{"id":23266,"date":"2012-03-20T11:53:58","date_gmt":"2012-03-20T18:53:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.csifiles.com\/content\/?p=23266"},"modified":"2012-03-20T11:55:32","modified_gmt":"2012-03-20T18:55:32","slug":"interview-joe-pokaski-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.csifiles.com\/content\/2012\/03\/interview-joe-pokaski-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview: Joe Pokaski"},"content":{"rendered":"

Supervising Producer Joe Pokaski<\/b> joined the staff of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation<\/i> this season, and he has already penned two episodes of the hit crime drama, “Tell Tale Hearts”<\/a> and “Zippered”<\/a>. His third and final writing credit for the season is this week’s episode, “Malice in Wonderland”<\/a>, and Pokaski answered some questions for CSI Files’ Rachel Trongo<\/b> about his time on CSI<\/i>, his latest creation for the series, and what fans can expect in terms of friendship, romance and family relationships during the episode. (Minor episode spoilers after the jump!)<\/p>\n

\nCSI Files<\/b>: This is your third and final episode of the season, and you’re approaching the end of your first year on the show. Do you feel settled in by now?<\/p>\n

\nJoe Pokaski<\/b>: I think so. I can’t imagine a more welcoming place than the CSI<\/i> writer’s office. I was a little intimidated coming in, being a big fan of the show, and having to meet a living legend like [Executive Producer] Carol Mendelsohn<\/b>. But early into our first conversation about the show, I realized that she was simply the biggest fan of CSI<\/i>, and that’s why she is so good at what she does. And that’s what’s so beautiful about this place. From Carol to [Executive Producer] Don McGill<\/b>, to all the writers down, the whole crew is filled with people who just love the show and want to make something that lives up to the name. It’s a great place to be settled in to.<\/p>\n

\nCSI Files<\/b>: CBS has already announced<\/a> that CSI<\/i> has been renewed for a thirteenth season. Do you anticipate being back next year?<\/p>\n

\nPokaski<\/b>: I believe so (fingers crossed). Now that I have my CSI<\/i> legs, I have a lot more stories to tell with these great characters.<\/p>\n

\nCSI Files<\/b>: “Malice in Wonderland” is your latest CSI<\/i> creation, an episode with an Alice in Wonderland<\/i> backdrop. What can you tease about the installment?<\/p>\n

\nPokaski<\/b>: Hmm. I guess it’s fair to say it’s my attempt at Classic CSI<\/i>. I wanted something distinctly Las Vegas like weddings (did you know there are about 300 a day there?), and something fun like robberies. In the spirit of “Fur and Loathing”<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\nAlec Smight<\/b> directed the heck out of this episode, so I can unabashedly say it’s one of the more visually stunning hours of television I’ve been a part of. The first shot is incredible. The last shot is moving. Hopefully everything in-between is just fun for the audience.<\/p>\n

\nCSI Files<\/b>: It also introduces the long-mentioned Olivia Hodges, David Hodges’ (Wallace Langham<\/b>) mother. How did you guys reach the decision to cast her?<\/p>\n

\nPokaski<\/b>: Carol wanted to meet Mother Hodges this season, after all the great mentions of her throughout the show, and Jaclyn Smith<\/b> was the first name I heard mentioned for the role. She seemed perfect to everyone. So we jumped on the phone with her and explained the role, and she was game. I remember hearing Jaclyn say something along the lines about “well, being a mother is the job that was most important to me in life, so it sounds right up my alley.”<\/p>\n

\nCSI Files<\/b>: Hodges has often said that his mom is a very old woman and snores in her sleep. Jaclyn Smith does not seem like the type to do that.<\/p>\n

\nPokaski<\/b>: Yeah, she doesn’t seem that old, does she? In fact, upon meeting Jaclyn, there is exactly nothing old about her. Looks. Spirit. Enthusiasm. In fact, I’m fairly certain there’s a painting of her aging in an attic somewhere. (As for the snoring, I’ve got no comment.) <\/p>\n

\nCSI Files<\/b>: Hodges and Morgan Brody (Elisabeth Harnois<\/b>) have a complicated working relationship that was touched on in “CSI Unplugged”<\/a>. Is more on that development brought up in this episode?<\/p>\n

\nPokaski<\/b>: Oh boy is it. Morgan starts from a place of annoyance, but then gets a rare look under Hodges’ haughty exterior. The two actually lean on each other in the episode, and it pays emotional dividends for both in terms of their parental-relationships. Elisabeth Harnois and Wally Langham take what could have been a silly storyline and really infuse it with a great humanity and nuanced humor. Wally, I knew was a comic genius, but Elisabeth, wow. Her timing and instincts were honestly [Mary<\/b>] Tyler Moore<\/b>-esque.<\/p>\n

\nCSI Files<\/b>: Speaking of working relationships, “Malice in Wonderland” marks Elisabeth Shue’<\/b>s fifth episode as Julie Finlay, and she’s fitting in great with the rest of the team. Can fans expect any more tidbits about Finn’s past with DB Russell (Ted Danson<\/b>) this week?<\/p>\n

\nPokaski<\/b>: Absolutely. This week platforms everyone’s attitude towards marriage, and Russell and Finlay are on distinctly different parts of the spectrum—based on their marital track records. We subtly reference a lost love in Finlay that we’ll explore later, and we’ll get under her shell a little by the end of the hour.<\/p>\n

\nCSI Files<\/b>: There’s word that Gil Grissom will somehow factor into the episode. Will there be an appearance by William Petersen<\/b> before the end of the season?<\/p>\n

\nPokaski<\/b>: I can’t speak to the end of the season (or I might not make it past it myself), but part of Wednesday night’s story is dedicated to understanding Married life between Sara [Sidle, Jorja Fox<\/b>] and Grissom. How it works, and why it works. And the last image in that sub-story makes me smile every time I see it.
\n


\nRachel Trongo is the news and review writer for CSI Files, and you can find her on Twitter @RachelTrongo<\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Supervising Producer Joe Pokaski joined the staff of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation this season, and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2906,2909],"tags":[2990,3084,2924,3045,2964,2944,3101,3080],"class_list":["post-23266","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-csi-lv","category-interviews","tag-guest-stars","tag-harnois","tag-langham","tag-mcgill","tag-mendelsohn","tag-petersen","tag-pokaski","tag-smight"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":"","thumbnail":"","medium":"","medium_large":"","large":"","1536x1536":"","2048x2048":"","newsphere-slider-full":"","newsphere-featured":"","newsphere-medium":""},"author_info":{"display_name":"Rachel","author_link":"https:\/\/www.csifiles.com\/content\/author\/rachel\/"},"category_info":"CSI<\/a> Interviews<\/a>","tag_info":"Interviews","comment_count":"2","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.csifiles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23266","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.csifiles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.csifiles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.csifiles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.csifiles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23266"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.csifiles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23266\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23299,"href":"https:\/\/www.csifiles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23266\/revisions\/23299"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.csifiles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23266"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.csifiles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23266"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.csifiles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23266"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}