Two and a Half Deaths

"Two and a Half Deaths"is the sixteenth episode of theeighth seasonof the American crime dramaCSI: Crime Scene Investigation,which is set inLas Vegas.The 181st episode of the series overall, it originally aired on May 8, 2008 onCBS.It was written byChuck LorreandLee Aronsohnin acrossoverbetweenCSIandTwo and a Half Men.The character of Annabelle is based onRoseanne Barr,who Lorre believed behaved poorly while he was running her eponymous blockbuster TV show; the title font for the show-within-a-show "Annabelle" is even identical to the one used forRoseanne.Lorre was the original producer for that show until he was pushed out.

"Two and a Half Deaths"
CSI: Crime Scene Investigationepisode
Episodeno.	Season 8 Episode 16
Directed by	Alec Smight
Written by	Chuck Lorre Lee Aronsohn
Original air date	May 8, 2008(2008-05-08)
Guest appearances
Katey Sagal Diedrich Bader Rachael Harris Constance Marie Benjamin King Stephen Tobolowsky Charlie Sheen(uncredited) Jon Cryer(uncredited) Angus T. Jones(uncredited) Dayna Devon(reporting forExtra)

Plot

When the death of a well-known TV star, Annabelle (Katey Sagal), is reported, the CSI team is sent to investigate. Annabelle's co-star, Megan, is interviewed, saying what a tragedy it was. Warrick points out to Grissom and Catherine that a woman's high heel print can clearly be seen in the blood from Annabelle's room. When Grissom gets a phone call that something has turned up on the television set, he heads to Los Angeles.

When Grissom arrives, he finds Natasha (Annabelle's stand-in/double), dead from a car accident. Minutes later, Megan screams out as her dog lies dead in front of her. Back in Vegas, Hodges shows Catherine footage of Bud Parker (Annabelle's driver and now the show's "executive producer" ) marrying Annabelle, that is actually Natasha. Grissom and Brass search Bud's office and find alcohol, which he has been giving to Annabelle. They also let him know that semen was found on Natasha before she died, trying to pin her murder on him. Bud does not answer any questions, but instead is led away by police until he is ready to talk.

Catherine finds out that a writer visited Annabelle's room and had the same water bottle on him that she found at the scene of the crime. That writer has not been seen since the show filmed in Vegas. The bottle is dusted for prints and the CSI team come up with the name Richard Langford, an actor and street performer. As the team hands out pictures on the street to find him, Richard is performing on the street as a robot and tries to get away. Warrick and Nick arrest him.

Nick interviews Richard, who says that he was going to become a regular on her sitcom but was dismissed when he refused to sleep with Annabelle. He went to Vegas to get a second chance and decided to sleep with her after all. She fell backwards, hit her head, and died, which was an accident, according to him. He says that the rubber chicken stuffed down her throat was not an accident, but intentional since she was already dead.

The corpse of Annabelle tests positive for blood thinners, and the team realizes that she had been poisoned for quite some time prior to her death. The same drug is found in Natasha's blood. Grissom and Brass figure out that the only other person, besides Bud, who knew about Annabelle hiding her alcohol in mouthwash bottles was Megan. She confesses hypothetically by placing her actions on a fictional character in a script. In it, she reveals that she had had help from an Italian uncle, "Giuseppe," who taught her how to sabotage Annabelle's car in exchange for what she called "unsavory favors." She later asserts that there is only circumstantial evidence implicating her, and reveals that she has a new TV series called "Megan's Family." She then introduces her lover/executive producer, one of the show producers, who was constantly humiliated by Annabelle and Bud, who appears on cue. So with no proof, they do not arrest her. While shaving, Bud cuts himself and bleeds profusely from the neck as the screen cuts to black.

Connections withTwo and a Half Men

See also:Two and a Half Men and CSI crossover

• As Grissom and Brass are driven through a studio backlot to a crime scene, they spotCharlie Sheen(smoking a cigarette),Jon Cryer(smoking a tobacco pipe) andAngus T. Jones(biting the end off a cigar) outside a trailer wearing the same clothes from "Fish in a Drawer".All were stars of theCBSseriesTwo and a Half Menat the time of the episode's production, making uncreditedcameo appearances.
• The character of Don (one of the writers of the "Annabelle" show) is played byKevin Sussmanwho plays the character of Stuart, owner of the comic book store frequently featured onThe Big Bang Theory,anotherChuck Lorreshow. In a discussion about writing he asks the other writers if any of them has ever contactedTwo and a Half Men.Another writer answers "Ecch! I'd rather sleep with Annabelle than write that crap!"
• The title of this episode is a parody of theTwo and a Half Menname whose creators,Chuck LorreandLee Aronsohn,wrote this episode.
• To reciprocate, the writers ofCSIwrote aTwo and a Half Menepisode, "Fish in a Drawer",which aired on CBS on May 5, 2008.
• J. D. Walshalso appears as another of the writers of the "Annabelle" show. InTwo and a Half Menhe stars as Gordon, a pizza delivery guy who appears in seasons 1–3 and season 6 onwards.

External links

• "Two and a Half Deaths"atIMDb