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. I had the same reaction a few years back when I had several friends tell me to watch “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.” I was way too busy and just couldn’t find the time to give it a chance. Thanks to Paramount Home Video, I’ve learned I really need to listen to my friends a little more often. Last year, they released the entire 1st season on DVD which gave me the opportunity to sit down and ‘give her a spin.’ What I expected to be another run of the mill cop show, turned out to be one of the best and most original TV dramas I had seen in recent years.

Originally I was going to just watch a few episodes and get a cross section idea of the scope of the show so I could get an overall opinion to share in my review. Instead, I was completely hooked and ended up watching all 23 over the course of a few days. Each time my wife and I finished an episode we looked over at one another and said… “One more?” Sleep and I had officially parted ways.

“CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” is original in that it avoids nearly all the conventional action sequences that most police dramas need to survive. It’s 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 would pull 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.

As a show simply cannot survive on cool cinematography alone, “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” also consistently delivers stories that are really well-plotted. Each episode is intricately woven, and though it is fast paced it never seems rushed. The show’s writers are careful in making sure no fact of the case is missed in case you want to play detective right along with the CSI team. In the 1st season none of the stories seemed too far-fetched and were unfortunately all too realistic at times. I say unfortunately, because where some shows glorify the violence they present; “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” offers an unflinching view of how horrible, sadistic and sickening acts of violence can be. And it also goes beyond the physicality of the acts to show the tragic effect it has on the victim’s family.

Furthering my take on the writing is the simple fact that the CSI team doesn’t always win; this in itself brings an even more realistic feeling to the show. When they win, it’s exhilarating; when they lose it can be devastating. We also have five main characters, and though one or two are the obvious leads, over the course of the series, and sometimes within a single episode, all of them have the opportunity to come to the forefront.

Speaking of the characters, the cast is by far what really makes the show tick. Heading them up is William Peterson as Gil Grissom, the leader of the Las Vegas CSI Unit. I first remember seeing Peterson in “To Live and Die in L.A.” and he had one of those commanding personalities that made you sit and watch. Over the years I’ve only seen him in a few other films, and for some reason as good an actor as I thought he was, he never seemed to cross over to ‘star’ status. This show has finally put him on the map, and deservedly so. Grissom is easily one of the most likable characters on Network TV. His easy demeanor and quick wit allow him to easily bridge the gaps between being a boss, father figure and friend, to the members of his team.

Marg Helgenberger has always been a welcome addition to the cast of any movie or show. As Catherine Williams, she is the maternal member of the team. On one side of the coin she is tough as nails when it comes to the criminals, on the other side she is empathetic to the victims. Gary Dourdan as Warrick Brown, is in constant competition with George Eads’ Nick Stokes, and the interplay between the two is priceless. Jorja Fox as Sara Sidle struggles daily with just how to deal with all the death, and will hopefully learn to move on. This is a group of highly watchable and believable actors and characters, each with their own flaws and inner demons. How they come together as a team, in and on the show make for an entertaining hour each and every time out of the gate.

Keep in mind this was how I felt after watching the first season. A few months ago the 2nd season showed up, and I was curious to see if the series could keep up the momentum. I’m happy to say there was no disappointment, and my wife and I ended up with yet another marathon run to get through all the episodes. The same thing happened with the 3rd season release.

In the 3rd season, the stories continued to get more outlandish, which might have caused some viewers to feel like they had to suspend their belief. However, as much as I keep an eye on the news and all the abominable things that people do to one another, all of those stories were well within the realm of possibility. If anything, it may only be a little hard to believe that they could all happen within the confines of Las Vegas.

Of course, this is why the popularity of the show caused the producers to create a whole new team to fight crime in the show’s sister series, “CSI: Miami.” The characters were introduced in one of the 2nd season episodes and have gone on to achieve nearly the same popularity of the original. Now we have an even newer show that started about a month ago, “CSI: New York”, which I’m a little worried about. I can understand why it might seem like a good idea to take the formula of a popular series and re-create it again and again, but eventually there will be a saturation point, where there will be so many “CSI” shows on that it might hurt the franchise as a whole. I have to admit to not having watched this newer series yet, but I am going to try and set aside some time.

In the meantime, no matter what happens, we’ll always have the original to fall back on. And now that the 4th season is readying its release, my wife and I had to set time up for yet another marathon watch. Well, it’s not so much that we had to, we really wanted to. The 4th season DVD set offers up the 23 episodes in glorious widescreen, with an awesome Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. Each episode looks like a mini-movie, the quality is so good. It also has its share of extra features, which are really just icing on the cake. As there seems to be no slippage as far as quality and originality, the series alone still makes this set worth owning. As a matter of fact this particular season was so strong that it won the 2004 People’s Choice Award for Favorite Television Dramatic Series.

As the seasons progressed, we found out more and more about the personal lives of the characters, the most interesting being Grissom’s battle with his impending hearing loss. There have been several episodes dealing directly with the effect this has on his work, and each and every one of them makes for compelling TV. In this 4th season, there were several standout episodes, but one in particular really disturbed me.

It was called “Fur and Loathing”, and it involved the apparent murder of a guy wearing a Raccoon Suit. His death wasn’t what was so disturbing as much as the reason he was wearing it. He was what was known as a ‘Furry.’ These are people who have this strange fetish for wearing animal costumes. The costumes range from realistic to cartoon-ish and they live for this. Believe it or not, these people have huge conventions (as is shown in this episode) and seem to know how to throw a party. Now, I believe in the old ‘live and let live’ adage, and for the most part can sit back and say, “Whatever floats your boat…” However, I have some friends who are ‘Furries’, and up until now I only had an IDEA of what they did at these conventions. Now I have a much clearer understanding of the ‘lifestyle’ and, well… I now know that I NEVER want to attend one. I’m not a prude by any stretch of the imagination, but “Ewwwww…”

On the brighter side, these “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” DVD sets can never be accused of lacking in the extra features department. There are actually 7 episodes that include cast and crew commentaries (which I will list below). And not a one of them is a throwaway. There is also a great 4-part featurette that focuses on the making of an episode from its initial concept all the way through the post-production.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the really sharp packaging. Paramount has continued with the same style for each set, and it is very cool. It includes a book-like disc holder that fits neatly inside a plastic slipcover. When you take it out, you can flip through it to see each disc. When it’s placed back inside, there’s a neat little band made up to look like one of those yellow ‘Crime Scene: Do Not Cross’ tapes that you can slip over the whole package.

“CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” is easily one of the best shows of its kind on network television. So far we have four seasons available for the DVD market, and each set is worth its weight in gold.

Episodes:
Assume Nothing (Commentary by executive producer/writer/creator Anthony E. Zuiker and executive producer/writer Carol Mendelsohn)
All For Our Country
Homebodies (Commentary by executive producer/writer Naren Shanker and producer/director Ken Fink)
Feeling the Heat (Commentary by Anthony E. Zuiker and Writer Eli Talbert)
Fur and Loathing
Jackpot (Commentary by executive producer/director/writer Danny Cannon and Naren Shanker)
Invisible Evidence (Commentary by Danny Cannon and producer/writer Josh Berman)
After the Show
Grissom vs. the Volcano
Coming of Rage
Eleven Angry Jurors
Butterfield (Commentary by Anthony E. Zuiker, Carol Mendelsohn and producer/director Richard J. Lewis and writer David Rambo)
Suckers
Paper or Plastic
Early Rollout
Getting Off
XX
Bad to the Bone (Commentary by Eli Talbert)
Bad Words
Dead Ringer
Turning the Screws
No More Bets
Bloodlines

Starring: William Peterson, Marg Helgenberger, Gary Dourdan, George Eads, Jorja Fox, and Paul Guilfoyle
Extras: The Evolution of an Episode from Concept To Completion - Script, Pre Production, Production and Post-Production, Audio Commentaries on 7 Episodes
Specifications: Widescreen, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Studio: Paramount / CBS DVD
Release Date: 10/12/2004
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website

We'll give CSI: Season 4 an A.