CSI Files
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Replacing a beloved character can be tricky.<p><font color=yellow>Laurence Fishburne</font> (Dr Raymond Langston) joined <I>CSI: Crime Scene Investigation</I> in <A class="link" HREF="http://www.csifiles.com/episodes/csi/season9/19_down.shtml">"19 Down..."</a>, and the actor has signed to be on the show through the 2009-2010 season. He is coming in to fill <font color=yellow>William Petersen</font>'s spot on the show, but he won't be stepping into Gil Grissom's place on the team. Catherine Willows (<font color=yellow>Marg Helgenberger</font>) will become the team's supervisor when Grissom leaves in the next episode, <A class="link" HREF="http://www.csifiles.com/episodes/csi/season9/one_to_go.shtml">"One To Go"</a>, which airs January 15. Fishburne's character will be the team's new rookie.<p>"Here's a guy, we're assuming late 40s or early 50s, who is a really smart dude. He's a doctor. But he's the new guy … learning the CSI skills," Fishburne told <A class="link" HREF="http://www.usatoday.com/">USA Today</a>. "How do you deal with that?" Although the character is new to the CSI role, he is a former pathologist and knows his way around a morgue. "Dr. Robbins (<font color=yellow>Robert David Hall</font>) asks if he wants to help cut during an autopsy. That's something Grissom never did," executive producer <font color=yellow>Naren Shankar</font> explained.<p>The loss of Grissom is "going to be sad and disappointing," Fishburne said. "I cannot presume that my presence is going to fill that gap. I think it would be completely arrogant to think, 'I'm coming. It will be all right.' No, it's not. The bug man is leaving." However, executive producer <font color=yellow>Carol Mendelsohn</font> said Petersen and Fishburne made the transition "extremely easy." Petersen, she added, could return in the future if his presence is "creatively right" for an episode.<p>Grissom's approval of Langston helps ease his addition to the CSI team, but the audience may be a different matter entirely. "I definitely get the benediction from him," Fishburne explained. "But ultimately, it's down to whether the audience is willing to accept the character or not."<p>The original article is from <A class="link" HREF="http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2008-12-10-fishburne-csi_N.htm">USA Today</a>.<center></center>