# CSI: Grissom was kind of a dick, wasn't he? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 26, 2010, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-grissom-was-kind-of-a-dick-wasnt-he/548022 "2010-07-26T07:06:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-grissom-was-kind-of-a-dick-wasnt-he/548022/21 "2010-07-28T14:33:28Z")
> [@Snooooopy](#): > > And talk about second chances! You can get your co-worker killed because you left a crime scene to go run a stupid errand, and he won’t even fire you! That scene was just ridiculous - one of those things that remind you this was televison and not real life. Warrick works a civil service job. The decision to fire him would have been made by a review board. And Grissom would have had zero ability to prevent him from being fired once that board made its decision. ---
**Author:** ![Cinebar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Cinebar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinebar)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-grissom-was-kind-of-a-dick-wasnt-he/548022/22 "2010-07-28T14:45:06Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > > [@DMark](#): > > > > A few of the other actors back then were trying to get more money and walked off the set. The producers more or less said, “Fuck you!” and killed one off and the other two came back real fast at their old salary. > > They killed off one of the ACTORS? That’s pretty extreme.:eek: That happened in the pilot show. A new CSI was hired who really wasn’t suitable for the job (for instance, she made a wrong turn on her first day, got trapped in the morgue, and freaked out). Warwick left her alone at a crime scene and it turns out the killer was still there. Sara was brought in to do an internal investigation and ended up staying. They did kill off Warwick at the end of season 8. I always understood it was because he was busted for drugs (heroin, I think) in real life. It was very sad, though. The character had just found out he had a young son who he was trying to get custody of. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-grissom-was-kind-of-a-dick-wasnt-he/548022/23 "2010-07-28T14:47:37Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > He would make jokes about the cases, cite obscure trivia, and go off on long rambles about things that had nothing to do with the case. If any of the others said anything, he’d say something about how a good CSI looks at the big picture and studies everything because you never know where the clues will be, blah blah blah. But when any of the others did anything similar, he’d snap at them that being a CSI was serious business and somebody had died and they needed to stay focused on the case. I haven’t seen CSI in too long to really comment, but this description isn’t necessarily meaningful. If I see someone shy and tell them to be more adventurous, if I then spot them dancing naked on top of a taxi cab in the middle of Times Square, I have perfect rights to yell at them. It’s the Law of Toos: Too of anything is bad. And it’s possible that Grissom was joking and citing off trivia back at HQ. If he doesn’t do it anywhere else, but the others do, he’s justified in telling them to get their heads in the game. How you act at HQ and how you act while standing over a dead body aren’t necessarily going to be the same. It’s possible that you’re right and that Grissom was a dick. But minus further detail, it’s just as easy to say from your description that you’re trying to apply what he says past the scope at which they’re intended. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-grissom-was-kind-of-a-dick-wasnt-he/548022/24 "2010-07-28T14:53:37Z")
> [@Cinebar](#): > > > [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > > > > [@DMark](#): > > > > > > A few of the other actors back then were trying to get more money and walked off the set. The producers more or less said, “Fuck you!” and killed one off and the other two came back real fast at their old salary. > > > > They killed off one of the ACTORS? That’s pretty extreme.:eek: > > That happened in the pilot show. A new CSI was hired who really wasn’t suitable for the job (for instance, she made a wrong turn on her first day, got trapped in the morgue, and freaked out). Warwick left her alone at a crime scene and it turns out the killer was still there. Sara was brought in to do an internal investigation and ended up staying. > > They did kill off Warwick at the end of season 8. I always understood it was because he was busted for drugs (heroin, I think) in real life. It was very sad, though. The character had just found out he had a young son who he was trying to get custody of. You’ve been whooshed. The characters of Holly Gribbs and Warrick Brown were killed. But actors Chandra West and Gary Dourdan were unharmed. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-grissom-was-kind-of-a-dick-wasnt-he/548022/25 "2010-07-28T14:55:35Z")
The thing about CSI Miami is that Caruso can take off his sunglasses AND put on his sunglasses. He’s multi-talented. I just realized what a great drinking game you could make from that. ---
**Author:** ![Cinebar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Cinebar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinebar)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-grissom-was-kind-of-a-dick-wasnt-he/548022/26 "2010-07-28T14:57:30Z")
_I have been whooshed!_ :smack: Hey, it’s still (relatively) early here on the west coast and my brain is still foggy. Hell, my eyes don’t even focus until I’ve been up for a couple of hours. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-grissom-was-kind-of-a-dick-wasnt-he/548022/27 "2010-07-28T14:58:24Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > I haven’t seen CSI in too long to really comment, but this description isn’t necessarily meaningful. If I see someone shy and tell them to be more adventurous, if I then spot them dancing naked on top of a taxi cab in the middle of Times Square, I have perfect rights to yell at them. It’s the Law of Toos: Too of anything is bad. > > And it’s possible that Grissom was joking and citing off trivia back at HQ. If he doesn’t do it anywhere else, but the others do, he’s justified in telling them to get their heads in the game. How you act at HQ and how you act while standing over a dead body aren’t necessarily going to be the same. > > It’s possible that you’re right and that Grissom was a dick. But minus further detail, it’s just as easy to say from your description that you’re trying to apply what he says past the scope at which they’re intended. No, Grissom will go off on a tangent at a crime scene in the middle of collecting evidence. His disruptions of the investigation are larger than the disruptions of other people that he condemns. ---
**Author:** ![GHO57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df788c/32.png) [@GHO57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GHO57)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-grissom-was-kind-of-a-dick-wasnt-he/548022/28 "2010-07-28T15:05:43Z")
> [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](#): > > The thing about CSI Miami is that Caruso can take off his sunglasses AND put on his sunglasses. He’s multi-talented. > > I just realized what a great drinking game you could make from that. Don’t do it… or if you do, at least put yourself on the list for a liver transplant beforehand. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-grissom-was-kind-of-a-dick-wasnt-he/548022/29 "2010-07-28T15:39:36Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > They killed off one of the ACTORS? That’s pretty extreme.:eek: It’s way easier to hide a body than deal with the union. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-grissom-was-kind-of-a-dick-wasnt-he/548022/30 "2010-07-28T16:01:11Z")
> [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](#): > > > [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > > > They killed off one of the ACTORS? That’s pretty extreme.:eek: > > It’s way easier to hide a body than deal with the union. Yeah, but either way you still have the residuals hanging around. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-grissom-was-kind-of-a-dick-wasnt-he/548022/31 "2010-07-28T16:19:39Z")
> [@Rico](#): > > > [@Finally](#): > > > > What the heck happened to Marg Helgenberger? She used to be really attractive and now she’s scary! > > It’s called [bad plastic surgery](http://www.awfulplasticsurgery.com/2009/09/18/marg-helgenberger-you-dont-have-to-be-csi-to-figure-out-what-shes-done-to-her-face/). I just watched “Species” this week, and she was so pretty before all the plastic surgery - she looked like a gorgeous middle-aged woman. Now her upper lip looks like a piece of hamburger. > [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > > [@DMark](#): > > > > A few of the other actors back then were trying to get more money and walked off the set. The producers more or less said, “Fuck you!” and killed one off and the other two came back real fast at their old salary. > > They killed off one of the ACTORS? That’s pretty extreme.:eek: Straightened the other ones out, though. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-grissom-was-kind-of-a-dick-wasnt-he/548022/32 "2010-07-28T16:52:02Z")
Apparently there are more cast changes on the horizon. Marg Helgenberger will be leaving the series and Jorja Fox is returning. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-grissom-was-kind-of-a-dick-wasnt-he/548022/33 "2010-07-28T16:57:37Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > > [@Snooooopy](#): > > > > And talk about second chances! You can get your co-worker killed because you left a crime scene to go run a stupid errand, and he won’t even fire you! > > That might sound fine if you’re the guy getting the second chance, but what if you’re the guy that dies because second-chance-guy didn’t get fired the first time? Well, at least I wouldn’t be able to be resentful, since I’d be dead. ---
**Author:** ![Cinebar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Cinebar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinebar)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-grissom-was-kind-of-a-dick-wasnt-he/548022/34 "2010-07-28T17:03:30Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Apparently there are more cast changes on the horizon. Marg Helgenberger will be leaving the series and Jorja Fox is returning. I hadn’t heard that about Marg Helgenberger but Jorja Fox was on the show all last season, credited as a “special guest star,” or something like that. They explained her appearance as filling in because the CSI’s were short-handed. Apparently, Grissom came out of the jungle to teach or something so that gave her the time to help the old team out. I wonder where Grissom will be if she’s returning full time? Jorja Fox has left the show a couple of times now. The last time, I saw her departure explained as being a personal decision on her part because she was being affected by all the fictional death and destruction. I don’t know if that’s true - just what I heard (or read). ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-grissom-was-kind-of-a-dick-wasnt-he/548022/35 "2010-07-29T05:25:06Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I just watched “Species” this week, and she was so pretty before all the plastic surgery - she looked like a gorgeous middle-aged woman. Now her upper lip looks like a piece of hamburger. That’s a great description. I have never understood older women pumping their lips full of crap. The botox in the forehead is bad enough, but the lip-mangling is not good. In fact, it’s never good. She could have aged gracefully, but now, she’ll look awful for the rest of her days. Unless, of course, you are turned on by hamburger lips. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-grissom-was-kind-of-a-dick-wasnt-he/548022/36 "2010-07-29T17:08:57Z")
> [@Cinebar](#): > > I hadn’t heard that about Marg Helgenberger but Jorja Fox was on the show all last season, credited as a “special guest star,” or something like that. They explained her appearance as filling in because the CSI’s were short-handed. Apparently, Grissom came out of the jungle to teach or something so that gave her the time to help the old team out. Like I said in the OP, I don’t actually watch the show so I wasn’t aware Fox had already returned. I had heard that she, Dourdan, and Petersen had left the show but I haven’t seen any of the episodes done since their departure. ---
**Author:** ![BobArrgh](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobarrgh/32/2881_2.png) [@BobArrgh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobArrgh)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-grissom-was-kind-of-a-dick-wasnt-he/548022/37 "2010-07-29T18:52:08Z")
There is (and has always been) only one reason to watch “CSI: Miami”, and that is Emily Procter. On the off-chance that you need a second reason, then I would say “Natalia Boa Vista”. As to the OP, I think that Grissom’s character was really all about Zen and Eastern Mysticism he was trying to espouse. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csi-grissom-was-kind-of-a-dick-wasnt-he/548022.md?page=1)