"CSI: NY" Taxi (2008)

Director:

Christine Moore

Writers:

Anthony E. Zuiker (creator) &
Ann Donahue (creator) ...

TV Series:

"CSI: NY" (2004)

Original Air Date:

14 May 2008 (Season 4, Episode 20)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

The search continues for the taxicab killer, who has now captured Reed and is using his blog to publicize his next attack. |

Plot Keywords:

New York | New York City | Crime Scene | Investigation | Detective

Cast

Gary Sinise	...	Detective Mac Taylor
Melina Kanakaredes	...	Detective Stella Bonasera
Carmine Giovinazzo	...	Detective Danny Messer
Anna Belknap	...	Detective Lindsay Monroe
Hill Harper	...	Dr. Sheldon Hawkes
Eddie Cahill	...	Detective Don Flack
Jessalyn Gilsig	...	Jordan Gates
Emmanuelle Vaugier	...	Detective Jessica Angell
Kyle Gallner	...	Reed Garrett
Kristen Dalton	...	Quinn Shelby
Ryan Locke	...	Cabbie Killer
Sammi Rotibi	...	Arthur Bodie
Robert Joy	...	Dr. Sid Hammerback
Lucas Ford	...	Jeff Conte
Jessica Makinson	...	Mary Ann D'Amico

Company:

CBS Paramount Network Television

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the female victim "Claire"'s body is placed in the trunk, her eyes are open, despite being dead. As the camera pans away before the trunk is closed, her eyes move.

Quotes:

Detective Mac Taylor: [to Reed] Jimmy the cab driver was also known as police officer James Chameides.
Detective Mac Taylor: [to Reed] He was moonlighting as a cabbie out of five brothers garage.
Reed Garrett: [to Mac] No, wait a minute.
Reed Garrett: [to Mac] I thought Chameides was the work of the Cabbie Killer
Reed Garrett: [to Mac] He was... dumped from a cab.
Detective Mac Taylor: [to Reed] His own cab after he was brutally beaten and murdered by three men.
Detective Mac Taylor: [to Reed] Vigilante justice.
Detective Mac Taylor: [to Reed] Now, where do you think they got the idea that Jimmy was the cabbie killer?
Reed Garrett: [to Mac] You're not blaming me for this guy's death?
Detective Mac Taylor: [to Reed] I'm blaming you for putting the target on his back.
[...]

Soundtrack:

Dale Que Dale

Boom - The Cabbie Is Caught

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

The "Cabbie Killer" mystery is finally solved and, I thought, a little too abruptly for all the weeks the writers had put into it. Boom! - as "Danny Messer" likes to say - it was over.....kind of anti-climactic.....especially after the opening few minutes.

That dramatic opening had "Don Flack" (Eddie Cahill) chasing the apparent cab killer down a few blocks on a city street, and a body was dumped out of the cab. Flack chased it on foot, but the driver jumped the curb and escaped eventually on foot.. The abandoned cab provides enough clues to eventually discover who the killer is, and eventually to where he lives.

That being the case, the dead body thrown out of the cab is not the famous "Cabbie Killer" who has been terrorizing the city. In fact, it's learned by halfway in the story that a group of vigilantes had beaten up and killed the guy. They thought he was the killer. It turns out the victim is a cop from New Jersey moonlighting in his cab. Thanks to erroneous info given out by Mac's annoying stepson "Reed," an innocent man is dead.

You know how CSI workers deduce incredible things in a short period that are almost impossible to solve? Well, that is really the case here with Mac, regarding "Reed's" hidden messages on his blogger site, after being kidnapped by the "Cabbie Killer." The climax and explanation of the killer is wrapped up so fast it hardly makes sense, which is no surprise when you're talking about Hollywood and theology, which the writers give us. It's all very lame. That's too bad because the chase scenes and the suspense were very good, leading up to the ending.

On a positive note, it appears "Reed" may have done some growing up and will have a more respectful relationship with "Mac," his sort-of father. (Reed is the son of Mac's ex-wife but not Mac's son.) This episode's main feature was Reed being used by the murder-kidnapper as an outlet to get publicity, or something like that.

Meanwhile, I was surprised nothing was added to the in-house deal with Danny and Lyndsay. I guess they are just going to deal with that situation (romance?) next season.