November 20, 2008
Perhaps it's safe to say that a lot of CSI fans were alarmed when rumors of a midseason exit for its main man William Petersen began circulating. When it was confirmed (and that Matrix star Laurence Fishburne is sort of replacing him), a good deal of its fan base that have been loyal to the show for the past eight seasons vowed never to watch CSI again once Grissom exits. Promises from Petersen to return to Vegas from time to time weren't enough to comfort fans.
True enough, in a recent poll by AOL Television, 37 percent of those surveyed said they will stop watching CSI once Petersen makes his exit early next year. This is huge, as the CBS procedural is currently the top-rated drama this season, averaging 21 million viewers each week. Going by AOL's numbers, CSI stands to lose some 8 million viewers after Grissom. Such downgrade will put it along the same level with Grey's Anatomy or Desperate Housewives, and behind fellow-procedural NCIS, which is currently riding on big wave ratings-wise.
November 13, 2008
Perhaps it is safe to say that a lot of CSI fans heavily anticipated the procedural's last episode. “Leave Our All the Rest” not only featured a single from Linkin Park, more importantly, it reintroduced fans to what some say is one of the most fascinating characters – Lady Heather, played by Melinda Clarke. While some fans are divided on whether they want Grissom (William Petersen) to end up with Heather or with Sara Sidle (Jorja Fox), CSI executive producer Carol Mendelsohn conclusively said that a relationship between Grissom and Heather would flourish if Sara is not on the way. Needless to say, this didn't sink well with Grissom-Sara fans.
For their part, Petersen and Clarke both admit that there is something mysterious about their relationship – and that's what makes the dynamic so intriguing.
November 6, 2008
It's not just the Linkin Park single that will make tonight's episode of CSI unique. To backtrack a little, the Grammy-winning rock band will feature the fifth single off their Minutes to Midnight album in tonight's “Leave Out All The Rest.” In fact, CSI will base its entire score on the single – it will open and close the episode, and portions of the song will accompany the oh-so-complicated love story of Gil Grissom (William Petersen) and Sara Sidle (Jorja Fox). According to a CSI executive producer, Linkin Park is “perfect for the show and the conflict within it” because of their sound that is “full of strength and simultaneous vulnerability.”
On tonight's episode of CSI, the team investigates a case involving the world of domination. Grissom will visit the returning Lady Heather (Melinda Clarke) to search for some answers. However, Clarke herself says that there is something else on Grissom's mind, and he has another agenda in his visit.
November 3, 2008
Last week, BuddyTV shed some light on the murder of Warrick Brown through CSI producer David Rambo's interview with CSI Files. This week, we'll be tapping on what's in store for the rest of the season following the departure of Sara Sidle (Jorja Fox) and the eventual exit of the head of the crime lab, Gil Grissom (William Petersen).
Although the CSI team is still grappling with emotions from Warrick's death, they will also be busy with pursuing a particular case that will unravel throughout the season.
October 30, 2008
It is no question that the ninth season of CSI had been riddled with changes that have shaken the CBS procedural to the core. For one, its once seemingly indestructible team lost a couple of members, Sara Sidle (Jorja Fox) leaving last season and Gil Grissom (William Petersen) will leave mid-season. Meanwhile, Lady Heather (Melinda Clark) will make a return and a new CSI Riley Adams (Lauren Lee Smith) entered the scene to give the CSI team a hand. None of the changes, however, had been more jarring than Warrick Brown (Gary Dourdan) being killed off.
According to CSI producer David Rambo, killing off Warrick (as opposed to just making him leave alive like Sidle and, later this season, Grissom) was just appropriate and helpful to bring out another side of the CSI team (who can forget Grissom (William Petersen) and his tearful eulogy at the season premiere?).
October 27, 2008
The opening scene of the last episode of CSI was eerie, which was typical of the CBS hit procedural. A young woman was found dead in the park next to a lamppost. The weird thing was she wasn't on the ground, her eyes weren't shut, and there weren't any immediately visible signs of death aside from rigor bruises on her legs. On the contrary, she was on her feet, cell phone tuck between her shoulder and ear The first conjecture pointed to lightning the night before, but as usual Gil Grissom (William Petersen) was skeptical. When the CSI team found more similar cases, a man on a bus stop bench, another hailing a cab, and an old couple who was bird-watching, they realized there was something more to this than random, lost lightning. Also, we got to meet Riley Adams, the new girl whose first line was, “What, no gun?”
As we count down Grissom's last episodes before he bids goodbye to the series that catapulted him to worldwide popularity, the CSI main man says there's really nothing like doing theater, and sooner or later, he's bound to come back to where he came from. And not even the world's most popular show or some fans vowing to stop watching a Grissom-less CSI can't change his mind.
October 24, 2008
For the first time ever, CBS and Warner Brothers have worked out a deal with Grammy Award-winning rock band Linkin Park to feature the fifth single from their album “Minutes to Midnight” in an upcoming episode of CSI that marks the return of Lady Heather (Melinda Clarke). Making this arrangement extra special is the fact that the forensic drama will be basing the entire score of the episode and its title around the currently released rock single “Leave Out All The Rest.”
Scheduled on Thursday, November 6, “Leave Out All The Rest” finds the CSI team investigating a case involving the world of domination, prompting Grissom (William Petersen) to pay a visit Lady Heather in attempt to find some answers.
October 23, 2008
Nothing was happy about “The Happy Place,” the last episode of CSI. A woman about to get married leaped out of her apartment to a roaring bus, a woman is beaten blue by her formerly underage lover, and a man pulls the plug on her wife, who was a rape victim. With “For Warrick” as precedent, however, this is quite easy to understand, as everyone is still predictably reeling from the death of Warrick (Gary Dourdan).
Another surprising (or not-so-surprising) thing that happened in this episode is Sara (Jorja Fox) validating her belief that, indeed, this CSI life was just too depressing for her. She upped and left, somehow ending whatever it was she and Grissom (William Petersen) had – once again. However, unlike the last time, there wasn't so much as a ruckus when she left on this episode, not a letter, nothing, she just did. Then again, Grissom himself has some eight episodes to go before he leaves so it's unclear if it remotely matters.