There are a lot of insensitive remarks one could make about Roger Daltrey appearing on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.
For example, we could say something along the lines of, "So, is one of the surviving members of the Half-Who going to investigate what happened to the other Half-Who?"
Daltrey, of course, is the lead singer of legendary British rock band The Who. In fact, that's Daltrey's voice in the CSI theme song, which is a shortened version of Who Are You.
Wisely or unwisely, depending upon your point of view, Daltrey and Pete Townshend are still touring as The Who (they're scheduled to play at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto on Dec. 4). The other two original members of the band -- John Entwistle and Keith Moon -- died in 2002 and 1978, respectively.
Coincidentally, when Daltrey guest-stars on CSI tonight (CBS/CTV, 9 p.m.), he will be playing a fictional character who died in the 1970s (just like The Who's career, a detractor might say. But we're just kidding, folks. We love The Who, honestly).
In tonight's CSI episode, which is titled Living Legend, Daltrey portrays Mickey Dunn, a Las Vegas mobster who disappeared 30-plus years ago.
Mickey's remains are fished out of a lake with a bullet hole in his skull. Daltrey's scenes must all be flashbacks, obviously -- otherwise, that really would be a hell of an acting job, wouldn't it?
Anyway, soon after the discovery of Dunn, a wheelchair-bound man is murdered and a photo he had been carrying shows him with Dunn and three other men. In the photo, both Dunn and the new victim have X's on their faces. Does this mean the other three men are targets, too?
The promotional material for Living Legend describes Daltrey's role as one that "will keep viewers guessing." Well, as long as it keeps viewers from clicking, CBS and CTV will be happy.
CSI, which is in its seventh season, has taken a huge tumble this year not only in U.S. ratings but also in terms of buzz. ABC moved the popular -- and more female-friendly -- Grey's Anatomy from Sundays to Thursdays specifically to take a big bite out of CSI on CBS, and it's working like a charm.
As far as Canada goes, CTV shows Grey's Anatomy at 8 p.m., where it sits as a somewhat odd lead-in to CSI. But on ABC, Grey's Anatomy is preceded at 8 p.m. by Ugly Betty, which makes a lot of sense thematically.
The CSI conglomerate -- which currently includes the original franchise as well as CSI: Miami and CSI: New York -- has ruled the roost for a long time. We fondly recall a rare funny line on Saturday Night Live a few years back which suggested that CBS was going to try to boost ratings for its marquee morning program by changing the name to CSI: The Early Show.
But this season CSI has lost about eight million viewers per week in the U.S., and it's getting its clock cleaned by Grey's Anatomy on a regular basis. Certainly, most shows still would kill (no pun intended) for the numbers CSI draws, but there's no denying which direction things are headed.
In an effort to stem the tide, CSI is dipping deeply into the guest-star well this season, with names like Daltrey (music veteran), John Mayer (current music star), Danny Bonaduce (whose post-Partridge life reads like a CSI episode) and, well, Kevin Federline (good for him).
The 62-year-old Daltrey actually has a lot of acting experience, having appeared in more than 30 films and numerous television shows. In the most positive possible sense, he is no Kevin Federline.
So whatever your feelings are about the current state of CSI, it'll be interesting to see if a rock 'n' roll legend like Roger Daltrey can provide an energy boost for the most influential TV show of this g-g-g-generation.
