I am soooo glad I didn't tape over this movie from its original broadcast. I had forgotten what a finely-crafted film it was. In addition to the good points made by jamoon2006, I want to add that the cinematography matches anything found in the best theatrical flicks. Even a small screen gives a realistic sense of crossing the US or being in and around Paradise, MA. I particularly liked the rising vertical overhead shot of the seaside cliff. I had hoped there might be more installments in this franchise, but that's not soon likely with Tom Selleck now in a prime-time series. If you missed this, I highly recommend it as a rental.

As a first-time viewer without any advance knowledge of this show, my initial reaction was to dump it after 10 minutes as a clone of "Medium" or "Ghost Whisperer", which I refuse to watch because of their unrealistic spiritistic premise. But then Sandy's accent turned to a Southern drawl after Raines learned where she was from. I knew then that this was going to be something so much better. I was glad for this because the opening film noir-like scene was so well done. The quirky way that the body changed with Raines' narrative descriptions is the type of innovative device that TV needs.
Another good thing is that Raines is humble enough to accept the results of the legwork of those working with him and then do what a good detective is supposed to do -- solve the case! The return of Nicole Sullivan to network TV is much appreciated. As usual, she plays a likeable character who contributes a lot to the show. It's also great to see again Mykelti Williams, who played Bobby "Fearless" Smith in one of the best crime dramas ever, "Boomtown"; although the credit blurb doesn't use the correct character name in this show -- Charlie.

Nice surprise revelation of the identity of the killer. Also surprising was that Charlie also is dead. But I'll keep watching because it merely further establishes Raines' mental instability.

This episode holds promise that this hardly-promoted mid-season replacement might actually have a chance at success.

The disaster has always been a mainstay in hospital dramas. NBC's "ER" has at least one a year -- blizzard, multi-vehicle pileup, explosion, major fire, helicopter crash. Hey, it's one of the things hospitals have to handle. I've got no problem with having this as a plotline -- especially when it's done as well as this one!

First off, the premise is realistic. Probably more people are casualties of ferryboat accidents than any other waterborne form of transportation. Seattle gets lots of foggy weather, and it's just a matter of time before some freighter plows into a faster-moving ferry boat that travels its route in a routine fashion several times a day. I liked how the story did not dwell on the details of the accident nor did did it feature the spectacle of the scene. A few panning shots to show the vastness of the casualties was sufficient to impact the viewer with what the rescue and medical personnel were facing. And aren't these the characters we're following?

I liked how the interns were initially portrayed as fish out of water when they first got dropped at the scene. After all, they are used to doing what basically amounts to grunt work at Seattle Grace -- going for coffee, getting organ donor permissions, maybe an occasional wound stitching in the ER or scrubbing for surgery with the hope of clamping an artery. Now, they are actually expected to go out and be the doctors they have become and save some lives. And this they competently do, each in his/her own way. Izzie's "Shut up!" to the inquiry about her credentials was great.

I thought a key moment occurred when Bailey had to accompany a critical patient to SG and asked Shepherd to watch over her interns. She really does care about these doctors' welfare in spite of her persona as "the Nazi Derek's bewildered look said volumes about how much better suited she is for her job than he would ever be. Competent surgeon yes; teacher, no.

The quiet back at SG was realistic, too. Only so much you can do to prepare for the onslaught of incoming wounded. It gave Addison a chance to follow up with Richard on her own experience with hair-color change after a breakup. (That elevator scene early in the ep when she kept repeating "Leave him be" was one of the funniest interludes this series has had to offer!) This showed that she cares for and empathizes with the man. I'm going to miss her when she jumps to the spin-off.

One last item was the circular plotline surrounding Meredith. The episode opened with her submerged in a bathtub long enough to cause Derek to become anxious; and ended with her submerged in the cold waters of Seattle harbor long enough to make anyone anxious...

Since being elected Mayor, Gray has yet to make a good decision. He started freely distributing food with no sense of conservation when they got the airdrop from the Chinese. He wanted to destroy the bridge when Ravenwood threatened. He sent our boys on a senseless hunting trip instead of using valuable fuel in trucks and trying to trade salt for food. And now he almost gives away half of what meager supplies the town has left for a promise of being put high on a government distribution list? That wouldn't have been worth it even if they were the real government!

Well, we found out in this ep not only who should be in charge of managing things, but who actually is. J&J each independently scoped that something wasn't right and did what had to be done to salvage what they could from the situation. Actually, not half bad. I'll bet none of the neighboring towns has a tank -- and diesel fuel to run it (from Stanley's tractor fuel tank). Time will tell how much of what the fake Marines told about the outside world is true; but the story they told that the US retaliated against North Korea and Iran with nuclear devastation would at least be a morale boost. I'm guessing that the truth won't be revealed until later.

As for Hawkins and Sara going all Ninja on each other, dramatic as it turned out, it didn't seem very realistic. First, I can't believe she left her mini-PC out where he could find it, no password, no encryption, and all her text messages intact! Then knowing he's the target, he saunters upstairs to chat with her? Wouldn't he sneak outside and shoot her through the window if he really cared about his family? Why risk putting them in danger at all by entering the room where he knew Sara and Sam were? At least that afternoon Robert spent bonding with Allison at he firing range finally paid off.

We learned some things about Hawkins' situation. His vehicle is a truck, although that could mean a lot of things. Apparently "the package" is a barrel-nuke. You don't talk about it not being armed if it's a turkey fryer. And company is still coming, but not to see him.

I liked the writers' idea of the town getting duped by the opportunistic refugees masquerading as Marines. They were so elated to have contact from the US Government that nobody thought it odd that they promised that Jericho was going "back on the grid"; but the only thing they did during their brief visit was restore their own communications. This is a realistic portrayal of what life would be like in that situation. Lots of people pretending to be whatever it takes just to keep on being at all.

Stark's most unnerving case to date turns out to be the first case he loses as a prosecutor. I liked how this was written on a higher plane than it might have been when Wayne Carlson insinuated himself into Stark's house. Very easily this could have degraded into a Julie-in-jeopardy plotline. Instead, there was an uneventful arrest and the beginning of the matching of wits between Stark and Carlson.

I also liked how they dealt, albeit briefly, with Martin's death. Everyone got a chance to express their grief -- even Stark who only knew him a short time. And then Stark proposed they win this one for Martin. Oops.

On three different occasions, Stark outmaneuvered Carlson because of his superior knowledge of the law: (1) Knowing CA law on mineral rights allowed him to legally search beneath brother Tommy's new concrete patio and discover the five bodies. (2) When Wayne harassed the witness/victim Janet Butler, it allowed Stark to search his cell's contents, including her journal and his PC. (3) When Wayne demanded to be allowed to tell the jury the reason for his facial scratches, it allowed Stark to play the chilling recording of his veiled threats toward Julie.

I wasn't bothered so much by the defense verdict as by some of what can only be counted as rookie mistakes on Stark's part: (1) Instead of going to the expense and encountering the delay of digging up the bodies, why not present a photo array to the live witness? That would surely have produced an arrest warrant. (2) They never found the crime scene. Might it have been Tommy's house, which was never searched? (3) Why charge Wayne with all five murders and the abduction/attempted murder/rape of Janet? Trying him for only the latter crime would have avoided the possibility of double jeopardy on the murders; and would have allowed more preparation time to build those cold cases. (4) Wayne was facing charges of witness harassment and there was no injunction forbidding him from telephoning Janet Butler? (5) Knowing her fragile mental state and the importance her testimony meant, nobody thought to babysit her over the weekend?

If Stark must lose, at least it was to an interesting monster. Some of the best storylines in recent years have revolved around the pursuit of "the one that got away": Epps on "Bones", Ari on "NCIS", the Miniature Diorama Killer on "CSI, and Nicole Wallace on "Law and Order:CI". I'll be surprised if this is the last we see of Tommy and Wayne Carlson.