Petersen Hands Over The Keys To The Lab

William Petersen (Gil Grissom) passes the torch.

Petersen will be leaving CSI: Crime Scene Investigation during the upcoming ninth season. Laurence Fishburne has been cast to fill his spot in the CSI lineup. Both men appeared at the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards to present an award together, and Petersen shared a few words:

Actors like Jack Webb, Telly Savalas [and] Jerry Orbach, to name just a few, have played a very significant role in television's long history with crime and punishment, and I'm honored to have continued in their flat-foot shoes these past eight seasons on CSI. And now I am equally honored to hand over the keys to the lab to a wonderful actor and a fine friend, Mr Laurence Fishburne.

Fishburne responded by thanking Petersen. "I just hope I can live up to the high standard you set, not only for the first CSI series, but for the many CSI series that have followed in your footsteps," he continued. The pair is set to appear in several episodes together before Petersen's departure from the show.

Jorja Fox was also at the awards show, and she spoke with Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello about her return to the show after her exit last season. "I'll be visiting a little bit," she explained. "I'll be in and out, and it's kind of fun. I knew that might happen. I didn't know it was going to happen so soon, so it was a surprise. It's always a surprise, really, and it's been really great. It's been great to be there."

The actress spoke about her character's relationship with Grissom and how that might play out when Petersen leaves the show. "They either end up together or they don't, and I don't know either yet," she confessed. "We haven't started that episode yet, and I really believe it's gonna be one of those shows that, until it's all shot, anything could happen. I wouldn't even be surprised--we never do more than one ending, but I wouldn't be surprised if we did on this one."

When asked about the lack of Emmy nominations for CSI, Fox explained, "I'd like to think that we have the honor of being most popular, and so the world sort of spreads these honors around." Despite feeling that CSI's popularity is enough without the awards, Fox said there was one actor she wished could have gotten a nod. "I would have loved to see Billy get nominated this year," she said. "I think he really deserves it after nine solid years of being the heart and soul of that show. If anybody should take one home, I think he should."

The video interview with Fox can be viewed at Entertainment Weekly's website. Thanks to wiscpenn.

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