Sid Hammerback
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Dr. Sid Hammerback is a fictional character on the
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
crime drama '' CSI: NY'', portrayed by
Robert Joy Robert Joy (born August 17, 1951) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his role as medical examiner Sid Hammerback on the police procedural series '' CSI: NY'', and his appearances in the films ''Atlantic City'' (1980), ''Ragtime'' (1981) ...
.


Background

Known for the signature breakaway reading glasses he uses in the morgue (thought to b
Clic Reading Glasses
, Hammerback is a New York City
medical examiner The medical examiner is an appointed official in some American jurisdictions who is trained in pathology and investigates deaths that occur under unusual or suspicious circumstances, to perform post-mortem examinations, and in some jurisdicti ...
described as an "off-the-charts genius" who traded in a career as a chef to become a medical examiner, although in episode 509, "The Box", he states that he has been working in the same position for 29 years and 4,846 cases. He has a habit of over talking and oversharing, and has offered commentary on such unusual behaviors as
threesome In human sexuality, a threesome is "a sexual interaction between three people whereby at least one engages in physical sexual behaviour with both the other individuals". While the term ''threesome'' typically refers to sexual activity involvin ...
s and
necrophilia Necrophilia, also known as necrophilism, necrolagnia, necrocoitus, necrochlesis, and thanatophilia, is sexual attraction or acts involving corpses. It is classified as a paraphilia by the World Health Organization (WHO) in its ''International ...
–much to the unease of his predecessor
Sheldon Hawkes ''CSI: NY'' (''Crime Scene Investigation: New York'', stylized as ''CSI: NY/Crime Scene Investigation'') is an American police procedural television series that aired on CBS from September 22, 2004, to February 22, 2013, for nine seasons and 1 ...
, who, in one episode, refers to Sid's commentary as "going to that creepy place" (episode 301, "People With Money"). Despite any eccentricities on his part, Hammerback sincerely cares for the well-being of his coworkers; he invited
Mac Taylor ''CSI: NY'' (''Crime Scene Investigation: New York'', stylized as ''CSI: NY/Crime Scene Investigation'') is an American police procedural television series that aired on CBS from September 22, 2004, to February 22, 2013, for nine seasons and ...
to join his family for their Thanksgiving festivities so the taciturn CSI would not have to spend another holiday alone. He has apparently either known or worked with Mac, Hawkes, and ME
Peyton Driscoll The following is a list of characters from the CBS crime drama television series, '' CSI: NY''. It follows New York criminalists (identified as "the Crime Scene Investigators") working for the New York Police Department (NYPD) as they use physica ...
for an unspecified number of years (episode 205, "Dancing with the Fishes"). He is also known to be hardworking, as shown in episode 707, "Hide Sight", where he returns to work immediately despite having been sent to the ER after being exposed to an exploding bullet during an autopsy. Hammerback nearly dies from a severe allergic reaction to a meatball
gyros Gyros, sometimes anglicized as a gyro (; , ), is meat cooked on a vertical rotisserie, then sliced and served wrapped or stuffed in pita bread, along with other ingredients such as tomato, onion, fried potatoes, and tzatziki. In Greece, it is ...
sandwich he ate in episode 317, "The Ride-In", and is saved by the timely intervention of
Stella Bonasera ''CSI: NY'' (''Crime Scene Investigation: New York'', stylized as ''CSI: NY/Crime Scene Investigation'') is an American police procedural television series that aired on CBS from September 22, 2004, to February 22, 2013, for nine seasons and 1 ...
, who administers rescue breathing,
CPR Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure used during cardiac or respiratory arrest that involves chest compressions, often combined with artificial ventilation, to preserve brain function and maintain circulation until sp ...
, and a shot of
epinephrine Adrenaline, also known as epinephrine, is a hormone and medication which is involved in regulating visceral functions (e.g., respiration). It appears as a white microcrystalline granule. Adrenaline is normally produced by the adrenal glands a ...
from the first aid kit. When Stella expresses concern that she may have exposed him to
HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the im ...
, he comforts her, more worried about her own emotional well-being. "I'm sorry I scared you," he tells her contritely. In episode 502, "Page Turner", he nearly dies once again, this time from prolonged contact with a murder victim who had died of radiation poisoning. However, he undergoes heavy treatment at the hospital and is shown to be fine at the end of the episode, with a few of his friends and co-workers visiting him. Hammerback, an American of partial
Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...
n ancestry from one of his grandmothers (episode 519, "Communication Breakdown"), is currently married with two daughters, one about college age (episode 302, "Not What It Looks Like"; episode 317, "The Ride In"). Sid has been divorced at least once (episode 304, "Hung Out to Dry") and celebrated by getting incredibly drunk and falling down a flight of stairs, though he claims he "didn't feel a thing". In episode 418, "Admissions," he mentions to Mac that he occasionally holds a curiosity for what it would be like to take a swig of
hydrofluoric acid Hydrofluoric acid is a solution of hydrogen fluoride (HF) in water. Solutions of HF are colorless, acidic and highly corrosive. A common concentration is 49% (48–52%) but there are also stronger solutions (e.g. 70%) and pure HF has a boiling p ...
. When Mac jokingly responds that he himself wonders about doing a live autopsy on himself, Sid genuinely agrees before realizing, slightly crestfallen, that Mac is messing with him. In episode 419, "Personal Foul," he mentions that he enjoys fencing, and in episode 519, "Communication Breakdown," it is shown that he understands and speaks at least to some very small degree Lithuanian. His level of fluency is unknown. He was close friends with former coroner Marty Pino and his wife, Anabel, and was the one who convinced the two to marry (episode 518, "Point of No Return"). He also had the task of firing Pino after he was found forging overtime slips to aid his gambling and debt problems. He was visibly upset when Anabel was murdered, finding himself unable to conduct the autopsy on her. He also stopped a suicidal Pino, when he was about to be arrested for running drugs and creating heroin from peoples' bodies, a practice which led to Anabel's death, by turning up unexpectedly at the scene of the arrest. Sid asks Pino how many victims there were and is struck with horror as he hears the number, which the viewer never finds out, and asks the police to "get him out of my face".


Millionaire

In the
season 8 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and polar ...
episode "The Ripple Effect", written by co-executive producer
Trey Callaway Trey Callaway is an American film and television writer and producer. His work includes '' 9-1-1: Lone Star'', '' CSI: NY'', ''Rush Hour'', ''Revolution'', ''Station 19'', and ''Supernatural,'' for which he created the popular recurring characte ...
, Sid's absence from work delays an autopsy and angers Mac Taylor. When Sid returns,
Jo Danville ''CSI: NY'' (''Crime Scene Investigation: New York'', stylized as ''CSI: NY/Crime Scene Investigation'') is an American police procedural television series that aired on CBS from September 22, 2004, to February 22, 2013, for nine seasons and ...
learns the reason for the absence: a
patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an sufficiency of disclosure, enabling discl ...
Sid had obtained for one of his inventions has been bought for $27 million. Callaway, "wanting to tell the next chapter in that story", continues that
story arc A story arc (also narrative arc) is the chronological construction of a plot in a novel or story. It can also mean an extended or continuing narrative, storyline in episode, episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strip ...
in the ninth season episode "Command+P", where Sid is discovered by Jo to be the anonymous "Guardian Angel" who has been surprising with million-dollar checks "the loved ones of victims" in cases Sid had worked. Jo subsequently learns in confidence that Sid has
non-Hodgkin's lymphoma Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), also known as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, is a group of blood cancers that includes all types of lymphomas except Hodgkin lymphomas. Symptoms include enlarged lymph nodes, fever, night sweats, weight loss, and tire ...
. It was
showrunner A showrunner is the top-level executive producer of a television series. The position outranks other creative and management personnel, including episode directors, in contrast to feature films, in which the director has creative control over th ...
Pam Veasey Pamela Renea Veasey (born May 25, 1962) is an American television writer, producer, and director. Career Veasey graduated from the University of Southern California with degrees in Journalism and Political Science. She began her writing career i ...
who suggested that the checks are prompted by Sid's illness.Mitovich, Matt Webb (January 4, 2013)
"Exclusive: ''CSI: NY'' Producer Shares the Inside Story on This Week's Sad Twist, Happy Hook-Up"
''
TVLine ''TVLine'' is a website devoted to information, news, and spoilers of television programs. It covers various topics including the latest news on television, reviews, latest releases, and more. History In late 2010, ''Entertainment Weekly''s ...
''. Retrieved January 5, 2013.


References


External links


Dr. Sid Hammerback
on
Internet Movie Database IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hammerback, Sid CSI: NY characters Fictional characters with cancer Fictional medical examiners Fictional physicians Television characters introduced in 2005