Sara Sidle is carrying a heavy weight on her shoulders these days.

When the eighth season of “CSI” opens, Jorja Fox’s character will still be where she was at the end of May’s finale: stuck under a car in the Nevada desert, courtesy of a psycho killer - and Fox’s contract negotiations with CBS.

But while producers promise to resolve this cliff-hanger one way or another (though they’re staying silent about Fox’s fate - hmmm, she’s not in the network’s cast shot, left), they do say her costars will be carrying their share of dramatic weight this season. “It’s a year of transition on “CSI.”” says executive producer Carol Mendelsohn. “A year of people growing.”

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