gone for good! Please?

Interesting ep. But time travel would be a lot easier to understand than the convoluted explanation Mac made to explain the murder of the Physics student.

I have never felt the need to post on any of the CSI boards before, since my viewing habits are relatively sporadic, but...

The logic of the time travel story was insane, in that, when they were discussing the feasibility of time travel, they went with the notion that if it can occur at all, it can only involve travel to the future. This is presumably what Browning also would have said, particularly as he had set up his contraption to travel to the future. But then he kept returning to his own time! Did he think he had discovered a wormhole? And if so, wouldn't he have then attempted to travel to the past? Why I'm concerned with logic here, I've no idea, but it bugs.

Also, the B-story's sorority chick looked to be pushing thirty.

I found this episode hard to follow. I just didn't get the logic of time travel. Plus, while I'm not an expert, I have studied some game theory and it applies to things where people make decisions. It might apply to horse racing in terms off how jockeys perform, but I doubt it. Lotteries are all about probabilities and not game theory.

Heh. As soon as Mac started to read that letter, I heard the cheers of Peyton-haters. I've always been rather ambivilant towards her, but seriously, Peyton, a letter?! It's the modern age, phone cards aren't that expensive, be an adult and pick up the phone. Break-ups where the other person doesn't even get to say anything are a huge piece of baggage, with a red bow on top. Ugh.

I was rather meh towards the episode. The needle in the head was pretty cool/gross/paranoia inducing (do I have a NEEDLE stuck in my BRAIN?!) though.

Oh, and stupid, bitchy sorority girl. I hate you. Just a btw.

Mac just has the worst luck with women named Claire.

Oh, I loved this ending! Not just because Peyton is gone (hooray!), but for Mac taking comfort in his music, and Stella! Stella showing up at the bar was the perfect thing for a friend to do...a quiet "I'm here" that lets Mac know he isn't alone. I do feel bad that he's having to deal with a break-up, but I think he'll be just fine.

The story? Hmmm. Interesting. Loved Hawkes getting so hyped up about the time travel. The needle in the head? Weird! I turned away when they were flashing back to the baby...did they actually show the needle going in? Ewwww!

The sorority girl story I could have done without, and it proved to me that I really do love the single story shows best. It seemed tacked in there, without any real drama. It just seems like things move too quickly when they're shoving two cases into the hour, plus Stella's stalker dude, plus Mac's heartbreak. But no 333? Unless I missed something small.

And, finally, Flack! Oh, Flack. His "Ma's corned beef Wednesdays" line killed me. And interesting reveal about his brother(s), too...did we know that before? I don't know if we'll ever see his GF from last week, but, seriously, comments like that make it obvious that he would so not date such a vapid social-climber. He needs a girl he can kick back with, share a pizza and watch the game. Any takers? Anyone?

Me!!!! Of course, I'd have to develop interest in the game, but for Flack I'd learn.

Eh. As soon as I got through the intro this week, with the setup about time travel, I had a feeling it was going to be a letdown, whatever the explanation.

The main story was too convoluted and confusing, and in the end, had very little payoff -- a guy killed two people over a gambling debt of $7500?

The B story, well. Sororities, experimental sexual enhancement drugs (and I'm with Danny on this one, why are they testing it on college students?!), and a mastodon. I don't know, it was just an annoying story overall.

However, I think I am in love with Danny saying "pachyderm."

The conversation between Mac and Stella when she was opening her present was just ... clunky. I love Gary Sinise, and I think he's a great actor, but even he couldn't do much with that dialogue. Peyton dumping him in a letter was cowardly, and also out of character for someone who was supposed to be about owning your choices (as seen in her wanting him to be open at work about their relationship). Plus, she was basing it all on what she "knew" would happen -- maybe she had been using the time machine. But hey, at least it meant we got to see bass-playing Mac, and Stella being there for him.

Another favorite moment of the episode was near the beginning when the student asked, "Am I under arrest here?" and Flack just looked over at Mac with raised eyebrows. Mmm, Eddie Cahill.

Onward to next week. Hope they don't spend a lot of time in virtual world. I'd rather see the actual actors instead of their avatars.

I thought this episode was okay. I have to admit I was distracted a few times so I can't speak much to the coherence of the stories, but I did see/hear some nice character scenes.

Flack had some good lines especially when he was with Hawkes and Mac in the room with the time travel machine

I liked the scene with Angell and Danny talking to the guy working with the dinosaurs. And right before that, Danny's scene with Stella was quite good as well. His comments about the wisdom of mixing excess hormones with college students was amusing.

Liked that there was only a little of Lindsay.

I love that Peyton is gone and, until I read some of the comments here, it didn't cross my mind to be upset at how it was done. I was just too happy that she wasn't coming back. However, as usual, there were some good points made by people on this board that have made me realize that:



and as theobviouschild pointed out



So, yeah, I guess that the letter was a cheesy out. However, given the fact that Claire Forlani was in more episodes than originally intended and the fact that she is working on other projects, they probably had very little choice in the matter. I hope she is really gone and that they don't intend for her to come back during sweeps saying she just couldn't stay away. Arrrgh. That would be awful as far as I am concerned.

I am glad Mac turned to his music for comfort and am very glad Stella went to be there for him. They have such good chemistry together that you can really feel the friendship they are portraying.

It wasn't just clunky. It was bad. And, while I too love GS and I like MK, I don't think they acted the scene very well either. Why? Because I just can't believe that, as strong as she is, that Stella would cavalierly reference her experience with Frankie like that. Or that Mac would kind of just grin at the reference and then encourage Stella to enjoy the rewards without worrying about the risks in romantic relationships. I'm not saying the scene had to be depressing and sad when Stella mentioned the past, but it was played a bit too light-hearted for me.

And no, Mac, the physics student's death was not right on time if it was 9:45am when you looked at your watch as you stood over the body because unless you were in the crowd watching the Columbus Day parage when he came flying down, then the death happened at least 10-15 minutes before you got there, if not more. All it would have taken for you to say the "Right on time" line would have been to ask someone on the scene what time it was when the guy came flying through the air.

And, I'm forced to say that while I very much enjoy seeing Danny in the outfits he's been wearing lately, what is with constantly being in a state of half-undress? When was the last time he only had one button undone on a shirt?

And yes, that letter from Peyton was horrible. I get that it comes from the circumstances involving whether they could get the actress back, etc. etc., but still, that's pretty bad. If they could get her back to do a voiceover then maybe she could have at least left a message on Mac's answering machine or voicemail or something which would be a little more personal.

Okay, that was the "without pity" part of my post. The good stuff, as it often seems to be, was the character moments and the interactions (minus the Stella/Mac/parachute scene I already went on about). Hawkes geeking out, Lindsay talking about being the hopscotch champion, Mac playing his bass, etc. I guess I just felt like this was the proverbial filler episode and I'm not used to feeling like that about an episode this early in the season. But we'll see if things improve next week when we get into all the swanky Second Life stuff that Anthony Zuiker has been going on about forever.

P.S. I forgot to write down the phone number so I could call it today! I've got the episode taped so I'll call when I get home, but I meant to do that this morning. D'oh! (Unless it's the same number as last time since that would probably still be in my cellphone. Does anyone know if it's a different one or not?) I wonder how many episodes they'll be doing that in now. It's fun and it's also nice not to have to see the 555 number all the time. :)

Did anyone else get a "Back to the Future" vibe from the main case with the clock? Just me then? Okay.

Peyton breaking up with Mac in a letter is all kinds of wrong. However, I don't care if she doesn't come back.



Jumping up and down saying me! Me! Me! I love sports so it won't be a problem, will deal with pizza if I can get Flack and as far as Flack? In a New York minute.

I actually got a vibe of a Ben Affleck and Uma Thurman movie that for the life of me I can't remember the name of...Paycheck? I think? Anyway, in that movie Affleck's character had seen the future and he leaves his past self only the things he would need to fix the future, things that would look like random junk to anyone else. I got that vibe when Lindsay and Mac were looking at pictures on a screen of the evidence they had, specifically the penny because Affleck's character left him a quarter.

I'm probably the only one that got that vibe though since I don't think that movie did all that well at the box office. ;)

Though thinking about the penny reminds me of something else I wanted to nitpick- I hope Mac had an older penny in his pocket because while the info about how you can confuse machines into thinking pennies are quarters was interesting, I was a little flabbergasted that Mac would be willing to put a piece of evidence into a parking meter.

I cringed when he half-laughed at that too. I was like, it's funny she shot her crazy ex-boyfriend?!

But aside from that, I do blame the dialogue because at the very least, it could have been more "hey, they're not all crazy psychos and even though we spend our time mostly seeing the worst people, there are far more out there who are good so don't give up." Rather than "just have fun and don't worry that he might be crazy."

And I don't remember the exact quote but "Peyton pursued me; I didn't think I'd enjoy another relationship either"? I mean, it just didn't seem like the way anyone talks, let alone Mac.

I....just don't know about this episode.

I mean there were parts I loved - Hawkes gushing over the idea of time travel, Flack talking about going to back for a family dinner, even Mac thinking about how he ended up being with Peyton (I must admit I don't dislike Peyton and thought she and Mac had potential....)

But overall it just didn't seem to gel for me. As someone else said - the assistant kills two people for $7500? (I can't even begin to imagine what he'll be charged considering with and how that court case will go...) And yes, time travel is a wonderful concept, but they way the CSI's seemed to playing the situation didn't sound like they were all that skeptical. I mean sure they could think it's a wonderful idea, but their actions on-screen didn't seem to give the idea that they really knew (or seriously believed) that it wasn't possible. Sure, be enthusiastic that the professor was investigating, but don't act like he did it with some wiring, typewriter, and slew of plasma lightning toys.

And as for the Peyton break-up letter, it does seem a poor choice (unless the actress wasn't available for more than a voice over.) But the idea of a handwritten letter to Mac doesn't seem to me that out of character for their relationship, and a part of me wonders if we did get a "333" bit this week in the letter. I wonder (and blame one of the few times I ever watched Nip/Tuck for this) that if this isn't part of whatever is going on with Mac. Perhaps whoever is stalking Mac forced Peyton to write the letter? Thereby attempting to put Mac even further off his game? Wild idea I know, but I thought I'd put it out there.

If that means that 333 then either kidnaps Reid, thus giving us him showing up for a few eps or kills Peyton then I for one am all for it.

Glad to see that Peyton's gone. I hope that she stays gone.

I thought that the time machine storyline was out there, and I don't like that we had this episode followed by next week's episode that will deal with the online game Second Life. Anthony Zuiker likes technology, and I like seeing all of the different computer programs that are often used on the show. However, these two episodes back-to-back seem like too much "techo-glitz." I'd rather learn more about Adam, Flack and his girlfriend, Mac and the 333 mystery, Stella and the potential storyline with Drew, Danny/Lindsey, or anything else that deals with the development of a character. At the heart of it, CSI: NY is not about the latest bell or whistle. It's about the characters who work in the lab and the character of the city itself.

I thought of it but then realized that I do not want it to be true.

This episode made tvguide.com's Hot List? Seriously?

It's the first double-case episode of the season, and what a disappointment. Between the two cases and all of the character moments for Stella and Mac, this episode seemed haphazardly crammed together with no single storyline having enough screentime to gel. The time traveler case made little if any sense. The diner case had some entertaining moments (see Danny run and jump and knock things over!) but the story wasn't memorable or engaging.

So Angell's back. Too bad. The character has the presence of crumbling plaster. I was hoping they'd scrap their plans to bring her back and reintroduce the more charismatic Kelly Hu as Maka instead. In some episodes it makes sense to have a second detective working, but this wasn't one of them. Angell was merely a tagalong to Danny or Stella in all but one of her scenes. The only exception was that she alone interviewed the witnesses at the diner, and that could easily have been done by one of the CSIs. And she didn't do any real police work either; Danny captured the initial suspect in the fossil lab and Stella and Danny were the ones to go arrest the real culprit. Meanwhile, they had too many characters crammed into the time traveller case: Flack, Mac, Hawkes, Lindsay, and Adam. Lindsay didn't appear until after the 30-minute mark. Adam only had what? two scenes? They should have dropped Angell from the episode and shifted someone from the time traveler case over to the diner case. They could have even had Adam or Flack doing double duty, as happened occasionally last season. It would have given them more screentime.

So is spending thousands of dollars on a parachute and skydiving lessons for a person you've met twice supposed to pass as romantic these days? Because it strikes me as obsessive and alarming.

They should have had Peyton appear in the premiere and break-up with Mac before he left to come back to the States. They could have blamed it on her getting a new job, or him breaking up with her to protect her from the 333 stalker. That would have been a better ending to their story.

I can buy that Mac has a jazz band that performs at a jazz club. I understand that the show wants to do cross-promotion by having artists perform on the show, and I 100% agree that seeing a live performance is more entertaining than hearing part of a pop song ring tone. But I don't think it's believable to see Mac perform with a young(er) pop singer and his pop band. I could have done without that whole last segment, especially if they had taken those extra couple of minutes to either make the time traveler case make more sense or to make the diner case more entertaining.

The only redeeming moments for me were Hawkes geeking out over getting to dissect the brain and over the time machine and the scientist. Overall, I found the episode to be very blah, and there wasn't enough good material for Hawkes or Danny or enough of any material for Lindsay to redeem it for me.

I had no idea that I wasn't the only Peyton hater! I feel like I'm part of the family here :) Speaking of relationships, I've got a bad feeling about Stella and Drew the parachute dude. He'll end up being a psycho killer, don't ya think?

I do think that. As someone pointed out earlier in this thread, the parachute and sky diving lessons seemed a bit over the top and if I had received them from someone that I had already turned down simpler dates with, I would be getting bad vibes. Stella's instinct seems to be saying the same though because even after Mac encouraged Stella to take a chance, (IIRC), Stella shook her head "no" as she closed the box back up.

Speaking of that scene. I was really surprised at how lightly both Mac and Stella treated her comments about Frankie.

I'd love it if once, just once, sororities (and fraternities) were shown on television without the stereotypes. From the girl's attitude to the oh-so-special hazing, this show is reifying the stereotypes greek organizations work hard to contradict. While I have heard of isolated incidents like the permanent marker trick, they are few and far between, and the devirginization of pledges only as unsubstantiated rumors - oh, so-and-so chapter at another campus, etc. While some of these things may have been open secrets in the greek community in the past, there is a very hard line against hazing at both a national and school level. For once, can we please see a sorority woman as competent and intelligent and a sorority as something some people enjoy and find beneficial?

Sorry, but this episode really set off one of my pet peeves.

I totally think the Peyton letter is going to turn out to be part of the 333 mystery, and I was disappointed there was no follow up to the end of the previous episode with Mac opening up his suitcase (by himself, unobserved, and without checking for bombs, etc. -- STUPID! and somethimg Mac just would NOT do!) and finding the bloody shirt. Did he report it? Did he analyze the blood on the shirt? WTH?

Am I the only one geeky enough in this forum to have noticed the faint sounds of the TARDIS when they were speculating about the events turned the "time machine" into an ejection seat? I thought I was hearing things at first. Had to play through the scene a couple of times on my TiVo, but that sound was definitely there.

Hope they had to pay a fee for that.

I heard it too, mutantgirl. That was a very nice, subtle, hat-tip to the science fiction fans.

I haven't got much to add, since a lot of it has been said, but I agree that the letter from Peyton was just a bit too out of character to write off (ha). After all she and Mac went through last season, the letter is just weird. But I'm sure this belongs in another thread. Back to the episode.

I enjoyed it! But I'm easy to please. Flack was in there, it can't be a bad ep.

And, if Stella really wants to get rid of her new psycho, why not just tell HIM she shot her last bf, instead of telling Mac? Ugh.

I also couldn't look when the needle was going in the baby's head! Ew!!!

No. There was definitely a hint of TARDIS there.

I’m so late on commenting on this episode, but anyway I’ll comment on some comments.
Like most of you, this week’s episode was a bit of a let down for me due to some clunky dialog and what felt like forced scenes in a few instances, and a plot that had a disappointing resolution.



Loved the Flack lines!



Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you! My brain kept pausing every time they showed that clock and I knew it was trying to reference something but it didn’t click till I read this.

.

That was exactly my reaction. I wondered if Peyton had written the letter under duress. It just seemed strange that she’d break up with Mac via a letter. Not to mention there was no sign of 333 this week (or did I blink and miss it?)

. Nope, I caught that too, it was sneaky but my ears perked up immediately--I think I was programmed as a child to react to that sound. :-)

I am looking forward to next week. The promo for next week made me think CSI meets Reboot 

That bothered me too. Between last weeks James Bondmobile and this week's time machine, this show is turning into science fiction. I can't wait to see what kind of ass-pull they'll try next week.

If they're going to have a real live Tardis, it should be bigger on the inside than it is on the outside. And how did the Tardis throw the guy out the window?

That's because this guy is acting like a stalker. It is irresponsible of the show not to treat him like one.

It bothered me that Mac picked that instance to talk to Stella about taking chances on relationships. It is stalkerish behavior and it was setting off Stella's sense that something wasn't right. That's the kind of thing you need to trust your instincts about. I can't see Mac telling her to ignore her instincts about that kind of behavior. It would have been more realistic for Mac remind he she needed to take a chance again after a more normal encounter.

Dredging up an old thread I know, but this episode just aired in the UK and the band from the final segment is bugging me. The singer's voice sounded very familiar, but I've hunted all over the place trying to find out who they were. Any one got any clue?
Oh, and count me as one of the crew that cheered when Peyton dumped Mac, although I did have a "please god don't let him have run off to London" moment. It only lasted a second though as I realised Mac isn't that foolish.

It's Will Dailey. I've never heard of him, apart from his appearance here. If I remember correctly, there was a magazine article published at the time of this episode that mentioned something about his record label being owned by the same corporation as CBS or CSI or something.

There are some promo pix of Will, Gary S., and Will's band at CBS PressExpress, but I understand that some people outside of the US have problems accessing that site.

Ah, thanks Kerry Blue. The name doesn't ring any bells, but I'll go have a hunt see what music I can find and if any of it is familiar.

A needle getting pushed into a baby's brain?? That was beyond horrifying. (Why do I watch this show?!)

Because you keep hoping the producers will grow the cojones needed to give us a personal arc involving a gay team member arriving and spending say half a season off balance and nervous of Mac thanks to the whole military past that rarely gets mentioned? Of course I already have the storyline mapped out in my head, complete with plenty of Flack screen time, a lot of Danny, practically no Lindsey, oh and Stella getting to rock beyond the telling. As for this episode... They lost me at the calculations to predict the future

All that game theory stuff? Yeah, pretty much skated over my head too. I was just happy with the pretty.

ETA: xtreme, I am all for your idea, it's something CSI hasn't done before, and it would definitely be interesting to see. I only wonder who you have in mind as the main proponents of this arc. I see Danny and Flack's names mentioned...

Yeah, the Game Theory was a bit like trying to follow Abby on NCIS. As for the plotline I was thinking Danny as the team member the new guy hooks up with eventually. But not until the same episode as Mac and New Guy reach a proper understanding. Meanwhile Stella gets to give the Want-To-Slap look. Flack gets to try and keep the peace, and I might add in killing Lindsey in a suitably gruesome yet inanely heroic manner. Especially as she and the New Guy would be like oil and water. You'd feel sorry for Flack and Stella though, they get to be the only ones who can figure out the full story between the others.

Sounds good, if you want anyone to throw ideas at, you know where I am.