4.16 The little things

[Dricks]

From "The futon critic"

WITHOUT A TRACE
Air Date: 3/2/06 (THURSDAY)
Time Slot: 10:00 PM-11:00 PM EST on CBS
Episode Title: (#416) "The Little Things"

AS THE TEAM ATTEMPTS TO RETRIEVE A 5-YEAR-OLD BOY WHO WAS ABDUCTED BY A MASKED MAN, DANNY BEGINS TO NOTICE THE SIGNS OF MARTIN'S ADDICTION, ON "WITHOUT A TRACE," THURSDAY, MARCH 2

"The Little Things" -- As the team attempts to recover a 5-year-old boy who was in the back seat of the family SUV when it was carjacked, Danny begins to notice the tell-tale signs of Martin's prescription pain-killer addiction, on WITHOUT A TRACE, Thursday, March 2 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. John Polson directed the episode written by David Grae.

The team initially explores if it was a botched carjacking or the plot of a kidnapper wanting to secure a hefty ransom from Ethan's affluent parents. However, they soon start to suspect Ethan's father, whom his wife and colleagues report has been acting odd lately, and who, per his wife's insistence, has been staying at a hotel for the past week. Upon further investigation, the agents find evidence that the father had been contacted by the kidnapper(s) and is foolishly attempting to handle the matter himself. Meanwhile, Danny catches on to the real reason why Martin is becoming excessively irritable and making rash on-the-job decisions.

Jack Malone: Anthony LaPaglia
Samantha Spade: Poppy Montgomery
Vivian Johnson: Marianne Jean-Baptiste
Danny Taylor: Enrique Murciano
Martin Fitzgerald: Eric Close
Elena Delgado: Roselyn Sanchez
James "Mac" MacElroy: Joshua Gomez
Ethan Heller: Joseph Castanon
Jim Heller: Peter O'Meara
Stephanie Heller: Kimberly Quinn
Allan: Lawrence Monoson
Michael Fletcher: Robin Thomas
Maria: Michelle Azar
Chandra: Natalia Baron
Dr. Scotto: Mary Chris Wall
Emma: Deidrie N. Henry
NYPD Cop: Jamison Haase
Officer #1: Chris Foreman
Attorney: Albert Owens

Finally, new episode!
Thread´s open, comment with order!
And, Susan, PLEASE, honey, caps!

[Jennifoofighter]

So.....did anyone watch?

Overall, I liked the ep. Martin's starting to be a real mess and it's starting to show but I had a few issues:

Why do they always have Martin f**k up by being a complete dumbass? I liked how they handled it in the original script (spoiler stuff) rather then the how they actually filmed it.

I don't know what to make of Danny and Martin's interaction. It was good but I thought Danny was way too harsh on Martin - even though he was being really defensive and in denial. Considering Danny's own history he should have been much more understanding. Although, it does add to great angst the way they left it. Maybe Danny knows you can't help someone who isn't ready to accept it but still..... C'mon man, you and Martin went thru a lot, you gotta try harder.

Jack is seriously pissing me off in that he doesn't seem to notice (or maybe care) that Martin is not well. You could tell that he suspects something but he isn't acting on it. Bad SAC. I could go on and on about how he helped Sam but then that leads to JS stuff and I don't like going there.

I just want Martin to be good again.

[ginal]

I have to say that I was more focus on Martin. He is really in a bad condition to do his work properly. Look at his appearance, the way he talked to the mother's MP: harsh words, he snapped at people. the last 5 minutes: Martin made a bad judgement to handle the situation. Danny was so angry !!!! The last scene: Danny confronts Martin to his problem, but refused to admit it. You can really see that Martin is an addict: good acting by EC.

[SeptemberBaby]

After his "interrogation" of the MP's mother and he excused himself and went into the bathroom,
I thought for sure we were going to get another shot of him rifling through the medicine cabinet.

[Slowpoke]

It was an okay episode, I guess. Though Martin was seriously messed up in this ep (maybe not as much as he's going to be soon) and slightly bitchy to me. There wasn't even enough screen time for everyone. I saw Sam and Vivian maybe once or twice but now itz focused on the guys.

I rather did like Danny in this episode tho. He seems to be the voice of reason compared to Martin.

[SusanWATfan]

You said it ginal!

I barely recognized EC in the last 2 scenes. First one, he gets off the elevator as Jack is getting on (end of case, end of day) and Martin seemed well, like he was drunk and kind of careless and JACK DOESN'T NOTCE ANYTHING! All he does is stare a bit but goes home anyway. What kind of boss is that?

But it's the final scene where EC pulls out the stops. I've seen almost everything he's done in the last 10 years and he's never done a scene like this. Fantastic performance! He made me believe how far his character had fallen.

He really seemed messed up, the way he was sniffling and wouldn't make eye contact and appeared very jumpy. The picture of an addict going through withdrawal. Of course he was unshaven and Danny looked perfectly groomed and in control.

Maybe the reason Danny was so icy cold angry is that Martin came pretty darn close to shooting him, and Danny had been forced to kill the other kidnapper when he really wanted to wait for backup, thx to Martin's screwup. Altho with Danny's own background, you'd think he'd offer to help his friend. I honestly think the writers have forgotten how to do the Danny character correctly; he's all over the map this season.

(I'm going to run and read the spoilers now and see how they originally planned to film this episode).

Overall a good episode and I'm definately going to watch it again but here's a few things I had problems with:

That tag line from the trailer: "Martin, do you have something to tell me?" I never heard Danny say that in the episode.

Did anyone notice how Jack's hairstyle changed 4 times in the one-on-one interview with the scum researcher who hired the kidnappers? (It's the scene where he tells Vivian to 'clear the building', good line!). Every time they changed the camera angle he had a different hairstyle! LOL! Now I know what all those co-producers, producers and executive producers on the show do; they mess with ALP's hair between scenes! Where's the continuity guy when you need him.

And the scene where Samantha and Vivian barge into a house, guns drawn and they find a woman sitting at the table calming feeding a couple of little kids. Oh come on! If that was my house I'd be screaming my head off in fright; no one even blinked, like it happens all the time. The look Samantha gave at the end of the scene was priceless like, 'this is ridiculous!"

Also, Viv's outfit (from black pants to brown pants to a brown skirt) changed from scene to scene but no one else's clothing changed. Hmm?

OK, enough from me. I'll put up caps in a couple of hours.

[hermione]

I think personally, that the ONLY good thing about this episode was the Danny/Martin interaction. Eric played the addict in withdrawal/denial to perfection. I think Danny was good in shoving it in his face - yes he could have been more sympathetic, but I think he realizes that Martin isn't ready to admit he has a problem yet, and when he does admit it and ask for help then Danny will be there for him.

The rest of the episode was ... ho hum ... same as always. First 15 minutes and I had it all figured out. And the fact that the rest of the cast gets next to no screen time really sucks. I know a lot of people say Anthony laPaglia is the 'star' of the show, but the real fact is that it's a team show - there is no one MAIN star. Seems like the writers and producers are forgetting that.

My opinion - Jerry Bruckheimer started a really great and unique show 4 years ago but he's just spread himself too thin and hasn't got time to make sure this one continues with the same quality in each episode. He's only producing what ... 8 shows or something? Definitely doesn't have time to give it his all.

[Cindy]

WAT coming back after 2 weeks of Olympics... Hmm... I have to say that the Olympics were far more exciting than last night's eppie...

That Elena character still gets on my nerves... I still can't understand what's coming out of her mouth...

And what's up for Jack being so perceptive but doesn't know what's going on with Martin? And he claims he has a degree in psychology! Okkkay...

On a more superficial... I loved the coat that Martin was wearing there... He looked nice there, aside from the scruffy look there... Only worthwhile scenes watching were that of Martin, but still... we could have gotten a little more there.

But... it's sad to see that only now... MONTHS later that Danny is the ONLY one who has figured out Martin's problem. I guess everyone else is just blind.

Overall... a so-so eppie... I just wish we could get some to team dynamic back there after they kicked that Elena character out.

[stealthyone]

I really liked the ep, from the case itself to the Danny and Martin interaction. What I think is interesting about Danny and Martin is it opens up two lines of discussion:

1) Was Danny too hard on Martin? (i.e. he called Martin on his addiction but ultimately walked away at the end, without saying anything about helping Martin however he can)

2) Was Danny not hard enough on Martin? (i.e. he called Martin on his addiction, chastising Martin for endangering his teammates' lives, but he didn't "tell on" Martin, leaving Martin free and clear to return to work and again endanger those around him)

[SusanWATfan]

I was going to post caps but those awesome people at:
wat.mediablvd.org/gallery/index.php?cat=5 beat me to it and their's are 100x better anyway!

Don't want to give the impression I didn't like the show; I was very entertained and I sure didn't have it figured out in the first 15 minutes! There were several 'small scenes' with character actors that are worth mentioning:
the secretary at drug company, I really liked how she was so concerned, blasted the dad for not leaving sooner to go home and then said "we'll pray for him". The next scene I liked very much was when Jack was interviewing the smarmy CEO of the drug company; well, I was sure he had a hand in the kidnapping. He looked so guilty! He had a motive! Another red herring! And the 3rd little scene was the black police man who found the Cutlass with the kid and kidnapper in it, bravely approached it and got shot point blank for his efforts and then apolgized to Martin & Danny for not getting a better description of the driver. All nice bits!

[mariepaule]

In answer to Stealthyone's 2 questions, I think that Danny was too hard, ... and not hard enough, if that makes any sense.

I wish he would have said: " Look, you're endangering lives and you can't be in the field. If you don't get help right now, I'll have to tell Jack. And if you do something about the addiction, I'll help any way I can.

Danny's tough approach doesn't bother me because Martin needs to be shaken up and admit his addiction. What really bothers me is that Danny didn't offer to help him through this. I've been wanting to hug Martin all season long because he seems to be so alone in everything that he's going through since the shooting. He didn't seem to have much support from the team while he was recovering, except maybe Sam. They seemed uncomfortable around him when he came back. Danny has basically been avoiding Martin ever since the shooting and when he realizes that Martin is in real trouble, he tells him to get straightened out and leaves him there, alone again.

I just wish that Danny had offered to help and been a little less harsh. I keep thinking that those two are best friends (maybe I read too much fanfic, LOL), but obviously, at this point at least, they are just colleagues.

About the show, I enjoyed the case and I thought that the performances were great. I LOVED, LOVED the last scenes between Danny and Martin, and really enjoyed Jack in this one.

I still don't like Elena. I really don't.

If Martin is "normal" next episode, I think I'm going to scream.

[sinwagon1]

I really hope that they don't leave this completely next episode they have been very bad on follow up episodes this year like not following up at all.

I think the episode was ok, nothing really great other than the Martin situation. I hope they take this somewhere or I might have to throw something. I think Danny did a really great job too, I mean he has to be a friend but when it comes to endangering lives because of your refusal to see a problem than I can see where you might be a little harsh.

I agree with everyone...how in the hell is it that Danny is the only one here who notices Martin's appearance and attitude. Everyone else is just completely unaware......not possible in real life.

[stealthyone]

mariepaule said:

In answer to Stealthyone's 2 questions, I think that Danny was too hard, ... and not hard enough, if that makes any sense.

I wish he would have said: " Look, you're endangering lives and you can't be in the field. If you don't get help right now, I'll have to tell Jack. And if you do something about the addiction, I'll help any way I can.

ITA. I really, really would have loved to see that happen. To me, that's what *should* have happened, no doubt about it.

[venus567]

Martin could have gotten himself and that kid killed. Danny should have threatened about telling Jack. I'm surprised Jack or anyone else did not pick up on Martin's behavior. Only Danny seemed to notice anything. I'm glad Danny yelled at him for snapping at Mrs. Heller, how Martin talked to her was way out of line. Danny bascially saved the day. It was funny when Samantha and Vivian burst into that house and it was just a Mom feeding her kids, reminded me of Pink Panther! ;D

[tracetracker]

I liked the ep. There were some interesting bloopers as mentioned. Viv needs a new wardrobe consultant! I thought the plot was an interesting one. It took me a while to figure it out. Good character actors in those roles.

One main point seemed to be getting our attention that Martin is in bad shape. Danny spent the most time with him and saw how badly he was behaving. The others should see it too but don't. Everyone is in their own little niche.
Maybe the writers are taking the 'non-team approach' to show part of the problem. They are not a team now, thus don't see Martin's needs. In the past they were all close. The shooting has torn them apart for different reasons. Each one is dealing with the aftermath in their own world and not together as they did in the past with Sam.

I think that Danny wants to help Martin and would have, but Martin didn't respond in a way that would allow it. He was not open to talking in that last scene! Defensive posture, sick, and in denial. A great performance by EC. He looked terrible! A beaten, fallen man.

Besides Martin had almost gotten himself, Danny and the MP kid killed because of his actions and poor judgement. I would not have been too happy about offering a friendly helping hand at that moment either. Danny will get there eventually. He had good reason to be upset with Martin and not kind and loving.

Martin is one sick puppy right now. He has to want help and now that he has endangered his life and Danny's maybe he will be ready to seek it.