Mac Takes A Trip Down Memory Lane

See Also: 'One Wedding and a Funeral' Episode Guide

Gary Sinise (Mac Taylor) returns to his roots.

In the upcoming CSI: New York episode "Train to Nowhere", which airs on November 28, Mac finds himself returning to Chicago, the city where he grew up. The episode is the culmination of the 333 story arc that began in the season four premiere, "Can You Hear Me Now?". Sinise travelled to Chicago with fellow New York cast member Eddie Cahill (Detective Don Flack) to film several scenes on location in the Windy City.

"We learn about some things that happened to [Taylor]—a little bit about his past—when he comes back looking for clues to this [stalker] thing has been going on," Sinise told the Chicago Tribune. Flack follows Mac to Chicago at the request of Chief of Detectives Brigham Sinclair (Mykelti Williamson). Sinise and Cahill filmed scenes at the Tribune Tower, showcasing the historic stones that are part of the building's exterior. "I had no idea that these things were on the building," Sinise said. "In fact some of them kind of tie in to our story a little bit."

Sinise was not the mind behind the Chicago shoot. "It was a surprise actually," he said. "They all know I'm from Chicago and we set up early on that my character was from Chicago. The writers came up with some really great ideas and thought it would be good to come back here and shoot and I was all for it." He enjoyed filming a storyline that delved into Mac's past. "It's always nice when we can add moments of character to our show because so much of our show is driven by the plot," he explained. "We're a whodunit. In 43 minutes, we have to tell a mystery story and it's not really a character-driven show. ... We’re a crime drama. It's nice when we get to affect the characters and weave them into the plot a bit."

Filming in Chicago is different than filming on New York's home turf in Los Angeles. "When you come to cities like Chicago and especially New York, you're almost squeezing them [into a scene]" Cahill told the Chicago Sun Times. "Hollywood was designed for this; it's like skiing in Vail." Sinise confessed that he had been worried about how the weather would behave during the shoot, but Mother Nature cooperated with them. "We have a perfect day here for what we need to do," he said.

The original articles can be found at the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun Times websites.

Discuss this news item at Talk CSI!
 Add CSI Files RSS feed to your news reader or My Yahoo!
Also a Desperate Housewives fan? Then visit GetDesperate.com!