To Catch a Fish

I’m not a CSI fan, but I recognize the significance of this: Laurence Fishburne is about to stuff shut the hole being left in the CBS series by departing star, William Petersen, below.

“I am elated and delighted to be joining the cast of `CSI,'” Fishburne said in a statement, adding that he looked forward to a “wonderful collaboration” with those involved in the series.

Fishburne plays a college lecturer and former pathologist who is focused on why people commit acts of violence.

The air date for Petersen’s final episode has yet to be determined but will be early next year. Petersen has been with the series since it debuted in fall 2000 and will remain a “CSI” executive producer, the network said.

Like I said, I don’t even watch the show, and I’m excited about this. Watching Fishburne act is like looking at someone make sculpture right in front of your face. His physicality, intensity, and presence give a massive quality to even his tiniest gestures. (Though the material was way beneath him, I couldn’t squelch wondering how he would have played Samuel L. Jackson’s “Mace Windu” in the Star Wars prequels.)

Putting Fishburne on this show is super-smart casting. I’m kind of expecting that they’re gonna waste him, the way Desperate Housewives made bad use of Alfre Woodard. Let’s hope I’m wrong, and that the writing is as smart as the Fish they’ve caught.