Grissom and tonight's CSI

[yendi]

All of the hype and commercials for tonight's CSI talk about Grissom leaving for a teaching job.

Now, I know no spoilers (nor do I want to), but I don't believe for a second that this will happen (not least because this is too big to do in an early January episode).

Plus, since Grissom is the glue that holds the show together (and one of about ten reasons I like CSI way better than, say, CSI: MIami), I just don't want this to happen.

But, the really twisted side of me wants to see this happen:

Grissom takes the teaching job, says his touching goodbyes, and hops on a helicopter out of Vegas. The final scene would then have Greg come into the room and say, "I have a message. Gil Grissom's plane was shot down over the Sea of Japan. It spun in. There were no survivors."

That's just about the only way I could accept him leaving the show.

Comments

[auryn29a.livejournal.com]

I just saw a MASH special last night so I understand the reference.

[crystalsage.livejournal.com]

I watched the same show...hosted by Shelley Long on TV Land? Great show!

[yendi]

I think that special first aired in the early '90s -- I remember watching it in college.

[crystalsage.livejournal.com]

Yep...it said 1991. And the fact that Larry Linville and MacLean Stevenson were still alive was a giveaway. ;)

[chaoticmatter.livejournal.com]

I was going to make the same reference. But I didn't see the special last night.


I'm just that big of a nerd that I knew exactly where that quote came from.

I was so sad when Henry died...

[wicketbird.livejournal.com]

yea, me too, I cried...and they didn't tell the cast it was coming! They gave Gary Burghoff the line, and he went in and did it, and everyone reacted honestly...then someone, I think flushed a toilet, and they had to do another take. But still, one of the best moments from that show...

[yendi]

Wow - -that's both cruel, and a great way to get a true reaction.

[malinaldarose.livejournal.com]

*snort*

[aiela.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure how much I can say without spoiling anything, since what I "know" is basically conjecture based on some stuff William Petersen has said, but I highly doubt his absence will be permanent.

[kizlj.livejournal.com]

likewise. I know from news articles what's up, but won't say anything till you've seen the episode.

[hughcasey.livejournal.com]

Nah. He'll wake up and find Suzanne Pleshette in his bed.

Either that, or he'll finally track down the one-armed man.

[yendi]

Nah, those are series-enders.

(The former being, imho, the best series-ender of all time).

[badlittlemonkey.livejournal.com]

I've read conflicting reports on how permanent it is, but his absence is why Liev Schrieber is coming on for at least awhile. Speculation is that Peterson won't be around much for the rest of this year, and whether or not he comes back next year is still up in the air. I dunno. Seems to me like a hard deal to walk away from, but stranger things have happened.

[yendi]

He's a producer as well, so I'd like to think he'd stick it out.

[supremegoddess1.livejournal.com]

It would have to be Greg, too. No one else would do.

You just made me very, very nostalgic for MASH.

[yendi]

He is the closest analog to Radar, after all.

[supremegoddess1.livejournal.com]

exactly.

[jmspencer.livejournal.com]

I love the show, and Amanda and I have been watching through the DVDs, but we were actually discussing last night the fact that while a lot of what happens on the show itself is very interesting, the writing for Grissom can be REALLY terrible (at least seasons 1 - 2, which we just finished.) We spend about a quarter of our time watching the episodes really aghast at his terrible metaphors, or the fact that it must have been in his contract that he'd get a bad pun in as the last line before the opening credits in 21/22 episodes (Brass got it in one ep.)

[yendi]

I adore the puns, personally. But season 1 annoyed me in general; too few episodes where the show seemed to really have gelled. By season 2, things felt like they were on more solid ground with his character.

[amokk]

As soon as you said "gets in a helicopter" I knew you were going for the M*A*S*H joke.

[popfiend.livejournal.com]

Peterson took a leave of absence to do a play in London. Liev Schrieber (sp?)is taking his place during that time. I think he's back before the season ends.

[yendi]

Cool -- in other words, it's typical network overhype.

That said, Liev Schrieber could be interesting.

[laurel]

Wow, that must be a misleading ad. (No shock, eh?)

Grissom leaves for a four-week teaching job. Big deal. If everyone is teary over him leaving for a month, that's a bit goofy.

(Now on Numb3rs, Peter MacNicol's character left for six months . . . in outer space. I can see being a bit emotional/excited about that.)

[yendi]

See for yourself. :-)

Note that the ads that aired during football this week didn't even include the stuff involving the case -- it was just the Grissom part with the sappy song.

This approaced CW/WB levels of bad promotion.

[yendi]

"Approaches," that is.

[bassfingers.livejournal.com]

MacNicol got a gig doing a run of episodes of 24 this coming season, so I thought that was a fairly good way for him to bow out gracefully and leave it open for him to return.

[laurel]

Yup. And he is definitely still on Numb3rs, he hasn't left the show. He's doing both it and 24 (they made that clear in the initial press releases about the 24 gig).

..

[gaelfling.livejournal.com]

a M*A*S*H* sendoff? interesting possibility, terribly final (unless you have one of those strange twist survivor type things happen later) and might make people tune in to find out how the rest of the team fills the hole left by Grissom..

[litch.livejournal.com]

one of about ten reasons I like CSI way better than, say, CSI: MIami

Would that list also include the blessed abscence of david caruso?

[yendi]

#1 on the list, in fact.

[matociquala.livejournal.com]

That would have made me as happy as if Enterprise had ended to the beagle waking up to find Captain Pike in the shower.

Alas.

Alas for opportunities lost.

[yendi]

Dude.

That would have kicked my opinion of Enterprise up at least a full notch.

[brak55.livejournal.com]

A sharp stick in the eye is better than CSI: Miami with asshat one-emotion Caruso in it.

[yendi]

I love the fact that Kim Delaney left because the producers felt she didn't have chemistry with Caruso; it implies that anyone could.

[ckd]

Well, it is about time for a remake of Hello, Larry.

[yendi]

No, it most definitely isn't.

(They'd need to remake Diff'rent Strokes first).

[bassfingers.livejournal.com]

How about "Carlton the Doorman?"

[robyn-ma.livejournal.com]

Heh. That episode (http://members.tripod.com/gary_burghoff/plane.wav) was just on today.