Sqweegel (14 Oct. 2010)

A well-known Las Vegas philanthropist is brutally slashed in her bed, and the team soon discovers that it is dealing with a killer who knows the secrets of some of the city's most prominent citizens.

Director:

Jeffrey G. Hunt

Writers:

Anthony E. Zuiker (creator), Carol Mendelsohn (teleplay),

Stars:

Laurence Fishburne, Marg Helgenberger, George Eads

Cast

Episode credited cast:
Laurence Fishburne	...	Dr. Raymond Langston
Marg Helgenberger	...	Catherine Willows
George Eads	...	Nick Stokes
Eric Szmanda	...	Greg Sanders
Robert David Hall	...	Dr. Al Robbins
Wallace Langham	...	David Hodges
David Berman	...	David Phillips
Paul Guilfoyle	...	Captain Jim Brass
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jaime Alvarez	...	Car Wash Valet
Ann-Margret	...	Margot Wilton
Mitchell Fink	...	Ryan Fink
Laurie Fortier	...	Carrie Jones
Oscar Goodman	...	Oscar B. Goodman (as Oscar B. Goodman)
David Julian Hirsh	...	Jason Jones
Anne Leighton	...	Younger Margot

Storyline

The whole team concentrates on the mysterious attacks of an intruder on rich homes of prominent Las Vegas citizens, known as philanthropists or heroes. They work out the criminal must be sort of a contortionist with a latex fetish. He stalked each victim long term, even taking up secret residence in their homes, and left clues indicating he objected to their honorable status, knowing some incriminating series. Despite the likeliness of another attack, Margot Wilton insists to return home without police protection after her hospital release.

---

Plot Keywords:

wheelchair | hospital gown | boy | fire | disguise | 

---

Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

---

Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 October 2010 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Jerry Bruckheimer Television, CBS Television Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sqweegel originated in the novel Level 26: Dark Origins by Anthony E. Zuiker with Duane Swierczynski, and had been played by Daniel Browning Smith in its "cyberbridge" companion videos. The car wash sequence (from where Sqweegel gets his name) is also from the book. The episode's broadcast date coincides with the release date of its sequel Level 26: Dark Prophecy.

---

Goofs

When "Ian Moone" descends from the attic towards the end of the episode, he is holding some of Margot's letters. When he moves through the house, spider-like, he doesn't have the letters. Soon after, he has them again, as he throws them into the air.

---

Soundtracks

"Waiting For The End"
(uncredited)
Performed by Linkin Park

User Reviews

Pedagogic series goes for broke with scary visuals...but the writing is a constant obstacle

Condensing Anthony E. Zuiker's serial killer novel "Level 26: Dark Origins" for a (seemingly) one-part episode of a television crime series was a risky move--and the returns might have paid off if only the writing here wasn't so one-dimensional. Ann-Margret guest-stars as a Las Vegas honcho who is attacked in her bedroom one night by a "slippery man" armed with a straight-razor. The Crime Scene Investigating team believe the attacker to be a stalker of the still-sexy redhead, until an unrelated woman is attacked by the same nutcase in her vehicle during a car-wash (!) and is killed. Nearly everything is laid out in elemental terms (i.e., dumbed-down) for an audience of a presumably limited intelligence. The killer's appearance (wear a full-body latex sex suit) and his acrobatic movements are really the only things of interest here, as the actors fall prey to the pedantic teleplay and the director's penchant for displaying open cuts and wounds in loving close-up.