The other cliffhanger from last season involved Ray Langston (Lawrence Fishburne) getting shanked by his nemesis, Nate Haskell. Ray survives, but loses a kidney and Haskell toys with him all season long, actually escaping prison and kidnapping Ray's ex-wife and the only woman he has ever loved, Gloria (Tracee Ellis Ross, Girlfriends) in the process. The Nate Haskell storyline does culminate this season in a very risky and dangerous way for Ray and the team is there to back him up, in more ways than they ever imagined.
Sara Sidle (Jorja Fox) is still managing her odd marriage to Gil, since he is away in Peru and she comes up against his hearing impaired mother in an episode where the two lock horns. Meanwhile, David Hodges (Wallace Langham) experiences heartbreak when Wendy moves out of state for a new job, just as their relationship was beginning, but on the upside, he gets more field time this season.
Catherine finds herself fighting for her team continuously and, at one point, even for her relationship with Vartan, when an incarcerated cop is murdered in prison and the finger points to a group of cops who may have been involved, including her boyfriend.
Another really cool episode, my favorite of the season, revolves around a killer by the name of Sqweegel, who is also a character in one of Anthony Zuiker's (series creator) books. This guy is slight of build and an amazing contortionist wearing full body latex who preys on people who are praised by the city for their good deeds, but Sqweegel knows their secrets. He attacks them with a straight razor and tells them to openly confess to their sins and when they don't, he returns two weeks later to complete the job. Las Vegas icon Ann-Margret stars in this episode, essentially playing herself (minus the murder, of course) and it's a fantastic episode. I am excited to see Sqweegel's return in Season 12 as was mentioned in a featurette, since he is the perfect foil to the team - virtually forensics-proof.
Aside from these episodes, CSI has a host of crazy episodes, includes a killer shark in a hotel pool; a hoarder with bodies in the house; a hardcore gamer who dies while playing; one on warring vampires and werewolves; an Erin Brokovich-type situation; and even one with dinosaurs! CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: The Eleventh Season also tries to bring on the sexy a good bit with an episode starring Dita Von Teese about a killer murdering people connected to old Vegas history. It's nice to see a peek into Greg (Eric Szmanda) and his personal life as he falls for the sexy siren. Among other celebs making appearances this season are Elliot Gould, Christina Milian and Marlee Matlin. There's even a video call with Grissom, and it was so great to see him again.
There are a host of special features spread across the discs for CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: The Eleventh Season (which I wish had all been lumped on the last disc, personally). There are a handful of deleted scenes and commentary on key episodes, plus featurettes on certain episodes like Sqweegel, the gaming episode, the episode surrounding the
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: The Eleventh Season gets back to basics and presents a lot of really fun episodes, but still loaded with interesting crimes and interpersonal relations. It's can't-miss stuff and highly recommended. I await Season 12 with incredible anticipation.
