Raymond Langston's new, and has a lot of learning to do. That was pretty much the story of this episode. A burglary leads to an arson and a murder, and Raymond gets thrown into the thick of things.
CSI-wise, this wasn't a BAD episode. Last week's show (Grissom's last) was a disjointed mess, but this was good.
A tally of the characters: Ecklie, normally a complete tool, was halfway nice to Catherine during his only scene. Nick was a decent mentor to Raymond, and David gave the cold shoulder to Ray until he was impressed with some chemistry know-how.
Everyone was just there otherwise. Laurence Fishburne was featured heavily here, which is understandable, comsidering it was his first episode.
Complaints: The show really doesn't do Fishburne any justice. The background music is often too loud for his softspoken demeanor, and many scenes were too dark for his skin tone. He plays the role well, but I dunno; while it's nice to have some changes in the cast (Sofia, Warrick and Sara gone all within a three year period, Riley and Langston joining)...this addition will take a bit more time to get used to.
Highlight of the episode: Hodges and Raymond's exchanges throughout the episode. Much like Hodges and Grissom....they'll have a great chemistry.
Originally posted by Mr Heel IIReplacing a big name on a long time show is no easy feat.
That they brought in a big name and didn't bring him is as "the new leader"...they gave him a role as a newbie just learning...is refreshing.
I like the character thus far, and I liked the episode quite a bit.
See, now I would've liked it if Fishburne was a grizzled vet and knew what he was doing....I want him to bust heads and take names! I guess in a way it's nice to see him play against-type, but when I heard of Fishburne joining the cast, I pictured his character a lot different than they're portraying him. It'll take some getting used to.
Click Here (news.yahoo.com) I know my folks thought he was one of the funniest guys out there (with Victor Borge a close second), I only know him from two episodes of The Beverly Hillbillies playing a con artist.