# CSI 10/20: Gumdrops **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 21, 2005, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-10-20-gumdrops/327284 "2005-10-21T16:56:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2005, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-10-20-gumdrops/327284/1 "2005-10-21T16:56:45Z")
I’m sorry, I didn’t see a thread on this yet. I was pleasantly surprised to see Small Town Sheriff portrayed as a good guy, rather than the man who committed the murders. It appears the murders happened because things got out of hand. I think the shooting of Jeremy happened accidentally, then the boys went on from there on adrenalin. Nice to see Cassie wasn’t dead, and Nick didn’t give up hope. CoughYokoOnocough…funny! I didn’t even miss Grissom. We hardly saw Catherine…has she been demoted from mid-shift supervisor? ---
**Author:** ![AHarris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bcef8e/32.png) [@AHarris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHarris)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2005, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-10-20-gumdrops/327284/2 "2005-10-21T17:24:01Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > I’m sorry, I didn’t see a thread on this yet. > > I was pleasantly surprised to see Small Town Sheriff portrayed as a good guy, rather than the man who committed the murders. It appears the murders happened because things got out of hand. I think the shooting of Jeremy happened accidentally, then the boys went on from there on adrenalin. That is the impression that I received as well. > [@ivylass](#): > > I didn’t even miss Grissom. We hardly saw Catherine…has she been demoted from mid-shift supervisor? I don’t think that it is ever explicitly stated that this is what happened, but I believe that this is the case. Grissom did mention to Eckley that he ‘wanted his guys back’ at the end of ‘Grave Danger’ (Season 5 finale). The sypopsis for [Bodies in Motion](http://www.cbs.com/primetime/csi/episodes/601/) and [Room Service](http://www.cbs.com/primetime/csi/episodes/602/) at the CBS website agree with this (if you read between the lines a little). ---
**Author:** ![Draelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Draelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Draelin)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2005, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-10-20-gumdrops/327284/3 "2005-10-21T17:27:27Z")
Greg’s line about the Ganja Graveyard amused me no end. I heart Greg so much. Nick went ahead and made me cry this week, but I forgive him for it, because it was a good episode. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2005, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-10-20-gumdrops/327284/4 "2005-10-21T17:37:55Z")
This continues to be the very best of what I like to call the “formulaic crime dramas”. It’s pretty easy, most of the time, to guess who the culprit is (you could do worse than just guess it’s the 3rd person they interview), but the characters are interesting, and they do some nifty plots. I liked this one, and it’s a nice take on the standard Halloween episode that most shows feel they have to do. Doesn’t hurt that it’s on right after SURVIVOR, either. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2005, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-10-20-gumdrops/327284/5 "2005-10-21T17:43:52Z")
So, what does Hollywood use as a stand in for pot plants? Obviously they weren’t real, but what where they? ---
**Author:** ![AHarris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bcef8e/32.png) [@AHarris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHarris)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2005, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-10-20-gumdrops/327284/6 "2005-10-21T17:49:25Z")
I found the narration done by the little girl to be a little creepy. Nice touch. They managed to add a supernatural vibe to the episode without actually crossing that line. Never clued in that it was due to halloween being so close. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2005, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-10-20-gumdrops/327284/7 "2005-10-21T17:53:05Z")
I thought that was a little odd too. It was out of order. Obviously, her voiceovers during the investigation came from her statement to Nick at the hospital. So he couldn’t have been remembering them, because they hadn’t found her yet. I must have missed the part about Blonde Teenage Murderer coaching the girl’s swim team. I didn’t know he did until Nick shoved him up against the wall. Don’t you also find interesting that Nick can get away with his “obsession” with finding her, and that there isn’t a creepy sexual pedophile overtone? He seemed really to care about her, like a little sister, and the Older Man obsessed with Young Girl vibe was not there at all. Very well played, Mr. Eads. Yes, I got a little something in my eye at the end. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2005, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-10-20-gumdrops/327284/8 "2005-10-21T18:22:51Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > So, what does Hollywood use as a stand in for pot plants? Obviously they weren’t real, but what where they? Plastic pot plants, or there is another good cantidate, False Aralia \ ha! [found one=)](http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/Plant.asp?code=B619) Schefflera elegantissima. Very good name, it has beautiful dark glossy leaves, that also happen to vaguely look like pot in a mid distance shot or in a large cluster=) ---
**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2005, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-10-20-gumdrops/327284/9 "2005-10-21T18:37:43Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > I must have missed the part about Blonde Teenage Murderer coaching the girl’s swim team. When Nick was going through her room, he saw her swimming medals, and a picture of her in her swimsuit and swimcap with Blonde Teenage Murderer beaming proudly with his arm around her shoulders. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2005, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-10-20-gumdrops/327284/10 "2005-10-21T18:50:30Z")
Wow! Totally missed that one. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2005, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-10-20-gumdrops/327284/11 "2005-10-21T20:39:17Z")
It’s the picture they scanned past when we heard the little girl’s laugh (cleverly posed as one of the audio-flashbacks, revealed to be Warrick playing with the keyboard). ---
**Author:** ![plankter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ba0ec/32.png) [@plankter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plankter)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2005, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-10-20-gumdrops/327284/12 "2005-10-22T16:12:05Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > I was pleasantly surprised to see Small Town Sheriff portrayed as a good guy, rather than the man who committed the murders. I appreciated that too. Nice contrast to Season Four’s “Jackpot”. > [@Ivylass](#): > > I didn’t even miss Grissom. We hardly saw Catherine… Considering the real-life reason for William Petersen’s absence, I’m going to have to phrase this carefully… Not only did I not miss Grissom, I thought his absence improved the episode by allowing the oft-maligned “supporting players” to shine. Grissom’s part in the story was given to Nick, albeit with some rewriting, and George Eads made the most of the windfall. Sara got to be the voice of reason without being a cold bitch. Greg was funny but not clownish, and Warrick was cool. Even the obligatory Catherine appearance was short and relevant. It’s just a shame that such a refreshing episode was enabled only by an external tragedy (death in WP’s family). Never fear, the Beard of Omniscience will return in two weeks. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2005, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-10-20-gumdrops/327284/13 "2005-10-22T16:27:14Z")
I’d hate to see it turn into “just another cop show” which could easily happen if they neglect the lab. I do like Greg’s new look. I don’t think Eckley’s sinister presence brings anything good or new to the mix. We’ve all had a boss/cow-workers like him. Let the team do their job. My opinion ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2005, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-10-20-gumdrops/327284/14 "2005-10-22T16:29:02Z")
I didn’t know WP had a death in the family. I’m sorry to hear that. ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2005, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-10-20-gumdrops/327284/15 "2005-10-22T17:04:50Z")
His nephew, I believe. It was a really sad story, the poor guy… ☹ I missed him too, and there wasn’t enough Catherine, but the story was brilliant. Greg is my dorky-scientist-geek crush, and Nick was absolutely adorable. I know there was some obvious pulling of the heartstrings, but I thought the little girl was really cute… ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2005, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-10-20-gumdrops/327284/16 "2005-10-22T17:57:00Z")
Let me just say that I thought it was funny the way Sarah walked all the way into the basement and then said “Nick, I think I found something.” (When you’re in a house that has a big ol’ basement full of marijuana, you know it without going downstairs.) > [@ivylass](#): > > It was out of order. Obviously, her voiceovers during the investigation came from her statement to Nick at the hospital. So he couldn’t have been remembering them, because they hadn’t found her yet. The way they presented it, though, everything that she said was stuff that Nick was inferring from what he was looking at. Combined with the spooky whispering, I think we were supposed to associate this with something Grissom said to Nick in an earlier episode: “The dead speak to us through the evidence.” Nice to see that the survivors do, too. 🙂 The little bit with Nick and the girl in the hospital room was nicely done. “DON’T BABY ME!!!” “Your family’s bodies are in the coroner’s office in Las Vegas, honey.” _CSI_ doesn’t often engage me emotionally, but they scored with this one. ---
**Author:** ![Judith\_Prietht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b19c9b/32.png) [@Judith\_Prietht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Judith_Prietht)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2005, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-10-20-gumdrops/327284/17 "2005-10-22T21:38:16Z")
Definitely a good episode. Does anyone else think CSI has stepped it up a bit, productionwise, this season? The majority of the episodes seem to have slicker effects and simply look better than before, to my eyes. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2005, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-10-20-gumdrops/327284/18 "2005-10-22T23:22:58Z")
> [@Larry Mudd](#): > > (When you’re in a house that has a big ol’ basement full of marijuana, you know it without going downstairs.) Heh…I knew it when Greg saw the $2,000 electric bill. As soon as he mentioned that, I turn to my wife and said “Well, there’s the motive for the murders. They’ve got a huge pot plantation going in the basement”. Those hyrdoponics’ll give you away every time. ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2005, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-10-20-gumdrops/327284/19 "2005-10-22T23:58:47Z")
I had been disappointed with this season but the last episode was the best so far IMHO. Why, though, do they have to include such an impossible trick as to go directly to where the bodies were underwater and find them almost immediately? Why not a few scenes showing the passing of a little bit of time searching anyway? ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2005, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-10-20-gumdrops/327284/20 "2005-10-23T00:09:41Z")
> [@What the .... ?!?!](#): > > I had been disappointed with this season but the last episode was the best so far IMHO. > > Why, though, do they have to include such an impossible trick as to go directly to where the bodies were underwater and find them almost immediately? Why not a few scenes showing the passing of a little bit of time searching anyway? They did, except they compassed it into a few _shots_. The same as they did at the end when Nick found the girl. You’re intended to get the _impression_ of time passing without actually wasting the limited minutes of an episode on nothingness. However, time went against them with the girl herself. The crime took place on Friday night. The CSI team didn’t get there until Monday. Days of investigating went by. (In real life, weeks would have.) The girl should have been dead. The only reason we knew she had to be alive was the narration. CSI wouldn’t use a dead narrator. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-10-20-gumdrops/327284.md?page=2)