I have to say, the CSI mothership has done a nice job this year of replenishing the cast. Ted Danson has been better than I thought when they first announced his casting. Elisabeth Harnois is an actress I've always enjoyed watching, and she really lights up the screen on this show. She comes across to me as what they were hoping they'd get with Anna Belknap on CSI:NY but never quite got. And Elisabeth Shue made a good first impression this week, though I'm reserving final judgement until I see her interacting with more of the cast. I think the whole tone of the show has improved this year, it's more like the early years of the show. And I think the two new additions to the team(and possibly all three, after another few episodes) have really contributed to the improvement. For quite a while, this show got way too dark and depressing. But when you're like that every week, it means powerhouse episodes like Season 1's "Blood Drops" and its Season 6 soul-mate "Gumdrops"(still two of my favorites) can't make as much of an impact. I know it's weird to think of a show like CSI "lightening up", but go back and take a look at Season 1, it just feels SO different than the middle years.