It's not like there haven't been clues. In last season's shocking CSI finale, before Nick Stokes (George Eads) was kidnapped and nearly killed, coworker Warrick Brown (Gary Dourdan) confided that he'd started seeing a woman called Tina. Now, the reunited team members are still finding their own ways to cope with the attack on Nick - but who could've guessed it would lead to a wedding?
Warrick's revelation in the season premiere that he'd gotten married was a startling as any of the crimes the CSIs have solved over the past five years. "When I first heard about it, I wasn't sure where the idea came from," Dourdan says. "My eyebrow went up." Adds executive producer Carol Mendelshon: "Even we [producers] didn't have this idea until we started writing the season. But Warrick's reaction [to Nick's near-death experience] is carpe diem-seize the day."
Or, more precisely, seize the wedding day. After just a handful of dates, Warrick got hitched at a drive-by chapel to Tina (Meta Golding), a Las Vegas nurse. They may not have known each other long, but you'd never suspect that by watching their first scene together. "We start kissing in a hospital room," says Golding, who also had a guest role as the mistress of a suspect in CSI's first season. "We have this powerful connection. Since we got married after a short time, our scenes are about the process of getting to know each other."
Golding says that Gary personally approved of her being hired after
watching her audition tape because "he thought he could fall in love with this person"
Don't expect thast process to go smoothly. Not long after their make-out moment, Warrick spots Tina's ex-boyfriend, a doctor at the hospital, and a subplot will ensue that could last all season, according to producers. "Jealousy flares," Mendelsohn explains, we'll see
how [Warrick's] personal demons affect this relationship. The question is, is his wife going to break his heart or will he break hers? And will this drive him back to Catherine (Marg Helenberger)? Because whatever existed between those two is not done."
The continuation of that flirtation is good news for Helgenberger. The marriage gives ua a lot more to play [with]," she says, "Warrick knows there's a strong connection between us." As for Dourdan (Who's divorced from model Roshumba Williams), handling Golding's warm body instead of the show's usual cold corpses is quite an adjustment. Golding still giggles when she recalls the first rehearsal for their big kissing scene. The lip-lock left her costar "a little embarrassed," says the actress, a Washington C.C.,
native best-known for her guest roles ons hows such as Crossing Jordan and Cold Case. "He's always playing the tough guy with the crew and now he had to be sweet and kiss me . And the whole crew broke out laughing, saying, 'Save it for the camera!' I could tell they've never seen Gary being romantic."
Producers aren't sure how long Tina will stick around, but even if this marriage ends up DOA, Golding is one prime-time wife who is anything but desperate. "Whenever I tell a woman that I'm playing Gary's wife, it doesn't matter what their age or race is," she says with a laugh. " I get, 'You go, girl!' So I think I have the support of women everywhere."
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