So what is happening with Sara Sidle on “CSI”?

The character appeared to have been crushed under a car as the Season 7 finale ended, and all summer blogs have buzzed with speculation about actress Jorja Fox’s contract negotiations with CBS. Does it mean anything that Fox wasn’t in a recent “CSI” cast photo in TV Guide?

Sidle, as fans know, was in a relationship with Gil Grissom (William Petersen), and the entire “CSI” team found out about the romance in the season finale.

Now there’s a bit of news about the show, and it may have some bearing on Sidle’s role in Season 8: The show is adding a recurring female character.

Starting Oct. 11, Jessica Lucas will appear in four episodes of the show as Veronica Lake, who goes by the nickname “Ronnie.” She’s “a young, overzealous new CSI in training, who is extremely bright, albeit naïve,” according to a CBS press release.

“CSI” returns with its Season 8 premiere on Sept. 27, and on the network’s press Web site, there’s more fodder for pro- and anti-Grissom-Sara contingents (one of TV’s most vocal wars has been fought over whether those two should be together). The Season 7 finale, which revealed the identity of the Miniature Killer, was called “Living Doll,” and the Season 8 premiere is titled “Dead Doll.”

A photo caption on the CBS site had a tidbit about at least one scene from the season opener: “Grissom (William Petersen) finds the missing car but no signs of Sara, the latest victim of the miniature killer.”

Of course this could all be a big misinformation campaign by CBS, and for all we know Sidle could be a part of the show all season long.

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