C S I Trivia

* Under the glass top of Grissom's desk is a photo of the series' executive producer Jerry Bruckheimer.

* All the equipment in the lab is fully functional, and was either purchased outright, or donated/loaned to the show for product placement.

* The original name of William L. Petersen's character was Gil Scheinbaum. Petersen changed the name to Gil Grissom because of his admiration for astronaut Gus Grissom.

* The extreme popularity of this TV series was credited for a large surge of applications for courses in forensic science.

* Grissom and Catherine are loosely based on real-life LVMPD criminalists Daniel Holstein and Yolanda McCrery.

* Grissom, et. al. use the Nikon F5 fitted with a multi-control back for photographing crime scene elements. As of the 5th season, this is no longer true. Most have different cameras: e.g. Warrick uses either a Nikon D70 or Nikon D100.

* When asked about a possible CSI feature film, creator Anthony E. Zuiker said he'd like to wait until after the 30th season to make it.

* The choice to place this series in Las Vegas was not random. Among US crime labs, Las Vegas is the second most active, surpassed only by the FBI lab at Quantico, Virginia.

* Before it was acquired by CBS, the show was first offered to ABC in 1999, but was rejected as "too confusing for the average viewer".

* In July 2004, co-stars George Eads and Jorja Fox were fired (by direct order of CBS head Leslie Moonves) for breach of contract. CBS said that they were using delay tactics (refusing to show up for shooting) to force a pay raise at the beginning of the 5th season. They were soon rehired, but without a raise. They both denied that there was any contract dispute. (Eads says he just overslept on the first day of production; Fox claims she didn't know about the letter of intent she reportedly failed to sign.)

* David Berman, who plays assistant coroner David Phillips, is also a head researcher for the show.

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