| Season Number: | 13 |
| Bgcolour: |
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| Starring: | Ted Danson Elisabeth Shue George Eads Jorja Fox Eric Szmanda Robert David Hall Wallace Langham David Berman Elisabeth Harnois Jon Wellner Paul Guilfoyle |
| Num Episodes: | 22 |
| Network: | CBS |
| Episode List: | List of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation episodes |
The thirteenth season of premiered on September 26, 2012, on CBS, and ended on May 15, 2013. It stars Ted Danson and Elisabeth Shue.
D.B. and Finn hunt for missing Kaitlyn, while Sara convinces Nick to return to the Las Vegas Crime Lab ("Karma to Burn"), in the thirteenth season of CSI. Russell, Finlay and their team are met with the gruesome, the brutal, and the unusual, including a shootout at the CSI's favorite diner ("Code Blue Plate Special"), the murder of a runaway sex slave ("Wild Flowers"), a body in a piano ("It Was a Very Good Year"), the death of a police dog handler ("Play Dead"), the discovery of a mass grave ("CSI on Fire"), a plane crash ("Risky Business Class"), a news anchor killed on live TV ("Dead Air"), the murder of a tennis star ("Double Fault"), the murder of a Cuban singing sensation ("Exile"), a cheating scandal at a poker tournament ("Last Woman Standing"), a body near a forest reserve ("Sheltered"), a ghost hunter's murder (Ghosts of the Past) a sole witness in the form of a 6-year-old girl ("Backfire") and a body in a mud-bath ("Fearless"). Meanwhile, things get personal, as Russell's sons coach is murdered ("Pick and Roll"), a body is found on Warrick's grave ("Fallen Angels"), Brass learns more about Ellie ("Strip Maul"), NYPD Lab Director Mac Taylor heads to Las Vegas ("In Vino Veritas"), Sara became a suspect in a homicide ("Forget Me Not"). Phillips heads to a high school reunion ("Dead of the Class"), and an investigation into a series of Dante's Inferno killings bring the CSIs face-to-face with Black Sabbath ("Skin in the Game"), before jeopardizing the life of one investigator.
In episode thirteen of the season, CSI staged a two-part crossover with its spin-off show in which Gary Sinise marked his first appearance in CSI and as his CSI: NY character Mac Taylor; cast member Ted Danson subsequently appeared in the CSI: NY portion of the story. Former cast member William Petersen also returned as Gil Grissom for voice overs in the episodes "Wild Flowers" and "Dead Air", on the phone with Sara; these appearances were uncredited. On March 20, 2013, CBS renewed CSI for a fourteenth season, which aired in September 2013.
| Episode # | Title | Air date | 18-49 Rating/Share | Viewers (in millions) | Rank (Week) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Karma to Burn (Part 2) | September 26, 2012 | 2.5/7 | 10.76 | 22 | |
| 2 | Code Blue Plate Special | October 10, 2012 | 2.6/7 | 10.70 | 19 | |
| 3 | Wild Flowers | October 17, 2012 | 2.3/7 | 10.63 | 16 | |
| 4 | It Was a Very Good Year | October 24, 2012 | 2.4/6 | 9.95 | 25 | |
| 5 | Play Dead | October 31, 2012 | 2.4/7 | 10.91 | 17 | |
| 6 | Pick and Roll | November 7, 2012 | 2.3/6 | 10.33 | 15 | |
| 7 | Fallen Angels | November 14, 2012 | 2.5/7 | 11.01 | 14 | |
| 8 | CSI on Fire | November 21, 2012 | 2.4/7 | 10.77 | 12 | |
| 9 | Strip Maul | November 28, 2012 | 2.6/7 | 12.11 | 12 | |
| 10 | Risky Business Class | December 12, 2012 | 2.2/6 | 9.59 | 21 | |
| 11 | Dead Air | January 16, 2013 | 2.3/6 | 11.14 | 15 | |
| 12 | Double Fault | January 23, 2013 | 2.6/7 | 11.46 | 10 | |
| 13 | In Vino Veritas (Part 1) | February 6, 2013 | 2.4/7 | 10.97 | 13 | |
| 14 | Exile | February 13, 2013 | 1.9/5 | 8.54 | 22 | |
| 15 | Forget Me Not | February 20, 2013 | 2.3/7 | 10.65 | 15 | |
| 16 | Last Woman Standing | February 27, 2013 | 1.9/5 | 9.44 | 14 | |
| 17 | Dead of the Class | March 20, 2013 | 2.3/6 | 10.53 | 8 | |
| 18 | Sheltered | April 3, 2013 | 2.1/6 | 9.89 | 20 | |
| 19 | Backfire | April 10, 2013 | 2.4/7 | 11.11 | 14 | |
| 20 | Fearless | May 1, 2013 | 1.9/5 | 9.49 | ||
| 21 | Ghosts of the Past | May 8, 2013 | 2.2/6 | 9.82 | ||
| 22 | Skin in the Game (Part 1) | May 15, 2013 | 2.0/6 | 9.53 |