On Saturday, January 10th Fox News will air a special report titled On the Road in Iraq with Gary Sinise and the Lt. Dan Band.  According to the promo,  the special is scheduled for 9 p.m. (ET) and will include a video diary of Gary visiting the troops and a segment of the Lt. Dan Band performing a “tribute to the troops.”

Gary was on location in New York City last week and thanks to the generosity of ny_odyssey over at LiveJournal, we have permission to share these excellent photos:

Thanks again to ny_odyssey!

Variety reports that Gary will narrate Discovery Channel’s six-hour miniseries  ”When We Left Earth: The NASA Missions.”  (Some of you may recall that Gary previously narrated ”Inside the Space Shuttle” for Discovery in 1998.) 

This special series marks NASA’s 50th anniversary.  John Ford, Discovery Channel’s prexy general manager, is quoted in the Variety piece: “The story of NASA is really America’s story — people coming together with grit, audaciousness and determination. Gary’s stirring but straightforward narration conveys that perfectly.”

“When We Left Earth: The NASA Missions” airs Sunday, June 8, at 9 p.m. and continues over the following two Sundays (June 15 and 22).  

It’s been rather quiet in the wake of the writer’s strike, but now that it’s over, you can look forward to CSI:NY returning to your screens for new episodes. The Futon Critic reports that seven new episodes will air this spring, starting on April 2. CBS has already renewed the show for season 5, which will start in the fall.

TV Guide has reported that Jessalyn Gilsig (Nip/Tuck, Boston Public, Heroes) will be joining the cast for three episodes as a new love interest for Gary’s character, Mac Taylor.

There’s a new CSI:NY Wiki — be sure to check it out!

In addition to season 3 on DVD, which is coming out on October 9, on the same day a three-season pack will be released. You can pre-order both now at Amazon.com.

Season 4 premieres in the US on Wednesday, September 26.

CSI Stuff:

• Season 4 of CSI: New York will be premiering on CBS on Wednesday, September 26 at 10 pm ET/PT.
• The third season of CSI: New York is now available for pre-order at Amazon.com.
• The UK’s Daily Mail has an interview with Gary. (Thanks to Bettina for the link.)
• Gary will apparently appear on CSI mothership this year on a night of crossovers.

LDB Updates:

• Pictures from the band’s recent European trip are available in the LDB’s gallery.
• Two current dates are scheduled in July and August: July 21 in Catingy Park, Illinois, and August 11 in Brooklyn, New York.

Gary is also scheduled to return to Epcot Center this year for the Candlelight Processional, December 23-25.

Finally, even though we haven’t been blogging about it, we’re well aware of the persistent Star Trek rumors… you can stop emailing us about them, honest! We’re told that official announcements will be made at Comic-Con next week, so that should settle the matter one way or the other. (And just for the record, I’d personally be thrilled if it were true.)

Our friends at tvshowsondvd.com posted today that CBS/Paramount has announced that season 3 of CSI:NY will be released on DVD on October 9. It’s not available for pre-order at Amazon yet, but we’ll let you know when that changes.

Amazon.com now has a service called Unbox, which allows you to download video content, like movies and TV episodes, directly to your PC or TiVo. CSI: New York is among the TV shows they’re offering.

I haven’t tried the PC version, but I have used it with my series 2 TiVo, and I was quite pleased with how simple it was. The quality is at least as good as my cable TV, it’s commercial free, and I can keep the episodes for as long as I want. (Please note that some items are “rentals,” meaning you can only keep them for a certain amount of time. Most TV shows seem to be for “sale,” meaning you can keep them indefinitely, but read the information provided.)

I wouldn’t use this service instead of purchasing a whole season on DVD, but for $1.99 each, it’s a good alternative to waiting for reruns if you miss an episode.

If you are a TiVo user, you’ll need to go to here first to connect your TiVo and Amazon accounts. If you use a PC, follow the instructions for downloading the software you’ll need.

In the interests of full disclosure, yes, we’re an Amazon affiliate — it helps pay for this site and keeps it ad-free. If you use our links, we do get a small commission at no cost to you (and believe me, 3-5% of $1.99 is quite small). Mostly, I’m posting about this because I think it’s a cool service, especially if you have a TiVo.

TV Week is featuring an interview with CSI:NY creator Anthony Zuiker after each new episode. It’s available through audio download or to read via transcript. Click here for more information.

An AP article on the distinctiveness of CSI:NY includes an interview with Gary.