TVSquad

Producers of CSI: Miami have found a new coroner. Starting this season, The 4400's Megalyn Echikunwoke will fill the role vacated by Khandi Alexander. Alexander parted ways with the series after six years due to her alleged unhappiness with the show *cough* David Caruso *cough.*

There isn't much known about Echikunwoke's character, other than she'll be the new coroner. For instance, her affinity for the phrase "aw sugar" and her feelings on whether or not the victims on the table "left this world too soon" are, at this point, a mystery.

Television has a long standing tradition of making its stars feel more popular than they really are. As somebody who used to be on TV, five nights a a week, I know what that feeling is like. Generally when that person leaves television, they go on to do movies or change professions and they often become even more popular. However, there is always that TV celebrity who overestimates how much people want to see them and when they leave their hit TV show, it ends up being the biggest mistake of their career.

David Caruso
Before Caruso became the star of the weakest part of the CSI franchise, he was the star of NYPD Blue. After playing numerous bit parts on TV and in film, he finally hit the big time. The critics and the public both agreed that he was a breath of fresh air in what had become a stale world of TV dramas. He was sexy and tough, just like his show and he fit in perfectly with his supporting characters. Then suddenly, Caruso decided he was too talented for the small screen and bailed on the show. His much talked-about departure allowed him to make unwatchable films like Jade and the remake of Kiss of Death that nobody asked for. Luckily, the ginger-haired tough guy was able to revive his career, but one can't help but wonder how different things would have been had he continued to be Detective John Kelly.

While Elizabeth Berkley's TV pedigree was perhaps better received than her feature film debut, it was the notorious Showgirls that made her a household name and launched her into the "Worst Films Ever" hall of fame. Her career began in the teen series Saved by the Bell, which also netted us Dancing with the Star's Mario Lopez, NYPD Blue's Mark Paul Gosselar and Beverly Hills, 90210's Tiffani-Amber Thiessen.

After Showgirls, it took the actress many years to regain credibility and acclaim, working in theater and off-Broadway productions until her return to television in 2002 in a recurring role on Titus. Since then she has guested on several shows, including CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Now, Reuters tells us the 35 year-old Berkley is set to play Horatio Cane's (David Caruso) ex-wife Julia Winston and mother to his recently discovered teenage son (Evan Ellingson) on spin-off CSI: Miami. Miami is known as a "hotter, sexier" CSI, so she should fit right in. She can even try to match Caruso's one-of-a-kind line delivery when they inevitably spar.

I know, I know, you're thinking, "but Rory Cochrane was killed off the show!" Hey, this is television. Anything can happen.

Of course, it would help if CSI: Miami was a science fiction show. They could explain why Detective Speedle could come back from the dead by...oh, I don't know, some rejuvenation serum or time travel or robot double. But this is CSI: Miami, and it has to be realistic (even though we have David Caruso wearing suits in the humid Florida sun and never sweating). Cochrane asked to be written out of the show because he didn't want to do a weekly show. His contract said he couldn't work again in TV til 2008.

To answer your next question, no, it won't be a flashback. And Cochrane will be playing Speedle, not a twin brother. How they'll do this is anybody's guess. After the jump, anybody's guess!

(S05E24) This was a bit of a departure in terms of what we've come to expect from a season finale in the world of CSI, be it Vegas, New York, or Miami. I'm not complaining though. This episode felt much more like a wrap up of the fifth season of CSI: Miami and rather than leave us hanging with a ton of questions (there were a few), it left me feeling far more satisfied than I expected. Especially since we can look forward to plenty of new developments in the fall. I actually felt much better that one spoiler which had been floating around, never came to fruition. It appears that the whole mess with Horatio being in a plane crash may have just been an exaggeration of the van crash that did occur in the episode. For once, I was glad we didn't get a grand, nail-biting finale.

(S05E23) "I wear make-up now." -Wolfe

Great episode! Solid case, plenty of tense moments, and what turned out to be a really good (slightly cheesy) performance from Jonathan Togo.

The big question on everyone's mind? Wolfe ain't going anywhere. Looks like we're only getting one episode revolving around his brief flirtation with being a TV news "special correspondent," and one was more than enough. It was thoroughly enjoyable but man, was it weird to see him doing something so different or what? It definitely felt like he was selling out his former colleagues by busting out some of the tricks of the trade on live TV, but at least he came to his senses by the end of the hour.

(S05E21) I really enjoyed this episode a lot, but I have to ask. Why did the preview from last week's episode make it seem like some real serious fireworks were going to go off between Calleigh and Delko? I recall something along the lines of, "the moment we've all waited for." What moment? She gave him a peck on the cheek to say thanks! That was it! Realistically, this will lead to something further in the coming final episodes (Delko seemed a bit smitten), but why blow the exciting preview on this instance? It wasn't a big deal at all. The rest of the episode was quite good though. Solid case as well as some shady stuff happening in the crime lab.

(S05E20) This was kind of an interesting episode if you think about it. It was a good concept. Essentially, they took something that was glitzy and over-the-top to begin with and layered it with a storyline about Hollywood, drugs, rehab, and murder. Doesn't get much better than that. Throw in some nods to actual celebrities (similar to Dirt) and we got one of the better CSI: Miami episodes this season.

However, since I love this show, I still have to gripe because there were plenty of things that could have been a little better.

(S05E19) Something about this show... I just can't get enough of it. Despite the tirade of complaints every episode tends to generate week in and week out, there's one thing you can't argue. It's always good. Of course, degrees of "what's good" can vary when you address a show like this. So I suppose I'm just making the same argument I always make. Enjoy CSI: Miami for what it is. Over the top television at it's finest.

Continuing with that trend, the show has gone ahead and developed Scott O'Shay (played to the sleaziest by Ed Begley Jr.) into Horatio's latest nemesis. H's feud with Stetler has long since been forgotten and Riaz is dead, so it's time for someone else to get in the way. Supervisor O'Shay is it.

(S05E18) Sorry for the lateness folks, but I'm sick. I've been running a fever as hot as CSI: Miami! OH! That's right, I went there. But seriously, I finally got around to watching this episode and I have to say... it was borderline ridiculous and I loved every second of it.

I cannot recall an episode of CSI: Miami that ever had as many ridiculous twists and turns as this one. It's funny too, because I had been watching a whole bunch of episodes of The Shield recently and I went in to this thinking that I probably wouldn't enjoy it as much as I usually do. Wrong. Pour on the cheese!

(S05E17) Alright, I'm not trying to say that it's inaccurate, but did anyone else have a hard time buying into the whole "hunting for grizzlies in the Everglades" thing? Everyone else should be raising their hand right now because it felt ridiculous in the sense that we weren't even in Miami anymore. I love it though. What won't this show do?

Here's what did bug me about it though. The story was essentially a rip-off of the dark comedy Very Bad Things. Buddies get together, prostitute dies, and then they all turn on each other. That's the movie in a nutshell and that was essentially the gist of the whole episode as well. Except for the grizzly bear. I did mention the grizzly bear, right? The one in Miami?

Jim Carrey has been doing the talk show circuits to promote his new movie The Number 23. I'm always waiting for him to mention Lost's Easter eggs, but it seems that he sure loves himself some David Caruso and CSI.

In his visit to The Late Show With David Letterman, Carrey's exuberant comedic personality came out to play and he paid homage to David Caruso by doing his own impressions of the CSI actor.

If you're Jim Carrey, all you need is a good pair of sunglasses and a line from your favorite cartoon!

And in other Top 5 news, if you're looking for someone to say that they have never seen Paula Abdul drink...

(S05E16) Well this was a refreshing episode. Normally when CSI: Miami has an episode with two or more cases going on at once, it often feels forced. Not so this time around. It was a genuinely well laid out story with some great twists. To be perfectly honest, I don't think it even felt like an episode of CSI: Miami. It lacked its trademark cheesiness and the case was on the level of something I would expect to see on the Vegas original.

That's not a bad thing though. I'd love to continue seeing more episodes on this level. Then maybe everyone (myself included) would stop ragging on the show for its campy soap opera-ish feel.

(S05E15) Well that was unexpected. Normally, if I read something along the lines of, "a team member dies after being shot in the head" in my TV Guide, then I expect... well, a death. Technically, the episode description wasn't lying. Delko was dead for a few minutes. That is, until one of the doctors slammed a syringe of epinephrine into his chest. So I suppose the more accurate episode description should have read, "a team member dies after being shot in the head... and then he comes back to life." So either Delko is some sort of Dracula hybrid or the doctors at Miami General are just good at what they do. I'm going with the vampire angle. CSI: Transylvania would be freakin' sweet.

(S05E14) Well this was unexpected. I think CBS actually did a good job about keeping this episode under wraps.

Wrong.

That statement would have been true had it not been for the multitude of previews that have been shown for this episode. And what did every single one of them show? Delko, lying motionless in a parking lot. Becuase of that, I think myself (along with the rest of America who watched the Super Bowl and caught one of those previews), knew who was going to bite the dust.

Don't get me wrong. I'm all about shaking up the cast and it makes sense that it would occur during February sweeps... but c'mon. Try and surprise me a little?