I Believe In Yesterday

Let's take a nostalgic look back at the first season, shall we? Please come in and see what our detective is up to! Yesterday (S01E18) is a first season episode of the LOCI and in this episode, our detectives investigate the discovery of a woman's body that appears tied and carefully wrapped in a plastic tarp, as they learn she was reported missing 20 years previously. Meanwhile, the well preserved body of the victim shows signs that she was subject to substantial physical torture before killing her. Chemical residue on the body leads Goren and Eames to the basement of the house in which it had originally been buried underneath, and later to a drug addicted man whose parents owned the home. But their instincts tell them that this man must have had a smarter partner in crime. A junkie gets arrested but when the junkie ends up murdered as well, the detectives focus their investigation on his college classmate; a former chess master who is now a successful businessman known to suddenly disappear for a while from his family. The man, who has a history of drugging and sexually assaulting women, could be linked to two earlier rape cases with similarities to the murder. The case takes a major turn when Goren confronts this morbidly retarded guy during an interrogation after they move each other around rooms for a while. Btw, thanks to the episode, we learn that Eames was into denim fashion of the 80's.

Alex Eames: It’s not more than twenty years. That’s a black denim miniskirt from the London Limited. They only made them one season, 1983.

Robert Goren: You wore one of these?

Alex Eames: I looked good in it too.

Miniskirt aside, were you also into neon colored off the shoulder t-shirts, tight acid washed, razor shredded jeans, hi-top Reeboks and orange mohawk hair Eames? Never mind:) I'm just being cranky. Anyway, what I remember most about this episode is the image of neck tieless Bobby. Just wow!

Ah, it would be so very nice to see you wear a suit without a tie all the time. Maybe a kinda macho but who cares? Yes Bobby, neck ties serve no purpose. They do not keep you warm nor do they protect you from harm. Break the cycle, loose your neck tie or better yet go tieless! Meanwhile let's recall more neck tieless Bobby. Admittedly second season is beyond my wildest dreams.

The Bright Boy (S02E02)

The Pilgrim (S02E08)

Probability (S02E14)

Monster (S02E15)

A Person Of Interest (S02E23)

To Catch A Thief

Probably you may have seen it before; Alfred Hitchcock's movie To Catch a Thief is one of my favorite movies of all time. Well, first of all, it has an excellent visual style. To anyone remotely familiar with Hitchcock, this shouldn’t be shocking, as he was as much a master of visual composition as he was of suspense. Second of all, the film has that awesome locale (French Riveria), humor (comic car chases), romance and of course classy cat burglar, the gentlemen thief elements. It’s a lark, but a professionally made one. And sometimes those are the most entertaining ones. Although Cary Grant has the leading role as a master thief, this movie seems to belong to Grace Kelly due to her personal connection to the location shots.

To Catch A Thief (1955)

Speaking of thieves, Silver Lining (S04E08) is a fourth season episode of the LOCI. In this episode, a female antique appraiser is found dead in a park, and our detectives link the murder to silverware thefts. Goren and Eames lock onto the trail of an elusive, highly organized and proficient thief, who specializes in stealing priceless antique silver from wealthy families across the country. Then Goren and Eames discover a long line of burglaries attributed to their taunting suspect but an arrest will only stick if they can link him to his treasure stash of valuables. This episode appears to be ripped from the headlines of the Blaine Nordahl case. And the master thief in this episode, named Wesley is quite a character who steals and sells the silver but doesn't spend the ill gotten gains and he buries it in coffee cans in a shed behind his mother's home in Pennsylvania. Let's remember how Alex Eames defines Wesley to his wife: 'Wesley's only into one thing. He's like my partner, who just wants to be left alone to do what he's good at: Catching bad guys. It's the same with Wesley. Stealing silver's all he thinks about, all he's gonna think about'.

There are several really well done scenes in this one, including a Goren stuttering-files dropping, a Goren and Eames all night stakeout of a house and a Goren interview of the thief in which a form of mutual respect can be seen developing. Let's see some interrogation scenes where Bobby seems to amuse himself.

In btw I remember another Goren stuttering scene from the episode Acts Of Contrition (S05E05) whenever he tries to say Beta Thalassemia, an inherited blood disorder, which is pretty fun either.

But.. Bit.. Bet..

Bot.. Bat.. What?

Let's Talk About Love

What is love? It is one of the most difficult questions for the mankind. Centuries have passed by, relationships have bloomed and so has love. But no one can give the proper definition of love. Some say love is a strong positive emotion of regard and affection or a deep feeling of sexual desire and attraction or any object of warm affection or devotion. Depending on context, love can be of different varieties. Romantic love is a deep, intense and unending. It shared on a very intimate and interpersonal and sexual relationship. The term Platonic Love, familial love and religious love are also matter of great affection. It is more of desire, preference and feelings. The meaning of love will change with each different relationship and depends more on its concept of depth, versatility, and complexity. No matter how you define it or feel it, love is the eternal truth in the history of mankind. Sadly, most persons don’t realize this, but the common, or popular, view of love involves an element of receiving something. 'I love chocolate' really means that 'I enjoy getting the experience of the taste of chocolate'. Similarly, 'I love you' commonly implies 'I enjoy playing with your body' or 'I enjoy believing that you will give me security or protection'. As a result, good old friend Jacques Lacan, in his teachings about love, described the typical act of love as Polymorphous Perversion. Well, don’t be put off by the big words. We already know what perversion means, I guess. Polymorphous simply means having many forms. So this amounts to saying, like the popular song from the 1980s, that we’re looking for love in all the wrong places. That is, we look for satisfaction in all the various titillating parts of the body but never find what is truly sought! Well, regardless of what Lacan or I think, let's hear what Bobby thinks about love.

Detective Robert Goren: Nobody's reasonable when they're in love. That's the whole point of it. (Crazy S01E12)

Detective Robert Goren: She wasn't driven to kill out of rage; she chose to kill out of love.

ADA Ron Carver: Love?

Detective Robert Goren: It's a many-splendored thing. (Seizure S01E17)

Detective Robert Goren: (To male suspect about his male secretary) Are you lovers?

Suspect: Give me a little credit. I don't chase after secretaries. (Mis-Labeled S03E14)

Well, sometimes our detective gets it wrong:) And speaking of love, he consequently explains why he's single!

Detective Robert Goren: My mother always told me to stay away from beautiful women.
ADA Ron Carver: Jealousy and desire, what tangled webs they weave!
Detective Robert Goren: Beauty, it's a beast. (Beast S04E19)

Hmmm... What do you know? How can someone so damn beautiful say this? So you are one of those 'Beauty Is Within' men? Ah Bobby, you are a dying breed! I'm so touched by your words that I could run to you in slow motion for hours, backed by Chariots Of Fire. I could run in saucy red Baywatch style swimsuit, if you like! Ah, how silly of me! You are a 'Beauty Is Within' man, aren't you? Just forget it. By the way, I'm asking the USA Network: It's obvious that I'm not gonna ever have Bobby. So is there a Robert Goren doll/action figure/stuffed toy anywhere in our future? Anything will do. Well, I know what you are thinking. Yes, it's exactly what it looks like but I can still explain. I'm alone and I guess I've missed my bedtime pal. Oh no, there's just a little bit of dust in my eye, that's it. Anyway, let's find out the real meaning of that four letter word in Gorenland.

L Is For Lust

O Is For Obsession

V Is For Very, Very And Very Sexy

E Is For Euphoria

A Brief History Of Crime

Inert Dwarf (S04E09) is a fourth season episode of the LOCI and in this episode, Detective Robert Goren and his partner Alex Eames are investigating the radiation poisoning of a tormented scientist. When our detectives investigate further, they discover that the victim was working with a crackpot mathematician genius in a wheelchair, named John Manotti, on the controversial Theory Of Everything. This episode appears to be ripped from the headlines of the controversy involving famous astrophysicist Stephen Hawking. The use of the Theory Of Everything in this episode also refers to the Theory of Everything: The Origin And Fate Of The Universe, an unauthorized 2002 book using excerpts from several different Hawking lectures. Actually TOE is a putative theory of theoretical physics that explains and links together all known physical phenomena, though the phrase itself is very misleading on several counts. Quite understandably TOE sounds like a key to the ultimate secret of the divine intelligence but first of all, the theory is not yet fully formulated and when it is, it is not entirely clear that it will be the last word in fundamental physics. The primary problem in producing a TOE is that the accepted theories of Quantum Physics and General Relativity are hard to combine. However based on theoretical Holographic Principle arguments from the 1990s, many physicists believe that 11 dimensional space, which is described in many sectors by Matrix String Theory, in many other sectors by Perturbative String Theory is the complete theory of everything, although there is no widespread consensus.There have been many theories of everything proposed by theoretical physicists over the last century, but none have been confirmed experimentally. Therefore as the theory is now more science fiction than science fact, we'll just have to wait and see. Speaking of sci-fi, a great-grandfather of Ijon Tichy, a character from a cycle of Stanislaw Lem's sci-fi stories of 1960s, was known to work on the General Theory of Everything. Well, just like in the books of Lem, one day soon, the Theory Of Everything will arrive and gravity may come under our control! Yeah, yeah, life will never be the same ... Till then let's see what our detective is doing. Oh yes, he's still cute, sexy, sweet and funny! Btw calling Manotti's wife 'anti-matter' is hilarious:)

Robert Goren: (plays with a swivel chair) See? Again... It went forth. Now, Manotti should have bruises on his knees and in front of his face.
Officer (brings Manotti's wheelchair): Why do you want it? You're not gonna throw it, are you?
Alex Eames: No. He's had enough fun.

(After Goren insists on hearing the alarm on Manotti's wheelchair.)
John Manotti: (to Eames) Does he play the siren when he drives?
Robert Goren: (chuckles and points Eames) She drives.

We've talked about Who's-Behind-The-Wheel stuff before, haven't we? Bobby acts as if he doesn't care much about it. But all the same we sometimes find him complaining about Eames's obsession. Let's remember one of those frustrated Bobby moments (Stray S03E06).

(Detective Bishop clears her throat as Goren scrolls down a list on a computer screen)
Robert Goren: If I'm not scrolling fast enough...
Lynn Bishop: Sorry, I didn't mean to...
Robert Goren: No, really, I don't mind, you know. Eames likes to drive, so she drives. You want to scroll? Scroll.

Well, in the end he doesn't let her scroll:) Does he? Anyway, right here, he proves the age-old axiom: 'Action Speaks Louder Than The Words'

Bobby, Standing By The Passenger Side Of The Squad Car
*Looking Disappointed*

Does anyone remember the word 'justice'? According to the Universal Declaration Of Human Rights, everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person. And I add one more; everyone has the right to drive. Ah yes, I have a dream that Bobby will one day drive the squad car of NYPD. Therefore I want justice for Bobby, I want it now. And at this very moment I start my own 'Let Him Drive' campaign as I'm opposed to Eames's domination of the squad car. Bobby, dear, I'm telling you. Just SAY NO TO EAMES! If you're afraid, here's your poster speaker. (Allright, I'm just kidding. And no, I don't have any severe Eames allergy. So no offence please)

Kill The Cook!

Death Roe (S04E15) is a 4th season episode of the LOCI. Robert Goren and Alex Eames investigate the murder of a female restaurant critic found beaten to death, in this episode. During the investigation, Goren and Eames turn their suspicion to the chef at the last restaurant she visited, but unfortunately, the chef named Joshua Mailer has also gone missing. Eventually they turn their attention to his father in law, a well-known chef who looks like a lion tamer rather than a cook (I didn't like him for some reasons you might already know) and his daughter, named Beatrice Mailer.

The Cook The Daughter And Her Lover

For most of this episode, it's a guessing game on exactly who killed whom and for what reasons however when Goren searches more, he discovers a dark family secret between the father and the daughter that could be the final puzzle piece to solving the case. Certainly child abuse is no laughing matter whether in real life or in TV show. Therefore as a whole this episode is very sad yet entertaining in a weird way, a kinda giallo that might make you think twice before you eat meat again. Well, as they say 'Meat is murder' afterall. And it's especially interesting to see Beatrice Mailer behaving playfully and staring at Bobby whenever she has the chance. Ah that little, pretty girl... She's just like an angel from above, isn't she? Come again? Has somebody said honesty? Honesty, it's then. Yesterday my R1 was chased by a group of dogs and I felt more comfortable then than I do now! Young lady behave yourself! One should not stare. And on the planet where I came from, coming on to Bobby is considered one of the ten deadly mistakes.

Are You After A Straighter Path To My Heart Beatrice?

I almost forgot, on the top of everything else Eames is acting bitchy, again! Our well-known chef pours Bobby a glass of Grappa, a grape-based pomace brandy and when he prepares to drink Eames interferes: 'We're on duty!' Poor Bobby looks disappointed and lowers his glass. Ah Eames, you are no fun!

Did You Say Eames? More Grappa, Por Favor!

By the way the title is a reference both to 'death row', the area of a prison holding prisoners awaiting the death penalty, as well as roe, the fully ripened eggs of fish or marine animals (caviar is a salted, processed version of roe that is sold as a delicacy).

Tell Me Doctor, I've Super Human Capabilities Yet I Can't Fly! Why?

Goren's Index Principle

Edmond Locard, a well known criminologist, formulated the basic principle of forensic science: 'Every contact leaves a trace' which became known as Locard's Exchange Principle. Though not as fancy as the motto mentioned, definitely every picture tells a story. But before that let's hear some opinions about the index finger. According to Wikipedia, the index finger, also referred to as, pointer finger, forefinger, trigger finger, digitus secundus, or digitus II, is the second finger of a human hand. It is located between the first and third digits, that is, between the thumb and the middle finger. It is usually the most dextrous and sensitive finger of the hand, though not the longest (Don't be so sure!). With the hand held palm out and the thumb and middle fingers touching, it represents the letter d in the American Sign Language. In sports, it can also represent victory, as some championship winning teams raise their index finger, often saying 'We're number one'. And according to some studies done; a long index finger shows self confidence and awareness. The owner is sure of their ability. People with this finger are keen on advancement. They like to be in charge and have their own way. They are capable and do well being in charge of a crisis situation. For people with a short index finger the reverse holds true. They are usually shy, afraid they will fail and inclined to have self doubt. Or better yet, a recent study published in The Journal of Urology claims that by merely looking at a man's forefinger will estimate the length of his... Uhm, how should I put this gently? Well, yes, foot! The length of his foot! So, if it isn't entirely clear what my own thoughts on this post might be, let me clarify it right away: No offence intended but always judge a man by his index finger! I know.. I know... But believe in me, I'm not really bad, it's just the way I'm indexed:) Well, anyway, let the pictures speak for themselves.

Oh Captain My Captain!

Come, let's remember the captains of our detective, shall we? Capt. James Deakins, played by Jamey Sheridan supervises New York City's Major Case Squad and his top detectives include partners Robert Goren and Alexandra Eames as well as partners Mike Logan and Carolyn Barek. Although Deakins' first priority is the success of criminal investigations, he is often forced to rein in his more unpredictable detectives, especially Goren and Logan, to manage the bad publicity they occasionally attract. While this has created some friction between Deakins and his detectives, for the most part they respect his professional judgment and authority. In my opinion, throughout the seasons he's in charge he always seems to support our detective no matter what. But sadly due to a conspiracy, Deakins quit his post at the end of Season 5 and was replaced by Capt. Danny Ross, played by Eric Bogosian who joined the cast in the Season 6 premiere episode.

Captain James Deakins
Retired But Not Forgotten...

Capt. Ross is introduced in the episode 'Blind Spot' as the successor of Capt. Deakins. He's given the position of captain of the Major Case Squad as a reward for a successful 3 year stint as head of the NYPD's Joint Task Force on international money laundering. Ross takes a more hands-on approach to the administration of Major Cases than Deakins. He often goes out into the field, especially for arrests, and occasionally participates in direct interrogations of suspects. Unfortunately he's far less tolerant of the unorthodox methods of Robert Goren and most of the time we can see them at each other's throats, arguing or fighting.

Captain Danny Ross
Groundcontrol to Captain Ross! Give The Man A Break!