Directed by Frederick EO Toye
Written by Anthony E. Zuiker, Ann Donahue, Carol Mendelsohn & Trey Calloway
"Page Turner" is the 2nd episode of Season 5 and the 94th overall. It originally aired October 1, 2008.
A college student attending a free Maroon 5 concert in Central Park dies as a riot breaks out. She and two other victims are determined to have died from radiation poisoning. Sid is infected as well while performing the girl's autopsy.
Tropes for the episode:
- After-Action Healing Drama: The team must race to determine the type of poison used so they can tell Sid's doctors in time to save his life.
- Amoral Attorney: The killer is a defense attorney who is tired of representing crooks. He offs his wife for her life insurance so he can retire, then kills other random people to divert attention from himself.
- Anti-Radiation Drug: After being exposed to high levels of thallium during an autopsy, Hammerback is given two rounds of Prussian blue as treatment, then hospitalized for the remainder of the episode.
- As Himself: Maroon 5 perform "Goodnight, Goodnight" during their concert in the opening.
- Finger-Licking Poison: The killer laces a book in the NY Public Library with thallium, knowing his librarian wife will come in contact with it as part of her job.
- Hazmat Suit: The team dons protective gear as they're looking for the specific book. Sheldon does so in the morgue while trying to figure out what caused Sid to collapse.
- Look Both Ways: The college student. Looking back over her shoulder, she runs in front of a bus that is just pulling away from the curb. Played with in that it turns out not to be what kills her... the bus isn't moving fast enough yet.
- Pulled from Your Day Off: Lindsay comes in to help the team save Sid.
- Serial Killings, Specific Target: The killer wants a particular person dead, but exposes others as well in order to file a lawsuit against the city and retire.
- Surgeons Can Do Autopsies If They Want: Averted with former ME/surgeon Sheldon filling in while Sid's in the hospital.
- That Man Is Dead: Stella and Flack question a Buddhist monk named Lhamo Vadhana as to the whereabouts of a suspect named Timothy Pram. The monk says "He no longer exists," so they ask when he died. The monk then admits that he had changed his name along with his whole personality when he converted to Buddhism and considers his former self to be gone.
