Whenever I watch it now, I can’t help but feel that something is missing. My favorite part of the last few seasons was the quirky humor that Grissom (William Peterson) brought to the show, a humor completely absent now that he has left. Let’s face it, Laurence Fishbourne doesn’t exactly bring laughs with him, at least not after you get over the idea of Morpheus dissecting a body and being afraid of guns. The cast can’t seem to find a steady footing now that Grissom, Sara (Jorja Fox) and Warrick (Gary Dourdan) have left the show (Grissom being the last straw), and even though Sara is back for the time being — as Sara Grissom now — the show doesn’t have that spark that made it so much fun to watch during the first eight seasons.

They keep trying to replace stars that simply can’t be replaced. The odds are against any potential replacements; Ronnie Lake (Jessica Lucas) was written out of the show with no explanation, and Lauren Lee Smith’s character, Riley Adams, was noticeably absent from the premiere, leaving behind a note that suggested that she had resigned as a result of Catherine’s (Marg Helgenberger) leadership skills. The actual reason was that the writers didn’t feel that Riley had ever been able to fit in with the rest of the team, so they had the character accept another job (revealed in the season 10 premiere). Sara’s return appears to me to be a last-ditch effort at holding the original show together, but I’m afraid that ship has sailed.

With only three members of the original team left (four if you count Brass), and the absence of Grissom, the entire feel of the show has changed, and not for the better. Fishbourne would have made a good supporting character, but as a lead he falls short. While he seems to be trying to make Langston into a quieter, more sensitive character, Fishbourne mainly comes off as awkward. Everything about the show has seemed a little off this season, from the murders to the music (nothing so far has struck me as funny).

The two spinoffs have also taken new directions as well, not quite mirroring the decline of the original. “CSI: NY” has introduced a new serial killer, a schizophrenic stuck in the ’60s with an obsession with compasses (aptly called “The Compass Killer”), who debuted in the second episode but won’t appear again until the eighth or ninth episodes. The Compass Killer (played by Skeet Ulrich of “Scream” fame) has been fairly well-received by audiences, and should prove to be an interesting story arc. Also, the NYPD is dealing with Danny’s (Carmine Giovinazzo) paralysis and attempts at rehabilitation after being shot in the season finale, as well as Detective Flack’s (Eddie Cahill) depression over the death of his girlfriend, Jessica Angell (Emmanuelle Vaugier). Sarah Carter has also joined the cast as Haylen Becall, but her character has received mostly negative reactions.

“CSI: Miami” is intense as always, but the problem of Calliegh (Emily Proctor) shooting Eric Delko (Adam Rodriguez) is ultimately resolved in the first few episodes. However, Delko (as of Oct. 19) sees fit to leave CSI and break off his relationship with Calliegh.

Quite frankly, I think it’s because he realizes that he probably couldn’t live through getting shot in the head a third time. Omar Benson Miller and Eddie Cibrian also have joined the cast. Hopefully they’ll have better luck fitting in than the Vegas CSIs.