emily proctor

(S05E06) Has CSI: Miami ever had a Halloween themed episode before? I don't think they have. Good for us because they saved all the cheesy stuff for this one. What a great episode. Sort of creepy, completely laughable and it was chock full of hilarious lines. Take that picture to the right? Anyone else remember what Horatio mumbled as he was casually strolling away from the exploding car? "Burn baby, burn." Stuff like that? Another reason to love this show.

(S05E05) This was an interesting episode. It wasn't great... just interesting. The use of eminent domain as the focus for the primary case was an odd choice I thought. Not because it isn't a big issue in Florida. It is. I just thought the way they adapted it to this particular episode was a little self-serving and far-fetched. I mean, the city of Miami snatching up a whole neighborhood near the water to make strip-malls or whatever? Of course, it was all the result of dirty politics. All good reasons for Horatio to cock his head and say something brilliant.

(S05E04) People love to badmouth this show! "It's cheesy!" "It's so campy!" "A corpse could act better than David Caruso!" All of that may be true, but if people are badmouthing CSI: Miami, that means something else too. We're all watching it! That's got to count for something. Well I still think it's good, and despite the slow start to this episode, I think it turned into one of the best Miami eps yet.

(S05E03) 100 episodes... quite the milestone for any show. And how does CSI: Miami celebrate? By having Omar Gooding guest star. If that doesn't say milestone, I don't know what does.

(S05E02) One of the things I always found interesting about CSI: Miami was that out of the three shows in the franchise, Miami is the only one that really played up the specialties of it's cast. You know what I'm talking about. Delko is an expert recovery diver, Calleigh has expertise in firearms and ballistics, and Speedle (great character) had a skill too but I forget what. Not sure what Wolfe does but I think Boa Vista is good with DNA or something like that.

Anyway, my whole point here is that the show is unique because it does that. It's like some sort of super team and it looks like we're finally going to get some backstory this season on where everyone honed their skills. First up? Calleigh.

(S05E01) I love this show and I'm thoroughly excited that it's back. I still think it's the best in the CSI franchise and after last year's cliffhanger, this is the one premiere that I've honestly been looking forward to. We pick up right where we left off, with Horatio and Delko in pursuit of Antonio Riaz, the drug kingpin responsible for the death of Horatio's wife (and Delko's sister) Marisol. Riaz has fled the country thanks to the deal he cut with the Feds. Next stop? Brazil.

(S04E25) Well this was easily the best of the three CSI season finales this year. It answered all the lingering questions (mainly, the mole) and it was coupled with one pretty intense case (finding the jerk who ordered the hit on Marisol). On top of that, it had so many twists and turns that I'll be impressed with myself if I remember them all as I write this up.

It's been at least a few weeks since last week's episode ended. Marisol has been buried and Horatio, with the help of Delko, continues to search for Antonio Riaz. They finally get a break when about half a dozen Mala Noche gang members are found brutally shot. Unfortunately, Riaz wasn't one of them. While investigating the scene, Jessop triggered a grenade wired inside of a barbeque grill. The blast launched him nearly to the other side of the swimming pool. Alexx pronounced him minutes later. I'm really not sure what the point of killing Jessop was, other than shock value. Well... I was shocked.

(S04E24) What a great way to tie this whole season together. With only one episode left, the Male Noche gang from way back in the season premiere has returned and they want Horatio dead. Recall that H shut down a lot of the gang's Miami operations so it makes sense that they'd be holding a grudge.

Last week's cliffhanger didn't really lead to anything. The only purpose it served was to let us know that someone wanted to hit H. But no one was shot at his wedding (to Marisol) and I'm guessing this episode takes place about a week later. The Noches are finally on trial (that took a while...) but the courtroom proceedings don't go very smoothly. While on the stand, one of the Noche leaders grabs a gun from the prosecutor (it was evidence), tosses it to his buddy in the crowd, who then locks in a magazine and starts firing. Two of the Noche leaders got away, but only later do we find out why.

(S04E23) I can't say that I was a big fan of this episode. It had one hell of a cliffhanger ending, but it came out of nowhere! Which I suppose is why they call it a cliffhanger, but still... it made no sense to me.

Horatio and Marisol moved pretty fast on the wedding plans. It only took them a couple of days to get something set up with a Justice of the Peace. I didn't get why no one from the lab was going though. Delko was initially against it and Calleigh and Wolfe only picthed in on a bottle of champagne. Natalia and Alexx didn't go either. I can understand why they wanted to have a small ceremony, but it wouldn't hurt to have a couple of co-workers present? Whatever. On to the cases.

(S04E22) Did anyone else find it incredibly funny that almost every commercial break during this episode had a preview for that new movie Poseidon? We kept going from Horatio and his team having a grand ol' time investigating murders on a cruise ship to another ship sinking and burning while Richard Dreyfuss ran around screaming like a girl. I laughed every time.

Of course, it didn't help that I found the episode itself a tad funny. It was a bit of a cheesy installment. Don't get me wrong though. I love the idea of an evil cruise ship captain who strangles people with the neck strap from a pair of binoculars.

(S04E21) Five episodes to go until the season finale and it's all coming together. Storylines are starting to show some answers and the tension that's existed between Delko and Wolfe all season is reaching it's boiling point.

The opening for the episode was a little cheesy. They ripped it right from that film Cellular. Some kidnapped woman gets a hold of a phone and dials a random number when she meant to call her husband. Fortunately, the person who did get the call happened to be standing about 30 feet from Horatio. That was convenient.

(S04E20) This was an interesting episode. Odd though because it was a continuation of this episode from way back in January. Remember Leo and Sienna, our Bonnie and Clyde wannabes? They were caught on that drawbridge and threw all that money around? They went to jail but only now was their story addressed. If I understood it right though, it's only been three days since Leo and Sienna were caught and there's been five episodes since they were introduced. I don't know why, but I found that weird. I guess I just thought more time would have elapsed.

Anyway, they've been released and have already been connected to two dead drug smugglers. Turns out the dead guys had some money that matched the bills Leo and Sienna were found with. Money, of course, means Calleigh's former flame Peter Elliot is around. He's an expert in tracking laundered money. And being a jerk.

Am I the only one that had forgotten about Marisol Delko? It's too bad that when a character has been pushed aside for so long, that the easiest way to bring them back is just make them witness to some crime. Such was the case here.

See, here's the thing I don't get. Marisol is sick with some form of cancer right? And it was my understanding that earlier in the season Delko was helping her out (getting marijuana among other things) because she was pressed for funds. So how is it that she's now able to spend a day at a spa where many of the patrons drive Aston Martins and other expensive vehicles? Too many questions.

Guest stars. Think of them as spiking the punch. Sure, it's bright red, tasty, and fun to drink already. But dump in that flask of rum and it gets even better. Of course, the type of rum makes all the difference. You start playing around with the cheap stuff that comes in the non-descript plastic container and costs less than a gallon of milk, then you're begging for a headache and hangover. But if you suck it up, mortgage the house a second time, and fork over the newly acquired funds for a juice-box sized bottle of the spiced stuff from an unpronounceable coastal Puerto Rican village... well, you're gonna have a good night.

That being said, five guest stars who didn't give me a headache and a hangover:

1.) Bob Saget [Himself, Entourage] - Saget guested as one of Vince's new neighbors midway through the second season. If we're to believe that Saget's part as himself was true to life, then he's a woman-loving, sex-crazed, brothel addict. As Turtle so wisely put it, nothing is more embarrassing than being "cock-blocked by Bob Saget".

This was a sensational episode. For whatever reason, after it was over, I felt very satisfied, accomplished. Wow... I really just wrote that. Seriously though, it was very good.

One thing I've noticed as of late, is that a majority of reader comments that I've received on past CSI: Miami reviews seem to share a common sentiment. People hate David Caruso and I can't understand why. So he's a poor actor. I can accept that but he still makes this show. I like his "I'm reading this directly off of a cue card" delivery for many of his lines. I think it adds to his character, the dryness of his attitude. At least he a has a character you can pick apart, unlike Gary Sinise's shadow of a man on CSI: NY.

Okay, back to this episode...