CBS THE EARLY SHOW (TRANSCRIPT OF MARG’S INTERVIEW)
April 2, 2009
Interviewers: Harry Smith and Maggie Rodriguez
Harry: Television changed forever on October 6th, 2000, with the debut of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Viewers were introduced that night to Catherine Willows, the investigator played by Marg Helgenberger.
(clip from CSI is shown)
Maggie: And now CSI marks its 200th episode tonight, directed by Oscar winner William Friedkin.
(clip from CSI is shown)
Maggie: Catherine Willows. Marg Helgenberger. Good morning.
Marg: Good morning.
Maggie: Congratulations on the milestone.
Marg: Thank you, thank you.
Maggie: How old is that…that little…your daughter now on the show?
Marg: Well, actually it’s a different actress. She’s a…
Maggie: Yeah, she must be old, much older.
Marg: She’s, I think in real life, she’s 19 or 20, but she’s playing a 16 or 17 year old. She’s seldom on the show unfortunately.
Maggie: Yeah, it’s changed a lot.
Marg: Yeah. Well, actually the pilot, even though – a clip of which you’ve just seen – it indicated that there was going to be a big storyline involving my daughter, and that wasn’t the case. The science became the star.
(clip from CSI is shown)
Harry: Yeah, yeah. When you first started, wasn’t it supposed to be on Friday nights? Was it…did it start on Fridays?
Marg: It was on…yes.
Harry: That’s usually ‘Here’s your show. Congratulations, you have a show. It will be cancelled in an hour?’ Isn’t that usually kind of a kiss of death for TV shows?
Marg: That’s what they say, yeah.
Harry: Yeah.
Marg: But it was, actually, quite the opposite for us, it was uhhh…Clearly there were people…there was an audience for the show. They… I think a good mystery show is always going to have a great audience, and this had the new spin on it with all the technology, and the science, and is a very stylish show, continues to be so.
Harry: Yeah.
Maggie: When did you realize that it was such a hit? Was there a moment that you finally got it that this was a big deal?’
Marg: I think when I…It was around Thanksgiving time that same year, 2000, 2000 I think, fall 2000, and I was in a diner, and a couple of people came up to me, different people with their kids, and you know ‘our kids are watching the show,’ because it had a broad appeal, and the kids were inspired to become criminalists because of the show, and I thought of it..‘In two months time it had that kind of an impact. Wow!’
Harry: And of course, everybody in the country thinks that all these crimes can be solved by this – by this stuff that you do on the show, right?
Marg: I know, and I, I know there are some crime labs I’m sure they get angered by the fact that we solve them in, you know, 48 minutes.
Harry: How is it, how is it without William Petersen?
Marg: It’s different, of course. I think that it was a loss, but I think we’ve adjusted. Laurence is a terrific actor, and really great guy – cool, easy going, fun and we’ve been having a lot of fun with him actually.
Harry: That’s good That’s really cool.
Maggie: Congratulations on 200 episodes. We know that on the set they had a cake and cider, but you were so busy you didn’t get to eat your cake, so…
Harry: Yeah, check this out.
Maggie: We wanted to give you a… (a cake is being brought in) Marg Helgenberger is not 200 years old, CSI is 200 episodes.
Marg: Oh my goodness, another cake!
Harry: Wait a minute, wait a minute! We’ll just do this. How’s that? (takes one ‘0’ off of the cake)
Maggie: There you go.
(Marg laughs)
Maggie: She likes that much better.
Marg: Yeah, I sure do.
Maggie: So what’s your wish going to be as you blow out the candles?
Marg: Do I have to…Aren’t they to be kept secret?
Maggie: Well?
Harry: I’m not sure – not on morning television.
Maggie: Exactly. We want to know.
(laughs)
Harry: Thank you so much and congratulations!
Marg: Thank you very much. Thank you, thank you, Maggie.
Harry: We really, really appreciate it.
Marg: Thank you for my cake. I’ve got to make a wish, don’t I? Okay.
Maggie: Remember we can see the 200th episode of CSI, tonight at 9/8 central, right here on CBS. We’ll be right back.
Marg: Thanks for that!
Maggie: Hope it comes true, whatever it was.
*Special thanks to Andry for transcribing this interview for us.