The Prime Time Gods apparently know what they are doing. **Warning Spoilers**

We find out in the opening of this year that Ray Langston, aka Fishburn, has left the unit for a life with his wife, after the harrowing ordeal of last season. With the exit of Langston, it seems that the events of last year had some detrimental effects, in that Catherine was demoted, Nick lost his office, and generally everyone is in a bad mood. Also joining the cast is Ecklie’s daughter, Morgan Brody, as introduced at the end of last season. She is blonde, cute, and young. Greg and Hodges are already drooling over her—

D.B. Russell, aka Ted Danson, as a character, is a little on the oddball side, but not in a Grissom or a Langston way. It is a tilted view all-his-own. His manner of thinking and logic is completely foreign to everyone, including Nick and Catherine. Ted Danson, as I have never seen before, is subtle, straight, serious, and yet still maintains his Danson charm. There is a glimmer of the Cheers Sam in his smile, but not enough to distract from the new role as Lead Investigator for the unit. In one of the opening scenes with Russell, Nick finds Russell sprawled out in the middle of the crime scene looking like a dead body. Nick enters in confusion, and Russell states that he has cleared the crime scene, in answer to Nicks confused and annoyed look.

The biggest difference I see between Grissom, Langston, and Russell is, Russell gives them nothing. He just tells them where he wants them, and they (the team members) need to figure out why he sent them on their own. Where as Grissom and even Langston were natural leaders, Russell seems to not like to impose himself on anyone, and just lets them do what they need to do. He also realizes that a lot has happened, and there is tension with his entrance. At the end of the 12th season opener, while the team is still grumpy, grumbling, and bickering, D.B. Russell decides enough is enough. You think he is going to step in with some words of wisdom or sage advice, maybe even some ‘Sam from Cheers humor’.

Nope, he simply sends a text to the entire team.

Breakfast, I’m buying.