Dourdan Cops to Drug Felonies, Avoids Jail
For Gary Dourdan, two out of three ain’t bad. Of course, it’s not really all that good, either…
The recently killed-off CSI player pleaded guilty to two of his three counts of felony drug possession in Indio, Calif., this morning, stemming from his early morning bust in Palm Springs last month.
The actor copped to one count each of cocaine and Ecstasy possession during today’s arraignment; a third charge of heroin possession was dismissed.
Although he could have faced up to three years and eight months behind bars, in exchange for his plea Dourdan will not serve any time but instead has until Nov. 20, 2009, to complete a series of drug-education courses as part of the court’s diversion program.
“As a result of today’s proceedings, Gary has been given diversion,” his attorney, Shawn Chapman Holley, said outside the courthouse. “He very much regrets what happened, and he’s very embarrassed by what occurred, but he’s looking forward to moving on and getting back to work.
“He is very grateful to the court for being understanding and giving him an opportunity to resolve the issue and move forward.”
Should Dourdan successfully complete the program, his convictions may be dismissed.
“Gary was given diversion, which means that both charges will be dismissed as soon as he completes 30 hours of classes,” Holley told News.
Riverside District Attorney spokeswoman Ingrid Wyatt also told News that the actor will be required to pay a small fee as part of his restitution.
Dourdan was present for the morning hearing, though he did not speak to reporters on his way in or out of the courtroom. He did, however, don a navy blue suit for the occasion and flashed a peace sign on his way out of the building and into his Lincoln Town Car.
The 41-year-old was busted on April 28, when cops found his car parked on the wrong side of the street and the actor asleep at the wheel. A search of his vehicle yielded the drugs and after being released on $5,000 bail, the actor initially claimed the drugs weren’t his and said he was “embarrassed” over the situation.
Dourdan’s Warrick Brown was slain on the CSI season finale last week. The actor opted not to return for a new season after failing to reach a new contract with producers.
CSI Offed by Housewives
The odds have caught up with CSI.
For the first time in five years, the Vegas-set crime show will not finish a season as TV's most-watched scripted show.
The 2007-08 season ends Wednesday night.
Desperate Housewives, much maligned for its own ratings slippage over the past couple of years, should finish the season on top among scripted shows, with 18.2 million viewers.
CSI, which currently holds a slight edge for second place over House, ends its eighth season averaging 16.89 million viewers, its least amount ever. The show's previous "low" was 17.8 million, posted during its first season.
The last time CSI didn't wind up as TV's top scripted show was 2001-02, when the departing Friends ruled.
CSI enjoyed its best season to date in 2002-03, when the CBS series averaged 26.2 million, and bested everything on TV, scripted or no.
Since 2003-04, CSI has been trumped by American Idol for the overall No. 1and sometimes the overall No. 2spot. But up until this season, it was the standard-bearer for scripted shows.
Ratings-wise, CSI has been in decline for more than a year. From the 2005-06 season to the 2006-07 season, the show lost 5.3 million viewers.
CSI opened this past season big and through November was TV's No. 1 show. Then came the writers' strikeand there went 21 percent of its audience. By comparison, Desperate Housewives only lost about 7 percent of its viewers from the start of the strike through the end of the season.
In addition to the strike, CSI went through cast upheaval, with the early season departure of Jorja Fox and the late season word that Gary Dourdan would not be back in the fall.
Desperate Housewives' win, meanwhile, is its first. It takes the scripted crown the old-fashioned wayit actually had more viewers this season than last, adding more than 1 million fans to its ranks.
Overall, Housewives looks to finish sixth, behind various editions of Dancing With the Stars and American Idol, which despite all the hand-wringing over what's wrong with it, should finish the season as TV's No. 1 and No. 2 shows.
Again.
Elsewhere, here are the ratings highlights for the TV week ended Sunday:
- In the battle of season finales, at least, CSI (fourth place, 18.1 million) killed Desperate Housewives (sixth place, 16.8 million), Grey's Anatomy (seventh place, 15.5 million) and every other scripted show.
- Of course, Housewives did hold the demographic edge over all scripted series. Among young adults, CSI finished behind Housewives, Grey's Anatomy, House and Two and a Half Men.
- Judging by the Idol numbers, it's not that people don't want to hear this season's contestants sing, it's that they don't care as much what fate befalls them. Tuesday's performance show (second place, 24.8 million) was in line with last year's Top Three episode. Wednesday's results show (first place, 24.9 million) wasn'tit was off by more than 3 million.
- CBS' Moonlight (41st place, 7.5 million) went out the way it went in, losing about 1 viewers from Ghost Whisperer (31st place, 8.4 million).
- The Office's season closer was good for Angela and Dwight, but the NBC show has seen bigger climaxes than 8.2 million viewers (35th place).
- Right about now, the canceled Women's Murder Club (36th place, 7.9 million) must be wondering what dirt the renewed According to Jim (80th place, 4.2 million for its first episode; 74th place, 4.5 million for its second) has on ABC execs.
- The win for a "full-figured" gal fattened up CW's America's Next Top Model (69th place, 4.8 million).
- To summarize cable's top prime-time shows: Basketball, basketball, wrestling.
- Sci Fi Channel's Saturday-night offering of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (3.9 million), and Disney Channel's Friday-night revisit to High School Musical 2 (3.8 million) represented for nonprofessional athletes.
- In daytime, Snoop Dogg romanced viewers of One Life to Live, fo' shizzle. A cameo by the gentleman rapper helped the ABC soap pad its young adult women numbers by 4 percent for the week of May 5.
Overall, CBS won the week in viewers (10.3 million), and preemptively declared itself the like winner of the May sweeps. Fox won the week in 18-to-49-year-olds (4.6 million), and did CBS one better, declaring itself the demo winner of sweepsand the season.
Make that, Fox did CBS two better. It also said it would best CBS as the most watched network of 2007-08, the first such victory for Fox.
In cable, basketball-powered TNT averaged the most prime-time viewers (3.1 million), followed by wrestling-powered USA (2.4 million) and basketball-powered ESPN (2.1 million).
Here's a look at the 10 most-watched broadcast network prime-time shows for the week ended Sunday, according to Nielsen Media Research:
- American Idol (Wednesday), Fox, 24.9 million viewers
- American Idol (Tuesday), Fox, 24.8 million viewers
- Dancing With the Stars (Monday), ABC, 18.5 million viewers
- CSI, CBS, 18.1 million viewers
- Dancing With the Stars (Tuesday), ABC, 17 million viewers
- Desperate Housewives, ABC, 16.8 million viewers
- Grey's Anatomy, ABC, 15.5 million viewers
- House, Fox, 15 million viewers
- NCIS, CBS, 14.9 million viewers
- Without a Trace, CBS, 14.5 million viewers
CSI Finds Fresh Blood
Lauren Lee Smith can see dead people.
At least beginning this fall.
Looking to fill the void left by the departures of Gary Dourdan and Jorja Fox, The L Word veteran is joining CBS' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation as a series regular, the network announced today.
The 27-year-old Smith will play Bryce Adams, described as a "smart, flirtatious and witty nonconformist" obsessed with the underbelly of society, who got into police work to rebel against her disapproving psychiatrist father. She joins Gil Grissom's crack squad working the night shift.
The Vancouver-born thesp had a recurring stint on Showtime's The L Word as sous chef Lara Perkins. Her film credits include last month's thriller Pathology, as well Art School Confidential and alongside Casey Affleck and Zach Braff in The Last Kiss. She teams up with Ashley Judd and Goran Visnjic in the drama Helen, due out in October, and will appear in next year's horror anthology Trick or Treat.
Fox and Dourdan both decided not to reup with CSI after failing to hash out new contracts. With Smith in place, producers still must fill the role of Ray Santoro, billed as a "handsome, smart and athletic" CSI who takes on the graveyard shift at the crime lab.
CSI Dourdan’s Desert Drug Bust
Gary Dourdan should know better than anyone that crime doesn't pay.
Unfortunately, the soon-to-be former CSI star was arrested in Palm Springs early Monday for allegedly possessing a virtual pharmacy's worth of prescription and illegal drugs, among them heroin, cocaine and Ecstasy.
The Palm Springs PD said the 41-year-old actor was busted at approximately 5:12 a.m. when officers approached his vehicle, which was parked on the wrong side of the street at the time.
The officer who spotted the vehicle said the interior light of the car was on and that Dourdan appeared to be asleep behind the wheel.
According to the police report, the arresting officer described Dourdan (identified on his California driver's license as Robert Gary Durdin) as "disoriented" and appearing to be under the influence of either drugs or alcohol.
A search of the car turned up cocaine, heroin, Ecstasy, several as yet unidentified prescription drugs and drug paraphernalia, per the police.
The actor was taken into custody at the scene and booked at the Palm Springs jail for possession of narcotics and possession of dangerous drugs. He was held for several hours and ultimately released at 10:30 a.m. on $5,000 bail.
Earlier this month, CBS and Dourdan confirmed he would not be renewing his contract or returning as the pill-popping Warrick Brown on the smash crime procedural after the show's May 15 finale.