[…]

Question:

I enjoy your column, but I had to throw my two cents in on the CSI romance issue. I think you were hasty in saying that a pairing would be disastrous. The show already deals with a tremendous amount of non-case driven material — just look at how Catherine Willows is portrayed: single mother (as is mentioned almost every episode), former stripper, has a murdered, violent ex-husband, her possible father may be a killer… I think you see my point. CSI would never become a soap, but a relationship between the two most interesting characters (in my opinion), Sara Sidle and Gil Grissom, could flesh the characters out more — when given, as Anthony Zuiker has said, in doses. I know I would love to see it, just as I also love the cases. To me, it is all about balance, and the show is not balanced right now. We know much more about Catherine than any other character, and last season seemed too weighed down by her melodramas. I would love to see more of the rest of the team, especially Sara Sidle. Jorja Fox is a wonderful, radiant actress who deserves more and better stories, as I think she is vastly underused. Thanks for letting me rant. I feel better now. — Michelle

Matt:

Glad to oblige. And I should say for the record that after the column ran noting I had heard more from Grissom-Catherine fans than from Grissom-Sara fans, the other side weighed in. I was also informed that fan sites and fan fictions also favor Grissom and Sara. So be it. I just watch TV, and am rarely able to indulge detours into the deeper depths of online fandom. I still think CSI would be wise parceling out these doses of implied romance in very small and cautious doses.

[…]