Gil Grissom

Gil Grissom
Character information
Alignment	Good
Gender	Male
Species	Human

Gil Grissom was a main character in CSI from seasons 1 to 9. He was replaced by Laurence Fishburne who was later replaced by Ted Danson. He worked as a night shift supervisor and specialized in entomology, the study of insects. He is a rank 3 crime scene investigator.

Overview

Gilbert Arthur Grissom (born August 17, 1956), Ph.D. is a fictional character portrayed by William Petersen on the CBS crime drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and its sequel, CSI: Vegas. Grissom is a forensic entomologist and for the series' first nine seasons, a CSI Level III Supervisor employed by the Las Vegas Police Department. He appeared in 198 episodes of the original series, where he was succeeded by Raymond Langston (Laurence Fishburne) and later D.B. Russell (Ted Danson). Grissom returned in the sequel series, CSI: Vegas, in 2021.

Appearance

Anthony E. Zuiker, who created the show, loosely based Grissom on real life Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department criminalist Daniel Holstein. Zuiker was "fascinated" by Holstein, who, like Grissom, kept maggots and pig's blood in his refrigerator. Holstein worked as a consultant for the show. Zuiker originally named the character Gil Sheinbaum, but after he became part of the cast, William Petersen requested the name to be changed. Petersen and Zuiker decided to rename the character "Grissom," after astronaut Gus Grissom, of whom Petersen was a great admirer. The name Gil came from one of the actor's hobbies, fishing.

In 2000, CBS had bought the pilot script from Zuiker, and Nina Tassler, CBS's head of drama development, passed it on to Petersen, who had a pay or play contract with the network. Petersen has said that many TV shows were offered to him over the years, but he "didn't want to get locked down." However, he was impressed with the complexity of Grissom's character and he decided to audition. It was the second time Petersen portrayed a forensic scientist, having portrayed Will Graham in the 1986 film Manhunter.

Personality

Early episodes revealed Grissom to be a witty, enthusiastic, and quirky scientist who had some sense of humor. He flirted regularly and seemed to be constantly in a hyperactive state.

However, when he began to lose his hearing, Grissom retreated into himself and became easily irritated and unapproachable. After his surgery, he lightened up a bit but never returned to the whimsical science nerd he once was.

Grissom is often regarded as well-educated but unusual in his approach toward his work and social life. In the series, some of his comments and actions can be seen to dumbfound his coworkers and superiors. His relationship with his subordinates in the office is portrayed as being a father figure to the team, but he is very professional in his work.

Despite being calm, Grissom can get angry when interrupted during an interrogation as seen in the season one episode "Table Stakes", when he berates Nick Stokes for calling him out of an interrogation.

In addition to being a genius and somewhat of a polymath beyond his career training, he exhibits Asperger-like traits. In "Caged", it is hinted that (in fact) he has Asperger's syndrome. Another character on CSI who shares these kind of traits is his subordinate (and ex-wife) Sara Sidle. She once insinuated that Grissom was a misanthrope when he quoted her Thoreau's Walden.

In the season two episode "Alter Boys", Grissom confides in a priest that he does not believe in the concept of organized religion and is a lapsed Catholic but does believe in the idea of God. In addition to belief in God, Grissom and Greg would later agree that scientific education should not necessarily preclude belief in occultism and other paranormal concepts.

Although he is very dedicated to his job and sometimes goes to extremes in his investigations, his unwillingness to dabble in office politics often alienates his superiors and sometimes his subordinates. He gets a lot of help in these areas from right-hand woman Catherine Willows, who is always trying to make him "look up from the microscope."

Grissom claims to have never hired a prostitute for sex, stating that sex is intended to create a human emotional connection. He has also expressed distaste for carrying a firearm when in the field, a tendency that has brought several scoldings from coworker Jim Brass. Despite this, he has proven to have exceptional accuracy at the firing range.

He once listed his hobbies to Lady Heather: "I have outlets. I read. I study bugs. I sometimes even ride roller coasters." Indeed, he has proven to be a very cultured man on many occasions, having a wide knowledge of history, literature, and art. He often offers quotes from a variety of literary sources, including Shakespeare and Keats. Later in this same season, he reveals himself to be a baseball fan. Sara notes that this is typical of Grissom, saying that he would like "all those stats." However, Grissom is not too familiar with popular culture. In "Two and a Half Deaths", Jim Brass was talking about a TV program that he thought had already "jumped the shark," but Grissom did not know the term. While trying to explain, Brass says, "Remember the Fonz?" which Grissom did not know either.

Being an entomologist, he has a wide and varied knowledge of insects, which he applies to his investigations. This has led to his nickname, "the Bug Man". At the beginning of the show, he was referred to as "Gruesome Grissom" for his sometimes morbid fascination with the more bizarre aspects of man and nature. Grissom keeps a variety of specimens in his office, including a radiated fetal pig, a tarantula, and a two-headed scorpion. He also has a bulletin board that looks like a fish on which unsolved cases go: "the ones that got away." Occasionally, he keeps evidence from closed cases (such as the models created by "The Miniature Killer"). In season seven, CSI newcomer Michael Keppler takes a look around Grissom's office and observes that he must be quite a freak. In "The Grave Shift", even after his office has been cleared out (and later reclaimed by a somewhat-reluctant Nick Stokes after Catherine Willows passed on the offer), the fetal pig in a jar was placed back in there by Hodges, who stated simply that "[it] belongs here."

When asked why he is a CSI, he responds, "Because the dead can't speak for themselves." This is one of his favorite expressions.

External Links

• CBS wiki
• CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Wiki
• Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gil_Grissom