Inside The Minds Of 'CSI' Characters

Several Actors In The Hit Series Reflect On What Makes Them Tick

(CBS)  "CSI" is offering fans a lot more than the usual mix of felonies and forensics this season.

The hit CBS drama is also providing unique peeks at the inner workings of the minds of several of the characters.

The Early Show co-anchor Julie Chen took it even further when she spoke with several of the actors who portray those characters. She also asked about the season's final two episodes, both major cliffhangers.

"When you guys first started, six years ago, we knew nothing about (Gil) Grissom, or Catherine (Willows), or Warrick (Brown)," Chen remarked. "Now, we're finally getting to learn a little bit about what makes you tick."

"As much as one, as much as anybody knows what makes them tick, you know," agreed William Petersen, who plays Grissom. "... I mean, uh, if you ask Grissom, he, he doesn't know, exactly."

Also this season, the ticking time bomb of attraction continued between Grissom and Sara, Chen observed.

"It's almost like we all have these alter egos, you know," observed Jorja Fox, who plays Sara Sidle. "That started back in season one. And now that it's been six years, I totally do. I have hopes for her and dreams for her, and I get upset for her."

"You're more Sara than Jorja," Chen observed.

"Yeah, yeah, no, it's confusing sometimes," Fox responded. "Certain times of the year, I'll buy a piece of wardrobe and I'll look at it in the summer and I'll be like, 'Who bought that? Who did… Oh, right, Sara must have bought that!'" she laughed. "You know, it's a strange thing that you go in and out of."

Last season ended with Nick Stokes, portrayed by George Eads, buried alive — and this season appeared to follow in that dark tradition, Chen said. There was a murder scene that echoed the Holocaust, another episode in which a woman was sealed alive inside a chimney, and the team even investigated a mass suicide.