Question: I just wanted to give props to the amazing season premiere of CSI last week. I was a fan of the show from the pilot, but I stopped watching around the fourth season because the stories seemed to start repeating themselves too much. But after watching this stunning, well-produced, gripping premiere, I may have to declare once again that I am a CSI fan. So here's my question to you: Why do you think Warrick's death was so effective, while many other TV deaths aren't? Was it because Warrick Brown has been in our lives and in our homes for eight years? Was it because the characters around him acted like real human beings, and not "TV characters?" What was it about this episode that stuck with me so much? —Marcus
Matt Roush: In general, the writing and acting on classic (and for me, the only currently watchable) CSI is reliably above-par, but the season opener really knocked it out of the park, with William Petersen, Marg Helgenberger, George Eads, a returning Jorja Fox and, in a heartbreaking death scene and even more shattering videotaped appearance, Gary Dourdan delivered some of their best work to date. The reason an episode like this has such a powerful impact is partly a tribute to the show's longevity and sustained popularity, but mostly a tribute to how Dourdan embodied the tragically flawed character of Warrick with so much emotion and depth, even in seasons when he was underused. His death needed to be treated like a big deal, and the episode lived up to the hype and the occasion, capped by the various reveals including Grissom's understanding of how much his mentorship meant to this fallen comrade. Any time a favorite character is written off a show, it tends to generate complaints. But as long as the show treats the character's departure with appropriate respect and affection, as CSI did in this instance, I call it a job well done. Now the challenge is to give Grissom his due in these next few months.
As a result, I had to wait until yesterday to see this eppy. 
