Blood Drops

Murder is rarely a light-hearted affair, but this powerful early episode established just how dark CSI was willing to go. The murder of four members of a family-including two children-is chilling enough on its own, but the motive is decidedly dark territory. It's pretty obvious early on that Tina Collins is somehow involved in the deaths of her parents and brothers, but her motives-the fact that her father had been sexually abusing her for years and now was starting in on their daughter-take the episode to another level altogether. Earlier episodes established CSI as a somewhat offbeat, quick witted, tech savvy show, but "Blood Drops" proved that the franchise wasn't going to shy away from heavier storylines.

The episode features an early performance from child star Dakota Fanning, who at the time was just six years old. Her only line as traumatized Brenda Collins is "the buffalo" which she blurts out to Grissom when he first checks up on her. The words refer to her father's necklace, which Grissom realizes once he recovers the personal effects found on the victims. Though Fanning has few lines, her big blue eyes and timid demeanor speak to the depth of the trauma Brenda has endured. Even in this early performance, Fanning's talent as a performer shines through, and her scenes with Sara are poignant ones.

Though Sara protests to Brass that she's not good with kids, and objects to being put in charge of Brenda, Sara's instincts are better than she realizes. She's unwilling to leave Brenda with the brisk child services worker, recognizing Brenda's reluctance to go with the woman. Though it will be a while before viewers learn Sara herself was in foster care as a result of violence in her own home, Sara's compassion for Brenda and empathy for her situation are evident here. Later in the episode she tells the team that she left Brenda in the car with the windows cracked, her tone so matter-of-fact that for a moment everyone looks worried. Jorja Fox shows her range in this episode, highlighting Sara's emotional awkwardness as well as her biting sense of humor.

The episode introduces Conrad Ecklie, the day shift supervisor who is Grissom's chief rival at the lab. It's clear from the get-go that the animosity between these two is pretty heated: while Grissom is only concerned with the science and the job he's tasked with, Ecklie is far more political, eager to kowtow to the Sheriff in the hopes of advancement. Played with a ruthless pragmatism by Marc Vann, Ecklie makes no apologies for his ambitions, even going so far as to poach some evidence from the case in the hopes of giving the day shift an edge. Grissom doesn't take this well, storming into the break room and demanding the Ecklie turn over the ill gotten evidence. Ecklie tells Grissom that keeping the Sheriff out of the loop is a "career killer," and Grissom shoots back that it's "sad" that Ecklie thinks of the job simply as a career. It takes a lot to get under the usually even keeled Grissom's skin, but this case and Ecklie's behavior definitely succeed here.

Catherine is facing a personal problem of her own: her husband Eddie reports her to child services after she fails to show up at school to pick their daughter Lindsey up. It's the audience's first real glimpse of Eddie's duplicitous nature: when Catherine hurries home after realizing she forgot to pick Lindsey up, Eddie is sweet as can be, even offering to make her pancakes. He doesn't seem put out at being called to the school to pick Lindsey up, even reminding Catherine that Lindsey is his child, too. But Eddie clearly sees Catherine's mistake as an opportunity to win custody from her, calling child services and initiating an investigation that no doubt will be a thorn in the single mom's side.

The normally easy-going Nick is rattled by the case, punching a doorframe when the body of one of the slain teen boys is carried out of the house. In a scene that highlights the bond between the two CSIs, Warrick quietly asks him about his hand and by extension if he's okay, and Nick tells him that he is. Nick is definitely one of the more emotional members of Grissom's grave shift team, and arguably the most sensitive, but he's not the only one affected by the case. Even the normally unflappable Grissom sighs and has to look away when he sees the bloody handprints left on the wall by the youngest victim.

When a teenager runs out of her house screaming for help, the police and the CSI team are summoned to investigate the case. They find that the father, mother and two siblings of the Collins family had been stabbed to death and only the teenager Tina Collins and her little sister Brenda have hidden and saved their lives. Along their investigation, the CSI scientists find mysteries and contradictions until they resolve the case.

"Blood Drops" is one of the best episodes so far of "CSI". The screenplay is well built and resolved and it is great to see Dakota Fanning in an earlier work. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Gotas de Sangue" ("Blood Drops")

The ppwer of CSI Las Vegas is, that in between the pretty standard weekly murder/investigation/solution episodes a single story can pop out, so powerful that it will blow you out of your small screen lethargy. The average of 8.9 shows that many people agreed about the power of a real good story, especially if it is so well told and acted, that I can't even hint about the plot or the twists in it, but every year when I'm cobbling together a kind of bing-weekend, this one still tops the list. If you have seen it, no need for expatiation. If you haven't, be in for a pretty serious surprise. With the emphasis on serious.

And, yes, it's one of the first appearances of Dakota Fanning on the small screen. What a performance it was!

This is an excellent offering. It involves the murders of most of a suburban family, slaughtered in their home. Two girls, one a teenager, and her little sister are left. What happens is a thorough investigation by the entire team. Grissom is forced to be part of a political tug of war by the sheriff and the leader of the day team, Eckley, whom we will see a lot more of. An interesting aspect of this is Sarah Sidle's bonding with the little traumatized girl. Very well done.