Summary: An investigation into the shooting death of a rap star leads to an even deeper conspiracy
Original air date: May 9, 2008 (US)
Teleplay by: Andrew Dettmann
Story by: Andrew Dettmann and Steve Cohen
Directed by: Alex Zakrzewski
Opening numbers:
1148: Hip-hop albums
3.6 Billion: Gross sales dollars
186: Radio stations
3: Artists
Family Concepts: (character development)
- Charlie meets Amita’s parents, Tapti and Sanjay Ramanujan
- Colby listens to Travis Tritt music
- David listens to Curtis Mayfield, James Brown and early Stevie Wonder music
- The “banker from Goa” to whom Amita was arranged to marry has since married a French woman he met in Belgium
- Amita has a childhood friend, Kapil, who her parents try to arrange a relationship.
- Megan is back in New York taking time off
Episode Quotes:
- Amita: I didn’t say it was rational, it just feels weird.
Charlie: My Dad knows you spend the night, that’s never been weird.
Alan: Well it is now, thank you very much. - Larry: I haven’t heard of any of these artists; and it’s not like I’ve been living in a cave.
Charlie: No, just a space station and a monestary; and oh yeah, the steam tunnels.
Larry: Point taken - Charlie: Now Dad, don’t let her off the hook so easy. My abject suffering is worth a whole lot more than cookies.
- Charlie: I’m in!
Alan: Oh yeah, you’re in. But you must realize of course that now you have to marry her.
Charlie: I think I’ll have one of those cookies now.
Episode Synopsis:
A birthday party for Mr Blanchard, owner of Center Mass Records, turns violent when an apparent gatecrasher named Derrick Raines starts an argument regarding two of Blanchard’s artists, Robin “Hunter” and 2BY4. Raines claims they are sell outs and wanna-be’s. Raines is beaten on stage and tossed out of the club. Later that night Hunter is leaving the club when he is shot and killed in an apparent drive-by shooting.
LAPD turns the case over to the FBI as the Bureau has been investigating Blanchard for drug running. While searching Hunter’s car Colby finds an iPod with what appears to be a coded program. Charlie analyzes the code and figures out it is hiding an algorithm he thinks is to detect plagiarism, it’s actually for determining the possible success rate of music.
David and Liz go to talk to Derrick Raines and find Nina Hunter, Robin Hunter’s widow at his house. She, Derrick and Hunter where long-time friends though Derrick and Hunter stopped speaking to each other when Hunter signed with Center Mass. While there, Derrick’s house is sprayed with gun fire and Raines is wounded. David and Liz both suspect 2BY4 as the shooter, he stated he would seek revenge for Hunter’s murder, however neither of them get a good look at who was firing to be sure.
Charlie and Larry analyze records soon to be released by both Hunter and 2BY4 and discover 2BY4’s music shouldn’t be as successful as it is. Nina tried to bully her way in to see Raines at the hospital. She says she needs to talk to him and is carrying a computer. Liz takes her to Raines’ hospital room to show her he’s not in any condition to listen and asks what Nina has found out. She refuses to talk to Liz, and as she starts to drive away, her car blows up.
The FBI is able to pull some information off the computer’s hard drive and Charlie figures out the file is from Center Mass and is a record of payments Blanchard has made to radio stations to play 2BY4’s music more often, thus making it more popular than it should be. Charlie also finds out Blanchard has been paying of radio stations to not play Derrick’s songs. Unfortunately, he discovers all of this after Derrick has kidnapped Blanchard.
Don’s team is able to track Derrick through his cell phone, but when he hangs up, they lose the trace. Don figures out Derrick is taking Blanchard back to where Hunter was shot outside the nightclub. The FBI arrives to find Blanchard’s car but no sign of Derrick or Blanchard. Derrick keeps Blanchard in the car and talking long enough for Blanchard to confess he killed Hunter and Nina. Derrick exits the car with a recorder, having taped his conversation with Blanchard and getting the confession recorded.