CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, a slick drama following a team of CSIs in Las Vegas and looking at their work and neuroses, was a phenomenon when it started and has gone from strength to strength, so in a bid to cash in on an award-winning formula CSI: Miami followed quick on its heels. This ... Read review
Advantages: One of the Best theme tunes on TV Disadvantages: Only so many kinds of death
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, a slick drama following a team of CSIs in Las Vegas and looking at their work and neuroses, was a phenomenon when it started and has gone from strength to strength, so in a bid to cash in on an award-winning formula CSI: Miami followed quick on its heels. This proved to be a solid drama, and featured a hot new location, but there was something from that original series that was missing from Miami. Bearing this in mind, ... ...underside, to reflect Las Vegas, CSI: Miami was very bright, with orange, white and bright blues as the main signatures and CSI:NY is very grey and black and it is often raining or night time when the CSIs are out in the field. This does add a somewhat depressing note to the drama, but is in keeping with the city setting.
The deaths in CSI are always fairly realistic and the Medical Examiner goes into detail, with cut shots of bones ... more
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, a slick drama following a team of CSIs in Las Vegas and looking at their work and neuroses, was a phenomenon when it started and has gone from strength to strength, so in a bid to cash in on an award-winning formula CSI: Miami followed quick on its heels. This proved to be a solid drama, and featured a hot new location, but there was something from that original series that was missing from Miami. Bearing this in mind, when CSI:NY (New York, obviously) was announced, CSI fans collectively held their breath.
CSI:NY garnered mixed opinions from critics and fans but from my point of view it seemed that the CSI franchise had again come up to the standard that the original CSI had set.
-------------------- THE SETUP --------------------
The team in CSI:NY are:
Gary Sinise - Detective Mack "Mac" Taylor Mac is the CSI in charge. His wife died on Sept. 11th, but not in the WTC attacks. It's been 3 years now, but he still wears his wedding ring and has made no overtures to other women.
Melina Kanakaredes - Detective Stella Bonasera Stella is a hotheaded CSI with a number of complaints on her record. She is good at her job and sometimes cares too much for the victims she processes. She's fiercely loyal to Mac and tries to encourage him to move on with his life.
Carmine Giovinazzo - Danny Messer Danny Messer is a CSI with a past. He grew up in New York and managed to turn his life around after getting mixed up with the gangs. His judgement is not always sound, but his heart's always in the right place.
Vanessa Ferlito - Aiden Burn Aiden is a Bronx girl born and bred. She is a good CSI with a methodical approach. She works well with Danny and always seems to have to clean up his mess.
Hill Harper - Dr. Sheldon Hawkes Dr Hawkes is the Medical Examiner but he has ambitions to get out in the field. His past is sketchy and a botched operation while working as a top surgeon led him to work in the morgue.
Eddie Cahill - Detective Donald "Don" Flack, Jr. Don Flack is the keen, young detective. He works well with the CSIs and respects their work. He is second generation cop, but won't put his brothers in blue before the truth.
------------------- THE SHOW -------------------
The show was launched with a crossover episode with CSI:Miami (a case in Miami had connections to NY) in which all characters except Flack were introduced. This established the tone of CSI:NY very firmly and the series has gone from strength to strength since them.
The first thing to note is that each CSI has a very distinct colour scheme. CSI was very flashy and showy, but with a dark underside, to reflect Las Vegas, CSI: Miami was very bright, with orange, white and bright blues as the main signatures and CSI:NY is very grey and black and it is often raining or night time when the CSIs are out in the field. This does add a somewhat depressing note to the drama, but is in keeping with the city setting.
The deaths in CSI are always fairly realistic and the Medical Examiner goes into detail, with cut shots of bones cracking, bullets entering organs etc to illustrate the point. This isn't as gory as it sounds, but rather makes sure that the viewer knows what is going on and can understand what they are actually talking about.
The investigations are carried out methodically, so it really makes you think that you could solve this crime if you could fit the pieces together. The one criticism I will give to the show is that sometimes you are led to believe that you could solve the crime and then at the very last minute it turns out that there was this hidden piece of evidence that solves it, but the viewer was not privy to. Perhaps the suspense from this is a good thing, but it sometimes bugs the hell out of me!
There are a good range of deaths (hanging, stabbing, choking, poisoning etc), but if you watch too much CSI you will notice similarities between the different shows but usually cases are never solved in exactly the same way.
What also sets CSI:NY apart is the back stories of the characters. The CSIs in this show are more likeable than those in CSI:Miami (nowhere near to CSI though). Mac is a really tough but fair boss who sometimes despairs at his team and has always got their backs even if they don't think it. The chemistry between the characters is good and the cast were well chosen. Gary Sinise is very underrated as an actor and this really allows him to shine and stretch his acting muscles a bit more. The rest of the solid supporting cast are relatively unknown, apart from Flack (Eddie Cahill) who popped up as Tag in Friends a while back.
CSI:NY has just finished its first season in the US and looks like it will be picked up for a second, so the CSI franchises are alive and healthy for some time to come. This is mostly because the formula is appealing and the characters are for the most part well written and the snappy but cheesy one-liners keep on popping up there, but mostly, the CSI shows have kickin' theme music. CSI has 'Who are You', CSI:Miami has 'Won't get fooled again' and CSI:NY has 'Baba O'Riley', all from the Who, so long live the Who and long live CSI!
Five has all the CSIs as follows:
CSI - Tuesdays at 9pm CSI:Miami - Tuesdays at 10pm CSI:NY - Saturdays at 9pm
and they are a definite must for me!
CSI and CSI:Miami box set DVDs are available from all good stockists, priced around the £30 - £40 mark.
Advantages: well thought out story lines Disadvantages: charachters are a bit too predictable
...to the CSI shows.
CSI: New York is the second spin off series to follow on from the highly successful CSI: Las Vegas (The otehr spin off being CSI: Miami) and like the others follows the Crime Scene Investigation team as they solve mostly murder cases using forensics.
It has to be said that the alure and mystery of the characters found from CSI: Miami and CSI: New York has been somewhat diluted in this show. I find the characters to be predictable ... ...for Eddie Cahill how played Rachel's boyfriend and PA Tag Jones in Friends.
The team is lead by Mac Taylor, who is played as a private and understated man who's team has total respect for. Through each episode they explore the world of forensics in an attempt to find the suspects and prove their guilt. There are well done but gruesome shots of autopsies to contend with as well as detailed shots of how the murder took place. Because of this, the ...
ally2kc 23.05.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of CSI: NY
Advantages: great to see how to catch a killer using forensics Disadvantages: none
i love csi ny. i find the series very intriging to see how cops do work behind the scene of murders, i like seeing how they use the forensics to capture the killer. the episodes are very good and usually do happen anywhere in the world, especially the us and uk. csi is better than ncis. csi shows you they way they use the technology and commen sense in the world, it shows the true crimes and the way people have done the killing in the episodes. it ...
kimberley1986 24.05.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of CSI: NY
Advantages: On-the-edge of the Seat puzzle solving, great entertainment, great mind boggling Disadvantages: clashes with other good programmes, could be longer, centered more on one case
CSI stand for Crime Scene Investigators and NY standing For New York. The story is set around a Crime Scene Investigation Unit who set out to gather as much or little information from a Crime Scene and put all the pieces together until the puzzle is completed and the culprit caught.
The scenes at times can be gruesome at other times standard gore but the emphasis of this is placed on solving the crime and closing the case using any clues left at ... ...I love all thought provoking programmes and this crowns them all. I think anybody watching this programme for the first time would become addicted as it is so amazing and unbelievable the way the team on the smallest shred of evidence put a and b together and catch a criminal in the most extraordinary ways. It is totally believable to watch, not one of this far out don't believe that programmes. They explain each and every shred of evidence in a ...
allyoxley 24.05.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful Review of CSI: NY
Advantages: Always on tenterhooks, graphic plot-lines Disadvantages: Too short!
It is much bloodier than the Miami version, often going into graphic detail about the murder/mishap/etc. Plot lines often follow the connections with the victims, working out "is this person connected in any way to this person" et al.
Episodes often last about 50 minutes to 55. Often starting off with a prelogue to the crime (i.e. the scenario before the CSIs get there); analyzing the scene (gathering evidence), whilst other tertiary characters ... ...some sort of (sometimes clichéd, sometimes not) problem occurs, a disruption in the plot; it is then finally resolved. Most episodes follow this description.
Two of the main characters:
Mac Taylor, played by Gary Sinise, is the leader of this team, and protagonist of the story. The death of his wife, September Eleventh attacks still continues to trouble him to this day. Once served in the army, he stated that "he had wanted to serve the country ...
jordan945 21.06.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful Review of CSI: NY
Advantages: Interesting stories, good looking locations Disadvantages: Unsympathetic characters
? Grissom. The ex gambling addict Warrick Brown the ex lap dancer no forensic expert Catherine Willows etc. this quirkiness adds to the interaction and very often a certain amount of humour of self parody is introduced. CSI Miami is played too straight and too dark for a show that has so many aspects that are so obviously unreal.
Overall it looks good, the effects are just as good, the locations are stylish but there is a leaden feel to it and ultimately is lacks any emotional spark that has always been present in the original. If you don?t know CSI I would suggest you watch the original CSI first, if you are already a fan of Grissom et al then CSI Miami is not so bad but not as good. We await the next spin off CSINY later this year!
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If you wish to you can get CSI Miami ...
Mauri 06.10.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of C.S.I Miami
