News items dated Jan - May 2005 are on this page.

May 19 2005 - For Nashville, TN fans...Talk of the Town, which is live Mon-Fri 12:30pm, and Rebroadcast: Mon-Fri 6 PM, NewsChannel 5+, Cable Channel 50 , talked to George Eads, so if you live in Nashville, check it out.

May 19 2005 - Saginaw, Michigan now has a connection to CSI. Stephen W. Taber, a Saginaw Valley State University biology professor penned the book Fire Ants, which will aid the fictional CSI characters in finding their abducted comrade in the season finale. "I'm excited," he said. "I'm also wondering how it's going to be used." The studio offered spare details on the book's presence in the show, but Taber feels there's no such thing as bad publicity. "I suppose the camera could zoom in as it's being thrown in the trash," Taber said. "But even that would be interesting." (thanks to Betty for the tip)

May 19 2005 - Gary Dourdan is one of many celebrities who stars in the music video "Just Like Me" by Darryl McDaniels (aka DMC).

May 19 2005 - Yahoo Biz reports that Gary Dourdan, among many other celebrities, were on hand when the Sony Computer Entertainment America Merged Film, Music, Art, Photography, and Gaming at PSP(TM) Factory in Hollywood. You can read the full press release at the link above.

May 19 2005 - Casting News: Aisha Tyler, who has been playing a lab tech on CSI, has secured a regular role on the CBS fall series Ghost Whisperer; Jerry Bruckheimer and Jonathan Littman, producers, have new shows Just Legal (WB) and The E-Ring (NBC) on the fall lineup.

May 19 2005 - Check out another spin on "Grave Danger" at JAM Showbiz.

May 18 2005 - A breakdown of what was reported on the Canadian show ETalk Daily,... The Spot begins with Marg saying, "One of them gets kidnapped and is buried alive in a plexiglass coffin and we have a limited amount of time to get this person out before they will perish. Then Jorja says, laughingly, "Something horrible is happening to Nick Stokes! And for the most part we know not what, not how to fix it, we don't know who did it". They then show Nick Screaming in the coffin. They ask George how he feels about this. "Hey, why am I the guy in the box, why are they picking on me!" and he laughs. They ask the cast what it was like to have Quentin Tarantino on set. William said, "He's a maniac!" Gary added "The first day, you're a bit nervous because you're not sure what to expect and you want to be on your best behaviour, but then the day after you're all goofin off and having a good time". Robert David Hall said "You'll be on the edge of your seat. This is not an episode that you would want to TIVO, with Quentin directing it. All the stops are going to be pulled out," and George ended by saying " Lets rock on - it's going to be awesome!" (Thanks to Mindy for the transcript)

May 18 2005 - George Eads appeared on the Last Late Show with Craig Ferguson early today. He showed up in a black long-sleeved shirt and jeans and was in great spirits. Craig immediately got talking about Texas women, and George responded "It's something in the water." (perhaps an earlier guest had been from Texas). However, he said when he arrived in L.A. everybody told him how pretty all the women were, but he replied that he was pretty spoiled with Texas women ("since seventh grade"). He's from Belton, a small town 60 miles north of Austin, with a population of about 8,000-9,500 people. He said they "used to cruise the Sonic" as there was nothing else to do. The Sonic was a burger place, so they'd just drive around it (sorta like American Graffiti). "That's where all the hot girls were," he grinned. He went to L.A. 12-13 years ago, and auditioning was murder. "So humiliating," then mentioned a pilot with George Clooney. "The audition went so bad..." that he mistook the closet door for the exit door. Then he commented humorously "But eventually I came out." They talked about accents, and George says he can pick out the fake Texan ones easily. Craig brought up that People magazine said that George was an "eligible bachelor." George just replied that he hasn't gotten married yet. No, he's not afraid of commitment (he's 38), then he commented that Florida was nice (as in retirement). CSI was brought up. He mentioned that he'd never worked with Quentin Tarantino before, but did have that awful audition experience with Quentin. (See the May 09 Regis news item for more details.) George said that the finale "gets pretty hairy."

May 17 2005 - Just a few days away from the season finale. Some quotes from infotainment shows. George Eads said "This is cuttin' pretty deep into my character and to have it be cut by Quentin Tarantino, I mean, let's rock on, you know. It's going to be awesome."

May 17 2005 - The DurantDemocrat, among many papers, picked up the syndicated article on Quentin Tarantino and the CSI finale. Tarantino said he wanted the finale to "be bigger, to feel in someway like a `CSI' movie." Producer/writer Carol Mendelsohn said "Word spread like wildfire that Quentin Tarantino was watching and we all took such pride in that, and eventually we started to think if he's such a big fan, why don't we ask him to write and direct a show." George Eads also added "So when Quentin came on that set, everybody had a little pep in their step, excited to be at work," he recalls. "They were laughing and smiling. They loved being there and after five years, it was like the adrenaline shot that was in `Pulp Fiction' that the girl got in the chest. That was exactly what our set needed." Veteran actor John Saxon, picked by Tarantino to play the criminal who abducts Nick, said ""He's so overwhelming enthusiastic. I think it really is one of his great strengths." Tarantino chose Saxon because he needed an actor who could "really hold his own against Billy (Petersen) in that kind of situation and John Saxon is the only actor to ever steal a movie from Marlon Brando". Why bury Nick Stokes and not another team member? Mendolsohn said "I didn't think anyone had more raw emotion inside of them at this point than George. I felt that he had something that needed to come out." Tarantinto agreeed. "It was just kind of perfect for this character, where he falls in the surrogate family. He's kind of the bastard stepchild. Grissom has never really given it to him 100 percent - they did an episode at one point about that - so it was perfect to see him now as the son who has never quite got the attention, but now they maybe are going to lose him and they realize how valuable he is."

May 17 2005 - Anthony Zuiker will attend the Banff World Television Festival, which begins June 12th, and boasts a 'line-up of industry heavy-hitters.' Zuiker will host a special hour-long session on June 13th, and in addition, he will present a tribute to Alliance Atlantis.

May 16 2005 - UPDATE: It's up! Go to CBS and click on CSI, which will send you to the site where you can enter the Win a Denali contest. Even if you don't want to enter, click anyway as it leads you to exclusive content - interviews with the cast and clips!

May 16 2005 - Got CTV? Then tune in for for exclusive coverage of all the CSI shows on eTalk Daily, which airs Monday-Friday at 7pm on CTV. Meanwhile Canada AM picks up the investigation into the crime drama franchise on Wednesday, May 18 and Thursday, May 19, beginning with an in-depth tour through the shows' crime labs. Canada AM unveils the secrets of how Hollywood is transformed into Las Vegas, Miami and New York for the three CSI franchise series. Viewers will also find out just how close to reality the shows' effects, tests and equipment are. Canada AM airs Monday – Friday from 6:30 – 9 a.m. on CTV (check local listings).

May 16 2005 - Silicon.com reports that real life is usurping art. The UK Forensic Science Service (FSS) has developed a mobile laboratory which will travel to crime scenes and carry out real-time forensic investigation and analysis. Five police forces - Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Warwickshire and West Midlands - are piloting the Forensic Response Vehicle (FRV) this summer, with results expected in the autumn, said the article. DNA samples can be turned out in eight hours - three times faster than the current turnaround. Fingerprints and footwear evidence can be captured digitally (or by casts, etc.) and analyzed in teh van, while satellit elinks allow the information to be checked against databases. Click on the link for more details.

May 16 2005 - Today's Hollywood Reporter said that "Grave Danger", the season finale for CSI, will feature a Mobile Analysis Unit, a new forensics vehicle designed by sponsor GMC for CSI. Starting on Monday, fans will be able to go online for exclusive content at www.cbs.com and join George Eads for a tour. A second video tour with technical advisor Richard Catalini will also be available. David Katz, CBS senior vp strategic planning and interactive ventures, said "The forensic vehicle really is a mobile crime unitt. We're treating the Mobile Analysis Unit like a new character that's being introduced, so it will have its own profile and flash biography just like the regular members of the cast." This is the first time that CBS has produced original content for the web relating to a sponsor featured on a show. The article said that 'The site also will offer a link to the GM Web site along with a sweepstakes fans can enter for a chance to win a Yukon Denali XL.' Over the next six weeks, there will be more exclusive content and video offerings. "There is almost as much video being rolled out as there is in an episode of 'CSI,"' Katz said. "This is 40 minutes of exclusive video created specifically for this Web experience and not available anywhere else." Katz also 'said that this is the first time the site has relied entirely on flash-based streaming rather than use RealNetworks or Microsoft's Windows Media technology. "We wanted to have a very cool, creative experience on the home page, and we think the user experience will be outstanding," he said. "This is the right opportunity to dip our toe in the water on that.

May 16 2005 - PRNewswire posted Alliance Atlantis' first quarter results. CSI was mentioned in the financial article: "Outstanding performance from Entertainment on strength of CSI franchise - EBITDA contribution $31 million compared to $7 million in the prior year's quarter." ... "The CSI franchise accounted for 88% of Entertainment's first quarter revenue (2004 - 63%) and all of first quarter gross profit (2004 - 82%)." ... "The CSI franchise, comprised of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CSI: Miami and CSI: NY continues to drive Entertainment and deliver outstanding results for Alliance Atlantis. 22 episodes of the CSI franchise were delivered in the first quarter of 2005 compared to 16 in the prior year's period. The Company continues to leverage the CSI franchise internationally, and international sales of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CSI: Miami and CSI: NY remain strong and continue to grow. The CSI franchise has also delivered outstanding results through weekend syndication and second-window cable sales in the U.S. market. CSI: NY continues to be the highest-rated new series on CBS, attracting nearly 14 million viewers each week." Click on the link above for the full financial details.

May 15 2005 - Robert David Hall said that when Quentin Tarantino showed up on the set "everybody's adrenaline went up." He also said "When I first met him, I wanted to tell him how much I loved his movies -- but I wanted to be cool. It was 11 o'clock at night and I was really tired from working on another episode all day," but then Tarantino approached him "and started naming off episodes I'd done that he liked -- and actually quoted dialogue I'd said back to me. He is maybe the most enthusiastic person over 21 that I've ever met in my life - an encyclopedia master of the art."

May 13 2005 - Check out an extended bit of footage on the upcoming "Grave Danger" CSI season finale at www.cbs.com. Click on "watch a video preview" to find the title. It's about 3 minutes long.

May 13 2005 - The Scotsman had a snippet on the upcoming CSI finale and Quentin Tarantino: "He [Tarantino] is making a rare foray into it soon, directing and co-writing the series finale of CSI. In typically gruesome fashion, the show will focus on the abduction of team member Nick Stokes (George Eads), who will be buried alive by a psycho with a grudge, with only a gun for company. It is up to Grissom and the posse to rescue him before the air runs out – or he takes the only other option. “This was testing the water,” says Tarantino. “TV has caught up with my aspirations. You could truly do these stories as a TV show.”

May 12 2005 - Looking for publicity photos from season five? Check out the gallery at CTV. Nice shots!

May 12 2005 - The infotainment show The Insider showed some of Jorja Fox's home movies on the set. The Insider gave her a camera to film around the set, capturing co-stars William Petersen, Paul Guilfoyle and Eric Szmanda. In an SUV, William turned out to the camcorder and said "Are you going to tape everything we say?" and then they went to a shot of Jorja showing a large Starbucks coffee (her third of the day) and her dogs (two - one small white, one bigger and tan). She caught Paul Guilfoyle in the parking lot at Santa Clarita Studios. She shot on the set for tonight's episode, including the makeup room, the trailers they all have, and they went to a college campus and showed the script, and then the actual delivery of the line of Greg asking "Hey Grissom, did you live in the dorms when you went to college?" to which Grissom remarked "Surely you jest." She mentioned the two-hour finale, but just in passing, while Eric clowned for the camera.

May 12 2005 - In today's Edmonton Sun, writer Lyn Cockburn wrote about 'Staying a-breast of TV', which brought up the topic of low-cut tops on actresses. In citing a low-cut outfit on a doctor in the Fox hit House, it's not the only show with exposure in the workplace. "Lest you think there is but one TV show in which women wear low-cut tops, take a look at CSI: Miami (surely you've forgiven David Caruso for giving NYPD Blue the finger). Calleigh Duquesne (played by Emily Procter - remember her as the Republican-in-the-basement in The West Wing?) often shows up for work in a T-shirt worthy of our own Pamela Anderson. And in the original CSI, Marg Helgenberger plays Catherine Willows, recently promoted to supervisor, who is prone to T-shirts better suited to bar hopping." The author wonders what the message is, and if women can be oggled, why not the men? "I admit that I might not be so upset if TV shows portrayed some of their men in suggestive clothing. The thought of Gary Dourdan, who plays Warrick Brown on CSI, minus his shirt and clad in much tighter pants is not unpleasant. And Adam Rodriguez, as Eric Delko on CSI: Miami..."

May 12 2005 - Quentin Tarantino talked about CSI on his David Letterman Show appearance last night. He said he's seen all the episodes and as he's gone to various awards shows, and in doing that, has run into various cast . "William Petersen called me up and just said 'Hey, would you like to do an episode.'" So he talked to the producers about, pitched an idea, not about the science, but because William Petersen his "favorite character on television." In a course of an hour, they talked out the entire episode and had it plotted out. Letterman asked if his directorial style will show through? Quentin thought so. He did an ER once, but this time he was involved in all of it, and it is a two-hour episode and it is NOT a cliffhanger. "One way or the other, all right, the end will be that night."

May 12 2005 - The Las Vegas Review Journal said of the finale: ""CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" closes out the season May 19 not with a stunt "special guest star" but with a guest director, Quentin Tarantino, of "Pulp Fiction" and "Jackie Brown" fame. The show has seemed to embrace the "ick" factor more than in seasons past, perhaps an indication the Anthony Zuiker-created show has run out of creative gas. If nothing else, Tarantino should give it a jolt. "

May 11 2005 - Think being a CSI is glamorous? Think again. CNN details the tedious job that real CSI do, and that it's impossible to solve every case. "When you're on the scene, trying to console a mother of a child that's been murdered, that is reality," said Miami Police Lt. Joseph Schillaci, adding he has been kidnapped, beat up and hospitalized during his 22 years on the force. "We live with the horrors and pain of these families." Coroner's offices and laboratories, also, are generally more gritty and less pretty than those on TV -- as are those who work in them. Forensic anthropologist Kathy Reichs, for one, said she's "never gone to a crime scene wearing pumps and pantyhose" like her onscreen "CSI" facsimiles. CSI experts said they usually have specialties, wait weeks or months for test results and don't question suspects, spending most of their time hunched over books and microscopes in laboratories."Forensic scientists are not policemen. We are scientists. We deal with these matters objectively. We do not [act] on our suspicion," said Dr. Cyril Wecht, coroner for Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, and a professor at two Pittsburgh-area universities. Click on the link above for the full details of the article, plus a other fascinating CSI-related links.

May 11 2005 - The May 15-21 US TV Guide profiles the season finale of CSI. In a two-page articles (p. 43-44), director Quentin Tarantino answers questions. The following does contain some SPOILERS. The producers asked him if he had an episode in mind, and he said "My thing was a member of the team getting kidnapped by a mastermind and being buried alive, so the team has to find him or her. In less than an hour, we had it all talked out. And it was so good, I thought, 'I have to direct it!'" He added that what happens to this poor CSI "is going to be horrific... The bad guy even buries a gun with this character.' The bad guy has some motivation: his daughter was arrested and tossed in jail, and during the five years she's been in prison, she's suffered heinously in the system. The father decides to exact revenge on the CSI, as it as their evidence that put her in jail. Meanwhile, Tarantino says that he's going to give Ecklie a break. "I think the character... has been given a harder tim e than he deserved. I've always liked the character. I'm going to bring him out a little more." Tarantino fascination with CSI lies not with the tech stuff but with Gil Grissom: He's "one of the most amazing characters on television." Tarantino said that CBS did put down their feet on a joke he'd written between Greg and Hodges. "CBS didn't think bestiality is a fine topic for prime time." Tarantino has been watching the series since the pilot, as he's a big William Petersen fan, and he's interested in doing a show of his own.

May 11 2005 - DVD news. ER - The Complete Third Season is out on DVD ($49.88 RSP), and Jorja Fox is featured in several of the episodes. George Eads' telepic Evel Knievel will be out on DVD on August 2, 2005.

May 11 2005 - Someone asked on the online TV Guide "I thought Catherine's mom on CSI was going to be played by an Academy Award-nominated actress (Ask Ausiello 3/16). What happened?" to which Ausiello replied: "What happened was Ann-Margret turned them down."

May 11 2005 - The Desert Sun reports that Gary Dourdan was spotted looking at property during the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.

May 09 2005 - TV Guide had the following to say about the season finale: The fifth season concludes with one of the CSIs being kidnapped at a crime scene and buried alive in a makeshift coffin. A $1-million ransom is demanded in 12 hours, or the CSI will die. But it's against department policy to negotiate with terrorists and offer up ransom money, so Catherine turns to her father, Sam Braun, for the cash. Guest stars include Tony Curtis, Frank Gorshin, John Saxon, Andrew Prine and Lois Chiles.

May 09 2005 - George Eads showed up on Regis & Kelly today (who were down at Disneyland in Orlando, FL) in blues, and a black T-shirt with some strange design on the shoulders. He's growing a goatee, and he's got a girlfriend, Monica, whom he met on a blind date about seven months ago. They talked briefly about his co-ownership in Cinespace, a restaurant where you can get a meal and watch a movie at the same time. When asked about his input into the food, he says “I'm a grill guy. Most guys, we're cooks when it comes to the grill. There's not going to be any casseroles going on.” But as for the restaurant, he says his friend and him like to have food that they like, such as macaroni and cheese, etc. And he has a new house, but he's behind putting furniture in it. He's just been too busy “we we kind of eat on stools.” He said he considered hiring an [interior] decorator “but they're expensive!” he said with a grin. He tried one out and said the first ten minutes was about $1,000 so he'll do it himself. Of course, CSI and Quentin Tarantino were brought up. George and Quentin got to talking about old westerns (George is a fan of them) and George went over to Quentin's house to watch Big Gate – Quentin has his own movie theater! – “Very cool” experience, said George. When they came back from commercial, they showed a segment of George on the Buzz Lightyear ride. Before CSI, he said he did the WB show Savannah and Monty Walsh with Tom Selleck, and Evel Knievel last summer. He says he's very happy about the success of CSI. The finale is two hours and “we have some things blowing up” and “have one of our main characters in a lot of trouble.” George said about seven years ago he auditioned for a movie called Jackie Brown, and he'd read about 90 pages of the script but didn't bother with the rest, but when he came in to audition, he found just Quentin Tarantino and “the Jackie Brown” and “the first thing he asked me was 'you read the whole script right?” (and George hadn't) but he just nodded, but then he got asked to read for a character on page 110 but in the end he was told “he was pretty good but didn't take good direction,” because he didn't know what Quentin was talking about in giving direction. So the first day on set George 'came clean' with Quentin over that script reading.

May 09 2005 - The site AfterEllen has an article entitled “CSI's Mixed Track Record on LGBT Characters.” The author of the piece cites that she sees that CSI “routinely depicts LGBT characters driven to kill due to their sexuality: they are desperate to hide their sexual orientation, psychotically jealous of their lovers, or criminally insane due to gender dysphoria.” Six episodes have focused on LGBT characters: two about lesbians, two about gay men, and two about transgenders. Episodes discussed were “Friends and Lovers,” “XX,” “Evaluation Day,” “Committed,” “Identity Crisis,” and the 100th episode “Ch-ch-changes.” The author feels that “The only way that CSI can truly move beyond these limiting and harmful stereotypes is to include openly gay characters who have nothing to do with the crime. CSI could do this by including an openly gay crime scene investigator, police officer, lab technician, or expert witness.” Please note that clicking on the link above can lead to adult topics.

May 08 2005 - EXCLUSIVE. The following images are from the season five CSI wrap party which was held at the Hollywood Loft on Santa Monica Blvd in 2005. The band at the party was compromised of various staff and crew members, with several cast members - Jorja Fox and Robert David Hall - sitting in, and Dr. T sitting in on the drums. Jorja playead guitar and sang a few tunes that she wrote for the crew.George Eads attended, but both William Petersen and Marg Helgenberger regrettably had prior commitments. Special thanks to Dr. Gary Telgenhoff (DrT) for granting permission to repost these photos here. Visit his site - Skinnerat - for even more images! [click on thumbnail images for larger photos]

Jon Wellner & DrT. Jon will join CSI as a recurring character toxicologist Sam Tracey in season 6.

DrT and Carol Mendolsohn

Robert David Hall jams with the band

Carol Mendolsohn

Jorja Fox

Jorja Fox

Robert David Hall

May 08 2005 - A South Carolina newspaper says of the season finale for CSI: "Quentin Tarantino of “Kill Bill” and “Pulp Fiction” fame will direct the two-hour season finale of the best of the CSI franchise — the one set in Vegas and starring William Petersen as Gil Grissom. The plot favors Tarantino’s taste for the kinky, as one of the CSI crew is buried alive with a recording in the coffin urging the character to kill himself (or herself) since death is imminent anyway. Offbeat guest stars include Frank Gorshin and Tony Curtis. All that’s needed now is a Tarantino-chosen cheery pop tune to energize the grim undertaking."

May 06 2005 - Look for Anatomy of a Murder: Crime Scene Investigation on CNN on Sunday, May 15th at 10pm, repeating on the 16th at 1:00 a.m. Dr. Sanjay Gupta examines the science behind the program CSI.

May 06 2005 - George Eads was one of several celebrities spotted at the Club Avalon in L.A. for the taping of the Special Xbox 360 unveiling on May 12. Others included Tony Hawk, Elijah Wood, and, Ashlee Simpson, to name a few.

May 06 2005 - On Sunday, May 15th, set your VCR from 4-6 p.m. ET. on NBC sports for the telecast of the seventh annual Michael Douglas & Friends. William Petersen is one of several celebrity guests.

May 06 2005 - The National Spinal Cord Injury Association (NSCIA) hosts a Washington, DC advance screening of the Sundance Film Festival award-winning documentary Murderball, about quadriplegic rugby, Sunday, May 8, 2005; 6:00 PM; Mayflower Hotel, 1127 Connecticut Avenue, NW. Murderball 'is not the usual tale of pitiful woe generally popular in the mediaIn the wake of black-eye images against life after spinal cord injury presented in Million Dollar Baby... This is a refreshingly audacious full-court expose about hard driving, competent individuals with SCI achieving dream goals in sports, love and life," stated NSCIA CEO Marcie Roth. The movie launches SCI Summit 2005, May 9-11. Another highlight of SCI Summit 2005 is a Media Plenary Monday, May 9, 2005 at 2 PM at the Mayflower to explore disability bias in the media. Participants include Robert David Hall, star of CBS' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Peabody and Emmy-Award winning reporter John Hockenberry, Jay Mathews of the Washington Post, and Dan Raviv of CBS National Radio Weekend Roundup. Additionally, NSCIA and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts host the first-ever SCI Hall of Fame(TM) on May 9 at 7:30 PM at the Millennium Stage, emceed by Robert David Hall. Ten notable inductees including Teddy Pendergrass, John Hockenberry and Senator Tom Harkin, will receive awards following a 6 PM performance by jazz singer/composer with SCI survivor Lisa Thorson. (Source: PRNews).

May 05 2005 - Marg Helgenberger appeared with her husband Alan Rosenberg on Entertainment Tonight talking about tonight's episode, in which Catherine has a romantic fling with a man who turns out to be a murder suspect. The couple, who have been married for 15 years, had a ball filming the episode. They joked that the episode 'spiced up' their marriage and talked about they first met when he guest starred on a soap opera she worked on. The ET correspondent said that 'sources' indicated that Alan Rosenberg might have a recurring role on CSI.

May 03 2005 - Look for Marg Helgenberger on Entertainment Tonight on Thursday.

May 02 2005 - The Morocco Times reports that Jorja Fox will visit Morocco in a good will trip in early June as part of the Friendship Caravan, who coordinated the trip in cooperation with the Embassy of Morocco in Washington. She will travel with Cheri Shankar, who is a board member of several non-profit organizations in Los Angeles. "The two hope to forge lasting bonds of friendship with women leaders in this Muslim nation that is experiencing a “smooth revolution” as a result of steps taken by King Mohammed VI to empower women in all walks of life. The trip came as a result of an invitation from Friendship Caravan President Michael Kirtley and Moorish architectural designer Adil Naji, the Friendship Caravan's Vice-President. Naji and Michael will be accompanying Jorja and Cheri to Morocco." ... “In this day and age, I believe it is of vital importance to find ways to transcend the stereotypes and misconceptions we might have of each other and to recognize how much we have in common. The importance of family, our love of nature and beauty, and most of all our desire for freedom and equality, are ideals we all share,” Jorja Fox said. Click on the linkhttp://www.creationent.com/cal/sguk.htm for more details.

Apr 30 2005 - Thursday night fast ratings are in for the first night of the May sweeps period. CBS won the night, averaging 13.7 rating/22 share from 9-11 p.m.

Apr 29 2005 - As any CSI viewer knows, the President took advantage of Thursday night's large viewership to interrupt for a speech. This pushed CSI into the 10pm slot, while Without a Trace got bumped entirely. NBC just decided not to show it's low-rated 8-9pm shows and started up at 9pm with The Apprentice. The press conference was to have started at 8:30, but networks, including CBS, announced midday that they would not broadcast it. However, then the White House changed the time slot, forcing the networks into an uncomfortable position. The White House's move no doubt cost all the networks millions of dollars as this was the first night of the May sweeps. Read more at Yahoo News.

Apr 29 2005 - William Petersen is one of several celebrities attending the Michael Douglas & Friends Presented by Lexus: Las Vegas Celebrity Golf Event Set for May 1, 2005. The golf event will be held Sunday, May 1, 2005 at Caesars Palace/Las Vegas and the Cascata Golf Club. The tournament will air on NBC Sports on Sunday, May 15, 4-6 p.m. EDT, immediately following Arena Football. Proceeds of the golf event will help the Motion Picture & Television Fund (MPTF) continue to provide health and community services to entertainment industry people in need. The celebrities divide into foursomes and are guided by renowned golf coaches Butch Harmon, Jim McLean, and Dean Reinmuth. Spectator tickets for the May 1 Michael Douglas & Friends Presented by Lexus celebrity tournament are available through Ticketmaster, at $30 per person ($15 for kids under 10) (plus any applicable service charges.)

Apr 27 2005 - The May 1st US version of TV Guide had a two-page article entitled "Sex and the Single CSI," detailing the upcoming episode "Weeping Willow," in which Catherine's assignation with a stranger in a bar leads to trouble when the man turns out to be a public defender who is later accused of two murders. However, Catherine's stranger is played by Marg Helgenberger's husband of 15 years, Alan Rosenberg. The storyline was Helgenberger's idea: "It's my effort to explore her (Catherine's) desires... What does this woman do afater throwing herself into death and decay for hours on end?" Catherine's flirtation with fellow CSI Warrick Brown (Gary Dourdan) seems to have stalled ("It's something we'll deal wlith next year," says executive producer Carol Mendelsohn. Also seen in this episode will be Catherine's mother, played by actress Anita Gillette (thus, tossing out some web rumors that Ann-Margret would be playing mom). The article also includes two photos of Helgenberger and her husband, and is on newsstands now.

Apr 27 2005 - Unconfirmed scuttlebutt on the web has it that actor Andrew Prine and Lois Chiles will pay Nick Stokes' parents in the season finale, "Grave Danger."

Apr 27 2005 - Writer/co-executive producer Josh Berman has inked a four-year deal with 20th Century Fox TV. The "unusually long seven-figure pact kicks in June 1 but won't immediately impact Berman's role on the Eye's original recipe "CSI," where he serves as co-exec producer. Berman will stay on the CSI through the 2006-07 season," reports a trade magainze. However, he's free to immediately begin develop serise for 20th Century Fox. In the third and fourth years of the pact, he'll also be able to render series services for the studio."I get the best of both worlds," said Berman. "I can continue writing and producing on a show that I love, while also expanding my creativity in development." Also, writer Steve Maeda has signed a two-year overall deal at Touchstone TV, where he'll join the staff of the hit series Lost. See the CSI: Miami news page for more details.

Apr 27 2005 - Casting news: Christopher Wiehl has been cast in CBS' one-hour pilot "Love Monkey," playing a gay former Major League Baseball player. Wiehl played Sara's EMS boyfriend, Hank, until she found out he was cheating on her.

Apr 26 2005 -Futon Critic posted an article of how Quentin Tarantino came to direct the season finale of CSI. 'According to Executive Producer Carol Mendelsohn, they always thought "Wouldn't it be great if he directed an episode?" Louis Milito, one of the series' producers, made the first steps by contacting Tarantino's representatives. Last summer, Petersen personally called Tarantino to invite him to direct an episode. Although he was interested in doing so, he was busy at the time promoting his movie "Kill Bill" around the world. According to Mendelsohn, things really came together when the show was filming some scenes in Las Vegas this past January. Tarantino, who was in Vegas for the weekend, decided to spend some time with the show’s crew. At one point, he was in the food court at Luxor where he casually met Larry Mitchell, a former criminalist with the L.A. Sheriff’s Department and one of the series’ technical advisors, who didn’t know who Tarantino was. In the course of their conversation, Larry explained that he worked on the show and Tarantino told him he was a big fan. Hearing this, Mitchell invited Tarantino to come out to the set one day for a tour (still unaware that he was talking to a major film director whom the series producers had been wooing for several months). Mitchell, now famously, told Tarantino, “Come by the set and I’ll hook you up.” The conversation between the two was on a Sunday. On Monday, the producers heard from Tarantino that he was on board to direct. "I guess it was in the stars," commented Mendelsohn. "It's funny how things work out."

Apr 25 2005 - Set your VCRs for a two-hour season finale! In a press release from CBS, the episode "Grave Danger," the cast said the following:

• "It's a thriller that involves us [the team] in the crime that's committed against one of our own, and we have to rally against the clock to save a life." ..."There's just too much good stuff in there to try and slam it into 44 minutes with commercials." -- William Petersen
• "I think his [Tarantino's] filmmaking style lends itself really well to CSI's in that, obviously, there's an enormous amount of close-ups, and it's a very visual show." -- Marg Helgenberger
  
• "I think that watching him work and seeing the shots that he's calling and the shots that he's choosing and what he's doing, I know that what we can expect is something very Tarantino-esque, in the way that he's really attentive to detail and he makes you sit there and stay glued to your seat during his films, and that's exactly what's going to happen in our show." -- Gary Dourdan
• "I think that over the years, if any fan has felt like they've gotten to know the characters, now they're really gonna get to know them even better… We're gonna take the next step in our relationship with our audience." -- George Eads
• "...I was really surprised at how emotional it [the episode] was. I mean, you read it, and it's intense, and it's action oriented and it's exciting… There were a couple of times I just had to sort of like not cry, and I didn't ever imagine that I would get like that…" -- Jorja Fox
• "Quentin's put his kind of musical stamp on the episode by picking a really good, kind of poppy, old classic hit by The Turtles… That's the kind of thing you'd expect from him, a really good soundtrack, and something really catchy and that'll kind of haunt you, and this is definitely one of those songs." -- Eric Szmanda
• “Quentin has used his filmic vocabulary to authenticate the Vegas environment and keeps the show provocative with characters that are iconoclastic Vegas personas… grungy couriers, old west lawyers, showbiz legends… His deft balancing of tangential reality with the gravity of the main story, in real time, is the essence of his style. -- Paul Guilfoyle
• "There's a time element to this episode, and if you watch the first 10 seconds, you're going to be with us 'til the end of it, because someone that you care about is in grave danger." -- Robert David Hall
• "They can expect the unexpected, they can expect great visuals. It's a thriller. Your heart will stop… Every time you think you're zigging, you're zagging in a Quentin Tarantino finale." -- Carol Mendelsohn
• "One of our own is in trouble… I think the most important thing is you really get a chance to learn a little bit about all of our characters… It's the "Quentin-sential" ticking clock, if you will, and it really shows the family of our CSI team get together for one common cause." -- Anthony Zuiker
• "This is a thriller, it's a flat out thriller. A CSI is grabbed up from a crime scene and our people have to pull him out, and it's tense, and it's taut and it really is a CSI action movie." -- Naren Shankar (Executive Producer, Writer)
• "I'm a big fan of the show, and so like I know like the backstory of all the characters and everything… it's great to meet them and work with them and I know their characters really, really well, and I know these sets from watching the show and stuff, so I feel strangely comfortable even though I haven't been here before." -- Quentin Tarantino (Director) on directing the season finale of a show of which he's a big fan "…something I really like about this episode is… it's very story-oriented. It plays sort of, you know, not to be too grandiose, but it plays like a movie." -- Quentin Tarantino (Director) on his love for the type of episodic storytelling that is being used in the season finale of CSI

Apr 22 2005 – CBS has pulled the high-profile original movie "Martha: Behind Bars." The Cybill Shepherd-headlined film on May 22nd, replacing it with repeats of CSI and CSI: NY.

Apr 21 2005 - Les Moonves, head honcho of CBS, said on tonight's Entertainment Tonight that there would be a "special two hour episode of CSI" this season.

Apr 21 2005 - The Detroit Free Press describes tonight's episode as... "Captain Brass (Paul Guilfoyle), who occupies the background in most "CSI" cases, comes front and center as he travels to Los Angeles to investigate a case involving a friend of his estranged daughter Ellie (Teal Redman). But there's gotta be a corpse. And sure enough, the missing friend turns up dead. Solution? Brass gets help from a former colleague, LAPD Captain Annie Kramer (guest star Donna Murphy, Broadway's "The King and I"). Warrick (Gary Dourdan), who just happens to be in La La Land for a CSI convention, helps track the killer.

Apr 21 2005 - The Argonaut reports that Marg Helgenberger is one of several celebrities spotted in the last year at the La Antiques Show in Santa Monica. Click on the link for more details of current shows.

Apr 20 2005 - Look for some great stuff on the CSI season five DVD release. Las Vegas medical examiner Dr. Gary Telgenhoff, as well as Dan Holstein and Kathy Guenther (Metropolitan Police Department) were interviewed just last week for an extra for the next DVD set release. (Thanks to DrT for the tip)

Apr 20 2005 - Paul Guilfoyle turns 56 on April 28th.

Apr 19 2005 - "Corpses R Us" might be an alternate title for these forensic dramas that exchange a fleshless Freddy Krueger for grotesque shots of bodies lying in various states of disrepair - either at the crime scene or atop an autopsy table. Close-ups of no-longer-vital organs being probed for admissible evidence prompts visceral reactions from viewers no longer aroused by gratuitous shots of animate mammary glands. Highlighted tissue isn't distinguished by its beauty, but rather by its vulnerability to decay and displacement," said RedNova. The article says it's not surprising that "olks in the entertainment business should grasp at any straw they can lay their hands on to get an emotional rise out of audiences. In lieu of dramatic intensity, they settle for envelope-pushing. For creativity they substitute titillation. Instead of works that give to virtue a local habitation and a name, they peddle spiritual pornography. Anything for an audience."

Apr 19 2005 - Everybody knows what the CSI Effect is by now, in which potential jurors expect too much of the real law enforcement agencies after watching a steady dose of CSI and its ilk on TV. The article brought up the now infamous cae of the piece of finger found in chili at Wendy's: on CSI, the culprit would have been found before the end credits. However, in reality, the case remains unsolved - who lost a finger and didn't report it? Television's diet of forensic fantasy "projects the image that all cases are solvable by highly technical science, and if you offer less than that, it is viewed as reasonable doubt," says Peoria (IL) State's Attorney Kevin Lyons. "The burden it places on us is overwhelming." Prosecutors have a name for the phenomenon: "the CSI effect." This is just a tiny excerpt of a multi-page article that's fascinating to read. Check out US News for the full six-page article.

Apr 18 2005 - The latest TV Guide (April 24-30) dropped this bombshell: In this finale directed by Quentin Tarantino, the split-shift teams could finally get back together, says Executive Producer Carol Mendelsohn, but the reuion will "be short-lived for one member. CSI loses one of its own and must come face-to-face with a criminal mastermind."

Apr 15 2005 - The Australian paper The Age covered the three CSI series. The article asks why one series isn't enough and compares the three. The modus operandi, composed of DNA sampling, etc. is basically the same, but they like CSI the best. The heroes: "They're all agonising, all insomniacs, and all tortured souls. Gil Grissom, the understated Las Vegas team-leading pathologist created and moulded by actor William Petersen, was originally to be called Gil Scheinbaum. The actor asked this to be changed to honour Texas astronaut Gus Grissom, who died in the 1967 Apollo fire. The name, he suggested, also served as a reflective pun for "gruesome". In CSI: NY, Gary Sinise is still to establish himself as the cluey detective Mac Taylor. With his character's dominating presence and unquestioned strengths, there also comes the post-September 11 loneliness, pain and faith-questioning agonies. As for David Caruso's Horatio Caine, we're starting to see the NYPD Blue cockiness re-emerge; lazy poses with the sunglasses and a touch of slick Miami Vice that detracts from the cerebral ooze. Gil wins." Locations? CSI: NY didn't work with the blue color (which has since changed) but Las Vegas wins for people who drown in deserts, and people getting shot and run over while dressed in raccoon suits. Performances: "David Caruso wins points for the delivery of his slick before-the-titles throwaways in CSI: Miami, though Khandi Alexander as medical examiner Dr Alexx Woods, who talks to corpses - "Who are you? How did you die? When did you die? Where did you die? Who killed you?" - is just a little too spooky. Petersen is consistent as Grissom, while Marg Helgenberger is terrific as his offsider Catherine Willows. "Anyone want to tell me why I swabbed their cat?" was among her lines." But Grissom wins as the top of the CSI copies... He "knows where all the bodies lie, understands the psychological games of a Hannibal Lector without the need to flick on or off his sunglasses, or, for that matter, take a midnight mass. Horatio and Mac are shadows of the real thing. Gil knows how to spear a chest-chomping maggot, gets his kicks from the results produced by those blood-spotting doo-da-ometers and whirring, churning mass spectrometers. Gil Grissom, you feel, might really know the difference between forensic science and forensic science fiction."

Apr 15 2005 - TAX DAY! Anyway, Playbill reports that "Dan Castellaneta, who voices Homer Simpson ons "The Simpsons," has joined the star-studded line-up for the upcoming benefit reading of "Casablanca." Castellaneta will play Ugarte in the reading, which will be presented May 1 at California's Pantages Theatre. The actor joins a company that includes the previously announced Hal Sparks (as Jan Brandel), Rene Auberjonois (as Berger), Bruce Davison (as Emil) Andre De Shields (as Sam), Sir Ben Kingsley (as Louie Renault), Theodore Bikel (as Carl), James Cromwell (as Major Strasser), Edward Hermann (as Signor Ferrari) and Jennifer Tilly (as Yvonne). Alas.... (Tommy Lee Jones, Eric Szmanda, Neil Patrick Harris and Michael York, who were originally announced to be part of the reading, have withdrawn from the cast.)

Apr 15 2005 - Futon Critic (a really great site) reports the May sweeps highlights which are posted on the episode guides for each of the shows on this site.

Apr 14 2005 - Bergen.com reports of "4x4" ... The investigators have their hands full with four suspicious deaths in the new episode. Catherine and Warrick look into the murder of a model at an automotive convention. Nick probes the beating and burning of a boy found outside a shopping center. Grissom investigates a car accident that might not have been accidental. Greg and Sara examine a man killed by mold.

Apr 14 2005 - Look for the possible appearance of veteran actor Frank Gorshin in CSI's finale this season.

Apr 14 2005 - Julie Cox, a forensic scientist with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, compared the "CSI" television show with the reality of true crime scene investigations. During her presentation, she pointed out that it take anywhere from "four to six weeks to actually get DNA results," as well as showing only a few people doing the analysis work. As for the Hummers on Miami? "We have Astro Vans and trucks, not Hummers." In reality, there is a scientsit for each aspect of the analysis, but as the show has progressed, she says, they have become better at making things look accurate. The time factor is still a flaw, but in reality, most audiences want instant gratification. You can read the full article at Bowling Green.

Apr 14 2005 - CSI executive producer Naren Shankar has developed a pact with Showtime to develop an original movie from the videogame "Doom." He's adapting the story from David Kushner's "Masters of Doom" book and produce the project for the cable network. Shnkar has a multi-year deal with CSI through 2007, and spent three years on the "Outer Limits" show as well as time on the cult favorite "Farscape." (Thanks to Mikki for the tip)

Apr 13 2005 - In a local Vegas paper, the following sightings were noted: "At the VIP opening of the Pussycat Dolls Lounge on Saturday at Pure (Caesars Palace): Eva Longoria, who emceed the show, Andre Agassi and Steffi Graff, Dr. Dre, Busta Rhymes, Mark McGrath, CSI creator Anthony Zuicker (sic) and actresses Mary J. Blige, Emily Proctor, Melinda Clark and Eliza Dushku. Source: Las Vegas Review Journal. (thanks to Mikki for the tip)

Apr 13 2005 - RedNova reports that the The National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS) and the Down Syndrome Association of Los Angeles (DSALA) honored eight actors for their contribution to awareness and acceptance of individuals with Down syndrome. Honorees included Bill Smitrovich, Chris Burke, Andrea Friedman, Blair Williamson, Louise Brown, Kristine Johnson, Christine Young and Brad Silverman. Actors John C. McGinley (SCRUBS) and Robert David Hall (CSI) were on hand to present the awards and reflect on the accomplishments made by the actors. As the National Chairman of the Screen Actors Guild, AFTRA and Equity Performers with Disabilities Committee, and as a working actor with a disability, Hall said he knows how difficult it can be to be seen as an actor for a role and not just as a character who shares the same disability. Hall remarked, "Blair Williamson's role on UNKNOWN as the custodian is a break out role for actors who have Down syndrome. The role was originally written as a character who had survived a head injury and not someone with Down syndrome. Click on link above for full story.

Apr 13 2005 - Futon Critic posted the CSI finale info: On May 19th, "The life of a CSI team member is in grave danger in the explosive season finale directed by Quentin Tarantino." Well, we knew that already, but there are big hints in that description as to what the danger is ;)

Apr 12 2005 - Are you going to be in Las Vegas this coming Thursday and Friday? If so, maybe you'll see the CSI folk on location shooting a portion of the season finale. "CSI" scouting was still under way at deadline, but the schedule calls for the shoot to begin Thursday night and conclude sometime Friday. One of the expected locations: an off-Strip location with a prime view of the Strip skyline -- one of the few vistas the show can't duplicate at its Southern California production base. Source: Las Vegas Review Journal. (thanks to Mikki for the tip)

Apr 12 2005 - Check out MSNBC.com for the "Secrets of CSI Success," in which 'great characters" and "tawdry topics" propel the show to the slot of top TV drama. The six reasons noted are 1) A different kind of "very special episode," which usually means the show delves into tawdry depths. 2) No 'red shirts' (a term from Star Trek, in which the guy wearing the red shirt always died). But in this instance, it's the supporting characters who don't fade into the background, like Greg Sanders, who are developing their own great personalities. 3) The CSI effect. Who doesn't know about that? 4) No "Days of our CSIs" - the writers have been smart not to go the soap opera route, even if they have slipped up here and there. 5) It's raining men. (yup, that's the fifth reason). They cite George Eads and Gary Dourdan as reasons to watch, but the "pinnacle of the CSI male" is Gil Grissom. "Though Gil is quintessentially a cool, detached scientist, he’s also compassionate and human. I could take any piece of bad news well, if it was delivered by someone like Gil Grissom." Lastly, 6) Squeamish delights - If you watch CSI, this needs no explaining. Read the full article at the link above.

Apr 11 2005 - The press had several articles on Anthony Zuiker in the press today. The much-anticipated season five finale, directed by Quentin Tarantino, has begun filming this week.. It will air on CBS and CTV on May 19th. Tarantino came up with the plot idea, in which one of the CSI team members is put in jeopoardy. Anthony Zuiker, Naren Shaknar and Carol Mendelsohn wrote the episode. "When he (Quentin) came in to talk to us, he told us this story about how he felt he had discovered the show when it first came on the air and he was an instant fan," said Mendelsohn. "I mean, there's Quentin Tarantino in our writers' room. And he loves television É. He's watched every TV movie, every TV show and he pitched out the first idea and we said, 'You don't have to go any further. It's a great idea.'" Shankar added that the episode "...is much more of a thriller than we normally do." Check out Worldscreen.com and Chron.com. The episode will shoot partly in Las Vegas.

Apr 10 2005 - Look for an appearance of Gary Dourdan at the Hollywood Collector's Show Apr 23 & 24 in Burbank, CA. Check out CollectorsShow for more details.(Thanks to Lisa for the tip)

Apr 10 2005 - In an article on actor Ramon de Ocampo, his appearance on CSI (as leukemia patient Daniel Lopez in the episode "Harvest"), to which he commented ""I thought it was fantastic! I had memorable moments working on that show. I did several scenes but my big scene was with William Petersen who is a fantastic and incredibly supportive actor. He’s also a stage actor; he’s from Chicago and he works for the Steppenwolf Theatre Company. It was a five-minute monologue scene and it was fantastic." Read the full text at Philly Star.

Apr 07 2005 - The Chicago Tribune reports that guest conductors at the Chicago Cubs games this year will include Will Farrell, Jim Belushi, Gary Sinise, John Malkovich, William Peterson and Mike Ditka.

Apr 06 2005 - Several wrestling sites noted that Marg Helgenberger were one of several celebrities spotted at WrestleMania 21.

Apr 06 2005 - Over at TV Guide, a fan asks "How come Marg Helgenberger's kiss with Brad Johnson on CSI doesn't count as a "real" kiss?" to which the answer is "No tongue." (Guess I'm outta touch)

Apr 06 2005 - The Globe & Mail reports that Alliance-Atlantis' stock went down nearly $10 a share from last year's prices due to 2004 financial results and a lowered profit outlook. However, "Toronto-based Alliance Atlantis, which owns 13 specialty television stations and a controlling interest in a movie distribution business, has cut back its production arm in a restructuring led by chief executive officer Michael MacMillan." The CSI franchise is a valuable asst for Alliance Atlantis, and they expect the series to keep generating good cash flow. Click on the link above for the full story.

Apr 05 2005 - CSI is profiled in TV Zone, a UK scifi magazine. Visimag shows the front cover of issue # TV Zone Special l#62, in which Creator Anthony Zuiker reveals how one night spent watching a fly-on-the-wall documentary led to television’s top crime show. Cast interviews include Marg Helgenberger tells us about bringing beauty and brains to Vegas as CSI’s Catherine Willows; CSI: Miami’s David Caruso discusses his second shot at TV fame, and CSI: New York’s Melina Kanakeredes explains how she became the Big Apple’s Guardian Angel. Click on the link for more details, as well as ordering information.

Apr 01 2005 - Zap2it.com reports CSI's finale will air on May 19th, with Quentin Tarantino directing the episode which was written by Anthony Zuiker, Carol Mendelsohn and Naren Shankar. Zuiker met Tarantino at a fundraiser a few years ago, but it was when Tarantino ran into one of the technical advisors for CSI while in Vegas that his interest for directing the an episode was tweaked. Part of the finale will film in Las Vegas. "They're looking at the Golden Nugget," Zuiker says, "and also possibly the Strip." And yes, life-threatening jeopardy abounds for one of the CSIs, while another is placed in peril as well. Read the entire article at the link above.

Mar 31 2005 - CSI Charity Auction Fundraiser in NYC! On April 11, the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center, located in the Connecticut Berkshires will be having its annual charity auction in New York City. Proceeds will go to support their environmental education work. Through a special relationship that this website has developed with the Center and certain members of the CSI cast, we are making available to YOU several auction items before the event on the 11th. If you are interested in bidding on any of the following items, please send an email to adam@isabellafreedman.org. Serious bidders only please. If you would like to attend the event, you can purchase tickets online at www.isabellafreedman.org. Items for bid include: ITEMS

1) An original script and full cast photo both autographed by the entire cast: $150
2) SCI Fleece Jacket. Limited Edition: Min Bid: $50
3) Complete 2nd and 3rd Season DVD sets: Min Bid: $75 for the pair
4) 100th Episode Baseball Cap. Min Bid: $25
5) CSI Board Game: Min Bid: $20

Mar 31 2005 - reports that 3rd Tech's DeltaSphere 3D laser scanner will be used in tonight's "Spark of Life" episode. The DeltaSphere, which creates 3D renderings of everything from crime scenes to building architecture is brought in by the high-tech conscious CSI team to help solve a murder mystery. The CSI stars Catherine Willows and Nick Stokes use the 3rdTech creation to capture the crime scenes in minutely accurate detail. Words can't adequately describe what the DeltaSphere does. (To see some images, go to: http://www.deltasphere.com/deltasphere_crimeaccident.htm ) Click on the link above for more on this technology.

March 31 2005 - The Chicago Tribune is still playing around with voting for who's the ultimate Chicagoan. You can read more at Chicago Tribune but here are a few tidbits from March 23rd: : No. 5 Bernie Mac vs. No. 4 William Petersen Bernie trounced David Schwimmer in Round 1, while Petersen barely survived against Jeremy Piven. But Petersen's "CSI" is still on top and B-Mac is riding go-karts with Ashton Kutcher. No. 7 Gary Sinise vs. No 2 Oprah Winfrey Bracketologists were somewhat surprised that Sinise won so convincingly over Joe Mantegna in the opener. Can Sinise do it again, or will Winfrey prove it's all about the O?

Mar 31 2005 - The Detroit Free Press says of tonight's episode: ""CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (9 p.m., WWJ-TV, Channel 62, CBS). Goodness gracious, great balls of fire. Grissom (William Petersen) and his CSI crew check out the grisly charred remains of this week's designated dead folk, found on a hillside outside Vegas and apparently incinerated by a rolling fireball. Yow. But wait, one of the crispy critters appears to be alive. Double whammy yow!" Meanwhile, William Petersen fans can catch his 1986 flick Manhunter on the AMC cable channel on April 1st at 10:30pm ET.

Mar 30 2005 - Looks like Catherine's got a date. TV Guide discloses that Alan Rosenberg, Marg Helgenberger's real-life husband, will play a criminal attorney who catches Catherine's eye in an episode that will air this May. "Exec producer Carol Mendelsohn says the role is 'possibly recurring,' adding, 'We joke that it would be funny if the first guy Catherine really kisses on the show is her husband.' Funny for everyone but Gary Dourdan. (And, I suspect, Marg Helgenberger.)" finished the article.

Mar 30 2005 - Ann Donahue, executive producer and co-creator of CSI: Miami, is one of several showrunners who will appear at a Power Breakfast event called "Superproducers and Showrunners: An Inside View from TV's Top Creators," at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills. These events are designed for those in the industry, in which they discuss news, information and more about the industry. Admission is $50, and more information can be found at www.tvweek.com/breakfast or call Kurt Gardner, 323-370-2411. Breakfast #1, which Ann Donahue will attend, will be held April 13th from 8:00-11:00 a.m. at the Four Seasons at Beverly Hills, 300 South Doheny Drive, Los Angeles. (thanks to Sue for the tip)

Mar 25 2005 - Gary Dourdan is one of several celebrities who will attend the Los Angeles premiere of the Matthew McConaughey movie, Sahara. The movie will premiere April 4th at 7:30pm, with celebrity arrivals beginning at 6:30pm. Location: Grauman's Chinese Theater at 6925 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, CA. Other attendees include Dennis Hopper, Steve Zahn, Penelope Cruz, Willim H. Macy, to name a few.

Mar 25 2005 - William Petersen's 1986 movie Manhunter will be shown at a special screening at the "Vistionary" tribute gala for Michael Mann at the Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago, IL. This venue isn't for mere casual moviegoers, as tickets begin at $300, but the four-film Mann retrospective will show four Mann films, plus more. Full details at Chicago Tribune.

Mar 23 2005 - Mediaweek.co.uk reports "An impressive 3.8 million viewers, a 17.5% share of the audience, tuned in to watch the CSI team solve a transsexual murder, at 9pm. In what was a good night for Five another 3 million viewers (17.2%) stayed tuned for CSI: Miami at 10pm."

Mar 22 2005 - Robert David Hall (Dr. Robbins) was on CBS's Early Show today. There's less of Robert David Hall on CSI, and he's quite happy about it. He's lost 25 pounds on a diet ("by cutting out all the junk") on the advice of his doctor. He discussed various things, such as CSI, the "CSI effect," the loss of his legs and addressing the United Nations. Hall said he was fortunate enough to turn a one-shot appearance into a full-time career. They briefly discussed the team breakup in season five, but he gets to see them all as "they all bring bodies to me." He said they're excited to have Quentin Tarantino direct an episode (humorously referred to as "Kill Gill"). As to the CSI Effect, he thinks CSI has had a positive effect overall and realize it takes time to solve a criminal case. They briefly touched on his car accident of over 20 years ago. ("I'm a person with a disability, but I've moved on.") He tries to help where he gets the opportunity and uses his good fortune to help other people. He gets letters from kids with disabilities who want to be actors, etc. and "one of the great opportunities I have is maybe give somebody the idea that you have a disability you can still succeed on a pretty high level." After the accident, his primary goal was to get back to work (which at the time, was in radio). Tomorrow, Hall will be addressing the closing remarks at the UN as they present the [eighth] Franklin Delano Roosevelt International Disability Award to King Abdullah II of Jordan. "So when I was in the sixth grade, and being yelled at and chased by teachers as we visited the UN and tomorrow I'm actually speaking so... (it's all come full circle). I'm honored to be there for the National Organization on Disability. You can read more on this event at this newswire. *** Also, back on February 25th, National Organization on Disability Vice President Nancy Starnes and Board Member Robert David Hall, presented a check for $25,000 Pasadena, CA Mayor Bill Bogaard n the fourth annual Accessible America Contest, sponsored by the National Organization on Disability (N.O.D.) according to USNewswire.

Mar 22 2005 - Alert for Gary Dourdan fans! Beginning today, MSN and production company Tina Marie TV have teamed up to offer content from the 36th annual NAACP Image Awards free on MSN(R) Video (http://msnvideo.com ). The NAACP Image Awards, taped March 19 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, celebrate the outstanding achievements and performances of people of color in literature, television, motion pictures and the performing arts. The unique MSN Video content will appear on MSN Video each day: -- Thursday, March 24, Hill Harper, "CSI: NY" -- Friday, March 25, Gary Dourdan, "CSI". You can read the full press release here.

Mar 21 2005 - An update on the Chicago Tribune poll first reported here on the 16th. Out of 1,420 responses (not a scientific result, says the paper), William Petersen received 54.6% (776 responses) while Jeremy Piven got 45.4% (644 responses). Also, Gary Sinise receive 75.6% (1,090 responses) against Joe Mantegna at 24.4% (352 responses).

Mar 20 2005 - Check out a photo of Gary Dourdan AND Hill Harper from the 36th NAACP Image Awards in Los Angeles March 19, 2005. Should be online for at least a week. Khandi Alexander (Miami) won for Outstanding supporting actress in a drama series. The awards were taped and will be broadcast on Fox on March 25th at 8pm ET. Click at http://www.naacpimageawards.net/gallery.html to see photos of Gary and others.

Mar 19 2005 - Canada's Globe & Mail newspaper had a huge article on the CSI franchise just the other day. In "Esprit de corpse," writer Gayle MacDonald. The article begins by explaining that the guy who was recently squashed flat by a shipping container in a CSI: NY episode was made out of rubber and urethane foam, and is referred to as "Spatula Man" by Anthony Zuiker. Zuiker talked with press from countries such as London, Dubai, Seoul and Cape Town, at recent press junket last weekend. CSI (known as Tracing Crimes in China and Criminal Riddles in Poland), is almong the most-watched dramas on TV. It's so popular that 'Quentin Tarantino has signed up to direct the original CSI's season-five finale, set to air May 19, prompting one U.S. publication to wonder recently if Petersen's character Gil Grissom will be turned into a "kung-fu-fighting street pimp or an assassin in a tracksuit."' This article discusses the "behind-the-scenes politicking and backstabbing involved in making these three blockbuster shows," citing 'hostility' between the casts, and 'more than a few bruised egos.' David Caruso said of the differences between the shows: "On the one hand, I can't imagine what it is like to try to maintain [the original CSI's] 28- to 30-million viewers a week. That is a high-stakes situation. I have empathy for them because they are toeing the line and facing a huge responsibility each week." Khandi Alexander (Miami) laughed "We're totally superficial. Our show is beautiful, sunny Miami. I'm a doctor but I wear a push-up bra. And we don't make apologies for it." As for CSI: NY, Zuiker said of its viewer loss: "I put all the personal stuff up-front and the mystery was too black. We had to lighten up. We have told better New York stories recently, such as the death of a Red Sox fan. Now we're back in the top-20 shows." Hints were dropped at this press junket as to the season finale for CSI: the only true hint was that one of 'Grissom's forensic team will be put in a life-and-death situation.' Jorja Fox doesn't think any lead cast member will get killed. "But all bets are off at this point. I don't think any of us felt we could get fired, and that happened. So who knows?" Other quotes (although in what context they were given, is unknown):

• Jorja Fox: "I don't think the spinoffs have hurt our show, but I think that they were certainly motivated by a certain level of greed. And they weren't anybody's creative brainchild. They came out of a way to make as much money as quickly as possible... Right now we have a situation with the show where half the cast got big raises at the beginning of the season, and half the cast is working without a raise. And I don't think that is necessarily healthy for a group of people either. You know, it's an ensemble cast, and that creates a weird kind of scales and balances."
• Gary Dourdan: "The spinoffs were jokes to us at first, because we started out from nothing. We built the show from being almost cancelled, to being a show that was number one in the world. And then as soon as they found out it was number one in the world, they said, 'Thank you very much.' They just made a spinoff. At first, we were like, 'Come on.' And now, you know, we laugh. We have a good time because [copycats] are the best form of flattery.... I don't have the time [to watch the spinoffs]. And two, they're just not as good. I'm sorry. . . . They don't have the chemistry that we have. We've been really fortunate to have a great chemistry in the cast. And the other ones are kind of contrived, you know?"
• Marg Helgenberger:"[The firings] were so unjust. . . . What a way to start the fifth season, as the biggest show on television and the biggest show for that network. And what a message they sent out to us. [The network heads] were getting raises and they all were moving up the chain -- and our show was pretty much responsible for that happening -- and here the cast members are being castigated because they're trying to set a precedent by saying, 'It's really not about any of you. It's really about the franchise.' They love throwing that word around."
• Vanessa Ferlito (CSI: NY): "I've heard all the bulls***. You know what I feel? I feel like, dude, relax. It is show biz. Do you go home to your healthy family every night? Do you have clothes on your back? How dare you complain? ... If you don't like TV, that's one thing and you want to go and do movies, then you should do that. You should follow your heart and your passion. But to say that this is [diluting the franchise], they are still number one. They are winning. Worry about your own show."
• Emily Procter (CSI: Miami): "I don't understand it [the negativism toward her CSI: Miami] at all. But if I were the number-one show and people copied me and I remained the number-one show, I would just feel very proud of that. And also I just think if you are an actor and you are working today, we are very fortunate."

Mar 16 2005 - The Chicago Tribune has a poll up for Who's the Ultimate Chicagoan? The paper should publish the results on Friday's RedEye (not sure what that is). Anyway, the CSI portions... No. 4 William Petersen vs. No. 13 Jeremy Piven Putting his football muscle into acting, Petersen's "CSI" simply dominates TV ratings. Piven's role in "Entourage" drew good buzz, but will it boost him enough to advance? No. 7 Gary Sinise vs. No. 10 Joe Mantegna A founder of Steppenwolf Theatre, "Lt. Dan" Sinise is a star again thanks to "CSI: NY." Despite a lengthy resume, fans may love Mantegna most as Fat Tony on "The Simpsons."

Mar 16 2005 - In the Ask Matt column at TV Guide, a reader asks: "I am really turned off by Catherine Willows' new attitude now that she's been promoted on CSI. I know all about being a tough woman in a man's job, but come on. She jumped from being decent enough to being really hard to watch. And I really don't like the hint of romance with Warrick. Besides Grissom, he's my favorite character. Just wondering about your take on this and if anyone else has expressed their displeasure." To which Matt replied "It's been hard not to notice how brittle, territorial and unsympathetic Catherine has become since the team was split apart. (And who's costuming the character? I know the show is set in Vegas, but she barely even looks professional any more... well, maybe for the world's oldest profession.) The mail we got after the recent TV Guide cover story on the show's escalating sexual tension between Catherine and Warrick has been pretty negative, mostly because people seem to enjoy the show mainly for the forensics, not for the flirting. (Take that, "shippers.") I have to agree. Some shows, like Without a Trace, weave the interpersonal stories with the cases a bit more elegantly and efficiently. On CSI, it almost always feels awkward, extraneous and unnecessary.

Mar 16 2005 - Trade magazines have reported that Viacom, the parent company of CBS, may split into two companies, one of which would be headed om Freston, the longtime chief of MTV, and Les Moonves, the head of CBS. 'Under the breakup plan being considered, the broadcast television company headed by Moonves would also include Viacom's radio businesses, CBS and an outdoor advertising business,' said The Boston Globe. This move, should it go through, is being forced by investors eager for more returns on their stock. Viacom has 'languished' below $40. SouthcoastToday reported "Reports are, Spike didn't want to spend more money on wrestling; instead, they're banking on the successful "CSI" franchise, soon adding "CSI: New York" to its airings of the initial series. They're also adding more original, scripted programming as well."

Mar 16 2005 - Marg Helgenberger will be a guest on the Tony Danza show on March 18th. Check your local listings for time and channel.

Mar 16 2005 - William Petersen was spotted on an NCAA ad on CBS last night.

Mar 12 2005 - "Kill Gil?" In the March 13th issue of TV Guide (US), columnist Michael Ausiello ponders the question if someone will get bumped off in the season finale of CSI. Evidence: Quentin Tarantino is directing the finale, and he has a reputation for being a bit blood-thirsty; second, William Petersen has talked about leaving the show (however, it has been clarified he's got a 7 year contract). Also, Carol Mendelsohn insists "We have no intention of killing Gil. We joked about calling it 'Kill Gil,' but that's really just a pun." Mendelsohn said that a member of Grissom's team will be in harm's way, but viewers might have to wait till the debut of season six to find out.

Mar 10 2005 - According to ContactMusic, Aisha Tyler is tired of brainy roles. "I'm always cast as an uptight geek."

Mar 10 2005 - Actress Nicole DeHuff, died on February 16th at age 30 from causes related to pneumonia.She had appeared in the CSI episode "Alter Boys." According to E Online, DeHuff was misdiagnosed and sent home from the hospital with orders to take Tylenol.

Mar 10 2005 - The Detroit Free Press says of tonight's episode: "Baldwin brother sighting! Since appearing on "Celebrity Mole" twice didn't kill his career as a B-list celebrity, Stephen Baldwin pays a visit to "CSI." After Gil Grissom and the CSI team use cutting-edge technology to process a fingerprint from an old crime scene, the fingerprint is linked to Jesse Acheson (Baldwin), who quickly becomes the prime suspect in a serial killer case.

Mar 09 2005 - Walter, a drug-addicted murder suspect in tomorrow's CSI episode, is none other than Wil Wheaton, once known to millions of TV viewers as Wesley Crusher on Star Trek: The Next Generation. He's got his own website - WilWheaton.net, where he chronicles the ups and downs of his life. His blog is apparently very popular, drawing in millions of netizens. "He writes with goofy enthusiasm, self-deprecating humor and an insider's eye for the craft of acting. In discussing his week of shooting for CBS's "CSI," he geeks out over the loving care that goes into getting him appropriately scruffy: 'It would be easy to just make my hands dirty, but there's a beautiful logic to the makeup: this scrape leads into this scab, this bruise has a track mark in the middle of it. This streak of dirt ends on my finger, so there's black makeup applied beneath that nail, and it's thicker than the gunk beneath the next fingernail. Will the audience notice? Probably not. If the audience is marveling at how realistic my dirty hands are, we're in trouble dramatically... but all those details add up unconsciously to make the show real. I know as an actor that it's helped me inhabit Walter at a cellular level.' Mr. Wheaton said that on the "CSI" set, he had to manage a potential conflict between his new writerly self and the professional actor. "It was unbelievably difficult for me the first two days I was working on the show to be very present," he said. "They'd say 'Cut!' and I'd say, 'I can't wait to write about this!' " If he was distracted, it didn't show, said Duane Clark, the director of the episode. Mr. Wheaton had originally tried out for a smaller role, a hotel clerk. But after seeing his audition tape, Carol Mendelsohn, one of the executive producers, suggested giving him the meatier role of Walter, even though the writers had drawn him as an older alcoholic. A younger drug addict, she said, might prove more menacing, more interesting. At first, Mr. Clark said, the writers said, "Wil Wheaton, a crack addict - are you nuts?" But Mr. Clark said that Mr. Wheaton brought "a lot of scary volatility" to the role. "He really dug his teeth into it," Mr. Clark said, "and on his own came up with a backstory of who Walter was." "He really filled out what could have been a caricature. " he said. Read more at The New York Times.

Mar 09 2005 - TV Guide online had several questions: 1) I heard that CSI is going to bring in another member of the Willows clan. Is it going to be Catherine's sister or mother — or someone new? Answer: It's her mother. The elder Willows will turn up in the second episode of May sweeps and, if all goes according to plan, she'll be played by an actress with two Oscar nods and five Golden Globe wins under her belt. 2) I keep hearing rumors about a CSI episode taking place in London. Any truth? Answer: Yes and no. It was planned originally for November sweeps, but then all the cast upheaval squeezed the schedule and made it impossible. So, not only did George and Jorja screw themselves out of a raise, but their antics cost them — and their costars — a free trip across the pond as well. Nice work, kids! and 3) Are Sara and Grissom ever going to get together on CSI? Answer: Beats me. This much I can tell you: The pair will take center stage in a May sweeps episode set at a mental institution. I'm told the loony surroundings will stir some painful memories for Sara and reveal more about her troubled past.

Mar 09 2005 - In the Scotsman, Marg Helgenberger what she would do it she ruled the world. Her first act? "“No more spin. I am so tired of the truth not being told. It's so hard for me to look at the papers these days. I don't know where to look to find something that's not about the war or policy in the Middle East.” She'd have her husband as her trusted advisor, believe she's be a benevolent leader compared to a dictator, give Bruce Springsteen a knighthood ("I'm a fan but not a fanatical one. I think he's a true American treasure. He's a poet of the working class, he's an incredible performer and a beautiful songwriter."), would send George W. Bush to the stock, as well as his entire administration, make marijuana legal ("I may be going out on a limb here..."), give quality health care to everyone. Click on the link for the rest of her acts ;)

Mar 08 2005 - It was reported here on March 2nd, that the PTC has filed a complaint with the FCC regarding CSI's content in the episode "King Baby." If you want to disagree with this, you can file your non-compliant with the FCC through http://speakspeak.org/letter/.

Mar 05 2005 - Jorja Fox was mentioned in an article in the New York Times about "dip 'n' dunks," , what old-styled photo booths are called in Hollywood. The article said "Patti Peck, the owner of Edendale Grill Restaurant and Mixville Bar in the Silver Lake area here, which has had a booth since 2003 that has been a draw for actors like Jared Leto and Jorja Fox, explained the dip 'n' dunk process. "Inside, there's a carousel of little different chemicals, and the little piece of paper gets dipped in one solution and then the next solution and then 'Yoink!' " she said, mimicking the sound of a photo strip arriving. "It's kind of magical."

Mar 05 2005 - The Arizona Republic listed cruises tailor made to TV audience, including a CSI themed cruise in which passengers can study crime-lab techniques from retired FBI sleuths. The 10-day Princess cruise leaves San Francisco on Oct. 1 for the Mexican coast. Prices start at $1,113 per person. DETAILS: 1-(925)-831-8103 or Humane Society of the United States Hollywood Office announced the 19th Annual Genesis Awards, which will be held March 19th in Hollywood. A news release cited that " 2005 has already gotten off to a promising start with top-rated show 'CSI' creating a compelling and provocative episode about the disgraceful 'sport' known as canned hunts. Clearly, animal stories are 'hot.'" " The program will air on the Animal Planet channel on Saturday, May 14th at 8.00 p.m.

Mar 05 2005 - CSI was featured in the the #1, 2005 issue of Emmy magazine. The article reveals how CSI was cast. It's no surprise that names were changed. Here are the original casting sides submitted to April Webster casting. Quite a bit different from what we're enjoying on the show!

• Catherine Bellows: Mid 30s, is an ex-stripper turned CSI. A single mother of two daughters, ages 3 and 5. Catherine finds herself working the graveyard shift in a male dominated arena. Also, since she's the most senior woman in the department, Catherine is often asked to work the sexual assault cases on children. A tough job for a mother of two.
• Nicky Ledee: Late 20s, is a stud out of Lincoln, Nebraska. He's a guy's guy. Sporting dragon arm tattoos, a killer smile and an infectious way with people. Everybody loves Nick, including Catherine.
• Warrick Brown: Late 20s, is an African-America degenerate sports bettor who lives to be in the action. Warrick's interesting for two reasons: a) He's not a big fan of "guilty" white people. b) He makes more money betting on sports than he does being a CSI. Why? He's street smart and sharp as they come.
• Holly Gribbs: Mid 20s, is fresh out of the Academy. Juiced by her mother, a Lieutenant in Traffic. Holly finds herself at odds with her new job before she even clocks in. One look at her and we know she's destined for disaster. Indeed, giving a girl like that a CSI job is like asking an alcoholic to tend bar.
• Captain Frank Myers: Mid 50s, is a jaded son-of-a-bitch who's been stuck in Criminalistics far too long. He's got a Jersey temper and no filter in his mouth. His mission in life is to be promoted to Deputy Chief and make the lives of his investigators miserable.
• Gil Sheinbaum: CAST (William Petersen)

The role of Gil was already cast with William Petersen, hence no summary of what they were looking for. Also, character descriptions changed along the way. At one point, Nick was "blond and ripped, sporting a diamond-stud earring and several dragon tattoos" and "having a passionate affair" with Catherine. Webster said they had a hard time casting Nick, then George Eads got the role and then made him into a more 'down-home hunk.' Eads nearly didn't get the role: he was still contractually bound to the series Grapevine, but since that show was on CBS, he had good rapport with the network already. Casting Warrick was easier, said Webster, as the talent pool of African-American actors in their late 20s and early 30s is so large. "I think the final test was Allen Payne, Morris Chestnut and Gary Dourdan - that's pretty hefty competition. Dourdan got the role as much for his eyes as for the air of mystery and danger around him, said the article. ... "He's got those light-colored eyes, but he also have something else... [he's[ got stuff going on behind the eyes." Marg Helgenberger was the only one interviewed for Catherine, even though they had a list of possibilities. Helgenberger was a familiar face from China Beach and "just a wonderful actress. Frank Myers soon evolved in Jim Brass, and the role eventually went to Paul Guilfoyle, 'A short New York in his late forties with a face that looks frozen in a perpetual frown.' "What I love about Paul is that he has that very dry, sardonic New York quality where he doesn' thave to be in your face; he shows with his contempt with a look." That demeanor made a more powerful contrast with Petersen's more 'hot-headed, excitable investigator.' ... Also discussed was the very public firing-hiring of Eads and Jorja Fox last summer. Webster said when a show becomes a rating phenomenon, "I think whenever there's an inquity with the salaries, people begin to feel like they want to be part of the franchise. Dick Wolf of Law & Order has no problem replacing actor and John Levy of ER jokes that it means "Everyone's replacable." Holly Gribbs was replacable, as viewers know, and Grissom's former student Sara Sidle (Jorja Fox) came in, through a stroke of luck. West Wing writer Aaron Sorkin literally just wrote her character off the show, freeing her up to join CSI.

Mar 02 2005 - The Parents Television Council is ticked off at CSI, asking the FCC to rule the February 17th CSI episode violated the agency's indecency prohibitions. According to MediaWeek, "The corpse featured in the episode belonged to an adult male who enjoyed defecating in diapers and suckling the breasts of a babysitter--before he dove off a balcony in an ill-fated LSD trip. Cited as offensive by the PTC were discussions about damages to the character's "sphincter" from repeated "rectal" insertions. One character also claimed to be "banging" another character's wife on the prime-time program. " CBS had no comment. (thanks to Mikki for the tip)

Mar 02 2005 - The NashvilleCityPaper said "This has been a great season for CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. The show has moved into new territory with its recent explorations of internal politics and long simmering rivalries and tensions between Gil Grissom and Catherine Willows that have resulted from the original team being split with each operating a different division. Though it was assumed from the show's early years that they were friends, it is now evident their management styles aren't similar and that Willows also apparently deems Grissom a potential career threat. Creator Anthony Zuiker and his team keep integrating these character twists into the show without losing the edge or taking attention from the crime-solving focus that's made CSI No. 1 among procedurals and mystery programs."

Feb 28 2005 - George Eads turns 38 on March 1st.

Feb 28 2005 - Roy H. Wagner, ASC and Emmy-award winning cinematgrapher who works on CSI, will be in NYC on Saturday, March 26th to conduct the Cinematography's Digital Revolution Workshop East. "Cinematography's Digital Revolution Workshop East provides a rare opportunity to study with a great voice in contemporary digital cinematography. Mr. Wagner will talk, answer questions and evaluate his and other’s work. His 7-part talk will begin with the first creative spark of an idea, and continue through post-production. It opens with the astute observation that cinematography has a musical language all it's own; to collaborating with all the different (often difficult) personalities in a production; to preparation: balancing cost, time and other constraints. He discusses staying true to directors’ ideals, and maintaining your own; realities of production’s daily grind; and the latest digital gear. Realizing that "your work is not done until you are sitting in the dark with the audience," he ends with advice on keeping your vision off the cutting room floor." Spaces for Cinematography's Digital Revolution Workshop are limited. Tickets – which include lunch and materials – cost $175. To register and workshop program information please go to http://www.StudentFilmmakers.com/workshops or by contacting Mr. Kim Welch at (212) 255-5454 or (888) 222-0652. This workshop is sponsored by Adobe, Bogen Imaging, the American Cinematographer magazine, Plus8Digital, ZGC, Cooke, and P+S Technik. Full press release at PRWeb.

Feb 26 2005 - Fox's special "Stars Without Makeup" (which aired against CSI this past Thursday) received a lot of press on the infotainment shows, and Marg Helgenberger was quoted at ContactMusic saying "I saw it and that's pathetic. I couldn't believe it. "I'm wondering if any of the actors, who were featured in that show, if they have any recourse; if they can actually ffile a lawsuit. It seems to be such an invasion of their privacy." Marg was featured for a few seconds on the show.

Feb 25 2005 - The Environmental Science Institute (ESI) of The University of Texas at Austin is hosting a webcasting on "CSI-Texas: The Science of Sleuthing" by William Ginn, Texas Department of Public Safety. This lecture will take place live on March 11th at 7pm CST. You can partaicipate in this webcast at http://www.esi.utexas.edu/outreach/lectures.html. For those who can't make it, an archived video will be online later on. (Thanks to Linda for the tip)

Feb 25 2005 - Gary Dourdan will co-star in the short film and music video starring Darryl McDaniels, also known as DMC, and Sarah McLachlan and will accompany "Just Like Me," the first single off of DMC's new album, Checks, Thugs and Rock-n-Roll, according to BusinessWire. Production of this film and music video should be completed within the next few weeks.

Feb 25 2005 - Gary Dourdan is one of many celebrities appearing on the 19th Annual Soul Train Music Awards, according to Launch. Thte show will be taped February 28th at Paramount Studios and will be broadcast in syndication on March 12th.

Feb 25 2005 - According to Dark Horizons, CSI creator Anthony Zuiker was interviewed on the Boston-area radio station WZLX 100.7 FM. He revealead that he's working on a movie about the Harlem Globetrotters with Columbia Pictures. He also said that three CSI shows is enough...although he did state that if there was a fourth, it wouldn't be set in his hometown of Chicago because it's too similar to New York.

Feb 25 2005 - Although U.S. fans can't buy the magazine, they can read online interviews with William Petersen, Ann Donahue, Karen T. Taylor and M. Lee Goff at CSICollection.

Feb 24 2005 - Looks like George Eads spilled the beans back at the SAG awards... Yahoo reports that Quentin Tarantino has signed to direct the season finale of CSI. He also came up with the idea for the story, which is expected to shoot in early April and air on May 19th, according to executive producer Carol Mendelsohn. Anthony Zuiker discovered that Tarantino has been a long time fan of the series when the two man ran into each other at an awards show. They've pursued him for a while to direct an episode, and after some crew ran into him in Las Vegas during some location shooting, it all finally came together. "He knows everything there is to know about 'CSI,' and he is into the whole mythology of 'CSI,"' Mendelsohn said. "Quentin came in a couple of weeks ago. We had a story meeting with the writers. He had a great idea, and it was so much fun to have him in the room. . . . We are positively giddy." The plot involves one of the key members of the team being in serious jeopardy. "There will be more bugs and blood this time," Mendelsohn joked. The Hollywood Reporter began their article with "Call it "Kill Gil," a parody on the Kill Bill movies Tarantino made.

Feb 24 2005 - The DFW.com states that CSI is amongst the kinkiest" shows on television, using a number of fetishes as plots in the most popular drama on the air. You can click on the link above for the full story, which was reported earlier in the press a week ago.

Feb 24 2005 - (UPDATED from Feb 21st) The February 27th US TV Guide features a cover story on changes afoot in CSI. (You can read a partial version of it at TV Guide). The article mentions the episode where Warrick and Catherine were searching a drainpipe for clues, and "Then Catherine stumbled and fell into Warrick's waiting arms. For a fleeting, flirting moment, they seemed on the verge of something steamy in the sewer — until a passerby interrupted." Helgenberger said "I felt that we had entered the zone of tenderness and exhilaration," to which a grinning Dourdan added: "It's always fun to work with a fine-ass costar." Executive producer Carol Mendelsohn agrees that they'll delve into the characters' personal lives. "Before this show is over, some CSI will have sex," she says, but with whom, is unknown. UPDATE: In an article entitled "Swing Time," Marg said "Catherine needs to explore her sexuality adn have some intimacy in her life. Carol (Mendelsohn) has told me that she can't see Catherine kissing just anyone. It has to be the right guy." Gary Dourdan thinks that guy just might be Warrick. "Warrick has had ideas about her since their early days on the team. He's not blind, you know." The producers decided to shake things up in the series by splitting up Grissom's team, so they can see each other in a different light. However, the split up came not long after the infamous Eads-Fox hiring/firing, and then bringing back Ecklie as well as the new character Sofia (Louise Lombard). The article also talked about a scripted and filmed (but ultimately, edited out) scene of Nick and Catherine sharing a passionate kiss in the pilot - these scene will appear in the re-issue DVD set of season one (as reported earlier on this site) that will come out later this year. Later this season, however, Catherine will go looking for dates in Vegas ("in true Looking for Mr. Goodbar fashion ... the relationship she finds may become more lethal than loving.") (See some publicity photos from this issue and the previous issue at right and below.)

Feb 22 2005 - Marg Helgenberger said of Fox's new special about celebrities seen without makeup... "They were all shots taken fromthe distance. They deliberately chose all the crappy shots." The Fox special airs Thursday night, against CSI. Meanwhile, Entertainment Tonight, the show had a quick profile of the upcoming episode "Big Middle," in which a man is found dead in bed at a Fat Acceptance Convention. They showed a few clips from the episode, including one woman giving a startled Grisson a big pat on his backside. Eric Szmanda said of the plus size actresses "We've had some large and lovely women here this week."

Feb 21 2005 - CSI will be featured on Entertainment Tonight on Tuesday, the 22nd.

Feb 21 2005 - William Petersen turns 52 today.

Feb 21 2005 - CSI co-executive producer Josh Berman was interviewed last month in The Fredericton Daily Gleaner. Berman says wokring on CSI is "exhilerating. It's so wonderful that what we write and produce is seen by so many people across the globe." He said that "One of key reasons it's succeeded is because it entertains and educates." Berman, who earned a law degree from Sanford University, began work on CSI at age 30. He was hired by executive producer Carol Mendelsohn after she saw a short film he'd written. Berman is involved in almost every aspect of the show, which includes script-writing, casting of actors, and supervising post-production work. He knows that the show is graphic, but "It's not gratuitous. It's accurate. We don't shy away from the impact of crime on a victim's family either. The realism of the show necessitates some of the graphic depiction of the series." He plans on staying with the show "as long as they'll have me." He believes they're having their best season ever. "We've just hit our stride. Everyone wants to excel."

Feb 21 2005 - Then he should known he'd be caught. In the Life Imitates Art gallery, CNN reports that Kansas State University English professor Thomas Murray has been arraigned for the stabbing murder of his ex-wife. Murray reportedly told colleagues that he e was researching how to commit murders for a script he was writing for an episode of the CBS criminal drama "CSI."

Feb 21 2005 - TV SHows on DVD reported a 'bombshell' that season one was being re-released on DVD; however, CBS released this news back on October 2003. Due to various reasons, the DVD has been relayed since the original report.

Feb 18 2005 - MargHelgenberger.net has loaded up a videoclip of Marg Helgenberger's appearance (Feb 15th) on Dr. Phil.

Feb 18 2005 - If you missed it on CBS, you can see William Petersen's PSA at CBS. Khandi Alexander and Melina Kanakaredes have also done PSAs that are on this site.

Feb 18 2005 – If you live in Tallahassee, Florida, check out the Mary Brogan Museum of Art and Science, which is displaying "CSI: Tallahassee," interactive crime-scene exhibits created with Comcast, Court TV, the Tallahassee Police Department and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. With "Cafeteria Caper" mystery for children. "Art and Ecology" triennial exhibit includes nine contemporary artists inspired by nature. Opening reception: 6-9 p.m. today, free admission; trolley service between the museum and the FSU Museum of Fine Arts. Also, Jonathan Green's paintings from the book "Amadeus: The Leghorn Rooster" and "Synergy of Energy," learn about power and energy. Hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat.; 1-5 p.m. Sun. Adults $6; students and seniors $3.50. 350 S. Duval St. 513-0700.

Feb 18 2005 - Playbill reports that Eric Szmanda, Tommy Lee Jones, Theodore Bikel, and James Cromwell have joined the cast of the upcoming Actors' Fund of America presentations of the landmark Warner Bros. screenplay Casablanca in Los Angeles. Szmanda will portray Jan Brandel. The Morocco-set story of Casablanca follows the chance meeting of an American exile night club owner and his former love at the titular gateway city during World War II. The Pantages Theater is located at 6233 Hollywood Boulevard. Tickets, priced $28 $153, will be available through The Actors' Fund by calling (323) 933 9244, ext. 54 or 35. Sponsorship/VIP packages, priced $250-$25,000, are also available. This one-night reading will be held at 4:00 pm on April 3rd at the Pantages Theatre. More details at ActorsFund.

Feb 18 2005 -GamesIndustry has reviewed Focus Multimedia's release of Ubisoft's CSI Crime Scene Investigation PC games. Click on the link for the full details.

Feb 18 2005 – The Arizona website has reviewed last night's “King Baby” episode. “What happens in Vegas doesn't stay in Vegas when it airs on CSI,” a statement in an ironic twist to the Las Vegas ads seen on TV. Corinne Marrinan, associate producer of CSI said “We know sometimes we push the envelope. We always try to deal with those things in a tasteful manner rather than a gratuitous, shocking way. That's the fine line we always walk." The PTC (Parents Television Council) has labeled CSi as “one of 10 worst shows on TV” due to its sexually charged content, yet the FCC says it averages 10 complaints per month (out of 26 million viewers a week.) A fan, Lisa Schmeiser (of Television Without Pity) theorizes that that "The reason these subcultures are brought up is it's a cheap way to titillate people.” Marrinan disagrees. "Instead of glorifying this (fetish) or saying it's right or wrong, we say it's there and let's deal with it. It's taking a lot of things out of the shadows."

Feb 18 2005 – Asial.com says that CSI is back for a fifth season (well, on AXN in Asia), and cites the now ancient Eads-Fox salary dispute and calls the season five opener a “So-so premise, predictable execution, anti-climactic and none-too-riveting results.” However, they're looking forward to the rest of the season.

Feb 15 2005 - Stay tuned to this news page for word on a new CSI sweepstakes!

Feb 15 2005 - William Petersen appeared on a PSA on tonight's NCSI.

Feb 14 2005 - In a New York Post article on valentines, they listed fictional characters that "we couldn't live without." On the CSI front - "Greg Sanders - The spiky-haired lab tech with the boyish smirk on "CSI" still gets charmingly queasy when faced with a gory crime scene."

Feb 14 2005 - The American Society of Cinematographers has announced the winners t the 19th Annual American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Outstanding Achievement Awards. Nathan Hope won the episodic series competition for "Down the Drain" / CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION (CBS). The awards were presented by Victor Garber (ALIAS), Kathryn Morris (COLD CASE), and Poppy Montgomery (WITHOUT A TRACE), respectively.

Feb 12 2005 - Gary Dourdan was mentioned in a Q&A in the New York Daily News, in which someone asked about him. Info supplied was that Gary, 38, is from Philadelphia, was divorced from model Roshumba Willams in 1994 and has two children - daughter Nyla, 6, and son Lyric, 2. He plays the guitar, bass, drums and sax.

Feb 12 2005 - In an article at San Diego.com, the ethics of 'canned hunts' is brought up, and February 10th's CSI episode "Unbearable" was mentioned. In the episode, a hunter is killed along with a Kodiak bear that was drugged up for the hunt, only things went terribly wrong. Canned hunts are apparently an issue that has split the hunting community. However, some involved in these hunts prefer the term "high-fenced hunting'. These hunts are commercial hunts on private property in which the animal stands no chance of escape, thus guaranteeing a kill for the hunter. Ranches range from one acre to 10,000 acres, and the price of a hunt is anywhere from $800-$10,000. Read more at the article above.

Feb 11 2005 - The Hollywood Reporter discloses that Wallace Langham, who has played brown-nosing lab technician David Hodges for the past three years, “has been upped to a regular on the show. He is repped by the Metropolitan Talent Agency and manager Ted Schachter.

Feb 11 2005 - The January/February 2005 issue of Campus Life debates if CSI is worth watching. Click on the link for the article.

Feb 11 2005 - KLAS-TV in Las Vegas reveals that the University of Las Vegas has developed a four-year degree that focuses on forensic science. And about forty students have signed up for the first year of the forensic science program. The of Fingerprinting class is talk by expert Daniel Holstein, upon whom Gil Grissom was originally based. According to UNLV anthropology professor Jennifer Thompson, Holstein was also the inspiration for this university program. Thompson says, "He said, I'd really like to develop a course called Crime Scene Investigation. And I thought, this would be wonderful to have someone who is a crime scene investigator teach course for some of our students." Click on the link for the full text.

Feb 11 2005 - John Patterson, who directed the CSI episode “And Then There Were None,” died Monday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 64. The cause was prostate cancer, HBO announced. Mr. Patterson has directed cop shows since the 1970s, including CHiPs, Hill Street Blues, Magnum PI and more recently CSI, The Sopranos and Law & Order.

Feb 10 2005 - Slate Magazine discusses "The Sexiest Man in the Morgue: William L. Petersen, the dumpy heartthrob of CSI." The article delves into fan fiction (including slash (homoerotic fiction) but an "nordinate amount of it focuses on the off-screen cavortings of Gil Grissom." Now, why is Grissom, who is "hardly the most obvious object of erotic longing; he's a gray-haired, slightly dumpy, middle-aged workaholic who probably smells faintly of formaldehyde, and whose social skills are inversely proportional to his forensic acumen. Whence the mystique? Why are so many people in love with Gil Grissom?" questions the article. The closest comparison to Grissom is Mr. Spock from the 1960's scifi series Star Trek who, like Grissom, is very intelligent and an enigma. An anonymous fan fiction writer said "Grissom is way sexier than Mr. Spock," she declared peremptorily. Pressed to explain why, she hemmed and hawed with the usual lover's tautologies ("I can't explain, he just is") before arriving at the following formulation: Where Spock's sexuality was simply repressed (his Vulcan half acting as superego on his all-too-human id), Gil's (implied) erotic life, on the contrary, is so radical as to extend to all life forms, from maggots all the way up to supermodels. Click on the link above for the full story.

Feb 10 2005 - Dr. Lee Goff, forensic entomologist and curator for CSI: Crime Scene Insects, will present a free program in the Union Planters IMAX Theater at the Pink Palace Museum in Memphis, TN at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 17. Prior to the lecture, the CSI exhibit will be open 6:30-7:30 p.m. Admission to the exhibit will be free that evening. The presentation covers different aspects of forensic entomology using cases that Dr. Goff worked with examples of each of the major areas covered in the CSI exhibit. Dr. Goff's program consists of images from crime scenes and the associated insect evidence used to help solve those crimes. Dr. Goff is also a consultant on CSI.

Feb 09 2005 - Check out Uiuc.edu for information on the February 19th annual Forensic Insect Fear Film Festival at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.Festival founder May Berenbaum, the head of the entomology department, chooses films that usually have bad plots and acting, inaccurate insect anatomy and bumbling entomologists - and uses it to help educate people about the world of insects. This year they have a hero: Gil Grissom of CSI. “What is enormously appealing about ‘CSI’ to entomologists is that Gil Grissom is an entomologist by training, complete with a pet African red baboon spider and a stable of racing cockroaches. He’s about the only character in the history of primetime television who can use scientific names and not look uncomfortable about it.” The episode "Sex, Lies and Larvae" will air at the festival. Films begin at 7:15 a.m., and there will be sorts of other activities, such as maggot petting zoo, displays of insects important to detectives, and "guess the post-mortem interval" games. Forensically themed festival T-shirts, with proceeds benefiting the Entomology Graduate Student Association, will be available for sale as well. Winners of an insect art contest involving area elementary and secondary schools will be named, and their artwork will be on display. William Petersen’s work portraying Gil Grissom will receive the Insect Fear Film Festival’s first “Image Award” for positive onscreen depictions of the science of entomology. Admission to the festival is free. Doors to the Foellinger Auditorium, on the south end of the Quad, open at 6 p.m. Exhibitions and T-shirt sales will be in the foyer. Remarks begin at 7 p.m., with cartoons to begin at 7:15 p.m. Read more at http://www.life.uiuc.edu/entomology/egsa/ifff.html.

Feb 08 2005 - Darn. Found the news too late. The Santa Clarita Valley Press Club hosted the 2004 Newsmakers Awards on February 4th at the Hyatt Valencia. One of the items up for auction? "Interested in seeing actors William Petersen and Marg Helgenberger in action? The stars of the original “CSI” can be seen in action during a tour for four people of Santa Clarita Studios to watch filming of the popular CBS television program. William L. Petersen as Gil Grissom, Marg Helgenberger as Catherine Willows, Gary Dourdan as Warrick Brown and Jorja Fox as Sara Sidle are part of a crack Las Vegas crime-fighting team, yet much of the show is shot here in the SCV. Value: $500." No word on how much that visit went for.

Feb 07 2005 - More SAG Award tidbits

• George Eads said on the early morning CBS news that he had done an Longjohn Silvers commercial early in his career (presumably, that job earned him his SAG card).
• George Eads said on Extra! that he'd heard a rumor that Quentin Tarentino might direct an episode of CSI.
• Marg Helgenberger said behind the scenes when asked how they keep the show fresh year after year, "That's the challenge. I... change my hairstyle," she laughed.
• Entertainment Tonight had a few shots of other cast members. They showed Robert David Hall, so overcome with happiness that he was crying, saying that he worked with the "great people." When asked where they would put their awards, Gary Dourdan said "I'm not going to let go of it. I'm taking it everywhere. I'll be in every scene like this" (indicating he would have the statue just out of frame so he could see it).
• More photos from Zap2it.com:
  • Jorja Fox
  • Jorja Fox 2
  • William Petersen and wife
  • William Petersen
  • Marg Helgenberger
  • George Eads
  • Marg Helgenberger and Jorja Fox

Feb 06 2005 - The Hollywood Reporter had a small article on CSI's win. Marg Helgenberger said "We were all a little shocked. We've won a few People's Choice awards, but this is the first time we've won a SAG award. They usually honor shows where casts are asked to emote and show all those histrionics." The article said 'Asked if any scenes were ever too gross to complete, Helgenberger said there was one genital reassignment surgery scene that caused the cast and crew to run from a small stage. Asked if they watched ABC's Desperate Housewives"Helgenberger said, "Yes, we're going to have a 'Desperate CSI.' We can solve their crimes easily." Asked what their most desperate-ever audition was, the entire ensemble vied for the microphone. William Petersen won out and told a story about dropping his pants for a 68-year old Lana Turner. "She freaked out completely," Petersen said. "'What are you doing?!' she said. 'Put your pants on!' She ran out of the room and the casting gu