Still Missing Grissom?

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vegaslights

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I came across this article at Entertainment Weekly Online. I'll post the article and see what you all think:

'CSI' and Laurence Fishburne's Ray Langston: Still missin' Grissom?


I want to be careful how I phrase this, because I don't want you to think I'm knocking Laurence Fishburne, an actor I admire. Here's what I'm wondering: Do you think he's been a good fit for CSI since taking over for William Petersen?

I'm a regular CSI-watcher, and for the past few episodes now, I've felt as though Fishburne's Dr. Ray Langston isn't quite gelling -- even when Langston is one of the central figures, such as the March 12 case in which he and Riley Adams (another character CSI doesn't seem to know what to do with) were held hostage. Really, my problem has little to do with Fishburne himself, but rather with the way his character is being written. I understand that you have to ease a new regular into this tight-knit ensemble slowly. Langston can't, three episodes in, suddenly be all chummy and super-knowledgeable. But enough time has passed now for us to have a fix on Langston, to understand how he thinks. So far, however, I never get any sense of his opinion of anyone on the CSI team. Yeah, it's been established that he knows Hodges is kind of a jerk -- who doesn't? -- but do you get any vibe from him how he feels about, say, Catherine Willows or Nick Stokes? I don't.


Partly this has to do with the fact that Dr. Langston is an academic, and one prone to be reticent, cautious. But if the producers wanted an outsider who'd be a new way for viewers to learn about CSI technique, well, the aura of dignified observer is not an especially exciting one for the center figure in a weekly TV drama. Petersen's Gil Grissom was aloof, but Grissom had a wryness to him, a warmth glowing beneath his icy exterior, that made the character intriguing. And he had it from the show's very start. (I looked at the debut season's first few episodes recently.)


So far, CSI's ratings have remained strong, and I wish Fishburne nothing but the best. But he also deserves the best -- in this case, a better delineation of Langston's character: a few quirks, a few more flashes of humor, perhaps. The April 2 episode contained a nice moment when Langston got angry at the cosmic injustice of the murder of someone he knew and, off-camera, kicked or hit something in frustration. That was interesting; in fact, it was one of the moments that made me think, hey, why don't we see more of Langston's behavior, at one extreme or another? Let's flesh this guy out a little.

What do you think? I'll bet you're still missing Grissom, but are you also enjoying Ray Langston?

Source: Ken Tucker's Watching TV
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Personally, I see CSI as having improved. The writing has improved from what it was as compared to Season 8, and I think it's good to see the changes we're seeing on the show. Even with William, Jorja and Gary gone, I still believe it's CSI and not just another crime show.
 
Personally, I don't miss Grissom anymore. Since most of season 6 and all of seasons 7 & 8 turned him into a totally different character, I had a lot of time to miss the old lovable, quirky, geeky scientist that we knew in the first 5 seasons. As for Ray, I agree with the article that it's maybe time to give him a little more humor and interaction with the team.
 
Personally, I don't miss any of the characters that have left and I love the direction the show is going.
 
I don't miss Grissom as much as I thought I would. When the announcement was first made I was sure it would kill the show, but I was wrong. LF is a fine actor, and tbh I think he gell's very well, especially with Doc Robins.

In such a short space of time, LF has given us a deep character - who could not feel empathy with him after he grabbed that wrestler and then let his anger put on (whatever it was, wall, lockers etc). I think the way Brass handled that was excellent too.

He's a lead actor in a low rank in the show, but he's still a lead actor. Put Grissom and Langston together and it might become a bit confusing.
 
I do not miss him either.

I do agree with his assessment on how Ray feels about his co-workers. Although i am weary of him wanting Ray fleshed out more, simply because that means more screen time that Ray would have and that I am getting sick of. I am surprised he did not point out how many things Ray has done as a beginner CSI compared to Greg when he was a beginner CSI.
 
Nope I'm not missing Grissom

I think the team is working quite nicely without Grissom there. Grissom was good in the first 6 or 7 seasons but you could tell that he wasn't wanting to be there in season 8 and 9. Grissom always seemed to let his team do the hard work then he would go in for the kill. Not a good supervisor in my opinion. The team seems more relaxed without Grissom there. It's like they can now do their jobs that they were hired for.

So as much as Billy Petersen was good on CSI, I don't miss Grissom anymore.
 
I feel there's more to the question of missing Grissom. Of course I miss him. No one could deliver one-liners during the teaser like he could:lol:. Does that mean I like the show less. No. The rest of the cast has done a good job of standing up. Nick and Brass in particular. I'm still wishing for more of Catherine in her supervisor role and more Greg overall. Riley is mysterious. Like Sara, we know little of her background. Unlike Sara, she's got spunk. Her exchanges with Greg are always great. As for Langston, I agree that they are still attempting to define his role. When he is in the field, I'm confused over how much he does and doesn't know. I really enjoy him in the autopsy room, though. I have know issues with him knowing as much, if not more, then Dr. Robbins.

Basically, I love Grissom. CSI will always remind of Grissom. He helped define the feel of the show. Even with him gone, I still know that he was there. To me, that makes it easier to move beyond him.
 
Nope! I am not missing Grissom at all.
I accepted the fact that WP was leaving the show over a couple years ago. :)
I do have a problem with how Mr. Petersen left in the middle of a season. :(

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I don't miss him. Actually, I really don't miss anyone who's gone. I like the new team, and although I'm still on the fence about Langston, generally he's been a positive addition.
 
Princess_Laurie said:
I don't miss him. Actually, I really don't miss anyone who's gone. I like the new team, and although I'm still on the fence about Langston, generally he's been a positive addition.
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I too like the new team, and the new role Catherine took on (even though we haven't really seen her flex her muscles in the supervisor role as of yet). Even though the character of Grissom brought a certain uniqueness to the show, it was never irreplaceable. I think the absence of the character has brought out attributes in the rest of the cast, that were sidelined before.

As for Langston, I do like him, but I'm just not fully sold on his character to this point. Perhaps in time, my opinion will change...hopefully.
 
I don't miss him until I start watching reruns with the old team...then I miss not just him and the others, but the old show itself. How nice it would be to have more episodes of the "old" CSI.

But for me it's like that show ended and a new one started, and I like the new one too. They just feel like two different shows to me. So I am liking the new one despite the missing characters. I like the new roles that the remaining characters have stepped into, and I like seeing the new guys' characters develop.

One thing that I would have liked to have seen was for them to have let Ray be a "newbie" for a bit longer. It was fun seeing him learning things, but somehow now he's all of a sudden an expert at everything. That dynamic of being the student and the new guy made the show a bit more interesting to me. I wish they had kept it up for a while longer.
 
Personally I'm missing Grissom alot, and since his departure I have to admit, I've only watched 2 or 3 episodes, it just doesn't feel the same to me, as much as I love Catherine and Nick, the show just isn't the same for me without Gil, if I'm being honest, he was the main reason for me watching the show, and his departure is the main reason why I haven't been watching religiously as I used to... So yeah, I miss Gil a lot...
 
Smokey said:
I don't miss him until I start watching reruns with the old team...then I miss not just him and the others, but the old show itself. How nice it would be to have more episodes of the "old" CSI.

But for me it's like that show ended and a new one started, and I like the new one too. They just feel like two different shows to me. So I am liking the new one despite the missing characters. I like the new roles that the remaining characters have stepped into, and I like seeing the new guys' characters develop.

One thing that I would have liked to have seen was for them to have let Ray be a "newbie" for a bit longer. It was fun seeing him learning things, but somehow now he's all of a sudden an expert at everything. That dynamic of being the student and the new guy made the show a bit more interesting to me. I wish they had kept it up for a while longer.
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This is somewhat how I feel. I've come to terms with the fact that it is a different show than the one I grew to love. I miss Grissom and Sara and Warrick; they all contributed to the cast chemistry in a way that is hard to define, and I think hard for the writers to duplicate. The 'new' CSI is okay, but not as enjoyable for me.
And I agree that all of a sudden Langston can do anything; he is a medical doctor and can save lives, he is the professor and can give sage advice, he can be sympathetic and empathetic, he can be a solo CSI, or he can be a team player. IDK, it's just a little too much for me. Grissom had his quirks and his flaws, and it made him more interesting.
So, am I missing Grissom? Very much, just as much as I miss Sara and Warrick, and the old team dynamic.
 
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