CSI: New York--'Yahrzeit'

<p><b>Synopsis:</b><p>A bleeding man stumbles into the middle of a Felix Marshall auction and collapses to the floor, dead. When the team arrives, Flack tells them the man is Xander Green, an appraiser for the auction house. Mac picks up the man's phone and notices an active call still in progress. There's no one on the line, but he notices it began 48 minutes ago... approximately eight minutes before Green staggered into the auction. Stella and Danny follow the blood trail from the victim back to his office. Danny finds blood splatter, and Stella surmises that the office is the primary crime scene. In the morgue, Sid shows Mac eight dots on the victim's shoulder, unsure of what the pattern signifies. Sid also shows Mac that Green was stabbed <i>and</i> shot. At the lab, Danny notices Hawkes is upset after receiving a phone call. Hawkes tells Danny that his Uncle Frank had a heart attack and died suddenly, and Danny immediately volunteers to cover for his friend. Adam tells Mac that the bullet that killed Green came from a German Lugar and was made of steel, indicating it was an older weapon from the 1940s. Danny learns that the call Green placed went to voicemail, and he's able to obtain a recording, which reveals that Green argued with someone just before he was shot. Danny surprises Mac with the identity of the person who received the call: Michael Elgers, the Neo-Nazi Flack questioned in connection to a bombing in <A class="link" HREF="http://www.csifiles.com/episodes/newyork/season5/green_piece.shtml">"Green Piece"</a>. Recalling the dots on Green's arm, Mac wonders if he, too, was a Neo-Nazi. Danny is on his way to question Elgers when he runs into Hawkes, whose plane is delayed. Despite Danny's reluctance, Hawkes insists on accompanying Danny. When they find Elgers at his shop, he's hostile and argumentative, going so far as to spit at Hawkes, causing Danny to throw him down and slam his head into the ground repeatedly.<p>When Elgers is brought in, he demands a lawyer, claiming he's a victim of police brutality. Watching from behind the glass, Hawkes admonishes Danny for attacking Elgers, claiming the CSI gave him what he was looking for. Hawkes leaves to catch his plane just as Mac comes in to interrogate Elgers. After exchanging a few heated words with the CSI team leader, Elgers admits he and Green were friends, and that he didn't pick up Green's third call to him because Green would accidentally "ass dial" him with his cell phone. He recalls from the previous two calls that Green was angry with someone named Abraham. This leads Mac to Abraham Klein, who was at the auction house just before Green's murder. Abraham tells Mac that he fought with Green when the man wanted to appraise a piece Abraham was selling at a price higher than what it was worth. Abraham was selling a piece of his dead wife's jewelry so that his son, David, would have money when the watch-making business stopped being profitable. Mac notices a tattoo on the man's arm and Abraham tells him that he was at Auschwitz and has shunned religion ever since. Back at the lab, Adam shows Mac a weapon the Nazis used combining a short bayonet and a pistol. During the demonstration, Mac gets a call that someone broke into Green's apartment. When he and Adam meet Flack there, they discover a hidden room behind a bookshelf filled with items from the Holocaust, including a diary belonging to a woman named Esther Schnitzler. When the print on the door handle matches Elgers, the three go to arrest him. As Flack leads the struggling Neo-Nazi away, Adam shows Mac a similar room above Elgers' shop--complete with a large collection of weapons. It appears Elgers is indeed the killer.<p>Unsettled, Mac pays a visit to Ben Lesnick, a representative of Israel who keeps testimonials from Holocaust survivors. After telling the man about Esther Schnitzler, Mac mentions that his father helped to liberate the Buchenwald concentration camp. Lesnick pulls up video testimonial from Hannah Schnitzler, Esther's cousin. In the testimonial, Hannah shares that Esther had arranged for a young man named Klaus Braun to help her and her family escape in exchange for a valuable family brooch. But Klaus betrayed them--he turned out to be a member of the Youth for Hitler group, and he drove Esther and her family to Auschwitz instead of safety, where they were executed. Disturbed, Mac asks for a copy of the testimonial. Back at the lab, Danny tells Mac he's been given a two-week suspension without pay for his altercation with Elgers. Stella pulls Mac aside--Adam wasn't able to connect any of Elgers' weapons to Green's wound, and Elgers' alibi for the murder checks out. When Mac notices a picture of one of the models wearing Esther's brooch his suspicions lean elsewhere. He ages Klaus Braun's photo and is surprised to discover Abraham Klein's face looking back at him! Mac brings Abraham in: the man has been posing as a Jew for years to hide from his past. He killed Green when the man recognized the brooch from Esther's journal and, realizing who Abraham was, tried to blackmail him. Abraham refuses to admit his true identity until Lesnick, from behind the glass, IDs him as Klaus and then the facade falls and Klaus says in German, "We should have killed them all." After Klaus is taken away, Mac receives an e-mail from Lesnick with a testimonial from a man who was saved by Mac's father. Mac returns the brooch to Esther's cousin, Hannah, who lights a candle for Esther...and Mac's father, McCanna Boyd Taylor.<p><b>Analysis:</b><p>A departure from the average <i>CSI: NY</i> episode, "Yahrzeit" is a powerful, sobering look at the long-reaching effects of racism and prejudice, both in the past and the present. The Holocaust may have happened over sixty years ago, but "Yahrzeit" illustrates how it is still very much alive, in vastly different ways, for both victims of the genocide and people like Elgers and Green who idolize and imitate its perpetrators. It's risky subject matter since it's both sensitive and oft-covered ground, but writers <font color=yellow>Peter Lenkov</font> and <font color=yellow>Barbie Kligman</font> pull it off with a strong script and a surprising twist with initially sympathetic Abraham turning out to be a very, very evil man--the very opposite of what he first appears. It's a brutal slap in the face that Klaus Braun has spent sixty years hiding in plain sight by pretending to be one of the very people he persecuted and murdered.<p>As Abraham/Klaus, <font color=yellow>Ed Asner</font> turns in a powerful performance, segueing with chilling ease between the adamant Abraham to the decidedly evil Klaus, who goes from proclaiming he's a Jew who was at Auschwitz to stating in German that "we should have killed them all." Klaus clings to his insistence that he's Abraham Klein longer than would be expected in the interrogation, to the point that it's obvious that he's been wearing the "disguise" for so long that it truly has become a second skin to him. But clearly not in any way that has caused him to regret his part in the Holocaust; once the mask finally slips away, all that is revealed beneath it is ugly racism and cruelty. One can only imagine how horrified Klaus must have been when his son David embraced the Jewish faith, assuming that it was his heritage. It's poetic justice that David turns away from Klaus in the end, choosing his faith over the father he's just discovered was a Nazi. <p><HR ALIGN="CENTER" SIZE="1" WIDTH="45%" COLOR="#007BB5"><p>To read the full reviews, please click <A HREF="http://www.csifiles.com/reviews/csi/yahrzeit.shtml">here</A>.<center></center>

 

This is one of the most moving episodes that I have ever seen. They all did such a great job! But no matter how "serious" the theme might have been, leave it to Flack to inject his own brand of humor.

Elgers: I want a lawyer.

Flack: I wanna win the lotto. :lol:

This is one of my favorite episodes in all 5 seasons, if not my favorite. It is such an eye-opening episode and provides the viewers a sobering realization that racism still does exist. The only consolation that we have is people represented by the CSI: NY team who, to quote Flack, "don't speak ignorant" and choose to see people for who they are and not for the race that they belong to.

Kudos to everyone at CSI: NY! Great job!

 

Great review, Kristine :thumbsup:

Just one thing: I don't think David chose his religion over his father, but that he simply abhorred the monster within the man he thought was an innocent victim of something terrible. Even if he'd been an atheist, I'm sure he would have turned his back on Klaus and the false Ibrahim he pretended to be to save his butt.

 

Excellent review, as usual.

I enjoyed the serious, slow-paced nature of this episode. As you said, it was a "departure", but in a good way. It still had its preachy moments (which have been all-too-common this season), but in this particular context, it was forgivable.

Ed Asner did a phenomenal job. He really inhabited the character of Abraham - and the switch to Klaus was extremely creepy.

Speaking of acting, Matt McTighe did an excellent job portraying a despicable character - I hope we can see him back at least one more time (since they like to have guest stars for 3 episodes anyway ), so that the team is able to nail him for good. Sure, the good guys don't always catch the bad guys (and they shouldn't on TV), but it would be so satisfying to see them get this particular guy.

However, I agree with you that Danny slamming his head against the ground was overkill. Getting a bit rough when they arrest him is one thing (that happens from time to time on these types of shows), but that was just...too much. :wtf: I appreciate seeing Danny's passionate, hotheaded side from time to time, but it's been very prominent in the latter half of this season - and I'm not sure I like it that much.

The story about Hawkes' uncle felt contrived for this episode, but it worked well enough that I didn't mind. It allowed the show to compare and contrast racism during the Holocaust with racism today, and it gave us a bit of insight into Hawkes as a character.

The insight into Mac's past was also welcome - I like that they were able to provide a good bit of character development in this one without sacrificing the story for it. They really fit a lot into 42 minutes. The portrayals of Hannah and George (as well as the flashback with Esther) were extremely well done. I always admire actors who can imbue so much emotion into only a few scenes. As much as I love our regulars, I think the guest stars were the real gems in this one.

One more thing - I'm glad David didn't take off his yarmulka at the end. I was waiting for something like that, and I was pleased to just see him walk away.

 

I'll pop in here for a minute or two to make a couple of comments. It's late and I'm tired so this may or may not make much sense.

Kristine, good review. You put several things in words that I was feeling but couldn't get from my head to my fingertips.

I liked this episode far better than I was anticipating. It's always a bit unnerving for a one-hour show to bite off something as big and important as the Holocaust and expect the kind of quality I saw last night. It had its hard moments when I had to turn away. I don't like seeing children shot and was glad they found a way to take the viewer there without being too graphic. But for the most part it was class and quality and made me cry at a couple of points.

The intro felt like I was being thrown into the episode too fast but I think that was due to the fast paced bidding and the glitz of all the jewelry, plus the fact that we usually don't see the victim die on-screen. It was a lot to take in all at once. In constrast to that, a lot of the remainder of the hour seemed a bit slow. That's not a bad thing but I kept looking at the clock and thinking, wow...we still have X number of minutes. What else are they going to do with this.

I found it interesting that a lot of the interaction between the CSI's started with transparent glass. Danny saw Sheldon upset through a piece of glass and that started the journey into the whole issue of racism and bigotry. Mac saw Danny listening to the phone call through a piece of glass and that led to the heart of the case. Mac saw Stella struggling and frustrated near the end through a piece of glass and that led to the breakthrough that solved the case. Maybe I'm just making it up but it seemed like a theme to me.

Even Michael Elgers was transparent in his devotion to the white supremist platform, with his tatoos in plain sight all over his head. There was no mistaking where his heart was.

Then we have Abraham, who appeared to be transparent as well. A Holocaust survivor living and working in the city, completely transparent. To the extent that his son took up Judiasm in honor of his father's history and was totally convinced he was carrying on a family tradition. But transparency lied at the end and what we see is him confronting himself in a mirror. A wise friend of mine once said that "it's useless to try and hide from yourself because where ever you go, there you are. The evilness that came out of Ed Asner at the end was the true transparency of his soul and it shocked me cold to see it. Brilliant scene well played by the actor, well played.

I felt so sorry for his son. At this point I am not sure he knew what his father was guilty of, so I don't think I can say that he chose his faith over his father, but it's clear that he was rattled and I think his religious foundation had been shaken.

I already mentioned Mac's calmness about Danny's suspension in another thread but will reiterate that I find it confusing that Mac accepted the two-week suspension with a pat on the arm, while I sit here freaking out because Danny's actions have impacted the ability of the team to keep up with the work load, leaving them with only Mac, Stella, and Adam in the lab until Sheldon gets back from the funeral. Mac Taylor of seasons past repeatedly ripped Danny a new one for such antics. He came off this time as completely supportive and seemed glad that Danny was going to be home with Lindsay for two weeks. I agree with Kristine in wondering if Danny will ever get to the point of looking before he jumps.

A wonderfully penned and played episode.

 

I think this is a really good eposide. Matt McTighe did an aswome job when Danny went to aresset him and they slammed his head into the floor it was a little to much but a little good to because it shows that Danny stands up for people he cares about and that is a good thing. I also liked the part when Mac reviced that email with that man that rembered his dad. That was amazeing because he showed some emotion

 

One of the most emotional CSI:NY Episodes .. My eyes teared when the man in the video was talking about Mac's dad .. it was just overwhelingly emotional .. !!
I liked the part where AJ Buckley joked with Mac about being in " between GF's " phase and having time in hand .. then after Mac's strange look .. he said " Too much Information .. !! " this cracked me up .. .. !!
Hitting case sensitive like the holocaust was portrayed in a good way in the Epi .. and really they did a very good job .. !!
Lots of things were in this episode and they seemed in long times .. like the lengthy interview with Abraham when Mac first interviewed him then the longer interview with the other guy and seeing the video .. and they all seemed to fit fine .. .. !!
I liked the balance they made by not hurting anybody's feelings .. and made the right formula to make this Epi as neutral as it can be .. !!

 

What a great review, and what a fantastic episode!

Ed Asner was brilliant, as was Matt McTighe. I was concerned about this episode, given the subject matter, but to the credit of all those involved, CSI: NY really delivered. The flashback scene with Esther and her family was completely harrowing.

I wasn't happy with Danny's behaviour. Nor with Mac's reaction to it, he needs to be harsher with him.

I'll admit, I teared up too. The look on Mac's face got me.

 

Thank you for the excellent review, and it amazes me how so many people think along the same lines as I do.

Fantastic episode, moving and intelligent writing.

:thumbsup:

Z

 

I absolutely loved this episode. As a die hard fan of the csi franchise I have to say this is the best episode of all three to date. Even though I am a New Yorker I only started watching csi ny about a year ago. when it first premiered I totally hated the way they portrayed my beautiful city, to me it had no life. But they have drastically changed that. Anyway back to the episode, I found it to be so gripping and sincere without being saccharine. We have all watched shows about the holocaust but this take on it brought grit and humanity that I have never seen before. It was just so compelling, that I found myself crying at times especially when Mac received the video message about his dad. I just cant express how emotional I just felt watching it, (I tivo'd it so I just watched it today). And being that I am black, I'm glad that they did not go overboard with the Sheldon story, that was refreshing. In all, I felt it was an A++++ episode and my vote is for Ed Asner for an Emmy. His performance was riveting to say the very least.

 

Sorry to rain in the parade, but I have some grievance concerning the episode, plus the subsequent review.

For one: I don't think that the "Nazi hides as jew"-plot is really inventive. It is actually a pretty old one which I have seen in a couple of TV-Shows. On the top of my mind is one episode of Magnum (there the "Nazis" make a show of never quite hiding their falsified tatoos) and one episode of "Murder she wrote" (there no tatoo is mentioned, only the disguise). Since I remembered this kind of plot structure immediatly, I wasn't terrible surprised by the ending. The "jewish son" was a nice new twist on the idea. I also give points for the heartwretching flashbacks and the outstanding performance shown when the truth is revealed.

Another grievance I had (which I have with nearly all american shows dealing with the issue) is the black/white perspective. (One episode of "Numb3rs" dealing with the lost property of the jews was a very nice exeption of the rule)They are always focussing on the suffering of the jews, the heroic rescue by the americans, the bad german Nazi. They never mention the fact that a lot of jews died trying to escape Germany, not because they were killed by Germans, but because other countries, including america, didn't allow them to leave the ships they were travelling on. They never mention that the prejuce against the jews was not only a German issue, or that the victims of the KZ where not only jews, but everyone who did not fit into the regime, including "rebels" (like known commonists), criminals, handycapped, gypsies aso.
Someone had a Nazi father and was in the "Hitler Jugend" so is automatically a war criminal. Since the membership in the "Hitler Jugend" was more or less obligatory at one point, being a member isn't a prove of anything, since nearly every German, also people who later actively fought the regime, including Sophie Scholl and other well known martyrers, were part of it.

These are just exemples, but perhaps you get my drift. The episode did a really good job to show the atmosphere of fear and the consequences which resulted out of this terrible time, but it somehow failed to show what a complex matter predjuces and the fight against them is. IE when Hawkes makes his little speech that it doesn't matter to him what some fanatics says, I would have wished for Danny to argue that he had to do something because staying silent can be interpreted as agreeing with such a position. (Not that I think that Hawkes is necessary wrong, I just think that "right" and "wrong" is a really complicated matter in such a situation).

It was a good episode in the end, but mostly because of the performance of the actors and the chilling atmosphere.