Time to bid farewell to Mac Taylor
GARY Sinise and his crime-solving team return as the ninth and final season of the hit drama series CSI: NY arrives on Universal Channel.
Tonight caught up with Sinise, who plays Detective Mac Taylor, who has appeared in 200 episodes of the CSI franchise, to find out more about the final season.
What was your reaction when you found out the show was returning for a ninth season?
It was a Sunday morning at about 10am when I was told that we are coming back. Within an hour it was all over the internet. I was glad. Wwe enjoy doing the show quite a bit and to get nine season is pretty great.
What will set Season 9 apart from previous seasons?
We are doing an interesting thing with the characters. CSI: NY is a procedural, it’s a show that’s driven by the crime, but because we have such a loyal audiences, who watch these characters develop over time, we are going to explore seeing each one of these characters on their day off; what do they do away from the office. So throughout the season, we are going to be peppering in episodes that focus on each one of the main characters. So there is going to be a crime in every episode, and 7 or 8 episodes are going to deal with personal stories of each one of the characters and what they are doing on their day off.
Mac was shot at the end of Season 8. How does that affect him now?
We didn’t see what happened after he was shot, but in the Season 9 premiere, we get to flashback a little bit to see him in his rehabilitation. We learn that he is struggling with something called aphasia, which is something that happens in the brain if you suffer severe blood loss and it can affect your memory a little bit. He is a guy who is not used to being vulnerable. He is the kind of guy that will try to power through everything without reaching out for help from anybody.
How will Mac’s romantic relationship with Christine develop this season?
There are things that Mac is keeping from this new romantic relationship that he has with Christine. He is very taken with her, and at the end of Season 8, they really develop something that looks like it is going to last. She stands by him after he gets shot and she is very concerned about his well-being, so she is really helping him get through rehabilitation. But he is not used to having someone in his life that he can share every little bit with, especially the vulnerability he is feeling. He thinks he can power through that himself, so he keeps it from her and as the season goes on you will see how that choice affects the two of them.
Is there an item from wardrobe that you feel identifies your character?
Mac usually wears a pin and people ask me about this pin all the time. The pin says “DB” on it, Detective Bureau. That’s something that is signature to Mac, he always has that on, from the very first episode, he is never without it. It’s a first grade detective pin that was given to me by one of our writers, John Dove, who was one of our technical advisers in the beginning of the series. He’s a former New York City detective who was advising us on different aspects of our stories. He came to me right before we started shooting this and said, “I think your guy would have this, this is something that top detectives would have, so you should put this on”, so I put it on and it’s always there.
If you could play any other character on the show who would it be?
It would be interesting for us all to switch parts and see what we would do with each other’s roles. Maybe I’ll do Sid. I will get to put the glasses on.