'CSI' ends season with a whimper
Posted: Thursday, May 14, 2009 6:00 AM by Paige Newman
Filed Under:
TV
Thursday marks the end of another season of “CSI.” Back in July of last year, I lamented over William Petersen’s impending departure. I worried that it would make this once-great TV show an also-ran along the lines of “CSI: NY.” So how has the show fared without Petersen?
Major “CSI” fan and co-worker Gerrie Swartz put it this way, “Back in the day I wouldn’t miss an episode. Nowadays, I can pretty much take it or leave it. I find Fishburne’s character flat, uninteresting and unmoving … actually, that pretty much describes my opinion of the entire series nowadays. The old-timers seem the same as always, but something is missing. We survived Sara and Warrick’s exits, but with Grissom gone, there are only small parts of the whole left to fend for themselves, and unsuccessfully in my opinion.”
CBS |
Ray (Laurence Fishburne) has had the best chemistry with Doc Robbins (Robert David Hall). But he's no Grissom.
|
Fishburne’s Ray Langston is an OK character. The best moments for me have been when he’s learned about being a CSI, as when Nick taught him about fingerprinting or when he and Riley learned the different codes to use an emergency, such as calling the person by your own last name. The show’s been successful this season when it’s tried to teach us what’s involved in being a “CSI.” But it seems almost unfair to dump the entire show on Fishburne’s shoulders. He’s a character we’re just not that invested in yet … and that, I believe, is what my pal Gerrie is missing: That investment.
And speaking of not knowing characters, I feel sorry for poor Lauren Lee Smith, who has been saddled with the cipher known as Riley. I can’t even remember what her character’s name is half the time. The show is much more successful when it falls back on other side characters we have gotten to know, such as Wendy, Archie, Doc Robbins or Hodges.
But the real problem for me is that the show isn’t the same without the quirkiness that came from Grissom. I miss hearing about string theory (“The Theory of Everything,” season 8) or learning that the Empire State Building gets struck by lightning 20 times a year (“Bite Me,” season 6). I miss Grissom’s straw hat, his fascination with bugs, and the way he always seemed to keep the mood light no matter what the case.
I’ve been recapping “CSI” for msnbc.com for the last four years, but this season will be the last. I can only assume that when a diehard fan such as Gerrie can’t be bothered to tune in every week, others are sure to follow. I’ll probably keep watching, maybe out of habit more than anything else, but those Spike TV reruns are looking a lot more appealing than the new episodes these days.
What did you think of this season of “CSI”? Has Grissom’s absence changed how you feel about the show? Do you think there’s a way to fix the series?
