nick

(S07E19) That was a pretty enjoyable episode. Pulling a move that CSI hasn't used in some time, the episode began with what seemed like two completely unrelated cases, but by the end of the episode, they were completely intertwined.

Adding to the episode was the return of Method Man, reprising his season six guest starring role as club and rap mogul Drops. The guy is a good actor. I don't care what anyone says. He brings this likability to any character he plays and Drops is no exception. He's a thug, but the whole time I still found myself rooting for him to find a way out.

However, the best part of the episode was definitely the closure Greg got from the Demetrius James case. Greg finally stood up for himself. It's about time.

(S07E18) Well this wasn't the best episode of CSI, but it still had its high points. I know it's a lot to ask to have every episode tie together and not stand alone, but I was really hoping for some more stuff on The Miniature Killer.

What we did get was a look at Sara how this job is affecting her. We've always known that she was the most emotional member of the Vegas team, but it really came through on this case. I suppose holding the hand of someone who's about to die will do that to you. However, as I said, despite the mediocrity of the episode as a whole, there were a few really good high points.

Somebody give Nickelodeon a cookie, because the network "gets it."

The new comedy series iCarly, starring Miranda Cosgrove (Drake and Josh) as the host of a Web show, will allow kids at home to contribute content to the series through a special Web site where they can upload videos. Chosen videos may be integrated into future episodes, or become part of the online Webcast. The series will premiere with thirteen episodes this September.

I think this could be a really cool thing, and I hope more shows of this kind follow. Nickelodeon's audience now consists mostly of digital natives, kids more or less born and raised on the Web, and a new approach like this makes a lot of sense.

(S07E16) I'm glad I got back into this show (I'm going to start reviewing it weekly in place of Numb3rs) because it's good again. After the great four episode story arc with Keppler, Grissom is back on track hunting down his latest arch-nemesis -- The Miniature Replica Killer.

They thought they had him with the death of Ernie Dell, but no. The CSI writers have crafted quite the story here, possibly one of the best multi-episode arcs this show has seen yet.

Grissom finally got around to opening the large cardboard box that was delivered to his office right before he left on sabbatical. We knew what was inside of it though since we got a sneak peek right before he left. It's another replica. The only problem? The murder hadn't occurred... yet.

Animation historian Jerry Beck mentioned a very cool new site set up by Nick Magazine (that's "Nick" as in "Nickelodeon") that features drawings of Nick characters as interpreted by other Nick animators or underground and alternative comic strippers. The concept originated in Nickelodeon Magazine, which has a section called "The Comic Book" that features underground cartoonists --or so I'm told, since I don't subscribe to Nickelodeon Magazine. The Live Journal site is a nice bit of synergy between Nick and the underground artists, and something I'm sure I'll be checking out a lot in the future. Here's Avatar as drawn by Butch Hartman of The Fairly OddParents and Danny Phantom. The picture on the left is Jimmy Neutron as drawn by comic artist Jake Parker. I think I prefer his version to the original.