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Thursday 24 May 2012

CSI - 12.5: "CSI Down" Review


The CSIs are on the search for one of their own this time around as a helicopter carrying Morgan is taken over by the patient; a suspect in two murders.

 Morgan (Elisabeth Harnois), Greg (Eric Szmanda and DB (Ted Danson), arrive at a crime scene where a dead body has been discovered.   He turns out to be alive and DB gets them to process as much of the scene and suspect as possible, before he's flown out.  DB wants Greg to accompany the flight but Morgan volunteers.  For obvious reasons, so Greg can feel guilty later and act out for being the one who should have been there.  Beforehand Morgan rants about LA and its virtues over Vegas, so why make the move here, other than to reconcile with her father, Ecklie (Marc Vann).

The suspect has marks on his wrists showing he was bound and tazer marks on his neck.   Nick (George Eads) calls for help with the CS he's at, a double homicide and Catherine (Marg Helgenberger) and Sara (Jorga Fox) are in court.   they must really be short staffed.   Another reason why Morgan volunteered cos she could spend some time with Nick, albeit on the job.

Nick finds plasma cutters were used to gain entry to the house, belonging to the gang Mad 10.  Two members were tazered and strangled with wire.   Nick finds the plasma box outside and Brass (Paul Guilfoyle) makes a phonecall.   The cutters were stolen by Frank Cafferty (Johnny Messner).  

From the helicopter Morgan points out the direction of the primary CS to Greg with plenty of blood around and he owes her.   As well as blood, bullets are found, DB photographs tyre treads and Greg also finds two bullets without blood on them and a bloody fingerprint which matches Frank.  Nick's name is on file too and DB calls Nick, his murder suspect turns out to be their Vic.   Frank was released after serving time for manslaughter.   On the helicopter, Frank mumbles Samantha's name and after a fake convulsion, he grabs Morgan's gun, ordering the pilot to fly South to Mexico.

Doc Robbins (Robert David Hall) finds the two DBs were tazered.   Hey what was up with Catherine's make up this episode, she was looking rather pasty on her face and her neck was a different colour, no blending in there.   Sara goes through Frank's belongings and finds a photo of his daughter Samantha (Vanessa Marano) with a man, as well as a letter to Frank.   Catherine IDs the man as one of the Vic's.   The URL on a scrap of paper displays a porn video with a drugged Samantha.   Confirming the reason Frank went after the gang, in order to save her.  Other photos Frank took show Mad 10 members and one drives a Porsche Cayenne, which Hodges (Wallace Langham) matches to the tyre tread DB found.   A partial plate from the photo is traced to Alexander Zadian.

Henry (Jon Wellner) discovers one blood pool at the primary CS was a match to Frank and the other matched a Tiffany (Heather Sossaman).   She's traced to a hospital and she admits she was made to impersonate Samantha; was beaten and then the gang pretended to shoot her in front of Frank.   Nick offers her protection but she sees a tattooed man come into her room and wants Nick to leave.   Did Nick think that was a gang member.

DB tells Ecklie the news about Morgan and she'll be fine.   Ecklie shows genuine concern and emotion for her well-being.   DB is cool under pressure, but that's cos she's not his daughter, just one of his team.   Wonder how DB would react if it was his family.   Ecklie calls DB a better supervisor  than a father he turned out t to be.   DB thinks if they can contact Frank about Samantha, he'll surrender.   Ecklie wonders how they'll locate Samantha, he's meant to be Under Sheriff, sure he could think of some way.   When lo and behold in walks Samantha, after seeing the story on the news.   Yet neither one of them recognized her.

A radio message is broadcast about Samantha being alive and Frank finally hears this.  She tells him to meet at the 'wishing well' where she'll send someone to help him.   They assume this is an escape plan and pull the pug on the radio.   The helicopter changes direction and is almost out of fuel.

Morgan takes an opportunity to bond with Frank, talking about her own parents and how her mother took her to California when she was fourteen and her father didn't fight for her to stay.  DB then believes it may be to kill her father as Samantha admits she's a true member of the gang and they're her family.   Prompting Greg to lose his cool and throw about some chairs.   DB and Catherine look over the rest of the photos and find the wishing well is at an old theme park.   Sara and Nick look at surveillance footage from the carpark and see Samantha being dropped off outside by the same Cayenne.   Reaffirming she wants her father dead.   Well she got her cold wish granted.

From the helicopter Frank spots cars with armed men and running out of fuel they crash land.  Frank and Morgan hide and Brass et al arrive in the nick of time, a bit too quickly.   Morgan gets off two shots at one of the gang and Frank dies.   Ecklie hugs her; she's fine and moves away from him; telling Greg he still owes her.   When she's with DB she cries, hey where were the tears?

Eckile is emotional over Morgan as any father would be and hopefully he sees this as a chance to start over.   Morgan appears indifferent, even when he hugs her, she's shocked but wants to leave with DB.   Bridges can't be mended so soon, but she just appeared to not want to bother right now.   Their problems won't be solved in one moment but she chose to act tough in front of her father even after her ordeal.

After this ordeal, Morgan is the only one who survives which was a little had to swallow, just cos she's a cast regular.   Greg was out of character this episode, as we've never seen him lose his cool over a case before.   Not even affected in this way in last season's 11.14 A Kiss Before Frying when he was burned by the femme fatale, Ellen.   His passionate outburst stems more than just from concern over a missing colleague.   Yet he had the chance to keep this to himself as Ecklie was there to restrain and he won't be telling Morgan anytime soon.

Johnny Messner was in the second ep of season 1 CSI Cool Change, as Ted who was thrown over the roof after he won a jackpot at the casino.   They suspected he had killed himself.  This episode eleven years later gave him more screen time.

Hijacking of a MediVac was also done in CSI:NY episode 2.18 Live and Let Die when a liver intended for transplant purposes was stolen.   CSI changed this to have one of their own in peril instead.   Heather Sossaman was also recently seen in CSI:NY season 8.11 Who's There.

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