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Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4, Episode 5, Episode 6,Episode 7
Episode 8 and 9,Episode 10,Episode 11,Episode 12,Episode 13, Episode 14,
Episode 15, Episode 16,Episode 17,Episode 18,Episode 19, Episode 20,
HOME, SEASON 2, SEASON 3, LINKS, CJ FORUM
THIS IS THE REVISED VERSION OF THE PILOT. BE WARNED THE REVIEW WILL MOST LIKLY HAVE SPOILERS FROM THE REST OF THE SEASON!
In Venice Beach, California we see a bunch of people sitting in a room talking quietly. Looks like a therapy place. The camera focuses on a young woman who doesn't seem to want to be there. The leader asks her what her problem is. She calls her Jordan, and she says she's here because she hit her boss. Why the leader asks would she do this, and Jordan says who knows. Her life is crap thanks to having witness her mothers death and growing up without her. She cuts up bodies she tells them, and they all look at her with raised eyebrows. Hey she's a coroner ok? Suddenly her phone rings and Jordan answers it. Its Boston calling, she has a job interview. Jordan jumps for joy and burns rubber to the exit and the airport. Upon arriving in LAX she promptly loses her baggage but carries on.
It seems Jordan has worked here before at the Boston medical examiner's office, as she says hi to everyone she passes. Her old boss Dr.Macy complains about everything and about the fact that a councilman has killed himself .The real test is getting past Dr. Garret Macy. While they sit at his desk he goes over some of the comments of her 5 previous employers. Most are good and Jordan agrees with them. Then the bad stuff, and while Jordan starts to argue, Garret lays down reality for her. He had to fight hard with Yakura, just to let her back here. Don't screw up he tells her. Kelly comes in and has a case for anyone who wants it. Jordan decides to take it.
At the scene, a young black girl is lying against the wall. Jordan takes a look at her. A detective Collins comes up and gives Jordan some drugs they found, saying she probably O’D. He continues on, eventually embarrassing himself by talking about her dad who was a cop.
In the autopsy room, the Jane Doe is being looked over by Jordan and Nigel. The girl is in her twenties, 5’6,120lbs. Jordan orders a rape kit done, then leaves and goes next door to the other autopsy room. There a large group of people are watching Yakura do the autopsy of the councilman Mullroy who killed himself. She takes Gloria aside and tells her the young girl was still a virgin.
Jordan then takes a break and goes to her childhood home, where she finds her dad resting. She gives him a kiss and wakes him up. They talk a bit, as Max watches the news about Mullroy. Max says he knew Mullroy when he was a judge and can't figure out why he would flip-flop on the Ballard real estate deal. He was against Ballard the whole time then changes his mind and hangs himself. Jordan is shocked to learn that it millionaire Ballard who wants the deal. Go with the Ballard angle Max says. He realizes that he is getting too involved and stops himself. He has a new outlook on life, reading books on how to get over grief. Jordan gets upset, as her dad tries to get her to understand. Evelyn has been a great help to him he says, while Jordan starts to shout who is Evelyn? A woman's voice is suddenly heard, and a middle aged woman comes out of the kitchen. Jordan can only stand there in shock as Max introduces them. Evelyn is thrilled at meeting Jordan and hugs, as Jordan still stands there.
Later in the autopsy room, Jordan finds powder and fibers in her teeth. She bit someone, very hard through a shirt and probably left a mark.
Garrett meanwhile is on the phone, arguing with someone over his mother’s gravestone. Jordan walks in and requests some chemicals, and he asks why? She would like to pull any prints off her victim. Garrett starts to shake his head and admonish her, when she tells him the girl died of suffocation-murder. Garrett can only shake his head, and wonder what he did to have Jordan back with them.
Later, Jordan catches up with Collins at Boston P.D, letting him know that the girl was smothered to death.
Back at the office, Jordan moves into her old office space. She meets Trey Sanders, here on a one year fellowship, with 4 months to go. He tells her he's her office mate. Bug is there with them and says he will pay anyone who knows or finds his larvae. He then leaves, while Jordan tells Trey that the space and desk he has was Yakura's when Jordan and she were paired together. Treys impressed, now that Yakura is running things. Jordan isn't so impressed, but she knows she has only herself to blame. Trey decides to ask her out, but she brushes him aside.
Garrett is practicing his speech with a puppet. Even the puppet knows it's bad.
In the trace evidence room, Jordan and Gloria look for prints. Collins shows up and together they find prints on the face. Jordan has them analyzed and sent to missing persons. They also find hair and fibers in her teeth. She apparently bit someone on the arm while they suffocated her. She then takes a break.
Jordan and Collins go for coffee, and Collins complements her on her work. Jordan tells him how she and her dad would play a creepy game, where one would be the victim, the other the killer. Collins thinks that's kind of heavy, but Jordan didn't mind. He asks her out for dinner, but before she can respond her pager goes off. They have found a match for the print.
The print belongs to recently deceased councilman Mullory. Jordan wants to check his arm for teeth marks, but it's gone. It has been taken to his wake. Jordan and Collins go to wake, and Jordan looks on his arm for teeth marks, but nothing there.
Back at the office, the girl’s ID has been found. Clarice Jenner was her name. Now Jordan wants anything on Ballard.
Garrett goes over his speech and checks himself out in the mirror. Later at the school Garret stumbles through his speech until he just lets go and he tells his own opinion.
In the evening Jordan stands in the darkened morgue, over Clarice and vows to get her killer.
Jordan goes home and lays out the case for Max. Jordan decides to play the game again. Jordan decides to play the victim, while Max decides to play the killer.
Jordan and Max play their game, but can't solve the murder this way. Then Jordan tells him about the rosary she got from her mother, which is just like the one the girl had on her. Max tells her he got her the rosary, which is an old Irish tradition, where the father gives the daughter a rosary for confirmation. They both realize Mullroy was the girl's father.
The next morning, at the police station, Jordan and Collins listen to the girls' mother tell her story. She tells them that her daughter wanted to know who her father was. She got a call 5 days ago, and left with no word to her. It was not Mullroy, who never acknowledged her at all.
Afterward, Jordan and Collins talk and have a spat. Jordan wants to confront Ballard, who she thinks is guilty of blackmail. Collins calls her crazy, and tells her to back off before she ruins the case. Collins then gets a call, where he finds that a suspect is at the E.R. They race there together.
At the E.R., Collins fills her in the guy confessed to killing her when she refused to have sex with him. What about the bite on the arm? Might be hard, since the canine unit was sent in and did a number on him. There are bite marks all over him. So what about the weapon she asks, and Collins gives her an evidence bag. In it is the scarf and Jordan checks it on the x-ray machine. It confirms that it is the weapon.
At the office, Garrett looks at his letter of resignation, but while reading it over notices a butterfly on his pen. He sees that there is more to life and bailing out is not the best way to live. Then he sees Bug chasing the butterflies and has a good laugh.
Jordan goes to her office and meets Trey there. She tries to bail on her date with him, but he corrects her. He only wants a drink; because you see he doesn't date white women. Jordan can only look on in shock as he leaves.
Jordan calls Collins, and asks a few questions of him. He then apologizes & asks her to drinks. After she hangs up she looks at some articles on Ballard, and notices Collins in a picture body guarding Ballard.
At the pub later on she confronts Collins over his knowledge of Ballard. Collins offers an excuse, but Jordan is not convinced. She demands to see his arms, but nothing is there. He leaves in a huff, but Jordan stops him and apologizes to him.
They go to his place and start to have a fun evening. She asks for the bathroom and goes in and locks the door. She then looks through his medicine cabinet and finds concealer in it. Now she knows the truth. She goes back to the bed and takes his cuffs and teases him with them, eventually cuffing him to the bed. Collins realizes he's been had, while Jordan tells him that one should never wear white concealer with a white shirt. Collins boasts he will never serve time. Jordan calls the police while giving him a pathetic look.
Jordan returns to the office, where Garrett is standing there thinking. Jordan tells him she caught the killer, and Garrett congratulates her. She tells him she's going after Ballard, but Garrett says no and stresses this to her. She gives it up for now, and then asks if he is ok. He tells her his mother died 5 weeks ago, and though he thought he was ready for it, he was not. Jordan listens quietly to him, and then he says good night to her.
At home, Jordan sneaks up on her sleeping dad and kisses him. She then looks at picture of her mom and her when young. Max comes to her and hugs her as they both remember her together.
ANALYSIS:
Wow I didn't realize how much I missed the first time around. Thankfully this episode aired again and now I can give a much better review.
This pilot episode was a good one to start the series. Almost everyone who was going to be in the series is introduced here, with the exeception of Lily. It was a good episode, and I would have liked it to have been followed up but it never was. The guest star cop was good and gave us some background on Max, Jordan's father. We find out through the rest of the series what really happened, but here it was kept a mystery somewhat. The modus of how Jordan would do things was also established, and it changes only a little through out the rest of the episodes. In fact this episode and the season final were nice bookends to the first season. In this one she is told to back off Ballard and not to push or she will get fired. In the season final she pushed too much and got into a heap of trouble for it. One thing is certain, they kept Jordan pretty much consistent throughout the first season.
The case was okay, but a little boring. Max had it half figured out when he saw the news report. As for the killer/victim game, it was as hokey as I remembered it to be. I am glad they somewhat gave this up, because all it did here was remind me how embarrassing it looked for Hennessy. With the execption of a few clunkers the cases would be right on and interesting for the rest of the season. Not only that, they would be spread out to the other doctors, which only made sense and let the whole cast carry the show, instead of just one.
As for the characters, all did well except poor Bug. He really came off as a eccentric, weird doctor who everyone made fun off. He had the biggest change around from the pilot to the next episode. Thankfully it was a good one and we would learn he is a complex man and a genius. We also saw Nigel helping Jordan once, although we didn't get his name here and he didn't do much. One person they got rid of, and who Nigel I think replaced was Gloria. I actually liked her and it would have been nice to have another female coroner instead of just one. Come the second season we will have another one there so it will be interesting how Jordan reacts to her. We could have had Yakura, who we actually see doing an autopsy, which I missed the first time. We find out she is ambitious and cool, but that's about it and she later leaves the show. A missed opportunity I believe. Garrett also kind of came off badly, always whining about everything, but as the series went on he got much better and we saw how much he cared for Jordan. Once he got the top job, and settled in a bit he got better at dealing with things. Extra characters such as Kelly? and the secretary were either dropped or replaced, mostly by Lily and later by Emmy.
The tech side was good although the game colors bleed to much into each other. The camera work was steady and blended well with each scene. The makeup looked a little heavy on some of the dead bodies, it did not look as natural. The music was nice to hear and not the pounding rock they would get into later in the series. As for the police station, does everyone occupy the same office? It looked like the same space and offices they used throughout the season. It would be nice to see some sort of personal effects of the officers, just to give each office a sense of uniqueness from one another.
Overall a good episode that was a steady start to a great show. This can only grow more and I believe it will and as long they stay on track and don't experiment too much with stories that have nothing to do with the premiss of the show. The actors are all solid and we would see them take on more stories which helped the season to get better.
I give this a 3 out of 5 stars.
I look forward to Jordan working out her problems in the seasons to come. She has a lot of potential and lots of angst. MESSAGE BOARD
RTMSTop
We find jordan waking up in her office, having slept there for the night. She goes to the showers in the locker room and having the place to herself doesn't bother putting her clothes on right away. In walks in Sanders who looks shocked and embarrassed at seeing her here and naked, since the lockers were changed a while back. Jordan says don't worry, he doesn't dig white women anyway. After, she heads to the morning meeting with Garret who tells her that Yukura basically does not want her there. They listen to her boast about having a 100% identification rate last year and plans on continuing the excellence. Therefore one body that has yet to be id'd is known as Mr. Stinky is given to Sanders to id, who doesn't look forward to it. Everyone else is given a job except Jordan who gets angry at Yukura, who tells her that she is still trying to explain why a cop was cuffed to his bed by jordan. Luckily a cab driver bites the dust and jordan is assigned to it.
At the scene she meets old flame Lt. Winslow who convinced her father to retire. Jordan of course disagreed with the decision. The cab driver whose name is Louis Stahler, has been shot from behind and chews nicotine gum, orange flavor. The autopsy reveals bruising on the hands. Macy also has a body who is named Babcock, who was beaten to death, and has some numbers indented on his backside. The wife of Stahler shows up , but she seems less than sympathetic towards her husband, almost seeming to hope that he suffered in death. Jordan is suspicious of this behavior and tells Winslow about it, but he tells her that security cameras recorded the wife at work for her entire shift, which seems to clear her. Meanwhile the numbers on Babcocks dead body are traced to Jordan's dead cabbie. When Winslow asks Elaine Stahler how a dead body got into her husbands trunk , she says when he wasn't beating her, he was looking for fights elsewhere. Meanwhile Jordan goes home and Max and she play the creepy victim and attacker game, realizing that the murders were set up by the two wives of the victims. They now need to know why. Later on her dad shows up her office and gives her the phone records of both Elaine and Mrs. Babcock. It tells Jordan that Elaine phoned a shelter many times and that Mrs. Babcock was on the committee. When Jordan phones the shelter she finds out that Mrs. Babcock was a counselor there.Jordan gets a dna sample from Garret, tells Winslow her theory, which becomes more suspicious when she learns Babcock has a 2 million insurance plan. Winslow tells her that unless one of them confesses the case goes no where. Jordan then visits Elaine and poses a theory at her about how two women meet and hear each others problems and conspire to kill there husbands. One of the them though just uses the other to do the jobs so she can come clean and the other gets blamed. When Elaine says she doesn't have the full story, that the guy was molesting the children, Jordan tells her that the Babcocks had no children and she can read it in the obituary. Elaine confesses to the murders and pleads for a lesser sentence in order to testify against Mrs. Babcock.
The side case of Mr. Stinky is interesting when Sanders and Bug try to find out just how he died and who he is. They find he has been tortured in the past, shot and has asbestos in his lungs. None of this killed him. Eventually they find he is a old war vet who was looking for an old flame. The name of the lady in the picture he had was lydia and Sanders finds and brings her in to id the body. His name was Albert Salzman.
Meanwhile Jordan apologizes to her dad's girlfriend when she finds out stuff of her mothers was thrown out a while back. Jordan had made a scene at diner and was her rude self about it. All ends well as jordan goes to sleep on the couch- in her home.
ANALYSIS:
Overall another good episode. Everyone was more stronger this time out and more even. The chemistry of the cast is getting better. Hennessy and Howard have believable father daughter chemistry. The doctors are also coming along nicely especially Bug ( Kapoor) who really came out much better than the pilot. We see him as a real expert at the autopsy craft as he teaches Sanders a few things without the smugness or arrogance which the producers could have made it. I still don't like Garret , and this Lily the intern liking him, comes off weird. I mean the guy looks old enough to be her father. Yurkura comes off much better as the ambitious doctor turned administrator. I hope to see her more and in the labs, to see how good she is. Obviously jordan remembers her as a doctor, not the boss. Nigel is also immediately likable who knows his stuff as well. He seems to be in the foresics dept. All the extra doctors seem to be interesting and each is quietly giving good support to the main ones.
The plot of the show was the cliche two strange women meet, they decide to kill their respective husbands and try to get away with it. One is rich the other is poor and the poor one gets betrayed. The answer to who murders the cabby is telegraphed way to early in the story. You know who it is and get tired of wondering when the arrest is going to be made.The side story of Mr. Stinky and who he is, is almost more interesting than the main plot. As well, the homefront is not all together well with jordan and dad's girlfriend. Jordan still has her issues, while her father just wants to move on. While they make up in the end, all is not sugary and nice. Tensions are still there, but if they aren't careful it will get tiring fast.
I give the the episode 2 and?a half stars, weak plot,good character building. MESSAGE BOARD
RTMSTop
Jordan and her dad, Max are enjoying breakfast when jordan brings up the issue of visiting her mothers grave as they always do every year. Max says that he already visited the grave on her birthday and will not be going. He and evelyn have tickets to the pops this year. Jordan gets angry, believing dad is forgetting her mother and its evenlyn's fault. She gets paged and leaves the house, but is in a bad mood. At the scene a black woman has been butchered and decapitated. Sanders is there first, and hasn't really done anything except to say the obvious. Jordan is angry with him for doing such poor work. When they meet again for the autopsy they make up. They find that she was assaulted, strangled and stabbed and then cut up.
Meanwhile Bug gets Theodore Horton, an S & M male. Bug is doing an paper on erotic deaths and wants to autopsy this one. Lily makes him sing a silly song before getting the body. Garret also gets a body to autopsy, John Flynn who died of pancreatic cancer, but whose insurance wants to know for sure what killed him.
Tests come back on Jordan's body and Sanders says she used a kind of mace found on prison guards. They find the nearest prison and with Inspector Penza, find the dna matches a guard named Brenda Porter who went missing a day ago. Jordan attends a funeral service for Porter at the prison. Jordan then orders an dna dragnet on a section of the prison. There she meets Earl Lewis, who participated in the service. She also meets officer Cosgrove there as well. After work Trey and Jordan go dancing , but while there Jordan gets a call from Nigel about the powder in Porters chest, saying the killer reached in and held Porters heart. Jordan and the Inspector head back to the prison and confront Lewis who has the same mo. Unfortunately the dna tests on the semen in Porters body does not match Lewis. When Jordan goes back to the prison an inmate points to Cosgrove and says he and Porter were an item. When a dna test revels a match with Cosgrove inspector Penza believes he has his killer. Jordan doesn't think so, especially when the timeline does not match. Jordan and Max play there victim/killer game and determine that someone else was in the chapel with Cosgrove and Porter as they had sex. Later Jordan goes back to the prison and inspects Father Lynch's office, finding a head and other body parts behind a vent. Penza still believes its Cosgrove while Jordan thinks it may still be Lewis . She goes to Nigel and he tells her what kind of weapon was used on Porter, a chisel from a wood shop. Jordan goes to the prison woodshop and asks to see the chisels. One of them matches and Jordan asks who signed it out last. She then goes to the chapel and finds Lewis and confronts him with her evidence. Lewis tells her that Porter and Cosgrove were sinning in God's place and he helped redeem Porter by killing her and then holding her heart. Jordan walks away sickened by it.
Bug and Garrets cases get resolved in different ways. Bug's autopsy reveals that Horton plug himself in and electrocuted himself. When the wife shows up Bug is hesitant to tell her what really happened until she herself tell him that she knows what he was up to. Garret finds out that Flynn was overdosed and that the wife deliberately did so since they both agreed not to prolong a wasting life. She then kills herself the next day. Garret is depressed about it, but his friends help him over it.
ANALYSIS :
I found this episode very well done and emotionally strong. It gave us both outrage and frustration and some humor in all three cases. By far the best was of course Jordan's case. The sense of outrage at the end and of being sick with what Lewis did comes across strongly.Jordan sticks with her instincts and doesn't really need to play the game with her dad to really find who the killer is. Throwing in Cosgrove was actually a good diversion tactic, it wasn't really until the end that we know for sure the killer is Lewis. This is what I want to see more of, the episode tension staying until very near the end. Even throwing in Lynch as a suspect for a few seconds was a good move.
The musical chairs with the detectives is beginning to get annoying. Yes this may copy real life, but we are after all watching a fictional show. I think they need to find one semi regular detective that jordan is constantly at logger heads with . A different one each show is not so good because no tension is really built up. Not only that but in each show the detective becomes more tolerant of jordan, more agreeable.
The cast is really getting along well. They all have such great chemistry with each other. Watching the show one can see the fun the cast is having. Nigel is really becoming my favorite doctor there after jordan. His wealth of knowledge in weapons is impressive. On the other side is Garret who came across a little better in this episode. Again the lily thing just is not working. I disagree with euthanasia, and what I saw here was not love or romance but selfishness. The widow looked in great health and if she hadn't helped hubby off to the afterlife she would have not suffered financially. While saddened by her loss, she came across as having known it was coming and prepared for it. So why could she not have lived in stead of killing her self ? My mother is going through metastatic bone cancer and has been told it is terminal in the long end. She does not think of killing herself, because of her belief and faith in Jesus. First if she does die she has heaven to look forward to, second if she were to kill herself she would rob herself and her family of potential years of life God could give her.Perhaps because people in the greater world have been taught to think for themselves first and anyone else second they are too selfish to see what a great life they can have.
I give
the show 3 stars, gripping , tension filled main plot. Questionable
ethics preaching.
MESSAGE BOARD
RTMSTop
Jordan meets up with yet another detective, Omar Maltesse in a strip bar owned by the russian mob. A young woman and man are both dead. It is extremely hot in the dressing room where the bodies are, so Jordan tells the cops to turn down the heat. It looks to be a murder/suicide situation, simple at least for the cops. When the bodies are brought back to the morgue Jordan and the doctors go to work. The young woman , Greyson has at least 4 bullets in her. The man is Robert Munson, who Jordan and Sanders work on while Garret takes Greyson. Jordan states Munson is dead at least 24 hrs., although Sanders says he is pretty ripe for being that dead that long. Greyson is a former heroin user who was at least 6 weeks pregnant. Munson has a gun shot wound and thin red line on his chest and under his arms. Jordan notices something at the base of the gun wound in his head. When she asks Bug to identify it he tells her they are maggots, but the black solider kind that only show up after 5 days of decomposing , very picky maggots. Jordan and the doctors realize the two bodies are decomposing at different rates.
Garret deals with his daughter Abby who is staying with him. At seventeen she is disobedient and getting is trouble. She was suspended from school for having sex in a broom closet.
Later Jordan and Maltesse have Nigel fire gun to see if the same one was used on both , they were. As they come out an FBI agent informs Jordan that she is taking Munsons body, since he is wanted for tax evasion. Jordan is upset big time but can't seem to do anything, but Garret says stay on the case. Later she tricks Sanders and Bug into going to the strip club to examine blood patterns. They are not thrilled to be doing this. Outside Jordan sees a stripper who left a note on Jordan's van about coming back later in the evening. Jordan also notices Agent Laraby doing surveillance outside the club. When jordan confronts her she is evasive.
Back at work Jordan gets x-rays from Nigel and Bug that show Munson was already dead before he got to the club. When Jordan goes to the club the stripper points out Victor Belkove. Again Jordan sees Laraby and tells her Munson didn't commit suicide but was already dead.Laraby tells her Munson was really Sergi Relivic a right hand man to Ivan Curtsove the russian mob boss. A sting was set for Sergi and he turned informant for the FBI who put him into witness protection, Laraby was to guard him. One day over a year ago Sergi disappeared before he could testify. No one could find him until he showed up dead at the club.
Meanwhile Sanders has been going through Greysons stuff. Jordan and Laraby arrive. They leaf through Greyson's stuff and pictures of her before she was transformed into what she looked like now. Someone had to pay big money to get the jobs done. Jordan and the others go back to the lab and get the gel breast implant which has a id number on it. It leads to Belkove,and Laraby tells him Grayson was pregnant. Jordan believes he did kill her. Jordan visits her dad and they play there creepy game. They realize that Relevic was killed the day he disappeared , 18 months and was put on ice. The room was hot to thaw him out. Victor killed both people at different times with the same gun.
Jordan tells Laraby she needs to see the body again so they both pretend to be CDC agents and get samples from the body. Nigel analyzes the stuff and determines the stuff are coffee beans/grinds from a particular bean. Find the distributor and you find the warehouse. Jordan Laraby raid a wear house and find blood on cable there. They find it belongs to Victor Belkov , who uses it for money laundering. Viktor deals, but Jordan really isn't happy about it. Garret shows Abby Angie and tells her she ended up this way because no one stopped her. Jordan meets Angie Greyson's brother Robert who thanks her for finding him. He is devastated over his sisters death. Jordan can only look on in sympathy.
Analysis:
This whole show felt flat to me. The ending threw me off not out of surprise but because it ended so anticlimactic. I didn't really like Laraby or Maltesse who was almost a lamb compared to the other detectives we have had. The show just dragged to the sorry ending. Perhaps that's what the PTB wanted us to feel, frustrated, just as Jordan felt in the end. There really was no justice in the end.
The plot was okay as it mainly dealt with Jordan's case. I feel too many cases going on at once can be confusing. I have to say though that bringing Garret's daughter into the mix actually made me warm up to Garrett himself. Finally someone who stomps all over him and doesn't let him get away with being a wet blanket. I noticed that Lily was no where to be seen this ep. No doubt when Abby sees Lily making goo goo eyes at her dad , she most likely will hurl.
It is nice to see all the doctors getting along and helping each other out. Nigels knowledge of everyday things is great to see. Sanders and Bug make a great team each time they get together and hopefully they will have more cases to do so.
Jordan's home life seems to have gotten a little better, as she has finally moved out on her own into her own apartment. This means she is not always there to drag her father down, which I really feel she was doing in the earlier eps.
Again flat episode with a sorry ending, 2 and a half stars. RTMSTop
Episode 5:You Can't go Home Again
Jordan meets Garret at the office and they talk among other things, what Garret should get his daughter Abby for her birthday. He thinks a chem set might be good, hey he got one and look how he turned out.Yea says Jordan look how he turns out. Yakura comes along and gives Jordan a case- warehouse burnt down, dead body found. Jordan's not really impressed with the case, but Yakura just says do it.
At the warehouse Lt. Winslow is there because police think it may be a homicide. The body is of a off duty fireman .When he ID's the man as Jimmy Donnelly , Jordan gets distraught since he was a close friend of hers.
Back at the lab she and another corner start the autopsy, but Jordan breaks down again. Yakura comes in and tells her she is off the case and to go home. Spying Winslow she knows who ratted her out.
Later Jordan and her dad Max go to a wake for Donnelly at a bar. While there she sees the Irish Mob Boss Blackie Conroy. Lt. Winslow shows up and has bad news for her. It seems the autopsy revealed heavy amounts of gasoline on Jimmy's hands. When Winslow checked him out he found that there were 3 suspicious fires that Donnelly attended. Winslow says it points to Donnelly starting the fires.
The next morning Jordan meets Winslow outside the police station and tries to defend Donnelly by saying the reports point to professional work not sloppy like torching a place. Winslow doesn't buy it.
Later Jordan finds the only witness to the fire, a addict who Donnelly saved. The addict says after Donnelly saved him he ran back in to save another guy who was in there. After, the leather coat guy came out but Donnelly did not.
Meanwhile Bug and Sanders do an autopsy on a clown, Uncle Ha Ha. Lily is distraught because she was a fan of his when she was young. Speaking of the young ,Abby shows up and informs Garret she wants to go to a concert than go out to diner with him. They fight with Abby storming out.
Nigel gives Jordan the autopsy photos and they find that Donnelly was hit with an extinguisher . She tells Winslow of this and then heads to the bar and meets up with Pat Donnelly and her Dad. She confronts Pat about Jimmy torching places and he tells her it was to pay off gambling debts Pat got with Blackie Conroy. She tells him that Jimmy was murdered.
Jordan then goes and tells Winslow her theory that Blackie Conroy had Jimmy murdered, but is shocked to see Conroy in Winslows office. After, they talk about why Jordan feels so strongly about Jimmy and the case. Winslow lets her know that Conroy hired out side help, a guy named Hammerhaun to torch places, that he was seen one hour before the fire. Jordan and her dad go to the warehouse and play the game. They determine that Hammerhaun had already started the fire and Jimmy tried to stop him. They fight and Jimmy kills Hammerhaun with extinguisher , then helps the junkie out and then puts his jacket on Hammerhaun and then sets him on fire. This means Jimmy is still alive, and when they go to the bar Pat admits Jimmy is still alive. Jordan wrestles with telling the police and Jimmy makes it harder when they meet up on his roof. Jordan gives him a head start , and then tells Winslow. He tells the boss but they don't really buy the theory.
Meanwhile Uncle Ha Ha is proving a mystery to Sanders and Bug. While he had numerous problems not one of them killed him. Not until they see taped shows of his do they realize and confirm that he had syphilis for more than 20 yrs. They try to break it gently to Lily who says its sweet- he died because he had a big heart.
Analysis
A great episode this was, that again didn't give the ending away to soon. It wasn't until Jordan and Max played their game that it was reveled that jimmy was still alive. By then it was near the end which is a good way to keep an audience around. All the cases and characters were well done and interesting. The show gave us some nice info on Jordan growing up and what she did. A regular tomboy, where the girl saves the guy. I liked how Jordan for once could not complete her autopsy but still stayed on the case. Again she and Yukura clash over titles and cases. This has to be building towards a major clash in a future ep. This was also better because of Winslow coming back. Again Winslow doesn't let Jordan dictate the case to him, he sticks by his assessment of Donnelly, but still helps out Jordan in the end. Whether he and Jordan become an item is not important , whether he keeps being a strong antangoist for her is. As I said before Jordan needs at least one ongoing detective to give her problems.
More humor again in the case of Uncle Ha Ha and his dying of a big heart, both spiritually and physically. Every other show seems to have a humor case in it and it keeps viewers interested in the show. I know I enjoy the humor parts a lot. Bug and Sanders again are great together and are a good team. Throw in Nigel and one gets all sorts of goodies from him. Garret also looked better this ep, thanks again to Abby. He is far less a depressed man when she is around, probably because he has to worry about her and not himself.
I give this ep 4 stars, sustained interest in the episode, good humor and great characterizations.
RTMSTop
Jordan is sleeping at the office again. She wakes up and dresses herself. When she opens the blinds of her office she is startled by her father standing there. Max comes in and tells her she seriously needs a place of her own. Jordan says no time, Max points to the paper he has, " ever hear of the classifieds?" he asks. Jordan is saved from commenting when a case is called in.
She heads to Mundsy state Park. There detective Lois Karver tells Jordan that there is a dead girl in the bush. When Jordan comments there seems to be a lot of security around, Karver tells her the girl is Stacey Ryder, Senator Ryder's daughter. Karver tells her the photo guy from the coroners office is already here. Jordan tells her no photo guy was called. Jordan sees the guy and calls him off. After, she looks at the body and sees bruising . Just then the girls cell goes off. Jordan answers and listens to someone then speaks to them. The caller hangs up.
Back at the office the guys, Bug, Nigel and Sanders are arguing with a Rabbi over a man's body. State rules require an autopsy , but the Rabbi doesn't want the body cut up etc. Garret comes over and tells the Rabbi that Morris Katz body will be monitored by a jewish doctor. The Rabbi says ok as long as he meets him first.
Also in the office are the senator and his wife. Jordan sees Mrs.Ryder , who tries to look in on her daughter. Jordan intercepts her and takes her into the morgue to look at her. Mrs. Ryder talks about how one is never ready to see a child die.
Later Jordan catches the same reporter in one of the offices going through reports. He tells Jordan his name is Adam. Jordan tells him to get out, until he says he knows where the boyfriend is-meeting him somewhere. She and Adam go to a parking lot and meet the boyfriend , who says he didn't kill her. He had dropped her off after having rough sex with her. Suddenly cop cars come racing to the scene, Adam set him up.
The next day Jordan asks her dad if the friend at the phone company can help her trace the cell call to Ryder's cell. He says he can if she sees the apartment he wants her to get, deal she says.
Meanwhile the guys are starting the autopsy to Mr.Katz. While trying to move him to the examination table they end up dropping him to the floor. Not a great start.
Jordan sees the apartment and that it is run down and had snakes loose in it. She's not happy about it. Adam shows up at the office again and tries to swing a deal with Jordan for info. She gets info on who the call was made to and the two of them go see who it is.
The man Cal is Calvin Yarboro, a phycotherapist who runs a rehab center for the rich. He says he couldn't treat Stacey because she was under age and needed ok from her parents, which didn't come because this is election year.
Later Jordan gets the tox screen on Ryder, large dose of premerine which is for post menopausal women, mommy's drugs. Jordan goes to the funeral memorial for Ryder at her house. Adam is trying to get in but Jordan rats him out to security. Once in, Jordan heads for the bedrooms and bathrooms. She finds the drug in the medicine cabinet in Mrs.Ryders room. Also she notices the floor mat matches the pattern on Stacey, which means she died in the room.
At the office, the autopsy of Katz is going well, they weigh the liver and find it is very heavy. They next have to cut the pelvis because the bowels are cramped and they can't get to it. Just as they cut into the bone, an explosion occurs , blowing up much of the front of the body. To say this violates the body in jewish beliefs is an understatement.
At home Jordan and Max play there game and determine that it was Faulk the senator's aid who stabbed Stacey. Later Faulk is questioned and tells them that he could not have done it because he was driving the senators mistress home that night. He tells them the senator and his wife have not been together for years. She returned early that night. Jordan visits Mrs.Ryder and confronts her about the death. She tells her that Stacey was not dead from the overdose, just in a coma and when she stabbed her she actually killed her. The mother is devastated. Katz meanwhile is able to have a good ceremony honoring him. The guys admit what happened , but nothing is made of it. Jordan moves into her apartment, as her dad helps her move in and get settled.
ANALYSIS:
Another good episode that didn't go formula. I have to say the aid looked guilty to me as well for much of the show. Having the mother accidentally kill her daughter was a nice twist. To see the mother's face when Jordan tells her she killed her not the overdose was great. Seeing her whole plan go wrong the mother's composure falters. And for the first time Jordan and Max are also wrong about who killed the girl. A good ploy to drop in sometimes for the sake of variety. There was also some good humor here provided by the Katz autopsy. The doctors are trying their very best to adhere to the Jewish body rules, only to screw up royally with the front half blowing up. Again though they get into morals that are questionable. Saying God screwed up is, as i believe is wrong. Man did the screwing up, by choosing to sin therefore bringing imperfection to the world. God made it perfect, and intended it to stay that way. Still the show was entertaining and Jordan has another rival for her affections , in the form of Adam the reporter. Will we see him again? Perhaps if another big celebrity dies. As for the apartment screw up, ignore it as this episode was obviously filmed earlier but shown later. Another entertaining ep, humor added variety 3 stars. RTMS Top
The coroners office is busy this morning as Garrett comes to work. Spying Lily he has a quick fantasy until Jordan shows up and ruins it by teasing him. He tells her his love life is none of her business. He gives her a case. A child was struck by a vehicle and died. Always tough ones these kinds they agree.
Jordan and her assistant do the autopsy. They see tire marks on the clothes but there are no contusions from the bumper. Jordan determines that he was not killed by the vehicle, but was already dead.
Another autopsy is being done by Sanders and Bug who work with Candace Macintyre who they both like. They are trying to discover who the bodies are, that were found when digging a new building.
As Jordan goes to her office she meets Howie, the state psychologist. He is doing his rounds and hits on her. Jordan tells him to get lost, but that she also has not had the nightmares for more than a month. Howie leaves her alone for now.
Meanwhile Lily again asks Garret out and gets rebuffed big time. She is visibly hurt. Bug and Trey are doing the autopsy and trying to compete to win Candace's heart. Bug's charm seems to be working far better than Trey's and Trey isn't happy.
Meanwhile, Jordan had tissue samples done and finds out the boy was an asthmatic, and possibly died trying to get to the hospital. She later meets with the parents of the young boy and asks them why he didn't have an inhaler with him. They say they knew about his asthma and always made sure he had his inhaler. They find that the bag he had was not his and so no inhaler.
Bug and Sanders autopsy find the men probably died in a duel over the same woman. Jordan visits the bag's real owner Sarah Browning. Mr. Browning pulls a gun out on her and asks where Sarah is. Jordan tells him she is just a doctor. They tell her that a guy phoned them demanding 100,000 dollars, money they don't make.
Later Jordan visits her dad for some help. He is reluctant since it should go to the police. Evenlyn comes in and isn't happy with the situation. Max tells her to get Bonny Reynolds who can listen to the phone recording. Later, Jordan and Max go to the Browning place with Reynolds and listen to the tape. They determine it is made from a dry cleaning place.
At the office Bug , Sanders and Candace find out who the men are-Benjamin Hamilton and his business partner.
Jordan and Max find a dead guy at the laundry place and Jordan lifts prints off of the contact lens. They analyze the prints at the office at night, but Garrett catches them and Jordan tells him the truth.
The next day Max and Evelyn fight over the phone at the office, while Garrett and Lily settle things and make a date. Sanders and Bug are still trying to impress Candace when Nigel comes in and solves the mystery of the two men. Candace is impressed.
Jordan finds that the prints of the dead guy match a man named Tommy Hughes, who had a partner named George Lupo who got greedy and killed Hughes for the money. They finally call the feds and meet at the Browning house where Lupo calls and tells them where to put the money, at a park. At the park Lupo takes the money , but the feds have been watching and chase him. He dies when he is hit by car. Jordan races him to the office and gets the gang to help her find where he has been for the last 24 hr. They determine he has been at a animal shelter that has a crematorium . The feds and Jordan get there and find the girl alive. This is a great feeling for Jordan, who tells Howie she's happy she told a parent that their child is alive not dead. At Max.'s place she finds that Evenlyn has left and has made an ultimatum to Max.
ANALYSIS:
A great episode that really involved everyone on some level. The A story was backed up by the humorous B plot of the guys. The C plot of Garrett and Lily was a little flat, but was still okay. There was a lot of things done in the med rooms that made this episode really fun to watch. From the dead boy that seemly was a routine vehicle hit, leading all the way to murder and kidnapping, it held your attention. Hennessy was really passionate in this one. One could tell Jordan really felt for the boy and how seriously she takes her job. Ali and Rapoor , and Valintine work so well together, they really pull off a realistic working environment. The humor is quick and witty between all of them. The guest stars were also okay , although Howie was a little too annoying, with hitting on Jordan and all. Hessman as Bonny was boring, looking like his WKRP character.
There were a few things bothering me though. They concern Jordan. A week ago I was trolling through some previews and post reviews of Crossing Jordan and many panned the show. Most compared or said it was either Qincy wannabe or CSI LITE. Now I don't think the first is true, but the second is getting more justification. Especially watching this show, and the end where Jordan wants to find where the guy has been. They all use forensic science and this comes off as CSI like. They and Jordan are coroners first. Let the FBI do this or the police forensic lab. For that matter why doesn't Jordan simply get some upgrading and become a forensic scientist for the police. It would make her life easier. She is good at this stuff so why not? Another issue is Jordan and her dad Max. I said earlier that Jordan having her own place would be better for her and Max to get on with their lives. Well Jordan doesn't seem to want that, as she is now going to his place and also dragging him to the crime scene. Talk about interfering in his life. I have to say she looked almost gleeful when Max told her Evenlyn left. Like old times she says, except that old times caused her to lose her job and Max to become depressed and lose his job. While Evenlyn needs to see that Max enjoys the detective work when Jordan brings home cases, getting involved as he did here and previously will only hurt him in the long run I feel. He needs to tell Jordan to take a hike and turn it down a notch.
Another great episode, with humor again coming through. Some frustrating issues with Jordan and Max which may pan out at the end of the season . 4 and a half stars. RTMS
Another day, another dead body as Jordan meets detective Lois Karver and reporter Adam down at the marina. The body is of a guy about 50 who seemly has 5 bullet wounds. When she examines the body closer she realizes the holes are from being embalmed not bullets. Someone has dug him out of his grave and dumped his body in the water. At the office Trey helps her try to find a death certificate. Garett is not happy this morning , he tells her because Yakura is leaving and not putting him in charge. Jordan offers to defend him, Garett declines the offer.
Nigel and Bug go over their work evaluations, which Bug passed with flying colors, but Nigel did not. Nigel is worrying because his visa is up in 5 days. It seems Nigel has fibbed a little in that he came to the US on a student visa 13 yrs ago and never left. He goes around asking anyone to marry him.
Meanwhile Trey has found out who the dead guy was and finds out he wasn't dead for long, only 2 months and has been buried in a military cemetery as far has his wife knows. Jordan checks out the the cemetery with Trey and then calls Lois and has the grave dug up. While doing so the FBI show up, the agent is Drew Haley, federal ground, federal case-get lost basically is the message. Before she does Jordan checks the coffin and finds a very recent dead women there. When she gets back to the office she runs into Drew again who demands the memory from the camera. Jordan gives him a blank one , which he doesn't realize and leaves.
Jordan and Nigel check out the images and determine the killer was not far away. The two of them return to the grave yard at night and find a shed the killer was in. They find the FBI has already gone over it and tried to erase any evidence they found, but some numbers are still there. Jordan meanwhile has been giving the scoop to Adam in return for favors-ones he doesn't like. He tells her Haley is the FBI's top profiler and has been digging up graves for the last 6 months.
She decides to confront him at the field quarters of the FBI in Boston. They meet and talk and Jordan convinces him to let her in on the case. At the office Garrett and Lily have yet another tiff as Garrett is rude to her. She tells him to get over the fact he doesn't have the courage to ask for the CME job and take it out on her. Next she tells Nigel that she will marry him.
The next morning Jordan and Drew examine the bodies of the five women. He tells her they have named him Digger, because he digs up recent bodies and puts the women in there. While looking over the chart of two of them, Jordan picks out a common mistake made by the Portland ME. The first body who Drew thinks died first is actually the second to die. This screws him up totally and he is quite upset about it. Jordan tells him it isn't his fault, but he says it is because he based his profile on this evidence and now that whole theory is wrong, which means they have been investigating the wrong way. They have a argument in which he says she is a daddy's girl and that something in her past has wounded her deeply. So what Jordan says, let her help him, she knows how. They play the game and get close but nothing happens and Jordan leaves.
At the office Garrett is still in his bad mood when Lily asks for Tuesday off. Asking why she evades at first until he notes Nigel has asked for the same day off. She tells him she is marrying Nigel , at which point Garrett comes down hard and says no. No matter they will get married at the office.
Jordan spies Adam who has used his connections at the Bureau to find out Haley has asked for a warrant to search a , here Jordan spoils it and says trailer park. The two of them go there and find Diggers trailer and look through it. They find pictures of the women and the numbers again and Jordan realizes they mean how long the women took to die. Just then Digger ,with a mans' body in his truck,shows up and fights off both Jordan and Adam. Jordan's ID badge get knocked off and Digger runs away. Jordan then hears a woman's voice coming over a radio and tells Adam to stuff the body in his trunk and call Garrett to assemble the team pronto. At the office Garrett takes charge and the team try to find where the dead guy has been buried. Lily tries to keep the women named Chole calm, but time is running out. They determine the guy was buried in a grave at the Armenia church 10 min away from the office. Garrett also confronts Yakura about the CME job and demands the job, which Yakura says was always his. Jordan gets to the grave with an ambulance and Drew, who shows up and gets the coffin open. The emergency crew announce the women dead. Mean while Digger has burned his trailer and heads out, with Jordan's ID badge in the seat next to him.
Episode 9
Jordan looks out of it, for a good reason. Digger has her and is making her up. He then puts her in a coffin and closes the lid. We don't see who digger is by the way.
Two days earlier Jordan and Drew survey the burnt trailer Digger fired the night before when the young woman Chole died. The two of them argue a bit until Drew cracks a joke about how cranky Jordan is when she's tired. Drew also chases away Adam who is busy clicking away. While looking the scene over Jordan comes across a piece of stain glass with a lily on it.
At the office, its the morning meeting , and Garret informs everyone that Yakura is gone and he is now the CME. Everyone congratulates him. Then he lays down the law, saying that the office is not for personal business. Nigel looks on with dissatisfaction while Lily just leaves. Before Garret goes Trey brings in a cool looking chair which he informs Garret cost 4,700 of tax money. Garret can't believe this and is not happy finding this out.
Jordan and Bug are doing the autopsy on Chole, trying to find any evidence to pin Digger with. Bug says there is not enough blood to do DNA, but Drew says send to the FBI lab. Bug gives him a look of mistrust until Jordan says its ok, he's cool. Just as long as he's not as cool as Bug .Nigel comes in and has analyzed the stomach contents, finding that Chole had eaten frog legs that night. This means restaurant hunting.
Garret is settling down to his new job when Lily comes in and says he needs to sign a pile of requisitions. She stands there until he asks why, and she informs him Yakura just signed them without looking. He tells her things are different with him in charge and he will look them over before signing. Fine have it his way, Lily says and goes to walk out the door. She does not leave and they talk more about the wedding. He says he will not stop the wedding, he won't come to her rescue. She's stunned that he won't, seeming to believe he would. He won't be manipulated .
Meanwhile Jordan and Drew have been visiting restaurants who serve frog legs, trying to find anyone who saw Chole the night before. They hit the last one on the list, but the waitress does not recognize the girl. This is a waste of time Drew says and starts to leave when Jordan spies a window with stained lilies on them. They check out the place and find that an old women lived there until about a month ago when she died. They also find a small window seat that has a door to it to store stuff in it . They realize that Digger was put into this when he was a small child, traumatizing him. Drew calls the FBI and they go over the place. They find the place belonged to a Marcy Gallow and she had a son who is named Daniel, who they think is Digger.
Jordan goes back to the office and tries to find the death and autopsy records of Marcy Gallow. While there she runs into Adam who tells her that Haley is a hack. He also realizes she is sweet on Haley, which she denies. Jordan finds the autopsy records and finds a sister still alive. She decides to go and visit the woman. Meanwhile Garret tries the chair and finds he actually likes it.
Jordan visits the sister, Jeanne Gallow and asks some questions about her sister . One in particular, how could she have a baby when she was infertile? Jeanne tells her the baby was hers. When she was 15 she had a baby and could not take care of the infant. Marcy was older and could not have any of her own, so to avoid a scandal she gave the infant to Marcy. Unfortunately Marcy was also a prostitute which Daniel must have seen.
Back at the office the power goes out as well as the generator. When Garret asks Lily why its not working its because he didn't sign the papers this morning, which had the order to fix the power. They will have to wait until next morning to get power. Trey later informs him that with no power, there are no refrigeration systems to cool the bodies. Garret tells him to get some dry ice to use on the corpses.
At Drew's hotel Jordan shows up and tells him about Diggers real mother. He quickly closes his briefcase before Jordan sees what is in there. While there Jordan tells Drew of the day her mother died, on her 10th birthday, and how the one thing she noticed was the color of the blood. She also says how mad her Dad was something she had never seen. Jordan and Drew get close and start to kiss but Drew breaks it off saying past problems prevent him from responding. They simply lie on the bed and fall asleep, but Jordan wakes up later and looks inside Drew's briefcase. She finds tapes that have the dead women's names on them, and takes one of them and listens to it. It has a woman's voice on it calling for help. Jordan is stunned and scared. She quickly leaves the hotel.
The next morning Garret finds out Yakura was a penny pincher to the extreme not even getting the wiring the electric guy tells Garret should have been done a while ago. The guy tries to bribe Garret, but he stands his ground.
Jordan has called Adam and is waiting for him when he comes in. He tells her the info on Haley. It seems until 4 yrs ago Drew Haley didn't exist. He was formerly Dr. Mark Elis, behavior psychologist for the criminally insane. He was the best and had everything going for him, a wife, a son ,great life and so on. It all came crashing down one day when he found his wife in their bathroom, having drowned their young son. He lost it, disappeared and then became Drew Haley. This scares Jordan and she phones her Dad, but he is not home. Emmy a office secretary comes in and gives her messages from Drew, and that she gave him Jordan 's phone number. Not good Jordan realizes if Drew is Digger.
In the evening Garret calls on Lily, who is getting ready for the wedding. He tells her the wedding is off because he gave Nigel a really good evaluation, so Nigel won't have to leave. Lily is impressed with him, especially when he tells her he did it for himself and her.
Jordan has fallen asleep and it is now night time. She wakes up and goes to the bathroom. While walking there she meets Drew who wants to talk to her. Jordan get jumpy trying to tell him to go away, when he grabs her and says he has to come clean. Jordan freaks out and panics running into the lab and locking the doors. She asks him why he had the tapes, which he says Digger gave him because he has taunted Drew to follow him to Boston. She still does not trust him until he pulls out her ID badge. Before she can come out a sheet pulls back on one of the tables and Digger is there. Digger injects some sort of knockout serum into Jordan and drags her to the elevator and steals a van to get away. Drew can do nothing but watch.
At the grave site, Jordan is still suffering from the drug. Digger makes her up and then puts her in the coffin. At the office Drew and Garret talk about possible locations, until Drew gets a call telling him the van has been spotted at a grave yard. The two of them both go. Meanwhile Jordan is trying to make Digger stop and uses his real name Daniel. She pretends to be his mother and tells him she locked him away for his own good. Digger does not by it and keeps dumping dirt. Then Jordan tells him the secret, that Aunt Jeanne is really his mother. That stops Digger cold and he runs off to his aunts place. A few minutes later Drew and Garret show up with police and paramedics. Digger had left the other radio at the grave site and Jordan calls for help on the one she has. They hear her plea and find her and get her out of the coffin. When the police radio in that they lost sight of the van, Jordan tells them Digger went to his aunts house. They all go there, only to hear a gun shot. Inside the house Jeanne has shot Digger/Daniel who asks before he dies not to be buried.
At the office, Garret signs off on the body and Drew, Jordan and he head out. Garret offers Jordan a ride home and says good-bye to Drew. Drew asks if he is welcomed by Jordan to come back. Only if its social she says and kisses him good-bye. Just before the elevator door closes she tells Drew she is sorry for the loss of his son. Drew looks stricken as the doors close. Garret comes and while waiting for the elevator gives Jordan a hug.
ANALYSIS:
WOW, WOW, WOW, is all I can say. The best episode so far this year. Everyone came out of this shinning in one way or another. From the main case with Digger and the danger it so well conveyed to humor of the wedding , both episodes came up big. The first part set up the second so well. The viewer wanted to come back to the next part, just because of all the clues that could lead almost anywhere. I am not the only one who felt it might be Drew Haley as the murder, and I have to say Chris Noth played Haley so well that you could not tell whether he was or not until he said he wasn't and Digger jumps out in front of the viewer. The viewer also felt for Digger, after finding out what happened to him as a young child.
We find out some things about a few of our doctors in these episodes. Nigel is here illegally on a student visa long since expired , that he likes cats and such. Given the controversy since Sept.11 about immigration and illegals staying on past their visa times, its ironic that this show treats this with the humor it does. These green card issues are almost always treated as funny ,try to fool the gov't and get off in the end. While I am not saying it should not have been done, some may not find it amusing. Lily helping Nigel out and marrying him, but trying to get Garret to stop her also shows much about her character. In fact she came off as manipulative and snotty when she didn't tell Garret about the important papers in the pile and then blamed him when things went wrong. Luckily for her Garret either forgave her or doesn't care because he does stop the wedding and gives Nigel a better evaluation. He turns out to be not only a nice guy but just may be able to handle the daily grind of being the CME now.
As for Jordan, she is her same stubborn self, but now we really see it from her view. Learning what really took place the day her mother died, brings the viewer in so much more into Jordan's life. This character grew in this episode. Jordan finally confides to someone her fears and opens up, to someone who has endured much pain themselves. Her fear that Drew is the murder, shows she is not perfect and can make mistakes about people. The point that was repeated throughout was she was not afraid to step out and take a leap of faith. She matches wits with Digger and gets him to stop dumping dirt and to leave the radio he would have taken, if not distracted by seeing his real mother.
Chris Noth was a great guest star and I hope he does indeed come back. It would be fun to see his character and Jordan lock horns again. As noted above he played the character so well, dark,brooding, and mysterious that many viewers thought he might be the killer. The pain we learn he has suffered is ripped right out of the head lines. A mother drowning her kid. The look on the characters face at the end when Jordan mentions the son is so sad.
The theme of mothers and what they can be like was presented well here. We have Jordan's mother who to our knowledge was a devoted and loving mother, cut down in her prime. Forever scaring Jordan and her father, both of whom obsess about her murder to the point where it interferes in there careers. Then we have Drews wife, who to the outside is the picture perfect mother , but somewhere deep inside is disturbed enough to kill her own son. Diggers has it even worse, where his real mother, out of desperation to avoid scandal hands him off to a older sister already into prostitution. Wanting to hide him from what she does she locks the kid up inside a window seat. I doubt it was real love that drove her to do so, only to conceal her job from him. Neither mother seems to care for this guy.
Technically this was also a great show. The use of music and slow mo shots was used to really draw the viewer in. Was anyone else creeped out when Digger jumped out from behind Jordan underneath the sheet?
The slow mo used as Jordan is buried had one wondering why Jordan would not fight back, she seemed so weak and scared.
Again great episode, that lets many of the cast shine as an ensemble and on their own. Great use of a guest star who came through with a wonderful performance.
5 out of 5 stars RTMS Top
Elvis is singing the christmas blues as Jordan and Eddie walk to the station enjoying a coffee, or in Eddies case a mocachinno. She is suspicious about motives but thanks him for the drink. Just as they get to the station, cops come swarming out. Eddie asks what's up and someone tells him a cop has been shot. He tells Jordan meet him there, when she gets a page saying the cop is now dead.
At the scene, Jordan surveys the body , noting the gun shot wound in chest. The officer was Thomas Dell, a seven year veteran of the force. Witnesses say a Jamaican guy fled the scene. Eddie is angry and tells Jordan to find everything to nail the guy who did this. She promises to do so.
At the office the place is packed with city officials all wanting to know the details of the how the cop died. Garret is under pressure to find the answers. As they talk, Jordan receives some messages from a Kim and Annie. She tells Lily to put them in her box, and walks off clearly uncomfortable. Meanwhile Lily takes the opportunity to ask Garret out for Christmas dinner, but he can't make it. He has to go to his ex-wife's place for dinner with his daughter. He tells her though he is happy she invited him.
Nigel and Bug talk about the upcoming holiday , which Nigel takes advantage of and asks Bug to drink some concoction he made up. After tasting it Bug is not impressed , and grumbles about the Christmas holiday, which Lily takes as meaning because he is foreign he does not like the holiday. Bug surprises them when he tells them his family actually went all out for the traditional Christmas. Just then Nigel gets a phone call from a radio station and says the right phrase to win a ski trip. Unfortunately no one wants to go with him.
At the autopsy for Dell, Sanders is shocked at the messy wound the bullet made. Jordan tells him its a Black Talaum bullet that goes in smooth, then gets it's hooks in and makes a mess. When she talks to Nigel he traces the bullet to a Rudy Coombs , who looks Jamaican. Jordan tells Lt.Winslow.
In Garrets office he finds his ex wife Maggie in there. They talk nicely until she says she is inviting her divorce lawyer and his wife to Christmas dinner. At this Garret explodes and says no way is he spending time with the guy who helped make the divorce final. At this Abby comes in remarking about old memories this fighting brings back. Garret puts his foot down and says he is not going to the dinner then. Abby and Maggie are upset with him and both leave steaming.
At the memorial for Officer Dell, Jordan and Max arrive and give their condolences and donations. Eddie stops by and thanks Jordan for the info on Coombs , they have put an apb on him. He then makes a remark to Max which offends Max somehow. Max leaves a little irritated , but Jordan covers for him.
At the office, Nigel invites Sanders to the ski trip. At first skeptical , Sanders accepts but gets uneasy when Nigel acts weird.
Jordan , now at the office tells Garret and Bug she has been told Coombs in now dead. The hospital has him right now. It looks suspicious to all. Jordan and Bug recover the body at the hospital and get a look at Coombs, who has nasty wound on his head. Bug remarks the cops did a job on the guy. The cops happen to be Lt.Winslow and Officer Hardwick. At the hospital Jordan tries to talk to them but they can't until internal affairs talks to them. The autopsy says that Coombs was asphyxiated and died. Bug blames the cops while Jordan tries to look for other reasons,but they are thin. Garret tells Bug to run all tests and then some to determine how this guy died.
At police headquarters Jordan tries to talk to Eddie about what really happened but he is closed mouth about it, saying only it was by the book. Jordan says the whole thing looks hinky.
Garret then takes some time to talk to Lily about dinner, who is happy he can now make it. Deputy Chief Jim Keller from the police shows up and lets Garret know how happy the Chief of Police is about Garrets promotion. He tells him how cops take care of their own business and that since Coombs is a cop killer he should go easy on the autopsy in favor of the cops.
Bug and Sanders retrieve another body who happened to commit suicide, the third this week. Bug says it common during the holidays. Sanders asks about Nigel but Bug doesn't really answer him.
That evening Garret is working, until Lily tells him a cop and his daughter are out in the hallway. Abby was caught drinking and driving and Garret is upset with her. He tells her to take responsibility for her self, but she shoots back that he should do the same since he isn't coming to dinner.
Sander decides to tell Nigel he doesn't want to go on the trip. Nigel can't understand why Sanders is backing out and is bewildered.
Jordan and Bug talk about the case of Coombs, which Bug believes the cops did a job on , because of racial profiling and such. Jordan says the guy was a cop killer it could of happened to anyone who was that. Bug then asks how many times she has been pulled over for a ticket by cops. He says he has 3 times in the last month. Bug wonders if Jordan doesn't want to see the truth , that Winslow may have indeed killed the guy. Either way the truth will come out since Garret has ordered an inquest. Jordan questions Garret about doing so, but Garret wants the truth since every thing that has come back looks like Coombs was beaten. There was no drugs found in his system which means he wasn't acting high on drugs. Also there was evidence of a cerebral contusion .
The next morning , Jordan arrives to find Kim and Annie waiting there for her. They tell her they won't let her off easy. She can't blow them off as she admits she was trying to do. They make arrangements to meet at Jordan's place on 227 Pearl St. the next night, and Jordan better not miss it or she will end up on the autopsy table they joke.
Later the inquest is starting, and as Eddie comes in he exchanges a quick word with Jordan, in which he blames her for this investigation. Whoa says Jordan, she had nothing to do with this, Bug did the autopsy and the findings ,plus having the police stonewall have brought this around.
At the inquest, Officer Hardwick gives his version of what happened. He and Winslow spotted Coombs and when Coombs ran Winslow chased after him and took him down. Coombs was acting weird and hyper. They put him in the car and while on the way to the station, some how Coombs died.
That night Jordan talks to her dad Max and says Hardwick is basically lying. She compares Eddie ratting out Max to this problem. Max says that was different. Jordan is beginning to believe that Eddie may really be guilty of murder. Max says that before her mother died he never worried about her much because Jordan's mother was there if something happened. Once she died though he always made sure he came back home after work and if that meant the criminal would have to suffer so he would not, then so be it.
At the office that night Maggie and Garret have a nice talk about Abby and what may have gone wrong in raising her. Lily walks in with papers and sees the two of them, and is then introduced to Maggie. She leaves but has taken notice of how the two of them were acting. She decides to tell Garret that her mother will be with her so dinner plans are off unfortunately. Garret understands, but Lily is depressed.
Christmas Eve the next day, and day two of the inquest has Winslow taking the stand. He basically backs up what Hardwick says , but then Jordan asks some very pointed questions and even though Winslow keeps his cool, Hardwick comes clean and tells the truth. He spotted Coombs and when he left a club he followed him. Hardwick told him to surrender and Coombs did. Hardwick then called for back up, and in order to keep Coombs from moving , kneeled on his back while Coombs was on the ground. After about two minutes Coombs body went limp for some reason that Hardwick could not understand. Garret says it was because by kneeling on the back, Coombs lungs were unable to contract and bring in air, thus asphyxiating him. He stills rules it a homicide though because neither can explain how Coombs got the wound on his head. Winslow is mad at Jordan for ruining Hardwicks career. Says she was not being a friend.
Later, Bug who has been running more tests on Coombs finds something and invites Jordan to look at it. He has found iron globules on the contusion ,from which Jordan and he surmise that the wound is at least five days old, and since he has been dead only three days, it means Dell must have hurt Coombs before he was shot. This also accounts for why he was acting delusional , as though he was on drugs. Jordan visits Garret later with Dells stick and has found a hair sample on it matching Coombs which confirms Dell hit him before he died. The whole death was really an accident just as Hardwick says. Garret gives the info to the DA office. Jordan goes and tells Eddie that new evidence has cleared Hardwick and they both apologize for what was said during the investigation. At the office DC Keller thanks Garret for supposedly steering the investigation the cops way and gives him a bottle of wine. Garret says stuff it, this office will uphold the truth always even if it goes against the police and to take his bottle and never return unless dead.
Later Eddie visits Max and apologizes for the memorial. He also says he should have stood up for Maxfive years ago when he put a suspect in the hospital when trying to get info out of him. This lead to him being dismissed from the force. Max say s no problem, let it go.
At the office Lily is depressed until Bug tells her he will pick her up Christmas morning. He doesn't tell her why he is doing so , only to be ready.
Nigel and Trey go on the ski trip after they have a talk and Nigel says to mind his own business.
Jordan and her two friends enjoy a evening of reminiscing about old times. She tells them she really is afraid of how she acts in front of them, and that's why she was trying to blow them off. They tell her she has always been strange , but they accept her for who she is. They have missed her these last years she has been gone and wanted to get back together again. They tell her no one is perfect and share a group hug. Later as Jordan sings a song we see Garret with his family , and Lily and Bug are dishing out free food for the poor and homeless, something no one would have expected. At home with Max they won't be able to enjoy a turkey dinner, but will have some pizza. They all enjoy a merry Christmas.
ANALYSIS:
Another great ensemble show, with some seriousness and lightheartedness in equal amounts. The A story of the cop killing gelled nicely with all characters side stories of how they were going to spend the holidays. Each was interesting in their own way and did not take away from any one else or the cop killing story. More character building in this episode made all the people mature.
Nigel's ski weekend and Sanders reluctance to go was understandable. I don't approve of homosexuality or bisexuals and so was a little turned off of the innuendo that was going around. Eventually things worked out for Sanders, although I don't know why when he had no trouble telling Jordan in the pilot that he didn't dig white girls he just didn't say the same sort of thing to Nigel.
Bug was the most surprising, giving a convincing version of a grumbling scrooge when really he cares a lot about things most people, including his place of work would not really think of at all. His skepticism about cops made the Coombs death interesting. He was not afraid to voice the dissenting opinion, but also realized that he could be wrong. By doing all the tests as he was asked he eventually found evidence that cops did not intentionally kill the suspect.
Garret, Lily and family was a rollercoaster ride. Unfortunately I have to find fault with Abby here. I found her to be manipulative and selfish. Her whole responsibility speech was not about thinking about any one else just her self. It was a cop-out but because this is a nice ep everything works out. I felt Garret should have blown both of them off. Both Maggie and Abby were self centered and really did not consider him in anything they did.
Jordan and family was nice and interesting. We finally find out what really happened to force Max off the job. Jordan is as complicated as usual, when she seems to know what her father did and justify it and yet attacks Eddie for doing almost the same thing. Now we see why she still has issues with Eddie, although time seems to have eased some of the problems over. We also got to finally see her with some girlfriends. Yet she is uneasy with them, at first trying to blow them off, then complaining to them that she is weird. I 'm glad they told her to get over it and got along so well together. I hope they pop in during the regular season. Finally Max and Jordan seem to be getting along better. There is no Evelyn to make everyone uncomfortable so the two of them relax and enjoy the holiday, their own way.
This episode seemed to be shot differently from the other eps. The transitions between the scenes seemed too quick and abrupt at times. In particular when they swing the camera around 180 degrees just to go to another office in the building. At times I went huh when one scene changed to another, they just did not proceed together well at times . The music on the other hand was great. Irish jigs, Elvis blues and Jordan singing a beautiful song at the end, made the episode a joy to listen to.
The episode was a good mix of stories this time out, with the smaller plots complementing the A plot. While I think it was wrapped up a little too nice and pat, it still works for their first Christmas ep. I give it 4 stars.
RTMSTop
Episode 11:Wrong place, Wrong Time
Jordan is awakened in her bed by the telephone ringing. She doesn't really want to answer it and luckily she doesn't have to as a deep voice answers it for her. She looks perplexed then embarressed, when the voice says it some guy named Garrett for her. The camera pans out and we see its our favorite boyfriend,(and Jordan's so far) Tyler. Jordan takes the phone and is told to meet Garrett at a bank, where a robbery has taken place and someone has died. The two of them sit there for a moment, while Jordan states the obvious, that they had sex. Yea, says Tyler they defintly had sex. Jordan gets up and gets dressed , while Tyler decides to stay in bed.
At the bank Jordan meets Garrett who teases her about the new "roomate" she has gotten. Drop it Jordan basically says and asks about the robbery. Just then a young detective comes up to them telling them he is assinged to the case. His name is Woodie Hoyt from Wisconsin, just recently transfered to Boston. He is eager, bright and full of energy. He describes the scene to them , the robbers come in, take down the guard, then apperently start to fire their weapons and a woman gets caught in the cross fire.The robbers are wearing masks of former U.S. Presidents Bush and Clinton. Both had armor on them. The money was also tagged with a dye. When Jordan lifts up the mask of one of the robbers she discovers a woman underneath.
At the office, Garrett and Jordan are talking. Unfortuantly for Garrett Jordan is not talking shop, but about Tyler and such. He tells her she really needs to talk to her girlfriends, at which Jordan says as if. Detective Woodie shows up and tells them the ID of the woman, a Sydney Raines Wheeler. Rich and quite giving , she was very much involed in charity work. The robber is Bonnie Porazo, small time crook. Before he leaves he invites them to police HQ, which surprises both Jordan and Garrett who are not use to having the cops be so accomodating to them. As they part ways Jordan jokes about having what ever Woodie is taking to be so cheerful. As they get to Garrett's office Garrett spies a picture of him when young, on the wall outside his door. He is very upset and wants to know who did this. He asks Lily about it, but she doesn't know, but thinks its cool that he was into drums.
In one of the autopsy rooms, Bug and Nigel have the body of Barney Zimmerman. Bug isn't even going to bother to cut him up because he has already looked at the man's medical records, and sees he had alterior schloriss , a heart attack. Nigel bugs him and says he should do an autopsy, but Bug is insisant, this is easy work, a little break which he needs.
At the police office Woodie, Jordan and Garrett along with the security guard Mr.Driscoll, look at the security tapes of the robbery. Afterwards Jordan is suspious about what happened, that it looks sloppy. Garrett dismisses it, and Woodie makes a comparison between them and the X-Files duo. Jordan and Garrett walk away with "Ok he's weird" looks on their faces. Woodie lets us know he likes the X-Files.
Back at the office, Bug and Nigel are talking to Mrs. Zimmerman who seems to be grieving over her husband. She has come to claim the body , but Nigel has some questions for her. For instance on the files it says that she and Mr.Z are currently divorced. Bug informs her that because she is not next of kin now he can not let the body go. Mrs.Z gets up and she is suddenly very cold, as she infoms Nigel that she doesn't like him at all. Nigel thinks it foul play.
In Garrett's office, Mr. Wheeler is there to claim the body. He doesn't act too distruaght which makes Garrett suspisous. Garrett sees that their son is with him. Wheeler says his wife always made the deposits every Monday, even though he told her she should not be alone. Jordan says they will help find the killer. As Wheeler leaves, Garrett is ill at ease by him. He tells Jordan that he sees lots of grieving spouses and Wheeler struck him as odd. Jordan jokes he's becoming like her.
Jordan goes home to her apartment and finds dinner and candle light . Tyler walks in from the shower and invites Jordan to bed. Jordan mentions how he will have to be leaving soon, to which Tyler replies planes have changed, he has found constuction work in the city. Jordan is caught off guard and the mood grows cold, which Tyler notices and realizes no bed time for him.
The next morning, Bug and Nigel talk to Dilbert, another person who wants to claim the body of Mr.Zimmerman. Bug tells him the wife has already made a claim to the body.
In Garrett's office he finds drum sticks there, which annoys him. Lily has put them there, thinking he might want to find his wild side again, she teases him.
In the conference room, Bug and Nigel are talking to yet another member of the Zimmerman family, the daughter. She expresses disgust with the idea that Dilbert would get the body. When Nigel asks what she is going to do with the body, she tells them a story , that is clearly made up, of how he will be buried at sea with his navy buddies. Bug and Nigel are not convinced, telling her it has gone to the courts. As she leaves, Miss Zimmerman gets up close and personal with Bug, showing her assets to him and asking to notify her if something comes up.
In the autopsy lab, Jordan and Garrett start looking at the body of Parazo. Woodie also is there. Jordan notes that the neck wound is superficial, it just grazed her. The real entry would is in her hand, the exit wound in her stomach. Woodie thinks she was hit twice, but they bring the bullet over to Nigel who tells them the damage was done by one bullet. The bullet went in her hand, traveled along the arm, bounces off the humourous bone, glances off the clavical which makes it penatrate the skin but then bounces off the body armour and goes back in, hits the ribs and exits through the stomach finally. Woodie realizes that were it not for the armour, Perazo would still be alive. Nigel also points out that the bullet is from a AK, which means the other robber shot her.
While disussing it with Nigel, they come across Tyler sitting among the gang talking about her and such. Jordan is uncomfortable seeing him there. The gang starts to tease her and eventually is cornered into giving a house warming party. She takes Tyler aside to her office where they argue about it. Garrett comes along and tells her the other robber has been found.
Jordan asks how it could be the other robber and Garrett reminds her about the dye. While looking over the body with a special light they pick up the dye. This now means that both robbers are dead and no one can pin it on anyone else. During the autopsy they find sawdust on the guy.Woodie arrives and ID's the body as a Leon Munz, two bit crook. This robber killed Mrs. Wheeler and Garrett asumes it was Ryan Wheeler who had his wife killed. They realize that Wheeler owns a bar, where sawdust is usally found.
Jordan and Garrett go the the Beardog's Bar that Wheeler owns. They both try to look tough,though only Jordan mildly succedes. They order drinks and Jordan commets on how she digs this side of Garrett. Garrett asks what side is that, and Jordan tells him the kick ass side of him is impressive. Garrett smartly changes the subject and asks about the party she is giving tonight and about Tyler. Jordan admits she has intimacy problems, but why get hung up over it. Wheeler arrives and Garrett goes right at him, asking about what he and Munz talked about. Wheeler and Garrett stand nose to nose as Wheeler mouths off. Garrett is not afraid and suddenly head butts Wheeler giving him a bloody nose. Jordan and Garrett get out of there fast.
At Jordan's place, she cleans him up and asks him why he is so upset about this case. Garrett will not talk about it, but is still upset about what really happened. They play the victim killer game , which they rewind a few times and come to see that the guard was in on the robbery. They also determine that he shot himself.
With that out of the way the dinner party starts. Unfortuantly the food is less than desirable and everyone is not eating much. In fact the party is dead, until Nigel brings out the party rescue idea. On a bunch of cards are questions that are posed to everyone or to individuals. If you do not answer the question you have to take a shot of booze. Since the questions turn out to be very personal, everyone eventually gets drunk. Tyler is then asked what his intentions are toward Jordan . Jordan eggs him on and tells him what she expects from him, such as rent , marriage and childern. At this Tyler finally looks panicked and uneasy.
The next morning at police HQ, Jordan and Garrett watch Woodie interrogate Driscoll the guard. Woodie doesn't waste time and comes right out and accuses him of being in on the bank robbery. Jordan and Garrett are impressed. Driscoll is upset ,and when Woodie serves him with a warrant he is nonplussed, that is until he finds the warrant is for his body. Jordan and Garrett come in and take an impression off of the bullet wound. The powder of a normal wound would have been cleaned off , but with a self inflicted wound the powder is seared into the wound. Driscoll agrees to pick out Wheeler as the person who he saw talk to the two robbers who hired him to warn them when Mrs.Wheeler came in.
On the way out, Garrett says he feels anticlimatic about it all. Jordan says do worry and that he should go and get Wheeler with Woodie. Garrett does so and is satified that Wheeler will get what is coming to him.Wheeler threatens him, but Garrett is not worried. Woodie is happy since this is his first arrest in Boston and gives him his rights.
At the office Nigel has x-rayed Mr. Zimmerman and lets Bug look at them. They find an obstruction in the dudenum. Nigel is pleased to hear Bug say he is curious about what really happened to Mr.Z. Later at the conference room Mr.Zimmerman's family, who all seem to care for him are present to listen to Bug and Nigel give them the reason why he died. It seems Barney, who had always played the lottery with the same numbers for years, finally hit the jack pot. A 30 million jackpot, and not wanting to share it with the other family members he swallowed the ticket, to later retrive it. Unfortuantly the plastic baggie he put it in to swallow it expired and he died. The other family members promise to cut Nigel and Bug in on the money, but Nigel tells them there is nothing to cut. Barney left all the money to the stray animals of Boston. The family members all suddenly leave, none of them interested in claiming the body.
Tyler stops by the office and he and Jordan sort of apologize for what happened at the party.Tyler has decided to leave town for now. They kiss and go their separate ways.
At Garrett's office Jordan stops by to talk. She confesses to being the one who put the picture up. While in there a few days ago she saw the photo album and could not resist . Garrett relates why the picture and the case botherd him. His dad was a hero to him, ran out on him when he was 7. Garrett went through his wild days until he realized he was becoming the man his father was and vowed he would not. Jordan thanks him for listen and being a good girlfriend and leaves for the night. Garrett plays air drums with the sticks.
ANAYLSIS:
Another good episode, that is bringing variety in. Again humor and seriousness seem to be the mix for this show. Its a good mix and keeps the episodes interesting. The occasional all serious episodes make the show grow and the characters with them.
Teasing in one way or another was the theme in this epiosde with Garrett teasing Jordan, and vice versa, Tyler teasing Jordan to have sex, Lily teasing Garrett about his past, and the others teasing Jordan about the house warming. It showed just how much these guys like each other, even though Jordan apperently thinks of them only as coleagues not close friends. In fact this seems to be a contracdiction not only with this episode but others as well. From what I have seen she gets along with everyone on the job, off and on duty.
The A plot was a little boring and predictable, as Wheeler came off as a real jerk but nothing else. He really did not come off as sinister or any thing else. I had to wonder why Sydney would marry a guy who seems to come from a seedier back ground. He didn't strike me as being overly wealthy, where she was. It was easy to see who did the killing when Wheeler gives out all the info when he claims the body.
I believe they did this , not so much as a mystery, but as a vehicle for Garrett to shine. I give Ferrer full marks for his protrayal here. Garrett came off not so tight and wound up this time and seems to mellow just a bit. He didn't bark at Lily when she gave him the sticks and when Jordan confesses about the picture he takes it in stride.What was really great was finding out that he has indeed sowed his wild oats and had his wild time before realizing he was going nowhere fast. Not wanting to be like his father and avoid respondablity he has gone the opposite direction and gotten stressed out for being overly respondable.
As for Jordan, she now is spreading out her game to other people to play. Now we just have to wait and see which detective she plays the game with. Jordan again opens up and confesses to haveing intacmy problems with men and women. She spills her guts out to Garrett when she should rightly be talking to her girlfriends about it, yet makes fun of the fact. You could tell just how difficult it is for her when she makes fun of doing so. Yet she did get brave enough to tell Tyler to take a hike. The guy came off as a slacker but a fun one.
Bug and Nigel had a fun case to solve, and it was amusing to see why these people were so interested in claiming the body. I was kinda surprise that Bug would not do a full autopsy as I thought it was standard.Nigel teasing him to do the autopsy was fun to watch
As for the new detective in town, Woodie (guest star Jerry O'Connell), I like him more and more. He isn't butting heads with Jordan and is a little naive when he comes to detective work. His good cheer was welcomed. If I have to rank the detectives I would give Louis Karver first, Winslow second and Woodie third. In fact with these three people you have enough variety to keep the cases interesting. Winlsow butts heads with everyone, Karver just does the job and Woodie is accomodating , letting the whole team solve the case. I do hope Woodie and for that matter O'Connell come back either this season or the next.
There was a few tech issues here that caught my eyes or ears. When Woodie tells his last name and the town he came from there seemed to be a drop in sound or just bad pronouciation. I had a hard time catching either of them and I had the sound up just for that. The music for Bug and Nigel's case sounded unatural and did not fit well with the scenes but seemed out of place. Everything else was fine and the sets looked great, especially the bar scene and Jordan's apartment. This apartment seems huge, or perhaps its just the camera angles. The candle scene looked really romantic and comfortable.
I give this 3 stars out of 5, tech issues and a predictable mystrey took the suspence out, but countered by some great character building for Garrett and to a lesser extent the rest of the gang.
P.S: Congradulations to Crossing Jordan for being renewed for a second season!!
RTMSTop
Jordan is going on about popcorn flavors as her friend Kim looks on. Its girls night out and the two of them are watching tv. The warrior princess is the favorite tonight, as Jordan asks how Kim managed to get the night off , with her kid and all. Kim says she basically told her ex it was either take the kid or pay more support. Good negiotation skills Jordan comments, as Kim just says its pays to be a lawyer. Just then Jordan gets paged and phones the office. A triple homicide she is told has taken place. Jordan gets ready to go to the scene, when Kim's pager goes off as well. It's her office, a 911 call for her.
At the scene, detective Lois Karver is there to greet Jordan and take her through the scene. She tells Jordan there was no forced entry and nothing else to indicate the murderer was unknown. They first go to the bedroom where two young boys have been stabbed in there sleep. Lois asks how long they have been dead and Jordan uses a thermal detector to make a estimated guess of about 3 hrs. They then make there way into the living room where a woman lies dead. Jordan suddenly has a brief flash back to when her mother died. Lois calls her and she snaps out of it and apologizes to Lois, who says she understands, its a tough scene. Patty Wayland is the wife of Mitch Wayland a minor hockey star. Lois wonders how she knows this, and Jordan says she's a hockey fan.( she probably did medical experiments on dolls, rtms). Mitch is there right now, who claims he found his wife like this. Lois doubts it since she can roll a Mac truck through his alibi. When Jordan goes to inspect the body Mitch flips out at her, and has to be restrained not only by the cops but by Kim, who has shown up and informs Jordan and Lois that she is Mitch's lawyer. Not the reunion she hoped for Jordan says, but Kim is in lawyer mode and tells her not to screw up. This hurts Jordan who looked forward to working with her friend.
In the morning at the lab, Jordan and Nigel are doing the autopsy of Patty Wayland, 29. They observe overlapping wounds on the left torso, which makes it hard to tell the angle of how the knife went in. There are 5 defensive wounds on her right hand. Also they find what appears to be glass fragments on her hand. Jordan tells Nigel to look at them closer. She then comments that it seems cold in the lab, which unfortunately for her invites Nigel to tease her. She sticks him in his place fast.
Jordan leaves the lab and runs into Garrett who asks her to phone him in his office in about 15 min. Jordan asks why, and he says to just phone him with something annoying,to which Jordan asks why can't she do that right now. Ha ha Garrett says and informs her that his ex-wife is coming to talk with him, and he doesn't want to deal with it. Jordan then asks him if he and Lily are still going out on the date they had planned, the pivotal third date. Garrett gets annoyed with her and wonders what going out on a third date is supposed to mean. Don't worry says Jordan you will do fine.
Kim then walks in and she and Jordan have words with each other. Jordan is still upset about the way Kim acted at the house. Kim is only here for any info Jordan has on the case, but Jordan wonders if she should bother even talking to her. As they go into Jordan's office Trey comes out and he and Kim introduce themselves and check the other out. Jordan has no time for this and pulls Kim inside.
In Garrett's office, Maggie and he start to talk. At first it is cordial, as Maggie explains that she wants to go to the country, breath fresh air and get away from it all. To do so she will need money, and she wants to get it by selling some land she and Garrett bought when they got married. Garrett explodes at her and says no way is he going to sell. Fine, Maggie says but she already has the papers ready and she will sign whether he does or not. She leaves, just as Jordan phones. Garrett thanks her but its too late.
In the hallway, a middle age man has come in and is walking among the dead, at times seeming to hold a conversation with them. He is calling for a Brenda Pollard. Bug meets him and asks who he is and what he is doing here. He says his name is Ethan Grady and is a physic communicator with the dead.
In the forensic lab, Nigel has the Wayland's things in there. Jordan comes in and asks for an update. Since there is only a little blood on the things it is hard to pick out the fingerprints. Nigel sprayed everything with DFO and color coordinated with every member of the house hold. They put the fluorescent lights on and with special glasses they can easily pick out the fingerprints. There are no fingerprints from non family members.
Later at the police station, Kim is getting Mitch out of jail, and sending him on his way. Jordan calls over to her and they talk. Jordan tells her the evidence she is finding is stacking it against Wayland as the killer. Kim tells her before she makes her mind up to at least visit the house.
At night, Garrett is still at the office thinking about the land. Lily stops by and Garrett tells her about the old ice cream shop that use to be there and is no longer. He thinks its a shame that it changed, but Lily says if happiness is right in front of you why look back, go forward with it.
At the Wayland house Jordan is checking it out when she has memories of when her mother died. She hears a noise which brings her back to the present. Yelling out a warning she start to move to the stairs, when a figure in black bolts to the stairs as well. Jordan manages to snag him at the collar and he slides down the stairs. When Jordan rolls him over she sees a teenager. They make their way down to the living room and Jordan asks who he is. He says he lives just across the street and was just getting some pics of the place. He is a Wayland fan. Fine says Jordan, but did he see anything the other day when Patty was there. Yes, Patty and a younger girl fighting over Mitch.
At the office the next morning, Garret is on the phone to maggie and tells her to bring the papers over, that he will sign them.
Ethan Grady meanwhile is in the morgue talking to two dead bodies , one of whom is humming and distracting Ethan. Trey and Nigel are watching him and are freaked out by him because he said some things to them that were from people they knew. Bug comes along and is annoyed that Ethan is still there, since he threw him out earlier. He does so again and contacts the FBI asking whether he is with them.
In the lab, Garrett is working on a autopsy of Elena Cortinez who was hit by a vehicle and died. Two people burst into the room just then and explain that they are her sister and her sister's husband. They say that Elena had agreed to give them her eggs.
In the evening, Jordan and her dad are walking and Max asks about the case, how it's going. Clearly Max wants Jordan to talk about the case because it is similar to her mother's case, but Jordan is vague. She gets a phone call from Nigel about the glass fragments , that they come from a picture frame, and that he has the picture frame with him. Jordan heads to the office and they look at the picture in the frame. It is of Mitch and two women one his age and another younger. They wonder who they are.
In the conference room, Garrett and the husband of Elena Cortinez are talking with her sister and her husband. They explain that they have been having problems with getting pregnant , and Elena had agreed to give some of her eggs to them to try to have a child. Mr. Cortinez had originally agreed but now is upset and unsure. He leaves with out giving an answer to them.
At a rink the next day, Jordan finds Mitch practicing his shots. Coming right to the point, she shows him the picture of the him and the women. Jordan assumes they are lovers he has or fans , and Mitch gets mad at her, telling her she doesn't know the whole story. Then tell her he says, and he does so. He says the women are Nora and Dena, Nora was his high school sweetheart and became pregnant with Denna. When he was traded he started a new family with Patty. Jordan says Nora is his mistress, but Mitch says no, she is his wife. He married two women and has two families who know nothing of the other.
At the office, Kim comes by . She and Jordan talk and argue over Jordan's visit to Mitch. Jordan says it would have been nice to know the guy had two families, but Kim says she didn't know and that if she did it is attorney/client privilege. Jordan gets a call from Karver, who says they found the daughter, who is now at the hospital.
Lily and Ethan are talking about her love life over some pastries, while Bug is watching and saying that the FBI know him as one of there big crank callers. He wonders to Emmy why the guy is always back in there when he is always throwing him out. Emmy says she is the one who keeps letting him in. She says it is a favor to her father who is friends with Ethan. Bug says her father is dead, which Emmy confirms happily.
Mr.Cortinez comes by and has a talk with Garrett about family and going forward. Afterward he decides to give the eggs to Elena's sister.
At the hospital, Mitch tries to talk to Denna, but she upset and angry with him and will not talk. She is a little more better with Karver, Jordan and Kim. They ask if she was at the Wayland house the other day, and she says yes she had words with Patty that day. After she went to the hotel and overdosed. She did not attack Patty.
Back at the office, Lily and Maggie finally meet, when Lily finds Maggie in Garrett's office. She waiting for Garrett to come by and sign the papers. Lily says Garrett is busy right now. Lily then says that she thinks its great that she and Garrett are ge