Poisoned, coshed, shot, poisoned again

One of the biggest differences between C.S.I. and its spinoff versions is that the others take themselves so damned seriously all the time, whereas the original doesn’t mind poking fun at itself from time to time. Last night’s episode is case in point—one of the funniest shows I’ve seen in a long time, sitcoms notwithstanding. The victim must have been kin to Rasputin, with all he withstood, and the ultimate explanation for his demise was so mundane—and so subtly foreshadowed, that it was the perfect capper to the episode. Every time Brass’s phone rang, the audience knew what was coming, but it remained funny.

The other good thing about the show compared to some other hour-long dramas is that the romance subplot is painted with dabs instead of broad brushstrokes. We know there’s something between Grissom and Sara, and each week or two we get about 30 seconds of dialog that expands upon it, but it doesn’t distract from the story. It interacts with the plot. Last night’s episode, again, was case in point, with the brief soliloquy by Grissom about the sadness of paying for sex.

Modified to add: One hilarious highlight of the episode was the character played by James Whitmore, who claimed that his wife had been shot the night before and was dismissed by the local cops, who told the CSIs that his wife had been dead for ten years. Later we find out what he meant. Priceless.

Survivor is redeeming itself nicely after a dodgy beginning this year. Terrific burn last night as Alex and Mookie schemed about Yao-man’s idol only to be overheard by the two remaining women. And then to have Alex turn around and vote for Mookie—well, that wasn’t unexpected given the foreshadowing snippet they showed us, but it was a terrific touch of malaise on Alex’s part. Ceding defeat and hanging on the only way he could.

I’m not writing Alex off yet. He could still shake things up, especially if Boo irritates enough people.

I’m getting back into the groove with the new short story, edging up to near 4000 words after doing some heavy editing the past couple of mornings. I only wish I knew where the story was going. It’s pumping right along, but I can’t see over the next hill. Not yet.