Replacements for LF & MH - Who would you like?

I thought it might be fun to see who the fans would like to see replace Laurence Fishburne & Marg Helgenberger as the leads.

On my wish list for lead is Kenneth Johnson ("Det. Lemansky" from The Shield), he's a fantastic TV actor and I think he would play off well with the rest of the cast, without taking charge like LF did.

And for replacing Marg, Allison Janney ("CJ Cregg" from The West Wing), she is the most talented TV actress I've ever seen, she plays both the comedy and drama extremely well and deserved all those EMMY's shes won

 

Some actors that come to mind:

Michael T Weiss (Jarod on The Pretender)
Andrea Parker (Miss Parker on The Pretender)
Jon Gries (Broots on The Pretender) as a labrat?
Avery Brooks (Benjamin Sisko on Star Trek: Deep Space 9)
Jonathan Frakes (William T Riker on Star Trek Next Generation)
LeVar Burton (Geordi La Forge on ST:TNG)
Gates McFadden (Doctor Beverly Crusher on ST:TNG)

 

I still believe William Fichtner should come in.

 

I say George should still be promoted to lead and bring in someone else to 'replace' him as a supporting character.

Dynamo mentioned Gates McFadden, she might be a good replacement for Marg.

How about Camryn Manheim? She doesn't follow your typical Hollywood standards (which are wrong, anyways), but she could be good.


Now think wwwwwaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyy back :lol:. Remember the young African-American kid that was like an intern, in the Pilot episode? Maybe have him come back, now a CSI and a backstory could be that Warrick helped him along the way, kept him on the straight arrow, etc. etc.

 

I think this has been posted before in another thread, but anyway [and Dynamo1] I see you have a "Star Trek" star in the mix:lol: I haven't heard of some of these people, but my picks before and now are~

Michael Keaton
Blair Underwood
Andy Garcia
Kevin Kline
Greg Kinnear
Peter Strauss
Antonio Banderas

And I know he's older, but talk about a seasoned actor
Anthony Hopkins

Women HMM that's a tough one!
Kathryn Morris
Annette Benning
Angela Bassett
Charlize Theron

 

Most of my ideas are based on the premise that the new character will be 'lighter' than Ray, in terms of bringing some of the comedy back to the show.

I hope I'm thinking somewhat realistically...

For Laurence Fishburne:

1) Robert Patrick (made the last few seasons of the X-files watchable for me...knows the daily grind of TV, knows what it's like to join a long running series late in its run - excellent range, great at action scenes, I consider him the complete package)
2) Nicholas Campbell (from the Canadian series DaVinci's Inquest - a 90s forerunner to CSI. Would be great as a near-retirement, seen-it-all, hard-boiled sarcastic burnout)
3) Kal Penn - Would be a neat blend of humor and seriousness - love him on House and could see how he'd fit well into the CSI cast. Comes from an ethnic group thats been underutilized on the show.
4) Neal McDonough - again great range, has done the daily TV grind, a recognizable TV name, but not likely to overshadow the established cast.
5) Jason Lee - funny guy - might be a welcome change of pace from the darker tone the show took with Laurence Fishburne
6) John Stamos - again a TV vet that has a solid industry record, has good range and has joined a long-running series (ER) before without stealing focus.
7) Matthew Perry - mostly a TV star, occasional movie, but has played a lot more than just Chandler Bing. Might be a bit of a risk though given his history of revolving door rehab.

For Marg Helgenberger...

1) Jeri Ryan - comes off as highly intelligent but with a good degree of warmth. Could see her as a career ladder climber who ruffles a lot of feathers. Plus her look just screams Vegas.
2) Stephanie Jacobsen - loved her as Jessie in Terminator: TSCC. Awesome accent. Conveys strength and intelligence. Is able to handle action scenes and technobabble with ease.
3) Rose McGowan - smart, funny, has done just about everything from little-known indie work to more mainstream TV.
4) Nana Visitor - I know she's had a small part in the show once before, but we can overlook that, right?
5) Donna Murphy - may a way can be found to bring her character from Hollywood Brass into the Vegas Crime Lab
6) Nicole DeBoer
7) Laurie Metcalfe

The bigger challenge would be coming up with a character's name that doesn't end with S

New Guy's Name: Benjamin Lee (named after the Henry Lee, the forensic scientist)
New Girl's Name: Angela Curie (name after Marie Curie)

 

^Lauren Holly would be a nice choice! She worked with executive-producer Don McGill on NCIS, so that might be an easy get.

 

Oh, one more, I completely forgot about Teri Polo (The West Wing, Meet the Parents) an actress with a great range, plays comedy and drama very well, when she joined the West Wing in season 6 she didn't overshadow any of the existing stars, but even though she was just "Special Guest Starring" she didn't take a backseat, either...

 

Kate Mulgrew played Kathryn Janeway on Voyager, and she starred in a short lived series as Mrs Columbo.Torri Higginson played Elizabeth Weir on SG: Atlantis and three episodes of SG1.

Jessica Alba played the lead. Nana Visitor played Dr. Elizabeth Renfro / Madame X on Dark Angel and Major Kira Nerys on Star Trek: Deep Space 9.

I'd love to see Donna Murphy back on CSI.

 

Chris Meloni and Mariska Hargitay. :shifty:

Honestly though, with the cancellation of Chase, I had secretly hoped that CSI would pick up Kelli Giddish. Long shot, and I knew it wouldn't happen, and then she got picked up by SVU. :lol:

I like the idea of Lauren Holly though. She's a wonderful actress who could bring a lot to the cast.