CSI: NY

Playing with Matches

Season 4, Episode 14, Aired 2/6/08

Episode Summary

The team must figure out how a self-cleaning restroom leads to a drowning.''The team also investigates the death of a man who was set on fire and flew into a fire truck.''

8.8

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Cast & Crew

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Anna Belknap

Lindsay Monroe
Carmine Giovinazzo

Danny Messer
Gary Sinise

Detective Mack "Mac" Taylor

Fan Episode Reviews (14)

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Once again CSI: NY starts off with two separate, and very peculiar, deaths. The first is a human fireball that literally flew into a speeding FDNY truck. The second is a woman who drowned in a public self-cleaning toilet. An interesting start.moreless

8.4

"Great"

By meathead704, Nov 30, 2011 Report Abuse

Having this episode start the way it did is certainly a very good way to grab the viewer's attention (It certainly grabbed mine). That attention never wavered in this very clever and well written episode. The viewer certainly would not have been able to see where the story involving the death in a public toilet would end up but it worked because its conclusion was very plausible. The same can be said for the human fireball. Both stories are a little far fetched, but their conclusions help those stories remain believable. CSI: NY is a show definitely worth your time.moreless

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ok episode...

7.0

"Good"

By Fwirrel, Aug 02, 2010 Report Abuse

I thought the cases in this episode were just too weird. First, a guy was on fire and came out of no where and hit a truck. The other case was a lady drowning in a portable toilet. That was just weird. It was pretty obvious who messed with the toilets. They just went in a complete circle to figure out who killed her. Anyways, the other case was basically about racing and it was just an accident. Just weird. Both of the cases... There wasn't much character development in this episode. Overall, just not a very good episode of CSI:NY.moreless

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This was one of the best episodes of the season.

10

"Perfect"

By Chrewie, May 22, 2008 Report Abuse

The episode in my opinion was a great way to go off before the writers strike. The bathroom was something i never would of expected. Also i liked to see a story about the drag racing somewhat like CSI but NY style. In my opinion it was one of the best additions to the CSI episodes yet. Then again all of season 4 was. This episode also was kind of more of a down to earth with something people don't usually think about. So that was really cool to see. I think they should show more episodes just like this one.moreless

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More high quality drama

9.2

"Superb"

By AvatarBlue, May 04, 2008 Report Abuse

I really like the polished way the show is going. The crime stories in this episode were lacking action but interesting conceptually.

This will keep you watching to learn more about whodunnit, even if the endings are a disappointing compared to the setup - but thats probably true of most shows.

The toilet drowning is the more interesting of the two, but the flying fireball is one of the most spectacular starts to a show I can remember!

We seem to be seeing alot less of Stella - this is a plus for me, I cant stand her character and youll probably feel the same way as I if you agree.

Good strong stories, good acting and decent dialogue. Poor endings though.

Still compared to alot of shows, very good!moreless

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Could have been better

7.1

"Good"

By SweetMissJaye, Apr 20, 2008 Report Abuse

This episode was...okay. It wasn't shocking enough for CSI NY. I wasn't really intrigued by either of the cases. A woman drowning in a self-cleaning toilet is odd enough, I guess. But it just wasn't interesting enough to me when compared with some of the other cases we've been presented with.

The guy who had been set on fire was a little more interesting...until we learn that he did it while street racing. I was disappointed in that turn. Don't get me wrong; I know that all the cases can't be gruesome murders. But in a strike-ridden season, they need to pull out all the punches. Long before the strike, there had been talk that a strike might happen. They should have tried harder to make sure that the fans would be impressed with the slim offering of episodes.moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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Trivia
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- When the team uses the velocity of the street luge victim to calculate where he came from, the mathematical expressions that are seen on the computer they're using are real physics formulae -- but they have nothing to do with trajectories, speed, friction, or impacts, as is stated. In fact, they are actually (parts of) Maxwell's equations, which describe the properties and behaviour of electromagnetic fields. Edit
- Goof: When we first see the girl on the autopsy table, the cut near her elbow is perpendicular to the two on her forearm. But when we see her inflicting the wounds in flashback, all cuts are parallel. Edit
- Kendall bores easily. Edit
Notes
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- Aaron Behr, who plays Vinnie Parson, also appears in the CSI: Miami episode Wolfe in Sheep's Clothing. Christopher Bello, who plays John Szabo, also appears in the CSI: Miami episode Caged. Edit
- Spanish episode title Jugando con Fuego, meaning Playing with fire. French episode title: Toilettes Funèbres, meaning Gloomy Toilets. Edit
- Music Featured: Burn My Shadow by U.N.K.L.E. feat. Ian Astbury. Sugar (playgroup mix) by Ladytron. Milk Lizard by The Dillinger Escape Plan. Edit
Quotes
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- Kendall: Usually you drive with the knuckle draggers. Makeshift board, skull cap, denim pants. Lindsay: Steel balls. (Looks at Danny and smiles) Edit
- (At the crime scene) Danny: What are you finding? Lindsay: Mostly charred wood and plastic. Danny: Flimsy ride for a guy that came from another galaxy. (Looks at Lindsay and she smiles) Edit
- (During the experiment with the motorcycle) Lindsay: Danny! Danny: Wa... wait. Just keep spraying. Trust me. Edit
Allusions
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- Sid: That's my story and I'm sticking to it. There is a song out called That's my story and I'm stickin' to it done by Collin Raye. Edit
- Danny: He's become the human torch. This is an allusion to the marvel comic, Fantastic Four super hero, Johnny Storm, who can turn into The Human Torch at will. Edit
- Mac: Houston, we have a problem. This is the famous tagline from the 1995 movie Apollo 13. Astronaut Jim Lovell (Tom Hanks) says it to Mission Control after an oxygen tank explosion on the Apollo 13 spacecraft. Gary Sinise also starred in this film as astronaut Ken Mattingly. This is actually a misquote of the words used on the actual mission. The actual NASA transcript shows the following dialogue: SWIGERT (LMP): Okay, Houston-- LOVELL (CDR): I believe we've had a problem here. CAPCOM (CC): This is Houston. Say again, please. LOVELL: Houston, we've had a problem. However, the version of the quote used in the movie and this episode has appeared so often that few people are aware of what the original words were. Edit