Gil Grissom
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| CSI: Crime Scene Investigation character | |
| Gil Grissom | |
|---|---|
| Gender | Male |
| Hair color | Brown with graying temples |
| City | Las Vegas |
| Job | CSI |
| Rank | CSI Level 3 |
| Position | Night-shift Supervisor |
| Current status | Alive |
| Known relatives | Unnamed mother Herbert (uncle) Unnamed father (deceased) |
| Portrayed by | William Petersen |
| First appearance | The Pilot |
Gilbert "Gil" Grissom, Ph.D. (born August 17, 1956) is a fictional character featured on the TV crime drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Grissom is played by William Petersen, who is also one of the show's producers.
Grissom is the night-shift supervisor of the Clark County, Nevada CSI (forensics) team, investigating many cases in and around the city of Las Vegas. He is a forensic entomologist who earned his degree in biology from UCLA. He has a wide and varied knowledge of insects and entomology, which he applies to his investigations. This has led to his nickname, "The Bug Man". When asked why he is a CSI, he responds, "Because the dead can't speak for themselves." This is one of his favorite quotes and he uses it frequently (episode 703, "Toe Tags").
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[edit] Character
His dispassionate demeanor and high intellect often work to his advantage in his job and in his personal life. However, his avoidance of job politics (and paperwork) often alienates his superiors (and sometimes his subordinates), and right-hand woman Catherine Willows occasionally has to prod him to perform such menial tasks as employee evaluations (episode 122, "Evaluation Day"). Grissom is rarely disturbed by the various subcultures with which his job brings him into contact. He hates abusive husbands, child predators, and drug dealers who "deal death to kids." He is also the least trigger-happy CSI, rarely drawing his firearm, a tendency that has brought about several scoldings from friend and cop Jim Brass. Despite this, he is an excellent marksman as seen in episode 402, "All For Our Country," when he demonstrates exceptional accuracy at the firing range. Grissom's hobbies include his work, cockroach racing, reading, solving crossword puzzles, and riding roller coasters (episode 122, "Evaluation Day").
Grissom keeps a variety of specimens in his office, including a radiated fetal pig and a tarantula. He also has a fish-shaped bulletin board on which unsolved cases go ("the ones that got away") (episode 106, "Who Are You?"). In keeping with the fish theme, he has a Big Mouth Billy Bass over the door to his office, claiming that it's "better than a watchdog." He also occasionally keeps evidence from closed cases (such as the models created by "The Miniature Killer"). CSI newcomer Michael Keppler expresses interest while examining these miniatures when he first comes to the lab in episode 712, "Sweet Jane."
Grissom has a more than passing similarity to Sherlock Holmes. Like Holmes, Grissom is dispassionate with a fierce devotion to logic and little regard for societal norms of behavior (Grissom once smashed mustard jars in a grocery store to illustrate a theory (episode 111, "I-15 Murders"); similarly, Holmes once practiced spearing a pig at a market to determine how strong a man would have to be to transfix a man with a harpoon). He possesses a Moriarty-like nemesis, Paul Millander, whom he pursues in several episodes (episodes 101, "Pilot;" 108, "Anonymous;" 213, "Identity Crisis"), as well as a woman in whom he has taken an unusual interest, Lady Heather, who is a parallel to Irene Adler (episodes 208, "Slaves of Las Vegas;" 315, "Lady Heather's Box;" 615, "Pirates of the Third Reich").
Grissom often offers quotes from a variety of literary sources, particularly Shakespeare. He also works 'advanced' crossword puzzles and listens to loud classical music and opera in his office, especially when he wants to think.
In 2007, Grissom took a sabbatical to teach a class at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts for four weeks (episode 711, "Leaving Las Vegas"). Prior to his sabbatical, Grissom had been showing signs of "burnout". Upon his return, however, (episode 715, "Law of Gravity") he appears reinvigorated and tells Warrick Brown that he "missed Las Vegas."
[edit] Background
Little is known about Grissom's past or personal life. He grew up in Marina Del Rey, California. His father, who was in the importing/exporting business (in the season 6 episode "Still Life", Grissom tells Catherine Willows his father was a botanist), died when he was nine years old, most likely from heat stroke. His mother ran an art gallery in Venice. In "Ellie", he tells Warrick that in high school, he was a "ghost."
He was raised Roman Catholic, but has said, "That guilt's not a part of my life anymore." Also when speaking with a priest who heard the confession of a murderer he said "I believe in science, and I believe in God, but I don't believe in someone telling me how to live my life." In the season seven episode "Double-Cross," he tells Sara Sidle that, while he isn't really a Catholic anymore, he is a sort of "secular Catholic" who infuses his work with more meaning than it might otherwise have. He also continues to believe in God, as he tells her he believes both science and faith are necessary. He keeps his mother's rosary beads in a box in his office.
Grissom's mother is deaf; because of this, he knows sign language (episode 120, "Sounds of Silence"). He has inherited his mother's otosclerosis, a disease which was causing him to slowly go deaf, but he underwent corrective surgery (episode 323, "Inside the Box"). His hearing loss is most evident in episodes such as episode 202, "Chaos Theory".
[edit] Personal life
In so much as Grissom confides to anyone, he confides in Catherine Willows. He once likened her to being his "wife" though the two have never been more than very good friends. Grissom has also been involved with forensic anthropologist Terri Miller (Pamela Gidley) (episode 114, "To Halve and to Hold") and S&M parlor operator Lady Heather. He has supported Warrick Brown through several brushes with the law and has a fatherly bond with Nick Stokes and, later on, Greg Sanders. He also shares a good friendship with Dr. Al Robbins.
Of all of his fellow investigators, he is most similar to Sara Sidle. Both are self-described "science nerds" (episode 110, Sex, Lies and Larvae) and are the most socially awkward members of the team. While at times both have expressed more than a hint of interest in the other romantically, it is not until the sixth season finale that they are definitely shown to be involved. In seventh season episodes, he continues to be involved with Sara Sidle, but is keeping the relationship a secret from others in the lab, probably because of the repercussions it could have for both their careers. In the episode "Fallen Idols," Grissom says that he trusts Sara intimately.
Most people call Grissom by his last name, though Catherine Willows, Dr. Al Robbins, and Conrad Ecklie sometimes address him as "Gil," and Warrick Brown uses the shortened form "Griss.". And also in episode 14, season 7, Nick Stokes calls him "Griss". On a few occasions, Grissom has been known by the nickname "Bugman".
[edit] Other significant events
A package is delivered to Grissom's desk at the end of episode 711 ("Leaving Las Vegas"), after he had already left for his sabbatical. It waits there with his accumulating mail until he finally returns a month later and opens it (episode 716, "Monster in the Box"). He is shocked to discover a perfect scale miniature of the scene of a crime - one that has not happened yet. He and the rest of his team had thought that they had caught the so-called Miniature Killer (episode 702, "Built to Kill, Part 2;" episode 707, "Post Mortem"). They are left with no real leads and far more questions then answers.
[edit] Trivia
- The character was originally intended to be named Gil Scheinbaum. According to William Petersen, interviewed for UK TV channel Five US, Petersen was considered 'insufficiently Jewish' by series creator Anthony E. Zuiker for the name and the character was renamed for astronaut Gus Grissom.[citation needed]
- Despite the Grissom character being from the West Coast, he has a somewhat noticeable Chicago accent. For instance, he pronounces "Nevada" as IPA: [nəˈvɑdə]. (Petersen is from the Chicago area.)
- Grissom has extensive knowledge about entomology. The character of Will Graham whom William Petersen played in the film Manhunter (based upon the Thomas Harris novel Red Dragon), wrote "the standard monograph on determining time of death by insect activity".
- Grissom is based loosely on real life Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department criminalist Daniel Holstein.
- At the start of season seven, Grissom shaves his beard for the first time in three seasons, but he has the beard again upon return from his sabbatical. However, Sara Sidle is about to shave Grissom in the end of the episode "Fallen Idols" (season 7 ep. 17)
- His health issues not only consists of the otosclerosis (for which he undergoes corrective surgery in episode 323 "Inside the Box"), but the occasional migraine (which he claims he gets about once a year), for which he has prescription medication.
| CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | |
|---|---|
| Episodes | Characters | |
| Characters | Gil Grissom | Catherine Willows | Nick Stokes | Warrick Brown Sara Sidle | Jim Brass | Greg Sanders | Al Robbins Sofia Curtis | Conrad Ecklie |
| Former Characters | Holly Gribbs | Paul Millander | Lady Heather | Michael Keppler |
| Creator(s) | Anthony E. Zuiker |
| Computer Games | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | CSI: Dark Motives CSI: 3 Dimensions of Murder | CSI: Hard Evidence |
| Related Series | CSI: NY | CSI: Miami |
