Even after seven seasons, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation's still got it.

"It's amazing in our eighth year to have stuff that gets us this excited," William Petersen (Gil Grissom) told USA Today. So far in season eight, the show has concluded the miniature killer storyline from last season ("Dead Doll"), done a crossover with Without a Trace ("Who and What") and invited acclaimed director William Friedkin to take part in the most recent episode, "Cockroaches". Episodes like these help CSI draw in an average of more than 20 million viewers each week.

The show also spends some time concentrating on the personal lives of the investigators that give a face to forensic science. "The characters need to grow for audiences to be invested in them," explained Jonathan Littman, president of Jerry Bruckheimer Television. CSI recently had to deal with the loss of Sara Sidle when Jorja Fox chose to leave the series. There have been rumors that Petersen will follow suit when his contract ends after season eight. "As we all think in our jobs, 'I could be doing something else.' I think that's true for me and for Grissom. So we have to solve that somehow," Petersen said, but he has not yet decided if he will be leaving the series.

Chicago Sun-Times television critic Doug Elfman said that CSI won't suffer from the loss of characters because "the true star of America's No. 1 drama is its sci-fi special effects." According to Elfman, the investigators take a back seat to the science. "Sure, the detectives are wily," he said, "but where would they be without machines that analyze hair, fiber, bullets, wood, blood and all that junk? Where would they be without super-cool and offbeat closeups of dying people, and camera angles that spin in slow motion around bodies falling from windows?" Elfman said that CSI "seesaws between these extravagant visuals and subtle personal moments," and he described the formula for the show as "three parts howdunit, two parts avant-garde cinema and one part Discovery dork."

The original articles are from USA Today and Chicago Sun-Times.

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