Peter Lenkov

[CSI Files]

<font color=yellow>Peter Lenkov</font> came to CSI: NY in its second season and hit the ground running by penning the third episode that year, "Zoo York", and introducing a new character to the series, Lindsay Monroe. Now, two years later, Lenkov, whose credits include 24, The District and Tracker, is embarking on his third season with CSI: NY and is hard at work on two high profile episodes. Lenkov took a break from writing to talk to CSI Files' <font color=yellow>Kristine Huntley</font> about the thrilling conclusion to season three of the show, and the ramifications it will have for the fourth season.

CSI Files: So you're starting in on the fourth season now. How's it going so far?

Peter Lenkov: It's going great. We're actually shooting episode four. So far, so good. Some exciting stuff coming up!

CSI Files: So what is in store for Mac (<font color=yellow>Gary Sinise</font>) and his team?

Lenkov: You'll have to wait and see! There's some good surprises.

CSI Files: Will we see follow up for the characters from third season finale "Snow Day", particularly those most affected by the events of it: Mac, Danny and Adam?

Lenkov: Yeah. We're going to follow up. I think we're going to be a little more focused on the continuity with that kind of stuff now.

CSI Files: That's great news! A lot of people were puzzled when Flack (<font color=yellow>Eddie Cahill</font>) came back at the beginning of the third season with no ill effects from his injuries from "Charge of This Post".

Lenkov: It's funny you mention that--we did actually some stuff where we brought it up and played it out, and we ended up cutting it out of the episode (People with Money"). If we ever end up putting some extra scenes on a DVD, you'll see that payoff.

CSI Files: Why did those scenes end up getting cut?

Lenkov: I don't remember--it's been so long. I remember being on the bridge shooting that stuff. I think it was really just the pacing of the story. Mac and Flack had a moment together where they talked about it, so I think just because of the pacing of that episode it ended up being cut. Sometimes you cut it for those reasons and at the end of the day, yeah, the audience is not fully satisfied because we didn't pay off something we set up, but when you look at the episode, it may have just been a pacing thing.

CSI Files: "Snow Day" was an exciting, action-packed episode! What made you and <font color=yellow>Pam Veasey</font> decide to go that route?

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[Faylinn]

[Episode 5 is] fun; it actually has a big moment for Mac and Adam because Adam sort of becomes this big expert in the world of Second Life. He's done it before, so he sort of guides Mac into the how or the where of it all.

Hehe, only if he can stop himself from fangirling long enough to explain it to Mac.

But aww, Adam's such a dork! ^_^

Yeah, you're going to see a lot more of [Adam]. I think the idea is to make him a regular the same way Sid (Robert Joy) is in every episode, but make Adam a little bit more of a presence, our lab guy, our go-to guy. We adore him. It's really fun to write for him because he really has a voice.

^_^ No words are needed from me, I think.

It's not always as it seems! It seems like there are relationships growing, and sometimes it's not really that, so I would just stay tuned. I wouldn't look at it like relationships in the traditional sense until you see the episodes. I can't say too much, but there are going to be some surprises.

Did that make, like, any sense to anybody else? :lol:

Honestly, there was just a connection from the first episode, the one I did, "Zoo York", right from the start with those two people. It just seemed that there was something about them that they would gravitate toward each other, so it just felt natural to have a relationship. I think it was just chemistry between those two actors and how they played it, and those two characters from the beginning, and there seemed to be a connection.

*cough*SoundsLikeBullshitToMe*cough*

it wasn't even intentional, the taking off the shirt in the locker room [in "And Here's To You, Mrs. Azrael"].

Suuuuure, Lenkov, I believe you.

Sid I put this crazy hat on in "Snow Day," and I thought that said a lot about Sid without Sid having to say anything.

Hee, hat love! :lol:

it's more than just a relationship with Danny that we have in store for [Lindsay].

There'd f*cking better well be at this point.

During the season, yeah, there's a bunch of websites, this one included, that we look at. It's the only way to know what people are thinking. It doesn't influence stories or anything.

Well, that should hush some people up.

Oh, and one immature moment from me:

there's a lot of people to service in every episode

*snort-giggle* :lol:

Thanks for sharing! Excellent interview as always.

 

[Elsie]

*loves Lenkov*

Great interview Kristine.

Yeah, Adam is such a geek! I could totally see him spending his spare time on the internet... :lol: I'm really glad that they know what a great character they have in Adam and are planning more for him.

I think we're going to be a little more focused on the continuity with that kind of stuff now.

I'll believe it when I see it! Although to be honest, if they are filming it but then deciding to cut it because they need to focus more on the storylines in that episode then I guess I'm happy with that.

I love the idea of a more action packed CSI:NY too. Snow Day was fantastic and the pace was incredible, some really strong, exciting episodes next season will be really great.

The relationships thing was random, I have no idea what he was saying. I guess he just doesn't want to give anything too spoilerish away! Anyway, a very enjoyable interview to read, Lenkov seems like a great guy.

 

[audrina]

Just wanted to say what a great job you did on this interview. It seems he was a good subject. I'm intrigued by the Halloween eppy because I love creepy stuff. Excellent interviewing, K.

 

[lookaboomerang]

CSI Files: You like to put Danny in tough situations--first "Trapped" and now "Snow Day."



Lenkov: Only because he makes them! Because I think [Carmine] likes doing it. I think he likes those challenges. I'm not sure about the nudity stuff, but I know he likes the physical stuff, I know he loved, in the last episode, doing that bit of down and dirty.




Here's the thing--absolutely, [he's a] sex symbol, and I joke about it with him, and maybe I take advantage of it because I know the audience likes to see it, but he's a great actor. The stuff he did at the end of the season--the whole season--but just that stuff that showed a different side of him, being vulnerable, I thought was great. It really makes me happy to write that stuff for him, knowing he can pull it off so perfectly.




He jokes around about it a lot with me, but it wasn't even intentional, the taking off the shirt in the locker room [in "And Here's To You, Mrs. Azrael"]. Those things are a moment between guys and just being real about it was where it came from. It wasn't really showing about his body. It seems like people responded to that, which was great, but it was really about, how do guys act? What's it like, you go into the locker room and this is what you do. It starts with a moment of levity with [Danny] getting coffee spilled on him and then it goes to an emotional place. And I think that's really what it's about. And [Carmine] jokes about it like, yes, I'm deliberately getting him to take his shirt off, and I want him to think that maybe that's the case, but it really was about seeing that side of him, seeing that shift emotionally, and seeing his support for Hawkes, which I thought was great. I thought he did an amazing job. It's always about the acting. I know people like to think, oh we want to put him without him shirt on or take his pants off, but you have to believe it's about the acting first and the aesthetics second.

I giggled like a little bitch the whole way through reading that. :lol: Suuure getting him to take his shirt off was an 'emotional' and a 'guy' thing. If it were emotional, Danny wouldn't have stood and chatted with Hawkes with his shirt off for a solid minute and a half. Guy thing, not happening for me either. Most men I know would have spilled their coffee, dropped an F-bomb or two and called it a day. Danny stands there and has an emotionally charged conversation with a colleague with his shirt off. On what planet do these things happen? That's the biggest load of you know what I've heard all day and it's only 10am.

And please, keep taking advantage of the sex symbol status. We like the advantages almost as much as Carmine likes having it.

Awesome interview, Kristine.

ETA: Just wanted to add this little part to further support my case on the intentional shedding of the clothes:

"Peter obliges you guys. I'm like the whore of the show."

I think we all know who said that. 'Nuff said.

 

[MrsGiovinazzo]

Love the interview! It's great to hear Lenkov's take on some of the things we kick around as things aren't always the way we perceive them to be.

Couple things:

1. Where's this Danny / Lindsay chemistry he's talking about? I'm tuning in to CBS on Wednesdays at 10pm, but I may be watching the wrong show because I'm not feeling that at all.

2. Stripping Danny down in the locker room scene in Here's To You, Mrs. Azrael was about the acting first??? :lol: :lol: :lol: I disagree and will always feel poor Hawkes got robbed. That was a key moment of character development that many fangirls missed because we're immature enough to loudly cat call and whistle at the tv if the show is viewed in a group (as it was for me that night) and we miss dialogue when Danny is stripped down. Was Hawkes talking? I know it was important, but I didn't hear a word of it. All I remember through the noise was someone yelling that Danny's pants looked dirty too. :lol:

3. Continuity. For the love of God, let's see some in season four.

4. I found the comments about the differences between writing for 24 vs. CSI:NY very interesting. 24 is my favorite show (*ducks flying tomatoes*), but that writing environment would drive me crazy. Sounds like Lenkov made a good move, creatively speaking.

 

[Top41]

Glad you guys like it! I really loved doing this one--it was a real treat to get to interview Mr. Lenkov, and I love what he said about the show.

Faylinn said:

[Episode 5 is] fun; it actually has a big moment for Mac and Adam because Adam sort of becomes this big expert in the world of Second Life. He's done it before, so he sort of guides Mac into the how or the where of it all.

Hehe, only if he can stop himself from fangirling long enough to explain it to Mac.

But aww, Adam's such a dork! ^_^

Yeah, you're going to see a lot more of [Adam]. I think the idea is to make him a regular the same way Sid (Robert Joy) is in every episode, but make Adam a little bit more of a presence, our lab guy, our go-to guy. We adore him. It's really fun to write for him because he really has a voice.

^_^ No words are needed from me, I think.

I knew you would like!

Elsie said:
I'll believe it when I see it! Although to be honest, if they are filming it but then deciding to cut it because they need to focus more on the storylines in that episode then I guess I'm happy with that.

I know! I hope the continuity doesn't end up on the cutting room floor this time around. It sounds like they really want to follow up on Snow Day, which is great.

The relationships thing was random, I have no idea what he was saying. I guess he just doesn't want to give anything too spoilerish away!

I guess he was hinting that all of these relationships are "not what it looks like." :lol: Sorry, couldn't resist! I think he was just saying, wait and see.

audrina said:
Just wanted to say what a great job you did on this interview. It seems he was a good subject. I'm intrigued by the Halloween eppy because I love creepy stuff. Excellent interviewing, K.

Thank you! And yeah--that Halloween episode sounds so fun. I seriously can't wait for that one.

lookaboomerang said:
I giggled like a little bitch the whole way through reading that. :lol: Suuure getting him to take his shirt off was an 'emotional' and a 'guy' thing. If it were emotional, Danny wouldn't have stood and chatted with Hawkes with his shirt off for a solid minute and a half. Guy thing, not happening for me either. Most men I know would have spilled their coffee, dropped an F-bomb or two and called it a day. Danny stands there and has an emotionally charged conversation with a colleague with his shirt off. On what planet do these things happen? That's the biggest load of you know what I've heard all day and it's only 10am.

And please, keep taking advantage of the sex symbol status. We like the advantages almost as much as Carmine likes having it.

Awesome interview, Kristine.

ETA: Just wanted to add this little part to further support my case on the intentional shedding of the clothes:

"Peter obliges you guys. I'm like the whore of the show."

I think we all know who said that. 'Nuff said.

I guess Carmine kind of called him out on that one. :lol: Lenkov did say that Carmine thinks that Lenkov is stripping him down for ratings or the skin factor, though, and Lenkov says he's not. I guess it's a case of he said/he said. :lol:

MrsGiovinazzo said:
Love the interview! It's great to hear Lenkov's take on some of the things we kick around as things aren't always the way we perceive them to be.

Couple things:

1. Where's this Danny / Lindsay chemistry he's talking about? I'm tuning in to CBS on Wednesdays at 10pm, but I may be watching the wrong show because I'm not feeling that at all.

I gotta say, as much as I liked the episode "Zoo York," I do not see this fantastic chemistry either. But, eh, to each their own.

2. Stripping Danny down in the locker room scene in Here's To You, Mrs. Azrael was about the acting first??? :lol: :lol: :lol: I disagree and will always feel poor Hawkes got robbed. That was a key moment of character development that many fangirls missed because we're immature enough to loudly cat call and whistle at the tv if the show is viewed in a group (as it was for me that night) and we miss dialogue when Danny is stripped down. Was Hawkes talking? I know it was important, but I didn't hear a word of it. All I remember through the noise was someone yelling that Danny's pants looked dirty too. :lol:

That wasn't you?

Thanks for the comments, guys! I'm glad you enjoyed reading this--this really was a fun once to do.

 

[dutch_treat]

Great interview! I really got the feeling that he loves to make this show and has a lot of fun doing it.

It's nice to know they're going to try an keep more continuity in the stories and that they will try and develop Lindsay more as an independent character; although the Halloween ep sounds awesome.

Just being a little nationalistic, but the guy with the Ark (where they based the idea of 'The Ride In' on) is Dutch and not Danish; here's a link to the official site.

 

[Finch]

Excellent interview, Top. It was a lot of fun to read.

Lenkov: Yeah. We're going to follow up. I think we're going to be a little more focused on the continuity with that kind of stuff now.

I'm holding him to it. I love the show, but continuity seems to slip onto the cutting room floor never to be seen again most of the time. -- As was said in the interview. I wonder how much more never made it to editing. It would be interesting to see if they were to put it on a DVD set.

Re the relationships:

I've never liked to see relationships on CSI because to me that defeats the purpose of watching it. Sure, I love character development and of course there are bound to be relationships some of them being a good move and some of them obviously edging on eye-roll worthy but I don't think it should be the highest priority on the writer's list.

In my opinion, do Lindsay and Danny have chemistry? Yes. (*ducks*) I like Lindsay (*ducks again*) but I think to throw her into the sea of love and that be her only ounce of development for an entire season is ridiculous. I'm glad the writers are trying to move her away from that this coming season.

Again, great interview!

 

[midnight_tiptoes]

Is the show going to be more diverse now, or still more of the same stuff?

 

[Faylinn]

Elsie said:
Yeah, Adam is such a geek! I could totally see him spending his spare time on the internet...

Hehe, oh yeah. :lol:

Although to be honest, if they are filming it but then deciding to cut it because they need to focus more on the storylines in that episode then I guess I'm happy with that.

I'd rather they cut the relationship stuff before the continuity to make room for the storylines.

MrsGiovinazzo said:
poor Hawkes got robbed.

Oh yeah, that'll always bug me. I hope Hawkes gets some good stuff in S4 that won't be overshadowed by Carmine's waxed chest.

All I remember through the noise was someone yelling that Danny's pants looked dirty too.

Haha, I'm with Top--I'm betting you were the one who said that. :devil:

Top41 said:
I knew you would like!

Of course you did. I need to buy you some cookies.

I gotta say, as much as I liked the episode "Zoo York," I do not see this fantastic chemistry either. But, eh, to each their own.

When I was watching "Zoo York", maybe it was just because I, you know, expected them to mention Aiden, all I saw was Danny basically hazing the newbie. I guess that was supposed to be fantastic chemistry and I mis-interpreted it.

speed_cochrane said:
(*ducks*)

*waits for you to stand up and then throws tomatoes* :lol: I'm just kidding, you know I loves ya.

I'm glad the writers are trying to move her away from that this coming season.

You know, when I read that, the first thing that came to mind was something he'd said earlier on about "Snow Day":

Lenkov said:
I think we wanted to do something big and noisy and get everyone involved and have space for everybody.

Sorry, Lenkov, but the only way that Lindsay was 'involved' was by being the reason Danny got to the warehouse six frickin' hours late. And her only 'space' was standing by while the action went on with Peyton and Sid, and then with Flack.

So yeah, hopefully he's got something a bit better in mind for her in S4.

 

[Top41]

midnight...I don't know...he didn't say one way or another. That is a question I meant to bring up and then got sidetracked.

speed_cochrane, I'd love to see deleted scenes on the DVDs! I never understand when those aren't included. They've already been filmed, they're an extra people just love, and it seems like work the shows would want people to see. I wish the CSI shows would start including them.

dutch_treat, that is so cool--thanks for sharing the link! I guess he got mixed up about the country the ark is in...I imagine with all that he's juggling and all the ideas he's keeping track of/working on, that happens sometimes.

That ark is really impressive!

Faylinn said:

When I was watching "Zoo York", maybe it was just because I, you know, expected them to mention Aiden, all I saw was Danny basically hazing the newbie. I guess that was supposed to be fantastic chemistry and I mis-interpreted it.

Yeah, I saw mild hostility on his part and major uptight prissiness on her part. Not exactly a charming pair. :lol: I did see some of it mid-season in season two--the walrus video, her eating the bugs he bought, her finding an excuse for him to carry her, inviting him to the bar--but I always saw that as her crush on him.

You know, when I read that, the first thing that came to mind was something he'd said earlier on about "Snow Day":

Lenkov said:
I think we wanted to do something big and noisy and get everyone involved and have space for everybody.

Sorry, Lenkov, but the only way that Lindsay was 'involved' was by being the reason Danny got to the warehouse six frickin' hours late. And her only 'space' was standing by while the action went on with Peyton and Sid, and then with Flack.

Yeah, she was little more than a plot device in that episode. Like I said in my review--pretty useless.

So yeah, hopefully he's got something a bit better in mind for her in S4.

Hopefully...

 

[MrsGiovinazzo]

Top41 said:

MrsGiovinazzo said:
All I remember through the noise was someone yelling that Danny's pants looked dirty too. :lol:

That wasn't you?

Faylinn said:
Haha, I'm with Top--I'm betting you were the one who said that.

Why does the dirty shit always fall back on me? :lol: It's possible that I remember that because I said it. I actually don't remember who it came from. But I do recall that Top was too busy deep-throating a banana to speak coherently. :lol:

 

[Top41]

^Hey! A girl can't eat a banana without it getting misinterpreted...

speed_cochrane said:
Re the relationships:

I've never liked to see relationships on CSI because to me that defeats the purpose of watching it. Sure, I love character development and of course there are bound to be relationships some of them being a good move and some of them obviously edging on eye-roll worthy but I don't think it should be the highest priority on the writer's list.

I'm kind of torn on this. On one hand, I don't mind a relationship here and there--the CSIs are human after all. I just worry, from what we've heard that NY is going to be doing a lot of it. Lenkov makes a good point about waiting to see...after all, the spoilers we know are only partial, but from what I've seen, their track record isn't great. Mac and Peyton worked--they were adult and real IMO--but Stella and Frankie's relationship was a disaster (I think "All Access" is the worst, most offensive episode of television, ever) and the Danny and Lindsay pairing has been unrealistic and unoriginal. So that's 1 out of 3 in my book. I guess we'll see what they come up with this season, but I hope the cases don't suffer while everyone's getting their freak on. :lol:

 

[CSI_Dani]

Great interview Kristine

Peter Lenkov seems a very nice guy and it was nice to read what he has to say about the show. After what he said, I am pretty optimistic for season 4, I hope I don't get disappointed.