Allen MacDonald

CSI Files

CSI Files

Captain
<p><font color=yellow>Allen MacDonald</font> has been with <i>CSI</i> since the show's third season. He's climbed the ranks from writers' assistant to staff writer and has had a hand in some of the most significant episodes of the last few seasons, including <A class="link" HREF="http://www.csifiles.com/episodes/csi/season8/dead_doll.shtml">"Dead Doll"</a> and <A class="link" HREF="http://www.csifiles.com/episodes/csi/season8/goodbye_and_hello.shtml">Goodbye and Good Luck"</a>, which saw the exit of the first regular character to leave the show, Sara Sidle. Though busy at work for an episode for the show's eighth season following the hundred day WGA strike, MacDonald took the time to discuss the current season and his career at <i>CSI</i> with CSI Files.<p><A class="link" HREF="http://www.csifiles.com/images/news/allen_macdonald.jpg"><IMGSRC="http://www.csifiles.com/images/news/allen_macdonald_225169.jpg"WIDTH="225" HEIGHT="169" ALIGN="RIGHT" BORDER="0" ALT="Allen MacDonald"></A><p><b>CSI Files:</b> What's it like being back at work? Does the schedule feel accelerated?<p><b>Allen MacDonald:</b> It definitely does feel accelerated. As soon as we got back, we had to jump into the fire as they say, and found out immediately that we were going to do six more episodes and that we were going to have to go into production very quickly.<p><b>CSI Files:</b> You're working on an episode right now. Can you tease it a little?<p><b>MacDonald:</b> I'm actually working on an episode with <font color=yellow>Naren Shankar</font> and <font color=yellow>Dustin Lee Abraham</font>, bringing back <font color=yellow>Method Man</font>, who plays a character named Drops. I'm helping out with this episode--it's Dustin's deal. That character is a Dustin Lee Abraham creation. I've been brought on to help. A lot of these episodes that we're doing now we're kind of working together on because it moves things along a little quicker.<p><b>CSI Files:</b> Were these episodes you're working on now planned before the strike happened, or have they been developed since?<p><b>MacDonald:</b> The first two were already in the development phase before the strike began, and of course, everything just stopped because of the strike. When we went back some work had been completed on those episodes in the story conception phase.<p><b>CSI Files:</b> Do you think, aside from the season being several episodes short of a normal season, the strike will change or delay any planned storylines?<p><b>MacDonald:</b> The answer is yes. We were going to do 24 episodes this year, and we're going to end up doing 17--so we'll have seven fewer episodes. So definitely there were things we were going to do that have been scrapped or put on hold. <font color=yellow>Carol Mendelsohn</font> is looking at [the rest of] this season as a mini-season--season 8.5. These six episodes will be a mini season, kind of like <i>The Sopranos</i> last season: the sixth season was like 20 episodes, but they aired 12 and then they waited and they aired the last eight later.<p><b>CSI Files:</b> How many more scripts will you be doing personally after this one?<p><b>MacDonald:</b> I think this is it for me. Anything can change, but I did <A class="link" HREF="http://www.csifiles.com/episodes/csi/season8/dead_doll.shtml">"Dead Doll"</a> with Dustin and Naren and I worked on <A class="link" HREF="http://www.csifiles.com/episodes/csi/season8/goodbye_and_hello.shtml">Goodbye and Good Luck"</a> , which was <font color=yellow>Jorja Fox</font>'s last episode. Those were two pretty cool assignments to get to be involved in! I had a pretty good season, so I think that after this point I'll be done until next year.<p><b>CSI Files:</b> You've been involved in writing a lot of the episodes with Sara, like <A class="link" HREF="http://www.csifiles.com/episodes/csi/season6/the_unusual_suspect.shtml">"The Unusual Suspects"</a> and <A class="link" HREF="http://www.csifiles.com/episodes/csi/season7/empty_eyes.shtml">"Empty Eyes"</a> where Sara's disillusionment with her job really started and began to take its toll. How much advance planning went into that arc? How much warning did you have that Jorja Fox was planning to leave the show?<p><HR ALIGN="CENTER" SIZE="1" WIDTH="45%" COLOR="#007BB5"><p>To read the full interviews, please click <A HREF="http://www.csifiles.com/interviews/allen_macdonald.shtml">here</A>.<center></center>
 
Very interesting interview, thanks Kristine. :D

every once in a while we'll do an anthology episode and tell four of those small stories. An example of that would be "4x4" in season five and "Toe Tags." And a little teaser--we're going to do another one of those in the last six!
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I'm excited about that. Those episodes were very interesting and fun. I'll look forward to the seeing another one this season. :)

I'm not very funny! You asked me earlier what I gravitate toward, and though I did "Toe Tags" and "Dog Eat Dog," they're not my favorite episodes because they're funny and I don't think I do that very well. I was more interested in one hour drama.
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:lol: He's funnier than he thinks then, they were good episodes with a bit of humour in them, although I too prefer the darker stuff. He's actually written on some of my favourite episodes, and he sounds very sincere, if that's the right word, and serious about the episodes and characters. I like that. :)
 
Nice interview. I'm almost ashamed to admit I like his darker side. Empty Eyes was one of my favorite episodes, and I thought Jorja Fox was great in that; I loved that scene with Nick. So I guess it's no coincidence that Nick found Sara in the desert, since he liked their relationship. I also loved Dead Doll and GbaGL, except the last was just too sad. Keep up the good work, Allen. You, David Rambo and Sarah Goldfinger make a great team. Now, if Sara would just come back!
 
Thanks guys! :cool:

Elsie said:
Very interesting interview, thanks Kristine. :D

:lol: He's funnier than he thinks then, they were good episodes with a bit of humour in them, although I too prefer the darker stuff. He's actually written on some of my favourite episodes, and he sounds very sincere, if that's the right word, and serious about the episodes and characters. I like that. :)
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I agree that he's funnier than he thinks he is--I enjoyed both of those episodes a lot. And yeah...he's written some of my favorite episodes as well. "Empty Eyes" and "The Unusual Suspects" and "Goodbye and Good Luck" are among my favorites. Of the episodes he's written, there's truly not a bad one--or even a mediocre one--in the bunch. Like you, I prefer the darker episodes and he really has a flair for those.

jtd94 said:
Nice interview. I'm almost ashamed to admit I like his darker side. Empty Eyes was one of my favorite episodes, and I thought Jorja Fox was great in that; I loved that scene with Nick. So I guess it's no coincidence that Nick found Sara in the desert, since he liked their relationship. I also loved Dead Doll and GbaGL, except the last was just too sad. Keep up the good work, Allen. You, David Rambo and Sarah Goldfinger make a great team. Now, if Sara would just come back!
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Agreed on all points. He really did a lot of great stuff with Nick and Sara working together and really built on their friendship.
 
Awesome and insightful and interesting. How cool thank's Kristine nice spelling of your name, my baby daughter has the same spelling:thumbsup: very sharp guy, and of course I zeroed in on the GSR part & how they 'love each other' and are "soul mates" well duh:confused:and how the romance has surivived, and Sara too.. all the other epsides he spoke of were riveting..and things I never knew! nice read;)
 
^Thanks desertwind! :cool: Glad you liked it. :D I thought Allen had some great things about Grissom and Sara's relationship.
 
^ :lol: I have a feeling he's absolutely right in that prediction! :lol:
 
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