'Miami' Goes Virtual In 'Game Over'

See Also: 'Game Over' Episode Guide

The Miami crew attempts to find the murderer of a famous skateboarder while Horatio helps a young woman break free of the demons in her past in the upcoming episode, "Game Over".

According to CSI Files sources, the episode opens with a man named Bill Waller, who is driving to the marina so he can deliver the brand new boat he's trailing with his pick-up truck to its owner. As Waller works out the last details of the transaction over the phone, he accidentally drops it on the passenger side, but manages to hit the breaks just in time to avoid running a red light. Waller is relieved, but the feeling is short lived as he hears the approaching revving of an engine. There's a car coming straight towards him, and it's showing no signs of stopping. Waller reacts quickly, but with such a heavy load is only able to get so far before the nearing car T-bones into the brand new boat.

When the CSIs arrive at the crime scene, they discover Bill Waller has managed to walk out of the accident alive, but it looks like the other driver wasn't quite as lucky. Alexx has identified the victim as Jake Sullivan (recently reported to be played by real-life skateboard legend Tony Hawk), and without having to perform an autopsy she has reached a shocking conclusion - looks like Jake Sullivan was dead before collision. Yelina is confused. The force of the impact was such that any other person would have been trapped inside the car with Jake, and yet they found Jake alone. How does a dead man drive a car?

As the investigation takes off, the CSIs learn Jake Sullivan was a famous skateboarder who was working on a project called SkatePark Extreme, the latest and hottest skateboarding video game created by Prater Productions. Calleigh and Ryan visit the company and speak with ex-skateboarder and now owner Dave Prater, who informs them Jake worked as a tester. His job required him to find bugs in the game's system and make it crash, prompting the programmers to create the best and safest software. Seems like a harmless job, but skateboarding, even when simulated, is never harmless, as the CSIs learn from the employees themselves.

Prater Productions is the company every teenage boy wants to work for – swimming pools, soccer field, get paid to play video games. However, it's not all fun and games for Ron Benson, a video game programmer who is less than enthusiastic about the demanding working hours of the company. Tired and disgruntled at a young age, Ron admits to having an antagonistic relationship with Jake, but insist it was strictly professional. Ron also has a very strong alibi - he has been working for 72 hours straight, leaving him no time to murder Jake and dispose of the body. Calleigh and Ryan are dubious, but Ron isn't worried. Every employee carries a security pass that, through a sophisticated security system, logs every time said employee enters and leaves the building, rendering the CSIs suspicions obsolete.

Ron Benson's alibi checks, the security log indicates he has been at work for the last 72 hours and hasn't exited the building once. While they've got use of the system, Calleigh's interest peeks. Surely Jake Sullivan had a similar security pass. Ryan checks the log, which alarmingly indicates Jake exited the building twenty minutes after midnight. There's only one contradiction: the time of death indicates Jake Sullivan died long before that. If dead men can't drive cars, they certainly can't walk in and out of buildings.

While Calleigh, Ryan, and Eric delve into the world of video games, Horatio and Yelina investigate a simple case of robbery involving special circumstances. Sara Piper (previously seen in "Innocent") is coaxed by her boyfriend to make homemade sex tape. But when the tape is stolen out of her bedroom, Sara suspects the intentions behind the robbery are not coincidental. She confides in Horatio that she used to be an adult video star, a fact she has kept a secret from her boyfriend. Sara wants to move on with her life, but is worried about what would happen if the video got into the wrong hands. But what starts as a simple robbery case soon turns complicated when Horatio learns Sara isn't the only one keeping secrets.

Please note that the above plot details have not been confirmed by CBS, Alliance Atlantis or Bruckheimer Films, and until such time you should treat this information as you would any other rumour. The above information comes from early script drafts and the details and the airing order of the episodes are liable to change before the episodes are shown.

"Game Over" will likely air in March, 2005.

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