# CSI: Crime Scene Investigation season 12

The twelfth season of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation premiered on CBS on September 21, 2011, and ended on May 9, 2012. The series stars Ted Danson, Marg Helgenberger and Elisabeth Shue.

## Production

The show was moved to Wednesdays at 10:00 p.m. (P/E), following Criminal Minds.

## Plot

Catherine and Nick adjust to life working under D.B. Russell, following their demotions, while Morgan Brody joins the CSI team ("73 Seconds"), in the twelfth season of CSI. This season, the team investigate crimes including the murder of a family ("Tell Tale Hearts"), a drowning in chocolate ("Bittersweet"), a death at a mob museum ("Maid Men"), a cold-case killing ("Crime After Crime"), the zippering of a body ("Zippered") and a sadistic slaying ("Freaks and Geeks"). Meanwhile, D.B. struggles to keep control of his family ("Brain Doe"), Morgan's helicopter is hijacked mid-flight ("CSI Down"), Doc Robbins' wife finds herself at the center of an investigation ("Genetic Disorder"), and Catherine works alongside the FBI ("Ms. Willows Regrets"), before making a life-changing decision ("Willows in the Wind"). Then, it's all change at the LVPD when Russell recruits Julie Finlay ("Seeing Red"), fresh out of anger management and ready to tackle cases such as the theft of a house ("Stealing Home"), a crippling blackout ("CSI Unplugged"), a murder at an Alice-in-Wonderland style wedding ("Malice in Wonderland"), and a race-truck explosion ("Dune and Gloom"). Later, the troubles continue for the CSI's personal lives, as Finn and D.B. struggle to come to terms with their past relationship, Ecklie is gunned down, Nick leaves CSI, and the Crime Lab is placed under the supervision of an outside agency ("Homecoming").

## Cast
### Main

* Ted Danson as D.B. Russell, a CSI Level 3 Supervisor and the Lab Director
* Marg Helgenberger as Catherine Willows, a CSI Level 3 Assistant Supervisor (episodes 1–12)
* George Eads as Nick Stokes, a CSI Level 3
* Jorja Fox as Sara Sidle, a CSI Level 3
* Eric Szmanda as Greg Sanders, a CSI Level 3
* Robert David Hall as Al Robbins, the Chief Medical Examiner
* Wallace Langham as David Hodges, a Trace Technician
* David Berman as David Phillips, an Assistant Medical Examiner
* Elisabeth Harnois as Morgan Brody, a CSI Level 3
* Paul Guilfoyle as Jim Brass, a Homicide Detective Captain
* Elisabeth Shue as Julie Finlay, a CSI Level 3 Assistant Supervisor (episodes 14–22)

### Recurring

* Marc Vann as Conrad Ecklie (episodes 2, 4, 5, 12, 18, 21, 22)
* Jon Wellner as Henry Andrews (episodes 3, 5, 6, 8, 10–12, 14–17, 19–21)
* Larry M. Mitchell as Officer Mitchell (episodes 2, 3, 12, 13, 15, 19)
* Barbara Eve Harris as Sheriff Sherry Liston (episodes 4, 7, 8, 13, 22)
* Alex Carter as Lou Vartann (episodes 7, 8, 11, 14, 21)
* Monique Gabriela Curnen as Xiomara Garcia (episodes 2, 4, 9)
* Archie Kao as Archie Johnson (episodes 11, 17, 19)

### Changes

Ted Danson and Elisabeth Shue join the main cast, replacing Laurence Fishburne and the outgoing Marg Helgenberger, respectively. Elisabeth Harnois becomes a series regular. Episode 13 of this season is the first and only episode of the CSI franchise not to feature a female lead.

## Episodes

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | US viewers (millions) |
| 252 | 1 | "73 Seconds" | Alec Smight | Gavin Harris | September 21, 2011 (2011-09-21) | 12.74 |
| Between seasons, Ray Langston was cleared of wrongdoing in regards to the brutal death of Nate Haskell and since moved to Baltimore to be with his ex-wife. With the CSI department still in chaos following the Haskell case that led to Ray's departure, the LVPD brought on board its new supervisor from Seattle, D.B. Russell (Ted Danson); and Ecklie's daughter, Morgan Brody (Elisabeth Harnois), who since left her SID position in Los Angeles. Their first case: a crazy, chaotic shoot-out on a hotel tram that leaves two people dead, almost no witnesses, and a lot of contradictory evidence. Meanwhile, another dead man in Brime County has a young man's face and an old man's body. (Special appearance by Carrot Top.) |||||||
| 253 | 2 | "Tell-Tale Hearts" | Brad Tanenbaum | Story by : Larry M. Mitchell Teleplay by : Joe Pokaski | September 28, 2011 (2011-09-28) | 11.76 |
| Following a grisly murder that killed a family of four people, a trail of blood led to a neighbor across the street who was spying on one of its victims: a little girl. But after Brass and Willows extract a confession out of the suspect, Russell is skeptical that he committed the murders. Complicating the matter was that two other suspects came forward, saying that they committed the murders, leaving the CSIs to determine who is telling the truth. |||||||
| 254 | 3 | "Bittersweet" | Frank Waldeck | Melissa R. Byer & Treena Hancock | October 5, 2011 (2011-10-05) | 11.98 |
| While on a date with Doc Robbins' niece, Nick realizes a piece of found art at an exhibit has decomposing body parts in it, which leads to a full-blown investigation stemming to an older, since-closed case involving a woman who kidnapped and killed young girls. Russell would soon decide to take Sara off the case, due to bias issues connected with her involvement in the old case. Meanwhile, Brody and Sanders find an obese man who drowned in a vat of chocolate, later to find out that years before, he was the chocolatier's svelte and muscular spokesperson. |||||||
| 255 | 4 | "Maid Man" | Martha Coolidge | Dustin Lee Abraham | October 12, 2011 (2011-10-12) | 10.93 |
| Former Mayor of Las Vegas Oscar Goodman is shot at the grand opening of the Mob Museum and the CSIs embark on a history lesson in search of clues; one of the suspects was a henchman for the late Lou Gedda's crime syndicate - who resurfaced in public view after thirty years. Meanwhile a maid is found dead in a hotel room, stabbed in the eye with a swizzle stick. |||||||
| 256 | 5 | "CSI Down" | Jeffrey Hunt | Story by : Gavin Harris Teleplay by : Tom Mularz | October 19, 2011 (2011-10-19) | 10.79 |
| A man left for dead in the desert by a local street gang is transported to hospital in a medevac helicopter with Morgan on board. However, he hijacks the chopper and orders it to fly towards Mexico, out of fear that the gang is still out for him to make sure he stays dead. |||||||
| 257 | 6 | "Freaks & Geeks" | Alec Smight | Christopher Barbour | November 2, 2011 (2011-11-02) | 10.79 |
| The murder of a popular sideshow performer sends the team behind the scenes at a carnival freak show. Rachel is found sadistically slain, the team goes behind the scenes of the carnival freak show to find her killer. They speak to her niece (Skyler Day) who had seen her a few days before she died. |||||||
| 258 | 7 | "Brain Doe" | Brad Tanenbaum | Gavin Harris | November 9, 2011 (2011-11-09) | 10.16 |
| Following a bizarre multiple car crash in front of a fast food joint that took the lives of three drivers, the CSIs discover a human brain that does not belong to any of the victims - it was supposed to be donated for research. Also, one of the wrecked vehicles had a football stashed in the trunk, though its owner's intent had nothing to do with sports. Meanwhile, D.B. Russell's son is in trouble at school when he was suspended from his basketball team. |||||||
| 259 | 8 | "Crime After Crime" | Paul McCrane | Story by : Richard Catalani Teleplay by : Tom Mularz | November 16, 2011 (2011-11-16) | 10.60 |
| When the CSI team investigates three seemingly unrelated murders, the death of a successful businessman found dead on his large birthday cake, a gang member burned to death inside some car tires, and a woman killed in a motel by being forced to take PCP, they discover someone is getting revenge for cold case murders that were never solved. The suspect would later be found to be Sam Vega (Geoffrey Rivas), a longtime LVPD detective who was hired by a former police detective (and a friend of Brass) who desire to see justice served the hard way before dying of terminal cancer. |||||||
| 260 | 9 | "Zippered" | Alec Smight | Joe Pokaski | December 7, 2011 (2011-12-07) | 11.14 |
| The murder of a retired Army Ranger brings the FBI in on the case, to Russell and Catherine's initial chagrin. The CSIs and the FBI discover that a shipment of military grade machine guns have been stolen from the Middle East and made its way to Las Vegas. Catherine also reconnects with an old friend, Laura Gabriel, who was revealed to be involved in the case. |||||||
| 261 | 10 | "Genetic Disorder" | Frank Waldeck | Elizabeth Devine | December 14, 2011 (2011-12-14) | 12.23 |
| When a man's dead body turns up naked in the bed of Doc Robbins' wife, Judy (Wendy Crewson), the detectives try to "just work the scene" for "Doc Robbins, coroner, not Doc Robbins, husband," without bringing their pre-judgments to the table. However, the initial signs point to a case of Death-During-Adultery. When it was discovered that the man was working for genealogist Donna Hoppe in creating a family tree for Doc, she and Sanders use genealogy records to locate the murderer, who turned out to have been conceived by incestuous rape, with his mother just as wanted by the police as him. |||||||
| 262 | 11 | "Ms. Willows Regrets" | Louis Shaw Milito | Story by : Christopher Barbour Teleplay by : Christopher Barbour & Don McGill | January 18, 2012 (2012-01-18) | 12.02 |
| (Part 1) Catherine's friend Laura Gabriel's mogul husband Mark has a lot to hide behind his successful international corporation, and he has hired a crack team of assassins to carry out the murders of anyone who might be aware of what he is doing – and that includes Laura's lawyer and Laura herself. With the CSIs digging deeper into the case, they too - especially Catherine - find themselves in the crosshairs. |||||||
| 263 | 12 | "Willows in the Wind" | Alec Smight | Story by : Carol Mendelsohn & Don McGill Teleplay by : Christopher Barbour & Richard Catalani | January 25, 2012 (2012-01-25) | 14.26 |
| (Part 2) Catherine and Russell rely on her connections from her old stripper career in order to escape Mark Gabriel and his hitmen. Once they made it back to headquarters, Russell has a plan to catch Mark - fake Catherine's death. At the end, Catherine announces her resignation from the CSI unit to work for the FBI. |||||||
| 264 | 13 | "Tressed to Kill" | Brad Tanenbaum | Ed Whitmore | February 8, 2012 (2012-02-08) | 10.88 |
| The CSI team investigates a series of murders by a serial killer who uses hair that he covertly cuts off as a "hit list", then paralyses and kills his victims while dressing them up in 1970s fashions, to resemble a loved one who died of cancer in the early 1970s. |||||||
| 265 | 14 | "Seeing Red" | Frank Waldeck | Christopher Barbour & Tom Mularz | February 15, 2012 (2012-02-15) | 11.09 |
| As Nick and Morgan enjoy Mexican food on their lunch break, they witness a driver colliding into an advertising van. He would survive his injuries, but later discovered that he was shot. Russell enlists a former colleague, Julie Finlay (Elisabeth Shue), to assist on a case involving the death of the man's ex-girlfriend, and the blood spray coming from four different people. Russell would later invite Finlay to work with him as part of the CSI crew; will she accept the offer? (Guest starred Jesse McCartney.) |||||||
| 266 | 15 | "Stealing Home" | Alec Smight | Treena Hancock & Melissa R. Byer | February 22, 2012 (2012-02-22) | 11.91 |
| As Finlay begins her first day as a CSI, the team examines an unusual case: the theft of an entire house. After they located it, they discovered something sinister within its walls - a dead body. |||||||
| 267 | 16 | "CSI Unplugged" | Jeffrey Hunt | Gavin Harris | February 29, 2012 (2012-02-29) | 11.30 |
| As the CSIs were examining a murder-kidnapping case involving a young child, a thunderstorm took down the power grid in half of Nevada, including Las Vegas and CSI headquarters. The CSIs resort to manual, old-school methods on battery power to gather answers on who the perpetrator was, and to find the child before it's too late. |||||||
| 268 | 17 | "Trends with Benefits" | Louis Shaw Milito | Jack Gutowitz | March 14, 2012 (2012-03-14) | 11.71 |
| During a frat party, party-going students were discovering a photo of a dead student, shown to have leapt off a bridge, trending on social media. The CSIs find the student who posted the picture, and determine if it was truly suicide at all. |||||||
| 269 | 18 | "Malice in Wonderland" | Alec Smight | Joe Pokaski | March 21, 2012 (2012-03-21) | 11.38 |
| When the CSI team is called in to investigate a robbery-homicide at an "Alice In Wonderland"-themed wedding that took the life of the groom, they have little to work with to find a killer. After another wedding robbery soon after, they discover that some things come in threes. Meanwhile, Hodges' mother (Jaclyn Smith) comes to town, and he wants her to believe Morgan is his girlfriend. |||||||
| 270 | 19 | "Split Decisions" | Brad Tanenbaum | Michael F.X. Daley & Richard Catalani | April 4, 2012 (2012-04-04) | 12.06 |
| A local casino was locked down immediately after a man was shot by an assailant. But even with the advanced technology, their investigations either led to a dead end or the wrong people, with the real assassin able to get away. They would later find out that twins, or even triplets, were involved. (Guest starred Stepfanie Kramer.) |||||||
| 271 | 20 | "Altered Stakes" | David Semel | Story by : Melissa R. Byer & Treena Hancock Teleplay by : Elizabeth Devine | April 11, 2012 (2012-04-11) | 9.94 |
| As the CSI team played the vice squad in a friendly softball match, Nick cut the game short when he learned from Brass that a man he helped put in prison, with connections to the late detective Sam Vega, is going to have his conviction overturned. The CSIs needs to prove the killer is guilty again or he will be released. Also: Hodges developed an affinity for Italian culture after a recent trip to Italy. |||||||
| 272 | 21 | "Dune and Gloom" | Jeffrey Hunt | Tom Mularz | May 2, 2012 (2012-05-02) | 9.75 |
| During a dune buggy race in the Nevada desert, a team encounters a burned out dune buggy with a dead body inside, with his surviving teammates leaving the race in a hurry. The CSIs determine who was involved in the disaster. |||||||
| 273 | 22 | "Homecoming" | Alec Smight | Story by : Christopher Barbour & Larry M. Mitchell Teleplay by : Christopher Barbour & Don McGill | May 9, 2012 (2012-05-09) | 10.73 |
| When a friend of Sheriff Liston becomes a prime suspect in his wife's brutal murder and the murder of two others, the investigation's political fallout reveals the truth behind Russell's troubled history with Finlay. It was later revealed that an old foe of the CSIs, former undersheriff Jeffrey McKeen (Conor O'Farrell), was calling the shots from prison and employing some of Lou Gedda's henchmen, leading to Sheriff Liston to announce drastic reforms of the LVPD in order to rein in corruption among the ranks. Frustrated of the developments, it's Nick, extremely angry and considers leaving CSI after remembering Catherine's "there's the door" speech from the 73 Seconds episode. As the heat on McKeen and his accomplices is turned up, undersheriff Conrad Ecklie is shot, and Russell's granddaughter is kidnapped. (Guest starred Jaclyn Smith, reprising her role as Hodges' mother.) |||||||

## Ratings
### U.S. Nielsen ratings

| Episode # | Title | Air Date | 18-49 | Viewers | Rank (Week) |
| 1 | 73 Seconds | September 21, 2011 | 3.2/9 | 12.74 million | 18 |
| 2 | Tell-Tale Hearts | September 28, 2011 | 3.1/8 | 11.76 million | 18 |
| 3 | Bittersweet | October 5, 2011 | 2.9/8 | 11.98 million | 14 |
| 4 | Maid Man | October 12, 2011 | 2.6/7 | 10.93 million | 21 |
| 5 | CSI Down | October 19, 2011 | 2.6/7 | 10.79 million | — |
| 6 | Freaks & Geeks | November 2, 2011 | 2.7/7 | 10.79 million | — |
| 7 | Brain Doe | November 9, 2011 | 2.5/7 | 10.16 million | — |
| 8 | Crime After Crime | November 16, 2011 | 2.6/7 | 10.60 million | 24 |
| 9 | Zippered (Part 1) | December 7, 2011 | 2.5/7 | 11.14 million | 19 |
| 10 | Genetic Disorder | December 14, 2011 | 2.9/8 | 12.23 million | 12 |
| 11 | Ms. Willows Regrets (Part 2) | January 18, 2012 | 2.8/7 | 12.02 million | 13 |
| 12 | Willows in the Wind (Part 3) | January 25, 2012 | 3.4/9 | 14.26 million | 4 |
| 13 | Tressed to Kill | February 8, 2012 | 2.5/7 | 10.88 million | 19 |
| 14 | Seeing Red | February 15, 2012 | 2.6/7 | 11.09 million | 13 |
| 15 | Stealing Home | February 22, 2012 | 2.9/8 | 11.91 million | 15 |
| 16 | CSI Unplugged | February 29, 2012 | 2.6/7 | 11.30 million | 14 |
| 17 | Trends with Benefits | March 14, 2012 | 2.8/8 | 11.71 million | 5 |
| 18 | Malice in Wonderland | March 21, 2012 | 2.6/7 | 11.38 million | 7 |
| 19 | Split Decisions | April 4, 2012 | 2.9/8 | 12.06 million | 9 |
| 20 | Altered Stakes | April 11, 2012 | 2.4/6 | 9.94 million | 16 |
| 21 | Dune and Gloom | May 2, 2012 | 2.3/6 | 9.75 million | 19 |
| 22 | Homecoming (Part 1) | May 9, 2012 | 2.4/7 | 10.73 million | 18 |

## Explanatory notes

* ↑ The Mob Museum, of which Oscar Goodman was one of the creators, would open officially to the public several months later, on February 14, 2012.