Television Review - CSI After Grissom

There is no bigger fan of William Petersen portraying Gil Grissom than me. Seriously. I've watched CSI since inception primarily for the smart acting of Petersen. So when he revealed he was leaving the show I had an oh-no! moment.

I'm happy to now reveal that Laurence Fishburne is doing better than expected (by me, anyway) in the role of Dr. Ray Langston. When I heard of his casting I was incredibly skeptical. First, how dare Petersen leave? And to be replaced by Morpheus from the Matrix? Come on! I went into this situation with a huge chip on my shoulder.

Turns out it has been okay. Fishburne's Langston, rather than attempting to come close to filling Grissom's shoes, has been low key and a learner rather than someone coming in like they know everything already. It is really, IMHO, giving the rest of the cast a chance to shine. They instruct him along each case and it seems to be working to let us get to know him slowly rather than having him rammed down our throats.

Of course, the show is complete crap. Not the acting but the concept. No police department has a forensic lab of the proportion shown on CSI. Not even the FBI has a lab with all those toys. And typing DNA, doing all those wonderful experiments...well, in the real world they don't exist in the same way and the results are certainly NOT instantaneous. Additionally, CSIs do not carry guns or interview witnesses/suspects/prisoners. They stick to their work and are not sworn officers. It's hard for me to watch a lot of shows due to my police experience. But sometimes, as is the case for CSI, I can completely suspend my disbelief and enjoy the show.

As I watched last week's episode I didn't once think "I miss Gil". And that is saying something.