CSI Files
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All good things must come to an end.<p>When <font color=yellow>William Petersen</font> (Gil Grissom) decided to leave <I>CSI: Crime Scene Investigation</I>, it was hard for his coworkers to say goodbye. "I was an emotional wreck on Billy's last day," <font color=yellow>Marg Helgenberger</font> (Catherine Willows) told <A class="link" HREF="http://www.tvguide.com/">TV Guide</a>. "Actually the last two weeks leading up to his departure, it was hard for me to keep it together. We had an amazing, sometimes turbulent, ride together, and I wouldn't have wanted to share it with anyone else. The King has left the building."<p><font color=yellow>Robert David Hall</font> (Dr Al Robbins) spoke about <font color=yellow>Laurence Fishburne</font> (Dr Raymond Langston) joining the cast in Petersen's place. "You don't replace Billy," he explained. "Laurence Fishburne is an amazing actor and a joy to work with, but Billy created a Sherlock Holmes for the 21st century. He's a true icon and somehow he avoided the usual divalike behavior that comes along with that sort of achievement. More than anything, he was a good guy to work with. He would hate me for being this sappy, but I already miss him a lot."<p>"After the very last scene where Grissom leaves the laboratory, I felt a wave of sadness," said executive producer <font color=yellow>Naren Shankar</font>. "Billy had made us cut the scene where everyone hugs and cries, and I knew it was the right thing to do. It brought to mind an earlier episode when Grissom had said to Warrick [Brown (<font color=yellow>Gary Dourdan</font>)], 'When I leave the lab, there's not going to be cake and a party.' Billy and I were discussing that line and I said, 'Alright, dude, I know where you're coming from.' Then I reached out and gave him a big hug anyway and said, 'But I'm gonna miss you.'"<p>For more from the <I>CSI</I> cast and crew, check out the January 12 issue of <A class="link" HREF="http://www.tvguide.com/">TV Guide</a>, which has Petersen on the cover. Information courtesy of <A class="link" HREF="http://billypetersen.com/">The William Petersen Appreciation Page</a>. Thanks to <font color=yellow>Shane</font> from TalkCSI for the heads up.<center></center>
