Dr Ray Langston (Laurence Fishburne) will continue to pursue Dr Jekyll as season ten rolls on. In tonight’s episode, “Neverland”, a familiar name comes up: Nathan Haskell (Bill Irwin), the Dick and Jane serial killer Gil Grissom (William Petersen) was investigating when Langston was first introduced in “19 Down”. “It’s just a little callback to him, which is kind of eerie and could be a sign of things to come,” episode writer Tom Mularz told TVGuide.com. It turns out that Haskell might have a connection to Dr Jekyll.

“Dr Jekyll isn’t done killing people,” executive producer Carol Mendelsohn said. “We will not only see more victims of Dr Jekyll, but we will begin to see and unravel the obsession that Ray Langston has for catching him. He is hot on his trail, and nothing will stop Langston. It will drive the end of our season.”

As Langston continues to chase Dr Jekyll, the pursuit will take on a more literal form. Fans will get a glimpse of Langston’s more physical side in tonight’s episode. “We get to see him run into a burning building and crash through a door,” Mularz said. “It’s nice to see him in that kind of action mode after we’ve seen him do these brilliant mental tasks.”

Langston’s need to track down the serial killer will come to a head before the season ends. “Dr. Jekyll and Langston may be headed for a final confrontation,” Mendelsohn said, “and I do not think Ray Langston will end up unscathed.”

Meanwhile, “Neverland” will find the team investigating the death of a young boy that ties to one of Sara Sidle’s (Jorja Fox) old cases. “Part of the story deals with a case that Sara handled before leaving for Costa Rica,” Mularz explained. “It was one of the things that kind of frustrated her to the point of wanting to leave. Langston, who joined the team after that, has really only known her as Mrs Grissom. So he gets a glimpse of the fire that still lingers around some of these cases in her mind.”

After a golfer is found dead during a tournament, the Vegas CSIs suspect his killer could be a family member.

Synopsis:

The body of former pro-golfer Russell Huntley is found sitting in a cart during a golf tournament. Doc Robbins examines the body, pointing out what seems to be a bullet hole in his neck, with no exit wound. Doc Robbins estimates he died the night before, approximately 10-12 hours ago. Brass speaks with Michelle, Huntley’s ex-wife and the stepmother of his son Danny, who took her name over his own father’s. She last saw Russell the night before, arguing with his son, who is competing in the tournament. In the morgue, David Phillips is unable to locate a bullet in Russell’s wound, leading him to believe that Russell wasn’t actually shot. Hodges recovers a bloody gambling ticket from the Eclipse, and Catherine sends him to process Huntley’s shoes and locate the primary crime scene. Langston, Greg, Sara and Nick go over the cart and recover two different kinds of golf balls. Brass questions Danny, who admits to fighting with his father at a party the night before at the golf club, but says that was the last time he saw him–and that his father’s last words to him were, “Just remember what this game is really about!” The CSIs recover prints from the Fushida golf balls that match to a caddy named John Dudek and Erin Nagano—Michelle’s sister. Nick finds Erin laboring over a laser in her workshop, and she tells him she was at the party the night before to support Danny. Her prints are on his golfballs because before every tournament, she had to buy the superstitious Danny a new box of Fushida balls.

When the CSIs learn Russell was responsible for ending John Dudek’s pro golf career by ratting him out for using a beta-blocker to reduce anxiety, their suspicions turn to him. Langston questions Dudek, who swears he didn’t harbor any resentment against Huntley. Catherine is able to decipher the Eclipse ticket and learns that Russell bet five thousand dollars against his own son. She notes that Danny had an unusually good game, leading her to wonder if Danny was cheating. Langston points out there are only three ways to cheat in golf: altering the ball, the club or one’s body. The CSIs take a blood sample from Danny, who is irate over the suggestion that he cheated, and test his clubs and balls. When Langston notices one of the Fushida balls bounces, he suspects it’s been tampered with. Because there are no marks on the outside of the ball, Nick believes it’s been altered with lasers—by Erin. Erin admits that Dudek wanted her to “juice” Danny’s golf balls, and that she agreed—in exchange for sex. She swears Danny had no idea she altered the balls’ cores with lasers, and when asked about her alibi for Russell’s murder, she shows Nick webcam footage from her workshop, showing her and Dudek having sex at the time of the murder.

After agonizing over it for some time, Hodges is able to isolate a fungus from the soil samples he has and pinpoint the primary crime scene as a training course. Sara and Greg go to the course and find a swarm of blowflies in the grass. Sara sprays it and finds blood. Looking at red and black paint trace from the fatal wound, Langston suspects the murder weapon was a broken golf club. Catherine tells a stunned Danny about Erin altering his golf balls, and he admits to meeting his father at the training course after Russell challenged him to a game. Russell angrily told Danny to admit that he was cheating or Russell would expose him. Danny left in disgust as his father continued to rail at him and slammed his golf club into the ground as Danny drove off. Danny admits to seeing Michelle on his way out, but insists she couldn’t hurt anyone. Michelle says she was going to the course to hit a few balls, but when she saw Danny leaving the course, she turned around. With no suspects left, Sara and Greg return to the scene and find the murder weapon. Langston finds a partial palm print on the club and tests a theory: Russell inadvertently caused his own death by slamming the club on the ground, causing it to break, and part of the handle to spring up and bury itself in his neck! Russell pulled it out and held his hand on his gushing neck, hopping into the golf cart in an attempt to save his own life–which did not succeed.

Analysis:

For anyone who loves golf, this was probably a dream episode. With no fewer than six golf personalities making cameos and plenty of chatter about the game, for anyone who is a fan of the sport, this episode was no doubt full of sly winks and fun anecdotes. For the uninitiated, though, listening to Nick and Langston debate the merits of golf didn’t make for the most entertaining of exchanges. The trick to bringing viewers into a world they’re not familiar with—be it golf or furry conventions—is to open it up and make it accessible. The problem here is that all the talk of technique and different kinds of balls and handicaps and high scores is meaningless to people without a rudimentary understanding of how golf works. That’s fine for the mechanics of the case, but when it seeps into the banter it takes the fun out of it for those not familiar with the game. That’s not to say there wasn’t plenty to enjoy in the episode—there is—but I found myself getting bored in spots where I think I was supposed to be amused.

I did find the resolution of the case both amusing and satisfying. According to Nick, four golfers a year die in golf-club-related accidents! Both Michelle and Danny Nagano were very sympathetic characters, and I was hoping neither was guilty of Russell’s murder. To discover that the man’s own pompous fit was the cause of his death was a gratifying finish to a case that didn’t really offer up any unlikable suspects. Michelle and Danny both come across as very sincere and forthright, and Erin Nagano, Michelle’s highly-sexed, laser-wielding sister is one of the freshest, most delightful characters to take a turn on a CSI show in a while. I loved the shameless way she flirted with Nick, and her unapologetic admission that she altered Danny’s golf balls with lasers at Dudek’s behest—in exchange for sex. Melissa Tang’s insouciant delivery and charming smirk are pitch perfect for the lively role.

Tang is not alone in the stand out guest star category: Jason Dohring turns in an earnest performance as the likable Danny. There aren’t many suspects that I find myself hoping are innocent, but Danny was definitely one of them. Dohring, one of the stars of the late Veronica Mars and more recently CBS’s vampire drama Moonlight, has proved adept at playing surprisingly sympathetic morally ambiguous characters, but here he’s tackling a much more straightforward character, and he brings a sincerity to the role that wins the audience over. Rosalind Chao as Michelle similarly endears herself to the audience by being just as forthright as Danny. Even as I was trying to puzzle out how exactly Russell Huntley died in the golf training area, I was hoping that neither of these two characters—the last ones to see him alive—were responsible.

There’s a sly wink at fans skeptical about the health of Grissom and Sara’s relationship here in her conversation with Greg. Greg observes that golf is something that he always thought would appeal to Grissom, and Sara’s response is simply that it never came up. Greg responds that sometimes he wonders if they really are married. Sara replies, “Now that you mention it…” before adding, “just kidding.” A clever little poke at the fans who are wondering about Sara essentially rejoining the Vegas team—and being away from her new husband for so long? It definitely feels like one, albeit a good-natured ribbing. Sara certainly seems to have a healthy sense of humor when it comes to jokes about the unique marriage she and Grissom have, and it’s nice to see her genuinely happy. It’s been great having Jorja Fox back this season, and I hope she continues to stick around, even if it isn’t for every episode.

The ever-astute Hodges nearly gets foiled while on the hunt for the crime scene, much to the amusement of his compatriots. Everything Hodges has to work with at first simply points to what they know already–that the murder took place somewhere on the golf course. At one point Hodges tries to join Langston and Nick as they examine Danny’s golf balls, only to have Langston ask, “I guess you found the primary crime scene?” Hodges turns around and walks right out again. Once Hodges finally isolates a fungus that allows him to pinpoint the crime scene’s location, Catherine asks teasingly, “See what you can accomplish when your pride is on the line?” Hodges takes the ribbing in stride, clearly pleased with himself for accomplishing a tricky task.

The CSI Producer discusses the big crossover, what’s coming up in the remaining sweeps episodes of CSI and the return of a memorable nemesis. Lights spoilers inside!

November sweeps has already seen the historic first three CSI show crossover, but there’s more excitement to come, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Producer Allen MacDonald promises. In addition to teasing the episode he’s at work on now–which brings back a familiar face–MacDonald discusses the return of Sara Sidle (Jorja Fox), the departure of Lauren Lee Smith and Nick Stokes’ (George Eads) promotion.

CSI Files: The three-show crossover scored big in the ratings last week. How did the plans for the trilogy originate?

Allen MacDonald: It all started with [Executive Producer] Carol Mendelsohn.  It’s something she’s been wanting to do for some time now.

CSI Files: Was the crossover tricky to pull off?

MacDonald: It was just a matter of scheduling on the part of all three shows.

CSI Files: How was Ray Langston (Laurence Fishburne) chosen to be the character to tie it all together?

MacDonald: Laurence and David Caruso (Horatio Caine) have worked together in features and very much wanted to work together again.  After that, it just snowballed. It was quite a kick to watch Langston interact on-screen with Horatio Caine and Mac Taylor (Gary Sinise).

CSI Files: What else can we expect from sweeps?

MacDonald: A Dustin Lee Abraham episode involving the world of professional bowling and a decapitated human head bowling ball. Intrigued?  Believe me, by the time teaser is over, you’ll be hooked.  It’s gross – but in a fun way.

CSI Files: Bringing in a new leading man after eight and a half seasons is obviously a big challenge. What do you feel was the most difficult thing about the transition from Gil Grissom (William Petersen) to Langston?

MacDonald: Just simultaneously having to do two very important things at the same time: giving Grissom the emotionally satisfying send-off he deserves while simultaneously setting up Langston, and making him a unique, compelling character in his own right, instead of trying to simply recreate Grissom.

CSI Files: Langston’s father seems to loom large in his mind. Are there plans to see him at some point?

MacDonald: Not that I know of — the character is dead and there are no plans to depict him in flashbacks.

CSI Files: Sara Sidle sure is spending a lot of time away from her new husband! Are we meant to read anything into that?

MacDonald: I think it’s always been clear Grissom and Sara would have a non-traditional approach to marriage.

CSI Files: What was behind the decision to have Sara and Grissom marry?

MacDonald: We felt it was a natural conclusion to where we left them both at the end of “One to Go” in the rainforest of Costa Rica.

CSI Files: What was behind the decision to promote Nick Stokes?

MacDonald: To recognize his huge contribution to the team and his growth as an emerging leader.  Catherine (Marg Helgenberger) needed somebody to back her up and Nick seemed like the natural choice.

CSI Files: Nick and Langston seem to be developing a friendship. Will we see more of this?

MacDonald: Absolutely.  They’re getting to know and trust each other.

CSI Files: Greg Sanders (Eric Szmanda) is expressing a little job dissatisfaction this season with regards to the assignments he’s getting. What’s behind Greg’s disgruntled attitude?

MacDonald: It’s like he said to Sara in the premiere, he still feels he’s being treated like the geeky DNA lab tech when, in fact, he’s matured into a seasoned CSI capable of handling anything thrown his way.

CSI Files: We’ve seen a bit more of Catherine in the leadership role this season. Will this continue?

MacDonald: Yes.

CSI Files: Is there any official word on the reason why Lauren Lee Smith (Riley Adams) didn’t return for the tenth season?

MacDonald: From what I understand, it was felt Riley never quite gelled with the rest of the team because she was introduced at a pivotal point in CSI’s history – two episodes after Warrick’s (Gary Dourdan) death and seven episodes before Grissom’s departure.  As a result, the character got a bit lost in the shuffle, which is not a reflection on Lauren, who is a spectacular actress and was much-loved on the set.

CSI Files: Are there any plans for another Lab Rats episode this season?

MacDonald: Yes.  It’s going to be written by Liz Vassey (Wendy Simms) and Wallace Langham (David Hodges), who are working on it with [Executive Producer] Naren Shankar right now.

CSI Files: Are you at work on a new episode now? Can you hint at what it might be about?

MacDonald: I am.  And the only hint I can provide is that it would be the completion of a CSI storyline trilogy involving Sara Sidle and a very, very smart young girl.

When Zuiker got the idea for Level 26, which combines a traditional novel with the visual power of short video “cyber bridges”, he wanted to draw in fans familiar with his other work. “I wanted to build a short bridge from CSI to Level 26,” he explained. “I didn’t want my first ‘digi-novel’ to be a romance book and I have so much information from research I’ve done for CSI that it makes perfect sense that I would do a serial killer-type novel.”

Zuiker added that “it feels pretty good with no one telling me what to do. There are no cooks in the kitchen. There’s no network to answer to. I wanted to have something that was unadulterated that I could really run with. Kind of like Joss Whedon’s Dr Horrible.” But would he consider doing a crossover between his new project and the one that made him famous? “I’ve been thinking about it,” he revealed. “It would be a lot of fun to have Sqweegel on one of the CSIs. It would certainly work. We’ve had some talks about movies, but right now I’m just focused on getting the book off the ground. The next book launches in 2010, so we’re focused on building a strong house.”

Level 26 is a very graphic, violent novel. Zuiker said that was done on purpose. “At the time, I didn’t want readers to pick up the book and say, ‘I can get this on television,’” he explained. “That was my biggest fear. So it’s like an NC-17 CSI episode. The traditional book reader might be feeling that this is a little too dark, and I can sympathize with that. But my thoughts were I’m going to learn as I go forward. Book two will be very much a psychological thriller with less shock value.”

In CSI news, Zuiker said they are hoping for a visit from former leading man Petersen. Now that his onscreen wife Sara Sidle (Jorja Fox) is back indefinitely, the question remains whether Grissom will reappear in the Las Vegas Crime Lab any time soon. “We’re trying to get Billy back,” Zuiker said. “It’s really up in the air right now. He’s sorely missed and I’d love to have him back. Nothing would please me more to get Billy back.”

In “Coup de Grace”, it will be revealed that Sara “just got back from visiting Grissom in Paris,” executive producer Carol Mendelsohn said. However, fans should not expect Grissom to appear on the show any time soon. “We have no plans for Billy to return at the moment,” Mendelsohn said, “but the door’s always open.”

Fox was originally slated to return to CSI for five episodes this season. Executive Producer Carol Mendelsohn has now revealed that the actress will be sticking around on an indefinite basis. “We will be seeing a lot more of Jorja,” Mendelsohn explained. “The season is about bringing the [CSI] family back together again, so [this] was just a natural. Jorja has been the glue that has really helped to reform the bond of our team.”

The exact number of episodes that will feature Fox’s character has not been determined, but it will definitely be more than five. “From our point of view, the more the better,” Mendelsohn said. “As many episodes as we can have Jorja for we want her for.”

Current plans do not include a return from Gil Grissom (William Petersen), but upcoming episodes will explore Sara and Grissom’s unconventional marriage and living arrangements. “We will address the fact that Grissom is somewhere else and Sara is living in Vegas,” Mendelsohn explained. “Everyone on the team is a little interested. They’re like, ‘What’s the deal? Grissom’s there, you’re here, how does that work?’”

Sara and Grissom are “a very modern couple and they have a very healthy relationship,” Mendelsohn said. “They have found a balance in their life that allows them to still feel fulfilled in their marriage and their careers. If it works for them, it works for us.”

The Vegas team tracks a killer… while the audience watches him go about his daily business at work and try to elude capture.

Synopsis:

The audience witnesses Paulie Krill, an office drone in the support ops department for the Tangiers, kill a man in the woods and then sees him go to work the next day, while the CSIs are called in to investigate the case. In the morgue, Doc Robbins concludes that the unidentified man was killed by several blows to the head. He also finds lacerations on the victim’s wrist, indicating that someone was trying to remove something from inside it. Catherine recovers a subcutaneous ID used by some trendy clubs as a way to gain admittance. The story flashes back to five weeks ago when the victim–a suave IT guy named Jason Deveraux shows his co-workers, including Paulie and a pretty woman named Belinda–how the device in his wrist works as a security key. In the present, Paulie’s sleazy boss hits on Belinda and Paulie defends her, impressing the young woman. In the lab, Hodges examines the murder weapon–a thick piece of metal–and posits that it may have been a piece of something that was destroyed by a pipe bomb. Catherine gets an ID off the implanted chip: Jason Deveraux. Nick and Greg find his car abandoned outside of his apartment building. While Brass questions Jason’s co-workers at the Tangiers support department, Nick and Langston go over Jason’s workspace and find it’s set up to remotely access his laptop. Brass speaks with Belinda, who placed frequent calls to Jason in the evenings, and Paulie, who openly admits he didn’t like Jason. The team also discovers Jason was accessing the computer information of several of his co-workers.

The team traces Jason’s stolen computer to a hapless neighbor, who claims he found Jason’s door wide open. Hodges finds RDX trace laced in the fingerprint on the metal murder weapon, indicating an explosive was used. The story flashes back to three weeks ago, when Jason approached Paulie to be his partner in crime on a plan to blow up a safe full of money at work and make off with the cash. In the present, the CSIs discover Jason had a penchant for blowing things up as a child–and also had an uncle at a mining company. A flashback to ten days ago reveals Jason showing Paulie the safe, his way in and the escape route–a dusty crawl way which Jason convinces Paulie to get in–and then pranks him. In the present, Paulie sees Jason’s mom visit the office to clean out Jason’s things and offers to help her. The CSIs learn another piece of metal has been found near the scene–this one with blood and a serial number on it. DNA in Jason’s bed links him to Belinda, and Brass finds her with Paulie when he goes to bring her in for questioning. Paulie covertly drops a flash drive with security codes that belonged to Jason in Belinda’s purse. Belinda admits to having a fling with the charming IT tech, but vehemently denies killing Jason.  The team learns from the serial number on the metal that it was a part of a safe, and traces it to Paulie Krill and puts an APB out for him. The final flashback takes place two nights ago, when Paulie told Jason he couldn’t go through with their plan to blow up the safe at the Tangiers and steal the money. Jason berated him, calling him “empty space” and Paulie killed him in a rage. In the present, the team rushes to the Tangiers support ops office… just in time to witness Paulie detonate his bomb. The safe explodes, the money showers down–and a piece of the safe slams into Paulie, slicing into him and trapping him. “I knew it would work,” he says, just before he dies.

Analysis:

With three CSI shows and a combined twenty-one seasons between them (not even counting the three current seasons), novel ideas are getting harder and harder to find. The concept of revealing the killer to the audience at the outset and watching as he or she tries to elude justice has been used before, but it’s a fun game-changer and works pretty effectively here. Tim Blake Nelson, best known for film roles such as O Brother, Where Art Thou? and Minority Report, is very effective as the disgruntled Paulie Krill. He’s by turns creepy and sinister, and though the audience never goes quite so far as to root for him, Nelson does a great job of conveying Paulie’s grim glee at the end of the episode when Paulie does indeed bust open the safe and sees his perfect escape… which is denied to him thanks to the laws of physics and downright rotten luck, which sends a huge piece of the safe careening into him.

Though Paulie might at first seem to be somewhat of a downtrodden office worker cliche–think the serious version of The Office’s Dwight–writer (and director) Naren Shankar puts a small but key moment in the episode that proves that Paulie is much more cunning and ruthless than he first seems. Sure, he kills Jason in a fit of rage and then presses forward with Jason’s plan, but his true devious side comes out when he slips Jason’s flash drive in Belinda’s purse. Before that moment, it seemed like Paulie was pretty smitten with Belinda–to the point that it initially seemed like his motive for killing Jason could have been jealousy. The first flashback shows Paulie longing after Belinda… as she flirts with smooth player type Jason. And the moment before Paulie slipped the drive in Belinda’s purse, she was suggesting they go get a drink, hinting that–at least in Paulie’s eyes–he may have had a shot with her. The move even more than the murder (which seems like an act of rage rather than premeditation) paints Paulie as a cunning sociopath rather than an accidental killer.

Indeed, the murder seems to bring out Paulie’s dark side. He flatly asks Belinda early in the episode, after a run in with their scuzzy supervisor Terrence–played with aplomb by Wayne Knight–if she doesn’t think “some people would be better off dead?” Later, when Jason’s forlorn mother comes to clean out his desk, Paulie doesn’t avoid her; rather, he approaches her, offering her his condolences and his help with packing up Jason’s things. No, Paulie is not a killer with a conscious–he’s a sleeper sociopath who was spurred into action by Jason’s plan and then his putdowns. Once Paulie commits to evil by killing Jason, he’s in it to win. And he almost does–the fantasy plays out in Paulie’s mind even as he expires, saying with no small amount of pride, “I knew it would work.”

The potential for violence within is mirrored in a brief scene in which Langston tests his own DNA for monoamine oxidase A–a gene that Wendy points out has been linked to violent behavior. Langston gets mad when she brings this up, pointing out that it’s genetics, not a certainty. Langston talked a bit about his father’s violent behavior in last week’s “Ghost Town” and in the premiere, “Family Affair” was bothered by the fact that he didn’t feel worse about shooting and killing Walter Ellis at the end of “All In”. That shooting, and his lack of remorse over it, is clearly weighing on Langston and causing him to wonder if he’s more like his father than he wants to believe he is. I suppose Langston having the genetic predisposition for violence is an interesting question, but I find myself more curious about why his mother’s name was left blank on the DNA profile he was examining. Was he simply only curious about a connection on his father’s side, or does it mean more? Is it possible that Langston doesn’t know his mother?

While the gimmick is fun and presents a different perspective, it’s hard not to notice that the main characters, save for Langston, are a bit lost in the shuffle. This episode is largely carried by the guest stars, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing when the likes of Nelson and Knight are making appearances, but doesn’t exactly satisfy viewers hungry for development for their favorite characters. Sara doesn’t show up this time around; it probably would have been a waste of one of Jorja Fox’s five contracted episodes to use her in this plot-heavy entry. But the show still feels somewhat in flux, missing an anchor somehow. It’s hard to lose a lead, and though William Petersen was a low key presence, he was definitely a strong one. Laurence Fishburne has a similar energy, intense but understated, and he’s a worthy new lead. But I find myself less interested in some fancy DNA explanation for what might make him angry or violent than I do about, say, the lingering feelings and wariness he might have from working alongside an Angel of Death (which does get alluded to here). “Family Affair” hearkened a return to a stronger cohesiveness among the team, and although change like that can’t come overnight, let’s hope it does come sooner, rather than later.