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CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Season 1 Episode 20

Sounds of Silence

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9.0

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Episode Summary

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AIRED: 4/19/01

Two teenage girls run over a deaf man with their car but they didn't kill him - he was already dead. Grissom has to find out who did it and he's not getting help from the deaf man's school. Catherine and Nick investigate an apparent mob hit that leaves five dead in a coffee shop.moreless

Fan Episode Reviews (7)

We Learn Something New About Grissom. WARNING: SPOILERS

10

By OuroborosSnyder, Feb 03, 2011

I absolutely love this episode. It screams character development!

In this episode, we finally learned something new about Gil Grissom. Something more personal. Ah yes, he knows sign language. I love the way the writers wrote that into the script. It was a total shocker...especially to Warrick and Sara. Too funny when Sara asked Grissom if he was going to tell her how he learned to sign. He simply stated, "No." Classic Grissom, walls built up all around him.

So, I found the episode very interesting apart from the character development stages. The ending was a shocker. Not to the viewers but more to the murderee. The look on his face when Grissom told him that the kid he killed was deaf...*Sighs*

My favorite...the ending scene. Grissom actually looked happy and content. We found out who tought him sign; his mother.

In all, loved this episode as well. It gave the viewers a new perspective on the life of the deaf...

~Snyder~moreless
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A young deaf boy is discovered dead. Warrick, Sara, and Grissom handle this case, dealing with their ignorances about the deaf community. Meanwhile, Nick and Catherine handle a hit that resulted in three teenagers being killed in the crossfire.moreless

9.5

By God0sgirl, Jan 28, 2011

Every time I see this episode it reminds me how ignorant I am of the deaf culture. I'm slightly hearing impaired, but I still have no idea what it would be like to be deaf or how the severely to moderately hearing impaired feel; about the hearing, about the world we live in, about their lives. It also reminds me how much I want to learn to sign.

This is a great episode, not only because the the drama and the fascinating crimes, but also because it is one of the many episodes in this series that really stretches the viewer, expanding their world view and the concept of others. The more shows like this and the more people watching them, greatly enhances people's understanding of each other, and lessens violence caused by that previous lack of understanding. I think that when actors, producers, writers, directors, ect do programs like this they're giving something back to the world they live in, and I really respect them for it.

There were a few pretty funny moments in this episode, but my favorite had to be when Catharine was giving Grissom a guilt trip about forgetting about the meeting and then confesses that she knew he would forget and so she uped the deadline and he hadn't really missed it.

The other funny one i really liked was when Warrick says to Sarah "Did you know Grissom drinks when he goes out at night?" and Sara replies "He goes out?" That was classic.

And finally Warrick and Sara's reaction when Grissom starts signing, that what-the-crap-look was priceless.moreless
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I liked much how Grissom developed in this episode, but also, a side character in this episode, who thinks he's the greatest because of finding out something. Talking about Greg. He is much like this in previous episodes, but this time he just went on.moreless

9.2

By Lenxcer, May 30, 2007

I liked much how Grissom developed in this episode, but also, a side character in this episode, who thinks he's the greatest because of finding out something. Talking about Greg. He is much like this in previous episodes, but this time he just went on. After he discovers the blue fluorescent bacteria in one of the suspects' blood, he makes it very obvious to Grissom and Warrick that he is very excited about it. Its just fine, because it matches the character's outline, and this was just the occasion to show it. The episode as a whole was a little sentimental, especially after the interrogation to Mark, the driver who killed the victim, when, after knowing he was guilty, Grissom tells him he was deaf.moreless
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insightful

10

By Tobyfelix40, Apr 21, 2007

We get the first indications of the deafness of Grissom to come in later episodes. I find this one very informative. I try to find one thing in each episode to learn and research. Not much in that way in this episode but still very educational about the characters. It does show Grissom angry about the death of Brian Clemens and his compassion for the victim. It also shows the idea that some people consider deafness a handicap not a way of life. The other crimee really takes second place to the first crime we see. I wasn't really interested in that crime at all!moreless
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Grissom, Warrick and Sara's case a deaf student is the victim in what looks to be a hit-and-run. Nick and Catherine get a shooting at a coffee shop. It is revealed that Grissom knows sign language and has a deaf mothermoreless

9.4

By lego_mii_greggo, Apr 01, 2007

I loved this episode. It's one of the rare ones that you get to see another side of Grissom, it's the first you hear about his mother and the part where he wears the earplugs to understand the victim better foreshadows his future hearing loss in my opinion. One of my favorite scenes is the one in the office where Warrick and Sara have gone along and brought a translator to speak with Dr. Gilbert. The tension in the scene sets up the kind of 'us' and them' that Sara in particular feels about deaf people. The actress who plays Dr. Gilbert really does a great job too. Also the last scene where Grissom and Dr. Gilbert are conversing I really liked, I'm not sure why. Grissom just seemed very relaxed and happy, unlike most times when he's uptight and serious.moreless
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Cast & Crew: STARS

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William Petersen	Gil Grissom
Marg Helgenberger	Catherine Willows
Gary Dourdan	Warrick Brown
George Eads	Nick Stokes
Paul Guilfoyle	Captain Jim Brass
Jorja Fox	Sara Sidle

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Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

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Deanne Bray	Dr. Gilbert	Guest Star
Mario Schugel	Brad Kendall	Guest Star
Elaine Kagan	Mrs. Clemmonds	Guest Star
Eric Szmanda	Greg Sanders	Recurring Role
Tom Gallop	Attorney Randy Painter	Recurring Role
Robert David Hall	Dr. Al Robbins	Recurring Role

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (5)
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- When the team are examining the suspect's Ford Explorer, the dealer sticker is seen. Although some letters are marked out, the dealership is Richard Haney Ford of Carrollton, Georgia.
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- Goof: When Grissom, Sara and Warrick walk into Dr. Gilbert's office, Warrick is on the right side of the shot and away from open door. But when the shot is on Warrick and Sara for their reaction of Grissom's use of sign language, they have switched positions.
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- Goof: While at the crime scene in the coffee shop, Catherine isn't wearing gloves.
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- Warrick is left-handed.
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- Grissom learned to sign because his mother became deaf when she was eight.
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QUOTES (11)
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- (speaking to Warrick and Sara)
  Grissom: How can you solve a crime without understanding the victim?
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- Doc Robbins: I deal with the pincushions. Ballistics deals with the pins.
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- Mrs. Clemonds: Talking is overrated, Mr. Grissom.
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- Grissom: Hey O'Riley! I wouldn't book those suspects just yet. I think they ran over a corpse.
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- Greg: Your killer has fluorescent blue dots in his blood.
  Warrick: So the guy's a glow-stick. How does that help us track him down?
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- Grissom: I'm on a case.
  Catherine: Mm-hmm. Is that why you forgot about the conference?
  Grissom: The what?
  Catherine: You missed the deadline. No Chicago for me.
  Grissom: Oh, Catherine ...
  Catherine: This is the one meeting I needed to attend. I don't always want to be second banana. I can probably do your job. I know that I can do Ecklie's.
  Grissom: I forgot. I'm so sorry.
  Catherine: Make sure to submit the paperwork by the end of the day.
  Grissom: I thought you said that it was too late.
  Catherine: Well, I knew you'd forget so I upped the deadline.. gave you a buffer. Don't forget again.
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- Grissom: You don't need to hear or speak to communicate. Or... commit murder.
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- Grissom: What do you call a guy with blue-dotted blood, lice, and keys to a Ford Explorer?
  Warrick: A suspect?
  Grissom: A killer.
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- Greg: I am the man.
  Warrick: Why? What did you do? Let me guess. You ran a DNA profile on the blood from the dead guy's knuckles and you got a match.
  Greg: No.
  Grissom: You ran a DNA profile and something very distinctive popped up?
  Greg: Not quite.
  Warrick: You made it out of bed and you dressed yourself?
  Greg: No.
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- (Grissom walks in with Dr. Gilbert, the female president of the School for the Deaf)
  Sara: So that's why Grissom's late.
  Warrick: You just don't like other women in his life.
  Sara: I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that.
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- Sara: What was that all about? Grissom signs?
  Warrick: What does Grissom drink when he goes out at night?
  Sara: He goes out?
  Warrick: Exactly. Who knows anything about that guy?
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NOTES (3)
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- This storyline would be concluded in the Season 11 episode "The Two Mrs. Grissoms."
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- International Episode Titles:
  Czech Republic: Slyšet ticho (Hear the Silence)
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- The college campus used as the School for the Deaf is Los Angeles Mission College in Sylmar, CA.
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ALLUSIONS (1)
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- Episode Title: Sounds of Silence
  
  The title of this episode is also the name of a famous song by Simon & Garfunkel.
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