With only two more episodes left in the season past this, one would think the scripts would be potent, but this week's episode is a little lackluster. Yes, there were some guest stars who are well known. They only partially make up for the writing. Personally, I thought the sub-story was better viewing. There is a lighthearted feel to it which helps the show not be heavy handed.
Mac Taylor (Gary Sinise) is not a police officer who can simply let a matter go, even if it appears to be not a matter for his concern. Take the case of Adam Ross (AJ Buckley), for example. A long-lasting budget crunch means some of the department are simply going to have to find other work. Since Adam is one of those who was hired last, he is on the short list for termination. Mac could have another month or so before he seeks out a new hire. Does this work? Of course not! He intervenes with the chief detective, Sinclair, played well by Mykelti Williamson, and buys time. So far, so good.
When a young woman is killed in a biking accident, the case looks pretty much cut and dried. Talmadge Neville (Charles S. Dutton) confesses, and all evidence points to his guilt. Eighteen months later, Mac finds him and thinks someone else might be responsible. Here's where the storyline runs into problems - only after Neville gets out of prison is when Mac decides he has the wrong guy? Time is skewed on television, I realize, but this is hard to swallow.
Mac is easily considered by plenty of others to be a workaholic. He is charming every so often. Few are strong enough to call him out when he's wrong, but I like the way Det. Flack does. With a pointed barb, Eddie Cahill shows off just how good he is when portraying Don Flack, the homicide detective who teams up with the crime lab week after week. For the sake of clarity, I probably should mention Flack (or any other homicide person) is most likely the one who confirms a death is suspicious. He then makes a request to have the crime lab team sent out. Mac knows which people are available for a fresh assignment. Only Flack could mention the insanity of Mac trying to resurrect a case on his day off. He says it in such a way that his head is not bitten off the way another person's might be.
Mare Winningham guest stars as the mother of the girl who died. While she may appear one way at first, the transformation she goes through by the end of the episode is a huge difference. Okay, it might be overdone in a few places, but it works nonetheless.
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Article comments
1 - Clive Tooth
This is the silliest episode of CSI that I have ever seen. The idea of a hit-man going to the police because his client wants a woman killed is ludicrous. Such a man would never want to have any contact with the police about anything, ever. Let alone a contact where he tells the police that he is a hit-man. And sending his client a dozen white roses when the job is done - madness. Neither client nor hit-man wants there to be any traceable link between them. The client talks to the hit-man in his car - wearing a black wig. But the killer knows her address, so he can send the roses. Very, very silly.