Run Time: 18 Hours 13 Minutes

"Forensic Science: The study and practice of the application of science to the purposes of the law."
~American Academy of Forensic Science

Over the last few decades, television has seen highly entertaining and dramatic crime series like Law & Order, NYPD Blue, Homicide: Life on the Streets, and The Practice. In the year 2000, C.S.I. Crime Scene Investigation, a new crime series that took a much different look into criminal investigations than many of the previous television series, took viewers by surprise. C.S.I. Crime Scene Investigation takes an approach to criminal investigations through the eyes of a forensic scientist. What this means is that the crime scene investigators solve crimes purely based upon evidence, by considering fingerprints, hair & fibers, DNA, ballistics, bloodstain pattern analysis, crime scene reconstruction, criminal profiling, toxicology, etc. While this approach to detective based entertainment isn't entirely new (Sherlock Holmes), the manner in which the approach is conducted is new, as television has never seen modern forensic science laid out in so much detail.

The original 2000 series, C.S.I. Crime Scene Investigation was so popular that in 2002 a spin-off series was introduced, CSI: Miami, which is presented in a slightly different manner than the original series. In the original series, the CSI team was not entirely made up of deputized officers turned crime scene investigators, but rather civilians who worked up the ladder. In the spin-off series, it's the other way around and most of the CSI personnel are also deputized officers. This change produces a somewhat different angle for the spin-off series, in which the crime scene investigators have a little more power in investigations and in some cases, a little too much. In each episode of CSI: Miami (and its predecessor) the crime scene investigators lead the criminal investigations. In many other series (and in the real world), the investigations are led by the case detectives, where they may be from homicide, vice, narcotics, etc. This approach left me wondering why CSI: Miami had any detectives at all, as they really didn't bring very much too each episode. While in some television shows or movies, I enjoy taking a slight deviation from reality, when it comes to crime shows on television, I prefer something with a stronger grip of reality.

I had a major difficulty with the cast. The series did not seem to spend enough time developing its characters. In general, the lack of character development makes it difficult to associate with each of the characters as individuals. However, the series did develop one character, Horatio Caine (David Caruso), who is the lead criminologist and the one with the most camera time. Caine is one of those characters who is the noblest of noble, a real by the book kind of guy. Following along his noble do-gooder attitude, Caine seems to get far too emotionally involved with each case. In other words, he's such a goody goody that it's annoying at times.

In terms of the show's writing, I was a bit for and against. In many of the episodes, the crimes didn't introduce anything new. You can expect to see the same crime in just about any other detective based series. For instance in the episode "Kill Zone", the CSI team must stop a sniper from killing innocent civilians in downtown Miami. The crime of a serial murdering sniper has been used before, in the fourth season of Homicide: Life on the Street. Despite the show having similar crimes, the way that the mystery is solved is something very special. The CSI team looks at the evidence of the crime scene, to unravel a trail of clues that leads to an arrest. While this can be entertaining, the show sometimes feels like it is moving too quickly. In most cases, the show moving too fast comes from having two separate cases being solved side-by-side. While in some other series it isn't a big problem to have multiple cases being investigated, in CSI: Miami it made the episodes feel slightly cluttered. I would have really liked to have seen more stories spill into multiple episodes, versus trying to cram each story (and sometimes two stories) into a single episode.

Furthermore, many occurrences in each episode do not promote the show's plausibility, which stems from the CSI team too conveniently finding vital pieces of evidence to solve each mystery. In addition, there are a few episodes when the CSI team miraculously finds a unique piece of evidence that solves the crime. Of course, forensic science expects vital and unique pieces of evidence to exist. Without this kind of evidence, forensic science wouldn't be of much help to criminal investigations. However, for the CSI team to repeatedly find this kind of evidence, makes the show feel a bit too unreal.

While I wasn't overly impressed with CSI: Miami, I enjoyed watching the first season, but not to the degree that I fell in love with the series. My lack of unquestioned love was mainly due to the poor emphasis on character development. In addition, the storylines of each episode seemed a little too cluttered and sometimes, difficult to follow. CSI: Miami has its interesting traits, such as the modern forensic approach given to criminal investigations. However, it isn't enough to make CSI: Miami a mind blowing crime show.

The DVD

Video:
The first season of CSI: Miami is presented in anamorphic 1.85:1 ratio widescreen color. The picture quality is very stunning, looking very crisp and clear and detail looking very rich and vibrant. Computer graphics (CG) are used quite a lot in this series for special effects and they appear very well within the context of the show, making each episode appear more elegant and attractive. Comparing to other television DVD releases, CSI: Miami is far above the norm. Viewers will not be visually disappointed with the very high quality picture.

Sound:
The audio in this DVD release is presented in English 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound and Spanish Dolby Digital Surround Sound. The quality of the sound in this release is very good, with audio sounding both flat and full when needed. During spoken dialogue, the audio feels fairly flat, which is expected, but special effects and music come off very full. There are no subtitles presented with this DVD release, but it is closed caption enabled.

Extras:
The extras included with this DVD release are five featurettes and four audio commentaries. Also, depending on what you consider an extra, there is a short clip advertising the supplementary soundtrack of the first season that you can purchase. The first featurette presents some interesting and somewhat obvious comments from the cast and crew of CSI: Miami in "CSI: Miami Uncovered" regarding their experiences during the first season. In this twelve minute featurette, the topic mostly covers the trails that the cast and crew had to endure to produce the show, which was learning a great deal about forensic science and other police related operandi. The next featurette follows in suit with the previous, providing the crew the opportunity to share their experience with the creation of the first season in another twelve minute featurette, "Creating CSI: Miami." The next featurette, "Procedures of Handling Evidence", isn't truly a featurette, but a collection clips and dialogue that describe various forensic techniques. It is hosted by the show's technical consultant John Haynes, a retired detective. The fourth featurette "The Autopsy Theater Tour" is hosted by Khandi Alexander, who plays the show's medical examiner, Alexx Woods. In this three minute featurette, Alexander reveals some of the tools that are used during autopsies. The last featurette is "The Gun Lab Tour" is hosted by Emily Procter. This last short clip presents Procter showing some of the epuipment that her character Calleigh Duquesne uses as a ballistic expert. The last set of extras consist of four audio commentaries for the episodes "Cross-Jurisdictions", "Golden Parachute", "Dispo Day", and "Freaks and Tweaks."

Final Thoughts:
On a purely episode-by-episode basis, CSI: Miami presents some entertaining content, but fails as a series, to strongly pull in viewers. Each episode is interesting enough to sit down and watch, but unlike sibling crime shows like Law & Order, NYPD Blue, or Homicide: Life on the Street, I felt that it was difficult to get outright hooked to CSI: Miami. Those who enjoy crime shows or are looking for a fairly different approach to crime on TV will definitely want to check out the first season of CSI: Miami. It's entertaining enough to warrant a rental.