CSI: Las Vegas Season 7 thread (1 Viewer)

[Anthony Hom]

So, are any of the clues at miniaturekiller.com helpful or are they just for the sweepstakes and nothing to do with the real story?

 

[Ira Siegel]

The last scene with Lady Heather seems to promise more to come. Brass tells her to get [psychiatric] help, to which she replies with silence and a blank look. I expect to see Lady Heather in this season's finale or in one or more episodes next season.

 

[Mike Heenan]

I'm confused, how does the above image implicate the person in the spoiler tag (sorry, i can't figure out how to create my own spoiler tag), all you see is a car overturned. I didn't watch the promo for next week so maybe I missed out on something?

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

I think Nicholas is saying that the photo is a spoiler if you also read the article which contains other details about the finale. It is the two together that constitute the spoiler; otherwise the picture is just a picture.

Regards,

Joe
(Who didn't read the article or what's in the spoiler box. )

P.S.

To create a spoiler box type

[ spoiler ] Text [/ spoiler ]

omitting the extra spaces before and after the "[", "[/" and "]"

 

[Nick Martin]

Yup. That image should not have been posted. See, it's a miniature and we all know that what happens in the miniatures happens for real. Therefore it should not have been posted.

The preview for next week's season finale showed close-ups of that same miniature. It's easy to see why that image is a spoiler without reading anything else on the subject. The promo was enough.

 

[Mikel_Cooperman]

 

[Mike Heenan]

Ahh I see now... thanks for the info.

 

[todd s]

Regarding Mikel's spoiler.... Didn't Jorja and George Eads try this before and they almost got written off the show then?

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

Todd:

Yes. And No.

Was that last year or two years ago? IIRC, they tried to hold out to get a bump for the final year of their original 7 year contracts. (Peterson and Helgenberger had already renegotiated their deals based on the show's hit status, if I'm not mistaken, which is he got the producer credit, and why they're on a different "clock" than some of the other castmembers.)

Now I think she is technically a free agent, and the network would expect to have to renegotiate her deal and pay her more money if she is to return. What I've read is that she's ready to move on and try other things after 7 years. The network may or may not be trying to entice her to re-up with more money, perks, maybe a chance to direct. My understanding is that they shot the season finale/cliff-hanger in such a way that they can bring her back next year or not depending on how the negotiations go.

I think part of the reason for bringing back Lady Heather was to have her reconnect with Grissom and open the door for future developments between the two of them if Fox decides not to come back and Sara tragically dies. I think the writers like the new, more emotionally in-touch Grissom and would like to be able to continue to explore that aspect of the character by having him in a relationship if possible. If not with Sara, then with Heather.

I also think the break up of the team, the introduction of new characters like Sophia and spotlighting the supporting players in the past couple of years was a way of letting everyone know that pretty much anyone except Grissom and probably Catherine could be replaced.

 

[Anthony Hom]

Now that we have all seen the trailer with the miniature car crash, it would be interesting to think about whether it was made before or after the actual car crash. Interesting, if Grissom is looking at the miniature before the crash.

 

[Nick Martin]

Well it's done, at least for east coast viewers here.

I thought it was great, but I've seen so many 'meh' and 'lame' remarks for this show that I realize I'm certainly not on the same level with people in terms of enjoyment.

I must say, William Petersen IS CSI:. His role this season reminded me of the Grissom of the old days. Fantastic.

The way he laid it all out there for everyone to hear - his love for Sara, was a huge surprise, to be sure. It had to be a defining moment for his character. Also, the trick ending with his throat slashed was effectively shocking, and a huge relief that it was just that - a trick.

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

I thought it was terrific.

I hope the behind-the-scenes stuff resolves itself in a way that doesn't have too big an impact on the series - but they've obviously set things up so as to get the maximum dramatic mileage out of it no matter how things go.

Regards,

Joe

 

[TravisR]

I enjoyed the episode quite a bit but I have to admit that I was let down by the fact that it was a cliffhanger. Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't recall any season finale cliffhangers on CSI before so I expected it to be finished at the end of the episode. There was a great dramatic tension and a 'ticking clock' in the last act too.

I'll also admit that I was completely duped by Grissom getting his throat cut. I haven't seen if William Peterson had renewed his contract so when he was cut, I thought I had my answer. Glad I was wrong.

 

[Nick Martin]

To add to Joe's spoiler:

I hope that this Jorja Fox contract resolve/dissolve mess is kept secret no matter the outcome, as ANY mention of it will instantly ruin the storyline's resolution before season 8 begins. It's a very tricky situation here, and it's very easy for things to leak out. It most likely will get leaked, but here's to wishful thinking...I for one hope she comes back.

 

[Nick Martin]

That's correct. They resolved everything each time. Perhaps the 'outside' influences, so to speak, prompted a change in the episode's ending forcing a cliffhanger.

 

[TravisR]

I saw the cover of TV Guide referring to Jorja Fox walking off the set. Is that why Sara seemed conspicuously absent from the last 2/3 of this episode? How did CBS let that slide? She may not be signed for next year but she's got a contract for this one so how does she just not do the work?

 

[Nelson Au]

Good episode, well acted and directed.

I just let myself read that TV Guide cover story about Jorja Fox. And I just took the time to see the CBS Early show for the little piece on the morning after the Season Ender. They interviewed William "Billy" Peterson as Marg Helgenberger was calling him in her interview, George Eads, Gary Dourdan and Jorja Fox. It was mostly a fluff piece discussing the surprise blurting out by Grissom and how the other CSI's reacted to it. And of course they discussed why a cliffhanger. Peterson was very clearly explaining he is not in favor of cliffhangers, but in this case, with the MK storyline, it couldn't be wrapped up in 40 minutes and deserved more time. They earned it.

On the subject of Jorja Fox, in her interview, she felt very protective of the character having inhabited it for so long and didn't like the idea of playing a victim here. But she felt in this case, it served the story and gave her an opportunity as an actor to do something meaningful. It's in contrast to the story in TV Guide. I'm sure the TV Guide piece was part misdirection and part misinformation.

Sure sounded like they all wanted to come back next year. And Jorja Fox didn't know herself how Sara will fair. All good public relations stuff too I suppose. As they closed the piece, "Tune in next season to find out".

 

[Anthony Hom]

Tough when you are battling for the top spot in the ratings. I suspect the network execs are at odds, with Gray's Anatomy put head to head with CSI. They may have coerced them into keeping up by suggesting a cliffhanger ending. Always a safe formula to go with to bring the viewers back and to create a link from the summer reruns to the start of Season 8.
Could CSI go as long as Law and Order? Certainly, but L&A did go through some minor cast changes, and I suspect CSI will have to do the same in order to exist that long.

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

There was also the fact that Fox's contract issue was not resolved by the time they shot the finale, which meant that the easiest way to deal with the situation was to leave Sara's fate a question mark. If Fox re-ups, Sara is rescued, if not, she dies tragically. Like I said above when we were still spoilerizing stuff, they've set themselves up to get maximum dramatic mileage out of either alternative.

If Sara lives there's the fall-out from their relationship becoming public - which probably would have happened anyway, since Brass was on the point of sharing that juicy bit of gossip with Catherine before they were interrupted at the Lady Heather crime scene last week, and I think Eckle has had his suspicions for some time.

If she dies, you have a parallel situation to Nick's kidnapping - except this time all their efforts aren't enough to find her in time.

As I also mentioned in a spoiler box somewhere, I think the check-in with Lady Heather was another case of the producer's keeping their options open. Clearly Grissom is not the kind of guy who would jump into a new relationship right after losing "the only person [he] ever loved", but Sara opened him up to the possibility of romance in a way that nobody else ever had - with the possible exception of Lady Heather.

So I could see them making her a recurring character next year (she'll need a new profession, maybe she'll take some grad classes and become a shrink and consult with the cops on sexual offenders. ) And over the course of the season I could see the two of them falling into a relationship, bound by shared loss, among other things. (Heather is also more of Grissom's peer than Sara is, which would give the relationship a different dynamic.)

Given that Melinda Clarke's regular series, The O.C., recently wrapped, she'd probably be available. (Although I also see that she's shooting an Anthony Zuiker pilot, The Man, for CBS, presumably as a possible mid-season replacement.)

Regards,

Joe

 

[Nick Martin]

Ecklie is mentioned all the time, but made no appearances this season. Must be too busy directing or producing that show in Spider-Man 3.