CSI: NY – The Complete First Season

Review By: Edward Kasche
EdKasche@TheCinemaSource.com

The camera pans and swoops over the New York City skyline, dropping out of the clouds and racing above the buildings and parks. The color scheme is primarily blue / gray; sunlight breaks out infrequently and shocks the viewer, revealing hope in a desolate, dead city. Cases involve sewer rats, mounted police, debutantes, and the N.Y.P.D. This is New York. This is CSI…again, but better. Everyone knows CSI is a brand; its own little genre in “the wonderful world of television.” Recognizing the brand is easy. There are gun-toting scientist / cops, ludicrous stories that defy logical belief, and quick, flashy edits that keep the viewer’s eyes on the screen. That is CSI. There may eventually be an episode where a victim dies from the stimulus of watching too many episodes of CSI. Could it happen? Probably. In New York, as you’ll see, anything can happen. All three shows are exciting, they’re all fun for a weekday at 9 or 10pm; but what makes New York the best? New York.

CSI: New York is a spin-off of CBS’ other two CSI shows, set in Las Vegas and Miami; neither of which I have seen more than once or twice. Everyone in the world knows that the stories, the effects, the characters are generally the same. It’s the basic premise: overly exaggerated, too-cool-for-school crime scene investigators solve crimes in prime time. The stories are ludicrous and real-life crime scene investigators are not John McClane, (ya know… from Die Hard). But, come on, this is television and it’s New York, baby. The city, that much like lead Detective Mac Taylor (Gary Sinise), “never sleeps.” The producers of the series admit that the cities are the basis for the shows, and that the characters and crimes fall into place afterwards. New York is just a much stronger city than Las Vegas or Miami, and this makes the show great. And not just for New Yorkers. I’ve only lived here for over a year, but I find myself, clicker in hand, edge of the futon, playing back the disc to check out restaurant names and subway stops. Maybe Las Vegasians and Miamians do the same, but I doubt it.

We are introduced to New York and the new CSI team by way of a murder in Miami. Lt. Horatio Caine (David Caruso), of Miami CSI, flies to New York in order to catch a murderer who left his NY license with his car rental in Miami. Upon