Now That Petersen, Fox, Dourdan Are Gone

I know exactly what you mean about it not being right. Like byline said, Grissom's character is what made her watch the show. It is the same with myself; without Grissom it feels like there can be no CSI. Oh, sure, they've replaced him with Lawrence Fishburne (or Lawrence Fishface as I prefer to call him), but it just does not give me the same "vibes" the way CSI did when Grissom was around. It's sort of like...I need Grissom on the show or I cannot function enough to watch it. I zone out for large parts of the show now. Grissom was CSI, and as I said before, no Grissom...no CSI.

 

I think Laurence is doing an ok job ;p I wouldn't really go so far as to giving him such a..erm..not so endearing nickname...but he's acknowledged that he has been "graciously invited" (quoted) and he is going to do his best. Yes, it's not Grissom, and yes, the show has changed, and it will probably continue to change (in good ways and bad...I suppose), and yes there will be a chunk of it missing, and something 'not right' about it without Billy/Grissom, but I think we need to give Laurence a decent chance

 

Can we please remember the Show Criticism please. I understand not liking a character but lets remember that WP also had (from what I am led to understand) in LF joining the show being friends and all, so if you want to say his [LF's] pick is bad that is one thing but remember you are also saying then that WP's taste in replacements or added cast wasn't very good in this instance. But lets keep the rules in mind in the future please. Thank you.

 

For me, this is the crux of the issue. William Petersen chose to leave the show. It's not like he was forced to leave; it was his choice. So that left two choices: Cancel the show, or continue on. Obviously, it was in the best interests of a whole lotta people to continue on. But to keep the show from turning into a caricature of itself, there needed to be a shift in focus. The addition of Laurence Fishburne's character provided the impetus for that change.

Once I knew that Petersen was going to leave, for real, that's when I grieved. But over time, I came to accept that he was leaving so that, by the time his last episode aired, I was ready for it, and it didn't come as such a shock. I'm really glad they handled it that way, because I think that, plus the fact that both Fishburne and the writing for his character as so good, enabled me to make that transition without a lot of anguish. I feel like I can focus on the show, itself, once again, rather than focusing on this ongoing backstory of the various actors, producers, writers, etc. It's a refreshing change, and I like it. Even if Petersen was my whole reason for watching so long.

 

For me It's just a different CSI, like almost another one, and this is nothing against Fishburne, and on 'transition' that's great for people who feel that way, for me it's a bitter pill to swallow, and here's a couple of "quotes" from co-stars. If we feel the pain it's cause we never get to see him unless he returns for an ocassional 'guest' spot at least these folks still get to hang with him

"It will never be the same again with the loss of Billy. He's the protagonist, he's the eys of the show, all roads start and end with him" Jorja Fox

I was an emotional wreck on Billy's last day. Actually the last two week's leading up to his departure, it was hard for me to keep it together. we had an amazing, sometime turbulent ride together, and I wouldn't have wanted to share it with anyone else. The King has left the building" Marg Helgenberger

"It's a humongous loss, but we will continue. ER did great without Clooney, and we are incredibly excited to see what Larry can do. But, Billy turned CSI into the most popular show on television history, and for that, he'll always be like a god to me" Anthony Zuiker..creator of CSI

 

As an British viewer, I've only seen two episodes without Gary in it, and the casual reapperance of Jorja was nice.

However, I can not say what will happen as the season continues.

CSI will always be CSI, like others have said, only time will tell.

Statistics and polls are just what they are. Not to be taken for granted and it does not give a true figure.

We will all morn the loss of our favourite leader, the head of graveyard shift, but we have our dvd's and recorded shows to rewatch like i dare say everyone does.

YES I hope that CSI does continue, for one, I'll still watch.

 

All:

I think LF is doing a fine job. However, after the last episode that just aired last Thursday, I found myself a little annoyed.(Sorry don't know the title).

Annoyed at the writers, though. There were scenes with LF doing things "solo"-- like interviewing suspects and several other things by himself...as a CSI Level 1! IF I recall correctly, none of the other CSI's were allowed to do much solo even as CSI Level 2's. Except process evidence.

This, for me, is a disconnect and does not help my "acceptance" of LF or his character Dr. Ray Langston.

HoneyBee

 

I think it will take some time for the audience to accept LF. It will be different, but different isn't such a bad thing.

 

I love the last sentence "...a disconnect and doesn't help my "acceptance" of LF or Dr. Ray Langston."

I think in general the audience of CSI is still a) really sad about Gil/Billy being gone, b) having a really hard time seeing LF/Langston in a very loose, emotional sense, "replacing" Billy, c) seeing him do SO MUCH on his own, compared to the other CSIs that had to move up the ranks by themselves and PROVE they could do all of the 'big kid' stuff and d) Following where in the CRAP they are going with all of this...

However, I think your comment about LF is very warranted; it's definitley weird having him there, and seeing him do all this stuff by himself, but on the other hand, there is no Grissom to lead him...No Grissom to kind of guide him through the whole thing...that's one thing he WILL miss out on and that's one thing his skills won't make up for...does that make sense?

Langston also won't have the privilege of not being the 'much needed help' in the lab; I mean, if Grissom were still there, they'd have plenty of staff, however they NEED Langston to step in and therefore he's going to be able to do more at a sooner rate than most...I think Nicky will be a good teacher, and I think Langston will end up doing well, but it won't be the same skills, the same care, the same anything, without Gil teaching him.

I miss Billy/Grissom more and more every time I watch that show....

 

For me, if the actor is doing a great job, then I'm alright. I will agree. Him doing all of that on his own is a little much, but as people have said, we were expecting a LF overload. The same situation happened when Sara came back from being away. It was unrealistic for her to be able to jump right back into things after being gone for months. And I know some people are going to go an disagree with me, but that's just my opinion.

"..very, loose, emotional sense, replacing Billy." Not quite what you mean by this Criminologist86. Can you elaborate?

I think that Billy being gone is going to be alot for people to get used to, but the thing is, LF is here to stay. I'm not saying anyone has to get used to it, but it is a reality.

I just hope the writers keep doing what they're doing, which is a great job. In my opinion, since Billy has been gone, there are more oppourtunities for the surviving cast mates. It feels like GE, MH, ES, and everyone else has more freedom without him. As we all have agreed on, WP was the star, meaning, IMO, he got prime scenes and storylines for the most part. Now that the others are at the forefront, they have gotten really quality stuff.

The only thing about LF that annoys me is that, the little annoying one liners that Grissom used to have right before the credits started, has not gone to Langston. I was hoping those would go to Catherine!

 

I LOVED the one-liners. They fit in and were part of Grissom's dorkiness...It was brilliant and essential to Grissom as a character..

I mean like, in a very loose, emotional sense...CLEARLY he is NOT Grissom's replacement, because as everyone has said (cast/crew/whoever), Grissom/Bily cannot be replaced, so it's not really a literal replacement. However, in a way, LF kind of has replaced (here enlies the term "loose") Grissom...he's in a way, taking on the case loads, working with the team...In "emotional" I meant for the fans...I can't really explain it...I mean, Billy/Grissom isn't physically there, so it's hard to see him as still around, but because he CANNOT be replaced, you don't litearlly replace him, he's replaced emotionally for fans..Like LF is there 'instead' of Grissom..I don't know how to say what I'm thinking other than that..Sorry!!

 

I just really hope some of you give LF a chance. He's really doing the show justice! I mean, I'm not going to come in here and advocate for LF or anything, cause I hate when other people do it, but truthfully, he's doin' a great job.

And as far as the one liners of Grissom's go, they were cute, funny, and insightful until about season four IMO, because then they just started getting kind of lame. Of course this is all my opinion.

 

I might have told this story already, but when George Clooney left ER I didn't think I could watch the show without him, but then they brought the Croatian guy in and I was like 'hello!'

So, it's hard not to be upset about Grissom leaving. But the show will go on and we should give LF a chance, his character seems very compassionate.