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Post by trisha on Mar 27, 2007 21:39:17 GMT -5
Good episode. I like a lot of red herrings, and the limited commercial interruption was great. Can we get that more often? The separate investigation into Wheelers dad had me worried at first, but it turned out to be a bonus. I like Megan and I like the way it was handled; touching, but not soapy, and, most importantly, it's like another crime being solved. As long as they don't go all "Crossing Jordan" on us, I'm on board
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Post by DonnaJo on Mar 27, 2007 22:05:31 GMT -5
I was all ready to love this episode, but now all I can say is "OK, I guess."
For me, it was frustrating to see Wheeler run around in circles trying to find out something tangible about her Dad. Just when you thought she had a handle on his whereabouts, then something would snuff out the trail. I guess the point is that they want to drag this out to another episode. I just wanted her to find him (or his dead body) and be done with it.
Refreshing to have Logan & Wheeler deal with the rich and connected for a change. I know suburban white kids that act like that, all into being "wangsta's" because they imagine that its cool & glamorous, and they need to rebel against who they are. It's not true, however, for all white middle class kids. Many just simply enjoy rap music, and do not necessarily strive to be a part of the whole "gansta" culture.
It was very touching how Logan tried to help Wheeler with her personal search without crossing the boundary she had placed between them. You can see that he does like her (as a friend, no more).
The dad was truly harsh. So concerned about being the righteous, law abiding citizen( unlike his father), that he threw his son to the legal wolves. I know the kid did a terrible thing, but the man simply tossed his son away, dismissed him just like that. Even Logan was upset for the kid.
I'm tired, so I can't really delve much more, maybe tomorrow. Night all.
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Post by thatdrattedcat on Mar 27, 2007 22:17:16 GMT -5
I liked it quite a bit. Will post more later.
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Post by hannah on Mar 27, 2007 22:17:48 GMT -5
For me, it was frustrating to see Wheeler run around in circles trying to find out something tangible about her Dad. Just when you thought she had a handle on his whereabouts, then something would snuff out the trail. I guess the point is that they want to drag this out to another episode. I just wanted her to find him (or his dead body) and be done with it. Wouldn't that be like solving all of Goren's problems in one episode? I think that would be to fast pace. This is big stuff. Like Goren, she also has a large role in CI. Hasn't been around long, but still a large role. Hopefully NBC will see this and want to carry on with another season I liked the episode a lot! One of my favorites this year. I also thought the interaction between L/W was touching.
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Post by trisha on Mar 27, 2007 22:27:40 GMT -5
DonnaJo, I get what you mean about the father but the kid admitted to leaving his friend to die and called it littering ... I don't know how I would handle that. As a parent you want your kids to be successful and happy and think about that when you hire tutors, send them to the best schools you can, and look out for their futures ... what can you do if your child is soulless?
I guess for Mr. Morality (and didn't Logan nail him with the over compensation comment!) couldn't reconcile helping his son with his own sense of what's right.
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Post by Techguy on Mar 28, 2007 1:13:03 GMT -5
I admit it, I started to roll my eyes and turn down the volume when the rap music started up in the opening credits. Jacob's father the judge is absolutely right: Turn that noise down! However, I got hooked on the story, the twists and turns, and absolutely enjoyed this one from beginning (almost) to the end.
Yes, yes, yes! The limited commercial interruptions were an added bonus, allowing for Wheeler's backstory to develop without interfering with the unfolding of the plot. I'd like to see more of these extended episodes too, as by my timer they added a crucial and beneficial additional 10 minutes to the episode. With this added time, I felt everything worked together much more effectively than has been shown in the episodes with Goren's mother, especially TWAH, which is without a doubt the episode I despise the most from Season 6.
The Logan/Wheeler partnership has been a joy to watch unfold, and I agree Logan likes her a lot in strictly a platonic yet protectful way. The closing scene digging up corpses from the mob killing field was dramatically effective without being soapy. When Logan calls her by her first name Megan, it was like a hammer blow to the gut. I don't know which is worse--finding out an absent dad has attended the wedding, christening and other major life events of someone else's child, or that he has likely been wasted and possibly buried in a mob graveyard.
The growth and development of the L/W partnership has been handled superbly, and is far and away superior to what has been done with Goren and Eames this season. The S6 high point of the G/E partnership for me was and still is "Blind Spot" but has since deteriorated into a blah vague and incomprehensible vacuum. I have no reason to explain this difference in perception, but it's there, it's very real for me. How and why the CI writers allowed the L/W relationship to achieve greater heights and not so the G/E partnership is puzzling and disturbing.
Kudos to director Tom DiCillo who also directed an earlier L/W episode I enjoyed "Weeping Willow" but I couldn't find an IMDb credit for teleplay author Peter Blauner so he must be new to the CI stable. I hope to see more of this collaboration in the future, assuming there is one for CI.
BTW, I don't think the federal prosecutor father Tom Grady is harsh or unjustified turning son Riordan over to the law. If Riordan was a son of mine, and this son allowed a friend to die and discarded his body like litter, I'd say to the cops "Read him his rights" and then recommend a defense attorney. Riordan was so far removed from his father's integrity he deserves neither his father's help nor his pity. Maybe time spent on the same cell block as his grandfather will open Riordan's eyes to the truth of what he did to get him in that place.
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Post by thatdrattedcat on Mar 28, 2007 3:12:59 GMT -5
After I saw this episode, I was shocked to realize that, if Wheeler was 10 when her father left, and she says (I think in the scene with the club regulations enforcer or whatever his job title was) that that was 20 years ago, she must be thirty now. Maybe it's because I have just begun watching the show again, but she still looks incredibly young--not that she seems younger than thirty. I have to say, Logan and Wheeler are gradually growing on me.
Luckily, I missed the teaser of this one. From what Techguy says, it sounds like they had another music video. Btw, even with limited commercial interruption (THANKS Lunesta! You made the right choice!), I still felt the plot was a little too packed. And in spite of what the TV Guide review posted in Articles and Interviews says, both storylines held my interest--I just felt they were a little underdeveloped. And even though the whole thing with Wheeler's father is the Dreaded Soap, I feel that it was nicely integrated with the other action. Because she maintains her role as detective in both storylines, her whole delving into the past was not as jarring as some of the other glimpses into the detectives' personal lives.
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Post by Jefferaldo on Mar 28, 2007 6:03:00 GMT -5
No there was no music video. It was a normal teaser but the first half of it was accompanied by rap music from an alarm clock. Special extended episode huh? 8 minutes more from the usual 42 and a half. I will post more later.
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Post by DonnaJo on Mar 28, 2007 8:42:58 GMT -5
Sorry Holly, I can't compare the evolution of Goren's backstory with that of Wheelers. Prior to this season, we've had enticing bits of information about Goren's mom & how she has impacted his life for 5 years. So naturally, they can't kill her off in one hour. It's just not the same, at least for me. Don't get me wrong, I liked it, but I wanted closure at the end. And I thought Nicholson did an outstanding job keeping her emotions in check with her co-workers.
And as far as the Dad is concerned, didn't he wonder why his son felt the need to visit his grandfather in prison? Maybe the father was too busy "giving" his son the best tutors, education and monetary possessions so that he failed to be there for him as a father. The son turned out to be a heartless monster. And at the critical moment when the father found out what his son truly was, he threw him away like "litter."
It's certainly a different approach than some other CI episodes, where the rich & influential parents (ITWSH, for example) protect their children at all costs, in spite of their actions.
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Post by madger on Mar 28, 2007 9:56:05 GMT -5
I can't make up my mind about this episode. As a regular TV show it was excellent, but it's not my CI, I miss my CI, I want it back I'll have to watch it again with your comments in mind, 9:00pm is way past my bedtime and I'm usually extra cranky on Wednesday mornings.
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Post by madger on Mar 28, 2007 10:02:47 GMT -5
Oh, and another thing, if they're going to shoe a special, limited commercial episode, you'd think they could have at least promoted it a bit.
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Post by ragincajun on Mar 28, 2007 10:07:30 GMT -5
First- I know the kid actually let the kid die, but didn't the security guard shoot him while drunk? I know it could be argued it was in self defense, but something should have been done to him, or mentioned what happened to him, the way the kid was shot ( wasn't it thru the neck to the top of the head?) he probably wouldn't have survived anyway.( will need to rewatch what Rogers the ME said. But it seems the kid wanted to be gansta and encouraged his friends to go along and that is why he was visiting his grandfather, not sure if wanting to be a gansta came before visiting grandpa or after, or did grandfather encourage him?
Second - I think the Wheeler personal part was well done, they were not finished digging up the bodies. So her dad could still be buried there. Maybe in the next episode they could mention she had a funeral, or in a G/E episode Ross could be leaving to go to the Funeral since he is her mentor. Instead of bringing it up in another episode, unless they are planning to bring him back alive. That would be interesting would make a good episode for all detectives especially since he is 6'6 he would be taller than Goren. If they remember she said that when casting. Bring dad to justice for working with the Mob, maybe find out he was working with the FBI and had to go into witness protection or something.
Over all it didn't leave me saying WOW what a great episode, but it did make me feel that L/W have grown into a great team.
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Post by Metella on Mar 28, 2007 11:17:27 GMT -5
Yes, I had no idea it was an extended episode until the show had already started. Good thing I wasn't planning on a snack ....
However, I wonder how that can then be used in re-runs? the re-run time slot will be "normal" so what gets cut?
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Post by Patcat on Mar 28, 2007 12:08:09 GMT -5
What worries me is that limited commercial interruptions may mean the advertising time didn't sell. Which doesn't bode well for the already shaky future of the series.
Patcat
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Post by ragincajun on Mar 28, 2007 14:27:27 GMT -5
I am sure Lunesta paid well for the advertisment. I think CI wanted the extended episode and probably went to a few advertisers and asked if any were willing to pay and Lunesta probably did. I don't take it as something bad. I hope they do it for a G/E episode.
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