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Today's cuppa: Hot spiced cider, of course

Later tonight, after you're done trick-or-treating or partying and the kids are all tucked away in bed, visions of asparagus dancing in their heads (who knows, after that much candy, maybe), CBS "CSI: Miami" has one last trick in store.

In tonight's episode, "Sleepless in Miami," CSI Natalia Boa Vista (Eva LaRue) goes undercover to discover whether a man who claimed to have dreamed about a murder before it happened is unstable, psychic or actually the killer.

(Speaking of dreaming about things before they happen, click here for a story with LaRue's co-star, Emily Procter.)

During a recent press event for the crime drama's 200th episode (currently scheduled to air Dec. 5), LaRue shared a few details about what viewers can expect from tonight.

"The episode starts off totally differently and so much darker than we've ever done," she says. "You know you're in a nightmare, but you're not sure whose. You know you're watching a murder, but you're not sure who's doing the murdering.

"The room is circulating, and there's blood on the ceilings and walls. Then you find this guy, and you're not sure if he's digging up a head or burying a head. You're seeing it from his perspective, and he thinks he's killing himself.

"Come to find out, he's been drugged. This drug is a real drug. The writers were telling us the stories of how these people hallucinate to the point where they think that aliens are coming to get them, or monsters are coming.

"People's faces are unusually blank, and their eyes are glowing orbs. They completely freak out. This particular drug is akin to the zombie drug."

(HCTV: BTW, that's scopolamine)

Unfortunately, Boa Vista also winds up getting a dose.

"I end up drugged in this episode," says LaRue. "I start shooting at my co-workers, because I think they're my ex-husband coming to kill me. It's really cool. It was fun to completely trip out. They have to tackle me and pin me down.

"That's just been my favorite episode so far this year."

Here is an expanded version of a syndicated profile from earlier this month of "CSI: Miami" star Emily Procter, marking the Calleigh-centric episode airing Monday night.

Usually prim and pretty, Emily Procter of CBS' Monday-night hit "CSI Miami" is sitting in the show's makeup trailer covered in dirt, grime and ashes - and that suits her fine.

 

"Fire in the hole!" she says. "This is my favorite kind of stuff to do. I ask all year long for this, and then they give me one or two. That's all I get."

 

For the episode, "Backfire," currently set for Monday, April 19, Procter's character, CSI Calleigh Duquesne, is caught in a fire, aggravating a lung condition from an earlier severe case of smoke inhalation. She has an out-of-body experience while unconscious, which helps her solve the previous crime.

There's also a tender scene between Calleigh and her current love, once and future CSI Eric Delko.

 

On this day, she is shooting a scene in a burning house, fighting through wreckage, dodging jets of flame. Her stunt double does all the dangerous stuff, but Procter also does her share.

 

"I feel like the show should have more action," she says. "I'm the only one in the cast who runs and guns. I'm not going to let the boys do it all the time."

 

But lest you think she's just a tomboy, Procter rehabs houses and collects antiques. She also enjoys a spot of tea.

 

"The only milk-and-sugar tea I do is English breakfast," she says. "I wish that you would go to London and have a proper tea at Brown's. That's where you want to go, but you have to make your reservation way in advance, because they have the best tea sandwiches, the best tea.

 

"My best spots here have been the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel (in Beverly Hills) and the London (in West Hollywood). I think I prefer the Beverly Wilshire. But nothing beats high tea at Brown's in London. It's incredible.

 

"That may be a glitch in Los Angeles, that it's so male-heavy. We don't have enough girly stuff. It's all about the boys."

Asked what her wish list would be for Calleigh in the future, Procter says, "Stunts, stunts and more stunts. And of course, my eternal wish, that I ask for constantly, is to wear a skirt or a dress. I'm not a pants girl. I don't even own pants. I came in today in a skirt. I don't wear anything but pants (on the show).

"I'm always in pants -- very masculine. I had cleavage for a couple of years, and then I think too many people wrote in. Now I don't even have cleavage.

"Also, I would like to have a show where we saw a despicable crime in a puppy mill, and Calleigh is just playing with puppies for the entire episode, sort of like '101 Dalmatians.' There are puppy mills all over Florida. We could have a Cruella de Ville character.

"We could bust the ring wide open, and I could be responsible for rounding up the puppies."

 

Birthplace: Raleigh, N.C., on Oct. 8, making her a Libra.

 

School cred: Graduated from the Ravenscroft School in Raleigh; earned degrees in journalism and dance at East Carolina University.

 

TV cred: Stint as a TV weather anchor at WNCT-TV in Greenville, N.C.; "Friends," "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman" (as Lana Lang), "Just Shoot Me!" "Early Edition," "The West Wing," "HGTV Summer Showdown."

 

Movie cred: "Leaving Las Vegas" (1995), "Crosscut" (1996), "Family Plan" (1997), "Breast Men" (1997), "Guinevere" (1999), "Body Shots" (1999), "Forever Fabulous" (1999), "The Big Tease" (1999), "Big Momma's House 2" (2006), "Turnover" 2008), "Barry Munday" (2010).

 

Favorite book: "I really love 'My Dark Places,' by James Ellroy. It's just my favorite, maybe because it's his story. But I have it on tape and the book. It's just human behavior, and he's a real behaviorist. 'Lord of the Flies' is the same thing - why we do what we do."

 

Favorite music: "I like all music, but if I had to pick, I would pick really heavy guitar rock 'n' roll. I want Led Zeppelin; I want Rush; I want Van Halen. That's what I listen to. I'm a huge fan of the Allman Brothers, Bob Dylan, the Pretenders, Heart."

 

Favorite movie: "It's a toss-up between 'Gone With the Wind' and 'The Big Lebowski.' Those are my two favorites. I do (love the first half of 'Gone With the Wind' more). It's so pretty in the beginning. The costumes are beautiful. The only thing good about the second half is the blue outfit Scarlett O'Hara wears in the lumber yard."