13. BURIED ALIVE

"CSI"
Fifth season finale, May 19, 2005
"Grave Danger, Volume 1 and Volume 2"

Quentin Tarantino directed this tense two-hour episode in which Nick Stokes (right) is kidnapped and buried alive. And the kidnapper kills himself without divulging Nick's location. And the crew can watch video of Nick dying in the coffin. And they can see ants rush into the coffin and all over Nick. And the coffin is rigged to explode. And . . . Tarantino expertly milked the situation for horror and wit, inserting a number of references to his "Kill Bill" movies and guest appearances by Tony Curtis and Frank Gorshin.