WilliamPetersen-related stories
Posted Jul 19th 2009 9:23PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, CSI, Casting, Reality-Free
When last we saw actress
Jorja Fox on
CSI, her alter ego Sara Sidle was deep in the Costa Rican jungle, happily reunited with the love of her life, Gil Grissom. Well, apparently Sara's going to have some very good reason to leave that romantic idyll because come this fall,
Jorja Fox is returning to CSI for five episodes.
There's no indication that
William Petersen's Gil is joining her, although since Petersen is still connected to the show as an executive producer, he could decide to pop in for a show or two.
Continue reading Jorja Fox back on duty at CSI...for a little while
Posted Apr 21st 2009 1:24PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: TV on the Bigscreen, CSI, Reality-Free
Are you ready for more
CSI? I mean, there's original
CSI, CSI: Miami, CSI: New York, NCIS (which isn't part of the franchise, but has the letters), plus all these shows are in reruns and now,
William Petersen is ready for a big screen CSI. He's downright positive about it, even though he himself exited the TV show last December. I don't know if a movie version of
CSI is really necessary, but to hear Petersen talk, there are some valid reasons.
For his point of view, some stories couldn't be shown on TV because of the graphic or sexual content. He'd like to see a movie version go where no TV
CSI has gone before.
Continue reading What do you think about a CSI feature film?
Posted Mar 26th 2009 10:05AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Industry, CSI, Reality-Free
When
William Petersen left
CSI, he left a very, very cushy job. He was making a cool $600,000 per episode, more than
Kiefer Sutherland was getting for
24, but not quite as much as
Charlie Sheen was taking home for
Two and a Half Men ($825,000 per show).
Well,
CSI decided not to skimp when they cast Laurence Fishburne to assume the star spot on the crime drama.
Fishburne is earning more than $14 million for this season of
CSI. (So much for a recession!)
Continue reading Fishburne is the $14 million man
Posted Jan 15th 2009 11:03AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: CSI, TV Squad Lists, Reality-Free
It's the end of an era on
CSI. The Las Vegas Crime Lab is losing the head man. Gil Grissom is packing up his office and leaving Las Vegas. The night shift supervisor, the most influential scientist on the staff, Dr. Gilbert "Gil" Grissom will be a character that won't easily be forgotten, let alone replaced.
If
Laurence Fishburne is wise, he'll work with the producers and writers to make Raymond Langston a very different kind of leader.
Looking back at the Grissom years, there are distinctive beats that William Petersen brought to the character and the show. To me, there are six reasons why Grissom will be hard to replace.
Continue reading Six reasons why CSI will miss Gil Grissom - VIDEO
Posted Dec 24th 2008 10:02AM by Mike Moody
Filed under: Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, CSI, Saturday Night Live, Smallville, Doctor Who, Casting, Reality-Free
William Peterson is out and Lawrence Fishburne is in. That's the plan, anyway, over at
CSI central.
Peterson's decision to say goodbye to
CSI was one of the big stories of 2008. The actor's onscreen phase-out started earlier this month with the introduction of Laurence Fishburne as Dr. Raymond Langston, but he's not really saying goodbye. Peterson will remain on the hit CBS show as an executive producer and will likely appear as a guest star in future episodes. His final ep airs January 15.
Since
CSI is one of those ever-lasting franchises, like
Law & Order, I wouldn't rule out a complete return for Peterson a few years from now. Maybe he'll spin-off another show. I'm sure fans wouldn't mind seeing
CSI: The Gil Grissom Chronicles.
Me, I don't really care. I don't watch
CSI (I guess I'm not that intrigued by forensic science). So let's talk about the 2008 TV star departures that meant something to me.
Continue reading Top TV Stories of 2008: Star departures - VIDEOS
Posted Dec 12th 2008 10:40AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: CSI, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S09E09) In part one of the two-part episode that will hand off the reins of power at the Las Vegas crime lab from Gil Grissom to Raymond Langston,
CSI spent as much time breaking the news about Gil's exit as it did lay the groundwork for Langston's entrance.
Speaking of entrances, Laurence Fishburne was given quite the platform, appearing in shadow until the light clicked on and he was revealed. It'll be interesting to see if Petersen's last scene will replicate Frank Sinatra vanishing into distant spotlights, singing "Excuse me while I disappear." Considering the Vegas connection, I think that would be a perfect way for him to go.
Continue reading CSI: 19 Down... (Part One)
Posted Dec 5th 2008 9:35PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: CSI, Celebrities, Casting, Reality-Free
Last night's episode of
CSI, called
"Young Man with a Horn," was not only a nostalgic story of old Las Vegas, it was also a chance to feature some wonderful stars from TV's past.
There was Ralph Waite, John-Boy's father from
The Waltons; Robert Guillaume, the double Emmy-winning star of
Benson; and even the creator of
Laugh-In, George Schlatter. And the center of the whodunit was none other than an original Hitchcock blonde, Tippi Hedren, star of
The Birds and
Marnie.
Continue reading Did you catch the star power on CSI last night?
Posted Oct 10th 2008 10:05AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: CSI, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S09E01) It's rare when a procedural drama, especially one like
CSI which is the blueprint for forensics-driven cop shows, has the chance for a truly emotional, cathartic episode. That's what happened with this episode and
CSI's stellar cast rose to the occasion, especially William Petersen.
Picking up right where it left off in the season finale, unlike most
CSI plots, this one wasn't a whodunit or a whydunit or even a howdunit. The audience knew what had happened in the early morning hours after the night shift finished work and shared breakfast together.
Outside the diner, down a dark alley, Warrick was sitting alone in his car and something ominous was bound to happen -- and did.
For more on the aftermath, stick with me following the jump.
Continue reading CSI: For Warrick (season premiere)
Posted Sep 12th 2008 3:00PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Industry, House, Reality-Free
He hasn't won an Emmy (although that might change in a little over a week from now) and he's not going to win
People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive (although I think he very attractive), but at least Hugh Laurie, the star of Fox's
House, is being rewarded in another way -- the wallet.
Laurie is getting a raise in salary to $400,000 an episode. That's not as much as
24's Kiefer Sutherland ($500,000) or
CSI's William Petersen ($600,000) or
Two and a Half Men's Charlie Sheen ($825,000), but it's pretty darn good.
Whether you think Charlie is worth that much money or
Bill (who's actually only going to be in half the shows on CSI in 2008-2009) or Kiefer, for that matter, but Hugh Laurie has earned this raise. He's the center of
House, the most important character, and there is no show without him.
Continue reading Hugh Laurie gets a big raise
Posted Aug 6th 2008 8:03AM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: OpEd, CSI, Casting, Reality-Free
CSI fans have been clutching their hearts in agony upon learning that
William Petersen would be
leaving the role of brainy crimebuster Gil Grissom. I don't watch
CSI regularly, and even
I know that he's the heart of the show.
Petersen will be returning for occasional guest appearances, but will the show ever be the same? Maybe not, but it doesn't have to die a slow, painful death either.
Laurence Fishburne is in talks to
succeed Peterson as the star of the show, and I think he has the chops to do it. His monologue in the feature film
Bobby gave me goosebumps and turned me into a diehard fan.
Continue reading Laurence Fishburne in talks for CSI
Posted Aug 5th 2008 8:03AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Industry, Celebrities, Reality-Free
On
Two and a Half Men, Charlie Sheen plays a vulgar playboy, a shallow guy who's more interested in booze, women and having a good time than being responsible and working hard. The role has earned him a couple of Emmy nominations and a lot of money. A lot of money. In fact, in
a new poll from TV Guide, Charlie Sheen is the highest paid actor on TV, making $825,000 per episode; in a season of 23 shows, that comes out to nearly $20 million.
That's more than he could make in the movies, and unlike films, Charlie can keep on raking it in on
Two and a Half Men for years. The show is a huge hit in syndication, so more episodes will simply mean more money down the road.
Right behind Charlie on the list is fellow CBS leading man,
CSI's William Petersen. He's making $600,000 an episode. He's only doing ten episodes this season, but since he's also an executive producer on the series, he's probably making even more.
Continue reading TV's highest paid stars, starting with Charlie Sheen
Posted Jul 15th 2008 11:41AM by Kona Gallagher
Filed under: Industry, CSI, Casting, Reality-Free
Just because William Petersen signed a contract in May that said he was going to stay on
CSI, doesn't mean that he's going to, you know,
stay on
CSI. As it turns out, Petersen, who does double-duty as Gil Grissom and executive producer of the long-running procedural, had a clause in his contract that is allowing him to leave the show after this season's tenth episode. Both Petersen and CBS are quick to point out, however, that
we will not be seeing the last of Gil Grissom.Petersen plans to remain actively involved in
CSI and is maintaining his role as executive producer. Although he will no longer be a series regular, he's definitely not planning on leaving for good, saying, "I'm in a great place in terms of knowing that I'll be more free to make choices. And I'm responsible enough to not do it in a way that would hurt [the show]."
WARNING: POSSIBLE SPOILERS AFTER THE JUMPContinue reading William Petersen is leaving Las Vegas ... and CSI
Posted May 16th 2008 1:43AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: CSI, Video, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(
S08E17) Last week's special episode of
CSI, the one written by the
Two and a Half Men creators, was fun and light-hearted and filled with inside jokes and gags. Last night's show was the complete antithesis: brutal, bloody and in the end, shockingly sad. It was Gary Dourdan's last episode of the series. Warrick is gone and the only way you'll ever see him on
CSI again will be in flashback or we discover a twin brother or lookalike cousin.
The show picked up on the storyline began last season, when Warrick bedded an exotic dancer from Pigalle who wound up dead. He was cleared back then, but never got over her death. We learn that he's been obsessively stalking Lou Gedda, the club owner whom Warrick believes had her killed. Before you can say, "what the heck is going on with the funeral with the two guys in the coffin," Warrick is caught seemingly red-handed (literally with blood all over his hands!) in Lou's office where the hulking body of the gangster has been riddled with bullets in his barber chair.
Continue reading CSI: For Gedda (season finale) - VIDEO
Posted May 15th 2008 11:21AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: CSI, Reality-Free
There's been a lot of flux on
CSI, CBS's top rated, long-running, extremely popular forensics-procedural-crime drama (I think that covers all the categories, right?) At the end of last season,
Jorja Fox decided not to come back to the show, and her role as Sara was written out in the first two episodes of the year. The producers left the door open for her to return -- they didn't kill her off -- but she's gone.
Tonight is the last of
Gary Dourdan as Warrick. He's having trouble off-camera, a serious felony arrest earlier this month for drugs, so his leaving may have been a necessity even if he hadn't chosen to exit. Therefore, it's a good thing to be able to tell you that
USA Today reports that
Marg Helgenberger has inked a new contract with
CSI for two more years. That, coupled with
William Petersen's signing a new deal in April, means that
CSI is in good shape for the foreseeable future. CBS should be doing the happy-dance.
Continue reading Marg Helgenberger renews CSI contract
Posted May 12th 2008 9:39AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, CSI, Reality-Free
The
CSI/Two and a Half Men writers switch was a very clever promotion for CBS. Fortunately, the writers saw the opportunity to change places as more than just a publicity stunt. They really took the scripting seriously and came up with inventive episodes for each program. If this were a competition to see which team would deliver the better show, who would take on the task of writing winning TV in a genre not their own and succeed beyond expectations, the comedy scribes take the gold. Chuck Lorre and Lee Aronsohn's
CSI was pure genius, and if it were up to me,
CSI should submit it for an Emmy.
But first there was
Two and a Half Men. In an episode called "Fish in a Drawer" (and if somebody could explain what that title means, I'd be most appreciative), the story picked up after Evelyn married Teddy. In the teleplay by
CSI regular writers Evan Dunsky and Sarah Goldfinger, Charlie and Courtney check out of the reception for a little romp in his room upstairs only to find Teddy's dead bod on the bed. Talk about spoiling the mood. Teddy wasn't only a corpse, he was a corpse with his pants pulled down around his ankles and lipstick stains on his hoo-ha. The cops were called in, a detective who was a dead ringer for Marg Helgenberger -- played by redhead Jamie Rose -- had the vaguely Bondian name of Jagov, Sloane Jagov. Naturally, Charlie had to make a move on her. He couldn't keep his eyes off her cleavage.
Continue reading The CSI/Two and a Half Men writer switcheroo -- loved it!
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