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Crime Scene Investigation (CSI)
Compulsion
Episode 5.17 - March 10, 2005
Lee Tergesen guest starred as Martin Hawkins in an episode of
this hour-long CBS crime drama.
He has about 5 minutes of air time scattered
throughout the episode, and he packs that time with a range of deep
emotions that he carries off masterfully. He registers irritation,
bewilderment, fear and grief as the investigation of a heinous crime plays
out.
Lee was in one of the two story lines in this episode. One
featured a serial killer (and had guest star Stephen Baldwin in
a brief appearance), and the other involved a 12-year-old boy who is
found beaten to death in his bedroom. Lee plays the boy's
father.
Lee-as-Martin Hawkins is first seen being led from his house to a police car,
followed by his wife, Yvonne (Diane DiLascio), and their 14-year-old
son, Matt (Andy Gobienko). They are all taken in for
questioning by the Las Vegas Police
Department.
A detective elicits a confession from Matt, but
the crime scene investigators (CSIs) aren't convinced, especially because of the detective's bullying tactics in questioning the boy. They continue to examine
the evidence and follow other leads.
In questioning the boys' parents, CSIs Nick and Warrick learn
that a homeless man had been scaring kids in the neighborhood. They
track down the homeless man, Walter (played by an unrecognizable Wil
Wheaton, formerly Wesley Crusher of "Star Trek: The Next
Generation") and arrest him. Walter is wearing a blue sweater
that is linked to the scene of the crime by blood spatters and
fibers. Walter says he found the sweater on a bench in the park.
When the CSIs confront Martin with this information, he looks
awfully suspicious and asks if he needs a lawyer.
But the suspect list is narrowed when CSI staffers help perform a
blood spatter test. Three staffers of differing height take turns
beating a dummy with a pipe, and the production superimposes a
ghostly image of the character the CSI staff person is supposed to
represent -- Walter, Martin and Matt. The test indicates that the
killer is about 5 feet tall -- pointing the finger squarely at Matt,
the dead boy's brother.
Lee's final scene -- and finest moment in this episode -- comes as
Martin and Yvonne watch in horror and grief as their son confesses.
When Martin approaches the boy to ask for an explanation, Lee
portrays a man who is feeling loss at so many levels -- one son is
dead; the other is his killer. The boy explains he did it because
his brother told everyone that he wets the bed. He killed him out of
anger and humiliation.
The show was well-crafted in that it presented guest actors as red
herrings. You'd expect that by casting Lee Tergesen, Wil Wheaton and
Stephen Baldwin -- at least one of them would turn out to be the
bad guy.
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