"Vanishing" Bobby

Here…such as it is…is my “homage” to Bobby in “Vanishing Act.” I’m not one who is inspired to write lengthy reviews about what I think of each episode. There are others out there who do a much more accomplished job of that than I ever could, so I happily leave them to their analysis.

Typically, there might be a particular comment or scene that stands out above the rest that I mention. Well, in this episode...happily... there are a considerable number of scenes/comments that I find worth mentioning. The problem is...where to start?

How about I start with Bobby explaining the mysteries of the blade box? He is so animated as he goes about it…even mentioning that his uncle used to take him to Tannen’s Magic Shop when he was a kid. It was nice to learn that there was someone in Bobby’s childhood who paid attention to him, did things with him, perhaps encouraged him and served as a role model. Because we all know what a rat-bastard his “father” turned out to be.

Moving along, we arrive at the supposed scene of the crime and Bobby is pulling and pushing and pounding and looking every which way at the casket, trying to figure out how the heck the guy got out of there, especially given the fact he was buried six feet under. He says, “Gotta be a trapdoor somewhere.” But Eames gets the good line when she looks at the other cop and says, “When my partner’s done playing, send this over to the trap specialist at the garage.”

My next mentionable scene takes place in the squad room when the captain is talking to Goren and Eames, and he comments, “Out of his casket and into a blade box, without anyone seeing how it was done.” Then he looks at Bobby and says, “You have a theory, Detective?” Bobby blinks, looks at Eames, looks back at the captain, shrugs, gives a sly smile that reaches all the way to those magnificent brown eyes of his and says, “I’d tell ya, but…you know…” And Ross promptly interjects, “The code.”

I half-expected Bobby to say, “I’d tell ya, but then I’d have to kill ya.” Turns out the writers saved that line for Holiday when he was “reading” the redhead during his onstage act.

Then they find the empty cell where the old guy was supposed to be. The young cop seems genuinely perplexed that Carmine has flown the coop and states that he could not have just disappeared. Bobby examines the empty cell and the door, specifically the lock, then he walks over to Eames and quips, “Well, he is…you know…the “Great” Carmine.” Then Bobby proceeds to show Officer Jones how the old guy hoodwinked him and lifted the key off his person by doing, as Bobby called it, “the classic misdirect.”

Next, we go to Carmine’s place that is chockfull of all sorts of magic paraphernalia and every magic trick imaginable. Eames is going through the drawer and Bobby is playing with one of the props. She turns to give him her report of what she’s found, and he just stares at her…deadpan expression…and holds up the pan he is carrying for her “inspection.” Then he puts the lid on the pan, appears to struggle a bit, then…presto change-o…the scarves appear as if…you know…magic. He tosses them into the air and smiles…again.

Then Bobby actually LAUGHS out loud as he turns to find the doll house illusion. He tells Eames he had wanted one when he was a kid and as he begins to inspect it, a magic wand appears in his hand. (No, not “that” magic wand.) I have to admit that Eames looked like she was having fun watching Bobby having fun as he went about his antics. But the thing that got me the most about this scene was watching the play of expressions on Bobby’s face when it dawned on him that Carmine was actually hiding in the illusion. It was...for me...a “classic” Bobby moment.

Finally, we come to the big “reveal” scene. I suppose the fact that Bobby had an 11-foot guillotine to play with as a kid explains a lot. This is perhaps my favorite scene when he sees the one trick and haltingly makes his way over to it. He assures the girl that he knows how the trick works and “begs” her to get inside. He is so thrilled that he’s barely speaking in literate sentences, telling Eames, “I know how to do this...I can....watch.” (Anybody notice how the young woman inside the box looked a wee bit wary of our dashing detective’s declaration?)

And, lastly, I loved it when Bobby took out his handcuffs and Holiday offered up his wrists in front of him. Bobby studies Holiday for a moment, then says, “I don’t think so.”

A few months back, I rented the movie “The Prestige” which tells the story of two rival magicians. If you want to see just how insanely fanatical magicians can be…the bizarre lengths to which they are willing to go to protect their secrets…rent this movie. Besides, you’ll get to spend a couple of hours looking at Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale, which is not a bad thing.

Or, you could spend a couple of minutes looking at this gorgeous face.