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Reviews
The Walking Dead: No Way Out (2016)
The antidote to a diabolically lacklustre mid-season finale
Wow! The opening scene had me rewind just to savour the bombacity (is that a word?)! Finally, the heroes get to fight back quickly and win. I'm a big fan of the show, but it was starting to become tediously bleak. Too many boring filler episodes, (especially the one with Morgan's flashback to his imprisonment, where he becomes a pacifist).
No Way Out was 45 minutes of pure tension and I guess the uncompromisingly bleak nature of the show is what makes this work. When the storm hits, you genuinely never know who's going to survive. So what if Glen made it out of dumpster alley? He might not make it out this time.
Yes, there are some logic gaps but overall this paid fans off for the dullest mid-season finale ever. Sad for Jessie, but those kids couldn't disappear fast enough for me. The montage of Alexandrians fighting back was brilliantly executed (sorry) and Nicotero should be proud.
More of the same please.
CSI: Immortality (2015)
Absolutely dreadful
CSI has been on the slide for a few years now, but this finale sunk to new depths. The writing was awful, the plot banal and the acting appalling. Where do I start?
I think the most galling aspect is that this does not feel like a tearful goodbye from the cast (like the finale of Friends or Frasier). Everyone has a look contractual desperation on their face, especially Grissom. DB's hardly in it, Brass looks incredibly bitter and the rest - Greg, Hodges, Morgan, Henry, Super Dave, Doc Robbins - are all bit players.
Then let's consider the script's rationale for bringing Grissom back; Lady Heather. Seriously? Who cares about Lady Heather? Did someone really sit down and say "fans will want to see her back one more time?" Which brings me to Lindsey. What?! That same writer clearly said, "...and they'll definitely want to know how things turned out for Catherine's daughter."
Everything about this finale was a travesty. The CSIs uncovering three car loads of C4 and heroically deciding ONLY THEY CAN SAVE THE BUILDING! Morgan doing her hysterical bluster routine and dropping the wire cutters. The bomber's motive (which I'm still a little hazy on). The coloured bees (which I'm even more hazy about). The mysterious Lady Heather double in the car who was never explained. Working out that Finn eventually died off screen (and off story), though I'm thankful they left her out.
And then the ending. Was CSI ever about Grissom and Sara? No, it was about the crimes and the forensics.
Grissom is right - they jumped the shark a long time ago. CSI will not be missed.