Gil Grissom and Sara Sidle return with ‘CSI: Vegas’
He’s ba-a-a-ack! William Petersen is back as the forensic whiz we remember from the long-running series, “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” which began airing on CBS 20 years ago.
The new iteration, “CSI: Vegas,” premiered on the network Wednesday and not only includes Petersen from the original cast but Jorja Fox as Sara Sidle and Wallace Langham as David Hodges, and Paul Guilfoyle pops in for guest appearances.
“I actually didn’t watch the show that much when I was shooting the show, except at the very beginning to see what we had,” recalls Petersen.
“It was unexpected to be asked to start a new version of this. And I sort of jumped at it ... because of the idea of revisiting (my character) Grissom ... and Jorja’s character, Sara, and to see who we are now. It’s a different world than it was 20 years ago. The idea of being able to come back into the land of science I thought was really a great opportunity,” he says.
“It’s different because it’s 20 years later. And it’s different because it’s all new people, too. And that’s all been great and exciting. And so, it’s a real thrill to be able to do this with everybody again.”
When he first began playing Grissom, he sported a different mindset, says Petersen, 68.
“I never liked science. I didn’t like it in school. I didn’t like it — I just didn’t understand it. It, sort of, worked the other side of my brain, which is pretty empty. And once I started this, I became fascinated by it. And I learned so much just through the process of daily dealing with tech advisers and the real scientists that we get to interact with. And I’ve become more like Grissom, in that I appreciate the things that he appreciates. And I think Grissom’s a little like me, in that I’d like to be off on a boat somewhere. Which is where Grissom ended up for a long time until this point.”