CSI: NY

Communication Breakdown

Season 5, Episode 19, Aired 3/25/09

Episode Summary

When an Indian Chief ends up dead on a commuter train, the team is continually surprised by the direction in which the evidence takes them.

9.0

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Cast & Crew

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Gary Sinise

Detective Mac Taylor
Melina Kanakaredes

Detective Stella Bonasera
Carmine Giovinazzo

Danny Messer

Fan Episode Reviews (7)

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An insight into the variety of cultures in New York.

7.0

"Good"

By colettebond_ire, Jul 26, 2009 Report Abuse

While I enjoyed the episode and I do applaud the concept of looking at other cultures that exist within New York, I was a little disappointed with this. As per usual the various groups were depicted in fairly sterotypical ways. As an Irish speaker it is frustrating to hear it being pronounced badly and then even more annoying to have it translated incorrectly. Also there is often a suggestion that Irish people have a tendancy towards fighting. Amazing then that we are one of the countries that is neutral and didn't send our army to Iraq. Politics aside it was nice to see the colour festival and something about the Native American Indians. I wasn't aware they had tribes that lived in Manhattan before it became such a metropolis. I know its impossible to avoid annoying someone when you make a tv show but maybe try and avoid the obvious sterotypes. Generally though I enjoy the show.moreless

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Entertaining

8.0

"Great"

By Catreeeeeeeona, Apr 05, 2009 Report Abuse

I quite liked this episode, there were lots of plot twists and turns, and we got to see some Flack/Angell, which is always good in my book. Loved the end scene with the translator.
I felt bad for the Chief though, it was the first time I really felt sorry for a victim. he was trying so hard to protect his people and his culture, and he did the right thing in the end only to be murdered for it. Sad.

On the flipside, I did not love the Oirish theme. Maybe it was in homage to St Patrick's Day or something, but it was pretty terrible. The guy playing Finn Wexford (oh dear, what a name) was Scottish I think, certainly not an Irish accent I've ever heard anyway! And then the chattering in Irish, and Flack knowing the lingo??? Not convinced!moreless

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Really ok, not great!

7.0

"Good"

By JPPT1974, Apr 04, 2009 Report Abuse

Really an ok episode in my book. Not good but definately not bad. One thing about CSI Las Vegas is that they focus on the crime, rarely their personal lives. While Miami focuses more on the personal lives, and some on the crime. NY is half and half. NY is known for it's diversity and other things. Which makes the city and the show unique. As none of these people speak english, the team needs to understand. And investigate a culture that is unfamiliar to them. Meanwhile Danny tries, to get new baby names for his offspring. Neat how Sheldon got his name. Really an unusual but, awesome name.moreless

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Intriguing, enjoyable and well done overall, but a bit overdone on some elements.

8.5

"Great"

By FoxPhile, Mar 29, 2009 Report Abuse

There were a number of things overdone in this episode. Danny's seemingly endless quest for a name for his offspring was cute the first two times, but then rapidly got old. That said, I would not have missed the end scene for all the tea in China, even if the final "revelation" was as predictable as the sun rising in the morning. And I absolutely loved his reaction to Hawkes' story of his own parents' 6 week search for a name, which resulted in Sheldon. SHELDON! Yep, every time I hear that name it reminds me of the Sheldon conversation in When Harry Met Sally. The focus on ethnic diversity and the polyglot culture of New York City seemed a bit overdone as well. Everywhere the detectives turned there were more folks speaking anything and everything except English. But wonder of wonders, we've got a Greek woman who grew up in an orphanage, but still speaks the Greek of her heritage and who reads Native American Indian languages besides; another detective who speaks French, along with a third who is apparently fluent in Gaelic simply from occasional conversations with his grandfather. Amazingly, the one character whose Italian roots have been emphasized since nearly day one spoke not one word of Italian. Lastly, we get it already. The loss of native cultures is a tragedy. Just as two weeks ago we were subjected to a tirade on environmental issues. Both are serious issues, but when CSI mounts the pulpit and gets preachy they tend to go just a few steps too far. Fortunately, within all of this was a rather clever murder weapon that proves that ancient peoples could be incredibly ingenious and had an amazingly extensive and scientific knowledge of their world. Add to that some interesting glimpses into the variety of ethnic communties in New York, beyond the stereotypical Italian, Jewish and Chinese. I loved the scene with the Hindu Festival of Colors, which I'd seen a news story on just a few days ago. And I did enjoy the insight into the Native Americans of New York, in spite of the preachiness of the delivery.moreless

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Mac and the team investigate what looks to be the open and shut case of an indian chief shot and killed on a commuter train. As the investigation progresses, Mac soon learns the case won't be as easy as originally expected.moreless

7.5

"Good"

By meathead704, Mar 27, 2009 Report Abuse

This episode is good. Just good. While I did like the way the story is written and thought that it came to a plausible conclusion, there are flaws with this episode which prevent me from saying that it is just "good." The first flaw is the indian chief being shot on the train. It's even mentioned in the episode that the odds of that happening are incredibly remote. The other big flaw is Danny deciding on names for his unborn child. Danny should focus on the case. Second, it was obvious right from the beginning that his child is female.moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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Trivia
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- The French spoken in the train at the beginning of the episode by a man over the phone says: Tu rigoles! Avec cette économie, la voiture. Non, la voiture, non, non. Même mon patron... which means You kidding! With this saving, the car. No, the car, no, no. Even my boss... Edit
- The Bulgarian spoken in this episode says: -Гледай какво правиш бе -Не съм го направил аз -Човекът седеше там и след това го намерихме мъртъв на пода Meaning: -Watch your step man! -I didn't do it! -The man was sitting there and then we found him dead on the floor. However, the language that comes on Flac's device is not Bulgarian, but Russian. Edit
- Ceart go leor which is said by Don Flack when he arrests Wexford actually means Alright or Okay. In the episode, it's been translated as My pleasure. Edit
Notes
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- Original International Air Dates: Turkey: May 25, 2009 on CNBC-e. Spain: May 26, 2009 on AXN. Czech Republic: July 8, 2009 on AXN. Sweden: September 28, 2009 on Kanal 5. The Netherlands: October 19, 2009 on RTL4. Norway: October 21, 2009 on TVNorge. New Zealand: December 29, 2009 on TV3. Germany: January 25, 2010 on Vox. Australia: February 11, 2010 on Channel 9. Slovakia: February 13, 2010 on JOJ. Finland: June 16, 2010 on MTV3. Edit
- Sam Page, who plays I.T. Guy/Liam Connover, also appeared in the CSI: Miami episode Prey. Kavi Ladnier, who plays Leila Vara, also appeared in the CSI: Miami episode Smoke Gets in Your CSIs. Edit
- Music featured: Bohemian Mud Strut by Munk. Beauty's running wild by Scars on 45. Ghost Dance by Robbie Robertson. Edit
Quotes
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- Mac: (Emulating Danny's 'boom') Bang! Edit
- Korean daughter: Last night, my boyfriend spent the night. So, this morning, my father tried to kill him. Stella: Was your boyfriend hit? Korean daughter: No, thank God. Why? Mac: Someone else was. Edit
- Sid: Our victim was dying for several days before he finally expired from acute bacterial infection on that train. Hawkes: Hang on, you're telling me that a bullet managed to hit the one man on a speeding train who was already dead? Sid: I know. Worse odds than Atlantic City. Edit
Allusions
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- Danny:: What's wrong with Cosmo? Adam:: I mean, it's great if you are a superhero. Captain Cosmo is a Marvel comics superhero. Edit
- Flack:: What you need is a tough tv cop name. How about Crockett? Sony Crockett is one of the leading characters in the late 80's NBC show Miami Vice. Edit
- Danny: What our little bearded friend from the Tech Republic is trying to say... Tech Republic is a CNET Networks online community for IT professionals which provides with advice on how to make technology work in business. Edit