I was watching the first two episodes from Season One and I had a thought. Well, I had two thoughts with one being where the hell did everybody go? The pilot showed somewhere around ten CSIs on night shift and dozens of lab techs. Now we have only four and six. Huh . Anyway, my main thought that concerns this thread is about Ray and Riley and our liking towards them. Every new character we saw was introduced gradually. Greg, Doc, Sofia, Hodges, SuperDave and Wendy were all guest and/or recurring characters at first. They appeared only every now and again before becoming main characters. And we view all the other recurring characters almost as mains: Archie, Mandy, Henry, Ecklie etc. So I want to ask, would we have been more open to Ray and Riley if they weren't just dropped on us? Had Ray been introduced as a consultant for the lab a season prior, would we have been more adapted to him? Same goes for Riley. Had she been a CSI on another shift who we saw occasionally, like Sofia and Ronnie, who then got transferred over following Warrick's death, would we have liked her more? I'm just being curious.
I think if Ray had been a gradual introduction most of us would have accepted him better. I think most of us complained because they threw him in our faces immediately like we had to accept him because of the actor who plays him. Overall I like the character of Ray (and I did Riley too) but I think it was overkill with Ray, especially when the landmark 200th episode came (Mascara)and the people who had been there for most of the 200 eps were hardly in it, but Nick. I think that episode really made a lot of fans resent him.
Well in a way LF's Character did consult first in the 12/11/08 ep "19 down" A cop comes in with info about DJK doing a video conference criminology seminar at a university. Grissom is going in to observe as a "visiting professor" and they'll keep his real ID under wraps from the actual professor who is ... Dr. Raymond Langston (Laurence Fishburne). Then in 1-15-09 "One to go" ep he was still a consultant of sorts. Grissom says he's already gone him one better, arranging for the lab to retain Langston as a special consultant on the case. But like the actor WP who wanted LF in the role (if I remember correctly) Grissom wanted Langston in the lab. Grissom asks him if he'd have any interest in an open job position in his lab. Langston says he can't imagine himself as a cop. Grissom says the CSIs come from all backgrounds and Langston, as an M.D., is more than qualified. It's an entry-level position, the hours are terrible, and the pay is bad but he'd be a great help to CSI and he might really enjoy it. The problem is that while the others who came in over time, windy, etc because of the leaving of WP/GG the powers that be felt they needed to rush or pop him into the cast as a regular. That one I could see. As to Riley they didn't just push her in they gave a big shove and done, her opening scene went from the shrink to a crime scene. I do believe that Langston should have been used as a consultant more with the group before excepting the position that would have allowed viewers to adjust to him and allow him to be more comfortable, there would have been no reason they couldn't allow him to accept the role and have him do a professor thing at a college, consult somewhere else. So that maybe to start he was in say the first part of the ep, and leaves to do that, then gradually put him in more and more. Same with Riley they shoved her in there, from what no gun to your on duty. Show her around the lab, intro her to people, let her adjust show her running an errand for the csi's (something to Tox or DNA etc) or getting lost in the lab sees [character name] gets the right directions. Or Have her sit down with the shrink a bit and give a alittle more info. From the on slot they had her on the defensive, they had Langston pushing in to the cases, and it all fell down on the powers that be with both characters. I don't know if they thought if this is our last season (as networks can change their minds) so we have to get them in there now, then find out oh we have the season 10 now we can do this, but geez we screwed up Riley so much now we have to shove her out as quickly as we shoved her in and with the same attitude. I liked Riley sometimes, But I am like that with every character sometimes its like cool and sometimes it like wth not so much. I liked Langston still do but I like the fact that they are trying to tone him down after the mess they made pumping him up. Making him more relaxed. I hate that judgement on first appearances. The actor has the script good or bad they have to try and make something out of it. Both did a good job considering. Hopefully Langston will be more relaxed that people will see he isn't being rushed or shoved anymore. if of course that is the way the powers that be are going.
I think Ray should have been a consultant only for several episodes after WP left before he joined the CSI team. I don't dislike Ray, I dislike the way tptb have shoved him down our throats. Giving him the lead on the 200th episode and pushing our longtime cast members more into the background (including leading lady Catherine) was just not the right idea in my mind. It was a complete Langston episode with everyone else in minor supporting roles. :lol: I just didn't feel personally that for a milestone episode that that was fair to the longtime cast members. Turn Turn Turn would have been the better ep for the 200th ep or If I Had A Hammer (which was a Catherine episode). As for Riley, I liked her from the beginning... but, I think it might have worked better if they had made her a cop with a recurring role like Vartann, Vega, etc... and then if the audience was warm enough toward her, then maybe later on make her a CSI.