The CSI Storyline That Ended Early Thanks To Fans
Fan petitions to change shows are nothing new, though you’d be forgiven for thinking so, given the rise of social media and the mass disappointment of finales like Lost, How I Met Your Mother, and Game Of Thrones. A decade earlier, CSI dropped an ongoing storyline around Gil Grissom, partially due to fan demand but also because, as it turns out, there was a very simple resolution that wouldn’t take years to reach. Grissom’s hearing loss, brought on by otosclerosis, was quietly shelved during Season 3, even though that wasn’t the original plan.
Gil Grissom’s Hearing Loss
In the first seasons of CSI, Gil Grissom (played by William Petersen, also an executive producer) has ever-worsening hearing loss brought about by otosclerosis, a genetic disorder passed down from his mother. Grissom learned sign language as a result of his mother’s deafness, and as fans learned in later episodes, he had ties to the deaf community and at least one deaf ex-girlfriend (played by real-life award-winning deaf actress Marlee Matlin).
The disease involves the hardening of bones in the ear and would end with a complete loss of hearing, except it’s curable through surgery.
Fans Pointed Out A Problem
It’s a relatively simple surgery that can fix otosclerosis, which results in the storyline being dropped. As CSI episodes aired, Gil Grissom’s condition got worse, and concerned fans wrote in to explain a possible solution that the writers could use. While this was great for fans who wanted the roller coaster-loving bug enthusiast to stay on the show, it ran counter to the planned storyline, which was going to end with Grissom’s retirement.
The Accused Is Entitled
There’s evidence of this being planted in “The Accused Is Entitled,” the second episode of Season 3, which has the night shift taking the stand during the case of a Hollywood celebrity (guest star Chad Michael Murray) accused of killing two women.
CSI rarely shows courtroom drama, but in this case, each member of the team is torn apart on the stand by the bulldog defense attorney, Marjorie Westcott, until it’s Gil Grissom’s turn on the stand. Taking advantage of his hearing loss, Westcott tries to use it to undermine his findings, but Grissom, able to read lips, keeps his cool and manages to win the day.
Good Thing Plans Changed
While “The Accused Is Entitled” is the most blatant time that CSI used Gil Grissom’s hearing loss as an excuse to show him as unfit for his job, it wasn’t the only time that the resulting headaches were shown to impact his performance.
The goal was, over the course of the next few years, to have Grissom retire due to the hearing loss, which, in light of how many fans were explaining how easy this is to deal with in real life, would have looked very silly. Instead, Grissom stuck around into Season 9, taking only a brief sabbatical when William Petersen left to star in a play.
Used As Part Of Academic Research
Today, CSI’s portrayal of hearing loss through Gil Grissom has been studied by medical researchers, with articles in journals like Health Communication and Disability Studies Quarterly. It’s also one of the rare times that fan demand worked and caused a character’s fate to be changed before any lasting damage was done. If only the behind-the-scenes issues that the cast, including George Eads and Jorja Fox, had with the producers were that easy to solve.
