David Hodges is a fictional character on the popular television
drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. He is portrayed by actor
Wallace Langham, formerly of Veronica's Closet, The Larry Sanders
Show and films such as Little Miss Sunshine. The character was
introduced in the show's third season and became a regular character
over time. At the beginning of the eighth season (2007-2008), he became
a main character, and Langham appeared in the show's opening credit
sequence for the first time. His first show appearance was in the
third-season episode "Recipe for Murder."
Backstory
Hodges
(referred to almost universally by his last name; supervisor Gil
Grissom is one of the only people to call him "David" or,
occasionally, "Dave") is a lab technician assigned to analyze and
identify trace samples provided to him by the field investigators.
These samples can range from paint samples to fabrics to hair and skin
samples from non-human animals. His job is to identify the samples,
thus enabling the investigators to better understand crime scenes and
what occured there. Like the other characters on CSI, Hodges works the
night shift.
He arrived in Las Vegas after being transferred
there by the Los Angeles Police Department. In his first appearance
on the show, Hodges tells Grissom that his old co-workers seemed to
think he had an attitude problem and that he thought he was entitled.
In the episode "Play with Fire," which aired towards the end of the
third season, an explosion rocks the crime lab, critically injuring one
of the other techs. For a time it appears as though the explosion was
caused by David's placement of various volatile substances near an open
flame in the lab. When the CSIs investigating the incident approach him
with this, he accuses them of being prejudiced against him because they
may have heard rumours about him from his former colleagues in
L.A. It is later discovered that the explosion had nothing to do with
him.
Personality
Throughout the series, Hodges is
portrayed as a sarcastic, snarky individual. His conduct
appears to annoy many of his co-workers, as he is frequently reminding
them of his scientific educational background. This appears to most
often be the case earlier in the series, as by current episodes he
seems to have grown on his colleagues, who find him irritating though
not wholly offensive. He is apparently driven by his need for
advancement, as he is frequently sucking up to his superiors. During
the eighth season episode "Who and What," a crossover with Without a
Trace, he asks FBI agent Jack Malone about opportunities at the
federal level. Malone tells him that he's more likely to succeed in Las
Vegas, as the FBI "already (has) enough kiss-asses."
Despite what
many perceive as an attitude problem, he does seem to get along rather
well with his co-workers. In the season five finale Grave Danger, he
is seen playing a Dukes of Hazzard board game with CSI Greg Sanders.
During this scene, he tells Greg that this is just the "work" him --
"you haven't had the full David Hodges experience." In another episode
later in the series, he is shown to have ordered a Three's Company
board game on eBay. (He won the auction, by the by.)
Love life
The
Wikipedia article about Hodges makes reference to him having had
feelings for CSI Sara Sidle in the series's earlier seasons. I've
watched a lot of CSI and I've never seen any concrete evidence of this.
It has been made blatantly obvious of late, however, that he
has serious feelings for fellow lab tech Wendy Simms, a DNA tech.
This was hinted at in the season seven episode Lab Rats, which
uncharacteristically focused on the techs rather than the CSIs. In that
episode, Hodges convinces the other techs to help him try and crack the
infamous Miniature Killer case while the CSIs are out of the lab
working in the field. Wendy confronts him, aware that he was not asked
by Grissom to help with the case, and accidentally nearly says "I can't
believe I might actually have thought I had feelings for you."
In
the season eight episode The Chick Chop Flick Shop, Wendy shows the
other lab techs and CSIs a scene from a horror movie in which she had a
cameo. One of the CSIs bemoans the fact that the women in most horror
movies are often scantily clad, promiscuous and large-breasted. Wendy
replies that her breasts are not large -- "they're kind of medium."
Hodges accidentally adds "but perfect," and everyone
stares at him. He attempts to cover up his slip by adding "-ly
adequate," but only digs himself further into his hole.
In an
earlier episode, Hodges asked CSI Catherine Willows how he was
supposed to know whether a relationship had gone from "just friends" to
"more than." She told him that if he had to ask, they were
just friends. He then claimed that the mystery woman was making dinner
for him that weekend, but then conceded that he was one guest among
many.
He also was arrested once for trying to pick up a
prostitute. Because he was a minor it didn't go on his permanent
record and didn't impair his career in law enforcement.
Output and success rate
Despite
being annoying, Hodges has provided information that allowed the CSIs
to break several cases. The first major example of this was at the end
of season five, when CSI Nick Stokes was kidnapped and buried alive
in the desert. The team found an early protoype of the crate the
kidnapper had used to bury Nick, and Hodges finished his tests on it as
they were in the process of saving him. He called Catherine and told
her that the bottom of the crate was lined with explosives just in
time, saving Nick and the rescue team.
He also discovered a clue
that led to a major break in the Miniature Killer case. While examining
the miniatures in Grissom's office while he and the other investigators
were out on cases, Hodges and the other techs discovered that there was
evidence of bleach in all four of the scale models of the four crime
scenes. Grissom walked in on Hodges while he was examining the last
miniature and was initially upset, but after Hodges explained that he'd
discovered a link between all four (until then, random) crime scenes,
Grissom became impressed. They surmised that the bleach may have been a
trigger that caused the killer to become psychotically violent.
Fandom
Hodges
is a fairly popular character among fans, with a few online communities
devoted to him. This is particularly interesting because, up until a
few months ago, he was considered a minor character who was in many,
but not every, episode. Among fan fiction slash writers, he is often
paired with Nick Stokes and Greg Sanders, and sporadically with
ballistics tech Bobby Dawson.
(And yes, he's my favourite.)
References
You
may notice that there are a number of similarities between this writeup
and the corresponding Wikipedia article. There are two reasons for
this: first off, these are facts that can be confirmed by watching
the show in question. Secondly, I have been a regular contributor
to said Wikipedia article, due partly to the fact that I'm a big CSI
fan and Hodges is my favourite character.
Other references
include CSI seasons three through eight, the first four of which I own
on DVD, the fifth of which I have pre-ordered because it comes out
in two weeks and the last of which airs Thursday
nights.
http://community.livejournal.com/dhodges
http://community.livejournal.com/hodgesxperience