[…]

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation caught almost everyone off guard in the season finale when it was revealed that Gil Grissom and Sara Sidle, the characters played by William L. Petersen and Jorja Fox, have had a thing going on for goodness knows how long.

Who knew?

Actually, Fox did. Given that the series has been almost all business, it might seem the detour into romance is a reaction to the move of Grey’s Anatomy into the Thursday-night-at-9 time slot this fall. Not so, Fox said; this has been in the works since the very beginning six years ago.

“In this tiny little character description that you get when you’re trying out for a show, it suggested that she was a love interest for Gil Grissom,” Fox said. “Being that it was there, along with other little strange things - she could drink anybody under the table and had some social problems - I was very intrigued and sort of had been gearing up from the beginning of the show that this might happen.”

Even after the decision to go ahead had been made, there were fine points to be worked out. “There have been raging debates in the writers’ room since season one about Sara’s relationship with Grissom pre-Las Vegas. What actually happened in San Francisco [where both previously worked]?” executive producer Carol Mendelsohn said.

“The room was fairly divided and has been over the seasons. I happen to think they were intimate in San Francisco but not once they got to Las Vegas, at least in the beginning. Since I’m the show runner, I won the debate.”

[…]

Still, the sexy relationship between Gil and Sara figures to be the one to dominate water-cooler conversation. It already has generated a lot of reaction, according to Mendelsohn. “I came back from hiatus and had all these letters on my desk from around the world. I had letters from students at Harvard, science teachers, viewers from Italy.”

Fan approval seems to be running about 60-40 in favor. Even those who disagree found something to like, Mendelsohn said. “Across the board, fans wrote it was such a pleasure to see that two adults, two professionals, who are so good at their jobs, have found each other and are now engaged in an intimate and mature relationship that’s not salacious. You don’t see them ripping off each other’s clothes.”

“That’s this season,” Fox countered. “Billy and I have been working out all summer.”

She was kidding. However, if Grey’s Anatomy proves to be a really tough competitor, you never know.