This is a rare example of a 2 part story that in parallel; is a 2 hour finale story which "finishes" the story arc of 2 main characters, is in effect a back door pilot soft-reboot which introduces a new character, is a follow-up to an earlier story arc, and could actually have been the final episode of CSI if it had been cancelled, as in effect these first 10 episodes of season 9 could be unofficially considered episodes 18-27 of the truncated season 8.
Katheryn Winnick has appeared in all 3 CSI series.
Laurence Fishburne and Marc Vann work together as criminalists in this show. In 1997 they did a scene together playing criminals in the movie Hoodlum.