Quentin Tarantino helmed a two-part episode of CSI: Miami with David Caruso - who retired when the show ended - and New York.
The franchise appeared to come to a close in 2015 with the end of the original CSI, but it was later revived in 2021 with CSI: Vegas. The series was everywhere in the early 2000s, with Quentin Tarantino becoming a fan after watching episodes while filming Kill Bill. He also praised William Peterson's work as Gil Grissom, calling him one of the best detective characters on TV. Tarantino was later invited to guest direct an episode, which evolved into the season 5 finale "Grave Danger."
CSI's "Grave Danger" opens with Nick (George Eads) being called to investigate a pile of intestines left in an alleyway, and he's soon kidnapped by a mystery assailant and buried alive in a glass coffin. The kidnapper demands a ransom for Nick's release, and the team has to race against time to save his life before he runs out of air. "Grave Danger" marked Tarantino's - who cameoed in Little Nicky - return to television after previously helming an episode of E.R. and it remains - to date - his last bout as a TV director.
Grave Danger Was Tarantino's Tense Two-Parter
Needless to say, CSI's "Grave Danger" received a warm critical reception, with Tarantino making one of the most intense episodes of the entire series. For the most part, "Grave Danger" feels like a standard outing but is filled with Tarantino flourishes like random conversational dialogue about board games or cameos from Hollywood greats like Tony Curtis and John Saxon. Some of the director's habits occasionally grate, however, such as a hallucination scene where Nick imagines himself being gruesomely dissected on an autopsy table.
That said, CSI's "Grave Danger" functions as an intense little thriller, with the plot mimicking The Bride's (Uma Thurman) burial ordeal in Kill Bill Vol 2. Tarantino milks the scenario for all its worth in his CSI - where Taylor Swift once appeared - outing, with the episode being a rough ride for claustrophobic viewers, especially when ants invade Nick's coffin. Another highlight is Eads' committed performance, where he often has to convey overwhelming terror and panic with little to no dialogue, and the episode really earns his emotional escape in the finale.