Space is the place for a diverting episode of 'CSI'

Note: The first part of this post is my review of "CSI's" sci-fi flavored Thursday episode, "A Space Oddity." Below the review is a brief, non-spoilery interview with "CSI" executive producer Naren Shankar, who talks about how the episode came about (he also gives a few clues about what is coming up in April and May "CSI" episodes). After the episode airs, I'll post a few more thoughts from "CSI" writers Bradley Thompson and David Weddle, who used to work on "Battlestar Galactica" and who co-wrote "A Space Oddity."

“The Office” and “30 Rock” better watch out. There’s a chance that “CSI” (8 p.m. Central, CBS) could be the funniest show airing Thursday.

Sure, the crime-scene techs often mutter sarcastic asides as they do their jobs, but “CSI” isn’t known as a laugh riot. Yet Thursday’s outing, which concerns lab techs Hodges (Wallace Langham) and Wendy (Liz Vassey) finding a body at a sci-fi convention, is so lighthearted and fun that it will probably amuse “CSI” fans who aren’t necessarily interested in nerd culture.

But for the geeks out there, especially fans of “Star Trek” and “Battlestar Galactica,” Thursday’s “CSI” is required viewingâ€"there are in-jokes large and small for followers of those franchises (“Battlestar” executive producer Ronald D. Moore even shows up for a brief cameo). I had to stop the advance DVD once because I was laughing so hard at a “Battlestar”-related joke.

(And I find it somewhat astounding that between Thursday's "CSI" and a very amusing episode of "Party Down" that airs Friday on Starz, there will be two -- count 'em, two -- discussions of the difference between sci-fi and fantasy on television. I guess the nerds really have taken over the culture.)

It turns out both Hodges and Wendy are fans of the vintage space opera “Astro Quest,” and they run into each other at a convention dedicated to the show. I'll add the word "sweet" to my descriptions of this episode (wait, an hour of "CSI" that is "sweet" and "fun"? Believe it). Hodges, you see, has been nursing a crush on Wendy, and that crush blooms into something more when he finds out that she loves his favorite TV show.

The writers of the episode, “A Space Oddity,” include Bradley Thompson, David Weddle and Naren Shankar. The first two wrote for “Battlestar Galactica” and “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,” and Shankar penned scripts for “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” “Star Trek: Voyager” and "Farscape." Director Michael Nankin has helmed many episodes of “Battlestar” and does a typically excellent job here. The vintage “Astro Quest” sequencesâ€"which feature DayGlo colors, lumpy Styrofoam rocks, flat lighting and static camera anglesâ€"are so perfect that you expect William Shatner to arrive and start hamming it up.

The point is, these people know whereof they mock, and they care enough to get dozens of details exactly right: Wendy complains that “Astro Quest’s” female characters are underwritten; a media-studies professor (played by Kate Vernon from “Battlestar”) sucks all the fun out of the show by overanalyzing it; and Hodges’ fantasies about starring in “Astro Quest” involve, not surprisingly, scantily clad space concubines.

Amid all the geeky details, there are stories being told. There is a murder to solve, and there’s a message quietly threaded through the episode as wellâ€"that maybe “Astro Quest’s” idealized future isn’t such a bad thing to work toward.

The episode also contains sly rebuttals to (or acknowledgments of) some critiques of "Battlestar," which ended its run a month ago. One of the characters at the sci-fi convention wants to re-invent "Astro Quest" -- he wants to free fans "from a vision of an antiseptic future filled with heroes and heroines who are always steadfast and well-adjusted and altruistic."

He unveils a clip from his proposed "Astro Quest Redux" that features shaky camera moves, a dark palette and characters at the extreme edge of desperation. Even the music recalls the soundtrack of "Battlestar Galactica."

To say more would give away too many delightful surprises about this hour of well-crafted escapism. All I can say to those who made “A Space Oddity” so enjoyable is this: Live long and prosper.

Below is an interview with Naren Shankar, executive producer of "CSI."

The idea had been "percolating in my brain for many months," he said. He'd wanted to do another "lab rats" episode -- one in which the lab rats actually worked on an active case, instead of recalling old cases or trying to think up the perfect murder (which is what the previous "lab rats" episodes were about).

Then the idea of doing a sci-fi convention episode came up, and with Bradley Thompson and David Weddle on the "CSI" writing staff, "we had exactly the right team" to write the episode, Shankar said.

"The idea of having this fantasy element [of flashbacks to 'Astro Quest'], to have Hodges and Wendy into this classic '60s sci-fi show, it all just kind of fell into place," Shankar said. "There's this notion of the heroic captain always getting the alien babe, and we could do this awkward, geeky love affair -- that might be how Hodges gets the girl."

Once the main story idea was in place, the feeling was, "Why don't we just go all the way? We were pilfering elements of Ron's story [i.e., his attempts to re-make 'Battlestar'], it was like, 'Let's just put him in the show!'" Shankar said. 

When Moore read the script, "he laughed his [expletive] off. I think he was quite tickled," Shankar said. "I love Ron, I've known Ron so long. We've been friends forever. And you know, the [similar] look of the guy [who plays the re-inventor of 'Astro Quest'] is a total accident. That's got nothing to do with why we cast that guy." 

"It's so much fun to give Wally [Langham] and Liz [Vassey] and David [Berman] a show like this every year. And this was actually three shows in one -- [the convention story], the old 'Astro Quest' and the new 'Astro Quest.' Everyone in the crew did such a great job in creating all three of those worlds. And the tricky part was, there's an actual murder in the middle of this unusual fantasy stuff and a little love story too."

And for all its knowing goofs on sci-fi fans, "A Space Oddity" is also a love letter to aficionados of genre fare.

"At the end of the day, we didn't want to do something that was bashing the fans. We tried really hard to capture all sides of what it means" to love a show like that. "The undercurrent of positivity was a large part of the appeal," Shankar said.

Some trivia notes:

They couldn't use Bear McCreary's score for "CSI," but they tried to pay homage to his music in the score for the "reinvented" "Astro Quest."For legal reasons, there could be no references to "Star Trek." At all. The sound crew even had to invent '60s-appropriate sci-fi sounds for "Astro Quest." For the soundtrack to vintage "Astro Quest" scenes, Shankar thought of using a '50s album by composer Russ Garcia: It's called "Fantastica: Music From Outer Space." You'll be able to easily spot Moore and Kate Vernon (who played Ellen Tigh on "Battlestar") in Thursday's "CSI." The other two "Battlestar" cast members? You'll have to look more closely to spt them. Coming up later this season on "CSI": Henry Thomas guest stars in next week's episode. In one upcoming episode, Ray Langston (Laurence Fishburne) and Al Robbins (Robert David Hall) go on a road trip. And the "Vegas oriented" season finale will have a "Treasure of the Sierra Madre" feel, Shankar said. Gerald McRaney will play a shady cowboy, and part of the episode will be shot on location.

Come back to the Watcher site on Friday for more on "A Space Oddity."

Read reviews and buy "CSI" from amazon.com

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