CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Season Five, Episode 24: Grave Danger
Its officially Stream and Scream month at Decider, and to kick off our Decider Classics for October is the terrifying Season Five finale of CSI: Crime Scene Investigationdirected by Quentin Tarantino.
Written By: Anthony E. Zuiker, Carol Mendelsohn, Naren Shankar, and Quentin Tarantino
Original Air Date: May 19, 2005
Watch it On: Amazon Instant Video
What Its About: The graveyard shift has begun, and Nick (George Eads) is blissfully driving down the Las Vegas Strip on his way to a crime scene in the middle of a parking lot across from the MGM Grand. As hes investigating a set of intestines, however, a mysterious figure snatches him away.
The team desperately tries to uncover any clues possible on Nicks whereabouts when they receive a cassette (its 2005, people!) and hard drive in the mail from his captor. Grissom (William Petersen) and the crew soon realize theyre working with a professional. The kidnapper reveals that the city has 21 hours to come up with $1 million or else Nick will die.
Why Its So Good: Thefirst few seasons of CSI left us breathless.Wed never seen anything like it before. Now forensic series are a dime a dozen, and CSI is currently a shell of what it used to be. This particular episode is not only the best of the series, but arguably the most intense, violent, and, yes, terrifying finale in primetime history. With Tarantino behind the lens, the tone of the episode immediately takes a turn for the ominous: its noticeably unique and heightened, provingTarantino and the Las Vegas landscape should have been pals long ago. Even the long, winding dialogue found in his films is evident in the flashback scenes, which adds more weight to these characters we think we know so well.
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CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Season Five, Episode 24: Grave Danger