Reviewer's Bias*
Loves: The C.S.I. franchise
Likes: "C.S.I. Miami," David Caruso, Emily Procter, Khandi Alexander
Dislikes: Repetition in the franchise, the corruption theme
Hates: Florida

The Story So Far... Starring former "NYPD Blue" lead David Caruso, "C.S.I.: Miami" was the first spin-off of the ultra-successful forensics drama series, taking the formula to the brighter world of Florida, with a whole new team of investigators to keep criminals in check and follow the evidence. The series is currently in its sixth season, and Paramount has released five seasons of the show on DVD to date, with the first set released in June of 2004, followed by annual releases anywhere from September to January. DVDTalk has reviews of the first five seasons: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

The Show
Everyone, please get out your "CSI: Miami" season checklist. Let's review for Season Six: A hidden part of Horatio Caine's past comes back to haunt him? Check. A team member messes up a case? Of course. A team member's personal life affects their work? Yup. Team member dies? You bet. A season of cases that makes you keep coming back for more? Well, it is "CSI: Miami," after all.

Why is it that a show that in some ways feels so paint-by-numbers remains so utterly enjoyable? It's definitely not because it's a feel-good show, as there are not many series that abuse their stars the way "Miami" does. Not a single member of the main team escapes the season without some sort of black cloud enveloping them, whether at their own hands or because someone close to them. If there was a group of people more flawed than this working under the same roof, you'd have to start each day with group therapy. Throw in the fact that their offices are the scene of more corruption than an Alaskan politician's home and you have one seriously messed-up situation.

Perhaps the attraction lies with Caine (David Caruso), the most hard-boiled CSI of the entire franchise. Although, at this point, Horatio is almost a parody, reduced to a gruff one-liner followed by a movement of his glasses. There's nothing great about Caruso's performance, as he delivers basically every line with the same start-pause-finishrhythm, whether he's threatening a perp, consoling a teammate or talking to a loved one. Hushed tones do not automatically create gravitas, but somehow, for him, it works. It's possible that because of the pastel-colored artificial world the show lives in, Caine's darkness feels more real, but either way, as he becomes more and more ruthless, in response to getting kicked in the teeth repeatedly (especially this season,) he becomes easier to love as an anti-hero. Bad-ass Horatio Caine fits Caruso's line-readings well, and his emergence is worth cheering for.

This season, the idea of trust is put to the test, as once again Internal Affairs is omnipresent, constantly questioning the CSIs ability to do their jobs. There's certainly plenty of reason to keep as eye on this gang, as they manage to mess up more than really should be acceptable, whether it's poor judgement or just bad luck. It doesn't help when their fellow CSIs turn against them, which happened not once, but twice. The one betrayal, which puts another CSI's life at risk, is a bit artificial (and disappointingly lacking in conclusion) but not as out-of-left-field as the season-ending twist that one hopes is just a red herring, as it feels inexplicable.

As usual, the crew is in flux, as members return and leave, including one whose return seemed quite impossible. The departure of one of the show's original cast members is handled rather well, though it could have used more foreshadowing, as it felt a tad sudden, when it should have been more naturally developed. Though the CSI series have built a solid balance between the character's personal lives and their profession, Miami seems to tip the balance toward the private side, as their cases and lives mix frequently, which makes that side of the story so important to the show. For example, Eric Delko (Adam Rodriguez) continues to suffer from memory issues from getting shot in the head, and his efforts to cover up his troubles affect his work and fellow CSI Calleigh Duquesne (Emily Procter) as well (who didn't need that, as she has plenty of problems of her own.) His struggles are organically played in the background, coming to the forefront in the excellent "Bang, Bang, Your Debt," which really sets off the bulk of Season Six's storylines.

Though there's a lot to like about this season, including the stylish look of the show (which takes advantage of plenty of split-screen action and the introduction of a new Surface-computing-like lab display) and inventive mysteries (with well-done takes on ripped-from-the-headlines stories), there are some questionable bits as well. A storyline about Caine's past and the family he's left behind is curiously paced, as it actually gets forgotten for several episodes at one point, while one of the betrayals seems to just be dropped as a storyline. But worse than that is Caine's return to Brazil, in "Ambush," the result of the continuing storyline involving his family. Extradited to Brazil because he killed his wife's murderer at the start of Season Five, he would seem to be set up for an interesting little side-trip that would take him away from the main story for a while. Instead, I've taken elevator rides that took longer and meant more than his trip to Brazil. It's such a minor point and so utterly pointless (though his behavior was again, bad-ass) that one wonders why they even bothered. Compared to the better parts of the series, it's really just not necessary.

The DVDs
After switching over to the book-format packaging for season five, this collection brings another change, this time to a set of three black, dual-hubbed ThinPak cases, packed in a foil-embossed slipcase. The ThinPak covers are pretty nice, with big portraits of the actors and lists of episodes and special features, but the discs are now all bland gray platters. The DVDs feature the now-standard CSI animated anamorphic widescreen menus, offering episode choices, set-up options and special features (if applicable.) Language options include English Dolby Digital 5.1 and Spanish Dolby Digital 2.1 tracks, though there are no subtitles. Closed captioning is included.

The Quality
The anamorphic widescreen transfers on these episodes look as good as the show ever has, bursting with vivid color, especially during the many helicopter shots of Miami. The show's visual style comes across beautifully, with a very high level of detail and no obvious issues with digital artifacting, dirt or damage. For a television series, the quality is rather impressive, as even scenes with massive amounts of CGI look good.

The sound is equally impressive, with the dialogue living in harmony with the show's fantastic musical soundtrack. The surround speakers pump up the music to give it more punch, while throwing in some atmospheric sound effects, and delivering the explosions and gun play frequently heard throughout the season. The mix doesn't provide anything noticeably dynamic but it does a nice job in every other way.

The Extras
We have three less episodes this season, so I guess a slightly smaller amount of extras is to be expected. But to go from five commentaries last time to two in this set is a pretty big disappointment. The two tracks are split between creators and actors, with the creators offering more info and details about their episode. The other track, with actors Rex Linn and guest star Elizabeth Berkley is loaded with praise for everyone involved in the show, especially from Linn to Berkley, and has too many dead spots. Linn seems to be having fun, but commentaries need to be more than congratulatory.

• "Permanent Vacation": director Eagle Egilsson and writers Barry O'Brien and Krystal Houghton
• "Raising Caine": actors Elizabeth Berkley and Rex Linn

Slightly down from last season's 64-minutes of bonus material, the four featurettes here cover the usual bases for a "CSI" release, starting with the 17-minute "Four-Sight: Directing 'CSI: Miami'." This featurette focuses on the show's directors, with interviews with the cast and crew talking about how they work and what they bring to the series. It's interesting to see how they got involved in the show, and how they come together to create the look of the series.

"Playing Dead" is a shorter piece, at six minutes, looking at the art of playing and crafting a corpse (as well as the many people who want to do it.) I think some of this has been covered in other CSI featurettes, but here, it's Miami-specific. Also Miami-specific is "The Real Women of the MDPD," which has an intro from Procter. Like last season's comparison between the show and the people who really do these jobs, this 16:28 featurette looks at the ladies in the line of duty, including footage of the specialized training they go through to overcome disadvantages due to size and strength, making it a unique look inside the reality the show is based on, which works well in a season where the women take a center role.

The final segment, the 13-minute "Analyzing Season 6" looks back at the episodes, through interviews with the cast and crew, including Caruso. The piece is almost like a reverse promo piece, hyping up the interesting parts of the season, and could have been more specific about the plot, especially considering how the season ended, a point the piece doesn't even touch upon. In all, there have been better supplements on other CSI sets.

The Bottom Line
"CSI: Miami" may deliver just what you expect, but it does it very well, and keeps the mysteries pretty fresh and entertaining, even if there are some parts that don't stand up to examination. The rest is more than strong enough to cover for them. The look and sound of the show is equally good, but the extras are a step down from last time in terms of the quantity, which, combined with three fewer episodes, makes the increased list price a problem. Because so much of the story relates to previous seasons, this isn't a great place for new viewers to jump on, but it's a solid season for fans of the show to enjoy.

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*The Reviewer's Bias section is an attempt to help readers use the review to its best effect. By knowing where the reviewer's biases lie on the film's subject matter, one can read the review with the right mindset.