Why Grissom, why?

So as I stated earlier I'm a big CSI fan. I'm not one of those people who follows each and every spin off. As such I don't like Miami or NY. I like the original Vegas one. And the reason is simple--Grissom. Okay, so I have a crush on a fictional elderly man--sue me. There is something sexy about a big brain, and sarcasm. Hence, my affinity for the character. Much to my disappointment, William Petersen decided to leave the show. I can understand getting tired of playing the same part for years on end. I can see how that can become repetitive and boring. But it just makes me sad that I'll probably have to quit watching the show now. The story lines are not all that original. A show either stands on good writing or good characters. It's one of the main reasons SNL sucks after Tina Fey left. It's the same reason why 30 Rock cleans up at awards show. CSI is no 30 Rock. They had Grissom, now they don't. And to me, that just sucks. (And also because he leaves due to Sara's character whom I hated from the beginning and kind of wished she would have died last season). Anyway, I leave you with some words from the infamous Gil Grissom:

Bobby Dawson: Hodges will have to verify this, but I believe that is Cream of Wheat.
Gil Grissom: So he's a cereal killer?

Brass: Hey, look what I found: a knife with blood on it.
Grissom: Hey, look what I found: a dead guy.

Grissom: [Picking up bugs] John...Paul...George...and Ringo.
Sara: Beetles.

Grissom: [To a murderer who killed a boy with Down Syndrome] By the way, the definition of "retard" is to hinder or to hold someone back. I think your life is about to become retarded.

Grissom: Did you hear the one about the cop and the monkey who go into a bar?
Catherine: I'm not in the mood.
Grissom: Neither was the monkey.

[upon discovering massive amounts of weapons present at a hockey game]
Gil Grissom: It looks like these guys went to a fight and a hockey game broke out.

[ to Dr. Robbins, who's holding a severed head]
Grissom: I'd heard you'd got some head.

Gil Grissom: [to a waiter] Excuse me, do you recognize this ear?

Ananda: The past is in the past.
Gil Grissom: True, but sometimes it leaves its fingerprints on the future.

Gil Grissom: Well, someone once said, "What we are never changes, but who we are, never stops changing."

Warrick Brown: Who brings a gun to a knife fight?
Gil Grissom: The winner?

Director: You ever see the show? It's got a lot of forensics.
Gil Grissom: There's too many forensics shows on TV.