Digging up dirt on ‘CSI’

Digging up dirt on ‘CSI’
Gael Fashingbauer Cooper
MSNBC.com

I attended the 'CSI' panel with interest, though I admit I'm not the MSNBC.com employee most qualified to attend. That title goes to my co-worker, Paige Newman, who keeps our weekly 'CSI' recap chart, and who might possibly have a tiny crush on a certain CSI. But Paige couldn't be at the panel, so I, with my much-inferior 'CSI' knowledge, had to fill in.

All the major 'CSI' stars were there except for the Big Guy, Gil Grissom: Actor William Petersen was absent, attending a memorial service.

Paul Guilfoyle was immediately asked whether he was nervous that his character, Brass, would be written off the show after being shot in the season’s second-to-last episode. "I knew I would return one way or another," said Guilfoyle, joking that he might have ended up on one of the other 'CSI' shows. "Captain Brasso, in Miami," he said with a laugh.

Of course, the season finale revelation that Grissom and Sara have a relationship was addressed. "I was thrilled," said Sara's portrayer, Jorja Fox, confessing that she'd known the two had a relationship since reading her very first script, back in the show's first season. Producer Carol Mendelsohn confessed that when to reveal the love interest had been "a raging debate in the writers' room since season one." She also shared the fact that, when the new season begins, the "viewers will be ahead of our CSIs," meaning the other CSIs will not learn immediately of the Grissom-Sara relationship. As for fans, Mendelsohn claims the viewers are split fairly evenly, with 60 percent liking the relationship and 40 percent against it.

When asked about ABC medical drama "Grey's Anatomy" moving to Thursdays where it will compete directly with "CSI," Mendelsohn said her show welcomed the challenge. "It's like two great football teams,” she said. "The Washington Redskins want to play the Dallas Cowboys." Perhaps, as long as no one turns out to be the Houston Texans (2-14 last season.) Various cast members also discussed the shock they claim to still feel at the show’s success, given how little faith was put into it early on. When the show premiered on a Friday night, no one called on Saturday to deliver the ratings news. Mendelsohn said when she was finally given the good news (the show was a surprise hit), she was told she wasn’t called because "we thought the computer at Nielsen [Media Research] was broken."

Looking for more new-season tidbits? (Spoiler-haters best look away now.)

• Expect the first episode to involve a Cirque de Soleil show and Catherine being slipped a mickey while hanging out in a bar with Nick. (Hollered George Eads: "I didn’t do it!")

• Big things are in store for Greg, as Eric Szmanda revealed his young character will have to make a vital decision that may have tragic consequences that will reverberate all season long.

• One episode may involve a ripped-from-the-headlines case about a woman who was killed in a car wash.

• In the wake of Quentin Tarantino's involvement with the show, other famous folks have expressed interest, including musician Carlos Santana.

• And on the vital topic of Nick's hair, George Eads broke out laughing when discussing the fans' intense interest in his head and facial hair, and promised "I'm not gonna mess with it that much [in the new season]."

More 'CSI' scoop

I’m here to report that hunky Eads has a gorgeous in-person smile and the kind of eyes that seem to single you out in a crowd (or maybe that was just my wishful delusions). But his drawly Texas accent is much more prominent when he's speaking casually than when he’s acting. How does the song go? The eyes of Texas are upon you, all the livelong day.

When asked about the FCC's new tougher stance on indecency, Mendelsohn revealed that "CSI" has inspired viewer indecency complaints and has been investigated for those, but that the show has never been fined. Cracked Eads, in reference to his infamous creepy plot: "There should be a regulation about pouring 8,000 crickets on your face."