bcameron-07042 Reviews

Criminal Minds: Through the Looking Glass (2012) Season 8, Episode 3

A great underrated episode

[10/10 · 8 September 2017]

Season 8 was a good season in my opinion, with just a few subpar episodes. A couple episodes I didn't care for in this season was the dreadful "Nanny Dearest" (8x21) and the so-so episode "The Good Earth" (8x5). But overall, season 8 was a good season.

At the beginning of the episode, the Yamada family is found dead, close to a construction site at night by a drifter. Three members of the family are found dead, but the son is missing. He's later found dead by a construction site, with no evidence of sexual abuse or torture. The Yamadas were missing for 5 days before they were killed. The killer tried to frame the father by putting a gun in his hand. The BAU team quickly deduce that it was an attempted frame-up.

Hotch gets a call reporting to the team that another family, the Acklins, have been reported missing. A father, mother, 17 year old daughter and 11 year old son. The father is in the middle of a lawsuit, so at first they wonder if the family disappeared voluntarily. They can't take any chances.

The unsub in this episode locks the father, mother and teenaged daughter in a basement room that's in a house in the middle of nowhere. But he doesn't lock the son in there. The Acklins are obviously worried about the youngest member of their family. The BAU deduce that the unsub probably broke into the boys room first, held a gun to his dead and forced the family to tie each other up and put on hoods so they wouldn't know where they were being taken.

In this episode, the family argues with each other a lot. Some viewers may find that or them annoying, but to me, they're just like a normal family who has fights. It's part of being human. The actors playing the father, mother and daughter did a good job interacting with each other. I believed that they were a real family. They had good enough chemistry to be believable.

The killer communicates with the family with a built in mic that's in the basement room that he's holding them in. And the situation is tense and threatening. I can imagine myself in the same situation with a madman holding me and my family hostage in a basement room. You realize that this unsub either enjoys seeing the families he holds hostage argue about their problems or he's upset that they're not the "perfect family". He could be angry that they're misbehaving and making a mockery out of the family unit.

The unsub forces the family to to come clean with their flaws. The father has been having an affair with his sons tutor. The daughter sometimes takes drugs, starting with her mom's pain pills and then illicit drugs. The mother is obsessed with money and she's a shopaholic. It's a normal family with normal problems. Everyone has faults, so you realize this unsub is out of his mind. The mother does make a choice in this episode though that was disturbing and will probably turn most viewers against her.

I did like how one character gave his commentary on how the family unit was dying. He told Blake and Reid that everyone was on their phones, texting and tweeting and e-mailing. I thought it was a good commentary.

Also, the main cop in this episode made a comment on a suspect and said "I say he's guilty". The suspect was totally innocent and there was no real evidence against him. However, it reminds you that throughout history, there have been many people who were wrongly convicted of serious crimes because cops/detectives were too lazy to investigate crimes properly and look for multiple suspects and just settled on the first person that "looks good" for the crime so they could close their case.

Damn good episode.

Criminal Minds: The Pact (2012) Season 8, Episode 2

One of the most FUN episodes of season 8

[9/10 · 8 September 2017]

"The Pact" (8x2) is one of my 5 favorite episodes from season 8. It's not necessarily one of the best,just a personal favorite. But it is a good episode. I'm only gonna talk about the first half of the episode.

The story is about two female vigilante killers who are out for revenge. They met online in a support group. Darlene is out to get the guy who raped and murdered her 8 year old daughter. Ellen is out to get the woman who killed her baby nephew while driving drunk when she was 17. The woman especially got off easy, with her being a minor at the time. The woman is murdered in San Diego and 3 hours later, the man is murdered in Los Angeles. Both were killed in the same way: blitz attacked, chained to a car and dragged. They appear to have no relation to each other. The BAU quickly deduce that it was the work of two unsubs and that one unsub was more reluctant/hesitant and the other one seemed to enjoy what they were doing.

I'd like to acknowledge the casting. Kim Wayans (Darlene) and Meckenzie Phillips (Ellen) had a really good chemistry with each other as the vigilante duo. Kim Wayans made Darlene very sympathetic to the viewers. She seemed nice. She even killed her victim BEFORE the dragging, because she couldn't bring herself to drag them alive. Ellen is a possible psychopath who seemed like she actually liked the kill (and the suffering of her victim).

Darlene and Ellen swapped murders (like in Strangers on a Train). However, the fact that they met on the internet would probably mean the cops would eventually connect them as partners. But it seems they have plans to flee the country after they're done anyway. Ellen tells Darlene that before she killed one of her daughter's rapists, he gave up the name of two more guys who were involved.

The BAU identify both unsubs only halfway into the episode (which is pretty quick). But that's because the story takes a very interesting turn. These two female vigilantes eventually go toe to toe with a psychopath in the second half of the episode and it's quite a ride. The psychopath Jason Nelson is played brilliantly by Brandon Keener. And it's a second half that is way too good to give away. There are extended scenes with the ladies and the psychopath that's wonderfully written and acted.

Criminal Minds has done it's share of vigilante episodes over the years. My favorite is probably still "A Real Rain" (1x17) from season one. But there have been other good ones like "True Night" (3x10) and "The Road Home" (9x13).

Criminal Minds: All That Remains (2013) Season 8, Episode 14

One of the top 5 or 6 episodes of season 8

[10/10 · 3 September 2017]

Season 8 has a lot of really good episodes and "All That Remains" (8x14) arguably ranks in the top 5. This episode has several big twists so hang on for a wild ride. First of all, let me give credit to actor Ken Olin. He is the MVP of this episode. He should be considered one of the great guest actors in Criminal Minds history. It's the Bruce Morrison character that drives this episode. That character is front and center the entire episode.

The story revolves around a man (Bruce Morrison) whos 13 and 17 year old daughters go missing. He made a "confused" phone call to 911 where he appears disoriented. Apparently, 36 hours have gone by before he realized his two daughters were missing. The BAU team then hear a phone call from 1 year before to the day where Bruce made a 911 call reporting that his wife was missing and he waited 2 days to phone that in. Bruce seems guilty as hell. The lead detective in his wife's disappearance (she still hasn't been found) and an old neighbor thinks that Bruce is responsible for his entire family disappearing.

Bruce's missing wife Judy had an affair before she turned up missing. Bruce is a writer and was a professor at a university. But when he was accused by police of being involved in his wife's disappearance, he was let go by the university. So he lost some income. Add to that, he's a drunk and can go into violent rages and was apparently recently in a big argument with one of his daughters.

Some critical evidence starts to pile up on Bruce which makes him look even more guilty.

This episode has several big twists. And they all make sense. A very well written episode and certainly one of my favorites from season 8.

Criminal Minds: Magnum Opus (2013) Season 8, Episode 13

You'll never believe what the unsub does with the blood

[6/10 · 3 September 2017]

Season 8 is a good overall season. However, there are at least 5 or 6 episodes that aren't that good. This is one of the weaker episodes of season 8. It's just "okay".

For those of you who've never seen this episode, you have an unsub who's draining the blood from his victims, but he's not a vampire wannabe. You'll never believe what this killer is doing with the blood. It's sick. The unsub is a real wacko. He's quite a pathetic creature too. You almost want to feel sorry for the sicko and give him a hug. He's completely out of his mind. There are a couple of scenes where the killer tries to sell off his "work" and he comes off as being completely pathetic (intentionally by the writers). And you just say to yourself that this guy needs to be put out of his misery. His mind is completely screwed up.

Some may say that Criminal Minds is just coming up with bizarre motivations for unsubs because they're running out of ideas. However, you have to remember that there have been killers in this world who have had INSANE motivations for killing. Look no further than serial killer Herbert Mullin. This real life serial killer claimed that by killing people, he would prevent earthquakes. So there's pretty much nothing Criminal Minds can do as a motivation for an unsub that could be too far fetched. People are NUTS.

This is the first episode to air after the classic "Zugzwang" (8x12). Reid is obviously grieving over Maeve's death and Matthew Gray Gubler does a wonderful job showing Reid's sorrow over his girlfriend's death. Reid still is able to call the team on the phone and help them out with their latest case from his apartment. Everyone tries to cheer him up but he's not in the mood to talk about it, only to help them every once in a while from home on the case they're working on.

Criminal Minds: Perennials (2012) Season 8, Episode 11

One of the worst Criminal Minds episodes

[2/10 · 3 September 2017]

I thought season 8 of Criminal Minds was a GOOD season overall. However, three episodes that I really dislike are in this season. Those episodes are "The Good Earth" (8x5), "Perennials" (8x11) and "Nanny Dearest" (8x21). Those 3 episodes do nothing for me. But I do think season 8 is still a good season. I loved episodes like "The Pact" (8x2), "Through the Looking Glass" (8x3), "The Apprenticeship" (8x6), "The Fallen" (8x7), "Zugzwang" (8x12), "The Silencer" (8x1) and a number of others.

This episode involved an unsub that believes in reincarnation. He believes he's been reincarnated as a serial killer. And none of the actors to me seem like they're having fun in this episode. I know a show has to try to come up with new ideas and try something different when you've had many seasons under your belt, but I don't think anyone really got into this story. The way the unsub chose his new victims based on when old victims were killed was interesting though. And getting some Replicator stuff at the end of the episode was fun. But overall, this episode is just boring and the story is flat. Everyone just seems to be going through the motions.

The actor that plays the unsub just seems all wrong for this role. It's one of those episodes where the unsub is revealed early. He's probably not a bad actor but he just doesn't work and the story is just a stinker.

This episode definitely ranks in my bottom 10 Criminal Minds episodes. It joins episodes like "Nanny Dearest" (8x21) and "Sense Memory" (6x14) as some of my least favorite episodes to watch.

CSI: NY: Second Chances (2009) Season 6, Episode 11

Ripped from the headlines

[8/10 · 11 August 2016]

We all know that the Law and Order franchise often ripped stories straight from the headlines. Well, this episode of CSI New York (Second Chances) also rips this story from the headlines. The powers that be at CSI New York have definitely heard of Helen Golay and Olga Rutterschmidt. That's the story of 2 old ladies who went to homeless shelters searching for victims for their greedy scheme. They housed and fed strangers that they met at homeless shelters for a period of 2 years for the full insurance policy to kick in. And once the two years were up, they murdered these once homeless men just to collect on the life insurance policy. If I'm not mistaken, they did this twice. Once in 1999 and again in 2005. They were covered on a couple of True Crime shows.

The main difference with this CSI New York story vs. the real thing is that they use young women instead of old ladies as the murderers in this story. Of course CSI New York also adds a few extra things in there to put their own little spin on the story. Once I realized the very easy to spot similarities with this episode to the Helen Golay and Olga Rutterschmidt case, I had to write a quick review. Of course it's not really much of a "review". Just a thumbs up for doing a real life story that I recognized involving 2 evil old ladies (who both already had a good amount of money).

Close to Home: A House Divided (2006) Season 2, Episode 2

This is a great episode

[10/10 · 26 July 2016]

This was truly a great episode. Kudos to everyone involved including a great guest cast. Cheryl White as the murdering mother claiming self defense, Hunter Parrish as the son who hates her, Jared Hillman as the son who's supporting her, Shanna Collins as the confused daughter who basically decides the outcome of the case and another older daughter who we finally get to see 3/4 of the way in played by Yvette Tucker. Also, Bruce Davison as the defense attorney and Davenia McFadden as the trial judge both did good jobs in supporting roles. A key to a good episode includes good writing, story, good actors (preferably who have chemistry with each other) and some good direction. This episode has everything. I've seen some really good episodes of Close to Home and this one has to rank among the 3 best ones I've seen so far.

Cold Case: Start-Up (2005) Season 3, Episode 7

Well acted, solid story, not too much drama

[9/10 · 22 July 2016]

This was a good, solid episode. It wasn't overly "dramatic" as some episodes can be, however, it was well acted and I thought told a good story. There's a good list of suspects which included the murdered woman's business partner, an investor, the investor's secretary, a married man who falls for her and even the dead woman's own sister. Cold Case is usually pretty good at coming up with some good suspects. As I said, there's nothing too overly dramatic about the story (like heartbreak and excessive crying), but this is a good, enjoyable and well acted episode. A very good list of guest actors in this one. I really enjoyed Rodney Scott as the dead woman's business partner. I'll definitely be checking out more of his work on other shows in the future. I also liked the woman who played the secretary.

Without a Trace: The Bus (2003) Season 2, Episode 1

Entertaining. A different type of episode

[9/10 · 21 July 2016]

I wont really get into specifics, but I found this episode enjoyable. It definitely went against the usual formula in that we knew right off the bat what happened to the people who vanished. The team obviously just didn't know where the bus load of kids had been taken after the kidnapping. There was also a good "fake out" in this episode. You think something happened, but there's a curve ball thrown your way. Actually, I guess there are two curve balls thrown your way. Definitely be on the look out for a couple of surprises. The actor who played the one father did a good job during the ransom drop. I loved that scene. But I wont spoil the episode. I thought it was very enjoyable and I liked that they went a bit away from the usual formula in that there was no question that the vanished persons were kidnapped.

Oh, and I can't believe they played "that song", not once, not twice, but three times. Well, one time they just played the instrumental. I love all the shows that use that song. Heard it also at the beginning of a CSI episode once (it's a classic).

Without a Trace: Shattered (2006) Season 4, Episode 21

Couldn't get totally behind this story

[5/10 · 21 July 2016]

It wasn't that the acting was bad, because it WASN'T. The acting in this episode was pretty solid. It's just that the deeper into the story they got, the less interested I became in it. There was no actual "villain" in this story. There was no actual crime (well, no major crime anyway). The girl just disappeared on her own because of life issues (with her dead brother being a big part of it). By the end of the episode, the story seemed like it was basically about a teenaged girl who couldn't handle her problems so she ran away, which resulted in a massive search for her. It was a weird storyline. By the time the show was over, it seemed like it was much ado about nothing. I couldn't even feel the bond between her and her dead brother. It just didn't click. They didn't do a good job in making me care about that relationship. As I said, much ado about nothing as far as her disappearance.

Without a Trace: Clean Up (2007) Season 6, Episode 2

A solid, heartbreaking episode

[9/10 · 21 July 2016]

This was a good episode. This one will leave you in tears. First of all, kudos to the guest cast in this episode. The actors who played the daughter, mother, father, the "would be boyfriend"/friend, the younger version of the daughter and even the "scumbag" (you'll know who that is after you're done watching episode). Even an actress who had a brief appearance playing a mid-level organized crime woman did a good job in her brief appearance. A lot of good guest cast in this one.

Prepare yourself for a lot of sad moments and a lot of heartbreak in this episode. You'll feel sad for the daughter at various points in this episode and you'll feel sorry for her parents. This was a tough one to watch if you get emotional a lot when you watch a story like this. A very good season 6 contribution. 9 stars out of 10.

Without a Trace: Primed (2007) Season 5, Episode 14

Incomplete story. An up and down episode.

[6/10 · 21 July 2016]

I really wanted to like this episode, but I ended up feeling disappointed. It had a couple of guest actors who I like including Trever O' Brien in it. I'm a fan of his work on other shows, but even his performance seemed a bit off. Perhaps it was the writing. At times, I thought the writing and story were shaky. Every time I would get interested in a new development in the story, it kinda fell a bit flat shortly afterwards.

And once the ending credits came up, the story felt incomplete. There were some unresolved issues involving not only what happened to the main person who went missing, but also with another character that died. And also what would happen to a "third member" of the story. His story was definitely incomplete. I thought the story had potential, but it ended up falling flat and being incomplete. Not sure what was with the writing for this episode. It was just weird. I'll still give it 6 stars for keeping me interested at times, but too many unanswered questions in this episode.

Without a Trace: Desert Springs (2007) Season 5, Episode 15

An underrated episode. Good story.

[10/10 · 20 July 2016]

This was a really good episode. I don't know why it only has a 5.9 average rating. Perhaps it's people hating on Roselyn Sanchez and just automatically giving every episode she's in a low rating. I don't know. It's kind of hard to say anything about this episode without revealing spoilers. But I'll just say this, things aren't always what they seem. It might seem at first that there are angry co-workers who wanted to do our missing water plant supervisor in, but the story is much deeper than that and involved a number of other people who have nothing to do with the water treatment plant. It was a story about making bad decisions (well, a lot of episodes involved bad decision).

You kind of understood why some of the people in this episode did what they felt they had to do. They were really down and out and desperate. But they really shouldn't have done what they did, because it had dire consequences.

Nathan Baesel was a fine actor. I've seen him on other shows and he always does a fine job with what he has to work with. Another solid performance here. I wish he would return to actual acting.

Cold Case: Hitchhiker (2003) Season 1, Episode 10

The killer was the MVP of this episode

[9/10 · 20 July 2016]

This review won't contain any real spoilers. I just watched this "Hitchhiker" episode of Cold Case for the very first time. And it was pretty good.

I actually think the person who turned out to be the killer was the MVP (or the star) of the entire episode. If you actually pay attention to the killer's backstory and study him as a person, you can almost feel some kind of "pity" for the bastard. He's definitely a "damaged" guy. It's not like he had a terrible childhood or anything like that. But by the time he became a teenager and into adulthood, you can see he had major flaws as a person and was a bad decision maker. He was the kind of guy who had a lot of dreams and ambitions but was TERRIBLE at trying to make those dreams come true. He was an ambitious screw up. As one character states, he's not very good at the things that he wants to be good at.

So yeah, I kinda felt sorry for the killer, especially watching the last 7 or 8 minutes of the episode. But then, I remembered what he did (committing an inexcusable murder) and was brought back to reality and thought to myself there was NO EXCUSE for what he did, especially who he did it to and what that person was supposed to mean to him. The killer was definitely a complex character. And kudos to the actor who played the killer. He did a wonderful job. It makes you remember that not all people who kill are "pure evil". But he still DESERVES a long prison sentence for this crime. Very good episode. I give it an 8.8 out of 10.

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: Alter Boys (2001) Season 2, Episode 6

You're not a bad person? Then what are you?

[10/10 · 5 June 2016]

This is one of my favorite episodes (of course I have many). I'm surprised this episode "only" has a 7.5 rating. It deserves to be in the 8 range like a lot of classic CSI episodes.

A cop finds Ben Jennings burying a dead body in the middle of nowhere. Ben is arrested and refuses to say anything. Of course Grissom knows the evidence will speak for itself. Grissom, Nick and Sara investigate. A lot of evidence just piles up against Ben and it just gets worse and worse for him. The CSI gang discover flour on the victim. Ben says he delivers pizzas (notice he doesn't actually make them). Ben accidentally makes it slip that there's at least 1 more body he buried. The CSI team find it. One of the best lines of the episode comes when Ben tells Grissom that he's not a bad person after they find the second body. Grissom replies back, "You're not a bad person? Then what are you? Then he walks away.

Throughout this episode a priest is trying to convince Grissom that Ben is a good kid and he didn't do it, even after Grissom breaks out the luminol and dried blood appears on Ben's car seat right before the priest's eyes. The priest must know something that everyone else doesn't. Grissom eventually starts to have a bit of doubt, but Nick and Sara convince him to present the case to the DA.

Grissom realized he made a mistake when he looks up Ben's brother Roger and realizes that he's a hardened criminal. He should have done research on Ben's character (no major crimes committed). Nick realizes that Roger would be looking at his 3rd strike if he was convicted of anything else. Ben refuses to turn on his brother and says nothing. Of course Roger has no problem pointing the finger at Ben when confronted by Grissom and O'Riley. Nick and Sara find evidence against Roger at his rundown trailer. Another top moment of this episode happens when Roger is brought to jail and he gives his younger brother Ben a cold-blooded, evil look while passing by his cell. Ben nods thinking he and his brother are still cool.

The "evidence" against Roger is useless. He dry cleaned his bloody jeans pants, the blood is degraded and Greg can't detect any blood. Also, the gun that Nick found buried in a bin by his trailer has a barrel that has been altered. Roger jammed something down it and the bullet striations are different from the ones in the corpses.

Grissom tries to talk the DA out of pressing charges against Ben, but Roger put the final nail in his brother's coffin by bringing in the tie that HE used to strangle one of the victims to death. Roger told the DA that he hid the tie to protect his brother (which conveniently explains away why Roger's epithelials are on the tie). And of course Ben's epithelials are all over it because in reality Ben took the tie and was going to bury it. Roger committed the murders and asked his younger brother to bury the bodies.

Ben is gonna get convicted and decides to commit suicide in the final scene. The episode ends with Grissom literally having blood on his hands. It's a stunning and heartbreaking end to the episode.

I kinda think Roger was more "lucky" than smart as one of the few bad guys to get away with murder on the show. (He foolishly kept the bloody pants and the gun, but then again wisely altered the barrel so there wouldn't be a bullet match). I highly doubt a guy like Roger will stay out of trouble with the law for long. He probably would go on to get that 3rd strike eventually. Roger did actually confess to that priest that he was the one who actually killed the 2 men when his brother was in prison. So apparently, he does still somewhat have a soul.

Catherine and Warrick got the "secondary" case. If it weren't for Jim Brass, they wouldn't have found the murderer. They were blaming the hotel for the death of a woman (heat stroke) in a spa. The hotel was somewhat negligent for taking too long to check on the woman, but what really did her in was someone intentionally feeding her food that she was allergic to (although they didn't mean to kill her). The woman went into Anaphylactic shock. Two women fighting over a man. What a shame. I actually felt sorry for the killer somewhat, even though it was a STUPID thing to do. She was "only" trying to make her friend sick to miss a date.