Lauren Lee Smith’s Riley Adams won’t return for the tenth season of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. But Sara Sidle (played by Jorja Fox) is.

Smith joined CSI in the ninth season taking Warrick Brown’s place (played by Gary Dourdan), who was killed in the season nine premiere. Less than a season after her addition to the series, Smith is saying goodbye.

“It was an issue of how we were feeling the ensemble was working,” Shankar told TV Guide. “When we brought in the character of Riley, it got lost in the shuffle a little bit because we had lost Warrick, we had lost Sara, and then in the middle of last season Grissom finally left. I think, as a result, the character never quite found its footing in terms of the rest of the gang.”

Riley’s departure will allow for Sara to come back to the crime lab. “She shows up because the team is understaffed,” he explained. “The undersheriff reaches out for a recommendation and Sara says, ‘I think that person might be me.’”

Fox will appear in at least five episodes during season ten.

“I got the call about CSI—it was completely out of the blue!” The actress explained. “I never thought I’d be going back to work with people that I knew, I thought I’d be starting new things. That was a surprise, so I’m going back to work and it’s with the same people who I’ve worked with for eight years in the past. [Laughs] I was thrilled! For me it was a huge compliment!”

The actress has already started filming for season ten, and she said she is enjoying the experience. “It has just been a ball and a half,” Fox shared. “I think CSI’s premiere episode is one of the best that I’ve ever read. It’s a pleasant surprise. You think, ‘They’re starting Season 10—how is it going to be as good as it was last year or four years ago?’ And they blew me away.”

Fox was tight-lipped about her return. “I think all I can really say is [pause] the team has had a rough year—there has been a lot going on—and so Sara comes back mostly just to see if she can help for a while, because she loves those guys and she misses them,” the actress said. She had even less to say about Gil Grissom, who reunited with Sara in the jungle at the end of his final episode in season nine. “They’ve prevented me from discussing Grissom at all,” she said, adding that Grissom’s whereabouts will be revealed in the season premiere. “We hope we’ve picked the right stuff to be a surprise.”

“Sara comes in and brings everyone together,” executive producer Carol Mendelsohn added. “And she helps Catherine understand that as the leader, she needs to make the team cohesive and really fire on all cylinders again.” Mendelsohn would not reveal when or if the old team leader is scheduled to return. “You never know when Grissom will show up on CSI,” she teased. “The theme of [season 10] is family. And he certainly is a big part of the family - a big part of the family.

It’s been a while, so here goes:

Were you glued to your TV screen like I was watching season 3 of Torchwood? Despite an utter crappy ending “Children of Earth” was my favorite season so far. AfterElton.com posted hilarious Facebook like recaps. Check them out here.

The big Torchwood news to come out of this weekend didn’t come from Comic-Con. Instead, word spread that the hit sci-fi series had been picked up for a fourth season the day before its panel took place in front of cheering fans. So far, however, there’s no word on who will be a part of the Torchwood team or how many episodes there will be this season (and there was no additional news at the panel.)

I also read that John was actually considered for Captain America. Hm… Speaking of which - check this out (best viewed with Firefox or Safari). Thanks, Trevor!

Anyhoo, John being his funny and mischievous self cracked me up when he - finally - got to kiss Dr. Who actor and fellow Scotsman David Tennant. Watch it here (it starts around the 5:00 mark).

UPDATE: Someone posted the panel on YouTube. Children of Earth and its plot (and killings) was discussed. Captain Jack Harkness as a bisexual role model, and why there won’t be a musical episode of Torchwood… I had a blast watching John trying to behave himself (as he was warned some audience members may be under 18…)

PART 1 / PART 2 / PART 3 / PART 4 / PART 5 / PART 6 / PART 7

Wheee-heeeeeeeeee!

I had never heard of this list (”Top Hot Butches“) before, and I kinda found it through a thread on the AfterEllen forum. Curiosity piqued I went through the whole list - and to my surprise I found Sarah Bettens gracing the no. 38 spot! Whodathunk, eh?

I was up late chatting to my friend AJ online, so when I woke up this morning… Let’s just say I could’ve added another hour’s worth of sleep easily. (To give you an indication it was 05:50 hrs Halifax time, or 01:50 hrs San Francisco time.)
Radio host Diederik called me to see if I was ready for the interview, told me that “Cup of Blood” by The Dudes was released in The Netherlands several weeks ago (oh? I didn’t have the heart to tell him that song is on the previous album), then explained shortly what he was going to do. It was all very simple, and nothing I hadn’t done before… Except this was going to be aired live.

With a minute left of an Oasis single he called me and told me we were going to go on air when the song had finished. And we did.
Before you start wondering what I was doing for Kink FM, here’s a short explanation: I’m their one time “Zomerscout”, meaning that I share whatever good music I heard in the country I visited. Always up to plug good Canadian music, I submitted an E-mail telling Diederik I’d like to put in my two cents.

I recently sent him another to share what music grabbed my attention, and of which I thought fits the station’s format.
I told him about The Lost Fingers, who are hot in the French province of Canada, Bif Naked, The Dudes and (of course) Serena Ryder. Diederik likes them all, but decided to plug The Dudes.
On air he asked me what I was doing in Canada, how much Canadian music I’d heard, and general questions about Calgary’s finest “The Dudes”. I tried to answer all the questions without trying to sound like a rambling idiot (I didn’t, according to my brother). There were a couple of silences, which - as Diederik later explained - was all thanks to him trying to locate a certain radio jingle to prelude the single.
All in all I think the interview went pretty well. It’s going to be online, but I don’t know when (Diederik couldn’t tell me either) so I’m going to keep you updated on that.

The Dudes’ current single “Pretty lies”

Ain’t those kitties the cutest?

So I finally did it. I ended my membership at the gym earlier today.
When I first joined this one several years ago I went there 3 times a week - except when I trotted the globe. Always prone to injuries I mainly worked out to strengthen muscles and keep the bod firm.
When I was young(er) I played all kinds of sports. Anything from martial arts to soccer and rugby (love that, but it also wrecked my body) to volleyball. Injuries didn’t take long to heal.
Now they seem to take forever, and I haven’t been to my gym in over a year. Since I’m still struggling with my shoulders (the chronic bursitis of the right one isn’t as bad as the physical “barrier” in the left one I popped over a year ago - I still can’t fully raise that arm) I decided it’s not worth to pay the 55 Euros a month if I’m not going, nor know when I’ll be able to work out 3 times a week again.
There’s an arrangement between the Courts in my town and a little gym nearby which enables me to work out once a week. For free.
So that’s what I’m doing in the meantime - besides the exercises I do at home.

The amount of Tiger Balm I’ve used over the last year or so… Thank you, Krista, for pointing out Robax Platinum to me.

Heh-heh-heh… This design has been screen printed in teal onto a lovely soft cotton tea towel, the perfect message for your lazy loved ones! Price: $14.73 … the look on their face … priceless!

Do you know who this is?

Terry Moore fans on the Strangers in Paradise forum have been talking about this for a couple of days after Variety.com published news on Terry’s 6-figure-deal. Ain’t It Cool followed closely, as did AfterEllen.com (people not familiar with Echo can read up on the main story line there).

Whether or not fans will actually see Echo on the big screen, I think it’s great news! Go, Terry!

In “unlikeliest pairings ever” news, Cyndi Lauper and rapper Lil Kim teamed up at Radio City Music Hall to wish Nelson Mandela a happy 91st birthday by singing him Lauper’s “Time After Time” (nothing says “Hooray! You’re another year older!” like serenading someone with a really maudlin ’80s classic). I love the rendition Cyndi and Sarah McLachlan did a while ago… but upon viewing the clip I was surprised: who knew Lil Kim could sing? Can Lil Kim sing? Is it really humid or is Cyndi’s hair supposed to look so … uh … poodle-y? Who redid Kim’s plastic surgery? (And whoever it was did an amazing job - she looks like she’s really cleaning up her act.)

I’m not sure about the “lights up”, though.