Moonves took that opportunity on Sunday, July 18, to state that "a contract is a contract," taking a hard-line stance on both actors, who had been accused of not showing up for work on the first day of shooting as part of a contract dispute. He said that both actors had received raises after season two (something he said production companies CBS Productions and Alliance Atlantis were not required to do), bringing their salaries to about $100,000 per episode. A story in the trade publication
Hollywood Reporter said the duo had been offered an additional $20,000, but pushed for more.
That same evening, at a CBS press party held at Dodger Stadium, "CSI" executive producer Carol Mendelsohn was visibly upset by the whole situation.
"I'm in the middle of it," she said. "I don't negotiate their contracts. Creatively, I'm in charge of the show, but this really is an issue of contractual negotiation among CBS, Alliance Atlantis and the actors' representatives.
"My gut reaction is ... I write the words, they give them life, there's a relationship we have. Under the best of circumstances, it's difficult to say goodbye to someone. So I'm just really sad. For me, it's just an unfortunate situation."
Asked about new characters and recasting, Mendelsohn just shook her head, saying, "I can't even go there. I've worked with these folks for 92 episodes and four seasons."
Stories flew back and forth over the week about misunderstandings and salary negotiations -- something Moonves was very familiar with over the run of the network's top comedy, "Everybody Loves Raymond" -- culminating in an appearance by Eads before the critics on Wednesday, July 21, to promote his TNT biopic "Evel Knievel." Eads claimed that he had overslept, rather than intentionally not showing up for work, and that he believed the situation would be resolved by week's end.
"[Moonves] thinks it is because I was holding out for more money," Eads said. "So I need to talk to the man face-to-face and hopefully explain the situation. If he still wants to let me go, it's unfortunate, and it's on me."
By the next day, Fox had been rehired, with her temporary banishment blamed on a miscommunication. Eads' feet were held to the fire a bit longer, with his rehiring announced late on Friday, July 23. Both actors are reportedly returning for their original $100,000 per episode salaries.
In other, unrelated cast news, former "24" star Reiko Aylesworth has signed on in what could be a recurring role as a lab tech, and second-tier cast member Eric Szmanda, who plays DNA analyst and "lab rat" Greg Sanders, was quietly given a raise and will find his character out from behind his beakers this fall.
"We feel that we're shaking it up a bit by having Greg go into the field," Mendelsohn said in an interview just before the firings. "It certainly changes the dynamic. It provides a freshness to the series. The DNA guys make a lot more money than the investigators in the field, but you always want people to go in the field. It allows us to see the world through Greg's eyes. We like that very much."
With the whole kerfuffle having finally died down, work could commence on season five of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation." Mendelsohn has some very specific ideas for the upcoming season, especially as it applies to Sidle, team leader Gil Grissom (William Petersen) and lead investigator Catherine Willows (Marg Helgenberger).
"How are the characters growing?" she said, in the same earlier interview. "Where are they? What are their challenges? We do want to challenge each of the characters. We would like to see some of Grissom's vulnerability. What is Grissom's fallibility? Catherine is a very complex character, and what ultimately does taking a $250,000 check from her biological father (a wealthy and shady casino owner) mean? She's got a dead-on moral compass, but once you take something from someone, how easy is it to ask for more?
"We're going to realize this year that there's something about Sara Sidle we don't know. Not even Grissom knows, and he obviously has the longest relationship, going back pre-'CSI.' As we find out about this, a lot of what makes Sara tick becomes that, 'A-ha, I get it now."'
"CSI" also celebrates its 100th episode this season, which begins Sept. 23, "We'll go to Vegas for the 100th," Mendelsohn said. "It's November, episode eight. That's a big deal for us. I love Vegas, we all do."
