Who is Sara Sidle? A character study ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Version 5 (Final) Index: Disclaimer Notes Introduction About GSR Who is Sara Sidle? season 1 season synopsis season 2 season synopsis season 3 season synopsis season 4 season synopsis season 5 season synopsis season 6 season synopsis season 7 season synopsis season 8 season synopsis season 9 season synopsis season 10 season synopsis season 11 season synopsis Conclusion Conclusion pt. 2: What's Next? Timeline Traumas / Emotional Upheavals Credits / Special Thanks Sites to Check Out Signature Version History -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- DISCLAIMER: This document is copyright 2007/2009 by David Masters / MasterWolf Inc. All characters and events are copyright 2000 - 2008 CBS Productions. This document is not made, distributed, or supported by "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation", CBS Productions, Alliance Atlantis, Bruckheimer Films, KingWorld, or any other company or person associated with the show. This document is solely of fan origin, and should not be construed as an official opinion or position of the show or anyone involved with the show. This document may be distributed anywhere on the web in its entirety as long as nothing is changed or altered, and full credit is given. Brief portions may be quoted in articles or reviews, as long as they are not taken out of context and the source is cited. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- NOTES: A note on text conventions: as this is a plain text document - and I prefer it to stay that way - certain text formatting features cannot be used. Any word enclosed by a pair of backslashes - such as \this\ - will denote italics or emphasis. This document is formatted for 96 column plain text. A presentation version of this document - done up in MS Word, complete with graphics and nicely formatted - was printed and bound, and mailed to Jorja Fox on May 18th, 2007. Or rather, it was mailed directly to her publicist, after receiving permission to do so. An updated and revised second version was mailed on May 29th (I should have waited until I rechecked it...) To date no acknowledgement has been received, nor is an acknowledgement or reply of any kind expected, going by past experience. This file will be updated as long as Sara is a character on the show. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- INTRODUCTION: Who is Sara Sidle? She is a character on the television show "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation", played by the lovely and talented Jorja Fox. Sara is a CSI (or CSA, if you prefer), one of those people who works in the crime lab in Las Vegas, Nevada. The crime lab is under the jurisdiction of the Sheriff's Department, and so their area of responsibility runs throughout Clark County, Nevada. A CSI collects evidence from a crime scene - fingerprints, cigarette butts, blood smears, etc - and brings it back to the lab for analysis. A CSI is not a cop, or a lawyer - they don't prosecute cases or arrest suspects; they only analyze the evidence for whatever clues they can glean from it. The CSIs are the science geeks who work their magic in the labs, and they are often referred to as the "nerd squad". Sara Sidle is a CSI level III, originally from San Francisco, who was called to Las Vegas by Dr. Gil Grissom, whom she had known previously; Sara was called in as an outside investigator to check up on another CSI, Warrick Brown. She has remained in Las Vegas ever since. What I am doing here is an in-depth analysis of the character of Sara Sidle - who is she, and why is she that way? Character traits are noted and expounded upon, and Sara's relationship with Grissom will be examined. I will try to be as objective as possible, but I already know there are instances - such as "Butterflied" or "Committed" - where that won't happen. As far as the Sara/Grissom relationship goes, it will be impossible to be objective about that - relationships are \subjective\, not objective; there is no "one true explanation", and everyone will have their own feelings about it. Sources include the show itself (I have all seven seasons on tape), and the JorjaWiki, an excellent source for all things Jorja. Other sources include articles about the show and interviews with the various actors. Other characters from the show will be mentioned in this, but only as they relate to Sara. Alternate or original scenes - such as from "Gum Drops" or "Committed" - will not be included unless they are necessary for an explanation; if it wasn't on screen, it doesn't count. Comments from the actors themselves will be included, but only as far as they relate to the characters. And finally, why am I doing this? After all, Sara Sidle is a fictional character on a television show, which has no affect on the real world other than employment for a few, and escapist entertainment for the rest. I've been a fan of the show from day one - a series that showcases the actual science, a show that doesn't treat its characters like superheroes out to save the world. Yes, it's about the characters as well - if it were science only, no characters and their odd lives, then it would be just another documentary on the Discovery Channel. It's a drama, but it's not (until recently, anyway) the usual soap opera that you'll find on any other cop show; it's not a show about the bed-hopping or romantic entanglements. The characters are almost secondary to the science and the cases; the show doesn't talk down to the viewers, dumbing everything out. It's a show willing to admit that the viewers can be intelligent. (Note that this changed during the seventh and eight seasons, when the writing and acting went downhill rapidly) Plus, I'm a big fan of Jorja Fox - I think she's great; she's beautiful and talented, caring and human. She's about as far from your standard Hollywood diva as you can get. I've been a fan of hers for years, ever since her days on "ER". She brings a humanity to her characters that you don't often see on television or in the movies - you want to care about the characters she plays, no matter how screwed up they may be. In the end, the only answer I can give to the question of "why?" is the age old response of "why not?" -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- ABOUT GSR: "GSR" is the main fan name for the "Grissom and Sara Romance" - the on again, off again relationship between Sara Sidle and her boss, Gil Grissom. Other fan names for the pairing include "S/G" (Sara/Grissom, usually used by fans of Sara Sidle or Jorja Fox), "S.S. Geeklove" (no explanation needed), and "butterflys" (a reference to the 4th season episode "Butterflied"). Throughout this document I will refer to the relationship as "GSR" (though I prefer "S/G"). You may be for the relationship or you may be against it, but very few people ignore it. Commentary on the pairing ranges anywhere from "they're the absolute perfect couple" to "there is no chemistry between the characters" (MSNBC) - everybody has their own opinion. Some critics and reviewers like the pairing ("a match made in geek heaven"), while others do not (TV Guide said in 2006 that as Sara sees Grissom as a father figure, the relationship is "incestuous... and disgusting"); just as with the fans, opinions run the whole gamut. Some people don't like the pairing because they think that Grissom should be with someone other than "sniveling Sara", as one person put it in the Chicago Tribune's online blog - their usual choices for his soul mates are either Catherine or Lady Heather. Others think that Sara should be with someone else, such as Nick (or Catherine, oddly enough). Personally, I am against the pairing, and it boils down to one thing: I think that Sara deserves better than Grissom - she deserves someone capable of giving her the affection and love that she needs. Your opinions may vary. Don't get me wrong - I like Grissom. He's a good (even great) CSI, and one of the top experts on bugs; he just doesn't understand or notice people. As far as Sara goes, I hate him - he's hurt her far too often. Never deliberately, but as a result of him not thinking about her or taking her into consideration: Grissom does whatever he wants to, and as a result Sara gets hurt. A major example of this is "Committed" (5th season), but other examples include "The Good, The Bad and the Dominatrix" (7th season) and "The Case of the Cross-Dressing Carp" (8th season). As Jorja Fox explained in an interview some years ago (and several times since), Sara was brought in as a love interest for Grissom - this is, in some ways, a bit pitiful... it means that from the beginning, her character was dependent on his; she was not brought in as an independent character. The backstory is that the two of them had a relationship of some kind in San Francisco before either of them came to Vegas, but that has never really been confirmed by any episode. While there were some moments during the first three seasons that made you wonder, the relationship never really took off until near the end of the third season, when Sara was almost blown up in the lab ("Play With Fire..."). From that point she began an obsessive pursuit of Grissom, until he finally let her in at the end of the sixth season ("Way to Go"). The seventh season touches upon their now-official relationship somewhat, though in a limited fashion. I say it was an obsessive pursuit for several reasons. For one thing, Sara has memorized every single word that Grissom has ever said, and can repeat those words back to him at any time. For another, Sara is an obsessive person - everyone can agree on that; in fact, Jorja Fox herself says that Sara is obsessive-compulsive. Third, she pursued Grissom for over three years, with absolutely no sign of interest from him - only an obsessive person would do that. Fourth, there were a pair of incidents during those three years which for any normal person would be a real relationship killer, yet neither of those incidents seemed to bother Sara in the slightest. There was also an incident which solidified Sara's fixation on Grissom. Some people have said that any normal person who is interested in someone will memorize that person's every word, and it doesn't mean that Sara is obsessed with Grissom, but I'll have to disagree with that theory - if for no other reason than the fact that Sara is obsessive. The two 'anti-relationship' incidents are the episodes "Butterflied" (4th season) and "Committed" (5th season). The 'fixation' episode is "Nesting Dolls" (5th season) - the fifth season was full of character development for Sara Sidle, and none of it was nice. One term I will use throughout this document - where appropriate - is "second chance / I could have lost you". This is something easily understandable to anyone - when you are in an accident or some type of life threatening situation, once it is over (and you've survived) you feel like you have a whole new lease on life. The general tendency is to say to yourself, "My God, I could have died - I better start living my life and do all those things I've always wanted to do, because this might be my last chance". Or someone you know and / or care for is in an accident or similar, and you say "My God, I could have lost you - we better do something about our situation while we still have the chance". There are five "second chance" events that directly affect Sara and Grissom, and while Grissom doesn't take advantage of any of them, Sara does. They are "The Strip Strangler" (1st season), "Play With Fire..." (3rd season), "Butterflied" (4th season), "Bad to the Bone" (4th season) and "Committed" (5th season). "Nesting Dolls" (5th season) could also be considered a "second chance" event, as can "Burden of Proof" (2nd season). In an article in September of 2007 discussing what might happen to GSR in the eighth season, MSNBC said that GSR is "age inappropriate" (Grissom is 15 years older than Sara). The age difference is nonsense, but MSNBC has never liked GSR. The relationship is also governed by the standard rules of drama: 1) there is no such thing as "happily ever after"; characters and relationships that are perfectly normal, happy and content do not make for good drama; there must always be tension and trouble, 2) all characters, married or otherwise, must also be free for the "romance of the week". Trivia 1: Jorja Fox spent four years as a model, and it occasionally shows in her positioning - there are times when she'll stand in a typical 'runway stance', the shoulders slouched, hips thrown forwards, right leg cocked with the heel turned inwards. The last time that stance blatantly shows up is in "4x4", but it is readily visible in "Crash and Burn", when Sara is in the morgue talking to Doc Robbins. I'm not sure she knows she's standing like that. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- WHO IS SARA SIDLE? As noted above, Sara Sidle is a CSI that Grissom calls in from San Francisco. Listed below are all of the episodes - in the order they aired - that have any significance in the development of Sara, listed by season and episode title. Not all episodes are listed, just those that have any significance regarding Sara, her relationship with Grissom, or her relationship with the other characters. Who is Sara Sidle? That depends on what you're looking for (or at). She's tall (5'9"), thin (or slender, your choice), and the way I saw her described online once was "pretty in a plain sort of way". Unlike Catherine Willows, she'll probably never be a sex object on "CSI:" - but that doesn't matter, because she brings a \ton\ of character to the show (and she is sexy, no matter what anyone else says). We have no real idea how old Sara is - her birth date has changed several times since the show started, and it's never been mentioned on screen in the first place. The most recent birth date for Sara in her out-of-date bio is September 16th, 1971 - as is standard for television, the character is younger than the actor; TV worships youth. As for the rest... that's what this document is about. Episodes are listed in the order in which they appeared, with the episode number and air date included. If some episodes aren't listed, it means that Sara isn't in them, or that nothing new was learned about her character. . . . ========== SEASON 1 (2000-2001) =============================================================== 01) "Pilot" - October 6, 2000 While Sara isn't in this episode, it is worth noting for a few things about Grissom. For one, he holds and comforts Holly Gribbs when she gets scared in the morgue. For another, he is dating (or went on a date with) the fingerprint tech - he took her to a Pink Floyd concert, never noticing that she was a country music fan. Grissom is much more open and emotional in this episode than he will be for the rest of the series; by mid-season he will be the Grissom we all know, with his emotions pretty much locked in. In November of 2011, Marg Helgenberger said in an interview that originally in the pilot there was supposed to be a sex scene between Catherine and Nick in a car, and that she's glad that it never happened, because people who work together shouldn't get involved. . . 02) "Cool Change" - October 12, 2000 Introducing Sara Sidle. When Warrick Brown comes under investigation - for leaving a scene without getting cleared - Grissom calls in Sara Sidle, a CSI he knows from San Francisco; he says that she is someone he trusts. When Sara arrives at the scene of a hotel murder, she shows her sarcastic sense of humor. There appears to be some familiarity between Sara and Grissom. She comments on Grissom being old-fashioned: he throws dummies off the roof rather than use a computer simulation. Other than investigating Warrick, Sara primarily works with Catherine Willows during this, checking out the pager found at the scene. Sara and Catherine don't appear to get along right off the bat, though they work well enough together during the episode. Both Sara and Catherine are trying to quit smoking, as shown when Sara offers Catherine a piece of nicotine gum. Sara confronts Warrick in a diner, asking him why he left the scene - then informing him that Holly Gribbs died on the table a half hour ago. As mentioned earlier, Sara was brought into the show as a love interest for Grissom. There has been mention in several interviews over the years that Sara and Grissom had a previous relationship in San Francisco, but there has never been any verification of this on screen. From what is said in the 7th season's "Toe Tags", it appears that they met at a seminar in San Francisco, the probable beginning of their student / teacher relationship. At this point, Sara has been a CSI for three years (according to the 5th season episode "Iced"). You'll have to decide for yourself what their interactions in this episode mean, but I will point out two lines: Grissom says, "God, Sara, I have so many unanswered whys." To which Sara replies, "There's only one why that matters now - why did Warrick Brown leave that scene?" You can read a lot into that - if they did indeed have a relationship in San Francisco, then it would appear that Grissom is asking "Why did we break up?" or "Why did you end it?". It doesn't really matter what the words mean, the end result is the same - Grissom left San Francisco and moved to Vegas, leaving Sara behind. Possibly they broke up and he moved away. Or possibly they parted amicably, and the job in Vegas came up. Or the job in Vegas came up and Grissom chose (as he mentions later in "Butterflied") his career over Sara. We just don't know, which is something you can say about most of their relationship. . . 03) "Crate 'n Burial" - 0ctober 20, 2000 When they find the woman that is buried alive, Sara takes charge, not hesitating to bark out orders to others. Grissom asks her is she's okay, and Sara says "It never ceases to amaze me what people do to each other". When she figures out the truth about the 'victim', she demonstrates her theory to Grissom in an effort to impress him - only to find out that he had already figured it out. There's some mild flirtation between Sara and Nick Stokes in this episode. All during the series, Catherine tends to snipe at Sara on occasion, though it's much more evident in this first season. This time, it's Lindsey's birthday (Catherine's daughter), and when Sara inquires how long she has to be around before she gets to chip in, Catherine snidely replies "When the spirit moves you, Sara. So in your case, I guess never". Catherine is competitive, and doesn't really like the thought of another woman being close to Grissom, even though Catherine has no real interest in Grissom herself. Grissom mentions a case that he had concerning a gold mine five years earlier, so he's been in Vegas (and away from Sara) at least that long. Given Sara's most recent birth date (bio only, never mentioned on screen), that means she would have been in her early twenties back in San Francisco, just out of college, which fits with what we know about the character. . . 04) "Pledging Mr. Johnson" - October 27, 2000 Investigating a fraternity death, Sara shows no embarrassment at the sexual aspects of the case - in fact, she seems a bit amused. She flirts with both Nick and Warrick in the locker room. She also shows a more aggressive side when questioning suspects. When Grissom tells Catherine not to get personal on a case, she fires right back at him, telling him that he has no personal stuff, that he lives in his hermetically sealed life, having no contact with the outside world. This is only the first of various times where she'll chide him about his lack of a life and his tendency not to notice people. . . 05) "Friends and Lovers" - November 3, 2000 Sara investigates a body tossed in a dumpster, and discovers that a mortuary is re-using coffins. She says that she wants to be cremated rather than buried with the worms. Sara appears to be comfortable with guys hitting on her, as shown when Assistant Coroner David Phillips makes a few inquiries. She tells him to lose the glasses and grow some scruff, but that he does get a 'C' for 'cute'. This flirting by Phillips will go on for a few seasons, but Sara never reciprocates. Sara appreciates the gentlemanly gestures shown by the detective at the scene. Sara imposes her own sentence on the mortuary owner, telling him how he's going to make restitution before she even talks to the D.A. . . 06) "Who Are You?" - November 10, 2000 Sara and Nick investigate a police shooting. At first Sara appears to be sympathetic towards the cop, but later gets aggressive when questioning him after discovering that he has a round missing from his weapon. Sara shows off her mechanical talents for the first time, helping Warrick to take the Jeep to pieces. She also insists on driving, showing her need to take control. Introducing Dr. Teri Miller, a forensic anthropologist, someone that Grissom dates off and on for a couple of years. Brass tells Grissom that he needs to pull his nose out of the microscope and notice what his people are doing. . . 07) "Blood Drops" - November 17, 2000 A family is murdered in their homes, stabbed to death - father, mother, and two boys. Only the teenage daughter and her little sister escape unharmed. This is supposed to be Sara's day off, but she comes in when she hears about an interesting case - she listens to her police scanner at home. She gets a little imaginative inside the house, saying that she can feel the spirit of the murdered woman in the room. Sara protests when she's told to take the traumatized little girl to the hospital, claiming that she's not good with kids, but she seems to bond with the little girl. Later, she jokes to the team in the break room that she left the little girl in the car - "Don't worry, the windows are cracked". At the hospital, the little girl refuses to leave Sara to go with the Social Services worker, and an examination reveals that the little girl has been molested, which upsets Sara. In an odd note, Sara wears several rings on her right hand - the first and only time she's done that; necklaces are usually the only jewelry that she wears. Given what we now know about Sara's family history, this case should have had a lot more of an effect on her - murdered parents, the little girl that was molested, etc. But that part of her character was never created until at least the third season, and we never learn about it until the fifth season. . . 08) "Anonymous" - November 24, 2000 Sara works with Catherine and Grissom on the staged suicide. She states that she loves hotel bathrooms, but in later episodes ("Organ Grinder", "High and Low") she shows a phobia of germs in public places. This episode introduces Dr. Albert Robbins, who will be the Chief Coroner from now on. Grissom tells Millander that he envies him, because he works alone with no one to bother him, and later gets angry when he realizes that Millander 'played' him. . . 09) "Unfriendly Skies" - December 8, 2000 A passenger dies on an airplane, stomped to death by his fellow passengers. During their search of the airplane, Sara and Grissom run across 'biologicals' in the bathroom, which leads Sara to recall her mediocre initiation into the "Mile High Club" (sex in the skies) with a BMOC who was "overrated in every aspect". This is the first time that Sara ever mentions sex in relation to her own personal life. From this point on, Grissom is the only one that Sara tells about her personal life or her family (other than the PEAP counselor between seasons 4 and 5). Later, during their recreation of the crime, Sara plays the stewardess... excuse me, flight attendant. Sara says she could never kill someone (which is negated during the season 10 premiere episode "Family Affair"). Note that Sara's sexual experience was with a TA (Teaching Assistant) who was also a BMOC (Big Man on Campus) - an authority figure. Combine this with the fact that she was apparently a student of Grissom's once, and it would seem that she has a thing for teachers or authority figures, anyone she can look up to. . . 10) "Sex, Lies and Larvae" - December 22, 2000 A body found on a hillside eventually leads Sara to lose her cool when they discover that the woman had been abused (and probably killed) by her husband. At the victim's house, Grissom has to actually pull Sara off of the husband when she goes at him, screaming "I'm a woman, and I have a gun, and look how he treated me! I can only imagine how he treated his wife!" Later when Grissom questions her objectivity, Sara asks him if he wants to sleep with her - so that when she wakes up in a cold sweat he can tell her it's only empathy for the victim. This isn't meant as an actual offer (as far as we know), but rather as an illustration of how she feels - and Grissom isn't quite sure what she means in the first place. Later she confronts Grissom, trying to get him to reopen the case - only to discover that he already has; Sara is not big on apologies. At the initial scene, Sara shows a little bit of squeamishness when she sees the insect-infested body; she also carries beef jerky to snack on. At the end of the episode, Sara brings Grissom a video tape which shows Warrick in a casino - follow-up to the reason she was called to Vegas in the first place. This is the first of many episodes which showcases Sara's extreme dislike for rape and domestic violence. This is also the episode that leads Sara to become a vegetarian (though we won't find out that fact until later in the season), when Grissom experiments with a pig carcass. When he's out back doing his experiment with the pig, Sara brings him coffee and a blanket, wrapping the blanket around his shoulders and keeping him company, a probable indication of her feelings towards him. Contrast Sara's attitude towards bees in this episode ("I hate bees.") to the eighth season's "The Case of the Cross-Dressing Carp". . . 11) "I-15 Murders" - January 12, 2001 Sara submitted her report on Warrick, and now she wants him off of the case she's working - but Grissom says no, which doesn't make her happy. She later discovers that Warrick was in the casino to pick up cash due to him, so he could bail out an underprivileged kid. Warrick tells her that next time she should talk to him, rather than going behind his back, which obviously makes her uncomfortable (even though she was doing so at Grissom's request). From this point on, Sara will treat Warrick as a teammate rather than as a suspect. This also marks Sara's first use of power tools. . . 12) "Fahrenheit 932" - February 1, 2001 (this is the first episode on Thursday nights) Sara is unaware of the term "alligatoring", and stumbles over the pronunciation of the word. Later she gives Grissom a pep talk, pointing out that any hydrocarbon can be an accelerant. This is just one of many instances where she is unusually supportive towards Grissom. . . 13) "Boom" - February 8, 2001 Sara shows a bit of enthusiasm when she gets to discover what the "orange stuff" is, and she is more than a little willing to be helpful to Grissom. Sara appears to have fun when she gets to blow up bombs with Grissom. . . 14) "To Halve and To Hold" - February 15, 2001 Sara shows a bit of amusement at Detective Riley's discomfort during her "vaginal clock" speech; this is yet another in a series of events through the years that shows that she is comfortable with most aspects of sex. We have no idea how she feels about sex as it relates to herself, or if she even has sex; the closest mention ever made was in the earlier episode "Unfriendly Skies". Sara thinks the pool at the hotel - with windows in the sides - is weird. When the bride-to-be claims to have been raped, Sara shows no real reaction to the information. . . 15) "Table Stakes" - February 22, 2001 Sara is woken up on her day off, and is not a happy camper - she's grumpy, and a bit curt with Greg Sanders. Nick explains the concept of "pinholing" a signature, and comments that Sara has a "chickenscratch" signature. Later when the team is out at lunch - Sara is eating fish, despite having gone vegetarian several episodes earlier - Sara and Nick are joking back and forth about going Dutch on a date; this is more of the flirting and teasing that takes place between Sara and her colleagues, which all but vanishes during the third season. . . 16) "Too Tough to Die" - March 1, 2001 The first of several episodes over the years that should have gotten an Emmy nomination for Jorja Fox. When a woman is raped and left for dead, Sara becomes obsessed with the case, promising the unconscious victim that they \will\ find out who did this to her. Sara does the SAE (Sexual Assault Evidence) kit at the hospital, and discovers that the victim has a St. Catherine's medal, someone whom she admires for her toughness and strength. Later at the lab, Grissom questions her, asking her if she has any hobbies - Sara has none, other than listening to her police scanner and reading forensics textbooks... and 'chasing rabbits'. (If they really did have a relationship in San Francisco, shouldn't he already know if she has any hobbies?) Grissom tells her that she can't take cases personally or she'll burn out, that she needs some kind of diversion outside of work; this is Grissom's first show of concern for Sara. She stays at the computer all night going through missing persons' reports to try and discover the identity of her 'Jane Doe'; once she does she notifies the victim's husband, something a CSI doesn't normally do. Nick shows signs of concern for Sara, something he will do with regularity over the years; later he accuses Grissom of rushing the case because of Sara. Back at the lab, Nick comments - when Sara is singing to herself, which she claims she doesn't know she's doing - that she has a nice voice, to which Sara replies "Yeah, if you like chalk on boards" (one of the signs of low self-esteem she shows over the years). Grissom keeps Sara out of the interrogation room when the suspect is questioned, afraid that she might do something. They discover and arrest the rapist, but as he is a juvenile, he'll only serve 48 months because the victim is still alive. Sara talks with the husband, getting so emotional that she has to leave. At the end she breaks down in tears when she talks to Grissom about it, how the husband doesn't realize that his wife will be in a vegetative state for the rest of her life, and how the system seems to be rewarding the rapist because the victim is too tough to die. Sara tells Grissom that she wishes that she was like him, without feelings. . . 17) "Face Lift" - March 8, 2001 Sara and Warrick work the case of a woman who died in a house fire - but only the woman was burned. Sara thinks it's a case of spontaneous human combustion, which has never been proven scientifically. During an experiment out behind the lab with a pig - Sara carries a Zippo lighter and mentions that she wears pajamas - they discover the 'wick' theory was what caused the burning. Sara also mentions that the pig Grissom used in a previous case ("Sex, Lies and Larvae") is what made her go vegetarian. Sara thanks Warrick for not spilling the beans about her spontaneous human combustion theory, but in return she gets to clean up the mess. Once again there's an incident where Phillips is flirting with her, which she doesn't discourage. . . 18) "$35K O.B.O." - March 29, 2001 (the title reads "$35,000 or best offer") Grissom calls Sara in on her day off - while he told her just a short time ago that she should get a life outside of work ("Too Tough to Die"), he obviously didn't mean it. This is only the first of various times when he'll call her in on her day off, but at the same time, she never refuses to come in, showcasing her lack of an outside life. Contrast her reactions here to the previous episode "Table Stakes" when she was called in - there she was grumpy, abrupt, not happy, but here, when Grissom calls her in, she doesn't complain; she's glad that he's the one that calls her in, pleased that he needs her, if only for work. Sara gets 'played' by a witness; that is, she believes what the witness tells her, taking his words at face value. This is a tendency of hers that crops up throughout the series. Sara likes the drying room (where clothing evidence is kept) because it's "peaceful and quiet". Phillips continues to flirt with Sara. . . 19) "Gentle, Gentle" - April 12, 2001 Turnabout is fair play, you would think - but obviously not. When Grissom loses his objectivity about the case of a murdered infant, Sara quotes back to him what he told her in a previous case ("Too Tough to Die") - he says that this time is different, basically throwing her words right back in her face with a "do as I say, not as I do" attitude. This is the first instance in a long string of events where Sara has shown that she memorizes everything that Grissom has ever said. . . 20) "Sounds of Silence" - April 19, 2001 When a deaf boy is apparently run over, we discover that Sara can be quick to make assumptions about people, but that she is just as quick to change her attitude when shown her assumptions are wrong. Again, there is more flirting going on between Sara and her colleagues, which she takes part in light-heartedly. However, it appears that even her colleagues know by now that she has a thing for Grissom, when Warrick comments "You just don't like other women in Grissom's life". During an interrogation, both Sara and Warrick realize that they know very little about Grissom. Grissom says the taillight found is useless, but Sara manages to combine the taillight and the tire marks to find the vehicle used. Once again Sara is the one doing the driving, and once again she processes a vehicle. Despite what he's told both Sara and Catherine in the past, Grissom gets personal with a case. He also goes against protocol and the rules when he tells an outsider - the president of the deaf school - the particulars of a case, even telling her of a suspect before he's even brought in for questioning. Warrick mentions a case that he and Grissom worked in 1997. . . 21) "Justice is Served" - April 26, 2001 When Catherine appears to lose her objectivity on the case, Sara doesn't hesitate to get in her face and call her on it. This is part of the dichotomy of the series: when Sara gets aggressive with a suspect or witness, she gets yelled at. When Catherine gets aggressive with a witness or suspect, Sara is the only one that says anything about it. However, Sara does like the rough approach that Catherine uses with the ride operator. Twice during the episode Sara asks Catherine if she's all right, showing concern. . . 22) "Evaluation Day" - May 10, 2001 A headless body gets Sara somewhat excited, until it's discovered that the body isn't human - it's a gorilla. Sara spends a bit of time on the computer, learning about poaching and animal mutilations, something she's obviously not happy with. She argues with Grissom about pursuing the case, and he agrees with her - once he's assured that she knows that it is not a priority. She knows where Spur's Corral is, and what they serve there, one of the only indications that she has some kind of life outside the lab. Later, she buries the gorilla's ashes in the desert in a small ceremony. Sara's evaluation: "Overall Performance: outstanding", "Ability to Prioritize: improvement needed". . . 23) "The Strip Strangler" - May 17, 2001 A rapist is killing women on the Strip, which of course sets Sara off. Grissom once again gives his "no emotions" speech, despite what he himself has done a few times this season. When the FBI arrives to take charge of the case, Sara volunteers to be a decoy, since she fits the physical type, and she wants to do everything she possibly can to catch the killer. Grissom protests, and is removed from the case; Catherine once again lectures him on trying to be political, and even Brass tells him he should work a little better with others. The decoy operation - Sara carries cigarettes in her purse, and this is also the only time we ever see her in a dress - doesn't come to anything, and the team secretly gathers at Grissom's townhouse to run the case, risking their jobs. Grissom is almost killed by the Strangler, but Catherine shoots and kills the Strangler. Grissom has a butterfly collection on the wall of his townhouse. This is the first in a series of "second chance" events that Grissom doesn't take advantage of: he was almost killed, but he does nothing regarding himself and Sara. She also doesn't take advantage of this "second chance", if she knows about it. . . ---END OF SEASON: So far, Sara seems to be an amiable person, getting along well with her colleagues (for the most part - there's a little tension between Sara and Catherine), flirting and joking with them. She starts the season not quite trusting Warrick, but later does start to trust him when she discovers that her assumptions about him were wrong. She has also shown a bit of interest in Grissom, which has been noticed by her colleagues. She gets angry about certain cases, mainly rape and domestic violence, and can get obsessive, losing her objectivity. She doesn't hesitate to confront her colleagues or supervisor when she thinks they're wrong, but she isn't much on apologies. She is quick to make assumptions, but she treats them as theories - she'll change her attitude when new evidence presents itself. She has a tendency to take people at face value, believing what they say, which can lead to her getting 'played' by a suspect. Sara apparently has no outside life, spending her time at home listening to her scanner and reading forensics textbooks, and she'll come in on her day off if she hears about something interesting. She also doesn't mind when Grissom calls her in, as it means that at least he needs her, if only for work. During this season she went vegetarian. She carries a Zippo lighter and cigarettes with her, even though she's trying to quit, and she prefers to sleep in pajamas. Several times during the early part of the first season Sara will reply "Yes, sir" when Grissom tells her to do something - she definitely sees him as her superior. Grissom lectures his people more than once about letting their emotions take over on a case, yet he doesn't follow his own advice, throwing his words back in Sara's face more than once. Sara is usually assigned to the secondary cases, rather than the primary, and is rarely involved in the cases that garner public attention. By this point, we know that Sara does have some interest in Grissom other than just as her boss, but there's nothing to the relationship yet; she is not pursuing him or trying to date him. Grissom has shown very little interest in Sara personally and has shown absolutely no interest in any kind of relationship with her; with the exception of a couple of isolated incidents, he has shown no concern for her. From what we have seen, he does not seem to differentiate between Sara the woman and Sara the colleague. Off and on Grissom is dating Teri Miller. . . ========== SEASON 2 (2001-2002) =============================================================== 01) "Burked" - September 27, 2001 After finding a wadded up ball of tape in the trash, Sara tries something she saw in a TV commercial, and puts it in the freezer in order to retrieve prints from it. When Grissom appears to get a bit down, Sara is supportive. . . 02) "Chaos Theory" - October 4, 2001 The only thing that comes out of this case is that Sara knows the trick about filling nail holes with toothpaste in order to get a deposit back. . . 03) "Overload" - October 11, 2001 Sara and Warrick wonder if Grissom's theory about the crime is right; later they apologize to him for quitting on the case before it was finished. . . 04) "Bully For You" - October 18, 2001 A liquefied corpse stuffed into a bag (Sara rappels down from the helicopter) eventually leads Sara to shower with lemons to get rid of the corpse smell... mainly so that Hank will like her. While they're working on the corpse in the lab - going through its pockets, etc - Sara throws up in the trash, the only time she's ever done that. During this case she meets paramedic Hank Peddigrew, whom she'll have a bit of a relationship with over the next two years. Also during the episode is more of Greg flirting with Sara, which she usually ignores. In the break room, Nick and Warrick are talking about how they were in high school - when asked, Sara says she was a science geek, the closest she's come to discussing her personal life with anyone other than Grissom. (Ask any dog owner - when your dog is sprayed by a skunk or otherwise gets stinky, give them a bath in tomato juice... it works every time. Anything citrus will work, actually, but there's no way they could show Sara showering with tomato juice without getting a whole "Psycho" vibe going) . . 05) "Scuba Doobie Doo" - October 25, 2001 At the initial scene, Sara is trying to figure out what caused the blood spatter, and Grissom tells her not to get ahead of herself. Sara once again shows off her mechanical strengths when she and Warrick play with the power tools to determine if any of them made the spatter. In what is typical for Sara, with her hatred of violence against women, she refuses to let go of the theory that the girlfriend is dead, despite Grissom's negative comments. Near the end, Grissom gets frustrated with their lack of progress and goes outside - Sara follows him to check on him (which no one seems to do for her). She reaches out and caresses Grissom's cheek, claiming that he has chalk dust from the drywall on his cheek - but it could just as easily be a supportive or comforting gesture. Look at Sara, and you can easily see that for her, this is an intimate moment - but Grissom has no clue. This brief scene - which apparently wasn't witnessed by anyone - will come back to haunt them in the 3rd season episode "The Accused is Entitled". At the end, Sara and Nick ask Grissom out to breakfast, but he prefers to dine with his beetle. . . 06) "Alter Boys" - November 1, 2001 Sara brings a message to Grissom, and reads it upside down. Sara and Nick present the case to the D.A. a little ahead of time, implicating the wrong brother. Later, they find the murder weapon and bloodstained clothing, but neither is conclusive. . . 07) "Caged" - November 8, 2001 A car is pushed on to the train tracks, killing the occupant. Sara finds the driver's dog at the scene, which explains why the driver didn't get out to avoid the train - she didn't want to leave her dog behind. Unsurprisingly, Sara empathizes with the female victim. Showing her strong suit, Sara processes the car. Sara and Catherine walk through the scene, figuring out what happened - Sara exclaims her dislike of a certain word. . . 08) "Slaves of Las Vegas" - November 15, 2001 Introducing Lady Heather, a dominatrix whom Grissom feels a strong emotional connection to; Sara will not meet Lady Heather until the end of the seventh season, despite LH's other appearances during the series. Grissom is fascinated by Lady Heather, and the whole realm of dominance and submission. Grissom enjoys "high tea" with Lady Heather, who tells him his greatest fear is "being known" - having someone know who he is. Sara doesn't work the LH case; instead, she and Warrick work a parking lot robbery where the victim is actually a suspect. . . 09) "And Then There Were None" - November 22, 2001 Sara gets bored at a distant crime scene, and decides to try green fingerprint powder. More of the sniping between Catherine and Sara - when Sara asks if Catherine has a mirror (so she can check the victim's face), Catherine snidely comments that she didn't think that Sara worried about her appearance. David Phillips continues to flirt with her. . . 10) "Ellie" - December 6, 2001 Counterfeit money is found at a crime scene, and Sara runs with the case. In the end, she doesn't get angry at the Feds when she discovers that it was all a 'sting' operation, designed to discover the reactions of local police when they are confronted with bogus money. Sara gets a little irritable when she discovers that Grissom left Warrick in charge while he was gone, though she has never shown an interest in command (this is a holdover from the first season when she didn't like Warrick). . . 11) "Organ Grinder" - December 13, 2001 Sara has a bit of a germ phobia when it comes to hotels; over the years this will be expanded to a phobia about germs in public places. Compare this to the earlier episode "Anonymous" where she says she loves hotel bathrooms. Trying to show off for Grissom, she claims that she knows what "murder central" means, but smiles about it when Grissom calls her bluff. At the end she gets frustrated and upset when she realizes that the killers are going to get away with murder. Greg asks Sara to share the break with him, and later tells Grissom that he's going out with Sara - but she cancels. . . 12) "You've Got Male" - December 20, 2001 This episode says quite a bit about Sara and her lack of a life. Two sisters are killed when the prisoner one of them is corresponding with - she met him when she was mail ordering something, her only real contact with the outside world - is released. At the end, Sara goes home to her apartment (the first time it's been shown) and proceeds to throw out all of her mail order catalogs and fast food menus - like the victim, Sara has been using the phone as her only outside social contact with people. Afterwards she calls somebody up (possibly Hank, though it's never mentioned) and asks to go out. During the case, Nick tries to cheer her up, and tells her that she needs to get out more. Sara recognizes Grissom's basic misanthropic nature. Sara's apartment is pretty plain - a basic 'efficiency' apartment, and it's fairly 'retro', looking like something out of the 70's. Note the differences between these shots and those of "Nesting Dolls". . . 13) "Identity Crisis" - January 17, 2002 Grissom's birthdate is August 17th, 1956. (Billy Petersen's birthdate is February 21st, 1953 - again, the character is younger). Given Sara's latest birthdate, there is a 15 year difference between them (which doesn't mean anything except to TV Guide). Sara's involvement with this case is negligible - Paul Millander is Grissom's obsession (yet note Langston's comments in the 10th season episode "Ghost Town", where he accuses Sara of being personally involved with this case). Sara researches the victims, and discovers that they have the same birthdate; each successive victim is a year older. . . 14) "The Finger" - January 31, 2002 For the first time in her life (as it's been shown during the series), Sara goes out on a date. However, it all comes to nothing when Catherine 'just happens' to stop by the diner where Sara and Hank are, and drops an ice-encased finger more or less in her lap. Apparently Sara told Warrick about her date (unusual), and he told everyone else. Sara appears to have few social skills, talking about work on the date - though to be fair, Hank is the one who brings that subject up. . . 15) "Burden of Proof" - February 7, 2002 After an 'extra' corpse is found at the body farm (Sara says she's always wanted to go there), Grissom experiments with raw beef - and then tells Sara to clean it up. She tells him that she's a vegetarian, which he is apparently unaware of - though everybody else on the team knows. Sara puts in for a leave of absence, because she doesn't feel noticed or respected by Grissom (not the rest of the lab, just Grissom), an error which he compounds when she talks to him about it. It's obvious that his lack of attention bothers her, and when he says the lab needs her, it's obvious that she was hoping that \he\ needed her. Sara doesn't complain to Grissom when he leaves his blood experiment in the break room fridge, though she's obviously not happy about it. Grissom leaving his bio-experiment in that community fridge is not only a violation of the health laws, but shows a lack of consideration for others. Catherine chides Grissom about his lack of feelings and his poor understanding of people, something she does again and again over the years. While she doesn't reference Sara directly, Catherine tells Grissom that he needs to pull his head out of the microscope and notice people around him. In the end, Grissom sends Sara a plant (apparently she decides to stay). Grissom's tendency to fail to notice Sara is something that crops up more than once over the years. Again, note Grissom's butterfly collection on the wall. . . 16) "Primum Non Nocere" - February 28, 2002 A Latin phrase meaning "First, do no harm", which is part of the Hippocratic Oath. The death of an amateur hockey player leads Sara at one point to comment that she should take up hockey, seeing how much sex the players have been having. On the other hand, she tells Greg that she doesn't think that sex is a sport. She again shows her sarcastic sense of humor, making bad puns when confronted with a pile of ice from the Zamboni. Grissom compliments Sara for the first time, saying that he became interested in beauty when he met her. . . 18) "Chasing the Bus" - March 28, 2002 Sara tells Greg that he's good at his job, and later defends him to another tech. She discovers how the bus' tire was deflated. . . 20) "Cats in the Cradle" - April 18, 2002 Sara and Nick improvise at the garage, using cheese out of the trash to get tool marks from the vise grips. . . 22) "Cross Jurisdictions" - May 9, 2002 This episode introduces the "CSI: Miami" crew. During the Vegas part of the investigations, Sara tells Nick that she doesn't know anything about frat parties. . . Trivia 2: "CSI: Miami" marks the third time that Jorja Fox and Emily Procter have worked together in some form. Both were in the movie "Forever Fabulous", both were on the series "The West Wing" (though at different times), and now both are in some form of "CSI". . . 23) "The Hunger Artist" - May 16, 2002 Beauty has gone wild, when an ex-model mutilates her face, trying to make it even. Sara again shows her obsessiveness, staying up all night to crack the code in the model's day planner. . . ---END OF SEASON: We learn a bit more about her this season - mainly the fact that she doesn't socialize and has little human contact outside of the lab. Her obsessiveness crops up again, and she shows an ability with codes and puzzles. She begins dating the paramedic Hank Peddigrew this season, but shows few social skills when on a date. She is innovative, unafraid to try things in the lab that aren't normally done, and she shows her supportive side when it comes to Grissom, and also tries to impress him. She still allows her colleagues to flirt with her, but she doesn't really flirt back. Her phobia of germs in public places first crops up. Sara maxes out on overtime every month - she doesn't have a life outside of the lab. We learn that she has mechanical talents. She isn't afraid to take risks when it comes to the job, but doesn't really try when it comes to her personal life. Things don't always go well between Sara and Grissom; he doesn't always notice her or respect her as a person. While it is readily apparent that Sara is attracted to Grissom as more than just her boss, Grissom comes across as oblivious. Combine Sara's recognition of Grissom as a misanthrope, and the fact that he doesn't notice or respect her, and you wonder why she ever got together with him later. This season introduced Lady Heather, someone whom Grissom shows a definite emotional connection to. . . . ========== SEASON 3 (2002-2003) =============================================================== One thing noticeable about Sara this season - in the first two seasons, she dressed somewhat like Catherine: low cut tops, tight dress slacks... standard "TV woman" clothes; every woman must be sexy at all times (while men are allowed to look like refugees from a Salvation Army refuse bin). But during the third season, Sara starts dressing more like a woman who works in a lab - t-shirts and jeans. It's an interesting change, and one that only adds to the character, though likely the change is to present Catherine as "the pretty one", while Sara is supposed to be the "plain Jane". Her makeup also gets toned down starting in the third season; it becomes more subdued and subtle. . . 01) "Revenge is Best Served Cold" - September 26, 2002 Greg flirts with Sara, questioning her about Hank, but she doesn't tell him anything. . . 02) "The Accused is Entitled" - October 3, 2002 Sara's relationships count against her in court - first, the defense attorney accuses Hank Peddigrew of moving evidence and then repositioning it to please Sara, and then he accuses Sara of having an affair with her boss (based on the 'chalk brushing' incident back in "Scuba Doobie Doo"). Sara has both of her relationships - one real, one imaginary - used against her in court, and her testimony is discredited in the eyes of the jury. Before she leaves for court, Grissom tells Sara that she looks nice (his second compliment), and that whatever happens in court, it's not because she's seeing Hank - she deserves to have a life. This is when Grissom first learns about Sara's relationship with Hank, and as far as we can tell, he has no problems with her dating, showing no personal interest in her. . . 03) "Let The Seller Beware" - October 10, 2002 Once again, Grissom calls Sara in on her day off, and she gets a particularly brutal case - a cheerleader has been mauled and partially eaten. Sara was visiting a winery, the first indication we've had that she has any interests outside of work - but unfortunately, this will also be the last time any outside activities (other than dating Hank) will be mentioned. Sara complains (but not strenuously) to Grissom that he told her to get a life, but then expects her to be available on a moment's notice. Despite what he told her about getting an outside life, his needs and concerns apparently come before hers. One theory online is that he called her in because he knew she was out with Hank. Jorja Fox has commented more than once that the writers know that she's squeamish, so they tend to give the grossest cases to Sara. She mentioned in an interview that both she and Eric Szmanda had eaten the commissary pizza not long before doing the scene where they're checking the suspect's stomach contents - and that both of them regretted lunch. . . 04) "A Little Murder" - October 17, 2002 "A Little Murder" - murder at a dwarf convention. Sara once again shows her prowess with computers, and shows no prejudice towards the little people. Grissom defines attraction as narcissism. . . 05) "Abra-Cadaver" - October 31, 2002 While they're checking out the magician's box, Sara jokes that maybe they can make Greg disappear. . . 07) "Fight Night" - November 14, 2002 Sara has an aversion to saliva. A Hank and Sara moment, when he gives her evidence left behind in the ambulance. . . 08) "Snuff" - November 21, 2002 Catherine and Sara investigate a snuff film. The first of several times over the years where someone will say something to Sara, and five minutes later she'll tell someone else as if she'd known it all along. In frustration, Warrick throws a phone book out into the hall, just missing Sara - he apologizes to her, and she gives him some good news regarding the case (and then suggests he apologize to the phone book). Sara shows a bit of vindictive satisfaction when they confront the killer, telling him "I guess she killed you back". . . 09) "Blood Lust" - December 5, 2002 Grissom pulls Sara away from a forensic anthropology seminar; while she complains about it, she enjoys working with Grissom. This is the third time he's called her in on her day off (or outside the lab); in this case, he pulls her away from a seminar that is a requirement of the job. A CSI needs so many credits per year of courses in order to keep their certification; she'll have to repeat this seminar at some point. At the beginning of the episode, Grissom mentions that he was on a date - with whom is unknown. . . 10) "High and Low" - December 12, 2002 "High and Low" - Sara is maxed out on overtime and can't get out into the field; Catherine is unwilling to help her. In fact, over the years Catherine has shown a tendency to refuse to help Sara when it comes to authority or Grissom, part of her competitive nature. Sara says she doesn't consider Hank to be her boyfriend, and her phobia about germs in public places reappears. You have to wonder - if Hank isn't her boyfriend, then what exactly is the relationship? . . 11) "Recipe for Murder" - January 9, 2003 At a crime scene, Sara embarrasses herself by calling Hank 'baby', and this leads her to bury herself in the closet, where she discovers tears on the victim's clothes. She also compliments Warrick, telling him she doesn't think of him as a gambler. This is the first episode with Hodges. . . 12) "Got Murder?" - January 16, 2003 Unsurprisingly, Sara is more than a little displeased when it appears that a father has been having sex with his daughter. A little bit of flirting between Nick and Sara, when she 'models' lingerie (holds it up in front of her) found in a suitcase; this is the last time she flirts with anyone on the team. Sara attended a recycling forum last March, and is aware of Nevada's trash problem. This is the first episode written by Sarah Goldfinger. Reportedly when they arrived to do the landfill scene, Jorja Fox cussed out the writers very fluently and profanely for several minutes because of the stinky mess. . . 14) One-hit Wonder" - February 6, 2003 Sara investigates the case of an attorney friend of hers, who was paralyzed in a home invasion, her husband killed. When Sara finishes her investigation, she realizes that her attorney friend has lied - the attorney shot her husband, and just before dying he shot her, paralyzing her. This is a big emotional blow to Sara - as Jorja Fox herself said, "Sara is so sure that she knows everything about someone" that is an emotional shock when she finds out differently. Sara feels betrayed, not only by her friend, but by her own trust in that friend. At the end of the episode, Sara tells Grissom about her older brother - this is the only time in the series that he is ever mentioned. Once the fifth season episode "No Humans Involved" aired, it was speculated that the brother might be a foster brother rather than a biological brother. We don't know, and we probably never will - her older bother has entered the "it never happened" phase, where an event takes place on screen or is mentioned, but is never referenced again, as in "we're going to pretend that it never happened, so we'll never mention it again". The 'official' bio for Sara lists her as an only child, despite what is mentioned in this episode - but the 'official' bio is woefully inaccurate. . . 15) "Lady Heather's Box" - February 13, 2003 (most watched episode ever, with 32 million viewers!) When Catherine tries to butt into a case involving her daughter and her ex, Sara doesn't hesitate to get in her face and tell her to back off. This is just another in a long line of confrontations between Sara and Catherine. Sara refuses to talk to Warrick about Hank, or at least refuses to say whether Hank takes her out anywhere. Again we see Grissom's emotional connection with Lady Heather, even when he is supposed to be considering her as a suspect. Once again Sara doesn't work the Lady Heather case. . . 16) "Lucky Strike" - February 20, 2003 Sara, Warrick and Catherine work the case of a pro basketball star whose son gets kidnapped. While they're examining the ransom note, Sara sniffs it and recognizes the scent of a menthol cigarette. . . 17) Crash and Burn" - March 13, 2003 A big Sara episode, in which she learns that Hank Peddigrew (the paramedic she's been dating) was already dating someone else - Sara is actually 'the other woman'. This is a big emotional shock for Sara, her second emotional betrayal of the season; you can tell that she's heartbroken. At the initial scene, Sara is very concerned about the injured Hank, and later she is upbeat and enthusiastic when chatting with him, praising him for his efforts at the scene. At the end of the episode, Sara and Catherine drive off to get a beer, the first - and only - time that Catherine has ever attempted to be friendly to Sara outside of work. It's this one short scene that started so much of the "Sara and Catherine are lesbian lovers" chatter online. Sara doesn't tell Hank's girlfriend Elaine that she and Hank have been dating, though she has every reason to (it would be an embarrassing personal moment for her, finding out that she was wrong about Hank, and she's not about to admit that to anyone). Almost as a trivial note to this episode, Sara shows off her lightning fast math skills when she's at the scene with Warrick, and she shares a humorous moment in the morgue with Greg - "Granny was high?". . . 18) "Precious Metals" - April 3, 2003 Sara refuses to let Nick set her up with his buddy; obviously her breakup with Hank is known all over the lab. (Catherine's doing, presumably, as it's not something Sara would talk about or admit to) She shows off her mechanical talents when she helps strip down the battle bot. Grissom knows all about Greg's hobbies and interests, so why doesn't he know anything about Sara? . . 19) "A Night at the Movies" - April 10, 2003 Stubborn Sara shows up again when she refuses to give up trying to get any evidence from the bamboo pole. . . 20) "Last Laugh" - April 28, 2003 Stubborn Sara yet again, as she tries to tear the towel bar off the wall. Her sense of humor resurfaces, as she deliberately sets off the car alarm in order to get the owner to let them in. . . 21) "Forever" - May 1, 2003 Sara comments on the dead girl's vanity, which is something she doesn't appear to have a problem with. This is also the first time that we find out that she has reading tastes other than forensics, when she references Charles Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities". She definitely doesn't like the fact that the baby will end up back with its grandmother. In a slight incongruity, Sara shows no reaction to the foster situation, despite her own history ("No Humans Involved") and her reactions in later episodes ("Monster in a Box"). However, at this point the writers have not yet created that aspect of Sara's history. . . 22) "Play With Fire..." - May 8, 2003 Sara takes a lunch break, then starts following Grissom around from place to place throughout the lab; you have to wonder - if she hadn't been following him, would she have gotten hurt? Because of Catherine's little 'mistake', part of the lab blows up, and Sara is injured (her hand cut where she fell on some glass). When she's sitting out on the curb, holding her injured hand, Grissom rushes over to her to find out if she's all right. He calls her "honey" (the only time he's ever done that), and yells for a paramedic. Sara takes this "second chance", and asks Grissom out on a date - but he turns her down, telling her that he doesn't know about it (himself and Sara). She tells him that by the time he figures it out, it could be too late. This is the second of the "second chance" instances that Grissom fails to take advantage of. Sara also attempts to arrest a suspect by herself, which is definitely against protocol, but understandable under the circumstances - she survived a life-threatening situation, giving her a slight feeling of immortality. Sara has a picture of a dog (a boxer) taped to the inside of her locker door, and this is the first time in the series that Sara has drawn her gun. . . ---END OF SEASON: There was very little added to Sara's character this season; rather, her known traits were reinforced: her phobia of germs in public places, her stubbornness, her distaste of abuse, her sense of empathy with female victims, her mechanical (non-people) talents. We do learn that she does actually have reading tastes other than forensics, but that is almost minor. The biggest changes in her life are betrayal and relationships: first her attorney friend betrays Sara's sense of trust, and then Hank does. She takes the first steps in what will become a three year obsessive pursuit of Grissom. . . ========== SEASON 4 (2003-2004) =============================================================== 01) "Assume Nothing" - September 25, 2003 Humorous Sara again, with her comments of "Bucket brigade". . . 02) "All For Our Country" - October 2, 2003 Sara and Catherine check out a bloated corpse at a fraternity house; Sara comments that she wouldn't want to share a house with Grissom. Her vindictiveness shows when she quotes a suspects' words right back at him in a satisfied manner - "Now who's the punk... bitch." (One of the all time favorite Sara quotes, apparently - it has appeared on t-shirts and websites all over the world; it's usually the first line that people think of when you ask them for their favorite Sara quote) . . 03) Homebodies" - October 9, 2003 Once again, a rape case hits Sara hard; she is very supportive to the victim - Grissom concentrates on the scene while Sara sits alone in the truck and cries. This isn't the first time that Grissom has chosen work over Sara. Sara has no one to lean on or to comfort her. When Sara leans over to ALS a bed at the scene, there is a rare showing of cleavage. Jorja Fox said in an interview a couple of years ago that Sara is "incapable of leaning on anyone for support", and that she enjoys that aspect of the character. This makes her very lonely and vulnerable. . . 04) "Feeling the Heat" - October 23, 2003 When a girl is killed on the lake, Sara immediately suspects the guy she was with, until it's shown that he tried to rescue the girl. Later she takes Nick to task when he seems to get too personal with the victim's family, telling them that their son was a hero. . . 07) "Invisible Evidence" - November 13, 2003 Sara and Nick are both up for promotion, and Sara wonders if her personal relationship with Grissom will affect her chances at the promotion. When she confronts him about it (during a recreation of the scene where he pins her against the victim's sheet, which she seems to enjoy), he doesn't say anything, and she stammers that she's always over-talking herself around him. When the assignment is first handed out - drop everything and get on this case - Sara protests, saying she's in the middle of her own case; this is the first time she has talked back to Grissom or protested an assignment since "Sex, Lies & Larvae". Grissom tells her that it's not her choice what case she works, and Catherine later tells him that he should have slapped her down even harder. While Sara and Nick are waiting for the car to be delivered from impound, Sara comments that she doesn't like certain cases taking priority over others; Nick knows that a lot of things piss Sara off. More mechanicals, as Nick and Sara work on the wrecked car. This episode was originally supposed to be the 4th episode of the season, airing in October, but was pre-empted by a Presidential address, and aired several weeks later than originally scheduled. . . 08) After the Show" - November 20, 2003 When a murder suspect insists that he'll only speak with Catherine ("the pretty one"), it leads to an all-hands effort to find the victim's remains. Sara and Nick get a little angry, since it takes a career-making case out of their hands. Later when Sara and Catherine are going through the evidence, Catherine asks Sara if her father ever called her 'pretty', to which Sara hesitantly replies "I, I guess"; however, she does know that her father said she was smart. . . 09) Grissom vs. the Volcano" - December 11, 2003 Sara wears a jacket with a fur collar (possibly fake fur), which is a little unusual for someone who dislikes animal cruelty. It's very unusual considering the fact that Jorja Fox is a supporter of PETA. During the investigation she comments on the lonely lives of celebrities and the media exposure they face. . . 10) "Coming of Rage" - December 18, 2003 Sara gets played again by a witness / suspect, and feels a sense of betrayal when she realizes that the girl lied about being raped. Sara comments negatively on the crude flirtations by the construction workers. . . 11) "Eleven Angry Jurors" - January 8, 2004 Again Sara shows that she'll always laugh at Grissom's jokes, and makes a joke of her own when she finds the bee carcass. . . 12) "Butterflied" - January 14, 2004 The one essential fact - and it is a fact, not wishful thinking on the part of some people - is that Grissom told the murder suspect that he chose his career over Sara. That would be a big relationship killer for anyone - except obsessive Sara. As noted earlier, one name for GSR is "butterflys", based on this episode - to me, that is a very strange thing to call the pairing, as the episode is about as anti-relationship as you can get. In fact, in the commentary track on the DVD for this episode, you can hear the writers and director wondering to themselves if this is the end of GSR. Yet the name continues, and people persist on thinking of this as a romantic episode - it is, but only if you're into sick and dark romance. Even the writers think of it as a romantic episode, which is why Grissom's "creepy and stalkerish" (to quote TV Guide) gift to Sara in the 7th season episode "Redrum" is a butterfly cocoon. Let's look at the whole episode. In "Butterflied", a nurse is murdered in her own home, her throat slit, and then the body is posed in the bathroom. The nurse looks so much like Sara that she could almost be her twin - everybody recognizes this, especially Grissom. He, in fact, sees the dead nurse as Sara in one of the "we see dead people" moments of the episode: he's sitting at the victim's dressing table, going through her various butterfly knick-knacks, and in the mirror he 'sees' the victim sitting on the bed behind him, then the victim turns into Sara. So Grissom definitely realizes the resemblance. That makes the victim a 'Sara substitute' - psychologically speaking, that means that the victim \is\ Sara, and therefore Grissom should be treating this crime as if he is avenging Sara's death. Which means that if he really does care for her at all, he should do every single thing in his power, even break the law, to bring the murderer to justice. He does get a bit obsessive with the case, staying all night to examine every single inch of the hallway, but in the end, the murderer goes free - Grissom doesn't care enough about Sara to catch her murderer. Grissom tries to keep Sara as far away from the case as he can, to the point where he won't even let her enter the house, with the exception of her and Warrick checking out the victim's refrigerator. He should know, of course, that sooner or later she is going to see the victim and notice the resemblance, or someone will mention it to her - but he doesn't check with Sara to see how she is handling the case. He doesn't talk with her at all, in fact, with the exception of over the phone, where it becomes quite obvious that he is uncomfortable talking to a dead woman. The only CSI that does ask is Catherine, which is a little surprising - no one else tries to find out how Sara is handling the case. Sara pretends not to notice the resemblance. The biggest relationship killer in the episode is, of course, Grissom's speech at the end, where he tells the murderer that he had a situation like his - he'd found a woman he thought he could spend the rest of his life with, but in the end he couldn't go through with it, and chose his career over her. While he doesn't actually mention Sara, you know that's whom he is talking about. He doesn't know that Sara and Brass are watching from outside of the interrogation room and have heard every word - it's doubtful that Grissom would have made his speech if he knew that Sara was listening. People have said that Grissom's speech is filled with longing and regret - and it certainly does sound like it. So much longing and regret, in fact, that it takes Grissom another two and a half years to do anything about it. Brass realized what that whole speech meant to Sara, which is probably one of the reasons he pulled her aside in the later episode "Early Rollout" to talk to her about drinking. So in the end, Grissom recognizes the resemblance, and it affects him enough that he is uncomfortable dealing with Sara during the case - that shows he does have feelings of some kind for her. But on the other hand, he doesn't care enough to catch the murderer, he doesn't care enough to find out how she's feeling, he tells the killer that he chose his career rather than Sara, and despite his expressions of longing and regret in his speech, he does nothing about them. This is yet another episode with a "second chance / I could have lost you" opportunity, and Grissom does nothing with it. This is the first episode from writer David Rambo, whom over the years will become a big GSR writer. . . 13) "Suckers" - February 5, 2004 Sara studies up on Japanese antiquities, and realizes that the armor is a fake. She jokes with Grissom that she uses the duct tape in her kit "to keep it together". . . 14) "Paper or Plastic?" - February 12, 2004 Grissom is surprised when Sara shows up at the supermarket crime scene, and appears to avoid her throughout the case. This episode was originally scheduled to air the week after "Butterflied", which would explain why Grissom is uncomfortable working with Sara. . . 15) "Early Rollout" - February 19, 2004 The entire team is called back in for an early morning murder. Brass notes Sara popping cough drops at the scene, and later pulls her aside to ask her if she's drinking. (This is based on what he witnessed in "Butterflied") Sara replies that she had a couple of beers after work, not expecting to be called back in. Sara doesn't like it when Catherine disturbs the items she has spread out in Layout - we already know she is obsessive; this may be a symptom of obsessive-compulsive. For a while this episode started up a "Is Sara an alcoholic?" bunch of nonsense on the web, but that seems to have been derailed by the fifth season episode "Down the Drain". . . 16) "Getting Off" - February 26, 2004 Again, Sara seems unfazed by 'alternative' sexualities or practices, in this case the wasteland of "Trannytown". When Grissom bumps into Sara in the hall (she examined a suspect as a favor to him), he comments that he hasn't seen her for a while - Sara replies that she's been there all week. Is he just seeing her in a new light, or is he just totally unobservant? We don't know. . . 17) "XX" - March 11, 2004 Sara recognizes the prison tattoo as half a heart. She also notes that when she can't sleep, she reads - and that Grissom gave her a book on insects for Christmas, which gets some snide comments from the others. . . 18) "Bad To the Bone" - April 1, 2004 Yet another episode that could be considered "second chance", as Grissom is almost strangled by the bad guy. Once again, Sara and Nick process a car. Nick is very aware of Sara's dislikes - witness his attitude towards her when he holds up the waitress' blouse; he knows how she feels about violence towards women. . . 19) "Bad Words" - April 15, 2004 Sara again shows her prowess with codes and puzzles when she helps Grissom with the letter tiles. She also comments on the empty soap dispenser in the hotel bathroom, again showing her germ phobia. More codes and puzzles as Sara recreates the killer Logos match. . . 20) "Dead Ringer" - April 29, 2004 The annual police relay marathon; Sara hugs Greg when she finishes her leg of the relay. Sara and Warrick work the case of two dead cops in a hotel room; at one point Sara comments to Warrick that isn't the current male fantasy one man and two women? Sara and Warrick later chat back and forth as to whether a wife will know if her husband is cheating on her - Sara isn't sure that the wife would know or would want to know; possibly a reference to herself and Hank. Unlike the later episode "Swap Meet", she makes no comment about couples going outside the marriage for sex. . . 21) "Turn Of the Screws" - May 6, 2004 During the rollercoaster reconstruction, when Grissom quotes from Henry James' "A Turn of the Screw", Sara comments that she thinks of the novel more as a mystery than a ghost story. This is the first of various references she makes over the years to horror stories. . . 22) "No More Bets" - May 13, 2004 Sara is stunned when she learns that Grissom recommended Nick for the promotion instead of her. When she and Grissom are going through the limousine in the garage, he tells her that he doesn't have any problems with her, but that he recommended Nick for the promotion because he didn't want it; she tells him that it's a stupid reason. She also lets the tape measure snap back when she's talking with Grissom about the promotion, which is an interesting Freudian response. However, no one gets the promotion as it was rescinded due to budget cuts. Sara is obviously comfortable working with Warrick, even joking with him, which is a sharp contrast to when she first arrived in Vegas. . . 23) "Bloodlines" - May 20, 2004 In an unusual turn of events, Sara doesn't get involved in the rape case - in fact, she doesn't even stick around the hospital to do the SART exam. At the end of the episode, Sara, Nick and Warrick go out drinking to commiserate over the promotion; Sara is later pulled over for DUI, and Grissom - as her supervisor - is called to come pick her up. The arrest won't go on her record, since she was barely over the limit, which had just been lowered (and because she's law enforcement). For only the second time in the series, Grissom holds Sara's hand. This is the last time that Sara appears in public socially, other than work-related. (Breakfast at the diner with the team doesn't exactly count as outside of work, nor does eating at a fast food place) . . ---END OF SEASON: As with season 3, there isn't much more learned about Sara; rather her already known traits are reinforced. Her pursuit of Grissom doesn't seem to be going anywhere, and oddly enough, she doesn't push him for anything more. Despite Grissom's confession in "Butterflied", she hasn't given up her pursuit, but she isn't aggressive in her pursuit because she's afraid he won't be interested, or that he might reject her (more of her low self-esteem). Twice this season Sara protested a case assignment to Grissom, the first time she has done so since the first season. The next time she talks back to Grissom won't be until the seventh season. . . Trivia 3: In July of 2004, just as they were about to start filming the 5th season of "CSI:", all of the cast members went looking for pay raises - no surprise, as at the time "CSI:" was the highest rated television show in the world (and they were comparatively under-paid). CBS asked them to sign documents stating that they wouldn't stage a walkout or sickout as a negotiating technique. Jorja Fox signed hers and mailed it in rather than hand-delivering it; CBS claimed they never got it and fired her. (CBS wanted to make an example of someone after their "Everybody Loves Raymond" fight over money, and as a woman and part of the supporting cast, Jorja Fox was their perfect target - women in Hollywood and elsewhere don't get the same pay or respect for the same job. Call it the 'glass ceiling', call it the 'celluloid ceiling'... it exists and it's ugly) The next day, George Eads didn't show up for work (he later claimed that his alarm clock didn't go off, but everyone knows it was a sympathy walkout), and he was fired. A week later, CBS went to Jorja Fox, looking to rehire her. They offered her a much smaller raise, but she refused the raise and refused to be rehired until they rehired George Eads as well. Neither Fox nor Eads got raises because of this, and Jorja Fox has apparently not gotten a raise since then. She has stated all along that it was not about the money. One thing about the firing / rehiring: when Jorja was fired, YTDaW (see the sites list at the end of this document) started a campaign to raise money - they raised over $1200 and donated it to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Research Fund in Jorja's name, and also sent her a bamboo gift basket. She replied immediately with a nice thank you note. YTDaW also sent a gift basket to George Eads, but he never acknowledged it or sent a thank you. A couple of weeks later, William Petersen came down sick, and YTDaW sent him a gift as well - but just as with Eads, Petersen never acknowledged the gift or sent a thank you. . . ========== SEASON 5 (2004-2005) =============================================================== Season 5 was one of major character development for Sara Sidle - none of those developments were nice; in fact, they show that she has had a particularly ugly life so far. We don't know when Sara's full history was created, we just know that it wasn't revealed until this season. Now that we know about her background - the abusive family, her mother kills her father - it makes some of the earlier episodes (such as "Blood Drops") seem a little odd in terms of her reactions (or non-reactions) to the case. In an ironic twist, both Billy Petersen and Marg Helgenberger commented during the summer between the 4th and 5th seasons that they'd like to see more character development on the show. There was plenty of character development in the fifth season, almost all of it belonging to Sara. . . 01) "Viva Las Vegas" - September 23, 2004 Sara and Nick work on the case of an 'alien' found buried out near the infamous Area 51, which is at the northern edge of their jurisdiction. When Sara and Nick are in the morgue, Phillips flirts with Sara - this is the last time he ever flirts with her. During the investigation, Sara flashes the 'Vulcan Salute' at the emcee of a Las Vegas quickie wedding, letting him know that she recognizes him from that other wedding chapel. During the summer, Sara saw a PEAP (Police Employee Assistance Program) counselor, which was mandatory as a result of her drunk driving arrest. As the episode opens she's talking to the mirror in her locker, rehearsing what she's going to tell Grissom - though she doesn't talk to him until much later in the season. This is the first mention we've heard of her family, other than the comment about her brother back in the third season. Greg is now out in the field as part of the CSI team, rather than in DNA. . . 02) "Down the Drain" - October 7, 2004 Investigating a house possibly related to bones found in a storm drain, Sara and Warrick find a blood trail leading to a closet. While Sara is checking out the closet, Warrick grabs her and drags her out - there are several pipe bombs on an upper shelf. Sara's stubbornness once again appears - she wants to take the closet door back to the lab, and risks her life (and Warrick's) to remove it from its hinges. Later in the lab she tells Grissom "I'm not a drunk and I don't have a death wish", which thankfully closes the alcoholic line of speculation. Grissom shows a little worry about her, though he shrugs it off. . . 03) "Harvest" - October 14, 2004 Nothing unusual about this episode, but it should be noted because this is only the third time that Grissom has ever complimented Sara. When she's going through the victim's computer, she notes that the websites marked are far too advanced for a seventh grader, to which Grissom replies, "I bet you were a pretty smart seventh grader". . . 04) "Crow's Feet" - October 21, 2004 Sara and Greg help Grissom determine how the owner of a house was killed when his house was 'tented' for bug eradication. Sara takes advantage of Greg being on the team by allowing him to carry her kit and his to the house. Later she compliments him on the good job he's doing; this is the start of Sara's mentoring of Greg, reversing somewhat the role she plays with Grissom. . . 05) "Swap Meet" - October 28, 2004 When a woman is found dead in a fountain after a wife-swapping party, Sara takes Greg to task when he admires the high heels; Sara is definitely no fan of high heels. Later, sitting with Grissom, Sara comments that a couple shouldn't have to go outside of the marriage for sex, and that the couples they're interviewing don't look happy. Grissom brings her a cup of tea. . . 06) "What's Eating Gilbert Grissom?" - November 4, 2004 When the 'Blue Paint Killer' resurfaces (originally in the third season episode "The Execution of Catherine Willows"), Sara is tasked to chart the psychological clues in a set of bondage / rape comics, showing no real emotion when she does so. At the end, she helps find the 'last victim' when she realizes that the supposed victim's name is just an anagram of "Miss October". . . 07) "Formalities" - November 11, 2004 No major Sara incidents in this, but this is the episode where Ecklie - formerly supervisor of the day shift - is promoted to Assistant Lab Director. It is also the first appearance of Sofia Curtis. Both characters will feature in Sara's life, mostly in negative ways. This is the beginning of Grissom's other-than-professional interest in Sofia, which will last throughout this season and a little beyond. . . 08) "Ch-ch-changes" - November 18, 2004 (the 100th episode of the show) Sara doesn't have a problem with transgendered or transexual people, though she is sickened by the brutal surgery. According to published reports, Jorja Fox was responsible for getting some of the guest stars hired for this episode. . . 09) "Mea Culpa" - November 25, 2004 Ecklie breaks up the team when he realizes that he can't screw Grissom over on evidentiary procedures or his handling of new evidence. The people that Ecklie considers 'safe' (ie, no trouble to him) get put on the swing shift: Catherine, Nick and Warrick. Those that he dislikes or considers troublemakers stay on the graveyard shift. This includes Sara, because she sticks up for Grissom. Ecklie confronts Sara and asks if she's had her post-PEAP talk with her supervisor as mandated by regulations; she lies and tells him that she has. Sara shows Greg how to raise an abraded serial number on a gun, a continuing part of her mentoring. Note: swing shift is defined as starting at 4 pm in this episode. This means that day shift is from 8 am to 4 pm, swing from 4 to midnight, and graveyard from midnight to 8 am. . . 10) "No humans Involved" - December 9, 2004 The case of a dead child dumped in the trash strikes home for Sara when they discover that the child was a foster kid. Sara consoles Greg at the scene, asking him if he's okay. Sara gets aggressive when she confronts the child's aunt, who was supposed to be taking care of the dead child. She talks with some of the other foster kids, which is when we discover that Sara was in the foster system herself for a while (reference "Nesting Dolls" and "Committed"). Near the end, Sara, Greg and Brass find the two missing children, and Sara holds them until help arrives, obviously quite emotional. At the end of the episode, Sara looks up a court case on Lexis-Nexis, but we have no idea exactly what it's about. It may have something to do with child custody, or it may have something to do with a murder trial - we just don't know. All we really learn from it is that it took place in Modesto, California in 1984, and that (possibly) her mother's name is Laura. If we can believe the latest birth date listed for Sara, then she was only 12 or 13 when this case occurred. Sara being in a foster home at some point in her life helps explain a little bit about why she is the way she is. The only three reasons that a child would go into the foster system are 1) the parents are unable or unwilling to care for the child, 2) there are no relatives who can take the child in, or 3) there are relatives, but they don't want the child. Any of those can be fairly devastating to a child - it can turn their world upside down. Her comments in the second season episode "Bully For You" - that she was a science geek in high school - and comments in later episodes (such as "Nesting Dolls" or "The Unusual Suspect") show us that she was a loner, unwilling or unable to interact with anyone; she kept to herself. While there are many foster parents who are good, ones who try and who actually do well by the child(ren), there are also many who are far down the scale of humanity - I'm sure we've all heard the stories. One thing Sara would have learned in the foster system was that she could only rely on herself - it would explain why she is incapable (as Jorja Fox said in an interview) of leaning on anyone for support. We don't know how long she was in the foster system, but various comments she will make lead us to believe that it was for a period of at least several months. . . 11) "Who Shot Sherlock?" - January 6, 2005 Greg's final proficiency exam - he passes, even though he was incorrect about his theory. Sara hugs him, and later is one of those who continues to celebrate after Ecklie tells them to get back to work. More of Sara's reading habits: she read "The Hound of the Baskervilles" in the tenth grade. . . 12) "Snakes" - January 13, 2005 A Sara episode, but not for the case: she finally has her post-PEAP talk with Grissom. When she tells him that she lied to Ecklie about having the talk earlier, Grissom says that she shouldn't have to cover for her boss. Sara replies: "You've always been a little more than a boss to me. Why do you think I moved to Vegas? Look, I know our relationship has been complicated. It's probably my fault. It's probably definitely my fault." She blames herself, another sign of her low self-esteem. She also says, of her counseling, that she tends to look for validation in inappropriate places. During most of this, Grissom is silent, not knowing what to say - this isn't a first for Grissom though. Quite a few times when Sara starts to talk to Grissom about their relationship, he either stays silent, or he mumbles something about the case at hand and wanders off. Sara has very little to do with the case. . . 13) "Nesting Dolls" - February 3, 2005 An extremely powerful Sara episode, one which should have gotten an Emmy nomination for Jorja Fox. After a pair of bodies are found encased in tar, Grissom assigns Sara to work with Catherine on the case. During an interrogation, Sara goes ballistic on the suspect, a possible wife abuser. Then she goes off against Catherine, and in a very memorable (and extremely popular) moment, she blows up at Ecklie, telling him that he got the job as Assistant Lab Director because Grissom doesn't kiss ass. Sara is suspended, and damn near fired. Views of Sara's apartment - only the second time we've ever seen it - reinforce what we know about her: forensics textbooks on the table, police scanner on the shelf, and a shadowboxed tarantula on the wall, obviously a gift from Grissom. Also note the solitaire layout on the table - again, no outside interaction for Sara. Grissom goes over to her apartment (this is, as far as we know, the first time he's ever been inside her apartment) and pushes at her until she tells him of her family history: it was an abusive family (always fighting, trips to the hospital), and her mother killed her father. Before she tells him about her family, Sara says "I have a problem with authority, I choose men who are emotionally unavailable, I'm self-destructive, all of the above." She also wonders, after confessing her family history, if there's a "murder gene". Having revealed her big family secret to Grissom, it solidifies her fixation on him: she is incapable of leaning on anyone for support, and a secret shared tends to bind people a bit closer together (along the lines of "you're the only one I've ever told about this"), so he becomes the only person she can lean on emotionally without losing her sense of self-sufficiency, strength and independence (or so she thinks). After her confession, Grissom holds Sara's hand as she cries. (Okay, anyone else would have hugged her and held her as she cried) It should also be noted that Sara was right about the suspect - he \did\ murder his first wife, and he \is\ abusing his second wife - but even after he's caught, no one thinks to apologize to Sara or even to inform her that she was right. There is just a slight discontinuity to Sara's confession of her family history: when she's telling it, she says "castoff on the walls", using a CSI term. As she is likely reliving the incident in her mind as she retells it, she should have said "blood" rather than "castoff", but that's a minor point. Notice the slight differences between the interior of Sara's apartment here and in the earlier episode "You've Got Male". This episode really adds to the traumatic background of Sara, explaining a bit more about her and why she is the way she is; after this, it is surprising that she is a functional human being. The earlier episode "No Humans Involved" told us that Sara was in the foster system for a while, and this episode tells us why. We have no idea how old she was when any of these events occurred, but taking all of her various comments into account over the years, it is likely that she was fairly young, perhaps no more than ten or eleven, when her father was killed. However, we don't really know. It does start to present a timeline of her life, however - her mother killed her father (probably after years of abuse), and Sara went into the foster system. She survived all of that, but it's probably all that you can say - she survived. Her comment about choosing men who are "emotionally unavailable" (such as Grissom) is no surprise: by choosing such men, she doesn't risk her own emotional well-being; by choosing such men, she won't have to worry about getting emotionally involved with them (or vice-versa) and having her heart broken, her trust betrayed. Going by what we learned in "No Humans Involved", it is likely that her father was killed in 1982, when Sara would have been only 10 or 11. This episode also showcases Grissom's piss-poor supervisory skills, especially where Sara is concerned. Everyone has known since season one that Sara tends to get pissed off at certain types of cases, to the point where she almost attacks a suspect. A real supervisor - especially one who supposedly cares about the subordinate in question - would immediately sit down with that subordinate and discover why they got so pissed off, before any future actions can jeopardize a case, or the lab. Grissom, however, waits five years (and many other instances where Sara shows her anger at certain cases), until Sara is suspended and almost fired before he asks. That's not very caring. This could probably also be considered a "second chance" episode - one that Grissom does nothing about - because Sara's career is in jeopardy. . . 14) "Unbearable" - February 10, 2005 Greg asks Sara about her big blow up with Ecklie, and while she doesn't tell him anything, she does appreciate his asking. As usual, Sara goes over a vehicle involved in the crime. Sara sees Grissom and Sofia chatting in his office, and interrupts them (she doesn't appear pleased that the two of them are so comfortable). Later Grissom asks Sara if she's okay, but it's perfunctory. Sara apparently does not have a high opinion of Sofia; when Greg mentions to her that Sofia seems to be fitting in well, she gives him a look and walks away. At the end, Grissom convinces Sofia to stay on the Graveyard shift, and then takes her out to dinner. "CSI:" won a "Genesis Award" (Humane Society of the U.S.) for this episode, for its depiction of 'canned hunts'. . . 15) "King Baby" - February 17, 2005 Not much Sara action in this one. Grissom goes out to dinner with Catherine, congratulating her on her promotion. He sexually harasses her (not that she'd think of it that way), telling her that what he will miss most about her is her "tushie". Grissom tells Sofia that he's glad she stayed. Catherine rails against Grissom for his "thoughtlessness" in attending the autopsy with Sofia instead of her. . . 16) "Big Middle" - February 14, 2005 Sara again shows her lack of prejudice, taking the uniformed officers to task when they start making fat jokes. When Greg flirts with Sara, she 'reciprocates', leaving the weights sitting on him during the crime scene recreation, jokingly claiming they can get his color to match that of the victim. . . 18) "Spark of Life" - March 31, 2005 At the scene (in the woods), Sara tells Grissom that she's heard this is a good make out spot. Later, when they discover that the woman passenger may have been raped before being set on fire, Sara shows no reaction. . . 19) "4x4" - April 14, 2005 When Sara and Greg are possibly contaminated by mold at a crime scene, they're forced to take a Hazmat shower together. Later, Greg claims that he was a gentleman and didn't see anything, while Sara says that she saw everything. Grissom overhears the exchange, but doesn't appear to take any notice of it. Sara has a flower tattoo on her left ankle. Personally, I consider this a waste of a scene - it was done for no other reason than to sex up the episode and to get people drooling. Sure, if Hazmat feels the situation warrants, they'll strip you naked in the middle of Times Square in broad daylight. But in this case, they had a tent set up, they had a male and a female to decontaminate, so it would have taken them only five seconds to throw up a piece of plastic between the two halves of the tent - even Hazmat understands dignity and privacy. But that wouldn't have worked for the writers in terms of titillation. Just as bad, nothing ever happens because of that shower scene - Grissom doesn't refer to it in any way (apparently he has no physical interest in Sara), and nothing more happens between Sara and Greg; it's a waste of a scene. In just another bit of irony on the show, Catherine is supposed to be the sexy one while Sara is the 'plain Jane' - yet Sara is the one who has had two shower scenes; possibly as a way to add sexuality to her character. . . 21) "Committed" - April 28, 2005 This is the other 'relationship killer' episode, yet another one that should have gotten Jorja Fox an Emmy. In most ways it is an ugly episode, and every time I see that 'attack' scene, my stomach drops, despite knowing how it turns out. But that attack scene shows how little Grissom cares for Sara, that he doesn't think about her at all other than as just another colleague, and should have been a big slap in the face for Sara during her pursuit of Grissom - if, that is, she wasn't obsessive. Look at the setup, and that particular scene: they are investigating a murder in a psychiatric hospital filled with unrepentant murderers and rapists. They are unarmed, and they don't wear anything that marks them as police or other authority. Sara is an attractive woman, and their main suspect is a multiple rapist who has shown a sexual interest in Sara. The nurse's station they are checking out is an area of the hospital that is open to everyone, patients as well as staff, as is shown by subsequent events. Taking all of that into account, what does Grissom do? He just walks off and leaves Sara all alone - he doesn't stop to think of the possible danger she is in, he doesn't care enough to take even precautionary measures against what eventually did happen. \He just walks off\. Grissom walks off, and Adam (the rapist / suspect) enters, closing and locking the door behind him. He proceeds to attack Sara, holding her down on the floor with a piece of sharpened pottery at her throat. He makes odd comments about people vibrating at different frequencies, which probably makes sense to him. Grissom returns and finds the door locked, sees Sara in trouble, and has the guard open the door (the one good thing is that Grissom didn't panic or aggravate the situation in any way). The head nurse (who turns out to be Adam's mother) appears on the other side of the station - Adam is distracted, Sara breaks free, Grissom gets the door unlocked and Adam tries to slit his own throat. Afterwards, Grissom tells Sara that she can go home. It is then that we learn that Sara's mother was in a psychiatric hospital for a while, presumably when Sara was in foster care - that only adds to the ugliness of the whole situation. At the end, Grissom comments that Adam's mother will probably die without access to him; Sara replies that it's probably better that way. Read through that, and you'll notice that psychotic rapist is smarter than Grissom, and has an awareness of his actions that Grissom doesn't have - Adam thinks, while Grissom does not. It's all in that one simple action: Adam closes and locks the door behind him. Grissom didn't even think enough to do that. He didn't care enough about Sara to do that one simple action - he doesn't even care enough about her as a woman to take that one simple action. So basically, Grissom is responsible for Sara being attacked by a rapist. Sara could have easily been raped - which was probably Adam's intent - and could have even been murdered thanks to Grissom's uncaring, unthinking actions. He compounds his mistake by telling Sara to go home - when anyone who knows Sara at all knows that there is no way that she will leave a case that she is personally invested in. Because of Grissom, Sara was attacked - that sums it all up right there. Sara, of course, will never see it that way. While it was a horrific incident, one that she probably had nightmares about, she will never blame Grissom for leaving her exposed to attack; she has probably never thought about it that way. Okay, Sara could have closed and locked the door herself after Grissom left - if she was aware that he was gone. Grissom mumbles something about going to find the keys, but we have no clue as to whether Sara heard him or not. Maybe you could argue that she herself is to blame for being attacked - and you could also argue that every rape victim is to blame for being raped. Combine this episode with the earlier "No Humans Involved" and "Nesting Dolls", and it gives us a fairly decent picture of what life was like for Sara as she grew up. None of it was pretty. That she is a functional human being at all says a lot for her will and stamina; but it also explains her non-social behavior. Some people have said that it's the guard who is at fault in this situation, that it's their job to protect people. True - if the guard knows that there's someone who needs protecting. From what we see on screen, it's very obvious that Grissom doesn't say anything to the guard about Sara being alone in the nurse's station - because the guard stays where he is at the end of the hall, and never moves to the nurse's station until Grissom returns and sees Sara under attack. For all he knew, Grissom was the only one in there. And the fact still remains that all that Grissom had to do was to close and lock the door. Or to look at things slightly differently: if it had been Catherine there instead of Sara, Grissom would not have just walked off and left her alone; he would have made sure she was safe before leaving, and probably would have closed the door behind him. . . 22) "Weeping Willows" - May 5, 2005 At the end of the episode when Grissom is giving Catherine the cold shoulder (because of her actions during the case), she asks him "Is it a crime to want a little human contact?"; he replies with "I guess that's why I don't go out." Apparently he doesn't want any human contact, and never goes out with anyone. . . 23) "Iced" - May 12, 2005 Sara and Greg check out a dormitory killing. Greg comments that Sara always drives. Sara apparently doesn't know about some college sexual rituals, such as 'trophy condoms'. Sara compliments Greg on his theories and his work during this case, and she mentions that she's been a CSI for 8 years (which would be since 1997). Entertainment Tonight gave Jorja Fox a video camera, and she followed her colleagues around the set during the filming of "Iced", to the point where they threatened to take the camera away from her. . . 24 & 25) "Grave Danger" - May 19, 2005 The first two hour CSI episode. Nick is kidnapped and a ransom of a million dollars is demanded; Catherine gets her father, Sam Braun, to cough it up and Grissom pays the ransom - but the kidnapper blows himself up. Later when Grissom determines that the insects crawling all over Nick are fire ants, and that they're found only in certain spots, Sara remembers that the kidnapper's daughter used to work at a nursery, and pinpoints the one where Nick is buried. Sara shows definite concern for Nick while he's missing. . . ---END OF SEASON: Major character development for Sara during the season, none of which is pleasant: she comes from an abusive family, her mother killed her father, and she was in a foster home while her mother was in a psychiatric hospital. She's attacked by a psychotic rapist. There's quite a bit of trauma for Sara during this season, and it tells us a lot more about her. We can guess that her family history is why she gets so upset with rape and domestic violence cases, but we don't really know. It should be noted that Grissom is the only one who knows about these events and Sara's past - she's never told anyone else. Sara blames herself because her relationship with Grissom seems to be going nowhere, another sign of her low self-esteem. She gets naked with Greg, and she tells Grissom that he's the reason she stayed in Vegas. She's beginning to even out, emotionally - other than the events of "Nesting Dolls", of course. She appears to be taking Greg under her wing, mentoring him. According to Jorja Fox (in the "post mortem" section of the season 5 DVD), she knew as far back as season 3 that the writers had something in mind for Sara as far as her past - but she didn't know what that was. . . ========== SEASON 6 (2005-2006) =============================================================== 01) "Bodies in Motion" - September 22, 2005 Nothing spectacular in this episode, but it shows Sara being level-headed, doing her job to the best of her abilities. She jokes with Greg when he gets a mouthful of decomposed person. She also seems to be getting along better with Sofia, now that Sofia is just a cop and not a CSI. Once again showing her lack of prejudice, she tells one of the detectives "Just because they live in a trailer park doesn't mean they're a meth cook". . . 03) "Bite Me" - October 6, 2005 Sara doesn't seem to understand - when they examine the blackmail note - why the wife would be blackmailing the husband. She works well with Catherine. When they're going through the house, Sara finds a bottle of sex lubricant in the bedroom, and she comments to Grissom - when he remarks that the husband and wife didn't sleep together - that there are a variety of reasons why a couple wouldn't sleep in the same room. She mentions snoring and other reasons, while Grissom suggests that they may have been suffocating each other. Sara says that "a couple doesn't have to sleep together to have romance... or sex". Grissom doesn't say anything, just walks off. Catherine mentions that "lovers and co-workers" doesn't work. . . 05) "Gum Drops" - October 20, 2005 In a change from her previous ways, Sara is calm and cool during this episode, to the point where she tells Nick to calm down when he blows up at a suspect. She even plays domestic diva, briging coffee and muffins to the guys at the scene. Discussing the gold stars in the kitchen with Greg (on a chart for 'chores done'), she seems a little uncomfortable. Sara finds the marijuana farm in the basement, and later realizes that the doctor who called in the 911 was there to pick up marijuana. When Nick starts to worry whether the little girl is still alive, Sara quotes the odds against it. She later confronts the suspect, asking him if he feels like a man for killing a little girl, but she doesn't lose her composure. . . 06) "Secrets and Flies" - November 3, 2005 Again Sara remains calm, cool and collected, even when Catherine flies off the handle while talking to a suspect. Later, Grissom gives Catherine hints on how to argue better - if it had been Sara who blew up, she would have been yelled at. Sara does the research on the adoption clinic, but doesn't state her views on abortion or in-vitro fertilization. Sara compliments the tech in QD ("Hey Professor - looking good"), an older, bearded man. This episode introduces Liz Vassey as the new DNA tech, Wendy Simms. Grissom is once again late with the personnel evaluations, meaning they won't get their Cost of Living Adjustments on time. . . 07) "A Bullet Runs Through It, part 1" - November 10, 2005 The first real two part episode of the series ("Grave Danger" aired in a single night in the U.S.). During a shootout, an officer is killed, possibly by friendly fire. Sara appears to take it hard when questioned by the Spanish-speaking mother (Sara doesn't speak Spanish) as to how this could have happened. It's determined that only Brass or Sofia could have fired the fatal shot, and that the bullet Sara found in the Spanish house is that shot. . . 08) "A Bullet Runs Through It, part 2" - November 17, 2005 Both Brass and Sofia are on administrative leave while the shooting is under investigation, but Sara walks into Grissom's office and finds Sofia in there. Sara is curt with Sofia, reminding her that she shouldn't be there while she's on administrative leave - Sofia retorts that Sara doesn't have any friends to talk to (outside the department), and Sara comments that she can give her the name of a good psychologist. Whether Sara is upset because Sofia is talking to Grissom, or because Sofia is still hanging around when she shouldn't be (Sara had to go home immediately when she was suspended in "Nesting Dolls") is a matter of conjecture - we don't know. Grissom drags Sara off for a recreation of the suspect shooting, and she doesn't seem to mind his usual enigmatic attitude. She displays how the killer could have tossed the gun up on the roof and had it slide back down. Later when they recreate the crime scene, she takes the role of Sofia - it's determined that Brass fired the deadly shot when he fired over the roof of his car, against protocol. In an interview on CBS' "The Early Show" on the same day this episode aired, Jorja Fox told the interviewer (when asked about Sara and Grissom) that Sara is no longer actively pursuing Grissom, but that if he wanted to start something she wouldn't say no. She also jokes that she wouldn't throw him out of bed. Contrast this to Sara's earlier pursuit of Grissom. In the winter of 2006 (after this episode had aired), a Japanese television crew visited the set of "CSI:" and interviewed several of the stars, including Jorja Fox - she said that Sara had stopped chasing Grissom, and had made a decision to move on. Yet at the end of the season Sara and Grissom get together, despite no change in their relationship during this time. (See the note after "Way to Go" as well) . . 09) "Dog Eat Dog" - November 24, 2005 Sara and Nick work an ugly case, in which both sides of a divorcing couple are killed. Sara appears to be happy that she doesn't have to deal with divorce. She recognizes from the gap in the record collection that the missing albums are probably The Beatles. Sara later finds the gun that killed the husband in the house. . . 10) "Still Life" - December 8, 2005 A mother claims her son was kidnapped... but it turns out she's not the boy's real mother. Not much Sara in this; mainly at the end when they're digging up the woman's backyard looking for evidence, and she speaks about closure for the family. . . 11) "Werewolves" - January 5, 2006 When Sara meets Sofia at the phone booth, she's calm and collected, while Sofia is irritable. Sara doesn't comment on the fact that Sofia is tampering with evidence. . . 12) "Daddy's Little Girl" - January 19, 2006 Sara finds evidence at the hospital that leads them to the killer. While she still shows a dislike for cases where women are abused, she doesn't fly off the handle. She also comments to Grissom that some people shouldn't be together. . . 13) "Kiss-Kiss, Bye-Bye" - January 26, 2006 Sara seems amused at Greg's fascination with Lois and her history, and later jokes that the money hid the bullet. She finds the ring that goes with the missing dress. When she and Grissom catch Hodges in the lab trying to color his hair, she comments that she likes men with gray hair - an obvious reference to Grissom. . . 15) "Pirates of the Third Reich" - February 9, 2006 Possibly in reaction to the events of "Committed", Sara refuses to go interview a mental patient without someone with her. She comments that "Crazy people do make me crazy". Grissom races off into the desert to stop Lady Heather from whipping a suspect to death. . . 16) "Up In Smoke" - March 2, 2006 Sara seems to enjoy taking the power chisel to the chimney. Or - as someone said online - she once again displays her 'Type A' personality, always taking control; she needs to do everything herself rather than rely on anyone. When Catherine and Nick want in on the case - because they can't enter the house otherwise - she is quick to accommodate them. Once again her taste in reading shows when she references Edgar Allan Poe's "A Cask of Amontillado". . . 17) "I Like To Watch" - March 9, 2006 As part of a documentary, a news crew follows the CSIs around as they track a serial rapist. When one of the crew asks Sara if it wouldn't be better if they had a new victim rather than trying to follow a cold trail, she tells them that she hopes it won't come to that. While she still has a strong dislike of rape, Sara - as she has been all season - is much more unemotional than she used to be. . . 18) "The Unusual Suspect" - March 30, 2006 Despite her misgivings about Hannah, Sara still lets herself get played by the girl, feeling a bit of kinship for her because they are both smart and were both the odd ones out at school. Sara doesn't know anything about modern high school sexual antics. . . 20) "Poppin' Tags" - April 13, 2006 As part of a recurring mechanical theme, Sara spends most of her time going over the car used in the crime. She also goes with Nick and Sofia to talk to the rapper, but stays in the background. . . 21) "Rashomama" - April 27, 2006 Sara seems to be in two parts in this episode - on the one hand, she shows a distaste of tradition for tradition's sake, and disparages the 'ownership' she sees inherent in marriage. On the other hand, she isn't against weddings, jokes with Nick, and allows the groom's man to flirt with her - she seems to enjoy the attention. This is the last time that anyone flirts with her, or shows any interest in her. She even shows some 'Grissom-esque' recall on the subject of marriage, particularly the role of the bridesmaids. While she's waiting for things to happen, she takes a nap in the locker room, face down on the bench - and is overjoyed when the car finally arrives, because she now has something to process. Despite the IAB investigation and the overall situation, she doesn't allow herself to become frustrated. Sara is familiar with the works of Raymond Chandler, a point which comes up when Greg does his \film noir\ recounting of the events. One thing to note about Catherine in this episode, and her competitive attitude. Back in the third season episode "After the Show", Catherine ran the case because the killer would only deal with her. In this episode, the tow truck driver says he would rather talk to Sara, and Catherine cuts him off cold - "Cool your jets, Romeo". Sara didn't have any problem with Catherine interacting with the killer in "After the Show" (she was just ticked that she and Nick didn't get the big case), but when the situation is reversed Catherine doesn't feel the same way. In an "Early Show" interview the day after "Rashomama" aired, Jorja Fox said that Sara is "commitment-phobic and intimacy gunshy". This may or may not relate to the season finale. Sara's comments on marriage and ownership in this episode are really quite ironic, all things considered - they're exactly what she wants. If Grissom ever proposed, she'd be in 7th heaven. She's always been subservient to him, deferring to his needs and wants, and would love to be 'owned' by him; she wants to be the only person in his life. . . 22) "Time of Your Death" - May 4, 2006 A strange fantasy fulfillment service is at the center of this one - the victim eventually died because he never realized it was a fantasy setup. Sara, as usual, gets to work on a car, and also gets to trace a cell phone. When Sara and Grissom meet with the guy running the fantasy service, he makes an offhand comment about their dreams coming true - it's just a tagline for his service, but a lot of viewers chose to think that he specifically means Sara and Grissom. At the end of the episode, when the team is talking about fantasies, Sara and Grissom exchange several glances - again, a moment that you can read anything you want into; what fantasies does Sara have about Grissom? At one point during the episode, Grissom is talking with Doc Robbins, and Robbins asks him about marriage. Grissom admits that he did think about getting married once - back in the second grade. . . 23) "Bang Bang" - May 11, 2006 The only thing people will remember about this episode is that Brass gets shot. Once again Sara gets played by a suspect, believing that a self-inflicted pen wound is actually a gunshot wound. . . 24) "Way to Go" - May 18, 2006 There's only one thing that viewers will remember about this episode: Sara and Grissom finally get together. At the end of the episode, Grissom is laying on his bed talking about the way he wants to die (how romantic, talking about a long, lingering, cancerous death). Sara comes out of the bathroom with damp hair, wearing a short robe, and kneels next to the bed, telling him that she's not ready to say goodbye just yet. That's all there is to that scene, but it's obvious: Sara and Grissom are now together, even if for just one night. Psychologically speaking, it is bizarre that Grissom should let Sara in at this point - as mentioned, he's had several "second chance / I could have lost you moments" that are directly related to either himself or Sara; but it's not until Brass gets shot that he lets her in. Sara getting hurt or himself nearly getting killed isn't enough to convince Grissom that he needs to do something with his life and Sara, but Brass getting shot is? That's more than weird. Or perhaps he just needed to be hit over the head several times with the fragility of life to realize that it applied to him as well. We'll never know. In an interview during the summer break, Billy Petersen said of this scene: "It's not sexual. In any way." True, there's nothing sexual going on during the scene, but you have to presume that they're going to get it on - Sara has probably wanted to jump into bed with Grissom for years. Grissom, on the other hand, seems completely uninterested in sex - he's never even mentioned sex during these past six seasons, and seems to have no physical interest in Sara. Did they or didn't they? That question must be left up to the fanfics, since there is no answer for it on screen. On the other hand, in an interview in September of 2007 for the site RTL.de, Jorja Fox says of this scene that it's obvious that it wasn't the first time the two had been in a bedroom together. The video clip of this interview can be found at http://www.rtl.de/tv/tv_946697.php?media=video2&set_id=11408 An odd note: Carol Mendelsohn and Billy Petersen came up with this little scene back in November or December of 2005 (according to interviews). In January of 2006, Jorja Fox said (in two different interviews) that Sara had stopped chasing Grissom and was moving on with her life (but she wouldn't throw him out of bed). In a later interview, she said that she didn't learn of this scene until a couple of days prior to starting the episode. A major development in the character of Sara Sidle, and yet they didn't have Jorja Fox involved. This is standard operating practice on the show - they'll write a major development or trauma to the character of Sara Sidle, but they don't even ask Jorja Fox about it; she nevers finds out about any of these scenes until she gets the script. It isn't until the ninth season that Jorja has any real say in the development of her character, and even then it's just minor things. . . ---END OF SEASON: Sara is much more calm and collected this season, with her emotions under control. Events that would normally have her flying off the handle no longer seem to have much of an effect on her. The biggest addition to her character is her ideas on marriage - while she's not against marriage, she sees it somewhat as a 'transfer of ownership', the woman going from her father to her husband in some sort of exchange. She is also against tradition for the sake of tradition. Sara and Grissom finally get together. The small signs of caring and affection that Grissom has shown may be all that Sara really needs, just something that shows that someone actually does care for her. It doesn't matter that the other members of the team have shown concern or caring for her at one time or another; they're not Grissom, which is all that she really understands. . . = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = SEASON 7 - THE RELATIONSHIP IS OFFICIAL: Yes, the relationship is official now, and not just fan speculation. However, they do very little with it - instead, the writers continue to try and tease us, which just doesn't work. Once a relationship is out in the open, you must actually show it, not just tease about it. Even people who are against GSR have complained that they're not doing anything with the relationship, other than the occasional scene which doesn't really do anything to advance the relationship. The show heard the complaints, and the GSR scenes increased (slightly) in scope during the final fourth of the season. Some people have wondered why it took them six years to finally get together, while others wonder why they're together in the first place. One critic said it best: "Any human connection that Grissom might have had in the past would be fleeting at best. He's not and never has been a people person, much less someone who seems to need a deep emotional connection to someone else. Catherine has chided him about this on many occasions. We're supposed to suddenly think he wakes up one morning and realizes that Sara is someone he wants and needs as more than an employee." Everyone has their own opinions; your own may vary. In the end it doesn't matter - Sara and Grissom are together, no matter how odd that may seem given his past behavior. One of the things that \really\ strains credibility on the show during the 7th season is the fact that \none\ of the other CSIs realize that Grissom and Sara are seeing each other - they never appear to notice. Sure, Sara and Grissom are keeping the relationship quiet for several reasons, not least of which is the whole "supervisor / subordinate" problem; God forbid that anyone thinks that Sara is getting an unfair advantage because she's sleeping with the boss. But these are (supposedly) bright, intelligent CSIs; it's their \job\ to notice things, to be observant - yet none of them figure out that Sara and Grissom are together. Sara and Grissom are the ones who don't understand people; the rest of the team is very much people oriented. Doesn't anyone notice that Sara is spending a lot of time at Grissom's place? And so on down the road. If that's how observant they normally are, I wouldn't trust them to find a lost dog. It's actually a good thing that they're trying to keep it quiet - other than the above "supervisor / subordinate" reason, there are at least two people who would not be thrilled that they are together. One is Catherine - and if that seems strange to you, look at the character: Catherine has always had Grissom's ear, and has always trusted him to listen to her, even to the detriment of the other CSIs. But now Sara has Grissom's ear (and other body parts), so Catherine might no longer be the final word on anything. Catherine has always been competitive, especially when it comes to men - while she may not have romantic designs on Grissom, she would hate to think that another woman has 'won'. The other person actually \would\ be thrilled if he found out the two of them were together: Ecklie. For years now - ever since she yelled at him in "Nesting Dolls" - Sara has been at the top of Ecklie's shitlist, with Grissom running a close second. Ecklie would use their relationship as an excuse to fire Sara, and he would try to fire (or at least demote) Grissom. One thing not to like about GSR: Sara and Grissom knowingly and willingly jeopardize the lab, every case they've ever worked on, and their careers by being "romantically involved" while on the same shift. All it would take is one smart-ass defense lawyer to say something like "So, Dr. Grissom - you're saying that Miss Sidle threatened to withhold her favors unless you changed your conclusion to match hers." Not true, obviously, but court cases aren't about truth. If either Sara or Grissom had moved to a different shift when they started their affair, there would be no problems; they could even have come out into the open without risking anything more than comments by colleagues. By being selfish and keeping their affair a secret while staying on the same shift, they've endangered everything. Or would have, if there were any realism present - obviously not a problem in the 7th and 8th seasons. In a TV Guide Q&A (September 21st, 2006), Billy Petersen and Jorja Fox were asked what would happen if the administration found out about the relationship, and they had to choose between their relationship and their jobs. Billy Petersen: "I don't know that Grissom has ever been in love, or that he's in love now, so I wouldn't know how to answer that question." (love was never mentioned in the question) Jorja Fox: "Sara, by virtue of being a realist, is also very much a romantic. So I think if she really was in love with someone, and it came down to a choice between work and love, I think she'd go in the direction of love." Unsurprising that Jorja Fox would answer that way - she's a bit of a romantic herself. Not that romantics are realists, not by a long shot. She also mentioned that while Grissom was away - they already knew that Billy Petersen would be gone for four weeks, doing a play in Rhode Island - that she didn't know if Sara would remain monogamous. This is odd, given Sara's apparent preference for monogamy. So Grissom isn't in love, and according to what Petersen said in the "Early Show" interview after "Way to Go" aired, that scene isn't sexual. No love, no sex (not that Grissom has ever shown any sexual interest in *anyone*), so why did Grissom let Sara into his life at this time? Is she a new pet? Or is she just someone to talk to at the end of the day? As with everything else about the relationship, we will probably never know. As far as the "second chance" considerations, that has been explained earlier. Brass' "death" didn't directly involve either Sara or Grissom, so it isn't really a "second chance" event - and if it is considered as such, then wouldn't Nick's kidnapping and near death in "Grave Danger" also be a "second chance" situation? In an interview with RTL.de early in 2007, Billy Petersen said of GSR that "He knows it's wrong, she knows it's wrong" - exactly what we don't know, as his comments were cut off (it was a poorly edited interview). From what he said earlier in the interview, presumably he means that they both know that a supervisor dating a subordinate is wrong. In fact, there were several interviews with William Petersen during the seventh season where he said things about Grissom that makes you wonder why the two ever got together in the first place; according to Petersen, Grissom doesn't need anyone or want anyone, and that Grissom isn't in love or "probably isn't" in love. In the dull realm of television statistics, it should be noted that bringing a relationship out into the open actually \decreases\ interest in it. When it's in the "will they / won't they" stage, people love it - they love the mystery, the speculation. But once it's out in the open, it's like a magician's trick being revealed. "Moonlighting" is a good example (though there are others) - once Dave and Maddy actually got together, interest in the show disappeared. Traditionally, interest in a relationship drops 10 to 15% after it comes out into the open. Carol Mendelsohn (the executive producer) said in September of 2006 that based on all of the letters she received, interest in the Sara / Grissom relationship is 60% for, 40% against. Judging by all of the blogs, discussion groups, etc, I would say that it's more like 50-50 at the start of the season. Some critics complained that the GSR scenes in some episodes did nothing at all for the episode in question; they didn't advance the case(s) any, and were thrown in strictly for GSR purposes. It should also be noted that at least half of Sara's scenes this season are GSR only, not case related; Jorja Fox was underutilized in the 7th season, as was Gary Dourdan. . . ========== SEASON 7 (2006-2007) =============================================================== 01) "Built to Kill, part 1" - September 21, 2006 Grissom brings Sara a veggie burger. That's it, that's the big relationship moment. Still, it's the first time that Grissom has ever spontaneously given Sara anything, other than perhaps that book on insects he gave her one Christmas. Possibly because Warrick is in the break room, Grissom doesn't stick around to share lunch with Sara. Sara has no problem with the fact that the suicide and his partner were a couple, again showing her lack of prejudice for 'alternative' lifestyles. She also asks David Phillips how he's doing with his new in-laws (another source of flirting gone), and teases Grissom in his office, parroting his words back to him. Sara shows her sense of humor for the last time this season when she jokes (about the diorama) "I think Malibu Barbie did it." (which is also an "ER" reference) . . 02) "Built to Kill, part 2" - September 28, 2006 Catherine calls on Sara for help when she realizes that she was set up to make it look as if she was raped, and Sara keeps the confidence quiet as requested. Ecklie is unsurprised when Sara agrees with Grissom that information on the miniature shouldn't be released to the media. It's one of the reasons he dislikes her, because she always takes Grissom's side. . . 03) "Toe Tags" - October 5, 2006 While not actually a relationship moment, during the chainsaw case Sara reminds Grissom of something he said during the symposium in San Francisco where they first met. This is the first on screen confirmation that they did indeed meet in San Francisco. Again, Sara is able to quote Grissom word for word, from something he said at least 9 years ago. Obsessive indeed. . . 04) "Fannysmackin'" - October 12, 2006 Sara is in tears when she processes Greg after he becomes the next beating victim. Later she takes out her frustrations by repeatedly kicking a dummy while recreating the scene. When Grissom jokingly suggests that she pick on someone her own size, she snaps at him, asking him if he wants to volunteer. At the end, when talk turns to the kids and their actions, she says that they (the kids) have no one to blame but themselves. . . 05) "Double Cross" - October 19, 2006 I don't know if you want to call this an GSR moment or not: Sara and Grissom discussing religion in the morgue. This is the first time that we (and Grissom) learn that Sara is agnostic. You'd think that after 9 or more years, he'd know at least that much about her. Sara already knew that Grissom was Catholic. . . 06) "Burn Out" - November 2, 2006 Sara helps process the pedophile's burnt out house, noting that the comics, candy and videos are the perfect kid magnet. Later, when Grissom chews out Greg for having music on in the lab, Sara corrects him, and lets him know that she turned on the music - Grissom looks at her but says nothing. A short time after that, Sara tells Grissom to take it easy on Greg. This is the first time since "After the Show" that she has talked back to Grissom or taken him to task for anything; it also shows the "motherly" attitude she has towards Greg - she has become his teacher, more or less, and she is protective of her student. . . 08) "Happenstance" - November 16, 2006 At the very end of the episode, Sara makes her only appearance. She helps Grissom by filling in the word 'misanthrope' in his crossword (which is ironic), and she tells him "I won't wait up." That's it for this episode. Her words can be construed to mean "I'll be asleep in your bed when you get home", but even that is guesswork. Sara mentions that she read Thoreau in college. While Grissom mentions a sabbatical, he doesn't say much else about it, including when he's planning on taking it. The use of the word "misanthrope" is ironic, because that's how Billy Petersen sees Grissom. In an interview with WPRI (Providence, Rhode Island) in November of 2006, Petersen compares Grissom to the character he's currently portraying in the play he's in - he says of Grissom, "He likes to be alone, but he's not lonely. He's more misanthropic than lonely." A misanthrope is someone who hates people - if that's the way that Grissom is, then why is he with Sara? Petersen also says of Grissom, "He's over-educated to the point of obnoxiousness." Petersen has made other comments over the years describing Grissom the same way: he doesn't need anyone or want anyone. The video clip of this interview is available at the William Petersen Appreciation Page (http://www.billypetersen.com/Multimedia/OTHERAPP/DublinCarolInterviewNov2006.wmv). His comments about Grissom can be found approximately 2/3 of the way through the interview. . . 09) "Living Legend" - November 23, 2006 Sara hits on the solution to the case (though she doesn't know it) when she calls after Grissom, "Hey! Don't rule out the ghost of Mickey Dunn!" . . 10) "Loco-Motives" - December 7, 2006 Working with Grissom, Sara uncovers Izzy Delancy's anti-cruelty video, which she approves of (the video, not the animal cruelty). She also takes a chance and openly teases Grissom, again quoting him. Sara manages to trace the cell phone used by Ernie Dell. . . 11) "Leaving Las Vegas" - January 4, 2007 Grissom stops by the locker room just before he leaves on sabbatical, and tells Sara he's leaving; she responds that she'll be there when he gets back. No big farewell scene, no hug, no kiss goodbye. According to Billy Petersen in a September 2006 TV Guide interview, Sara and Grissom will never kiss (Petersen jokingly said that they'd have to pay him more to do that). According to producer Naren Shankar (in the DVD extras for season 7), Sara and Grissom never really discussed his leaving on sabbatical, and he gave her no warning as to when he was actually leaving. His leaving doesn't really make any sense in terms of the relationship - Sara and Grissom have only been together for 6 months now, hardly time for the relationship to have gone stale. So why is Grissom leaving for a whole month, essentially abandoning Sara? There is a brief mention of the relationship, in a way - on their way out to the crime scene, Nick and Catherine are talking about Grissom, and Nick observes that Grissom must have a new girlfriend, as he's shaved his beard. Which is absolutely silly, as far as GSR goes - Sara has stated previously that she likes "scruff"; Billy Petersen reportedly shaved his beard at the request of his wife Gena; it had nothing to do with GSR. . . 12) "Sweet Jane" - January 18, 2007 Yet another serial killer is loose in Las Vegas. The team takes the various cases and divides them up; on hers, Sara gets confrontational with the original investigating detective. . . 13) "Redrum" - January 25, 2007 Catherine and Keppler set up their fake crime scene, fabricating and even stealing evidence to help find a fugitive, which isn't even their job. When the rest of the team gets suspicious of Catherine's activities, Sara is uncomfortable about going behind Catherine's back and spying on her. Sara knows where Grissom keeps his keys (and doesn't seem phased by the animal skull he keeps in his desk). When Catherine finally reveals the fake crime scene and her motive for it, Sara informs her that if she has anything to say, she'll do so in private. Grissom sends Sara a chrysalis (butterfly cocoon) from Walden, no note or explanation. This is the writers referencing the 4th season episode "Butterflied". Considering when it arrived, Grissom must have sent the cocoon the very first day he was at Walden, as it would have been sent by ground freight; air freight would have depressurized the cocoon and destroyed it. There were no 'fragile' or 'handle with care' labels on the package, so despite the packing, the cocoon may not be viable. Everybody has tried to read a meaning into the gift. The minimum explanation is that at least Grissom was thinking about her - or as one critic online put it, how typical of Grissom to send Sara an insect larvae. Otherwise? Is it supposed to be a reference to the "Butterflied" case, as in "you remind me of a dead nurse" or "I chose my career over you"? Unlikely. Or is Grissom trying to say that he thinks that Sara is in a cocoon, and that he's the only one who can free her from it? That would be insulting and egotistical. Or is he saying that she's a butterfly? If so, then they're both in trouble: what do you do with a butterfly when it hatches? You either set it free or you kill it and pin it in your collection - either way spells trouble and heartbreak for Sara. As an additional reference, note Grissom's butterfly collection on the wall in "Burden of Proof" (and other episodes) - is Sara just another butterfly in his collection? Let's hope the cocoon isn't supposed to represent Sara - Grissom kills butterflies. The cocoon appears to have entered the "it never happened" phase - it has not been mentioned, referenced or shown since the episode "Law of Gravity". This episode also shows one of the major dichotomies of the show: Catherine can get away with anything. Sara yells at a suspect ("Nesting Dolls") and almost gets fired, whereas in this episode, Catherine commits several criminal acts, pisses off the D.A., and has both the cops and the newsies running around in circles, yet nothing happens - in fact, her actions are never mentioned again. This isn't the first time that Catherine has committed a crime and has gotten away with it. Back in "Slaves of Las Vegas", Grissom told a suspect that everyone has photos of loved ones on their desk. Note Grissom's desk in this: no photos at all... no photos of family, no photos of Sara, not even a photo of his dog. . . 14) "Meet Market" - February 1, 2007 Sara investigates a non-sex club. When the greeter at the club asks her if all women want relationships, Sara stammers that she doesn't know. Later when she's talking with Jesse, he mentions several things to her that go into a relationship - only a couple of which Grissom has ever shown. When Jesse says "Who doesn't want to be swept off their feet?", Sara replies with "I'm not sure that it's something I'd pay for." Looking through Grissom's collection of miniatures, Keppler comments that Grissom reminds him of a serial killer he knew. There is no real GSR moment in this (which would be difficult as they are on opposite sides of the country), but Grissom does write a letter to Sara while he is at Walden. He does not send it to her, however; it doesn't reappear until "Leapin' Lizards". The original 'letter' that the "csiwiki" had posted on their GSR page was sheer fantasy, absolutely unrelated to anything we could see on the screen. They have since changed it (April 2007) to something more closely resembling the few words we can actually see on the screen. You can take that as canon or not, but personally, I'm only going to believe those few words that can actually be read on the screen. What is readable in the letter appears here - note that only those words or letters which are completely understandable have been listed: ==================================== Sara, Our parting was awkward find it so diff______ ____et #47 betwixt my eye and heart _____ugh will _____ily as if you were I'll miss you, ===================================== As he writes the letter, Grissom has a couple of large books open on the desk. "___et #47" is most likely Shakespeare's "Sonnet #47", as the line "betwixt my eye and heart" is from that. If the letter listed on the "csiwiki" GSR page is correct, then I'd give Grissom a 'B-' for effort (he did copy at least half of it out of a book), but an 'F' for completion. Grissom writing a love letter seems a little out of character, but maybe that's the only way he can express his emotions. . . 15) "Law of Gravity" - February 8, 2007 Grissom returns to Vegas, and meets Sara when she comes back from dumpster diving. Grissom appears to be just a bit more open emotionally, while Sara backs away from him. Possibly she backs away because of her appearance and smell, but we don't really know. At the end of that brief scene they exchange the only real relationship words of the episode: Grissom says he'll see her later, to which Sara replies, "Yeah, you will." There is a brief mention of the cocoon, with Grissom telling Sara she'll be surprised when it hatches - and that's the last mention of the cocoon. When Keppler dies, Grissom half-hugs Catherine - something he's never done with Sara. . . 16) "Monster In a Box" - February 15, 2007 Yet another of the miniatures killings. Oddly enough, it is Sara rather than Grissom who tells Nick and Warrick the particulars of the miniatures. A police woman is killed when she takes the intended victim's place, killed by a device that was already in the apartment. Sara goes through Ernie Dell's old home movies looking for possible relatives, and discovers that he had a son. In what is an exceptional moment of acting, watch Sara when they're in the interrogation room with Ernie Dell's kid - he mentions 'fosters', and Sara almost jumps, reminded of her own foster experiences. . . 17) "Fallen Idols" - February 22, 2007 In what I would most definitely consider an "out of character" moment for Sara, she tells Warrick of a sexual experience gone bad when she was in college - she thought the relationship was monogamous, and discovered that it wasn't when her date retrieved the wrong pair of underwear during the "post-coital panty search". It is out of character because for Sara, because the discovery that she was wrong about her relationship would be an embarrassment, a personal failure - and she never talks about those, except perhaps to Grissom. It is also out of character because she never mentions her personal sexual experiences to anyone except Grissom. Basically, this was an attempt by the writers to "sex up" the episode, and doesn't ring true for the character. In yet another "brief minute at the end of the episode" scene, which is about the only way we've seen GSR all season, Sara shaves Grissom's beard with a straight razor. You have to wonder where Sara learned to do that, since shaving someone with a straight razor isn't something you just do - it's a learned skill. You will note that just as with every other GSR scene this season that occurs outside of work, it takes place in Grissom's apartment - apparently the two of them never spend time in Sara's apartment. Has she moved in with him? We don't know. . . 18) "Empty Eyes" - March 29, 2007 Six showgirls are murdered in their rented house, their throats slashed. Sara finds a dying showgirl (the second victim but the final death) under a bed; the showgirl dies in her arms. When she first arrives at the scene, she jokes with Grissom about her date getting canceled, to which Grissom replies "I'm sure he had a good reason" - this is the last time we ever see her in a humorous and upbeat mood this season, and is the only mention all season of the two of them possibly doing something outside of work (or any kind of date). The next morning at the scene, Nick tries to comfort her, telling her that at least someone was with the showgirl when she died; Sara's reply is sad and quiet, saying that they usually don't meet the victims until they're dead - obviously it affects her greatly, though her reply to his concern is her standard "I'm fine". Later while they're chasing a suspect, they find a man laying on the ground outside a bar, his throat slit, the knife nearby - Sara rides with him to the hospital, holding his hand and crying the whole way. In the hospital, she realizes that he's the killer; he grabs at her, but she manages to pull away. At the end, Sara and Grissom are watching a news broadcast of the killings - Sara is crying, talking about how she believed that the guy was just another victim, and how she lost perspective. Grissom wipes away a tear, and walks out of the room with her, his arm around her waist, passing a cleaning lady in the hall (the miniatures killer). It should be noted that this is the first time in over two years (since "Nesting Dolls") that Grissom has ever physically touched Sara, and is also the first time in over two years (again, since "Nesting Dolls") that he has attempted to comfort her. In fact, it is the first time that he has ever done more than just hold her hand. If they really are trying to keep the relationship quiet - as Billy Petersen has said in several different interviews - then this is an odd way to do it, Grissom with his arm around Sara in full view of everyone. Not only does it advertise the relationship to anyone in the lab - if they were observant enough to notice it, which apparently they are not - but it also exposes the relationship to the miniatures killer. Along the same lines, this is the first time in just as long that Sara has leaned on anyone for support. June 2007: Jorja Fox was nominated for an Emmy (Drama Series, "Supporting Actress") for this episode, her first individual nomination. It's long overdue. July 2007: she's not on the list for the next round... a damn shame. . . 19) "Big Shots" - April 5, 2007 Sara once again shows her penchant for vehicles when she goes over the limo with Grissom. She supports Greg in the lab, and when the hostile mother confronts Greg, Sara gets between the two of them, protecting Greg. . . 20) "Lab Rats" - April 12, 2007 Catherine gets a tame clown case while Greg is sent on a mob murder - when Catherine complains about it, Grissom tells her she wouldn't want it. That much is obvious when Greg returns, filthy from dumpster diving. Grissom sends Sara on a possibly dangerous biohazard pickup. Favoritism? The message on Sara's answering machine (or voicemail), unsurprisingly, is: "This is Sara Sidle. Leave a message at the tone". Plain and simple, just like Sara. While there isn't any GSR moment in this episode, as far as Sara and Grissom actually together (their initial conversation is entirely work), there is a brief mention of the relationship. Or rather, there isn't. Twice during the episode a character wonders if the miniatures are keeping Grissom up at night - first Hodges makes the comment, then Wendy Simms asks Sara the same thing. The obvious viewer response to that question was probably, "No, the miniatures aren't keeping Grissom up at night - Sara is!". Just to make sure we got it, they tossed it at us twice. . . 21) "Ending Happy" - April 26, 2007 Sara exhibits her germ phobia again, and she quotes Longfellow to comfort an elderly man at the scene. Sara and Grissom are probably having sex: in an exchange that sounds like it came out of a bad romance novel, Grissom mentions that sex without love is pointless and makes him sad, and Sara replies "I'm pretty sure I don't make you sad"; Grissom assures Sara that she makes him happy. It's an indirect reference, but this is the first time that Grissom has ever mentioned sex or love as it relates to him personally; neither of them has ever said "I love you". That she \needs\ that reassurance is just another pointer to her low self-esteem, and to her fixation on Grissom. It also shows that Grissom has probably never told her how he feels. . . 22) "Leapin' Lizards" - May 3, 2007 Sara and Grissom spend time together at his apartment watching an old movie; this is the closest we'll ever come to seeing them in bed together. They appear comfortable together, like "an old married couple" (to quote Billy Petersen) at the end of the day, but that's it. Sara finally sees the letter Grissom wrote back in "Meet Market", but we have no idea how she feels about it. What is 'read' on screen does seem to match what we saw in "Meet Market", though perhaps not in the same order. Sara says she feels sorry for the movie monster Mothra; this is the only time we know of that she watches an old movie, and of course it has to feature a giant lizard to fit with the episode theme. Grissom goes into the other room and continues working on his own miniature. Nick mentions that he doesn't think that people who work together should date, though he doesn't know about Sara and Grissom. Trivia 4: the dog we see in this episode (a boxer named Bruno) belongs to Billy Petersen. . . 23) "The Good, the Bad, and the Dominatrix" - May 10, 2007 Sara finally meets Lady Heather. Catherine blathers on to Sara about Lady Heather and Grissom, and even mentions Dr. Teri Miller, who hasn't been seen on screen for five years. When Sara finally meets Lady Heather in the hospital, she is completely professional, if a little nervous. Without hesitation, Grissom runs off and spends the night with Lady Heather, then flaunts his emotional connection to her when talking to Sara in the lab; Sara appears uncomfortable with the fact that Grissom spent the night with Lady Heather, but Grissom doesn't notice. Later Grissom tells Sara that Lady Heather needs him as a friend, and she stammers that she understands - but she sounds just a little bitter; does Grissom consider how she needs him, how she feels? He even spends time with Lady Heather afterwards, helping reunite her with her 'lost' granddaughter. More with Grissom and his homebuilt miniature - apparently Sara isn't the only one who is obsessive. Catherine mentions that she doesn't like the idea of people who work together dating ("fishing off the company pier"), though she, like Nick, has no idea that Sara and Grissom are together. Brass comments to Catherine that he knows of something juicier than Grissom and Lady Heather, a possible reference to Sara and Grissom. As far as we can tell, Grissom never tells Heather about Sara - why not? The whole thing affects Sara, with her low self-esteem - Sara doesn't think she's pretty or sexy, and she's always considered herself intellectually inferior to Grissom. Along comes Catherine, telling her about someone who is pretty and successful, as smart as Grissom, and someone that Grissom is interested in. When Grissom spends the night with Lady Heather, it is an emotional blow to Sara. On the other hand, Grissom obviously cares about Lady Heather, and would Sara be chasing him if he were an uncaring person? Even if he is caring about a possible rival. Is Sara worried that Grissom will go back to his old girlfriend? Does she feel betrayed by him? She should, but we just don't know. A lot of fans were upset at how callously Grissom treated Sara. He shows more care and concern for Lady Heather in this single episode than he has for Sara all season, but that's nothing new. Grissom is apparently unaware of how badly he hurt Sara with his betrayal. . . 24) "Living Doll" - May 17, 2007 Sara is tasered and kidnapped by the miniatures killer and left under a wrecked car out in the desert. At the first scene, Grissom calls Sara "my dear" despite other people in the area. There's a flashback of Sara and Grissom at a crime scene, Grissom running his hand down Sara's arm - that doesn't fit the character, touching Sara so casually and openly like that, at a scene, in public. Especially when he's touched her only once this season ("Empty Eyes"), and especially when the only times he's ever touched her during the entire series were those rare times when he's comforted her. Grissom finds the new miniature just as Sara is being kidnapped. When the team wonders why Sara was grabbed, Grissom blurts out, "I took away the only person she's ever loved, so she's going to do the same thing to me" - the first time he ever really admits his feelings for Sara. However, he's never told her how he feels. This is the first time the team learns of the affair (so very observant). The car wreck flashback takes place sometime between "Lab Rats" and "Ending Happy". Sara seems to have completely shrugged off all of the time that Grissom spent with Lady Heather, pretending that it never happened (another pointer to her complete emotional dependency on him - he's the only person that exists, as far as she's concerned, and she can forgive him anything at all). According to Billy Petersen in an "Early Show" interview the day after this episode aired, it wasn't until this point - his outburst in the lab - that Grissom realized that he loved Sara. It makes their conversation in "Ending Happy" seem a little odd, though - Grissom said that sex without love is pointless and makes him sad, but if he didn't know he was in love until now, then have they been having sad, pointless sex? Or any at all? It's certainly a slap in the face for the hardcore GSR fans who have claimed that Sara and Grissom have been in love since day one. In the same interview, Jorja Fox called GSR "our fabulous little secret love affair" - no surprise about that. She also wonders what's going to happen now that it's out in the open. Continuity error: in this episode, Grissom says he's been a CSI for 22 years. In the episode "Shooting Stars" last season, he said he's been a CSI for 25 years. Grissom gets highly emotional with Natalie, yelling at her; this is the most emotion he's shown since the pilot or since "Gentle, Gentle". By doing so, he's playing right into Natalie's hands - she kidnapped Sara because she is Grissom's girlfriend; she kidnapped Sara in order to hurt Grissom. By blowing up and yelling at her, Grissom is just telling Natalie that her plan succeeded; all he's doing is feeding her ego. There's no way that Natalie will tell Grissom anything. It should also be noted that the only two times this season that Grissom has actually touched Sara - at the end of "Empty Eyes" and the flashback in this episode - were done in full view of Natalie, the miniatures killer, which is the primary reason for those scenes; to show that's how Natalie knew they were a couple. The secondary reason, of course, is to 'prove' that they're a couple. It is \not\ standard procedure to take pictures of the crowd at a crime scene, and as it is Sara's case, Grissom shouldn't have been there in the first place. Presuming that Sara survives this, she should end up seeing a PEAP counselor again, or even better, a professional therapist - that would be an interesting conversation to listen to. If she doesn't survive, then she will have died thinking that Grissom doesn't care about her. This is the first seasonal cliffhanger for "CSI:", and won't be resolved until the season 8 premiere. CBS has kept the hype going for several months - most of this episode was already out on the web back in late March, and the publicity department has been playing it sly as to whether Jorja Fox will stay with the show or not; this is their way of trying to get us to wonder whether Sara lives or dies. In an interview with popgurls.com, Jorja said that everyone returns for the eighth season - but that can be construed to mean that she'll come back just long enough to do the season premiere. Over the summer TV Guide spread various rumors that she's refused to do a death scene (there was none) or that she's demanding twice her salary (also untrue) - but TV Guide has been notably wrong about her career before, and it should be noted that columnist Mike Ausiello doesn't like Jorja Fox. We won't know until we know. Technically, it should be easy enough to find Sara - if the rain lets up any, choppers armed with infrared will pick up her body heat against the cold desert like a gold bar on an empty basketball court. Just as easy, since the wrecked car comes from a CSI case, they'll have a record listing the wrecking company who took it away, and from there it will be easy enough to find the driver who hauled it out to the desert for Natalie. Obviously she couldn't have moved it herself, then flipped it over and raised one end up on jacks so she could just slide Sara under it. But we can expect the season 8 premiere to drag it out until the very end, with soap opera twists. . . ---END OF SEASON: Continuing the trend from the previous season, Sara is calm and collected during season 7 - in fact, she shows little emotion at all, with only a couple of exceptions. It's probable that her relationship with Grissom is going well, though we are never really shown enough to judge; there is very little shown of it, good or bad. There is possibly love there, but neither of them says anything about it other than obliquely. Sara believes that a relationship should be monogamous. Sara continues to mentor Greg, and works well with him. She is visibly upset when Grissom spends the night with Lady Heather, another betrayal of her heart. Sex is something that no one mentions in regards to Sara, with the exception of fanfics, most of which are poorly written (you have to sort through a lot of trash to find the few good ones, which is true of almost any writing). She doesn't seem to have any problems with sex or its 'alternative' practices, with the exception of her comments in "Swap Meet" - and that is more about marriage than it is sex. We don't really have any idea how she feels about sex as it relates to herself; the only times she's mentioned personal sexual experiences were both ones that were disappointing for her. Also note her conversation with Grissom in "Ending Happy", where she needs reassurance from him that she makes him happy sexually. Given her upbringing, the two times she's actually mentioned sex as it relates to her, and her low self-esteem, one could almost imagine that sex isn't important to her, or that it's something that she just puts up with because that's what guys want. We just don't know; there's no real data to go by. As for Sara and Grissom, it's not until late in the season that sex is mentioned at all with reference to their relationship, and even then it's only mentioned indirectly. Grissom and Sara never mention love, other than indirectly. One critic said that "I think they give off no sexual chemistry at all together. Jorja has struck sparks with other actors, but I don't think she and Bill have any chemistry as an emotional couple at all". In the DVD extras for season 7, Marg Helgenberger says that if Catherine had known about Sara and Grissom, she would have told Sara to end it immediately, because it wasn't going to work - but that, of course, with Sara, it would go in one ear and right out the other. Also in the DVD extras, William Petersen said that Grissom is "emotionally closed". . . ========== SEASON 8 (2007-2008) =============================================================== Continuity and any timeline go out the window during the eighth season, starting with "Dead Doll" and going all the way up to "Goodbye and Good Luck". Previous facts are ignored, as is Sara's history. There is very little character interaction during the eighth season - no scenes with Nick, Warrick, or Catherine; GSR is apparently all that matters. Because Jorja Fox is leaving the show, you'd think that she would get \more\ airtime, not less. . . 01) "Dead Doll" - September 27, 2007 Sara is found alive (barely) - we expected that. Totally \beautiful\ piece of acting on Jorja's part; it's an Emmy-worthy performance, one which I can't watch again. Sara tells Natalie about her foster experiences - the first time she's ever mentioned the fact that she was in foster care to anyone other than Grissom since it was revealed back in "No Humans Involved". Sara eats at the veggie place in the mall 2 or 3 times a week (she still doesn't cook for herself, apparently). In a flashback, she calls Grissom by his first name for the first time (on screen) when he calls her at the mall to tell her about Natalie. No surprise that Sara fought back against the Whacko - note "Committed". Sara makes a major mistake by leaving the wreck and wandering off on her own. During her wanderings in the desert, she mumbles multiplication tables to herself to try and stay focused. Grissom quits the search - as soon as he and Catherine discover that the corpse isn't Sara, he should have continued on her trail if he really cared; Sara should matter more than work. Nick finds Sara because of the mirror's reflection - she has no radial (arm) pulse, but he finally finds a pulse in her neck; she's obviously suffering from heat exhaustion and dehydration. Nick pours water on her to try and cool her off and rehydrate her. Against all probability, Sara wakes up in the chopper - and you can tell when she looks at Grissom that as far as she's concerned, he is the only one that saved her; no one else was involved. As mentioned above, Sara makes a majorly stupid mistake by leaving the wreck - but for her it is understandable. The wreck was a source of shelter, not only from the heat but from the elements. She could have used something from the wreck to collect water. The one good thing she does is to tear the rear view mirror out of the wreck, but everything else is pure, stubborn, "I don't need any help" Sara. While she doesn't know that Whacko was detailed enough with her miniature (though possibly she might have guessed) that she included the VIN, and therefore a way to trace the vehicle, the wreck is a marker - it would be much easier for a search team to find the wreck than it would be to find a lone person wandering in the desert. She also makes a mistake by wandering out into the desert during the heat of the day - she's injured, with no sources of food and water, and with her thin build she is more susceptible to heat exhaustion and dehydration than a heavier person would be. It is pure Sara to stubbornly try to rescue herself - that she manages to make it within 100 yards of the highway is a tribute to her grim determination. But it is no surprise that she tries: Sara \hates\ to rely on anyone else, she's incapable of leaning on anyone for support, and she has never liked asking for help. If she were to wait by the wreck for someone to rescue her - doesn't she have any faith in Grissom and his skills? You'd think that she would know that he would find her - it would be an admission of weakness and failure on her part, and that's something she can never do. She almost kills herself with her stubbornness and her illusions of self-sufficiency. Apparently, from all reports, Jorja Fox is leaving "CSI:" in November - that's a shame. Later note: after this episode aired, Jorja Fox did an interview with Ausiello of TV Guide, and confirmed that she's leaving the show. Even later: an online campaign sprang up immediately, with people sending dollar bills to CBS and Carol Mendelsohn to keep Jorja on the show. A couple of months later, it was announced that all the money collected (over $10,000) would go towards CASA. In October of 2008 (when they were filming that final scene in "One to Go"), CASA presented Jorja with a giant check (it also noted the fan contributions). In March of 2009, Jorja stated that she and Carol Mendelsohn decided on CASA because Sara was a foster child. That's true class. . . 02) "A La Cart" - October 4, 2007 When Ecklie questions Sara and Grissom about their relationship, Sara says they have been intimate for 2 years, while Grissom says 9 years. Grissom is referencing a Forensic Academy conference (possibly the seminar mentioned in "Toe Tags") in which Sara wore her hair in a ponytail and asked a lot of anthropology questions while getting up the nerve to ask him out (Sara laughs when he mentions the conference). Sara apparently does not consider the conference to be when they first became intimate. Ecklie is the only one who asks how Sara is doing. Sara's arm is fractured in two places. Sara is moving to swing shift, as lab policy dictates that people who work on the same shift cannot become "romantically involved". This is just another trauma for Sara, as she will no longer be working with Grissom; as she stands at the fence at the go kart track, you can see that she's starting to realize what she's losing. The lab policy is understandable - reference the events of "The Accused is Entitled", where just the \suggestion\ that Sara and Grissom were having an affair is enough to discredit her testimony; you can imagine what a defense lawyer would do if they \knew\ that the two were intimately involved. Grissom had been in Vegas for at least three years at the time of the Forensic conference (reference "Crate and Burial") - so when was Sara ever his student? If Grissom really believes that they've been in a relationship for nine years, then he's been cheating on her all along: he dated the fingerprint tech in the pilot episode, he dated Dr. Teri Miller during the first two seasons, and of course there's Lady Heather. None of the other CSIs seem to resent the fact that Sara and Grissom carried on a clandestine affair for a year or longer, endangering the lab without any form of repercussions - but then, none of the other CSIs really mention it at all, other than Nick's brief comment to Greg. Apparently, despite what some of them have previously said, it doesn't bother them at all. There is no mention of therapy, but that's no surprise: Sara will refuse to seek out any kind of help, seeing it as an admission of weakness or failure. She prefers to keep her nightmares inside. If therapy or counseling is \required\ - as it was after her DUI non-arrest - she will go only long enough to fulfill the requirements. The fact that she was kidnapped solely because she's Grissom's girlfriend doesn't seem to bother her at all. It's also no surprise that she's returning to work so soon: she's denying that anything happened to her, and the lab is all she knows, all she has; for her, the lab is normalcy. There is also no mention of nightmares or any other effects from the traumas she has just been through. During this time when she has the cast on must be somewhat humiliating for her - she'll feel helpless because there are some things she won't be able to do for herself, including getting dressed in the morning and feeding herself. At the very least she'll need help putting her bra on. How much Grissom helps her during this time we just don't know. Grissom mentioning 9 years (1998) as the first time he met Sara throws any previous history out the window. Grissom has been a CSI in Las Vegas since 1995 ("Crate and Burial") or 1997 ("Sounds of Silence"), Sara never became a CSI until 1997 ("Iced"), and she never came to Vegas until 2000. It was mentioned several times that Sara was once Grissom's student ("Crate and Burial" being the first time), yet she can't have been his student if she was in San Francisco and he was in Las Vegas. She was already a full-fledged CSI when they met at that conference. One of the fourth season episodes mentioned Grissom being a CSI in Minneapolis before coming to Vegas, so he was never in San Francisco for any length of time. A forensic conference isn't a one-on-one teaching situation, and doesn't match the seminar mentioned in "Toe Tags". Unless Grissom took a previously unmentioned sabbatical during which he taught in San Francisco, Sara was never his student and they never had an affair before she came to Vegas - according to this episode. When Grissom met Sara for the first time at that conference, she had been a CSI for one year. The two year figure mentioned by Sara is likely a reference to the 6th season episode "Gum Drops" - as originally written, Grissom was supposed to sleep with Sara while out on a case, surrounded by all the other CSIs in a hotel out of town (another instance of Grissom not thinking when it comes to Sara). The scenes were scrapped and the episode rewritten when Billy Petersen was called away from the set when his nephew died. Even though "A La Cart" takes place (in show continuity) in May of 2007 - one week or less after "Living Doll / Dead Doll", which definitely takes place in May - the episode aired in October. So the writers are referencing something that never actually happened and that 90% of viewers don't even know about. It should also be noted that Sarah Goldfinger wrote "Gum Drops", and she co-wrote "A La Cart". In the end it doesn't really matter; continuity is non-existent on the show during this season. It's worthwhile to note that back in "Cool Change", Warrick Brown was supposed to be fired for violating lab policies and procedures for clearing a scene, but Grissom refused to let him go. Sara and Grissom repeatedly violated lab policies on romantic involvement for almost two years, yet nothing happens to either of them. . . 03) "Go To hell" - October 11, 2007 Sara gets to break in newbie Veronica Lake (an original name), who annoys her with a ton of questions. Sara finally snaps at her when Lake suggests that the cops shouldn't be suspects - but is her irritation because of the questions or because she's no longer working with Grissom? Despite her comment in "A La Cart" (about needing daylight), Sara is apparently not enjoying swing shift - again, because she's no longer working with Grissom or her friends. She enjoys chatting with Brass and Greg when they pass by the scene she's working. Sara goes to visit Grissom at his crime scene when she's off the clock, and comments on the deaths of bees. She's no longer sporting the monster cast, just a sling (possibly with a smaller cast or bandage underneath), and most of her facial injuries have healed. Technically, since they found the body, the homeless guy should be graveyard's case - if they had passed it on to anyone, it would have been day shift, \not\ swing; but they had to get Sara and GSR in there somehow. If the similarities between the death of the homeless guy (dehydration, heat exhaustion) and how she almost died in the desert affect her, she doesn't show it. . . It's now officially official: Jorja Fox is leaving the show in November, and filmed her last episode (as a regular character) in mid-October. Her stated reason for leaving is a desire to see the rest of life; we wish her all the best. "CSI:" won't be the same without her. (for the announcement interview, check out http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20152746,00.html) . . 04) "The Case of the Cross-Dressing Carp" - October 18, 2007 Grissom asks Sara how she feels about marriage, and she takes it as a proposal, saying yes immediately. This is no surprise - this is the final step in her Grissom fantasy. That's the main reason for this episode. Before that, Grissom was lecturing Sara on bees - she's still his student, and will always see herself that way, not as his equal. Grissom unthinkingly hurts Sara again - he's just finished telling her about bees, telling her that they won't sting unless they're startled or you close your hand around them... then he proposes, startling Sara. She closes her hand around the bee; it stings her and dies. He should have waited until the bee was off her hand before proposing - or didn't he think it would startle her? And why is Sara so startled when Grissom propses? Didn't she expect him to propose at some time? Apparently not. No surprise that Sara is sympathetic towards Native Americans. Sara is wearing only a wrist brace - fast healing. Once again it takes a shaky contrivance to get a crime scene that Sara is involved in - if Catherine passed off a case because of a conflict of interest (since when has that ever bothered her?), it should have been passed to day shift, not swing. Sara and Grissom try to kiss but are prevented by their headgear - and that's probably the closest they'll ever get to an on screen kiss. Note: in the fall of 2008, ABC's show "Pushing Daisies" stole the "couple in the beekeepers suits" idea. Supposedly they're engaged, but he's never given her a ring, and their engagement has never been mentioned again. In several different interviews in late 2007 / early 2008, Carol Mendelsohn and others say that marriage is "highly unlikely". It should also be noted that Billy Petersen - according to an interview he did for RTL.de in November of 2007 - states that he was the one who came up with the proposal idea, and that Jorja Fox didn't know about it until they filmed the episode. Contrast Sara's attitude towards bees in this episode with the first season's "Sex, Lies and Larvae", when she said that she hated them. Continuity error: "Living Doll" / "Dead Doll" can be shown to have taken place in May (evidence on screen), but in this episode Catherine finds a paper "dated yesterday" that lists the date as October 16th. While it is possible that it took 4 1/2 months for Sara's fractures to heal, her facial injuries would have only taken a few weeks to heal - therefore this episode should really be taking place in early June. But those sort of continuity errors occur when you do an end-of-season cliffhanger and don't take into account the fact that part 2 is taking place immediately after part 1 rather than several months later. Not to mention the fact that continuity, timeline and reality were non-existent during this season. . . 05) "The Chick Chop Flick Shop" - November 1, 2007 Sara finally starts to realize what might have happened to her out in the desert, comparing what happened to her to a horror movie. It's been more than a month, and she's only now starting to realize it; likely she has been in a state of shock or denial since the kidnapping, which doesn't bode well for the wedding plans. Greg becomes the first person (and only) to try and talk to her about the events of "Living Doll" / "Dead Doll"; no one else has tried. The job that she does is starting to get to Sara, seeing death every day and not having any impact on the crime rate. You almost have to wonder if that line "I think, I think that I am sick of having my face shoved in death every day" comes just as much from Jorja as it does from Sara. By this point, Sara has been a CSI for 10 1/2 years, according to the earlier episode "Iced", which is short of the 'standard' CSI burn out time of 15 years. However, Sara has been through a lot of abuse lately, more so than most other CSIs. Her inability to reach out to anyone (other than Grissom) and her lack of a life outside of the lab are also major factors contributing to her burnout. . . 06) "Who & What?" - November 8, 2007 A cross-over episode with "Without a Trace". Yet \another\ serial killer is on the loose, and FBI agent Malone flies out from New York to take charge. Sara comes in to work early - no surprise, she has nothing else, and she feels a need to be near Grissom all the time, and work is where he is most of the time. Grissom's dog is named 'Hank', which isn't bright - it just rubs salt in Sara's wounds; every time she hears or says the dog's name, she's going to be reminded of the guy who betrayed her and broke her heart. Grissom tells Malone that Sara is just his dog walker - he can't even admit that Sara means anything to him personally. At the very least he should have said that she was a friend, which would have respected her as a person. By calling her his dog walker, he's saying that she's just someone he hired, and that she means nothing to him. He doesn't have to tell anyone that she's his fiancée - and apparently he hasn't told anyone, if they actually are engaged - but he could at least acknowledge her. He doesn't even bother to introduce her. Sara gets very upset when they discover that the victims had been sitting on the couch watching a movie when the killer broke in (like a nice, ordinary couple), and that the husband was alive when his wife was raped and killed. Grissom asks her what's wrong, but doesn't try to comfort her or talk to her, and doesn't stop her when she walks away. Most people online are agreed that Grissom should have tried to comfort her instead of letting her walk away (presumably to cry alone in a corner as she always does). The question becomes: when did Grissom name his dog? If it was before Sara met Hank, then it's just an ugly coincidence; if it was after she met Hank, then it's petty jealousy, which doesn't seem like Grissom. In any case, it's a dumb idea from the writers, who probably though it would be 'cute'. Yet another continuity error: Sara is supposed to be on swing shift, yet they keep treating it like she's on the day shift. She comes into work early and Grissom is still there - either that's more than eight hours early, or Grissom is pulling a double shift. Shift chronology was clearly established back in "Formalities", when Sophia (who at that point worked days) commented that she was always arriving at work when Grissom was leaving, which they even showed at the end of the episode. Yet all this season they have been showing swing shift taking place immediately after graveyard rather than after days. . . 07) "Goodbye and Good Luck" - November 15, 2007 Sara's final appearance. Warrick bumps into Sara in the hall (she's lost in whatever is playing on her iPod), and he asks about her - he says he knows she's okay. She notes that he's taking Zolpidem to sleep, and comments that she's having trouble sleeping (does she look upon his drugs with envy?). Warrick puts his hand on her shoulder, and tells her that he's not worried about her - she's tough. (He believes the front she's always put up, because he doesn't know anything different about her) Sara and Ronnie have a case involving domestic violence, and Sara looks numb and out of it when the husband returns to the scene to attack his wife - who still has a knife stuck in her back - right in front of them. Sara tells Ronnie that they'll probably be back at a later date for her corpse, or his, or both; very negative. Sara stops by Grissom's office, but he ignores her. Sara gets involved with Hannah (from "The Unusual Suspects") again, and again, she seems to lose when going up against the kid genius. When she's questioning Hannah, the kid causes Sara to lose her temper by taunting her about being trapped out in the desert under the car. Sara does her best to try and get Hannah nailed for the crime, but Marlon commits suicide in jail. It's Hannah, of all people, who notices something wrong with Sara; no one else does. Sara goes up against Brass, demanding a warrant - she is \very\ affected by the case. Sara stops by Grissom's office to try to talk to him, but is called away when Marlon suicides; Grissom just watches her go and gets back to his work with no sign of concern or interest. Sara throws her boots in the trash, she cuts her name tag from her vest and throws it away, and she leaves her vest for Ronnie. The only thing she takes with her is a picture of herself and Grissom (he's bearded - when?). Sara kisses Grissom in front of Hodges and the rest of the lab; he looks like he doesn't know what's going on. He doesn't respond, he doesn't ask her why, he doesn't try to follow her. It's only later that Grissom goes looking for Sara, but she's already left... he gets her card at the front desk as she's in a cab leaving Vegas. Sara leaves Vegas, and she leaves Grissom. In her note, Sara admits that all she ever had was Grissom. Her note is the first time that either of them have ever said "I love you". Sara's card to Grissom: "Gil, you \know\ I love you. I feel I've loved you forever. Lately... I haven't been feeling well. Truth be told, I'm tired. Out in the desert under that car that night I realized something, and... haven't been able to shake it. Since my father died, I've spent almost my entire life with ghosts. Even my close friends. And, out there in the desert it occurred to me, that it was time for me to bury them. I can't be like you. I'm so sorry. No matter how hard I try to fight it off, I'm left with the feeling that... I have to go. I have no idea where I'm going, but I know I have to do this. If I don't, I'm afraid I'll self destruct, and worse, you'll be there to see it happen. Be safe. Know that I tried \very\, hard to stay. Know that you're my one and only. I'll miss you with every beat of my heart. Our life together was the only home I've ever really had, I wouldn't trade it for anything. I love you, I always will. Goodbye." This episode had me in tears for just those final two minutes - Emmy doesn't even begin to describe the quality. Oh God, Sara... nothing can save her now. The lab and Grissom were all that she had, and she's left them both behind - she has nothing left but her ghosts. According to writer David Rambo (interviewed on the WGA picket lines in November of 2007), Jorja Fox herself wrote Sara's farewell letter to Grissom, which is totally unsurprising. Great stuff, even for non-GSR fans. Farewell, Jorja - "CSI:" won't be the same without you. During the writer's strike of late 2007, the website RTL.de interviewed Jorja Fox and several other people from "CSI:". Fox said that Sara didn't ask Grissom to go with her when she left because the lab is everything to him, his entire world. Apparently the lab is more important to Grissom than Sara is. She also said that producer Naren Shankar had asked her what Sara would say if she were saying goodbye - she jotted the note down on a scrap piece of paper while sitting in hair and makeup and gave it to him, and was surprised when it ended up in the episode. During the same interview, Carol Mendelsohn said that Sara and Grissom went out to dinner after meeting at a conference, somewhat verifying the events in "A La Cart". In an interview with Ian Harvie on January 21st, 2008 (published in mid April 2008), Jorja said that GSR is over: "I had a smokin' hot boyfriend on the show, and we got engaged. And then I dumped him, I gave him a Dear John letter and I just took off in the middle of the night." . . 08) "You Kill Me" - November 22, 2007 Everybody reaches out to Grissom following Sara's departure... but did anyone ever try reaching out to Sara? Of course not. Sara is in San Francisco visiting her mother, and Grissom has talked to her a couple of times on the phone. He doesn't seem to know what to do about the situation with Sara, which is nothing new. Brass is the only one to question Grissom about Sara's emotional state, but Grissom doesn't know. Catherine tells Grissom to go after Sara, but Grissom won't, saying that it's not what Sara wants; he doesn't know what he wants. Greg merely grunts when he passes Grissom in the hall - does he blame him for Sara leaving? Hodges tells Grissom that it was Sara's choice to move on, and that he should let her go. This is only the third time that Catherine has asked how Sara is doing ("Crash and Burn", "Butterflied"). Considering the fact that she doesn't like co-workers dating ("Bite Me", "The Good, the Bad and the Dominatrix"), she pushes Grissom to go after Sara. There's also the fact that she has always had Grissom's ear (sometimes to the detriment of the other CSIs), but with Sara and Grissom involved, she no longer has that influence (Sara now has Grissom's ear and other body parts) - so there's no way she'd want Sara back in the lab. So why the concern? . . According to the official news put out by CBS, the first post-writers-strike episode of the show will be filmed partly in San Francisco in order to have a Sara/Grissom reunion. Later the plans for this were dropped, mainly for monetary reasons (according to Carol Mendelsohn). The only remnant of this idea is the photo in Grissom's apartment in "Grissom's Divine Comedy". . . 12) "Grissom's Divine Comedy" - April 3, 2008 According to the script (though not shown by evidence on screen) the phone call that Grissom receives at the end is supposed to be from Sara. If you look carefully, you can see a photo of Sara and Grissom with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background taped to the front of Grissom's refrigerator. Originally there was a scene in the episode - shown in ads and in YouTube videos - of Catherine snooping around Grissom's apartment; she finds that picture of Sara and Grissom in San Francisco. That picture caused a lot of chatter online - not because of GSR, but because it was so obviously a Photoshop hack. The scene was deleted from the final cut of the episode. . . In a TV Guide interview (June 23, 2008), Jorja said that Sara is "split" from Grissom - whether this refers to her time in San Francisco or it's a permanent split is something we won't find out until season 9. . . ========== SEASON 9 (2008-2009) =============================================================== According to recent news (April 2008), Jorja Fox has signed on as a guest star for the first two episodes of season 9, and possibly for other episodes as well... which brings us to this next point. Sara Sidle is essentially dead. Oh, sure, she's going to appear on the show every once in a while, but she's no longer even a supporting character. She's just a background character now, no different than Catherine's daughter. Sara's \only\ purpose on the show now is GSR - that's it. She cannot exist on the show other than as part of GSR. We will never learn any more of Sara's background or history, except as it applies to GSR. There will not be any more character development of Sara, except as it applies to GSR. She will not work any more cases, and she will not show up in the lab except to visit Grissom. She can never be in an episode that doesn't have Grissom and GSR in it. They've taken an intriguing, multi-faceted character and reduced her to just one thing: Grissom's girlfriend, his piece on the side. That's all she is to the show any more, just another accessory for Grissom, no different than his belt or glasses. . . Over the summer (August 2008), in an interview Jorja Fox said that GSR is "dysfunctional", and that they don't often say what's in their hearts. Change that "don't often" to "never" and you'll be closer to the truth; Grissom has \never\ told Sara how he feels about her. . . On October 1st, 2008, the TV Guide cover story is about Billy Petersen leaving the show - in the interview with himself and Marg Helgenberger, he talks about leaving the show, and a possible relationship between Grissom and Catherine: "They have this understanding with each other. There's a different kind of respect Grissom has for Catherine that would preclude a relationship on that level. The very thing that was wrong with Grissom and Sara is what he wouldn't allow to happen with him and Catherine." Not really all that different from what he's been saying over the past few years. . . 01) "For Warrick" - October 9, 2008 Sara returns to Vegas when she hears about Warrick's death. She hugs Grissom - the first time that has ever happened; she also hugs everyone else. Minor continuity problems with Sara arriving as soon as she did, but not worth the bother. Sara suggests checking the shells for prints, which proves to be the point that breaks the case. Sara goes with Greg to Warrick's apartment to pick up burial clothes. Grissom says that he loved Warrick, but \still\ hasn't said that to Sara. Sara and Grissom are watching Warrick's paternity suit deposition, and when Warrick (on tape) says that Grissom inspires him, Sara looks over at Grissom briefly. When she and Greg are checking out Warrick's apartment, Sara notes the unmade bed and says that she always used to make the bed and straighten up before she left her place, just in case she never came back - but since the desert, she hasn't bothered; possibly she feels that nothing else can ever happen to her. Again, this makes Greg the only person she's ever spoken to about her ordeal in the desert. . . 02) "A Happy Place" - October 16, 2008 Sara cuddling with Grissom in bed, both of them fully clothed (Grissom has \never\ been shirtless). Grissom asks Sara to stay (not because he needs her, not because he wants her, not because he has any feelings for her, but because they're shorthanded in the lab - see below), she says she can't. She asks him to leave with her, to explore the Galapogos and follow in the footsteps of Darwin (the first time she has expressed any such inclinations), but of course he won't. The victims from "Too Tough to Die" are dragged in as a way to get Sara involved. Once again Sara is played by a suspect, and once again is betrayed. Grissom says that when a relationship is in stasis, the man will wait for the woman to suggest moving on - Sara wonders if he's talking about the victims or themselves. At the end, Sara leaves. Shorthanded: Grissom says they're shorthanded in the lab - what, just now that Warrick is dead? If they're shorthanded it's his own fault. Warrick dies, and they get an immediate replacement with Lauren Lee Smith's character. Grissom is leaving the lab in a couple of months, and they'll have his replacement before he even leaves (Laurence Fishburne). But they've never replaced Sara. When Sara got out of the hospital, she moved to swing shift - obviously she couldn't stay on graveyard and still see Grissom; it's completely against lab policy. With her move, the graveyard shift becomes shorthanded. So at that point, they should have replaced Sara - either get someone new for graveyard, or transfer someone over from swing. Instead, they hire somebody new for swing shift - so now it's graveyard -1, swing shift +2. Then Sara quits and leaves, and everybody - supposedly even Grissom - knows that she'll never come back to the lab to work. Now it's graveyard -1, swing shift +1 - they never replaced Sara; it's the same as them saying that she wasn't worth replacing. So Grissom should quit complaining about being shorthanded - and you'll note that no mention of being shorthanded was made the entire time Sara was gone... it's only when Warrick dies that Grissom decides that they're shorthanded. Apparently she wasn't missed. Even worse, he's sitting there telling it to her face: "we're shorthanded now that Warrick is gone, but we weren't shorthanded after you left; you weren't missed". Grissom even asking Sara to stay in the lab just shows that he still doesn't know anything about her - everybody else knows that there's no way that Sara can return to the lab, that it would kill her to do so. Grissom should know that from the note she left him in "Goodbye and Good Luck", but apparently not. Just from lab policy he should know that she can't return. The graveyard shift will continue to be shorthanded, because she can't return to graveyard unless he leaves. . . October 21st, 2008 - Lynette Rice, in an article on EW.com, confirms that there is no "geek baby" in the works. Carol Mendelsohn has said (more than once) that any marriage is "highly unlikely". Grissom's proposal (in "Cross-Dressing Carp") has never been mentioned at any time since, nor has he ever gotten Sara a ring - his proposal falls into the "Oops, we made a mistake and aren't going to mention it again" category, just as with Sara's older brother or Nick being molested as a child. . . 04) "Let It Bleed" - October 30, 2007 In the morgue, Catherine asks: "What do you hear from Sara?" Grissom replies: "I don't know where she is." . . 05) "Leave Out All The Rest" - November 6, 2008 Lady Heather returns. Grissom goes to Lady Heather's, supposedly to get advice on their latest case, but in reality to talk about his relationship with Sara. Sara - on an ecology cruise in South America (she's been on the cruise for more than one month, which contradicts the continuity of the show) - sends a video email to Grissom: she says she's never been happier than she has been on the cruise, that she couldn't breathe during her last year in Vegas (her year with Grissom, which tells you a lot about that relationship), that she met someone who reminds her of him, and that she's starting to listen to all the things he said before she left, which she didn't want to hear before (reference "The Happy Place"). "Our relationship can't go on from here; it withers". Sara apparently ends their relationship because Grissom's non-decision (to leave with her) \is\ a decision. Grissom stays overnight in Lady Heather's guest bedroom, then asks LH to stay with him. Billy Petersen "reached out" to Jorja and got her to return for this episode. Someone online (who should have known better) made excuses for Grissom, saying that Sara would have done the same thing. Nonsense. In the first place, Sara doesn't have any friends, except possibly the people she worked with in the lab. And she'd /never/ talk with any of them about problems with her love life. Even if by some small miracle she did, she wouldn't stay overnight at their place - and she certainly wouldn't ask them to stay with her. . . 07) "Woulda, Shoulda, Coulda" - November 20, 2008 Return of the miniatures killer. Grissom tells Natalie that he doesn't know why Sara left, and he shows a lot of compassion towards Natalie. More "realism" goofs (which the show has made a lot of over the past few seasons): Natalie's lawyer knows that Sara and Grissom are / were together, in fact, everybody seems to know that they're together, even people who have had no connection with the lab. Yet for over a year the graveyard shift and everyone else in the lab - who are supposed to be observant for a living - didn't know. . . 10) "One To Go" - January 15, 2009 Grissom leaves the lab. He goes down to Costa Rica and finds Sara (who is photographing a monkey); they kiss for the very first time (no words are exchanged). This is the first time that Grissom has shown any real physical affection towards Sara. Happily ever after... Sara studying nature, Grissom killing it and pinning it in his collection. Despite what Sara said (in the video mail), the ending is no surprise - Sara could be happily married with kids and a white picket fence, then Grissom would show up and she would immediately go running to him; she's addicted to him. . . 11) "The Grave Shift" - January 22, 2009 As expected, everybody mentions Grissom (they almost eulogize him), but no one mentions Sara. Grissom having some of his stuff shipped to Costa Rica, the rest placed in storage at his townhouse - which he isn't selling. This is disturbing in some ways - it says Grissom intends to move back to Vegas sometime, with or without Sara. If he was serious about her, he would have sold his townhouse and put stuff in storage - that way he could move down to Costa Rica and into her world, where she is happiest. Instead, it seems as if he intends to bring her back to Vegas at some point, where she was not happy. This is part of an overall theme over the years - Grissom expects Sara to come into his world, to take interest in what \he\ is interested in, rather than him going into her world and taking interest in what makes \her\ happy. . . ========== Between the seasons (2009) ========================================================= April, 2009 - in an interview with the "Radio Times", Billy Petersen stated that the "CSI:" movie was 'finalized' - meaning that after years of rumors, they were actually going to do it at some point - and that "next year" (sometime in season 10), there was going to be a two part episode with Grissom and Sara in Europe, hunting bugs (which is Grissom's interest, not hers). He mentioned that it would be separate, nothing to do with the lab... meaning that it is in there solely for GSR. No one knows if Jorja Fox knew anything about said episode until he mentioned it in the interview - it's unlikely that she did, given how they have never consulted her on character development or episode planning. Presumably the GSR is a desperate effort to boost ratings, which have sunk to their lowest ever during this season. Their big special 200th episode netted the fewest viewers and lowest lowest ratings the show has ever gotten for a first run episode, and they have continued to go downhill since, to the point where "CSI:" has lost 9 million viewers this season alone. July 2009 - according to the news, Jorja Fox is returning to "CSI:" for five episodes in season 10... but Billy Petersen is not returning. This makes absolutely no sense in terms of her character. Sara \quit\ the lab, she burned out, tired of fighting all the darkness and violence without making a difference. She said in "Leave Out All The Rest" that she couldn't breathe her last year in Vegas. She is no longer part of the lab - so why is she returning? Normally when an actor is rehired, it's because the producers want the character back on the show. But in the case of Jorja Fox, that's the least of three reasons why they want her back (in order of importance to TPTB): 1) GSR 2) of the three actors who left the show (Jorja Fox, Gary Dourdan, Billy Petersen), she's the only one who can return (Gary Dourdan can't) or wants to return (Billy Petersen doesn't) 3) they want Sara back in the lab TPTB believe that the show has tanked over the past few seasons because Billy Petersen left the show - even though viewer numbers and ratings started plummeting in season 7 (a loss of 7 million viewers in that season alone) when Billy Petersen was still very much part of the show, and they lost 4.5 million viewers in season 9 \before\ Billy Petersen left (and another 4.5 million lost by the end of the season). So they're looking to rehire one of the actors, and since Billy Petersen has no intention of returning to the show (though he's still an executive producer), they rehired Jorja Fox. . . July 27 2009 - in a TV Guide interview, Jorja Fox says that she's returning to the lab because they are "short-staffed"... see the commentary above in "The Happy Place" for that. It should also be noted that Lauren Lee Smith has gotten the axe - TPTB are using her as a scapegoat to blame for the plummeting ratings. August 2009 - the news is out... Sara and Grissom are married. This after Carol Mendelsohn said (sveral times) that marriage was "highly unlikely". Back in "Rashomama", Sara said that she considered marriage to be merely the transfer of ownership of a woman from one man to another. I guess she's now the property of Grissom. I wonder where they branded her "Property of Grissom"? Marriage is supposed to be between equals, except in this case: Sara will \never\ see herself as his equal; she looks up to him, admires him, she'll always see him as wiser, better than she is, she'll always see herself in second place compared to him, she will always be subservient to him... there isn't any way in which she sees herself as his equal, or even better than he is. Not that she was looking to marry an equal - she was looking to marry her teacher, her father... and she did. . . ========== SEASON 10 (2009-2010) =============================================================== In an interview on the "Kevin & Bean" show on KROQ (September 24th), Jorja Fox mentioned that people are getting tired of the whole "I'm back! Goodbye! I'm back! Goodbye!" routine that she's been doing, and she said that she didn't expect to be back after last season's Costa Rica coda ("One to Go"). . . 01) "Family Affair" - September 24, 2009 Sara returns to the lab for a short while as a CSI. Sara and Grissom are now married (despite saying in "Rashomama" that marriage was just a woman being transferred from the ownership of one man to another). Grissom is in Paris, giving a lecture series on insects, so Sara returned to Vegas to help out at the lab (in other words, Grissom is ignoring Sara as usual). This despite her words in "Goodbye and Good Luck" and "The Happy Place" that she couldn't stay in the lab with all of its darkness and violence. When thieves try to steal a body from the morgue, Sara and Nick shoot it out with the suspects. So much for Sara's comment back in the 1st season ("Unfriendly Skies") that she could never kill anyone; this is only the third time in the entire series that Sara has drawn her gun for any reason. Sara says she's returned because of Grissom's lecture series on bugs - which makes her sound like a dilletante; she'll be in the lab only until Grissom pays attention to her again. Sara quotes baseball stats, then mentions that people get into their spouses interests (when has Grissom ever been interested in baseball?) - totally unsurprising from her view; Sara has \always\ gotten into Grissom's interests... but Grissom has never gotten into Sara's interests. Sara is back... but only for a short while as she works out her marriage problems. They mention Grissom's name 5 times during the episode. Sara tells Catherine that Grissom had something that Catherine doesn't - Grissom had Catherine. This short scene of bonding is the only bit you'll see between the characters all season. . . They're short-handed at the lab, which is nothing new - even with Sara's return they're still short-handed, and if she leaves, they'll be even more short-handed. According to Carol Mendelsohn in a September TV Guide interview, there are no "little Sara and Grissoms running around" - in other words, no kids. On the other hand, Mendelsohn was the one who said (several times) that marriage was "highly unlikely". A note on the marriage: Sara and Grissom were married at the most for 6 months before she returned to the lab. From what we learn in this season and season 11, Grissom's mother wasn't invited to the wedding, Sara's mother wasn't invited, and no one from the lab was invited - Sara and Grissom basically eloped. . . 02) "Ghost Town" - October 1, 2009 Sara and Nick investigate the murders of a webcam king and a drug dealer - the suspect is the son of Paul Millander ("Identity Crisis", 1st season). Sara liked early Black Sabbath, and knows a little about the occult because of it (something which has never been mentioned before). Sara took Grissom's last name (again, contrary to character, completely giving up her own identity in favor of a man). Langston questions Sara's integrity, asking if she would suspect the kid if he wasn't Millander's son, implying that she has some sort of obsession because of the earlier case. Nonsense, of course - Millander was \Grissom's\ obsession, not Sara's - but because she's married to Grissom now, everybody is treating her like she's the same as Grissom. In fact, Sara had very little to do with the Millander case. At the end, Sara talks to the suspect before he's released, then offers to drive him home. Grissom's name is mentioned as often as possible during the episode. Sloppy writing: when Langston is playing with the pig, trying to figure out the serial killer, he mentions that he's going to have it at a luau. Catherine tells him, "Don't tell Sara", but doesn't tell him why. Langston never met Sara before she returned to the lab, he doesn't know anything about her other than the fact that she's Mrs. Grissom. But the writers are presuming that since the viewers know everything about the returning character (Sara), therefore all the other characters must as well. That's lazy writing. . . 14 October 2009 - Ausiello announced that Jorja's stay on the show has been "extended indefinitely". No surprise - "CSI:" is all she's been willing to do over the past few years. Billy Petersen has no plans to return to the show, so you have to wonder - who gets married but then don't stay together when there's no reason why they shouldn't? It's no surprise that "CSI:" wants her to stay - they've been pretending that Sara is just Grissom with a sex change, and they hope that if they mention Grissom's name as often as possible they'll fool viewers into thinking he's still on the show. . . 04) "Coup de Grace" - October 15, 2009 Sara returns to the lab (she wasn't in the previous episode), and Ecklie asks her how Paris was; she replies "Dr. Grissom sends his regards". That is apparently how they're going to handle the marriage - Sara will fly to Paris every once in a while (how can she afford it?) for a quickie. Sara has a minor part in investigating the shooting of an off-duty cop by another cop. Sara notes that the victim was a vegetarian, judging by the color of his body fat. Langston once again questions Sara's assumptions. Sara investigates the killing of a teenager, but remains cool, calm and collected - dead kids apparently don't bother her any more. (A side-note: where is Sara staying while in Vegas? She dumped her apartment when she moved in with Grissom back in season 7. His townhouse, perhaps, since he hung on to it? And whatever happened to Grissom's dog?) Affording Paris: Sara was out of work for a year and a half, until she returned to the lab this season. Some of that time was spent in SF at her mother's, yes, but things like the anti-whaling ship and Costa Rica would've come out of her own pocket, and CSI's aren't exactly highly paid; a CSI in Las Vegas (non-supervisor) only gets paid $45,000 - $50,000 per year. A round trip from Vegas to Paris costs anywhere from $700 to $5,000... she's going to be doing that every few weeks? . . 05) "Bloodsport" - October 29, 2009 Sara and Greg investigate a car pulled from a lake. Sara is wearing a wedding ring, but her vest reads "Sidle". Nice cleavage as she bends over to check out the car. . . 06) "Death and the Maiden" - November 5, 2009 Sara not in this episode, despite online claims that she would be. It's mentioned that Sara is processing a hotel shooting - Nick says, "she'll be there for days". The general assumption online is that her few scenes were cut. . . So far this season, Sara has not: dusted for prints, used a microscope, used chemicals in the lab, stripped apart anything mechanical, checked clothing for stains, used the ALS, or checked for tool marks on anything. She's been just a 'trash collector'... and Grissom's avatar. . . November 2009 - from September 21st to October 12th Jorja Fox was filming the low-budget independent movie "3 Weeks to Daytona" in Bridgeport and Norwalk, Connecticut; this partially explains why she isn't in several eps. . . 08) "Lover's Lanes" - November 19, 2009 A head in a bowling alley. Sara dusts a piece of evidence for prints, and checks a surveillance video - the first lab work she's done all season. . . According to the CBS promo, Jorja Fox is listed as a "series regular" starting with "Better Off Dead" - yet in the actual episode she's still listed as a "special guest star"; and will remain listed that way for the rest of the season. . . 10) "Better Off Dead" - December 17, 2009 Gun shop shootout and a suicide pact; as it has been with every episode this season, two supposedly separate cases are actually related. Sara shows no reaction to the dead dog, and once again she doesn't process anything at the lab. At the dead dog scene, Langston holds the car door for her. At the end, she - along with Jim Brass - tries to talk a jumper down from the ledge of the Skydeck, unsuccessfully. This is the first new episode that Jorja Fox has appeared in almost a month. Odd notes: a lot of people online agree that the pink lipstick was a poor color choice for Sara, and continuity is a little goofy as well - she has straight hair in one scene, wavy in another. . . 19 January 2010 - according to TV Guide, Jorja Fox is signed on full time for the rest of the season. This does not mean, however, that she is part of the regular cast, and she is not getting a regular paycheck. Carol Mendelsohn also said that Jorja would be in the rest of the season. . . 12) "Long Ball" - January 21, 2010 (note that it has been 5 weeks since Sara was in a new episode) Sara looks over a golf cart in the lab, and later superglues prints - the first processing she's done since "Lover's Lanes", and only the second time this season she's processed anything. Sara needs basic gambling terms explained to her, despite everything she learned from Warrick years ago. Sara laughs at Langston's Mark Twain quote - he's taking Grissom's place in the lab. Greg questions Sara about her marriage, saying "sometimes I really wonder if you're married" and "6,000 miles and all"; Sara replies "So far it's working." (Highly reminiscent of season seven, when fans started asking "Are they still together?" - and the writers force fed us several scenes). It seems that they're saying that being 6,000 miles apart is the only way that the marriage /can/ work, since the separation is by choice, not by necessity. Note that this is the first time this season that any character has commented on the marriage one way or another - this despite the fact that they've all known Sara and Grissom for at least 9 years. But then, no comments were ever made about GSR, period, once it came out into the open - they're not allowed to comment on it; everyone is just supposed to assume that it's perfect. . . 13) "Internal Combustion" - February 4, 2010 Sara and Nick track down a street racer. Sara introduces herself as "Sara Sidle", and the name tag on her down vest says "Sidle". When Nick comments that putting an electric engine in the antique car is sacreligious, Sara says "the polar bears don't think so". Sara wearing what appears to be a leather jacket throughout most of the episode. Sara examines the dead girl's cell phone. . . 16 February 2010 - in TV Guide, Matt Roush answered questions about why Jorja was back on the show (mainly because she was the only character / actor they could bring back), and commented on viewer complaints about "happy Sara". . . 27 February 2010 - I met Jorja Fox in Chicago at the Humane Society's 5th annual gala, known as "Spotlight Humane". Facts learned: she returned to "CSI:" because Billy Petersen asked her to, she remembers that Sara's birthday is September 16th because that's the day she met Barack Obama, and she doesn't pay any attention to anything online about the show or her character. (see my full report at http://home.comcast.net/~david_masters/spothum.htm) . . 14) "Unshockable" - March 4, 2010 Rascal Flatts guest stars, but Sara wasn't part of that - instead, she and Langston check out some very lame CIA plot. Sara is still being called "Sidle". Sara mentions that for their honeymoon, she and Grissom went canoeing, looking for a certain bug... how 'romantic' (not). They were on their honeymoon - Grissom shouldn't have even been *thinking* about bugs. Sara pulls her gun on the German consulate suspects (only the fourth time during the entire series that she's pulled her gun, but the second time this season). Once again Sara doesn't do any processing in the lab. . . 15) "Neverland" - March 11, 2010 A dead kid has connections to one of Sara's old cases (never mentioned before). Sara talks about life as a teen, wanting to be older, talking about magic pills - drugs? She says she started gathering info about Costa Rica as a way to get away from the lab and her cases. The name tag on Sara's down vest reads "Sidle", and she signs the evidence box as "S. Sidle". Once again she doesn't process anything in the lab. Sara and Langston pull a kid from a burning building. The evidence from Sara's old case has been compromised, meaning the wife killer will probably go free after a new trial. The guy who runs the evidence archive is a former CSI and is friendly with Sara - but he's partly responsible for the death of the kid, he covered up the fact that the evidence had been tampered with, and he dumped the body; he'll be going to prison for all of that, yet another betrayal for Sara (just like her wheelchair-bound prosecutor friend from "One Hit Wonder"). . . March 23rd, 2010 - the French magazine Ciné Télé Revue had an article in which Jorja Fox is briefly interviewed. She says that Sara and Grissom have a healthy relationship, that there are no kids planned, and that she wanted to leave the show before Billy Petersen did because she just didn't want to work without him (yet she's back this season). . . April 1st, 2010 - despite Carol Mendelsohn's assertion back in January that Jorja would be on the show for the rest of the season, she's not in the April 1st or April 15th episodes. CBS has moved "CSI:" to the 10 pm slot on Thursday nights, moving "The Mentalist" to 9 pm... at least for a couple of episodes. . . April 2010 - TV Guide calls Sara and Grissom "the most dysfunctional couple of all time." Ausiello at EW says that Grissom's return (even for a cameo) is "logistically impossible". . . 17) "Irradiator" - April 8, 2010 A home invasion leads to more clues to the Dr. Jekyll serial killer. Sara and Nick enter a suspects house before the cops do, and examine the entire house before the cops clear it. This is only the fifth time in the entire series that Sara draws her gun, but it's the third time this season. Once again Sara doesn't process anything in the lab. . . April 9th, 2010 - Jorja Fox and Marg Helgenberger were spotted at LAX, heading for Vegas; the season finale is apparently being filmed there. . . 19) "World's End" - April 22, 2010 White supremecist kid killed at Lindsey's school. Sara chooses to go with Brass to notify next of kin rather than search for evidence in the sewers; Brass comments that she's not the "down and dirty" Sara Sidle he used to know. Sara shows no reaction to the fact that the kid may have been abused - but then, she shows no real reaction to anything this season. Sara discovers Lindsey going through files on Catherine's desk. Searching through kid's possessions, Sara discovers evidence that shows that the janitor isn't a victim, but a Rwandan war criminal; again, Sara has no reaction or commentary on the situation. . . According to published reports, the season finale is a cliffhanger episode, and as Jorja Fox is in that episode, it is logical to assume that she'll be in next season's opener. Carol Mendelsohn mentioned that they are still "in talks" with Jorja Fox about next season; Marg Helgenberger noted in early May that TPTB had not spoken with her about the next season either. . . 20) "Take My Life, Please" - April 29, 2010 An abortion clinic bombing suspect is found dead (no commentary on the subject from Sara). Sara looks like hell. Sara lifts the victim's print, then 'rods' the body for bullet trajectory - this is the most work she's done in the lab all season. After Bobby Dawson shows Sara the many different varieties of rounds recovered from the victim, Sara and Langston visit an indoor shooting range (the last several episodes she has been teamed with him - the 'older, wiser' team leader), then an outdoor 'shootout'; Sara finds the victim's foot and other body parts. . . 22) "Doctor Who" - May 13, 2010 Sara is barely in this one, and doesn't do much. She finds the victim's purse at the scene, and later she and Greg examine the victim's car - she finds a bloody fingerprint on the steering wheel. Nick, Sara and Greg meet at Langston's house with evidence after he's been pulled off the case - shades of "The Strip Strangler" from season 1. They are violating lab policy (and Catherine's orders, since Langston is officially off the case) by bringing evidence to his house, and they are also risking having the evidence tossed by an attorney for A) taking evidence outside of the lab, and B) sharing that evidence with an unauthorized person. The whole team meets for drinks at the end. . . May 14th, 2010 - creator Anthony Zuiker said that in the season finale, all questions about Sara would be answered - why she came back to the lab, etc. He also said something about Hannah (from "The Unusual Suspect") returning. This proved to be nothing more than the usual hype and BS. . . 23) "Meat Jekyll" - May 20, 2010 Nate Haskell (Dick & Jane Killer) is released from prison to help in search for Jekyll. Again, Sara doesn't do any processing - she, Nick and Greg go through Haskell's belongings, the whole team go to an abandoned restaurant, and later she and Greg check out the restaurant again & discover name of the John Doe in the morgue. ("Dr. Jekyll" sent Langston a package, taunting him with details of his next crime, much the way that the miniatures killer did with Grissom) Haskell comments that Langston has taken over for Grissom. Sara and Greg cross-reference the restaurant employees. Nick gets shot by Jekyll (who is a cook, not a doctor) but later kills him. The whole team goes to the hospital to see Nick; Sara offers to drive him home, and he quips that she's a lousy driver. Catherine is sleeping with Detective Vartan, the first time that any relationship has gone beyond the flirting stage since GSR became official in "Way to Go". Langston gets stabbed by Haskell. . . ---END OF SEASON: Sara and Grissom got married at some point (no date was given), and he is living in Paris. Sara returned to the lab because Grissom was giving a lecture on bugs, and because the lab was short-handed (see earlier this season for commentary on that). Sara returned to Paris at least once this season, and there was only one mention of any kind of communications between them. She comments late in the season that the marriage seems to be working, despite the two of them being 6,000 miles apart - it should be noted that their separation is by choice, not by necessity. In the second episode ("Ghost Town"), she calls herself "Mrs. Grissom", but during the rest of the season she says "Sidle". As has always been the case, she gets into Grissom's interests (baseball, mentioned in the first episode), but there has /never/ been any mention of him getting into any of /her/ interests. There is a brief bonding moment between Sara and Catherine in the first episode, but nothing after that. Sara pulls her gun three times this season (once trying to kill a suspect, which is contrary to what she's said before), but has only pulled her gun 5 times during the entire series. Jim Brass comments that she's not the "down and dirty" Sara Sidle that he used to know. Sara is "happy and bland" (TV Guide) this season (or as one critic put it, "Sara on Valium"), and shows no reaction to dead animals, dead kids, genocide or anything else; she doesn't make any of her usual cynical or sarcastic comments, and shows little emotion about anything. Despite being a materials analyst with a couple of degrees in physics, Sara does virtually nothing in the lab, and aside from lifting a couple of fingerprints, does no processing. She doesn't use an ALS or a microscope, she doesn't do any kind of chemical testing, she doesn't check anything for tool marks or strip apart anything mechanical - none of what she used to do. (In a side note, the show has been using makeup to tone down her looks even further than they usually do) Sara mentioned when she left the lab that she wasn't happy - all the darkness and death was getting to her, and she mentioned in her video email to Grissom in season 9 that she couldn't breathe during her last year in Vegas. Sara has two choices for happiness - the lab and Grissom... and she's chosen the lab, which apparently makes her happier than Grissom does. She feels more needed by the lab than she does by Grissom, which says a lot about the relationship. Back in November CBS started listing Jorja Fox among the main cast in the promos, yet as noted throughout this season, she is always listed as a "special guest star". The reason for this is most likely monetary - if they had added her back in to the main cast, they would have had to renegotiate her contract and actually pay her what she is worth. This is also likely the reason why she is not in several episodes during the second half of the season, despite Carol Mendelsohn's claim back in January that she would be in the rest of the season - and quite a few of her appearances during the second half of the season are brief, nothing substantive. Given the standard guest star rates as defined by SAG and AFTRA, it is unlikely that she is getting any more than $25 - $30,000 per episode. Compare that to the $125 - $150,000 she was likely making when she left the show in 2007. Contrast it also to the $390,000 per episode that Marg Helgenberger received for season 10 (source: MargaMania), or the $600,000+ Laurence Fishburne received per episode in season 10 (source: Variety)... or even the $175,000 Melina Kanakaredes of "CSI: NY" received per episode for the recently finished season 6 of that show (source: Variety). Since the firing of 2004, Jorja Fox has been the lowest paid person in the main cast. Okay, so she's said before that she doesn't really care about the money - but money is also a sign of respect, and with what they're paying her, they certainly don't respect her much. . . ========== SEASON 11 (2010-2011) =============================================================== July 2010 - both Marg Helgenberger and Jorja Fox were finally rehired for this last season after lengthy negotiations, in which each had to take a pay cut to remain on the show (and Liz Vassey was "let go") - even though Laurence Fishburne was rehired immediately (and with a raise), and despite the fact that Charlie Sheen of "Two and A Half Men" was rehired with an exhorbiant salary raise. This, combined with the nonsense that went on at "Criminal Minds" (some women being fired, others having their role 'reduced') and "NCIS" is CBS' idea of economizing: women get screwed over while men get pay raises. Note that in almost every episode this season, there is a big name guest star: Justin Bieber in the premiere, Elliot Gould in the 2nd, Andy Dick in the 3rd, Ann-Margaret in the 4th, etc. Sheer desperation. . . 01) "Shock Waves" - September 23, 2010 Jorja listed among main cast again. Sara, Nick, Greg & Catherine collect bomb evidence from the cemetary. Sara actually shows a bit of emotion - the first time in a long time - when she's in the morgue talking to Robbins about the dead cop. At the anti-government rally, Sara punches a woman running at her, which is very out of character. [Note: Sara is not a cop - she is not authorized to use force unless her life is in imminent danger; in reality, Sara would be arrested, tried and convicted on assault charges. In fact, Sara and the other CSIs shouldn't have even been in the building - in reality, they should have waited outside until the police finished; otherwise they just get in the way, and could easily be charged with interfering with police business] Sara visits Langston in the hospital (because he's the new Grissom), her right hand bandaged - she quotes Gandhi, and says that the cheek she turned wasn't her own (which goes against the anti-violence leanings of the character). At the end, she's sitting in the locker room, too tired to go home. Once again, Sara doesn't do anything in the lab. . . 02) "Pool Shark" - September 30, 2010 Very little Sara in this. Her hand is still bandaged from last week. As usual, Sara doesn't do anything in the lab. Bad science: Nick gets a clear print off the syringe after it's been at the bottom of a chlorinated pool for over a day. . . 03) "Blood Moon" - October 7, 2010 (note: originally the 4th episode filmed, but was bumped up to air 3rd) Much more Sara in this than there has been lately, and even better, she actually processes things in the lab. Sara and Greg check the tool marks on the skull - the first processing that she's done in a long time. Later she gives a little speech about how wolves don't attack humans, then she and Greg check out the truck, and after that she and Langston check out the clothes for blood. When they're climbing the hill and Sara starts going on about the meaning of words, Nick teasingly calls her 'Grissom' and then 'Gil' - she tells Nick that he [Grissom] wouldn't appreciate him [Nick] calling him [Grissom] that... why not? Isn't Grissom allowed to have a first name? Sara and Langston check out the blood on the murder weapon. . . 04) "Sqweegel" - October 14, 2010 CBS listed Jorja as being in this episode, yet she isn't. They /didn't/ list her as being in the next episode, but she /is/ in that one. Somebody needs to get straightened out. Written by series creator Anthony Zuiker to promote his new book. . . 05) "House of Hoarders" - October 21, 2010 A variation on the 4th season ep "Bad to the Bone". Sara and Nick check out the house, find a body. Later, Sara's a little jumpy when Greg comes in. Sara finds the homeowner, and later suggests to Nick that he use hydrogen peroxide rather than Luminol for the blood. When the rifle falls and discharges, everybody jumps, then Sara and Nick share a shaky laugh. Sara and Nick disagree about the case - as it goes on, Sara feels more and more protective of Mrs. Santiago, refusing to believe that she did anything wrong. Nick: "What is it about this case that has you acting so blind?" Sara: "What is it about this case that has you acting like an ass?" Sara and Greg find the rat poison and the missing ribbon. Later, Sara tells Julian Santiago that her mother was schizophrenic, and stabbed her father to death one night, stabbing him through the heart while he slept - this is the first time she's told anyone about that since she told Grissom back in "Nesting Dolls"; unsurprisingly, she tells a victim's relative about her personal issues, but she'll never tell her co-workers. When Nick is cleaning up his office, he finds a blue marble, something Grissom gave him - Grissom gave Sara one as well, with the same words: "Roll with it". An episode of "The Insider" released today has Jorja Fox and George Eads talking - he suggested this case, after watching many episodes of the show "The Hoarders" on cable, and eventually he got Jorja Fox hooked on the show as well. . . 06) "Cold Blooded" - October 28, 2010 No Jorja in this one either. Katee Sackhoff guests as a cop; animatronic dinosaur kills a kid. According to unverified reports online, when Jorja left the show in 2007, Katee Sackhoff was on the short list to replace her. . . 07) "Bump and Grind" - November 4, 2010 Little Sara in this, and most of it is interaction with Langston. At the scene, Sara, Nick and Hodges do rock/paper/scissors (Sara scissors)... "I got yuck". Sara walks in on Langston in the break room, asks if he's okay - he asks if she's been swimming and she says that she just showered; "I,um, I still smell, don't I". Sara and Langston go through trash bins from shredder company. Sara and Nick clear a house right along with the cops - Sara finds a body. When she's searching for the bullet, Phillips comments on her baseball reference - Sara replies with "Lady Grissom" (Sara is still defining herself in terms of Grissom). At the end, Sara catches Langston in the locker room checking out his scar - she tells him, "Some scars heal faster than others" and "Everything that happens is part of us, but it doesn't have to define who we are... it took me a long time to realize that." Langston is Sara's new confidant, just as Grissom used to be; and Sara always has been attracted to the boss. As usual, Sara doesn't do any processing in the lab. Sara is no longer wearing jeans and t-shirts - they're dressing her up again. Two questions never raised, because the writers and producers don't want them raised: at the pool, when Sara says "Lady Grissom", Phillips should have asked her how that was going... a very natural question, considering the crush he once had on her. And when she's talking to Langston about scars, he never asks her about hers... again, a very natural question. Bad science: they get a hit off a credit card that was shredded and fed to the victim. . . 08) "Fracked" - November 11, 2010 No Jorja. Katee Sackhoff returns for an "Erin Brockovich" episode. . . 09) "Wild Life" - November 18, 2010 Guest Leisha Hailey, directed by Charles Haid. Sara and Greg get the secondary case - an apparent double homicide. In the end, it appears that both deaths are accidental, caused by the couple's pets, a parrot and a cat. "There's no way that parrot picked up a knife and stabbed Mrs. Irwin... right?" Sara and Hodges process the parrot and the cat. They're toning down Jorja's makeup again. Once again, Nick clears a scene. . . This is the second year in a row where there has been no new episode on Thanksgiving... or on the week after. . . Sara has not gotten a letter, phone call or email from Grissom since returning to Vegas last season. . . 10) "418/427" - December 9, 2010 An FBI agent's wife is murdered and her daughter kidnapped. At the scene, Sara IDs one victim, and tosses around a few theories. Sara accompanies Brass and the FBI agent to the son's house, then tells the Fed to back off when he gets in the way - "Agent Moore, with all due respect, you have to back off and let me do my job". Sara makes no comment and shows no reaction when she learns that the son is schizophrenic. Sara enters the shed before the cops do - with a known armed and dangerous schizo inside - and talks Trent down, then holds him as he cries. Later she goes to the hospital to let him know that they found his sister. . . 13) "The Two Mrs. Grissoms" - February 3, 2011 Jorja's first appearance in a new ep in almost two months. Guest Marlee Matlin. A scholarship fundraiser at a school for the deaf - not the same school that Sara and Catherine investigated back in season 1 ("Sounds of Silence"), meaning that there are two schools for the deaf in Las Vegas... when there are rarely two in the same state. Grissom calls - he's in Peru, excavating a mass grave; once again he puts work before Sara, especially when he promised to be there with her, when she's in an uncomfortable situation. This is the first communication they've shown between Sara and Grissom since season 9. A car blows up at a deaf foundation gathering - Sara is there, looking hot in a very nice purple dress - and Grissom's ex-lover (and former student) is the prime suspect. Interesting that Grissom seems to get involved with students - that says a bit about him, taking advantage of subordinates and students. Langston and Nick tease Sara about her dress; but Nick is a pinhead later, telling Sara that Julia (Grissom's ex-girlfriend) is very pretty, instead of supporting Sara in an uncomfortable situation. When Sara talks to Catherine about Grissom's mother - hard to get close to, doesn't communicate - Cat comments "You just described Grissom - like mother, like son". Sara and Grissom talk every day, and see each other every couple of weeks (which goes against what we've seen these past two seasons - and how can she afford it?). Sara tells Mrs. G "We love each other, we're a family." When Hodges starts babbling about Grissom and Lady Heather, Sara says "Grissom and I have great sex," to which Catherine replies (unconvincingly) "I'm sure you do." (There was a lot of emphasis on Sara and Grissom's sex life in this episode) Grissom's mother doesn't like Sara, doesn't like the fact that she and Grissom are living apart, and thinks that Sara isn't good enough for her boy. She also doesn't like the fact that Sara didn't take Grissom's name. Yet another explosion, a bomb meant for Julia that also catches Sara and Langston - but Sara is completely untouched by the flying glass. In the Skype call at the end, Grissom says "I love you both," talking to both Sara and his mother - the very first time he has ever told Sara how he feels about her. A lot of talk about sex between Sara and Grissom, with even Mrs. Grissom getting in on the act. In the end, this was entirely a GSR episode, the writers trying to convince us that GSR is perfect, the marriage is perfect, and that Sara and Grissom are having absolutely perfect sex every five minutes. Bad science: after being "severely scorched", the magnet still has its grip. In a slightly interesting note, the viewer numbers for this episode actually dropped from the previous episode, which is the opposite of what you'd expect for a sweeps episode and a GSR episode. According to Christpher Barbour (who wrote this episode), Jorja Fox "reached out" to Billy Petersen, and he agreed to return for this episode. . . 14) "All That Cremains" - February 10, 2011 Guest Katee Sackhoff (again - but this time Jorja is in the episode as well). Body parts found at a thrift store (Sara says she shops there). Victim died by having two different cremated remains poured down his throat. Sara, Nick and Greg check out various bits of evidence. . . 15) "Targets of Obsession" - February 17, 2011 Guest Justin Bieber. Jerks from season premiere return to target Nick with a grenade at his house (922 Rose Ave.) Catherine, Vartann, Nick and bomb expert get trapped in wired warehouse; Nick, Catherine and Vartann survive blast. Very little Sara in this - she and Greg check out the grenade, discuss it with Cat & Hodges, check out some surveillance footage, and ID the other bomber. Bieber's character gets shot to death at the end of the episode. Note: in "The Two Mrs. Grssioms", Sara said that she and Grissom get together every couple of weeks... but she's in next week's episode as well, which makes 4 in a row. I guess they don't get together that often. . . 16) "Turn On, Tune In, Drop Dead" - February 24, 2011 Victim brought in dead, revives on the slab - and a second victim does the same. Sara has much flatter, straighter hair in this, reminiscent of season 4. Sara smiles at Nick's joke about zombies at the DMV. Sara & Langston check out the residence of a retired psych doctor, who is more than a little whacko - when he asks Sara what her clearance is, she says "five nine". Sara talking with Doc Aden about San Francisco; later when she and Langston find the sensory deprivation tank and he asks her about the movie 'Altered States', she says her mother took her to see it because it was theraputic. 2nd vic dies again (for good), Sara, Cat & cop check third vic's mother's grave and find 1st vic, who gets killed by a car; Sara gets a little emotional when referencing Dr. Aden (an older, bearded professor, apparently learned, sometimes lucid... hmmm). When Sara and Langston return to Aden's place, she enters, gun drawn. "What rabbit hole has Alice gone down?" Aden possibly brain dead. Sara seems to take Dr. Aden a little more seriously than the others do. "Altered States" premiered in theaters on December 23rd, 1980; Sara would have been 9 at the time. Going by that, and the date of 1984 mentioned in the 5th season ep "No Humans Involved" (when Sara looks up her mother's court case), Sara's father would have still been alive when Sara went to see this movie, and was likely killed some time during the next year or two. . . According to Melinda Clarke (who returns in a couple of weeks), Lady Heather still has a thing for Grissom. . . 250th episode celebration - Billy Petersen returns to the set, but Jorja isn't there, oddly enough. . . 18) "Hitting for the Cycle" - March 31, 2011 CSI's betting on "the cycle" - murder, accident, suicide and natural death all on one shift. Sara & Greg's first victim died from an infection after swallowing a paper clip. Their next vic is a fat gamer who lived in front of his computer. New morgue attendant (Kevin) is from L.A. and is obnoxious. Sara find epilepsy pills in vic's apartment. Sara gets flowers from a day shift guy - wishing her luck in the cycle. Sara and Greg check the barcode on a Zolpidem bottle, and later Sara prints the bottle, the first lab work she's done in quite a while. . . 19) "Unleashed" - April 7, 2011 Lady heather returns. A woman is found dead, appearntly killed by a mountain lion. Sara gets the tagline: "Maybe she escaped from one animal only to fall prey to another." The vic worked for a battered women's shelter, and when Sara checks her stuff at work, she finds that the vic's last appointment was with Lady Heather - now Dr. Heather Kessler, a sex therapist. LH asks about Grissom, gets a perfunctory answer... and apparently LH stays in touch with Grissom (she knows that Grissom is in Peru). Which begs the question - why does Grissom stay in touch with Lady Heather? And did Sara know that he did before now? When Sara and Langston talk to LH about the victim, Sara is slightly antagonistic, and expresses her disbelief and disdain about sexual role playing. Sara and Langston talk to the victim's boyfriend, and discover where the victim's fake tooth came from - the dentist who made it keeps women as 'pets'; Sara rolls her eyes as he explains about his pets. Sara actually does some lab work (only the third time this season), discovering that the dentist's stun gun isn't the same one used on the vic. Langston actually has more interaction with LH than Sara does - that's odd. . . Just after "Unleashed", Mika Epstein of JFO did what she called an "ultimate look back" at the season so far - but the only thing she listed was the Skype conversation between Sara and Grissom in "The Two Mrs. Grissoms". Apparently she thought that was the only thing that Jorja did all season that was worth a damn, the only thing she did that was worth noticing. Personally, I find that insulting to Miss Fox, who puts a lot of hard work and effort into every episode. . . 20) "Father of the Bride" - April 28, 2011 No Sara in this one, which is the first of a three part season finale dealing with Nate Haskell. This episode features the return of Sofia Curtis (played by Louise Lombard), and is also the lowest-rated, least-watched first run episode to date, with only 10.5 million viewers. . . 21) "Cello and Goodbye" - May 5, 2011 This is CSI's 250th episode. Part 2 of the "Haskell & Langston Show". Haskell kidnaps Langston's ex. Very little Sara in this, though she looks down a microscope for the first time in 4 years, and makes her second quip ("So, no free air fare?") of the season when the L.A. cops tell her and Catherine that they're not sending them home. Introducing Elisabeth Harnois as Morgan Brody (Ecklie's daughter), who joins the show full time next season. When Brody makes her comment about testing the paint chip, Sara gives her a quirking half smile. When Greg is 'chatting' with Catherine and Sara, it's too obvious that it's actually a video of them he's watching rather than a live conversation, as there's a moving progression bar at the bottom of the video screen. Viewer numbers were the same for this ep as the last, but ratings were down a hair further, making it the all-time low for the series to date. . . 22) "In A Dark, Dark House" - May 12, 2011 Part 3 of the "Haskell & Langston Show". Sara swabs for blood (the first time in over 3 years), she gets emotional when checking the scene (especially when talking about dead animals), and she's not afraid to follow the evidence where it leads, even if it implicates a colleague. /This/ is the Sara that's been missing these past two seasons. Sara and Greg arrive at the scene, and realize that Langston shoved Haskell through the railing. Sara and Greg check out all of the various blood spatter, and Sara gets quite emotional when checking out the house. "Nate Haskell may have died in this house, but I think a serial killer was born in this room" - Sara and Greg peel off the wallpaper to find old blood. Sara and Greg map all of the blood, and Sara realizes that Langston beat Haskell to death. (so much for her "Ray's not a murderer" comment from the last episode) Sara explains the blood evidence to Catherine, but they disagree about Haskell being cuffed. Sara checks Langston's kit to see if he's missing a set of flex-cuffs, but they're all there. When Greg questions her checking out Langston's story, she says that she'd expect any of the others to do the same thing if the situations were reversed - (Greg): "If it was me, my kit..." (Sara): "I'd open it. We have all had a moment in the dark, where we had to fight our way out, and when we did, it was up to the rest of the team to shine a light on that darkness to see what happened. That's our job. I just need to know what I'm dealing with, and then I will deal with it." The official report (of course) absolves Langston, calling it self-defense, despite what the evidence says. Brass took the cut flex-cuffs from the scene. Bad science: they get results from the 30 year old blood under the wallpaper. . . ---END OF SEASON: Nothing really new in this season, though Sara finally 'perked up' at the end of the season and became more like the Sara we used to know. Despite what the writers tried to force-feed us in "The Two Mrs. Grissoms", the marriage obviously isn't going well; Sara is still happier in the lab than she is being with Grissom, and isn't going to see him "every couple of weeks". . . June 1, 2011 - according to Deadline Hollywood and other sites, Laurence Fishburne will NOT be returning for season 12. It's now official - "CSI:" has been moved to Wednesdays at 10. . . July 15, 2011 - Ted Danson has been hired to replace Fishburne. . . ========== SEASON 12 (2011-2012) =============================================================== . . 01) "73 Seconds" - September 21, 2011 Introducing "D.B. Russell" (Ted Danson), the new supervisor - Catherine has been demoted because of the Langston mess (apparently he's moved back to Baltimore with his first wife; Brass comments that IA railroaded him). Two scenes - several murders on the el, and a dead body at a campsite. Sara taking photos at the tram scene, says hello to Nick - "Welcome back, big guy" - with a slight smile; they've all met the quirky new supervisor and now it's Nick's turn... she's a little amused by that. Sara and Greg get the secondary - a guy dead at a campsite, his skin apparently separated from his body (once again, Jorja gets the grossest scene in the episode). Sara and Greg are joking around about DB Russell and his weirdness. Sara and Greg question the guy from the truck stop, find out their vic died by accident. No comments from Sara about deer hunting, though she isn't thrilled by the method of shoving an air hose under the deer's skin to separate it from the body. At the end, Catherine rips Nick a new one for doing what he's always done - from now on, they need to go by the book. Almost no forensics at all in this ep. as usual. More bad science: if the octopus was really inside the Japanese woman's purse as they said, then it was high and dry - if it had been in a bag of water in the purse, the water would have spilled out all over the floor when the octopus fell out. . . Just as an interesting side-note: on September 27th, Forbes magazine published a list of the top ten highest paid TV actresses from May 2010 to May 2011. Topping the list is Tina Fey at $13 million, with Eva Longoria coming in 2nd at just under $13 million. Mariska Hargitay, Marcia Cross, and Marg Helgenberger tied for third place at $10 million, while Felicity Huffman and Teri Hatcher tie for 5th at $9 million. . . With the addition of Elisabeth Harnois to the cast, the graveyard shift is finally back up to its full complement of 6, the first time it has been so since Sara was kidnapped in 2007. . . 02) "Tell-Tale Hearts" - September 28, 2011 A family of four murdered. Sara barely in this at all to start - when she does finally show up, it's just for a brief chat with DB (whom Brass calls "moonbeam") about getting into the head of the suspect. Three different confessions. Sara talking with Brody, Greg comes in with news about drugs - Sara twits Brody with "I'll drive, I know the way" (Brody got lost on her way to the crime scene the first time). Sara finds the drug stash in the victim's house. Sara and Brody print and test the cash found - this ep is the most forensics they've shown in a long time. . . 03) "Bittersweet" - October 5, 2011 A body found in cement at an art exhibit (Nick is out on a date with Doc Robbins' niece) leads to an old case that Sara worked on - young girls were abducted, object-raped and cut up. One of the killers is out of prison now. Sara is all dressed up (nice white bluse, suit jacket) when she goes into DB's office and 'asks' to be put on the case, gets very emotional when recalling the case. Sara and Nick examine and take apart the cement blocks containing the remains (more forensics, finally). Catherine talks to DB, warns him that Sara is too close to the case. (note: Sara and Catherine haven't had any kind of 'bonding' moment since the first episode of season 10) Checking out the suspect's house, Sara finds the father (Burroughs) of one of the previous victims watching the house - she gets in the car, talks with him, asks him to go home and let them do their jobs; she's identifying with and interacting with the victims and the families as she used to do all those years ago, before she became 'Sara on Valium'. Pool party at killer's apartment complex - Sara confronts Gena Sinclair, then addresses the crowd, telling them that Gena is a rapist, a murderer and a psycopath. DB calls Sara into his office, talks about the confrontation - he doesn't quite pull Sara off the case, but he definitely warns her. Catherine, DB & Sara ID the latest vic - dog hair matching Sinclair's pet is on the vic. DB & Sara talk - he asks her if she checked the evidence by herself, makes her realize that killer had help. Only one surviving victim from previous crimes (Colleen) - her mother comes in, her daughter is missing. DB & Sara at Sinclair's house, hear screams, bust in with guns drawn - Burroughs has her at knife point; Sara talks him down but doesn't seem too happy about it... "The good news is, she's in the hospital. The bad news is, she's okay." Nick figures out the cutting tool, traces it to a marina - Sara, Nick & DB find the surviving vic (Colleen) is the new killer. At the hospital later, Sara talks to Colleen's mother, which is a bit traumatic for Sara; then DB takes her out to eat (she even smiles somewhat when he refuses to take 'no' for an answer). Now /this/ is what's been missing for four (or more) years... Sara was very much alive, emotional, too close to the case and the victims. A good bit of forensics in the case. It looks like "CSI:" is back... and the Sara that we always knew is finally back. At least for one episode. . . 05) "CSI Down" - October 19, 2011 Brody is taken hostage in a medevac chopper. Yawn. Sara is barely in this - less than 5 minutes of screen time, and her only real contribution is the line "She grew up. Ouch." (about the hijacker's daughter). Bad science: the plasma cutter in Nick's case slices through the screen door but doesn't mark the inner door at all. Bad science 2: the chopper crashes with enough force to burn and scatter pieces all over, but Brody emerges with only a couple of tiny scratches. . . 07) "Brain Doe" - November 9, 2011 A three car accident with an extra brain at the scene. Sara & Nick check out the first victim's car, Sara discovers oxy and burglary tools, and they find a football in the trunk. The Sheriff visits Catherine - she wants Cat to join a forensics commission in DC (the exit game at last). Cat meets Vartann at a scene, but it's all business - no love there. Sara joins Cat at that scene, discovers body with a missing brain - but DNA doesn't match the extra brain they have. Sara and Greg check video, find a pathologist who may be involved... but he turns up dead. Sara enters the break room and Hodges is eating chicken nuggets - she ranks on him a bit for that. "You... go to a gym?", she declines his offer to view his bod as proof. Sara and Greg check out gym where owner is connected to all vics - he's a weasel, and Greg asks her, "Would you buy a membership from him?", to which she replies, "Not a lifetime one." Sara, Nick & DB get their heads together, realize gym owner was doping fighters. Sara & Brass meet with the gym owner; he was having affair with the wife of the supposed 'suicide' (the son actually killed his father, as Brass discovers). . . In an article at the Associated Press (talking about Marg's departure from the show), Jorja says that Sara "is happily married, but she's really lonely", and that if she could write an episode, it would "look at her love affair more closely", and that "it would be amazing if she traveled somewhere kind of exotic to see Grissom and see what he's doing." . . 08) "Crime After Crime" - November 16, 2011 3 different crimes - all revenge killings where the original killer got away. Sara and Nick have a body shoved into truck tires and set on fire. "Let's get the Michelin off of the man." Nick and Sara ID their vic. Sara & Nick examine a lockbox that they found, find a knife in a hidden compartment. Sara shows her mechanical skills, stripping the knife and finding blood which traces back to Detective Vega, who goes death by cop. . . November 18, 2001 - CBS announced today that Marg Helgenberger would be replaced (when she leaves in January) by Elisabeth Shue. Jorja Fox will not get the female lead credit. . . December 7, 2011 - in a tearful farewell interview on ET, Marg Helgenberger talked about leaving the show... Jorja Fox, George Eads and Ted Danson all had nice things to say (Jorja called the show "Hotel California", as in the line from the song "you can check out any time you want / but you can never leave") Marg's final day on the set was December 6th. . . 09) "Zippered" - December 7, 2011 Military guns stolen, military ballistics expert killed. Sara placing lasers at the scene, asks Cat if she wants to be killer or victim (Cat says killer). FBI arrives - Sara with a wry little smile during their speech, when the Feds mention 'need to know' she says snarkily, "And who decides who needs to know what?" Cat gets close to one of the FBI guys. Sara in the morgue with Doc Robbins, checking out victim's tattoo - later Sara and David Phillips run the tattoo skin through the QD scanner; Sara IDs the tat as military, airborne. (Part 1 of '3 part' Catherine exit) . . 11) "Ms. Willows Regrets" - January 18, 2012 Murder at a law office, skeletons found hours later - vics were from law office that Catherine sent her friend to (see 11x09, "Zippered"). Teeth are pulped for DNA rather than check dental records - dumb. Sara & Brody check out the law offices, use ninhydron to find all sorts of blood (first time in 4 years that's been used). Professional hit team did law offices. Cat calls in the FBI (her buddy from "Zippered"), DB covers for her. Sara finds a camera memory card in the 'birthday card' that Cat got from her friend (Laura) - it's leads to Laura's cousin's house (Catherine drives rather than Sara); cops (including Vartann) & CSIs enter the house along with the CSIs, all guns drawn. Laura hiding under the floor. Sara calls DB about the scene. The whole team goes through the photos from security cams, identifies the mercs - Catherine IDs one of the bad guys as a woman on the FBI protection team. Laura killed in an ambush, Cat goes ballistic; DB tells her to walk away. Catherine sends her resignation to DB via email. Vartann drives Catherine home - she's ambushed there by mercs. DB saves her. (Part 2 of Catherine's exit) . . 12) "Willows in the Wind" - January 25, 2012 Sara and Nick chatting about Catherine's problems, then they get a call-out to Catherine's house... evidence of a shooting and a clean up. Then they get called to DB's shot-up SUV, plenty of blood in the back. Sara finds Cat's cell, then Nick finds DB's. Nick takes charge at the scene. Doc Robbins gets a text from DB, patches up Catherine. Sara & Nick processing Catherine's house, find blood that was missed by cleaners. Cat & DB hide out at a strip club, she fills him in on her history, he gets the two of them transported to the lab in body bags to stay hidden. Catherine didn't send the resignation to DB. Sara, Nick & Greg run the case, Sara realizes that Laura Gabriel is still alive and has set up her husband. Killers are caught, and Catherine says goodbye to the team - she's going to work for the FBI. (Part 3 of Catherine's exit) . . January 25, 2012 - in a CSI Files interview, uber-fan Shane Saunders talked with various cast members about what they'd miss most about Marg Helgenberger when she was gone. Jorja said, "What I'm going to miss most about Marg is her laugh. It's bold, authentic, and very contagious. I plan to hang out with her often off the set to get my fix. I love ya, Marg. Who's gonna laugh at my jokes now???" . . 13) "Tressed To Kill" - February 8, 2012 Girls are having their hair snipped in public places - Sara is processing the latest vic (Bingham), while DB asks the vic what movie she was watching. Bingham: "I'm a Daniel Craig girl" Sara: "Me too." First dead vic, Sara arrives at the scene: "Guy did a pretty freaky makeover." Both Greg and Nick have talked with Catherine. Sara checks with Hodges to get trace results... Hodges: "You should be nicer to me." Sara: "Why?" Second dead victim, another makeover - Sara quotes Yogi Berra: "Deja vu all over again." Second vic was blinded with ammonia; Sara a bit pissed about that. DB convinces sheriff to go public with story - Sara gets a little sarcastic: "Shear stalker, wow. They've already got a name." DB and Sara discuss the case, and serial killers - Sara says that she always goes back to the Ted Bundy pattern in serial killer cases. DB, Sara and Brody check the hair recovered, which leads them to a cancer doc and to his patient. Team arrests hairdresser, but Bingham is killed while he's in custody. Sara finds DB in the morgue over Bingham's body, tries to reassure him. DB & Sara confront the cancer doc (the killer) - Sara says, "You're done, doc." DB calls Cat. . . 14) "Seeing Red" - February 15, 2012 Introducing Elisabeth Shue as Julie Finn, who has a history with DB. Not much Sara in this - she helps Brody process the car, then later she's in the break room getting her tea when Greg walks in to tell her about the results from the bullet. Sara talks with the vic's mother briefly. Sara and Nick check with Brody about the cell phone trace, and from there find the original crime scene and two of the other victims. Sara: "He's got a lot to answer for" (about the apparent shooter). Sara tracks the bloody footprints, and find paint transfer that leads them to the shooter. . . 15) "Stealing Home" - February 22, 2012 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- CONCLUSION: (not updated for seasons 10, 11 or 12) So in the end, what do we know about Sara Sidle? She is smart, stubborn, obsessive, and probably even obsessive-compulsive. She knows a great deal about science, but very little about people or the outside world. She doesn't seem to care much about her appearance (other than court), and does not think that she is attractive. She is warm, considerate and caring, and had (in earlier seasons) tremendous empathy for the victims, especially children; this changes as the seasons wear on, until she becomes numb to the pain and suffering of the victims. She does her job well, often leaving no stone unturned. Her obsessiveness is actually a bonus when it comes to work - she will often refuse to quit on a case, and has occasionally had a 'win' because of her refusal to quit. She is a champion of the underdog, and has a strong empathy for female victims, which can sometimes cause problems for her. Sara is a dichotomy: her professional life is in pretty decent shape - you won't hear any of her colleagues complaining about her work ethic, though you will occasionally hear comments about her obsessiveness. She has many dislikes, and several hatreds - chief amongst the latter are a hatred of rape and domestic abuse, anything where a woman is a victim. She dislikes politics, and how some cases take priority over others; she is a believer in equality among cases, which is a little naïve. She always wants to fight for the victims, which can sometimes lead her into trouble. Her temperament at work has evened out over the years; she is calmer and less prone to emotional outbursts - in fact, she now councils others on keeping their temper. On the other hand, she no longer shows an amiable, fun-loving side to anyone except perhaps Grissom; she no longer jokes and flirts with her colleagues - and it should be noted that the last time that \anyone\ flirted with her was in "Rashomama". None of her colleagues have flirted with her since the fourth season. Her personal life, on the other hand, is a shambles - there she is in terrible shape, and getting worse. Her main problem is that she has a low self-esteem and a low sense of self worth: she doesn't think that she's pretty or attractive, and she seems to take it for granted that she will not be noticed. Conversely, she doesn't mind it when people flirt with her, and during her first couple of years in Vegas she flirted right back - but no more. She has never done anything with that flirtation, and she doesn't seem to take compliments well; she shrugs it off when someone compliments her, though it's a rare occurrence when someone does. Grissom, of course, is an exception - you can see the changes in her face on those very rare times when he compliments her; anything he says is something that gives her pleasure. Another part of that is her relationship with Grissom, which apparently began when they met at a seminar in San Francisco not long after she became a CSI: she considers herself inferior in almost all ways to Grissom. She always defers to him, she looks up to him and admires him; to Sara, Grissom is the answer to every question. She is subservient to him and believes in him, though she doesn't really believe in herself. She always sees herself in second place when compared to Grissom, and has gotten to the point where she is basing her life on his, living what he wants rather than attending to her own needs and desires. She will never be Grissom's equal in anything - that's how she sees it; he will always be above her, superior to her in everything. In many ways she is becoming another version of Grissom, even to the point where she has now reversed the role she plays with Grissom and is mentoring Greg - though it's obvious that there will never be the kind of emotional connection there that she feels for Grissom. She has shown a willingness to learn, and doesn't mind when someone teaches her something (especially Grissom), though there are times when she pretends to know more than she actually does. Those few times when she has been caught out on her knowledge have not affected her adversely; she usually smiles and appears to take it in stride. On a rare occasion, she will repeat something that she just learned herself as if she already knew it. She hates not knowing something, and she is eager to learn, but she never asks anyone for help, and will never ask anyone to explain something to her. This is just another part of her desperate desire for complete independence and her inability to lean on anyone for support. On the subject of knowledge, she has little knowledge or understanding of people - she is often unaware of the vagaries of human relationships and activities, and has shown no real interest in learning. She has a phobia of germs in public places, and she has very few social skills - in fact, she is practically a sociophobe, never going out and mingling with other people outside of work. She can be a realist, with a pessimistic view of humanity, and she's definitely a romantic. This doesn't prevent her from getting 'played' by a suspect, when she takes what they say at face value, believing them - she would rather trust and believe a suspect instead of herself. Sara had a bad start in life, and it only appears to be getting worse: a possibly abusive family (while it was never said directly, one can assume that her father abused her mother, based on her comments about fighting and trips to the hospital), and a series of betrayals that have left her a shell of a human being. She has been through more trauma and upheaval than all of the rest of the CSIs combined. She may even blame herself for her father's death - a lot of young children grow up blaming themselves for trouble within the family, if it is traumatic enough. That's one thing to realize: Sara has been betrayed by \every\ person she has been close to or has gotten close to - \every single one\. Her mother betrayed her when she killed her father, her father 'betrayed' her by getting killed (and when she learned that abusive families weren't normal), her older brother betrayed her when she found pot under his bed, the college boy she mentions in "Fallen Idols" betrayed her, her prosecutor friend ("One Hit Wonder") betrayed her by being the murderer rather than a victim, Hank Peddigrew the backstabbing paramedic betrayed her, every time she's been 'played' by a victim or suspect she's been betrayed. And Grissom has betrayed her. In fact, Grissom has betrayed her (at least) three times - four if you count the promotion. He betrayed her in "Butterflied" when he told a murder suspect (but God forbid he ever tell Sara) that he chose his career over her, he betrayed her in "Committed" when his unthinking actions led to her getting attacked and almost raped, and the most obvious, he betrayed her with Lady Heather. Betrayal and lack of consideration for her feelings and needs are part and parcel of Grissom's relationship with her. A person only gets betrayed so many times before they lose all faith and trust in other people; they will refuse to reach out to anyone, and will refuse to trust anyone. It shows in her relationships with her colleagues - she doesn't trust them with any part of her personal life ("Fallen Idols" and the conversation with Warrick was an out-of-character exception). If she doesn't place any trust in them, then she doesn't need to be worried about getting betrayed by them - though it should be noted that Catherine betrayed \everyone\ in the lab with her heinous actions in "Redrum". It's also one of the reasons that Sara is a sociophobe - being social means reaching out to other people, and she has become incapable of that. As Jorja Fox said in an interview back in 2006, Sara is incapable of leaning on anyone for support (and that she enjoys that aspect of the character - you wonder if she realizes what that really means). For Sara to lean on anyone for any kind of support would be to trust them, and she can't do that. Her abusive background - though we don't know whether she herself was abused - and her time in foster care would have taught her that she can only rely on herself, she can only trust herself, that everyone else will eventually let her down. Betrayals have become so much a part of her life that she probably now expects them; it's normal for her. It has probably gotten to the point that she reaches out on occasion (very rarely) \expecting\ to be betrayed, \wanting\ to be betrayed, because that's all she really knows. She may not feel that she's having a relationship unless she's being betrayed - to Sara, the only way she can be betrayed is if she cares too much, therefore betrayal equals caring: if someone betrays her, it shows that they care for her in some twisted way. Her past and her upbringing are probably the reasons why she has such a hatred of rape and domestic abuse, but we don't really know. Thankfully the writers haven't taken the cheap and sleazy way out, and claimed that she hates rape because she was herself raped. That's bull - you don't have to be a rape victim to hate rape. And despite what the more 'sensational' of the fanfics have posited, it is highly unlikely that she was molested as a child, though that would add a sick twist to the 'father figure' aspect of her relationship to Grissom. As mentioned, Sara refuses to lean on anyone for support, and refuses to trust anyone - with the exception of Grissom - with any details of her personal life. As far as we know from what we have seen on screen, she has \never\ told anyone - with the one out-of-character exception in "Fallen Idols" - anything about her personal life or her background, except for Grissom, and possibly the PEAP counselor she saw between seasons 4 and 5. When Sara first came to Vegas, she was upbeat, confident, self-assured - almost arrogant in some ways. When it came to the job she knew exactly what she was doing, with the exception of several incidents concerning Grissom, where she tries to impress him with her theory of the crime only to find out that he had already figured it out. This gives her a feeling of intellectual inferiority when compared to Grissom - combine that with the fact that she was his student at one time, and Sara will always see herself in second place when it comes to Grissom. Note that though it was mentioned more than once (or hinted at) during the first few seasons that Sara was Grissom's student, the events of the eighth season throw that continuity and timeline out the window - but the eighth season was meant as a "happily ever after" fairytale for Sara and Grissom, where nothing ever goes wrong; continuity didn't mean anything during the eighth season. Over the years - basically starting in the third season - Sara's self-assuredness started going downhill. She stopped socializing, first with the events of "You've Got Male", then later after the breakup with Hank in "Crash and Burn". In "You've Got Male" she threw out her take-out menus and catalogs - like the victim, she had been using the phone as a method of human contact with the outside world. However, it is a means of contact - stopping that behavior is just another way of cutting herself off from the world. By the time the third season had finished, we knew that Sara had no life outside of work - the closest thing to a mention of anything outside the lab was during "Dead Doll", when mall security mentioned that she ate at the veggie place 2 or 3 times a week. However, eating at a fast food joint isn't exactly socializing. She has cut herself off completely from the outside world - she has no friends, no contacts with people outside of work, no hobbies or interests that take her outside of her own apartment. With all that has been shown, she would probably be happier if she could stay in the lab 24/7, especially if it means staying near Grissom. Her colleagues don't socialize with her - unless you count the events of "Bloodlines", where she goes out drinking with Nick and Warrick to commiserate over the loss of the promotion and gets busted for DUI. The only mention we have of her and Grissom going out anywhere during their relationship is the events of "Empty Eyes" - and that date was cancelled. Sara is not social. Her family... we know next to nothing about them. Her mother Laura - is she even still alive? What about her (possibly non-existent) brother? With the exception of those couple of episodes, no family has been mentioned - we don't know if Sara talks to them or visits them; all we know is that she never (almost never) talks about them. With all of the traumas she's been through lately, they are a possible support system outside of the lab - but we just don't know. Carol Mendelsohn (executive producer of "CSI:") has said that they'll do some filming in San Francisco in the eighth season, but that could mean anything or nothing - more soap opera is what it sounds like; there's no reason to film there. Sara keeps herself under tight self-control - she keeps her emotions in check at work, with the exception of the few times at work where she has given vent to an emotional outburst (which have become rarer since the fifth season). While her colleagues know that she doesn't like certain types of cases, and while they can guess her reaction to certain situations, they don't really know her - she has locked everything inside, unwilling (or unable) to let it all out. One day that dam may burst, and at that point she will be inches from a complete breakdown. Her relationship with her colleagues is, as it was described online, "layered and contentious" - she gets along well with all of them, but as mentioned, doesn't open up to any of them. Her relationship with Captain Brass and Doc Robbins is strictly professional, with the exception of "Early Rollout", where Brass inquired about her drinking. Nick Stokes and Sara emanate harmonics of brother and sister, but they will never get together, despite what some fans wish. Nick is the one who has shown the most concern for Sara over the years, asking how she is or how she's doing with a particularly brutal case, but her response is always her standard "I'm fine". She gets along well with Warrick Brown, but with the exception of "Bloodlines", it is a strictly professional relationship. Catherine Willows we've covered - the two of them work well together, but to Catherine, Sara is competition, and someone that Catherine looks down on. While it has never been stated on screen, it is likely that Catherine sees Sara's puppy dog pursuit of Grissom as pathetic; Catherine is very much aware of herself as a woman and actually has an outside life, whereas Sara does not. Sara's relationship with Greg Sanders has evolved over the years - where once he used to flirt with her, he has matured, no longer flirting, but still always ready with a joke and a smile. As part of her burgeoning "student / teacher" relationship with Greg, Sara has shown concern for him, even standing up for him at times - there is a mild emotional component there, but nothing will ever come of it, because she won't let it go anywhere. What any of her colleagues think about her affair with Grissom, we don't know - everything other than GSR "happily ever after" was glossed over or forgotten during the eighth season. She tends to exude an aura of 'leave me alone' to most of her colleagues - they may offer words of comfort or concern upon occasion, but they're also aware that there are limits to what Sara will tolerate from them in terms of personal interaction. Her colleagues may express concern, but that's where they leave it - they don't offer her a shoulder to lean on because they know that she won't accept it; they are used to hearing her reply "I'm fine" when asked how she's doing, even if everybody can see that she is not. She gets along well with all of her colleagues - other than the occasional sniping from Catherine - but work is where her relationship with any of them ends. She would be willing to lay down her life for her colleagues, but she is unwilling to open her heart or let them into her personal life; she is unable to trust them emotionally. Whether she realizes it or not, by cutting herself off from everything and everyone - other than Grissom - Sara has made herself unlovable. She has no interest in love, caring or concern from anyone other than Grissom, and ignores everyone else, unwilling or unable to see what the rest of the world is like. There is a great potential for humanity in Sara, but it will remain unrealized, because she has cut herself off from everyone and everything. No one bothers to try and love her or to get close to her, because they know that it is a waste of their time; she will never let anyone into her life other than Grissom. Her relationship with Grissom: that takes a lot of explaining. Going strictly by what we've seen on the screen from both of them, there is absolutely no reason why they should be together; it's certainly not a romantic relationship. Yes, Sara pursued Grissom with an almost pathetic wide-eyed puppy dog look, but while she pursued him obsessively for over three years, she did not push hard. It was an obsessive pursuit: during those three years Grissom showed absolutely no interest in Sara as either a physical or romantic conquest; he showed no interest in her as a human being, yet Sara did not stop her pursuit. That's obsessive. She didn't push hard because she was afraid - with her low self-esteem and her second class status (in her mind) to Grissom - that he would reject her or wouldn't want her, and that if she ever did get together with him he would just betray her as everyone else has (which proved to be the case). She even blames herself because the relationship is going nowhere ("Snakes", fourth season). So why did she end up with Grissom? We may never know - we certainly won't know why he finally relented and let her in after all those years. It certainly wasn't because of Brass almost getting killed, not after all of the "second chance" opportunities that he avoided or ignored - unless he needed to be hit over the head many times with the fragility of life to realize that it applied to Sara and himself. Over the years Grissom has shown (and Billy Petersen has stated in several interviews) that he doesn't need anyone or want anyone - so why did he let her in? It makes no sense - he's never cared for Sara, so why now? Grissom is, as Billy Petersen stated, "emotionally closed". Sara said that she only goes after men who are "emotionally unavailable" (which is definitely Grissom), and back in the beginning she stated that she wished she was like him, without feelings. She recognizes his basic misanthropic nature. So it comes as no surprise that there are no emotions, no feelings in the relationship from Grissom's side of things. Sara's pursuit of Grissom basically began back when she was a new kid in San Francisco and attended one of his seminars - that much we know from the conversation in "Toe Tags" and from comments by Jorja Fox over the years. Grissom left San Francisco (and now it seems he was only there for a teaching seminar, as he's never been stationed in SF) and left her behind - for whatever reasons - and then called her in to investigate Warrick Brown. For a while, that was it - Sara tried to get Grissom to notice her in various ways (he didn't), but things never really came to a head until she was almost blown up in the lab; that intimation of mortality caused her to take her life in her hands and ask him out. He turned her down, but it was the beginning of her three year pursuit. Why did she pursue him? Given what we know of her, she could only expect betrayal from him - and she was right in that regard. She sees herself as merely a shadow of his life, which could be a possible explanation; he's the sun that's eclipsing her. The times have been very few where she has stood up to him, questioned his judgment or complained to him - "Sex, Lies and Larvae", "Gentle, Gentle", "Invisible Evidence", "After the Show" and "Burn Out"; those are the only times where she has ever stood up to him. The few times she's actually complained - though not very strenuously - were those times when he called her in on her day off. For the most part, she is willing to let him dictate her life. That's something we see with Sara - she has devoted herself to Grissom whole-heartedly. She needs reassurance from him that she makes him happy, she doesn't seem to care when he betrays her, and she clings to his every word and action. She has become totally fixated on him - like a heroin addict, he is her drug of choice. The heart of their relationship is and always will be "student / teacher", and that seems just fine with her - she is willing to subordinate herself to him in every way. But he is also a father figure to her, and possibly a lover. In some ways she is becoming another version of Grissom: she is becoming less emotional, she is mentoring Greg, and she can parrot every thing he has ever said over a span of 9 years (or longer); she is living his life rather than hers.. In essence, with Grissom she has found a cocoon that she can hide in, away from the real world. In some ways it is understandable - he is the only one that she has ever opened up to about her family and her past, he is the only one (aside from that out-of-character scene in "Fallen Idols") she has ever told about her personal life and her failures. He has become her ultimate confidant, to the point where she believes that because he is the only one she has ever told about these things, he is the only one that she \can\ tell. He is the repository of all her secrets - the other members of the team know more about the victims they come in contact with than they do about Sara. Just out of curiosity, I wonder what Sara would say if you asked her to list the reasons why she loves Grissom, why she's with him despite everything that happened over the years? For Sara, her relationship with Grissom is a fairy tale come true - she has everything she's always wanted. For her it is perfection - she doesn't know that it is lacking anything, and wouldn't care if she did. Another part of their relationship - which coincides with her low self-esteem - is the fact that she sees him as a father figure: older, wiser, more mature, able to take care of her, someone who will care for her. She has a desperate need of approval from him, for whatever reason - possibly she didn't get much (if any) approval from her father, and now she seeks it from him. This outlook on her part makes him invincible in her eyes: he can do no wrong. If Grissom were the abusive type - which he obviously is not - it wouldn't matter; whatever he does, she will always come crawling back to him, she can forgive him \anything\. Some of that is obvious from her reactions in "Living Doll": there is no mention, no reaction from her of his betrayal with Lady Heather; she has wiped it from her mind. The smallest sign of affection that he shows her - very far and few between - are all that she needs; if anyone else tells her she's done a good job, she ignores it - if Grissom tells her that she's done a good job (has he ever?), it gives her a great sense of pleasure and fulfillment. Sara has never confronted or argued or questioned Grissom about their relationship, and she never will. She will occasionally (very rarely) confront him about a case, but never about anything personal, because to her, that would be unthinkable - he is perfect to her, no matter what. If she were ever to see a therapist about all that she has been through (highly unlikely), she wouldn't mention anything at all wrong with the relationship, even though no relationship is perfect. If she's with Grissom - even though he is "emotionally closed" and doresn't express any feelings - then it must be perfect, because to be otherwise would be unthinkable to her. Sara said back in "Nesting Dolls" that she chooses men who are "emotionally unavailable", and that describes Grissom to a "T"; he is about the most unemotional person she has ever run across (which she commented on back in "Too Tough to Die"). Petersen said of Grissom (in the season 7 DVD extras) that he is "emotionally closed", which again, is how we've seen Grissom throughout the years; his relationship with Sara hasn't opened him up any. That lack of emotion means - to her - that she doesn't have to worry about that person getting close to her, and betraying her, breaking her heart. Yet at the same time, she blames herself because their relationship isn't going anywhere - she thinks she's at fault because there's something wrong with her; she isn't pretty enough or other reasons. Their relationship seems to be based on mutual comfort rather than anything else - as Billy Petersen has said in more than one interview, Sara and Grissom are like "an old married couple"; someone to talk to at the end of the day. There is very little affection there, at least from Grissom - most of the emotion in the relationship has come from Sara, no surprise. Love? Sara is in love with Grissom ("Goodbye and Good Luck", confirmed, the first time it's mentioned) - but until the events of "Living Doll", we could have categorically denied that Grissom was in love with Sara. And the fact still remains that - if he actually \is\ in love with Sara, rather than just worrying because she's in danger - he has \never\ told her how he feels. You may sit there and say that "well, just because we haven't seen it on screen doesn't mean that it hasn't happened", but you would do well to remember that the same argument is used by people to claim that Sara and Catherine are lesbian lovers, or that Greg is a drug addict - if it isn't on the screen, then it didn't happen. Grissom has never told Sara that he loves her, nor has he hinted it. It's a one-sided relationship, emotionally. One thing that should be noted: Grissom has never tried to enter into Sara's world - she has always gone into his. The only time that we know of that he has been inside her apartment is when she was suspended back in "Nesting Dolls" - as far as we can tell from the seventh season, she was always over at his place. She has always paid attention to his interests, his way of life, rather than him paying any attention to hers. Sara is emotionally dependent on Grissom: he is the only one she ever opens up to, he is the only one she ever leans on for support, he is the only one that she ever offers emotional support to (with the possible exception, lately, of Greg). Her entire emotional life revolves around him. Sara probably has low expectations when it comes to relationships - \any\ relationship, not just Grissom. From what we have seen, she has never had a good relationship - every one has failed in some way, usually because of betrayal. Couple that with her low self-esteem, and she likely does not expect much from a relationship. Conversely, this means that if she is attracted to someone and they show the slightest bit of interest in her, that interest will be magnified in her eyes, making the relationship more than acceptable. How physical is their relationship? It's not physical at all. 99% of the time Grissom is not a physical person - the only times that Grissom has actually touched Sara since they got together was at the end of "Empty Eyes", and the flashback in "Living Doll". Their sex life is also an unknown; the only time it was ever mentioned or hinted at was in "Ending Happy", and that was very oblique and indirect. Grissom may be a super-stud, or he may be "overrated" - we just don't know. (thankfully) They've never kissed ("Goodbye and Good Luck" was the very first time), never hugged, and the closest they've ever come to a friendly touch was the flashback scene in "Living Doll". Obviously we'll never see a sex scene, and with the exception of that mention in "Ending Happy" we probably won't hear anything about their sex life, if they have one. Grissom has shown no interest in sex with anyone over the years, and no physical interest at all in Sara. (Again, "Goodbye and Good Luck" is an exception to their physicality, and that's all from Sara's end - there's no response from Grissom) Grissom has only deliberately touched Sara five times over the past seven years (other than case related, as in "Sex, Lies and Larvae" or "Invisible Evidence"). That's it. Of course, her record is even worse - she's hugged Greg (more than once), she's hugged Nick, and she's hugged Warrick... but she's never hugged Grissom. In fact, the only times that she has deliberately touched him were in "Scuba Doobie Doo", "Way to Go" (briefly laying her hand on his shoulder when he was sitting in his office), and the shaving scene in "Fallen Idols". Physical contact is not something that either of them do. As far as the job goes... as noted, it is against lab policy for two people on the same shift to be "romantically involved", with good reason. Realistically, every single case that Sara and Grissom have worked on together since they became "intimate" should go under the microscope, before some defense attorney does it for them (note the events of "The Accused is Entitled", where just the \suggestion\ of a relationship between the two torpedoed her testimony). Sara will do anything for Grissom, anything to please him. Would she fudge evidence or a conclusion in order to please him? Probably not... though there is a percentage of doubt. If her conclusions and his didn't match, would she devote extra time to reexamining things to try and figure out how he reached his conclusion, and to see if she might be wrong? Possibly. Unless she had absolute proof otherwise, she might go out of her way to support his conclusions, right or wrong - and that's one of the reasons that the lab policy is there in the first place. So there really should be some kind of repercussions because of their secret relationship. But "CSI:" will never do anything along those lines; season eight is the "Sara and Grissom Show", putting a "happily ever after" on their fairy tale relationship - nothing can go wrong. It's an odd pairing: Sara is too needy (and Grissom is unable to fill those needs), while Grissom doesn't need (or want) anyone. Time and again Grissom has hurt Sara because he didn't think about her, or didn't consider her - but that's nothing new for Grissom; Catherine has ranted at him more than once for his thoughtlessness when it comes to people. One thing that Sara may not have realized: throughout the history of "student / teacher" relationships, the teacher (or mentor) is usually older - and eventually they will die. The student is usually left to go on by themselves, hopefully growing older and wiser along the way. But this isn't something that Sara is ready for, and it is certainly not something that she is able to handle at the present. She has devoted so much of herself to Grissom, she is so emotionally dependent on him, so subservient, that without him, she will not survive; she doesn't have the self-sufficiency or stability to be able to stand on her own. Some of the commentary that floated around online over the summer was a comparison of the various characters that Jorja has played over the years, and how they'd react to a situation. If Maggie Doyle had been 'played' (unlikely), she would have sued the guy... or shot him. Pallas would have ripped his throat out. Gina Toscano would have slammed him up against a wall and then arrested him. Sara... she goes off in the corner alone and cries. Sara will always need someone to cling to, the one person she's willing to let into her life. One question to ask is, "Where does Sara go from here? What can she do?". Once she leaves the lab, she has... nothing; being a CSI is all she knows how to do. She has no social skills, and has shown no desire to become socially involved - so what does she do? She's hardly going to become a grocery store clerk. She has enough skills - more than enough - that she could easily get a job at a lab as a research chemist or something of the sort, but part of what has driven her over the years is a need to find out, a need to unravel the mystery surrounding a crime. While death staring her in the face every day has gotten to her now, what about in a year? Two years? Where will she be? Without the lab, the only thing she'll have to live for is Grissom... that's it, nothing else. That \might\ be enough for some people, but only if they have some other kind of social outlet, friends, hobbies - Sara has none of that. If she leaves Grissom, she won't have anything - nothing at all. So where does she go? Is there anywhere she \can\ go? As Catherine notes in "Dead Doll" - "She's a survivor". That's what you can say about Sara... she survives. But what price survival? -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- CONCLUSION PT. 2: WHAT'S NEXT? (July 2007) All of that makes Sara sound just a little pathetic, a recluse - no contact with the outside world, wrapped up tight in the lab, emotionally locked off. So what's next for Sara Sidle? Absolutely nothing - there's nothing that can be done with her to better her life, no therapy that will ease the traumas she has so recently suffered at the hands of loved ones and her job. Nothing that can help her. Unless she wakes up and realizes certain things about herself. If she were to stand up and start to believe in herself, if she were to shake off her low self-esteem and realize that she is a person in her own right rather than just a junior version of Grissom, then she might start becoming a real human being. If she can start to learn to open up a bit, to trust others with her life and her emotions, then she will become stronger. That doesn't mean that she should become a complete emotional mess, spraying her feelings around at the drop of a hat, but she should come to the realization that allowing herself some real human emotions, letting them out, will only make her stronger. If she will admit her feelings every once in a while rather than just stating her standard "I'm fine", if she can start trusting her colleagues - and most of all, herself - with her emotions, then she will finally start to heal. She needs to let people help her. She should also find someone capable of giving her the affection, attention, and caring that she deserves and needs - but that is impossible as long as she continues to nurture her obsessive fixation on Grissom. Unfortunately for Sara, most of that is extremely unlikely - she seems to be happy living in Grissom's shadow, unaware of how normal people interact, and unaware of how much she has shut the world out of her life. She is likely to remain closed off, incapable of communicating emotionally with anyone except Grissom. She is essentially dead to the world, and to herself. Sara will, of course, survive all of this - that much is fairly obvious. Survive, that is, in terms of the soap opera direction the show has arrived at. More likely than not what we can expect to see from the season premiere is that most of it will be labeled "May 2007", a continuation of "Living Doll", with the team concentrating on finding Sara through an variety of soap opera twists and turns. Probably Grissom will play a major part in finding Sara via his emotional appeals to the whacko, no matter how unrealistic that may sound. I'd expect the last 3 or 4 minutes of the episode to be labeled "September 2007", showing Sara back at work and back with Grissom as if nothing had happened, with a possible reference to a PEAP counselor or therapy over the summer, or a reference to a vacation. Sara desperately needs therapy of some kind - and not just a few sessions. In order for her to deal with all of the traumas and emotional upheavals she's gone through in just the past couple of months, she's going to need at \least\ 4 or 5 months of therapy. But of course, they'll show her right back at work by the first or second episode of season eight, acting as if nothing has happened. One of the main problems that she'll have over the summer in dealing with all of the emotional (and physical) traumas that she's so recently suffered is the fact that the lab (and everyone in it) is a dichotomy: the lab (and everyone in it, especially Grissom) is the only source of emotional support that she has, but by the same token the lab (and Grissom) is the source of her traumas. Realistically, she should stay away from the lab and everyone in it while she is in therapy, in order to avoid piling more traumas on to her fragile psyche - but as the lab and everyone in it are the only things that she has, her only contact with humanity; it's a Catch 22 situation. No amount of therapy will solve all of Sara's problems - it might lessen them, it might help with a few, but she's always going to be screwed up. If she had loving support from Grissom it might not be so bad, even though he is responsible for various betrayals. But how much support \can\ Grissom provide? With all of the traumas (and betrayals) that Sara has gone through recently, she's going to be an emotional wreck - if "CSI:" stays in character without going soap opera, which is unlikely. Grissom has very few emotions, or at least he has displayed very few. While he has held Sara's hand on occasion, there have been plenty of other times when she's sat off to the side crying to herself because there's no one there to comfort her. In a way you almost have to feel sorry for Grissom - he's denied or repressed his emotions for so long (or has so very few to start with) that the problems facing Sara will likely scare him; he won't know how to deal with her problems, her trampled emotions. And at this point, from what we've seen on screen, he doesn't realize just how much he hurt Sara with his betrayal, his night with Lady Heather. She stammered "I'm fine", and it's likely that he took that at face value - he doesn't really understand Sara or how deeply she is hooked on him, nor does he understand her emotions. Sara has one other problem (as if she didn't have enough already): Lady Heather. Every time LH has appeared, Grissom has shown his emotional connection to her - even when he was supposed to be with Sara. Three times now he has run to Heather's side at the drop of a hat ("Pirates of the Third Reich", "The Good, the Bad and the Dominatrix", "The Happy Place); the second time he ran to her regardless of Sara. So as long as Lady Heather exists, Sara's going to have to accept the fact that Grissom will always think of her first - if it comes to a conflict between Sara and Lady Heather, Grissom has shown that he'll choose Lady Heather. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- TIMELINE: This can be, unfortunately, only a rough estimate, as actual dates are sadly lacking for Sara's early life. Continuity and timelines were trashed during the eighth season. September 16th, 1971 - Sara Sidle born in Tamales Bay, California (not far from San Francisco). This date has changed several times; this information is from the 'official' bio only, and has never been verified on screen. (It's also incorrect: Tomales Bay - note the spelling - is an actual bay, not a town. Unless Sara is a mermaid, she wasn't born there) 1981-1983? - Sara's mother Laura kills her father after years of abuse (assumed, never directly stated), and spends several months in a psychiatric hospital. Sara is in a foster home during this period. (5th season: "Nesting Dolls", "No Humans Involved", "Committed") 1984 - The People vs. Laura Sidle w2, Modesto, California. (5th season: "No Humans Involved") 1989-1993? - Sara gets her degree in Theoretical Physics from Harvard. (bio only, unverified) March 1993 - Sara gets initiated into the Mile High Club. (1st season: "Unfriendly Skies") 1995 - Grissom is already part of the Las Vegas CSI team. (1st season: "Crate n' Burial") 1993-1995? - Sara gets her Masters degree from the University of California, Berkley. (bio only, unverified) 1997 - Sara becomes a CSI. (5th season: "Iced") 1998 - Forensic Academy conference in San Francisco, apparently where Sara first met Grissom. (8th season: "A La Cart") September 2000 - Sara gets called to Las Vegas at the request of Dr. Gil Grissom. (1st season: "Cool Change") May 2003 - Sara is injured in a lab explosion, and begins her pursuit of Grissom. (3rd season: "Play With Fire...") May 2006 - Sara and Grissom begin their affair? (6th season: "Way to Go") May 2007 - Sara is left out in the desert to die by the miniatures killer. (7th season: "Living Doll") November 2007 - Sara leaves Las Vegas and Grissom. (8th season: "Goodbye and Good Luck") September 2008 - Sara returns to Las Vegas for Warrick's funeral. (9th season: "For Warrick") October 2008 - Sara leaves the lab "forever". (9th season: "The Happy Place") January 2009 - Grissom leaves the lab and meets Sara in Costa Rica. (9th season: "One to Go") October 2009 - Sara returns to the lab. (10th season: "Family Affair") -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- GSR TIMELINE: As mentioned, the 8th season threw any timeline and continuity out the window. 1995 - Grissom is part of the Las Vegas team from at least this point on; previously he was in Minneapolis. 1997 - Sara becomes a CSI. 1998 - Sara and Grissom meet for the first time at the Forensic Academy Conference. 2000 - Grissom calls Sara to Las Vegas. It's been hinted (if not directly stated) that Sara was Grissom's student or pupil at some point, and that they had an affair in San Francisco. But according to the timeline as they 'revised' it in season 8, Grissom was never in San Francisco, except for that conference. A conference is not a one-on-one teaching situation. It is possible that Grissom took a sabbatical in San Francisco sometime between 1998 and 2000, but so far they haven't explained it. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- TRAUMAS / EMOTIONAL UPHEAVALS: Yes, they hack on Sara quite a bit. Traumas and emotional upheavals are those times when she's been injured or betrayed, or other major emotional "high points". Obviously not all emotional moments will be listed - that's what the rest of this document is about. (s1) "Sex, Lies and Larvae" - Sara attacks a suspect, getting violently emotional. (s1) "Too Tough to Die" - Sara gets too involved in a rape case. (s2) "You've Got Male" - Sara is forced to re-evaluate her lifestyle. (s2) "Burden of Proof" - Sara nearly quits because Grissom doesn't notice or respect her. (s3) "The Accused is Entitled" - Sara's relationships are questioned in court. (s3) "One Hit Wonder" - Sara is betrayed by her prosecutor friend. (s3) "Crash and Burn" - Sara is betrayed by Hank. (s3) "Play With Fire..." - Sara is almost blown up in the lab. (s4) "Homebodies" - a teenage rape victim is murdered. (s4) "Butterflied" - Grissom tells a murder suspect that he chose his career over Sara. (s4) "Bloodlines" - Sara is arrested for DUI. (s5) "No Humans Involved" - a case of missing foster children. (s5) "Nesting Dolls" - Sara is suspended and reveals her family history. (s5) "Committed" - Sara is attacked by a rapist. (s7) "Fannysmackin'" - Sara is very emotional when Greg is beaten half to death. (s7) "Redrum" - Catherine and Keppler betray the entire lab. (s7) "Empty Eyes" - a showgirl dies in Sara's arms. (s7) "The Good, the Bad, and the Dominatrix" - Grissom betrays Sara with Lady Heather. (s7) "Living Doll" - Sara is kidnapped by the miniatures killer and left for dead. (s8) "Goodbye and Good Luck" - Sara leaves Las Vegas and Grissom. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- CREDITS / SPECIAL THANKS: While there are far too many people to try and think individually - such as anyone and everyone who works on "CSI:" - there are some special people to mention: Nora "gsrLove", whose Birthday Project gave me the impetus to finally get this done, Mika "Ipstenu" Epstein, the webmaster of JFO, and a top-notch editor, Jessica "omaetoy" Graham of PureJorja, an exceptional graphics site, Elyse Dickenson, whose website is truly the best resource anywhere for all the "CSI:" shows, Lyssa "sidlechick87" of JorjaAllAround, which is becoming a good Jorja Fox community, Mat Hough, retired film critic and a true professional, and all the folks at JFO and JAA with whom I've had so many conversations and arguments over the years. The main person to thank is, of course, the lovely Jorja Fox herself, for playing such an intriguing and compelling character. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- SITES TO CHECK OUT: Jorja Fox: her personal site - http://www.jorjafox.org JFO: Jorja Fox Online - http://www.jorjafox.net (an excellent site for all things Jorja) Jorja All Around - http://community.livejournal.com/jorjaallaround/ (a growing Jorja Fox community) PureJorja - http://purejorja.net (no longer in existance) Elyse's Comprehensive CSI Website - http://members.aol.com/JRD203/csi.htm (no longer in existance) The William Petersen Appreciation Site - http://www.billypetersen.com (a great Billy Petersen site) CSI Files - http://www.csifiles.com *GSR: Grissom and Sara Romance - http://www.grissomsararomance.com *The 'Official' CSI wiki - http://csiwiki.cbs.com *YTDaW (Your Tax Dollars at Work) - http://www.yourtaxdollarsatwork.org (covers all sorts of shows, not just "CSI:"). Note that this is a hardcore shipper site. The three marked with asterisks are decent sites, but they are \very\ one sided as far as GSR is concerned. Don't go into either of them and expect anything other than "they couldn't keep their hands off of each other from day one" stuff. The "csiwiki", by virtue of its fan editing - in all places except for the GSR page, which cannot be edited by anyone - is uneven in tenor; some pages are good, while others are not. While it may not state it anywhere, YTDaW is a zealot shipper site - about as one sided as you can possibly get; try saying anything different in there and you'll be flamed from all directions. On the other hand, YTDaW is the main site responsible for most of the CSI / Sara Sidle / Jorja Fox campaigns, which are damn excellent. There are many, many other sites out there that deal with CSI as a whole, the individual characters (and actors), and GSR. NOTE: as of March 2008, CBS has declared the "CSI Wiki" as unofficial. A big surprise (he said sarcastically) - the entire "CSI Wiki" was not moderated, meaning that anyone could write anything, and no one would ever check it or correct it. =============================================================================================== David "Nightwolf" Masters - May 18, 2007 to April 13, 2009 http://home.comcast.net/~david_masters/jorjafox.htm Version History: 12 March 2007 - began character study 18 May 2007 - version 1 printed and mailed to Jorja Fox (MS Word) 21 May 2007 - minor revisions; version 1.1 22 May 2007 - added timeline and trauma listing; version 1.2 24 May 2007 - more revisions and additions; version 1.3 29 May 2007 - version 2 printed and mailed to Jorja Fox (MS Word) 05 June 2007 - minor update to Conclusion, other minor tweaks; version 2.1 17 June 2007 - added "Pure Speculation" section after season 7, other odds & ends; version 2.2 29 June, 7 July 2007 - more minor tweaks; version 2.3 (these things are never finished) 13 July - added the section about betrayals to the Conclusion; version 2.4 14-16 July - completely rewrote the Conclusion, hopefully making it more concise and coherent, split it into two sections, removed the "Pure Speculation" section and blended it with the Conclusion; version 3.0 / 3.1 (MAJOR update!) 20, 29 July - added paragraph at end about Lady Heather, minor tweaks (spelling and grammer); version 3.2 23, 27 August - updated second season: several episodes and end of season summary, also minor updates to Conclusion; version 3.3 10 September - updated third season and "Way to Go"; version 3.4 27 September - final update before season 8 begins - minor updates, tweaks and corrections to the first four seasons; version 3.5 27 September - season 8; version 4 04 October - minor update for new episode, some tweaks; version 4 07 October - episode updates, tweaked Conclusion, note about GSR jeopardizing the lab; version 4.1 22 October - more episode updates (thank you Spike), re-wrote part of the Conclusion; version 4.2 12 November - added comments about 8th season continuity and how it affects the character's history, minor Conclusion tweaks; version 4.3 16 November - final update... goodbye, Sara; version 4.4 19 November - version 4 (final presentation edition) mailed to Jorja Fox 28 November - tweaked "Scuba Doobie Doo" and "Alter Boys" 05 December - tweaked "Bully for You", "Committed" 09 December - added dog paragraph to "Who & What?", added to "You Kill Me" 07 February 2008 - minor update to "Rashomama" 21 March 2008 - updates to "Unbearable", "King Baby", added to Conclusion about Grissom's thoughtlessness concerning other people; version 4.5 27 March 2008 - update to "Secrets and Flies"; version 4.5 29 March 2008 - update to "Bite Me", "You Kill Me"; version 4.5 03 April 2008 - added info on "Grissom's Divine Comedy", edited "You Kill Me"; version 4.5 11 April 2008 - updated "Leaving Las Vegas", season 7 summary; version 4.5 13 April 2008 - updated "Dead Doll", "A La Cart", "Who & What"; version 4.5 15 April 2008 - added "A Little Murder", added to "Snuff", updated season 7 summary; version 4.5 17 April 2008 - added to "Recipe for Murder", added quote to "Goodbye and Good Luck" from Jorja's interview with Ian Harvie; version 4.6 20 April 2008 - updated "The Relationship is Official" section before season 7; still version 4.6 23 April 2008 - updated "Homebodies", "Invisible Evidence", and the season 4 summary; version 4.6 2 May 2008 - updated the Timeline and the 'continuity' of "A La Cart"; version 4.6 13 May 2008 - slight addition to "You Kill Me"; version 4.6 27 May 2008 - added "Weeping Willows" to season 5; version 4.6 6 June 2008 - added section (post season 8) on Sara's only purpose, added brief GSR timeline & commentary; version 4.7 14 June 2008 - moved post season 8 section to beginning of season 9; version 4.7 15 June 2008 - added to Conclusion about Grissom's emotional non-availability; version 4.7 23 June 2008 - updated Grissom's emotionally unavailability, Jorja's comment in the June 23 TV Guide; version 4.7 18 August 2008 - added RTL interview from November 2007, Jorja talking about Sara leaving the lab; version 4.7 23 August 2008 - minor updates to "Cross-Dressing Carp", "Chick Chop" and "Who & What"; still version 4.7 24 September - more minor updates to "Cross-Dressing Carp"; version 4.7 4 October - TV Guide interview with Petersen and Helgenberger; version 4.7 9 October - updated through season 9's "For Warrick"; version 4.7 16 October - updated through "The Happy Place"; version 4.7 30 October - updated through "Let It Bleed"; version 4.7 06 November - updated through "Leave Out All The Rest"; version 4.7 20 November - updated through "Woulda, Shoulda, Coulda"; version 4.7 15 January 2009 - updated through "One to Go"; version 5 24 January 2009 - updated through "The Grave Shift"; version 5 14 April 2009 - updated "Dead Doll", "Go to Hell", "The Happy Place", "Leave Out All the Rest", "Woulda, Shoulda, Coulda" and "One to Go". Commentary on being "shorthanded in the lab" added to "The Happy Place"; version 5 (final) 14 May 2009 - added section on Petersen's "Radio Times" interview in April 2009; v 5 25 May 2009 - minor updates and corrections; version 5 final 13 June 2009 - minor updates and corrections; version 5 final October 2009 - updates for season 10 and the timeline; version 5 final May 2010 - added episode numbers and airdates, changed the formatting slightly; v 5