CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: Season 04  (2003)

Theatrical Release Information:
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: Season 04

Some dangling plot strands left over from season three of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation were tied up in season four; others were not, and of course, new complications ensued throughout the latter season's 23 episodes. Facing surgery to correct (or at the very least forestall) his hereditary hearing loss, CSI team leader Gil Grissom (William L. Petersen) emerged from the operation somewhat better off, though his hearing was still not 100 percent. Struggling to overcome the death of her husband and relieved that injuries sustained by her daughter were not fatal, team member Catherine Willows (Marg Helgenberger) nonetheless faced several other crises, not least of which was the discovery that unsavory casino owner Sam Braun (Scott Wilson) was her biological father; a hefty check given to Catherine by Braun for her indirect assistance in helping him beat a murder rap also caused a great deal of soul-searching on her part, not to mention an embarrassing situation when she came up for her annual departmental review. And the already seething tensions between Catherine and her fellow CSI'er Sara Sidle (Jorja Fox) were exacerbated by decisions made from the top pertaining to job assignments and promotions. Sara's inner demons threatened to overwhelm her by the end of season four, culminating in a drunk-driving charge that figured into the season-ending cliffhanger. The regular cast remained intact, though there were hints that at least two of them would be gone before season five began due to contract negotiations. New to the series was Xander Berkeley as Nevada sheriff Rory Atwater, who was prominently featured in at least one episode that, in true CSI tradition, was "ripped from today's headlines." Some critics carped that the series' storylines were more gratuitously kinky than in previous seasons, with episodes involving modern-day vampires, a cult of fur fetishists, and the like. Also, there were those who felt that the personal problems of the major characters tended to impede the investigations to an excessive degree. But most viewers didn't mind, as witness the excellent ratings posted by CSI throughout season four. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide