CSI: Crime Scene Investigation

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Photo of DVD cover taken by Kate Dorsey

    Seasons 11-13 were three more very active seasons for CSI. So much happened, I’m hoping I don’t leave anything important out.

    At the end of season ten, CSI Ray Langston (Laurence Fishburne) is stabbed repeatedly by serial killer Nate Haskell (Bill Irwin). With the way it happened, I thought maybe the stabbing was a fantasy of Haskell’s. That Ray was really okay. But I was wrong. It is revealed in the start of season eleven Ray really was stabbed, and he is fighting for his life.

    Ray survives the attack. As a result, his mission to stop Haskell becomes even stronger. Ray testifies against Haskell in court. He battles against Haskell’s claim he should not be responsible for his actions because of genetics. Ray’s testimony against this claim is convincing. It is ruled Haskell is to stay behind bars. It is a victory for Ray and all Haskell’s victims, for a moment. With the help of a devotee, Haskell is able to escape.

    To seek revenge on Ray, Haskell decides to got after the one person who means the most to Ray. His ex-wife, Gloria Parkes (Tracee Ellis Ross). Haskell, with an accomplice, kills Gloria’s husband, and kidnaps her. He knows Ray will do whatever it takes to find his ex-wife.

    And Ray does. He breaks all the rules of his training, with the help of other CSIs. As a result, he is able to find Gloria and Haskell.

    Gloria is in incredibly bad shape, having suffered unthinkable things at the hands of Haskell. This, and the way it affects Ray, pleases Haskell. He wants to enrage Ray, a man known for doing whatever he can to keep his cool. But this is Ray’s breaking point. He kills Haskell.

    Detective Jim Brass (Paul Guilfoyle) realizes right away Haskell’s death is not a simple case of self-defense. He covers up that evidence in hopes of keeping Ray out of trouble. This only works so far. With Ray’s rogue behavior, and the behavior of the CSIs who helped him, changes must be made.

    Ray leaves CSI to care for Gloria, but that is not enough for the powers that be. At the start of season twelve, Supervisor Catherine Willows (Marg Helgenberger) and Assistant Supervisor Nick Stokes (George Eads) are demoted. A new supervisor is brought in from Seattle.

    Supervisor D.B. Russell (Ted Danson) is much more of a free spirit than the CSI team is used to. They have a hard time adjusting to his ways, especially as they never quite know what he is going to do next.

    Nick is the one who has the hardest time adjusting. The entire season he is out of sorts. This is particularly obvious when D.B. demands every act the CSIs perform be recorded and on the books. It is a demand that seems very odd to be coming from the free-spirited Russell. Except, this lack of record keeping and rule breaking is what got the CSI in trouble in the first place. It is something D.B. is determined to not have happen again.               

    Catherine struggles too, which is not truly surprising. It cannot be easy being demoted and then having to deal with someone above her. She starts to question her future with CSI. After she is almost killed during a case, Catherine decides to leave for a new job in Washington DC.

    With Catherine gone, D.B. calls in blood expert Julie Finlay (Elisabeth Shue) to help the team. He and Finn worked together in the past, but they did not part on good terms. This causes a lot of tension at times through the seasons.

    Another person brought in to help is CSI Morgan Brody (Elisabeth Harnois). A CSI from Los Angeles, Morgan moves to Las Vegas to replace Ray. She is also the daughter of Undersheriff Conrad Ecklie (Marc Vann). Morgan has a lot of anger towards her father because of her childhood, making it a mystery as to why she took a job so close to him.

    Morgan very quickly becomes good friends with CSI Greg Sanders (Eric Szmanda) and Trace Specialist David Hodges (Wallace Langham). In fact, she becomes so close to both of them, she seems to develop romantic feelings for each man, switching back and forth between them as the seasons go on. Despite this, I think the one Morgan truly wants is Hodges.

    As I said, Nick struggles throughout season twelve. By the end, he has had enough and quits CSI. It is dealing with the killer of CSI Warrick Brown (Gary Dourdan) that puts him over the edge. Even though Jeffrey McKeen (Conor O’Farrell) has been in prison for years because of Warrick’s death, he still has power and the ability to do harm.

    The harm extends to kidnapping D.B.’s granddaughter, Katie (Mia Hays), and shooting Ecklie. Finn is put in danger as well. The only way to stop him, and rescue Katie, is for the team to stop McKeen with any legal means necessary. Everything has to be by the book. Otherwise, there is the risk he could get off free.

Behind the Door
Artwork by Kate Dorsey

    That is what the CSI team is doing at the start of season thirteen. At least, most of them are. Morgan is understandably at the hospital for her father. Nick is in jail after a drunken confrontation with the police. Knowing they need Nick’s help, CSI Sara Sidle (Jorja Fox) bails him out, insisting he be a CSI for one more day.

    In the end, Katie is found, Ecklie survives, and Finn manages to return to CSI safe. The lab gets back to normal for the most part, with Nick deciding to stay.

    The lab remains pretty calm for quite a while until Sara becomes a suspect in a murder. She is being set up, of course, but everyone is still upset. Only it’s not because she’s suspected of murder.

    With the way the murderer set everything up, it appears Sara is cheating on her husband, former CSI Supervisor Gil Grissom (William Petersen). The women who did not know Grissom stand by Sara. D.B. is in between. And those who knew, and worshipped Gil, have a hard time even looking at Sara. They do not know she and Grissom are now divorced. It is something she kept to herself. Partly because she knew she would be seen as the bad guy, as this case has proven. They do not care, that despite appearances, Sara was never sexually involved with the victim. Because of Grissom, they will not take her word for it.

    There is one new person who firmly does not stand by Sara’s side. That is Detective Kevin Crawford (Alimi Ballard). He pounds away at Sara about the non-existent affair. No matter how much she denies it, he will not believe her. Crawford claims he does not want Sara to be guilty, but I’m not sure. He seems awfully convinced she is. I just hope his exuberance in going after Sara mostly stems from the fact he is a new detective and feels he has no room for error, instead of something else, as the others have done.

    Season thirteen ends with another cliffhanger. Morgan is working undercover, going against her father’s objections, and disappears. The disappearance is where the season ends.

    That is a lot to have happen in three seasons, and there are many things I left out. Things like Hodges’ Italian fiancée, Elisabetta (Catrinel Marlon), moving to town. Greg becoming the open-minded CSI, proven when he refrained from judgement when it appeared the wife of the head of autopsy, Dr. Al Robbins (Robert David Hall), was having an affair. Also, genealogy comes into play to help solve cases. Plus, so much more!

    With all that is packed into seasons 11-13, I have to wonder what will happen in the final two seasons and finale movie. As of yet, I have not found an episode I have not seen at one time or another. That is what started me on this venture. To see all the CSI episodes in order, and find the ones I have missed. With very little of the show left, it will be interesting to find out if I have actually seen every episode. Just not in the right order.

Survey created by Kate Dorsey with Microsoft Paint 3D