I’m glad to see CSI taking on new ideas for cases along with the addition of DB and Finn this season, and this week’s outing is a good example of this very thing. 

I doubt I could count all the crime drama episodes that focused on “getting the innocent man out of jail.” This show has even used this same plot in a few variations.

However, "Altered Stakes" gave us the evil-twin of this plot, by saying: “What if you need to keep a convicted man in jail?”

When the episode opened with a softball game, my wife said, “she’s going to hit a homerun and the ball will land next to a body.” Because that’s what most crime dramas would have done. Thankfully, DB and his team reminded us why the show has been on the air for 12 years (and counting). 

Using corrupt cop Sam Vega, (who was last seen in Episode 8 “Crime After Crime”) as the catalyst for a case was a great way to spark the investigation. The fact that the manner in which he got the confession and all the evidence after that was tainted added a bit of spice to what could have been a dry and tasteless task. 

The best twist of all, was just as we were settling in for this weird backwards case, they spring the David Jorgensen case on us; where proving Bowden committed the attack would free an innocent man from jail! Talk about coming full circle. Wow! Kudos to the entire production staff for another great twist.

Mixing that with the humor of the final key evidence against Bowden coming from the something the witness kept for 8 years because her dog ate it made for a tense nail-biting episode with a humorous but satisfying ending. 

That being said, I will admit that I, like Nick and Moreno, am a little sad that Detective Vega turned out to be dirty. Geoffrey Rivas has portrayed Detective Vega in more than 20 episodes dating back to the first season. It’s hard to see a good cop go bad.  

On the flip-side it looks like Finn might have a new romantic interest in the form of Vega’s son Detective Moreno. In the spirit of full disclosure I was right there with DB being annoyed with Finn for faking an injury to stop and flirt with Moreno on third base. And apparently her sarcasm was too subtle for me when she was talking to DB about the cute guy on third base as I just didn't see it. 

When the end of the episode came and it turned out that she had faked the injury for Henry so he could hit the winning run home it all made sense. She had been taking him to the batting cages and knew it would mean more to him to be the hero for a change. I should have know better than to not trust Finn!

My only disappointment for this episode was the over use of the Italian opera/references to Italy that went on with Hodges. Nearly every scene with him had him speaking Italian, singing in Italian, or both! Ok we get it, he went to Italy with his mom - It’s not an hidden Easter Egg if you beat us over the head with it. 

While we wait the couple of weeks to our next new episode, be sure and check out our selection of CSI quotes and see if your favorite made the list! 

Jim G. is a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow him on Twitter.