Nice swerve on the case, started out Boys Don't Cry, ended up Erin Brockovich.
Methinks Ronnie likes CSI Sanders.
CBS didn't overstate the GSR, did they?

Where is everyone?

I thought the scene was well done and the overall episode was pretty good I liked the cases and their was a little humor (always a plus).

Yikes! My cable provider cut the episode at the end just as Grissom said "you can't take case information to the media, you'll get fired..." Was that it? What did I miss?

Catherine said something like "Maybe as a mother, I don't care."

No they didn't. Thank Dog. I'm glad they didn't show them actually kissing. And I knew the bee sting was coming with the look on her face after Grissom suggested marriage.

Love love love the title of this weeks episode.

I didn’t like the gratuitous nudity at the start, but the cinematography was cool again this week.

Ronnie is still bugging, but this week she took a chill-pill and put on her smart cap on. I once thought I would go into archaeology. One summer working a dig in my area made me realize that it’s back breaking work, and certainly not remotely as romantic as it’s made out to be.

I hate that it’s so hard to prosecute these companies that are parts of conglomerates. I wonder what Catherine is going to do.

The crossover with Without a Trace looks very interesting. Two alpha males going at it should provide lots of drama.

I didn't quite understand the flashback, was the photographer actually taking pictures of the real casino books, or was that little piece of paper something he put overt it to frame the casino?

Also can anyone explain to me why Native American's wouldn't have cavities?

Not a bad episode, everyone seemed to have something interesting to do, and it was nice to see that Cathrine knows what conflict of interest means. Although I did figure out that the guy was testing the water and not drugging the fish a mile away.

I really loved the delivery of that line.

It sucks that CBS here cut the end of the broadcast off to showcase Viva Laughlin. Very glad CTV aired the whole episode.

I'd say because their diets contained almost no sugar, which is the big trigger for the development of cavities. If I remember my anthro class correctly from college, it's one of the signs they look at in Europe when doing an initial dating on a skeleton. If it has cavities, it's probably a recent body.

I wasn't too impressed by the water case. The title pretty much gave away the entire plot. And if the water was contaminated, the EPA would be on that plant like crazy. And Cath get fired? Yeah, like she hasn't done a dozen things already that would have her in jail in real life.

Really loved the way JF and WP played their scene together. They both communicate so much with body language and expressions.

(Edited because "not" changes the entire meaning of a sentence.)

I thought this episode was okay, I felt like something was missing! I can't quite put my fingers on what yet!

I loved Sara working with Greg! That made that case more interesting. I love their interaction!

I thought Nick was hot in this episode!

It was sad to see how the big companies will probably never have to pay for anything like that!

Neat episode. I liked the small moments between Greg and Catherine's mom and Hodges getting left with the dead fish, probably so Grissom can get off early and go celebrate with Sara. The flashbacks to the casino were nice as well. I liked the way they handled the marriage proposal -- very sly and true to the characters. If they write her off the way I think they will, they'll be married and she'll just be off screen, doing her thing and Grissom will mention her occasionally. They'd be foolish to play it any other way.

I now have an image in my head of Greg and Catherine's mom dating. Now that would be interesting (and kinda creepy).

I loved that they brought back Greg's fascination with Vegas' past and that allowed him to get involved with a Sara/Ronnie case.

It was jarring to see Cory Matthews' dad as the boss of the water plant so I was just glad he wasn't involved with either murder.

Again to the people who do the commercials - Shut the fuck up! The Grissom/Sara bit was a sweet moment that got walloped in the ads. Again.

Cases were much better this week. Though I did figure out the fish one right away...it was still good.

Yay for Greg and Sara working together! They're always so cute and so much fun. Though...Eric? Tone down the "excitment" over old Vegas just a tad, 'kay? You're moving towards dangerously over the top. But still fun.

Ronnie was less annoying this week. I still would have preferred to spend the screen time on Bobby Dawson or Mandy looking at their respective evidence, but my desire to smack her was way down.

Props to the continuity fairy on Sara's injuries.

Saved my squealing over the proposal scene for the GSR thread ;-).

So...help. 8x06 is the crossover episode, which is being aired before 8x05? And the part that crosses into Without A Trace doesn't count in the CSI numbers, right? And is Grissom the only crossover character into WAT?

ETA: I just thought of something. Did anyone else get an image of Marg showing up to read the script and going, "...wait. I was in this movie..." ::snerk::

Yes, they reordered the episodes.

That was my favorite part (well, parts, I guess). Greg's enthusiasm can be infectious. And I love that he and Catherine's mom go to dinner at the end- that's cute.

They actually surprised me on the fish case- early on, I thought the boss did it, to cover up the water-hormones thing.

I laugh every time I watch the scene with Grissom is office after the proposal, when Catherine asks him what he's going and he says Nothin'.

Still watching...just heard Cath utter the phrase "Conflict of Interest" when handing off a case. Who is this and what did they do with Cath?

::goes back to watching::

Obviously they're writing fan fic now. Grissom proposes, Sara accepts, Catherine hands a case off...

My jaw sure dropped when she said that. It looks like Catherine actually learned a lesson.

Ronnie was not annoying in this episode; maybe she just had a bad introduction.

Now that Sara is on the way out I don't mind scenes between her and Grissom. I'm just counting down the weeks.

Obviously Ronnie was not the only one who had an increase of brain cells. And TPTB must read the boards and occassionally address our complaints. Heh. So glad our little Catherine is finally growing up.

Loved this episode, and not only for the proposal. The cases were well done and had some interesting science. Good acting all around. And the proposal - did I mention the proposal? So perfectly in character, down to the fake-out kiss.

I noticed that again Sara only interacted with Gil and Greg; is there some reason for this?

Nick didn't seem too happy to be working with Gil; he barely looked at or talked to him. He liked talking to Wendy, though.

I also thought William Russ's character offed Brian.

Mine did too!

Good episode. I adored Greg's enthusiasm for Vegas' past and the continuity of it. Ronnie grated on the nerves much less and the GSR moments were nicely done- sweet without being cloying.

I thought the episode was good but nothing special. I pretty much had the carp thing figured out in the first few minutes.

I did enjoy the bonding between Greg and Lily. I thought it was cute.

I'm not a shippy kind of gal but I found myself wondering if they're laying the foundation for something between Nick and Wendy. There seemed to be a flirty little vibe in their scene together. I must say Nick is looking mighty fine this season.

The GSR proposal scene was....okay. I, for one, am glad they had the helmets on because the awkward bump was cute - if a bit chichéd - and I would prefer that these two do their kissing off screen where I don't have to see it.

I am of the opinion that they went out and got hitched at some chapel right after that scene because the next time we see Sara in the lab, she has a rather shell-shocked exression on her face.

Somehow I missed the scenes for next week's eppy. I think I switched back over the ballgame before they showed them. Did they show anything good?

I didn't see ads for next week's episode; maybe it won't be on due to the World Series?

I think it is Empty Eyes next week, yes because of baseball.

I liked this episode!

And I don't care if they fire Catherine, I just hope we don't have a whole long drawn out episode on it.

It seemed like there was no "justice" this episode.. no one got arrested!

I am glad though that this suicide case didn't end with a "the life insurance policy is null and void now.. sorry you have to live with the fact that your family member killed themselves for you but you end up empty handed". Ugh, I hate those endings!!

OK, now that I've slept off my shell-shock that Catherine actually handed off a case...

Greg is really trying to give Grissom a run for his hat wearing money with his plaid fedora.

I did like Greg lots in this one. He was a little hyper to start with, but I've missed Greg being hyper and geeky and goofy. He got on so well with Cath's mom. That was cute.

I thought the reason for the kid's death didn't make much sense once we saw how it happened...wouldn't he have been more likely to break his neck than strangle on the rope if he jumped out of a tree to hang himself?

lmao. My friend and I (we're both full-time students with jobs) were dead tired today, so we decided to relax and watch some TV (and she timidly asked if we could watch CSI and I had to pretend like I needed to think about it. heh.) and when that scene came on, she just goes, "WHAT? WHAT? REWIND!"
"This isn't a TiVo."
"Damnit!"
"Why?"
"I think I just fell asleep."
"?"
"Catherine learned something? CATHERINE? No, seriously - did she just get a call on the Boobline and she needs to go flash her cleavage at an inmate? Because that's the only way she would ever hand off a case."
"Credit where credit is due."
"No, that's just unnatural."

I wondered that too. Surely a hanging by a big jump would produce much different marks on the neck than a hanging where the truck was removed from under his feet?

Actually, no. It takes skill to make a noose that will break someone's neck rather than slowly strangle them. You have to factor in things like the weight and height of the victim. There was a scandal in WWII with the British hangmen. They were accused of deliberately miscalculating that information when hanging convicted Nazis so that they would suffer.

I really liked this one! I thought that the cases were great. Everyone got pretty good screen time.

Can I just say that I flove Greg? I do. I loved his enthusiasm. I'm glad that he and Sara are clearly still friends. And his hat in the anti-Grissom hat--it's so cute.

I really liked the dynamic of Sara working with Greg and Ronnie. These are two people that she's had a hand in training and the three of them worked well together. And it was nice that Sara was genuinly happy at Ronnie's identification of the bullet hole.

I did get thrown off when Greg and Sara were looking at the blueprints and the blueprints went all 3D. For a second I wondered if they had "Bones" technology. And then, because their case was based on bones--I wondered if it was a shout-out.

I thought that the proposal scene was perfect. Well played all around. JF and WP had a lot of chemistry even while being bee-suited up. And, I think the idea that they went and got married right after that scene is plausible. They both did seem happy/guilty when they next saw their co-workers.

Catherine handed off a case?! I laughed when that happend. Good moment.



Hee!

Me too! I actually said, "Hey, they got an Angelator!!!"

Ok, I narrowed down why I don't like Ronnie all that much. It's really the actress more than the character. She seemed competent in the episode and not as grating, but she just has such a vacant expression. I feel like I don't see any depth; I can 'see' the actress acting.

If Catherine knew she'd have to recuse herself if something was found, why did she bother going to the scene instead of sending someone who could actually work it?

Just to make sure there was really something worth investigating, then when there was, that the builders actually stopped work.

I was pretty weirded out by her "conflict of interest", too.

Greg: +5 for continuity, -1 for playing it too broadly. Additional -1 for the hat.

Grissom: where are those bees feeding? Are you going to port them to farms where (1) they'll be useful, and (2) they may be exposed to another environment?

Aargh. I was so hoping Sara would have an allergic reaction to the bee sting and kick the bucket. So not happy with the direction this is going. Not shippin' and never will.

Enjoyed the Casino storyline and love that Greg is writing a book. The main story was just way too sad all around.

Both these stories were "ripped from the headlines," and of course the casino one is obvious plus beautifully timed, but I just can't remember where it was a few months ago or so where people found or thought they found estrogen in a water supply?

Much as I love this show, sometimes it goes way over the gorey top. This episode did just that. That poor boy's chest and broken bottles and self-mutilation and blood....sometimes there's just too much gore for the sake of gore.

As much as I loved this episode, that was f'd up that the mother shot the scientist. I know she is suffering to the nth degree but she killed a man that was trying to help.

Anyway, loved the Grissom proposal. It was funny that in the following scene Catherine tells Grissom, "I know what turns you on." I used to think the two of them would hook up. But I think he and Sara have good chemistry on screen.

Count me in as loving this episode. I was totally surprised by the carp reveal, and by the mom being the shooter. And I could totally understand her pain. She thought the doc was messin with her son. I really thought that maybe the boy and the doc were trying to find a cure for breast cancer.

Loved the interaction between Nick and Wendy. I have to admit, they'd make a pretty cute couple, although I wouldn't want it to play out like Danny and "Montana" over in NY.

Greg is a cutie, but his hair looked pitiful in that episode, like he forgot hair gel or something. Or maybe I'm just watching too much Spike and I'm used to his crazy Pokemon/Ash hair.

Proposal? Did someone say proposal? Sweetest GSR moment EVER. And I love how well JF plays giddy. She looked just like a little girl getting her favorite piece of candy. And the bee hat kiss? Awwwww.....

I too hope that they just play her leaving the CSI lab but still being married to Gil and maybe every so often she makes a guest appearance. That would be cool...I like Sara and I think it would totally unfair to her character and to the fans if they manage to kill her off now. I think I'd consider switching to Miami, and I hate Miami.

Is it just me, or are the comments and remarks (like "it was a hate crime" "he hated himself") a little heavy handed these days? I used to love the beginning of CSI because Gil or someone always had a really good zinger one liner. Now it seems like the whole episode is full of them. Just curious if anyone else had noticed that.

Hell, yes. And what was up with assuming the guy was a tranny? Gynecomastia is a pretty common problem. The logical conclusion was he was saving up to have a breast reduction, not a sex change operation. They were way off base even suggesting something like that to the mother.

I was glad to see this episode finally touch on Catherine and Lily's reaction to Sam's death. It is nice that the continuity fairy is finally visiting CSI regarding this story-line, a year later. This is something that should have been explored last season, IMO. They have hardly mentioned his death, whiich didn't make any sense.

I am wondering if the lightbulb finally turned on over the collective heads of TPTB and they said,"Yeah, Sam's death was probably a pretty traumatic event in the lives of these two women and maybe we made a mistake in not exploring their reaction to the death of their father and decades long love." Or maybe they have been reading our complaints about continuity and finally decided to get a clue that viewers do like some follow-up to dramatic events.

I also think that Catherine's story-line in this episode is set-up for the possibility that Marg may be leaving the show at the end of the season. She could decide at some point to go to the media with the story of the hormones in the water and then quit CSI to continue her father's legacy and run his casino empire.

I agree that leaping to the conclusion that Brian was a transsexual was ridiculously unscientific. Gynecomastia is a much more logical conclusion, at least at first glance. And I really hated how they kept using the word "tranny" to describe him. I blame the writers--they were clearly writing all the CSIs involved in the case as well as Brass and Doc and SuperDave as being sympathetic and un-bigoted, but they had that word popping out of their mouths constantly, which in my experience is inconsistent with someone who is otherwise respectful of transfolk. Also, the assumption that a transperson is automatically "pre-op" was a little annoying. Not everyone chooses to have that surgery.

However, I really did like this episode for the most part. The A plot was really sad, but interesting. The B plot was sad but had its cute moments (Greg! in a fedora! charming Cath's mom!) and I really liked seeing again what a great mentor Sara is. I think that was pretty deliberate--her mentoring of Ronnie was underlined by former protege Greg joining in quite eagerly, showing not only that they're still good friends but that he still respects Sara and enjoys (and probably misses) working with her.

The proposal was a total surprise for me. Were there spoilers for that? I have to admit, I was a little "Awww!" at first. Then I said to my husband, "Wait, they're wearing those hoods. They can't even kiss. Oh, what a doofus, figures he'd decide to propose when they're all suited up and surrounded by bugs." And then they did try to kiss and, of course, they couldn't, and I said that Sara deserved it because she knew what she was getting into and she started dating him anyway. But I guess she doesn't mind--which just proves that there's someone out there for everyone, even socially awkward bug freaks.

As for Catherine "finally learning her lesson"? No. My husband thought maybe TPTB had caught onto how so many of us bitch on message boards about this character and her constantly working cases that are conflicts of interest. Sadly, I had to remind him that the only reason she did that was so that the swing shift, and thus Sara and Ronnie, could be worked in. Otherwise, it would have been the same old "I earned this/I have the right/my father" blah blah bullshit. I really don't think the writers suddenly realized, this late in the game, that Cath's shenanigans and sense of entitlement wouldn't fly in the real world.

<shipping alert>I would also like to say that, while I was happy to see Hodges, I was sad that he didn't get a scene with Nick like he did last week.</shipping> Also, I loved seeing Sexlie last week and missed him this week, but Brass was mighty fine as usual, so I didn't feel too deprived for hotness.

I enjoyed seeing nearly every character included in this episode. Even Warrick had a few good moments, and there was some good, old-school-CSI Nick/Warrick interaction. And I loved the tiny little continuity gem of Nick once again referring to SuperDave as "Super." I love Nick, he's exactly the type of guy who would have cute little nicknames for his coworkers. This episode really pinged high on the relationship meter, which as I've said before is my favorite aspect of the show. We got moments between Nick and Warrick, Sara and Greg, Sara and Hodges, Sara and Grissom, Grissom and Hodges, Grissom and Cath, Grissom and Doc, and even little bits here and there with various labrats. A little more Brass and it would have been ideal.

vitamarie:
That's exactly what I was thinking. I immediately started wondering how Adam Novak's law firm might get involved with this.

Besides the entire promo at the end of the previous episode or the article in EW about it? :-) They pimped the proposal pretty hard in ads leading up to the episode.

Am I the only one who figured the kid was growing breasts to donate to his mother? anyone? (guess I'm on the stagecoach to hell all by my lonesome)

As for Grissom's proposal, well I'll freely admit that I'm not a shipper and would prefer not to have pairings interfering with my CSI viewing, but awww!!! It was just such a Grissom thing to do and with the attempted kiss and everything. Just awww!!!!

*raises hand*

That thought was the first thing I thought of before the tranny remarks!

FWIW I liked the proposal. They kept it short and sweet and to the point.

Wendy/Nick? Looks like it's in the works to me!!! *g*

Didn't Carol Mendelsohn imply in one her interviews with Ausiello about Jorja that Wendy/Hodges would be explored this season? I didn't really see Nick as flirting or showing interest in Wendy. It seemed to me that he was just hovering around because he was anxious to get the DNA results. If Nick has a crush on any of the lab rats, I think it's Mandy. I mean, he sang Barry Manilow for her! Heh.

What would a Wendy Hodges Paring be called, does it have a special name like YoBling

Wedges?