Sara Sidle Finally says Goodbye to CSI

I watched the last episode of Sara Sidle last night on C.S.I. I will admit upfront: I always hated Sara's character from moment one. I didn't start watching the show until it was in it's 3rd season, but I started at the beginning (when Spike got the syndication rights), and Sara was such a bitch to Warrick. She thought she was so much better than everyone else, and I just hated her.

I probably thawed a little when it was revealed that Sara's dad had molested her and Sara's mom had killed Sara's dad, but the character still rubs me the wrong way. If I made a list of TV characters over the last 20 years that annoy me, Sara would be in the top 3 easily. I just never liked her.

And her romance to Grissom....what could he see in that girl? Sofia would be have been a much better choice. Catherine and he had chemistry. Hell, Lady Heather and Grissom lit the box up!

Sara's departure had been previously announced, but if you haven't seen the episode yet skip to the end. I didn't watch the last few episodes of last year or the beginning of this year, so I didn't see the whole kidnapped thing. I have a hard time believing it could have been as good as the Tarantino episode where they buried Nick alive, but I'll have to see it and judge for myself. I'm not sure why they decided to focus more on Sara, but I'm just as glad she's going, although the manner was totally weird. Grissom asks her to marry him, and so she has to just run away? So Sara. No wonder she drinks.

I'm really hoping that Warrick's marriage breaks up and he and Catherine can get together, but probably Sara's departure means that the creators felt there was nowhere left to go, which means we won't see a "ship" again out in the open. Fair enough.

The straw that broke the camel's back was another case involving that genius girl from two seasons ago, who made it seem like she killed someone her brother did. I thought that was one of the best regular season episodes ever, and it was great to see Juliette Goglia back. Pay attention to her, kids: I think she will be a star one day.

All in all the episode was very good, and all in all Jorja Fox plays it well. I want it said I have nothing against her as an actress, but somehow the character never worked for me. Maybe she can work out those demons, and in the meantime, Grissom is desloated again. This is how it should be. As I wrote back in 2003 in Column #165:

The best monster movies wait as long as possible to show you their creature; knowing that whatever you come up with in your imagination is worse than anything they can film. The same works with TV, in a different way. Based on the earlier Conflict Theory, it is almost always better for characters not to get together romantically. Sometimes the whole show is based on love, but even then, it’s better if the love stories don’t work out, at least not for very long. I hear so many people (read: women) wish for certain characters to have relationships (in the business these people are called “shippers”). They want the happy ending. Everyone does. But in an ongoing TV show, this is death. Like I wrote, all drama is based on conflict, and once the conflict is resolved, there goes the tension of the drama. As much as you might hate this, you know it to be true. The best shows are where it doesn’t work out for the characters, and you’re so frustrated at his/her inability to get the girl or keep the guy that you could scream. That’s what makes serialized TV so great, and that’s what keeps us watching.

And that's it in a nutshell. You can't have happiness and successful drama. You especially can't have it with Grissom, who is so melancholic. Maybe now he'll develop a drinking problem. But whatever he does, you know it will be interesting.