Like most people, I have those few favorite shows that I have to catch every week. Unlike most people I have waaayyy too many of these favorite shows. So when I hear about a new show that I ‘just have to watch’, I’m generally very skeptical as I only have so many hours in the day to get in some quality viewing. In recent years I’ve shied away from most ‘cop shows’, because the few I had tried to get into in the 90’s left me kind of cold. They were all the same, with semi-interesting characters, dull plots, car chases and shoot-outs. “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” was original in that it avoided nearly all the conventional action sequences that most police dramas need to survive. It was, and still is, a show that really makes you think, as each episode is a puzzle waiting to be solved. Some episodes have more than one plot, while others take all the members of the CSI team together to solve one big crime.

The pieces of the puzzle are presented in flashback version of the crimes, based on suppositions or lies. But more interesting is the way the physical evidence is shown. Utilizing creative cinematography, the camera often zooms in close to give us, at times, a microscopic perspective of the smallest items; hairs, blood drops, etc… Other times we are given a ‘bullet’s eye’ view of the damage that can be done to the human body.

The series became so incredibly popular that in 2002, the producers decided go the route of “Law and Order” and create a 2nd series utilizing the style of the original. However, to make it a bit different, they changed locations and some of the style and “CSI: Miami” was born. This new series boasted the return of David Caruso to network television after his foray into feature films. He starred as Horatio Caine, the head of Miami’s elite CSI team.

When the network figured out they might have had a real franchise in its hands, they opted to create yet ANOTHER “C.S.I.” series, this time set in New York. My first thought was that enough was enough. I mean how many incarnations of the same idea could you go through before they all became withered imitations of each other? Sure that they network executives really hadn’t thought this through, they moved forward with the project and “C.S.I.: NY” premiered. This time in the lead was veteran film star Gary Sinise as Detective Mac Taylor.

I decided to start watching “C.S.I.: NY” when it began airing and found that I liked it right off the bat. What ended up really making this series work in spite of having to overcome its predecessors was the casting of Sinise. I’ve now learned, by watching each of the shows, that the lead actor really drives the tone of the series. The tone here was much darker than the previous series. Taylor had more of a past that was revealed from the beginning. His wife was killed during 9/11 and so he threw himself completely into his work. He was so focused on getting the ‘bad guy’, that having any kind if life was unthinkable.

He was originally aided in his war on crime by his own team consisting of Detective Stella Bonasera (Melina Kanakaredes), Detective Don Flack (Eddie Cahill), Medical Examiner Sheldon Hawkes (Hill Harper), Danny Messer (Carmine Giovinazzo) and Aiden Burn (Vanessa Ferlito - who later left the series and was replaced by Anna Belknap as Lindsey Monroe). Each of these characters has their own distinctive set of quirks, and like the team in “C.S.I.: Miami”, it took a little while to warm up to them. I liken this to the “Star Trek” franchise, where you immediately took to the original crew because nothing had come before to set up your expectations. Then as each new series aired, the new crew had to grow on you. I do wish to mention I was glad to see the return of Eddie Cahill to network television. After a short stint on “Friends”, Cahill starred as the lead in “Glory Days”, which unfortunately was canceled well before its time.

Watching the 1st season of “C.S.I.: NY”, I’ll have to admit I became a fan much quicker than I did with the middle child, but I think that had a lot to do with the writers learning what mistakes held back “C.S.I.: Miami” at first, and they were able to jump right past those. Now, I mentioned that the show was much darker. That might seem weird as each show is expressively dark due to the nature of the plots…. which are invariably about murder. However, the darkness doesn’t just come in tone and attitude, but overall look. The first series is all glitz and glamour; after all it takes place in Las Vegas. The second is much brighter, fitting in with the sun-drenched shores of Florida. But the New York we see is a dark and grimy place, which is admittedly more of a Holloywood-ized expectation of what the city looks like. Anyone who’s spent time there, knows it isn’t that bad everywhere.

“C.S.I.: NY” was also able to set itself apart when it came to the crimes that it investigated. With so many “C.S.I.” shows out there, the first fear is duplication, but there has been little of that so far.

Paramount is continuing to follow up DVD releases of the various "C.S.I." shows with the third season of “C.S.I.: NY” this week. I was thrilled to see this release because I had missed quite a few of them when they aired, and I was finally able to catch up. This season was every bit a powerful as the first two and pushed the series even further up the ladder, almost topping the original series on my list. The transfer for all of the 24 episodes presented here share the same high quality I’ve come to expect from Paramount’s earlier releases of the franchise. The widescreen presentations offer rich visuals, in spite of the otherwise drab color palette the series uses to make New York look gritty.

They also went way beyond the call in terms of extra features. Most of Paramount’s ‘TV on DVD’ releases don’t have many extras, but the “C.S.I.” and “Star Trek” franchises always have more than their fair share. There are 6 discs in the set and there are special features scattered throughout almost all of them. Included are 4 full commentaries, all of which are done by the creators, writers and directors of the series. Only one episode commentary includes one of the actors (Eddie Cahill). They’re all really well done, though I would have enjoyed hearing from more of the cast.

You'll also find four separate featurettes. The first is Breaking the Killer Code which runs about 12 ½ minutes and focuses on the episode "Hung Out to Dry." Utilizing a ton of interviews and behind the scenes footage, you learn just about everything there is to learn about the creation of the episode. There is also Suicide Girls Rock CSI: NY, which runs about 11 ½ minutes. Here we meet the uber-popular website Suicide Girls who were part of the episode "Oedipus Hex." These heavily tattooed and pierced girls are a little on the wild side… okay… a LOT on the wild side and fans will definitely enjoy this nearly 'adults only' featurette. The episode "Silent Night" is also featured in its own 8 ½ minute making of mini-documentary. Finally, actor Hill Harper takes viewers on a visit of the famed University of Tennessee Forensic Anthropology Center, better known as the Body Farm. Here real bodies are kept in various degrees of decomposition, as well as in various versions of being 'dumped' in order for forensics experts to learn what factors can be used to determine time and place of death. It’s pretty grisly stuff, but I found it fascinating.

Carrying forward the style of the packaging that has become the CSI tradmark, this new DVD also features a DVD case that opens like a book, which allows you to flip through to each disc. The outer cover also has a slipover band label that looks like crime scene tape, just like the ones that have been used on all of the franchise’s releases.

“C.S.I.: NY” quickly became my second favorite series of the franchise, though this in no way is meant to sell”C.S.I.: Miami” short. The characters just came together quicker, and the stories were more compelling. But in the end, I’m now a fan of all three.

Episodes:
People With Money
Not What It Looks Like (Commentary by writers Pam Veasey and Peter Lenkov, and director Duane Clark)
Love Run Cold
Hung Out to Dry
Oedipus Hex (Commentary by creator/writer Anthony E. Zuiker and Missy Suicide)
Open and Shut
Murder Sings the Blues
Consequences (Commentary by writer Pam Veasey and actor Eddie Cahill)
And Here's To You Mrs. Azrael
Sweet Sixteen
Raising Shane
Silent Night (Commentary by writers Peter Lenkov and Samantha Humphrey )
Obsession
The Lying Game
Some Buried Bones
Heart of Glass
The Ride-In
Sleight Out Of Hand
A Daze of Wine and Roaches
What Schemes May Come
Past Imperfect
Cold Reveal
Comes Around
Snow Day

Starring: Gary Sinise, Melina Kanakaredes, Eddie Cahill, Hill Harper, Carmine Giovinazzo, Anna Belknap
Extras: 4 Commentaries, Breaking the Killer Code, The Suicide Girls Rock CSI: NY, The Making of "Silent Night", Hill Harper Explores the Body Farm
Specifications: Widescreen, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Release Date: 10/9/2007
Region: 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website

We'll give CSI NY: Season 3 an A.