Another crossover (between NY and Miami) was featured on November 72005, (CSI: Miami) and November 9, 2005, (CSI: NY) which involved a crashed plane and an escaped serial killer, and included members of both casts.
Like the other two CSI programs, the theme song is by The Who; this time the song is "Baba O'Riley", incorrectly known as "Teenage Wasteland".
NYPD CSI Head Investigator Detective 1st Grade Mac Taylor, played by Gary Sinise, is the leader of the CSI team. The death of his wife, Claire Conrad Taylor, in the 9/11 attacks troubles him to this day, causing chronic insomnia. He served in the USMC, once saying that he had wanted to serve the country more than anything else in the world. He served in Beirut in 1983, from which he still bears a scar over his heart. Mac will protect three things at any cost: the honor of his country, the safety of his city, and the integrity of his lab. This is why he chose to fire Aiden Burn (see below) after she tampered with evidence. Mac has a close friendship with Stella Bonasera and plays bass guitar at jazz clubs during his off time. This talent was discovered by Lindsay Monroe when she observed, during an investigation, that he knew how to hold the instrument. In season three, he is revealed to have been dating Dr. Peyton Driscoll, played by Claire Forlani. He also met the son that Claire had given birth to years before they met, only after the boy, now a teenager named Reed Garrett, was found to be shadowing Stella, thinking that she was Claire.
NYPD CSI Detective 1st Grade Stella Bonasera, played by Melina Kanakaredes, is absolutely devoted to her job due to her strong personality, determination and intelligence. She is a half-Greek, half-Italian orphan, who grew up moving throughout foster homes. She is very close to Mac and constantly worries about his physical and mental well-being. In episode 221 ("All Access"), Stella was held captive in her own home by her unstable boyfriend, Frankie Mala, and was forced to kill him. Because of her close relationship with Mac, she was mistakenly thought to be Mac's late wife, Claire, by Reed Garrett, a child that Claire had given birth to and put up for adoption before she had met Mac.
NYPD CSI Detective 3rd Grade Danny Messer, played by Carmine Giovinazzo, is arguably the most complex of the main cast. He grew up in a family under surveillance. Danny formulated his own set of hybrid ethics, blending the world of law-breakers with the world of lawmakers. Mac personally selected Danny to join his team, which is an honor and responsibility that Danny attempts to live up to every day. He does not trust people easily, as shown in episodes: "A Man a Mile," "Rain," and once again in "Hung Out to Dry". In episode 220 ("Run Silent, Run Deep"), Danny was implicated in a 15-year-old cold murder case. His brother Louie, who was involved with the infamous Tanglewood Boys, was severely beaten and left in a coma after acquiring evidence exonerating him in the case. Danny has developed a crush on co-worker Lindsay Monroe, who initially declined his advances, albeit reluctantly ("Love Run Cold"). In "Sleight Of Hand," Danny travels to Montana to support Lindsay as she testifies as a witness in a murder trial. After the verdict, Danny embraces a grateful Lindsay and they leave the courtroom hand in hand.
NYPD CSI Detective 3rd Grade Dr. Sheldon Hawkes, played by Hill Harper, was formerly a Medical Examiner with the NYC Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME). He was a child prodigy who graduated college at eighteen, and by 24 he was a fully board-licensed surgeon. He had several years experience in the ER (episode 202, "Grand Murder at Central Station"). After losing two patients, he abandoned surgery in favor of the medical examiner's office. At the start of season 2, Hawkes has moved from the autopsy room out into the field. In episode 311, "Raising Shane," Hawkes is arrested as the prime suspect in a robbery and murder, but the rest of the team, despite being removed from the case, end up proving his innocence through a seemingly unrelated case.
NYPD Homicide Detective 1st Grade Donald Flack, Jr., played by Eddie Cahill, comes from a long line of law enforcement officials. He bridges the gap between old school NYPD and the new generation of CSI. He is a witty homicide detective who has very little patience with the "bad guy", and his techniques are sometimes considered somewhat borderline, though effective. He is good friends with Danny Messer, and is always willing to lend an ear to Danny's problems (as in the episode "On The Job"). Flack has to arrest his former police mentor, Gavin Moran, when it comes to light that Moran had concealed evidence in episode 117 ("The Fall"). During the season 2 finale, Flack was severely injured in a bomb explosion, and ended season 2 still in a coma. As of the season 3 premiere, he is fully recovered and back on duty with CSI, chasing down suspects with all of his previous endurance. Flack is very protective of his "guys," sometimes to a fault. In "Consequences," he was reluctant to help Mac when evidence seemed to point to one of his men as the killer in a case Mac was working. Flack is ordered to hand his notebook, in which are details of a drug bust in which some of the drugs disappeared, over to Mac, which causes some serious tension between them. The tension came to a head during the events of "Sweet 16."
NYPD CSI Detective 3rd Grade Lindsay Monroe, played by Anna Belknap (season 2 - present), worked as a CSI for three years in Montana and finally realized her dream of moving to a big city like New York. Her Midwestern work ethic and willingness to roll up her sleeves and tackle any job is a welcome addition to the team where she is quickly put through rookie training by Mac on their first case. Excited and always willing to learn, Lindsay offers a fresh perspective to the lab, rarely hinting at the dark and devastating secret that originally motivated her to dedicate her life to being a CSI. She often does little experiments with science and the evidence, which has endeared her to Stella and Mac. When she first came to New York, she was typically given all of the dirty jobs, like sifting through tiger dung ("Zoo York") and recovering evidence from a pool of lubricant ("Trapped"). Because of her roots, Danny affectionately calls her "Montana." When he pursues a relationship with her, however, Lindsay refuses, haunted by the resurgent memories of witnessing the senseless murder of her friends when she was younger ("Love Run Cold," "Silent Night"), and it is only until after her testimony helps convict the suspect in the multiple murders that she shows signs of allowing herself to get closer to Danny.
Former characters
NYPD CSI Detective 3rd grade Aiden Burn, played by Vanessa Ferlito (seasons 1- episode 202). Aiden was a Brooklyn native who had the ability to adapt to new situations very quickly and had a love and drive for her job similar to that of Sara Sidle on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. She was dismissed from the team in season two, episode 2 ("Grand Murder At Central Station") after becoming obsessed with a rape case concerning her friend and considering planting evidence to implicate a suspect, D.J. Pratt, who had allegedly raped the same victim previously (the victim did not seek to press charges then). She did not actually plant the evidence, but broke the seal on an evidence packet containing one of Pratt's hairs. Because of this, Mac felt he had no choice but to fire her to preserve the integrity of the CSI lab. Aiden agreed with Mac's decision because she didn't know if she would resist the temptation in the future, but before leaving, managed to extract a promise from Mac that he would get Pratt for his crime. After her dismissal from the crime lab, Aiden was apparently working on getting her private investigator's license while she was trying to find evidence that would conclusively tie Pratt to the rape case. In the penultimate season 2 episode "Heroes", she was lured, ambushed, and brutally murdered by Pratt and incinerated inside a stolen car after having shadowed him for months. In the heat of the moment, she left behind critical evidence that she knew would help her former colleagues close in on Pratt. Aiden's murder devastated Mac and the rest of the team, particularly Danny, to whom she was especially close (at one time, she joked that she was way out of his league).
Recurring characters
NYPD Homicide Detective 1st Grade Jennifer Angell (Emmanuelle Vaugier, season 3- ), a detective who sometimes briefs the CSIs at their crime scenes. She debuted in season 3's premiere and is affectionately called "Angel" by Hawkes ("People With Money").[1] Though intended to fill in for Don Flack while he was recovering from the injuries he sustained during "Charge Of This Post," she still works with the team after Flack's recovery and return to active duty.
New York Medical Examiner Dr. Sid Hammerback (Robert Joy, season 2- ), a Medical Examiner described as an "off-the-charts genius" who only recently traded in a career as a chef to become medical examiner. He has a habit of overtalking and oversharing, which former ME Hawkes refers to as "going to that creepy place." Despite any eccentricities on his part, Hammerback is extremely perceptive and sincerely cares for the well-being of his coworkers (he invites Mac Taylor to his family's Thanksgiving festivities so Mac would not have to spend the holiday alone). Hammerback nearly dies from a severe allergic reaction to a meatball hero he ate in episode 317 ("The Ride In") and is saved by the timely intervention of Stella Bonasera. Hammerback, divorced at least once (episode 304, "Hung Out to Dry"), is currently married, with two daughters. One daughter is college age (episode 302, "Not What It Looks Like").
New York Medical Examiner Dr. Peyton Driscoll (Claire Forlani, season 3- ), a Medical Examiner from London who is also in a relationship with Mac. She used to work with both Hammerback and Hawkes and proclaims herself to be "a little protective." She debuted in season 3's premiere, "People With Money."[2] Peyton and Mac had initially kept their relationship secret from their co-workers, which caused much friction between the two (she even walked out on him briefly after a tense discussion about the subject). By the beginning of "Heart Of Glass," however, their relationship was known to everyone except, apparently, Danny.
Laboratory Technician Zack Shannon (David Julian Hirsh, season 2- ), a tech in the Trace Lab.
Laboratory Technician Adam Ross (A.J. Buckley, season 2-), a jack-of-all-trades lab tech originally from Phoenix, Arizona. His specialty is trace evidence. He sometimes accompanies the CSIs to crime scenes to aid in reconstruction or evidence collection. Adam has a severe dislike of snow and cold weather (episode 313, "Obsession"); he remarked that because he was from Phoenix, he considered temperatures below 85 degrees Fahrenheit cold. He admits during "Some Buried Bones" that "[his] father was a bully" after he recognizes a suspect's instinctual flinch as shying from an anticipated strike, which seems to hint that Adam himself had been abused as a child.
Shane Casey (Edward Furlong, season 3- ), a young man embroiled in a case where a serial killer uses the codes and stories found on a series of trendy t-shirts as inspiration for his grisly killings. Shane is believed to be targeting Hawkes and the prosecutors who put his brother, Ian, away for a crime that Shane thought he was innocent of. On the day of the sentencing, Ian hanged himself. Introduced in the fourth episode of season 3, "Hung Out To Dry."[3] In the season 3 episode "Raising Shane," Shane frames Hawkes for a robbery and murder, saying he will give the evidence to clear Hawkes if the team will prove Ian was innocent. He demands to talk to Danny alone, and during this confrontation, Danny brings proof that Ian did indeed commit the crime for which he was arrested. Thoroughly devastated, Shane was then easily arrested for murdering the man he had hired to impersonate Hawkes.
Reed Garrett (Kyle Gallner, season 3- ), the now-teenaged son of Claire Conrad Taylor, Mac's late wife. Claire had given birth to Reed when she was very young, and had put him up for adoption long before she met Mac. Reed, wanting to find Claire, saw Stella coming out of Mac's home one day and, thinking that she was Claire, began to follow her. After he learned the truth, Reed was reluctant to connect with Mac, because Mac is not his biological father. Still, Reed knows that Mac is the only link he has to knowing more about his mother. In "Sweet 16," Mac visits Reed at his home for Thanksgiving, and gives him photos of Claire. Reed and Mac bond further during the events of "Some Buried Bones," in which Reed's friend at college is murdered and Reed himself is assaulted. Reed also learns that the body of his mother has, to date, never been recovered from the World Trade Center site.
Former recurring characters
NYPD Homicide Detective 1st Grade Kaile Maka (Kelly Hu, season 1-2), sometimes accompanies the CSIs on investigations.
Laboratory Technician Jane Parsons (Sonya Walger, season 1-2), head of the DNA Lab.
Laboratory Technician Leonard Giles (J. Grant Albrecht, season 1), head of the tech lab, former runner now paralyzed from the waist down.
Laboratory Technician Chad Willingham (Chad Lindberg, season 1), a lab technician.
New York Medical Examiner Dr. Evan Zao (Ron Yuan, season 2). He was supposed to replace Dr. Hawkes as Medical Examiner after he took field work, but only appeared in 4 episodes.
New York Medical Examiner Dr. Marty Pino (Jonah Lotan, season 2), who appeared in two episodes ("Trapped" and "Super Men") as a night shift coroner. Most known for wearing a New York Giants football jersey under his scrubs.
There are 23 episodes in season one and 24 episodes in season two. Season three is currently airing in the United States. As of March 21, 2007, 19 episodes of season three have aired, bringing the total count of aired episodes to 66.
U.S. Television Ratings
Seasonal rankings (based on average total viewers per episode) of CSI: NY on CBS.
Note: Each U.S. network television season starts in late September and ends in late May, which coincides with the completion of May sweeps.
Region 2 DVD releases have followed a pattern whereby each season is progressively released in two parts (each of 11 or 12 episodes, with special features split up) before finally being sold as a single box set.
In November 2004, the Spike TV network purchased the syndication rights to the series for a record price of US$1.9 million per episode. The network already owns the rights to CSI: Crime Scene Investigation for which it paid US$1.6 million per episode. CSI: NY joined the Spike line-up on October 1, 2006.
Trivia
The first two seasons of the show aired in the same time slot as NBC's Law & Order, a much older crime drama also set in New York City. Eventually Law & Order moved to a new timeslot (Fridays at 10 PM) against another well-received CBS procedural drama, Numb3rs.
Andy Garcia was originally offered the lead role, a character who would have been named Detective Rick Calucci. He declined, as did Ray Liotta, who later accepted a lead role in another CBS series, Smith, which only lasted 3 episodes.[4]
While filming on location in downtown Los Angeles, an actual dead body was found in an apartment building, several floors down from the film crew's location. The body turned out to be the mummified remains of a long-dead tenant. The main cast was not on set at the time.[5] In an ironic twist, one of the cases in episode 302, "Not What It Looks Like," involves a missing woman whose mummified body is found in an abandoned apartment.
Gary Sinise's character, Mac Taylor, shares the same last name with the other character for which Sinise is best known for, namely Lieutenant Dan Taylor from Forrest Gump. In Forrest Gump, Lt. Dan and Forrest invest in Apple Inc.'s Macintosh, commonly called a Mac.
In the season 2 episode "Grand Murder at Central Station," series regular Carmine Giovinazzo does an uncredited part as the public address announcer at the beginning of the episode; the audience hears him before any characters are seen in that episode.
In the crossover episode with CSI: Miami ("MIA/NYC Nonstop") in which Mac Taylor and the team from New York are introduced to the viewers, Danny Messer does not wear glasses and appears not to need them. Since the start of CSI: NY, however, Danny wears glasses almost constantly.
Dr. Sid Hammerback has now had the longest tenure as a coroner of the five shown on the series. CSI: NY has also had the most coroners of any show in the franchise (CSI has had one coroner and one coroner's assistant throughout seven seasons; CSI: Miami has had one coroner throughout five seasons).
Larry Romano, who played Danny's brother Louie in the episode "Run Silent, Run Deep," is Carmine Giovinazzo's real-life cousin.
In the Season 2 episode "Fare Game," a man and his daughter are running lines from "Of Mice and Men" as George Milton and Lennie Smalls, respectively. Mac Taylor, played by Gary Sinise, walks up and says, "She just might beat us both out for the part." Gary Sinise played George Milton in the 1992 movie version of "Of Mice and Men".
