Reviews

This episode centres around lab techs Hodges and Wendy, who invite a group of high school CSI cadets back to the lab to go over an old unsolved case. The crime scene, a burned-out apartment building, has been recently reopened and declared safe, so the baby CSIs and the techs can go into the field and finish investigating the case, including finding the identity of a woman who was found in the wreckage miraculously unburned. Also, lab tech Henry asks out Wendy on an elaborate first date, but his efforts to be ready on time are thwarted by a prankster. And Nick is caught up in investigating a case of food poisoning at PD.

The episode is one of those refreshingly humorous ones that CSI are so good at executing; the actors who play the lab techs make a good team in this respect and episodes are guaranteed to be good if centred around them (I recall "A Space Oddity" from season 9). There is good interaction between them and the cadets and of course Hodges is delightfully flawed as always. The episode was co-written by the actors who play Hodges and Wendy; my opinion was that if you didn't know that, you couldn't tell, though that is just my opinion and I'm no expert.

Nick's case is equally injected with humour, although I missed CSI's trademark evidence collection/processing montages with music. The two cases are well-matched so the tone is even throughout. A very enjoyable episode, showing that there's definite appeal in the post-Grissom line-up yet.

If you are expecting the logic and plot twists of the original Final Destination, then you'll be disappointed. If you didn't understand it first time around then don't worry - mental acuity is not required to thoroughly enjoy the third instalment. The idea of a roller-coaster disaster was genius. In the first film the aeroplane explosion was also ideal, because many people don't like flying and the scenario was claustrophobic and suspenseful. The pile-up in the second film was, quite frankly, dull. It was no different to the sorts of things shown in ER/Casualty and was very predictable. However a roller-coaster ride - well, there are so many things that could go wrong - was a brilliant start to the movie. Cue lots of gory, imaginative and disturbingly detailed deaths that will have you wearing full body armour for several days afterwards. The characters evoke a credible amount of sympathy/irritation and there are some you will be hoping will die next. Wendy is suitably unhinged (shades of Clear Rivers from the first two in the franchise). For some the lack of complicated plot lines will be a letdown, for others a blessing. The film is let down slightly by a sudden ending but genre fans will be wholly satisfied (the source of quality horror movies is running dry), though you'll never use sunbeds again.