First Look At The New Guy On 'CSI'

The earth neither moves nor shakes when a new investi gator comes to "CSI" this week to sub for the missing star of the show, William Petersen.
Though the substitution is only temporary - essentially three weeks - the arrival of renowned film and stage actor Liev Schreiber beginning this Thursday represents the first time that TV's highest-rated drama has undergone any kind of major cast change in its 61/2-season history.
And it's a tribute, of sorts, to the proficiency of this crime show's production that the introduction of this new character is - to use an overused word - seamless.
Schreiber, 39, enters the world of "CSI" in the very first scene this Thursday night (9 p.m. on CBS) in an episode titled "Sweet Jane" (and, indeed, Lou Reed's version of the song is heard at the beginning of the show and a version recorded more recently by Cowboy Junkies is featured at the end).
The actor - seen in such films as "The Manchurian Candidate" and all three "Scream" movies - is first seen striding into a crime scene where investigator Catherine Willows (Marg Helgenberger) is already on one knee examining a corpse.
"CSI" fans will quickly learn he's a new hire for the Las Vegas Police Department who will be working with Willows and her team while Gil Grissom (Petersen) is "away," which is the only passing reference to his absence in the entire episode.
In real life, Petersen, 53, developed an actor's itch to hit the stage and was given permission last year to take a break from "CSI" in November and December.
He spent his sabbatical starring in a play called "Dublin Carol," a twist on Dickens' "Christmas Carol," staged by the Trinity Repertory Co. in Providence, R.I. It ran through Jan. 7.
In his absence, the producers of "CSI" hired Schreiber, who plays a veteran forensics specialist named Michael Keppler, about whom little is revealed over the course of two episodes CBS provided for preview.
What is known about him is this: He's an easterner, born and raised in Trenton, who comes to the LVPD via Philadelphia and Baltimore.
He is unmarried or, at the very least, seemingly unattached. And he has no children, he informs Willows, answering one of her few questions about his private life. The reason he left Baltimore, if any, is not divulged.
He is not at all abrasive and seems to be accepted as a fellow professional by the CSIs, although the staff's curiosity about him increases in Schreiber's second episode next week.
There is one small mystery about him: He gets repeated, unexplained phone messages from someone named Frank, and he doesn't return the calls.
Could this possibly mean Keppler is gay? The question is not even addressed, much less answered. Moreover, he seems to be taking a shine to Willows, so stay tuned.
Before Liev leaves, Keppler will encounter Grissom when Petersen returns for Schreiber's fourth and last episode, scheduled for Feb. 8.
from The New York Post