(S34E10) The majority of this episode was pretty good. John Malkovich didn't contain the same contagious energy as other hosts this season, like Anne Hathaway or Tim McGraw, but infused the episode with his own... Malkovich-ness. Anyone that has seen his work knows what I'm talking about. I especially liked it when he introduced the musical guest(s), because it was hilariously obvious that he's never heard of any of these guys. Speaking of the musical guests, does T.I. really have a song about waving Gucci scarves in the air instead of dancing at the club? I feel like that's more of a surefire way to get shot at a club than carrying a gun in your sweatpants.

As Jane wrote a couple of weeks ago, CBS was hot on the heels of landing a big name star to fill the void when William Petersen leaves CSI later this year. The names bandied about included Kurt Russell and John Malkovich, and one other major motion picture star, Laurence Fishburne. Today, the network announced Laurence Fishburne will indeed be the new addition to CSI.

His character is a forensic scientist, like Grissom, but don't expect him to have Gil's fascination with insects. No, Fishburne's man has other bugs: he's a former pathologist and college lecturer who's focused on why people commit acts of violence. It should be interesting to see how his preoccupation with the why integrates with the other CSI gang who are all Grissom-trained and generally obsessed with how a crime is done and who done it.

Fishburne will be introduced in the ninth episode when his character meets members of the CSI team during a murder investigation and ends up joining them.

CSI fans have been clutching their hearts in agony upon learning that William Petersen would be leaving the role of brainy crimebuster Gil Grissom. I don't watch CSI regularly, and even I know that he's the heart of the show.

Petersen will be returning for occasional guest appearances, but will the show ever be the same? Maybe not, but it doesn't have to die a slow, painful death either.

Laurence Fishburne is in talks to succeed Peterson as the star of the show, and I think he has the chops to do it. His monologue in the feature film Bobby gave me goosebumps and turned me into a diehard fan.

The first day of the combined CBS / CW / Showtime part of the tour kicked off with the executive session from CBS Entertainment president Nina Tassler. Before she got on stage, the network showed a montage of their shows. It was then I realized, "Boy, I really don't watch anything on this network, do I?" I mean, outside of the Monday comedies and The Price is Right, there isn't one show on the Eye net that I tune in on a regular basis.

Anyway, she addressed the departure of William Peterson from CSI, just about right off the bat, giving the gathered writers a clue as to the nature of the character who will be coming in to fill his void. Oh, and Tassler is studying to become a cantor. For some reason, a reporter asked her about that.

May 4th was Cinco de Mayo Eve, the night when drunken stockbrokers tumble through civilian chimneys once the kids are in bed.

"Revenge of the Birds": The ol' H5-NI fear has been running rampant and the government finally stepped up and released its plans to combat any potential outbreak in the National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza report. Here's a synopsis: "We dunno what to do, we dunno what to do, we dunno!" Jon suggested an alternate title for the Strategy... "RUN!"