CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (TV Series) A La Cart (2007) User Reviews

A Headless Go-Kart Driver, A Dark Restaurant & Assorted Other Goodies

[ccthemovieman-1 · 9/10 · 14 January 2009]

While "Sara" is being interviewed by "Conrad Ecklie" (Marc Vann), head of the crime unit, on her no-no - meaning having a romantic relationship with a fellow employee "Grissom" (William Petersen) we wind up with two murders for this week's episode.

The first is dramatically discovered when a severed head in a football helmet comes bouncing down the highway! The other is a Hugh Hefner-type who is found with a fatal head wound while dining in a "dark restaurant." Yes, dining in total darkness with blind waiters is the deal in this bizarre story, meaning "normal" for CSI.

Interesting to see Karina Lombard again. ("Pippa Sanchez"), the owner of the weird restaurant. I hadn't seen her since 1996 when she had a role in "Last Man Standing" with Bruce Willis. About 39 years old now, Karina looks better than ever and I liked her accent in this episode. Her bio here at IMDb notes she is fluent in five languages!

Meanwhile, is this the end of "Sara Sidle?" Apparently as I think she made a remark to "Gil" at the end of the show about moving to Sweden or something. I may have heard wrong. She said she didn't want to mess up the CSI team with this "scandal" with "Grissom." That's a shame; she will really be missed. The regulars on this CSI show have been here now for eight years and any one of them leaving would be a big loss. (I've watched this series strictly on DVD the last three years, so I'm a little behind the "real time" of these episodes.)

Once Again, Ecklie at a Loss

[Hitchcoc · 8/10 · 18 February 2021]

This episode has two plots. The first involves a go-cart racer who is decapitated and the forensics needed to see how he lost his head. The latter is the death of Hugh Hefner clone who has a house full of "Kitties" rather than "Bunnies." The first one has a true logic to it--a more conventional use the skills of the crew. The second has an absurd premise I just couldn't get into. Interesting is the continuing saga of Sidle and Grissom and Ecklie's search to understand what the hell is going on.

Go-Kart and À la Carte

[claudio_carvalho · 8/10 · 25 February 2023]

When a head wearing a football helmet is found in a road in the desert, Grissom, Greg and Nick investigate the case. They see the acronym SVHS on the helmet meaning Sagebrush Valley High School. They follow the trail of blood on the road and Grissom finds the headless body with a severed hand, and Nick finds the missing hand later. They identify the fingerprints as Vincent Bartley and Nick interviews his wheelchair-bound brother Matt, who tells to him that the helmet belonged to him before his injury and Vincent also had their father's dragon belt. The CSI team also learns that Vincent liked to compete go-kart and his competitor, was Rodney Banks, a.k.a. "Hot Rod". Meanwhile Capt. Brass, Catherine and Warrick go to the famous restaurant Blind where the wealthy publisher of the magazine Hux, Hampton Huxley, was murdered while having dinner with two models. David Phillips finds a puncture to his temple, but nobody saw the crime since the fashionable place is dark with no light and the waiters are blind. The owner Pippa Sanchez explains to Brass how the restaurant works. Catherine and Warrick collect evidences while Brass interviews the users and waiters.

"A La Cart" is an episode of "CSI" with a pun of the two cases. The lead one of the kart runner is tragically comic when the reason the death of Vincent is explained by Rodney. The death of the "Hugh Heffner" from Las Vegas, Hampton Huxley, is also satisfactorily explained. My only question is whether a weird place like Blind does exist and the profile of the users. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "A La Cart"

Are writers even trying at this point?

[interestingstuff · 10 March 2022]

This is another filler episode that should be skipped. At this point one can't help but ask if writers totally gave up on the show and if they are even giving an ounce of effort into storylines. It's almost like writers wrote a decent story but their "dog ate their homework" so they had to write a new story the night before it was due so they ended up writing something in 30 minutes or less without putting any actual thought in it.

Most CSI episodes are 6/10 or 7/10 but episodes like this are easily 2/10.