Right as rainy

CSI Las Vegas, the original and (as far as I am concerned) only true CSI series, has gone into its 9th season a short while ago. And some rather unexpected events that happened during and at the end of Season 8, have led to the exit of three of the most prominent characters. Sara was the first to go after her ordeal as a target of the miniature killer. Then Warrick got killed because he was getting close to uncovering a connection between the PD and organized crime – too close for comfort. Now Grissom has taken the exit as well.

In a few interviews, William Petersen, actor as well as executive producer, has revealed that he was tired, that he needed a change from nine years of playing one and the same character. It is fathomable, especially for an artist, to not be able to do the same thing over and over for years. And let’s face it, Grissom’s character, while interesting and defining for the series, was rather rigid and allowed for very little development over the years.

What initially made CSI so interesting, and coming from me that’s rather big, was the almost complete lack of a continuous story arc. It is the downfall of many series to try and drag a story on for too long. The makers of Angel knew exactly when to end it before the series became a parody of itself. The makers of Smallville didn’t. Jeremiah, probably one of the best series made in the recent years, was rumoured to go into a third season, but the second season, abbreviated thanks to the lack of competence on the side of the network, had a satisfactory ending which left very few questions open, and it would have been bollocks to try and tack a third eason onto that. On the other hand, Grey’s Anatomy’s love stories are endlessly moving in circles, with the medical portion becoming a backdrop for the ever more soapy character involvements.

Initially, CSI was all about the investigations and the evidence. Only later they allowed for small story arcs to creep in – not continuously through a whole season, but as a motive that kept recurring over time. The stories revolving around Katherine’s father, Brass’ daughter, recurring characters like Lady Heather, the love interest between Grisson and Sara. All these were motives that recurred through the series but never distracted from the actual purpose. You have to give the writers credit for being able to weave them into the series and keeping a high level of quality. And as a consequence, the characters grew on you a lot.

That is especially tru for Gil Grissom. His almost total detachment from emotion while at work, along with his eccentric behaviour and is apparent social ineptitude, made him strangely likeable. It was also him that kept the team together at any time, and his almost clinical fixation on the evidence as well as his at times unorthodox methods was what made the series so interesting.

This is not the first time that CSI Vegas has to make do without the character of Grissom. In 2007, during the 7th season, he went on a sabbatical for a few episodes, having a man named Michael Keppler (played by the well-underrated Liev Schreiber) step in for him. The story arc surrounding Keppler was a class of its own, slowly revealing a man who fought a neverending battle against his past and his inner demons. It was one of those interludes that were rather out of character for the series as such – in a similar vein as ‘Grave Danger’, the double episode directed by Quentin Tarantino which ended Season 5 – but that’s what made them so valuable.

This time around, there is no new character filling the position of Grissom. Instead, his long-term second in command Katherine takes over his post. Laurence Fishburne joins the cast as Dr Raymond Langston, a former professor who got involved with CSI during the hunt for a serial killer and his copycat. He made his entrance in the same double episode that marks Grissom’s exit – extremely well-written and acted out. So far the combination is working well – but the question remains if CSI will be able to maintain the quality level and longevity without some of the characters that defined it. Let’s hope for the best. And there is hope that Grissom will make future appearances – even if it’s just a sa special guest.