9/11 Moved Zuiker To Create 'CSI: New York'

Although TV critics had speculated ever since the debut of CSI: Miami that a second spinoff would be set in New Orleans or London, franchise creator Anthony Zuiker recently revealed he'd known for a long time where such a show would take place.

""I was so very moved by the intestinal fortitude of all the New Yorkers during 9/11 that my heart went out to the city from that point on," Zuiker said in the Winter 2004 edition of Cinescape Magazine. "My feeling was that if there was to be a third show, it would be in New York."

In the interview, which was apparently conducted somewhere before or around the premiere of CSI: New York, Zuiker talked about what he planned to do to make the series stand out from the other two CSIs. "We're going to attempt to have shorter scripts. We're going to attempt to have more music. We're going to literally let the moments play and get to know these characters a lot sooner. These people are not pure scientists like the characters on the original CSI. They're NYPD first but they also happen to specialize in science and crime scene investigation."

While CBS may have accepted many of these plans from Zuiker, they disagreed with him on at least one count. "We actually had four Who songs in contention for the new show. I went to the CBS chairman's office and did my little tap dance with the songs I thought would work. My First choice was Behind Blue Eyes but I was overruled and the song chosen was Baba O'Reill. Yes, I was overruled and i was like, 'Yes sir, you're the boss. No Problem'"

Besides Zuiker, Cinescape also talked to Gary Sinise about why he accepted the role of Mac Taylor - his first starring role in a long-running TV series. "I hadn't been necessarily looking for a series role but, after I looked into it, it all started to make good sense. When I first started out, everything was new, I was young, I had no money and I was eating out of tuna fish cans, but things are a little bit different now. I'm settled in a little bit more. For me, this is the right thing at the right time."

The full article, in which Zuiker talks about his initial discussions with CBS chairman Les Moonves about CSI: New York, and about the difficulties he faces in getting the three CSIs to avoid telling the same stories, can be found in the Winter 2004 edition of Cinescape, featuring Wesley Snipes and Jessica Biel on the cover. Thanks go out to 'Calleigh Caine' at Talk CSI for this!

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