William Petersen (Gil Grissom) recently gave his strongest indication yet that he will say goodbye to the world of DNA and luminol at the end of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation's fifth season.

Asked by Playboy's Stephen Rebello whether he was "thinking of quitting a huge hit like CSI", Petersen had this to say (via the William Petersen Appreciation Page): "We're just finishing our 81st episode. That's a lot. I'll do CSI until I legally don't have to do it anymore, which I think is at the end of next year. Right now, that's as long as I can forsee doing this show."

The actor reportedly signed a five-year contract when he joined CSI, which means he is locked in until the end of the fifth season in May 2005. In media interviews over the past few years, Petersen has always stated his desire to return to the stage when his television stint is over, telling the Chicago Sun-Times last year he wanted "to get back and do plays in Chicago" (story).

Petersen has always been vocal about his dislike for CSI becoming a "franchise", as represented by spin-offs CSI: Miami and the upcoming CSI: New York. The actor told Playboy that the original series will always be the best. "Hey, they can do the show five nights a week with five different casts, but as long as they don't have my guys, they're not going to do it as well. CSI: Miami doesn't have our chemistry.

"Taking a blueprint of something that was organically conceived and trying to synthesise it is the difference between organic chicken and chicken jerky. There's nothing I can do about that. That's Viacom, big American capitalism and ratings points."

Asked by Playboy to name his top choice for a "guest corpse" on CSI, Petersen named CBS head honcho Les Moonves, Alliance Atlantis CEO Peter Sussman and executive producer Jerry Bruckheimer. "All of whom are getting filthy rich off this show," the actor said.

The complete interview can be found in the 20 Questions section of Playboy's March 2004 issues. Alternatively, scans of the magazine are available at William Petersen Appreciation Page.

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