Tough start: Ray Langston (Laurence Fishburne, a.k.a. the beloved Gil Grissom's replacement) started his first official shift as a CSI level 1. He had his briefcase full of fingerprint powder and was dressed in a suit and tie. But his day turned out a bit more complicated. On the way to his first case with Nick (a burglary) he saw an explosion marking his second (an arson).
Thanks for nothing: The burglary seemed simple enough. A couple was missing, jewelry, a laptop, watch and some other items. A GPS in the laptop led Riley and Ray to father and son Dick and Alex Palento, and they discovered the stolen goods in Alex’s garage room. It turned out that Alex’s mom, a hooker, had stolen the stuff. Riley got Alex to turn against her. Ray seemed protective throughout the case and even discovered that the owner of the house had been with Alex’s hooker mom and then staged the robbery. But when he tried to comfort Alex, the boy spit in his face.
Tied down: Nick and Ray discovered a very crispy corpse at the arson scene. When Ray and Super Dave tried to lift it, not only did part of the body break off in Ray’s hands, another part ended up on his tie, which he had to cut off. He should have listened to Nick, who told him earlier, “You know, you’re not required to wear a tie unless you’re in court.” Ray’s suit and dress shoes didn’t come out unscathed either.
Cutting in: Langston put his history as a doctor to work when Robbins asked him if he’d like to cut open arson victim Don Kingsley’s trachea. “It’s just like destroying a bicycle,” Robbins said, prodding him to do it. They discovered that Kingsley had been unconscious before the fire and had been struck on the head. Then Greg and Ray realized that a timed homemade bomb could have been behind the explosion.
Bombs away: Hodges cut Ray no slack on his first day. He chided him about his “doctor’s handwriting,” refused to be helpful and was basically an all-around ass. He did, however, tell Ray that there was corn on the bomb fragments. And after looking through some bomb-making books, and reconstructing the cornmeal bomb, he found the perfect way to win Hodges over: By inviting him to test the bomb. The two of them set it up in the parking lot and discovered that the cornmeal worked as a timing agent. “OK, I’m impressed,” said Hodges.
Caught on tape: The case was solved when Archie discovered a tape showing Don Kingsley’s wife Paula kissing their contractor, Josh Barston. And after Brass interviewed him, Barston confessed to the crime, chuckling as he recalled making the bomb.
Fun facts: One of the best things about having Ray join the show is that as he learns the CSI ropes, so do viewers. We found out that the only kinds of fingerprint powder you need on a crime scene are black, magnetic and dragon’s blood — and that you can use your breath to get the powder to adhere to the surface. Catherine also told Ray that magnetic power works best on a porous surface. I’m now ready to start taking prints.
Grissom’s office: Catherine stood in Grissom’s empty office and told Ecklie she didn’t want it. She offered it to Nick, who decided to share it with Greg and Riley. And Hodges brought back Grissom’s fetal pig for the shelf. It was a good move — it belongs there.
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