We asked CSI star Marg Helgenberger about her future plans

By Jenny Cooney Carrillo
Australian TV Week – February 23-29, 2008

She’s been with CSI: Crime scene Investigation since the pilot episode aired in 2000, but Marg Helgenberger is starting to wonder if it’s time to move on. Her upcoming 50th birthday in November, combined with the recent departure of her co-star Jorja Fox, has made her reassess.

Q: How did you feel about Jorja, who plays Sara, leaving?
A: Everybody reacted very differently and you don’t even really think about it until you have the party and it’s your last day and everyone shows up, and then it becomes the big, emotional thing. It hit some people really hard that day. George [Eads, who plays Nick Stokes] was sobbing uncontrollably, whereas I’d spent some time with Jorja and had come to terms with it. There was also a part of me that actually sort of envied her, that she made this decision to leave this popular show just because she was ready to try something else, but I was supportive, too.

Q: And how long are you staying with the show?
A: I’m contractually obligated until the end of this season. There was a big question mark for me at the beginning of this season because I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. There are lots of big issues coming up – turning 50, my son starting college and moving house. And I never felt like my character, Catherine, got her stuff dealt with, so I have a feeling I’ll be coming back for another season to give the character some closure and not make any other big changes this year!

Q: Can you fill us in on where your character is heading in season eight?
A: The first part is dealing with the end of last season with the Miniature Killer and Sara’s abduction. Then we deal with the after-effects and how that impacts on her relationship with Grissom (William Petersen). As far as my character, Catherine goes, this season was really just getting started for her before the [writers'] strike began and we stopped work after 11 episodes.

Q: What do you know so far?
A: Catherine’s late father – who had been a casino mogul and was killed in the season seven opener – left her land which is being developed into another big casino hotel. So it was hinted that Catherine may make a decision about whether to keep being a criminologist or move into that world.

Q: What did you think of the Miniature Killer storyline?
A: It was a really interesting idea based not on a case but a woman who had made all these miniatures of crime scenes. People are drawn to miniatures or models because everything is so tiny and it’s very compelling, so I think that captivated the viewers as well.

Q: Do you think there is any hope for a romance between Catherine and Warwick?
A: I’ve given up on trying to figure out what they intend for Catherine and Warwick (Gary Dourdan) because they’ve been flirting for so many years now and usually once or twice a year they will have these looks between them, or some kind of intimate moment, but they’ll stop before it goes any further – so I give up.

Q: Why won’t they let them take that next step?
A: I’m not exactly sure. I think it’s partly because they decided to go with this workplace romance with Grissom and Sara, and if you have another one going on it would start to be too much of a strain on the actual stories. So I have to wait my turn!

Q: What did you think of the crossover you filmed with Without A Trace?
A: It was fun having Anthony LaPaglia around. He’s a really good guy and a good actor and the process of shooting it was fun, but I haven’t seen it yet. There has been a rumour floating around that there could be a crossover with Two And A Half Men, but just the writers of each show and not the actors. I’d look forward to that happening because I love it when we do episodes that are more comedic and emphasise the black humour.     ♦