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The field of crime scene investigation is a complex one that requires years of education and work to enter.
Collecting evidence, working in the crime lab to analyze it and come to logical, well thought-out conclusions isn’t something that can be jumped into willy-nilly.
Gil Grissom and his crew of the hit television show “CSI” glorify the experience and make it seem like a desirable field of work. Fans of the show were finally given the opportunity to live out their investigative dreams and become part of the action as “CSI: LIVE” hit the Collins Center for the Arts on Sunday afternoon.
“CSI: LIVE” is an adaptation of its namesake show that has been on over 115 stages across North America. For their appearance at Orono, it was business as usual.
The show provided an entertaining and educational ride for children interested in the science involved in forensics, but didn’t bore the parents to sleep, either.
The performance opened at the Las Vegas debut of the Max Spade Magic Show, a cheesy illusion act performed by Spade and a lovely assistant. Spade and his assistant walked on stage wearing masks and, without saying a word, Spade selected a member of the audience to assist him with a trick.
The volunteer took the stage, watching Spade put his assistant in a smoke-filled chamber with slits in the side for inserting a giant blade, which Spade did.
He then gave the volunteer a sort of light-up, electricity meter pole, which illuminated when it touched Spade’s Tesla coil. The volunteer held the pole to one side of the blade as Spade held his Tesla coil to the other.
When the coil touched the blade, a loud bang and a startling feminine scream rang out. After Spade opened the box and the smoke within cleared, his assistant was seen slumped over and unconscious.
This was a matter that clearly needed investigating.
A modified version of the show’s title sequence played on the two projection screens on stage, which transitioned into a brief scene that depicted a black van, labeled “Mobile Crime Unit,” arriving at a crime scene.
The action on-screen translated onto the stage as the back end of a van appeared at the back of the stage. Crime scene investigators emerged from it and introduced themselves. David Hart was a faux-macho man and Sydney Mathis was the more grounded and professional of the two.
Mathis announced that everybody in the audience was about to enter their first day of training at the Forensic Science Academy and they would be assisting Mathis and Hart in solving the staged crime.
Then, a “video transmission” from their headquarters came in, a message from Gil Grissom, the main protagonist from the television show. He reminded cadets that their main goal was to collect evidence, saying, “If it isn’t in the report, it didn’t happen.”
To gauge the memory of the audience, Hart got four “recruits” from the audience and had them watch a quick scene from the CSI show. Then he asked them four questions about the video, two of which were answered correctly.
To get the first suspect in their case, Mathis asked a “witness” from the crowd to identify the volunteer from the magic show by process of elimination. After narrowing down his location and identifying him, Mathis and Hart questioned him. He claimed innocence, but nonetheless, he was listed as their first suspect.
Hart and the four previous recruits searched the chamber for pieces of evidence. They came up with a water bottle, a flashlight and wood chips.
The audience then learned that the assistant’s name was Tracy Diamond, a 23-year-old aspiring magician with no history of losing consciousness like she did during the performance. The only medical history of note was her allergies to penicillin and quinine.
A type of stage powder was found on the flashlight from the chamber, a piece of evidence interesting to Hart and Mathis.
Two more volunteers were called from the audience to help Hart and Mathis test the carbon monoxide levels of the smoke that was being pumped into the chamber during the performance, since it was a possible cause of Diamond’s unconsciousness.
After Hart was accidentally trapped in the chamber as gas was being pumped into it, he was found to be fine and the smoke was written off as a cause of the fainting.
The giant blade from the illusion was then sprayed with luminol and put under ultraviolet light, which revealed a clear bloody handprint on it, arousing suspicion in Hart and Mathis.
Hart found the Tesla coil from the magician’s act, and after jokingly asking a small boy in the front row to come up and get shocked by it, the boy went on stage, which Hart and Mathis found funny. They gave him a hat as a souvenir, sent him back to his seat, and continued with the show.
They then thought that the water bottle might have contained tonic water, which has quinine in it, one of Diamond’s allergies, so they tested it under the ultraviolet light. When Mathis had her back turned, Hart started drinking from the bottle and then spat it out when Mathis said it might contain other poisons. Then, Mathis reminded the audience of a vital piece of advice to keep in mind when investigating a crime scene: “Don’t drink evidence.”
In a video call from the hospital, Spade revealed he was upset with Diamond because she was leaving his act to pursue a show of her own. This immediately established him as a suspect with a motive.
After more investigating and antics, an email from the hospital reported a bruise on Diamond’s head, which explained the fainting.
Hart and Mathis found an air-powered cannon, which was big enough to shoot the flashlight they found in the chamber. They also found a flashlight-sized hole in the chamber, which they theorized was caused by the flashlight being shot out of the cannon. They performed a test with the cannon and a wooden box, that proved their theory right.
All of the evidence seemed to suggest it was Spade who committed the crime, but a new suspect was then introduced.
Zurcon the Magnificent was introduced as a failed magician who attempts to ruin the careers of other magicians. They were then sent a picture of Zurcon, which turned out to be a photo of the volunteer from the magic show.
After questioning him, they found a wireless transmitter on him that set off the cannon, which implicated him as the one who committed the crime.
Once the case was wrapped up, Mathis announced that the audience had completed their first day of training. Before the show was done, though, Spade and a new assistant took the stage and performed the chamber trick, this time successfully.
They removed their masks. Hart and Mathis performed the final trick.
In an afternoon filled with mystery, science and fun, fans young and old got their money’s worth in an interactive experience the thrilled youngsters in the crowd won’t soon forget.
Bangor Daily News