# CSI fans - No More Sara And Nick? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 17, 2004, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-fans-no-more-sara-and-nick/255578 "2004-07-17T13:49:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![hardygrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a3d4f5/32.png) [@hardygrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hardygrrl)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2004, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-fans-no-more-sara-and-nick/255578/1 "2004-07-17T13:49:10Z")
Jorja Fox and George Eads were fired ☹ - story [here](http://international.eonline.com/news/items/0,1799,14528,00.html). I guess the network got tired of the “play sick to get more money” tactics after the _Everyone Loves Raymond_ debacle. What does this mean to the show? Do they recast or write the characters out? ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2004, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-fans-no-more-sara-and-nick/255578/2 "2004-07-17T15:51:51Z")
They’ll probably do both. This is a shock. I had no idea. Although I do understand Petersen’s gripe about the franchising of the show…_Miami_ is not as good, and I wasn’t impressed with the _Miami/New York_ crossover show. _Law & Order_ did a better job franchising, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2004, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-fans-no-more-sara-and-nick/255578/3 "2004-07-17T15:55:08Z")
The spiky-haired dude has been begging to get out into the field more, so it would seem like a natural evolution of the show to promote him and bring on a new lab tech. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2004, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-fans-no-more-sara-and-nick/255578/4 "2004-07-17T15:59:10Z")
Sounds like we got some stupid, greedy producers in charge here. Goodbye, CSI. ---
**Author:** ![Orual](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/779978/32.png) [@Orual](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orual)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2004, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-fans-no-more-sara-and-nick/255578/5 "2004-07-17T16:07:13Z")
“Let’s mess with the group dynamic of our highest rated show.” Brilliant, CBS. F\*\*\*ing brilliant. I won’t be watching any more. ---
**Author:** ![plankter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ba0ec/32.png) [@plankter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plankter)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2004, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-fans-no-more-sara-and-nick/255578/6 "2004-07-17T16:08:48Z")
> [@hardygrrl](#): > > I guess the network got tired of the “play sick to get more money” tactics… “Playing sick”? Marg Helgenberger and William Petersen didn’t show up for the first day of filming, but their explanations that they really were sick were accepted. Jorja Fox, on the other hand, showed up to work Thursday and was told she was fired because she hadn’t sent a letter saying she’d come in - a letter she says she _did_ send. I am less clear about the circumstances surrounding George Eads, but it looks like Fox is getting the shaft here. From the linked article: > [@](#): > > In a statement, Helgenberger called Eads and Fox friends and “wonderful actors.” > > “I don’t know the details of what is going on, but I hope that it all works itself out very quickly,” Helgenberger said. Pretty noncommital, but now Petersen has chimed in. [(link to WPAP; click on latest news in the upper right )](http://www.billypetersen.com/) > [@](#): > > Petersen said he is “very saddened and deeply disappointed that this is the turn of events,” and that he hopes “cooler heads will prevail and everything will be rectified and restored in due course.” That’s slightly encouraging, given that WP is an exec producer as well as the series lead. > [@](#): > > **hardygrrl** > What does this mean to the show? Do they recast or write the characters out? If this isn’t reversed, it’s the beginning of the end for CSI: The Original. The writing has suffered since the spinoffs aired (WP has been outspoken about this, and although I think he’s got an ego the size of Illinois I agree with him here). The character of Sara Sidle has a following far greater than her fith-place ranking in the credits would indicate, and Jorja **is** Sara - recasting would be ludicrous. Knowing this show, I fear they’ll write out the characters in the most humiliating way possible, i.e., a passing mention of Sara driving drunk and crashing her car, killing herself and Nick. What can fans do? **Write and call!** Here’s a list swiped from [Your Tax Dollars At Work](http://66.235.194.160/forums/index.php?showtopic=17549), an awesome messageboard. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Santa Clarita Studios 25135 Anza Dr. Valencia, CA 91355 If Faxing: (661)294-4925 ATTN: Carol Mendelsohn, Executive Producer (or, again, whoever) CBS News 555 West 57th Street New York, NY 10019 CBS Television Network 51 West 52nd Street New York, NY 10019 Main Number: (212) 975-4114 Les Moonves: (323) 575-2345 ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2004, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-fans-no-more-sara-and-nick/255578/7 "2004-07-17T16:16:20Z")
Whats the definition of a contract again? I’ve never much cared for Jorja in anything she has done but I really liked George Eads in the show. If you are going to play hardball like they did you have to know the consequences. Their agents probably told them there was no way they would get fired if they had a sick-out. Time for a new agent. Eads was just about out of show biz when he got this job, now he is well paid and well known and he threw it away. It is not like _Raymond._ If the brother isn’t there then there wouldn’t be a show. I think the show wouldn’t work too well without Peterson or Helgenberger but everyone else can be replaced. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2004, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-fans-no-more-sara-and-nick/255578/8 "2004-07-17T16:32:17Z")
It had better be reversed, or I won’t be watching another episode of the show. ---
**Author:** ![Legolamb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4491bb/32.png) [@Legolamb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Legolamb)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2004, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-fans-no-more-sara-and-nick/255578/9 "2004-07-17T16:44:46Z")
> [@William Peterson](#): > > Petersen said he is “very saddened and deeply disappointed that this is the turn of events,” and that he hopes “cooler heads will prevail and everything will be rectified and restored in due course.” Very similar words to those I used on [CBS.com](http://CBS.com)’s feedback form when I heard the news yesterday. Along with words to the effect of “breaking up one of the best ensemble casts currently on TV will not only destroy the group dynamic, but will almost certainly hurt the show”. ---
**Author:** ![PussyCow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/22d042/32.png) [@PussyCow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PussyCow)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2004, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-fans-no-more-sara-and-nick/255578/10 "2004-07-17T17:13:51Z")
I for one _will_ miss Eads, not so much Fox. But regardless, I think we are not considering that the actors may have been behaving like bratty prima donnas - _maybe_ they desearved the boot. Certainly we should not expect others who work on the show to put up with bad behavoirs. Let’s not forget Doherty… ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2004, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-fans-no-more-sara-and-nick/255578/11 "2004-07-17T18:13:52Z")
> [@PussyCow](#): > > I for one _will_ miss Eads, not so much Fox. > But regardless, I think we are not considering that the actors may have been behaving like bratty prima donnas - _maybe_ they desearved the boot. Certainly we should not expect others who work on the show to put up with bad behavoirs. Let’s not forget Doherty… That’s the problem of the network execs. They get paid to deal with primadonnas and still produce a show. ---
**Author:** ![TeaElle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8491ac/32.png) [@TeaElle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TeaElle)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2004, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-fans-no-more-sara-and-nick/255578/12 "2004-07-18T06:47:09Z")
CSI helped save CBS’s bacon. The last time they had a consistent number 1 show was in the era of _Dallas_. Paying the members of the ensemble in a manner consistent with the financial rewards that their work is generating for the network is only sensible. I’m not a fan, haven’t watched CSI, but I like Fox and Eads (liked 'em better on ER, but that’s beside the point) and it seems odd that two out of what, eight, would get the ax when everyone on the show should be getting raises and kudos and an extreme amount of affection from the network every day. ---
**Author:** ![Reepicheep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@Reepicheep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reepicheep)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2004, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-fans-no-more-sara-and-nick/255578/13 "2004-07-18T10:55:33Z")
‘Well it worked for Law & Order when we recast rolls, so it will work for CSI when we recast rolls’ is probably the thinking behind this stupidity. The last seasons it has been turning into the Wil and Marg show, which annoys me no end. For Nick there will probably be some mention that his promotion did go through and he transferred to another CSI Unit. Unfortunately, Sara will be killed driving drunk and CSI will have to prove that she was the one responsible for the accident ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2004, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-fans-no-more-sara-and-nick/255578/14 "2004-07-18T13:31:16Z")
CSI always struck me as the type of show that can go through frequent cast changes if necessary. Kind of like Law & Order. Marc ---
**Author:** ![Neidhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Neidhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neidhart)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2004, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-fans-no-more-sara-and-nick/255578/15 "2004-07-18T13:42:40Z")
They wanted to hold up CBS for more money? Don’t they remember what happened to Suzanne Somers? And what, $100,000 per episode isn’t enough? What a couple of spoiled greed-heads! :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2004, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-fans-no-more-sara-and-nick/255578/16 "2004-07-18T15:28:57Z")
CSI never struck me as very character driven. I don’t think the show will miss a beat without these actors. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2004, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-fans-no-more-sara-and-nick/255578/17 "2004-07-18T19:28:29Z")
The economics of network prime time TV has changed a lot in recent years. There’s a lot more competition out there and you just can’t shell out the same bucks you used to to make a 1 hour drama. What used to be standard salaries for actors in highly rated shows are now considered simply outrageous. NBC would have been happy to keep _Frasier_ running for another decade if the actors had taken 90% pay cuts. (And aren’t we all glad they didn’t?) So you are increasingly seeing networks dropping actors from successful ensemble cast shows simply because the salary expectations are not realistic. This also explains why “reality” shows are so popular with execs. Very cheap and you don’t have to pay a lot of stars ever increasing salaries each year. OTOH, firing 2000 useless network execs is off the table. So, if you’re making $200K a year on network TV, shut up and smile. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2004, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-fans-no-more-sara-and-nick/255578/18 "2004-07-18T19:50:01Z")
> [@Gangster Octopus](#): > > CSI never struck me as very character driven. I don’t think the show will miss a beat without these actors. Exactly. The real star of the show is the hopped-up forensic science, along with lots of squishy-crunchy recreations of bullets slamming into human bodies. Petersen has his Spock bit and Helgenberger has her… uh… HOT bit, but the secondary characters always struck me as being interchangable. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2004, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-fans-no-more-sara-and-nick/255578/19 "2004-07-18T20:18:07Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > The economics of network prime time TV has changed a lot in recent years. There’s a lot more competition out there and you just can’t shell out the same bucks you used to to make a 1 hour drama. What used to be standard salaries for actors in highly rated shows are now considered simply outrageous. NBC would have been happy to keep _Frasier_ running for another decade if the actors had taken 90% pay cuts. (And aren’t we all glad they didn’t?) So, if all that is true, then it was damn stupid to pay the cast of Friends $1 mill each per ep, wasn’t it? Gee, they must have lost TONS of money on Friends. They probably just put it on for the prestige. 'Cause the only other explanation is that it’s possible to pay six stars $1 million per ep on a #1 rated show and STILL make money on it! Which makes the producers of CSI a bunch of cheap-ass bozos. And network execs have NEVER behaved in any other than a supremely fair and rational manner … yeah, that was sarcasm. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2004, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-fans-no-more-sara-and-nick/255578/20 "2004-07-18T23:42:23Z")
The thing with _Friends_ (and David Schwimmer, who has lawyers for parents, was the one who came up with this idea) is that they negotiated _together_, in an all-for-one and one-for-all scenario. NBC might have gotten away with replacing one or two, but all six? They couldn’t risk that. I think if ensemble casts stick together for salary negotiations, they have a lot more clout. I’ll never understand why Rob Lowe was the only one NOT to get a raise during _The West Wing_, nor why the other cast members didn’t stick up for him. Unless there was more going on behind the scenes there that I’m not aware of. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-fans-no-more-sara-and-nick/255578.md?page=2)