LOS ANGELES — It may have been the least believable excuse since "the dog ate my homework," but it did get George Eads back on "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation."
And probably put the fear of, well, Big Media Conglomerates into lots of TV actors.
Appearing before TV critics to promote his starring role in TNT's upcoming TV movie "Evel Knieval," Eads was all aw-shucks, good ol' Texas boy charm as he explained that his firing from the top-rated show was just a big ol' "incredible misunderstandin' "
A quick, mid-press conference call to CBS to see if the network had any comment elicited a question — had Eads apologized? Which became a question to the actor — is CBS demanding an apology as a condition for your return?
"I've apologized nine ways to Sunday," he said, the "aw shucks" just oozing from every pore. "It's a big misunderstanding straight up" which was "never about money."
Even though he and fellow then-fired, since-rehired actor Jorja Fox were both trying to negotiate new contracts and their representatives were making "veiled threats," according to Viacom co-president and co-COO Leslie Moonves.
So it was just a coincidence when, on his first day of work for the new season, Eads' alarm didn't go off.
"Well, I overslept," he said. "I woke up white as a sheet 3 1/2 hours after I was supposed to be on the set."
And when he called to say he was on his way, "They said, 'Don't bother.' "
I have no doubt Eads turned white as a sheet, but it was when he heard "Don't bother."
It did provide CBS with an excuse to rehire him, which is a good thing. I like Eads and he's good on "CSI." But he and Fox will have to struggle along on the reported $100,000 per episode they're already making — and they've had to agree not to try to renegotiate again until their contracts expire in 2007.
They overplayed their hands. For one thing, they're not the leads on the show, they're supporting players. For another, you could argue that "CSI" could survive the loss of even its leads, William Petersen and Marg Helgenberger.
As a procedural drama (like "Law & Order"), the plot is far more important than the characters. And those characters could be shuffled in and out (like "Law & Order") along with the actors who play them.
Lucky for Eads, his lame excuse worked. At least he didn't try, "The dog ate my script."