Reviewer's Bias*
Loves: The CSI franchise, the Las Vegas version, Gil Grissom
Likes: Mysteries
Dislikes:
Hates: Catherine Willow

The Story So Far...
Gil Grissom (William Peterson, Manhunter) leads a team of criminologists working the beat in Las Vegas, where the crimes are a bit more involved than the usual stuff that makes the 11 o'clock news. His crew uses the full breadth of forensic science to solve murders and more, while their stories are told with true visual style, excitement and a healthy dose of humor as well. In recent seasons, the action has gone beyond the crime scene, to delve into the characters' lives and the dynamics of the team.

This is the seventh season of "C.S.I." to be released on DVD. The first two sets were released in March and September of 2003, respectively, while the third and fourth collections followed in March and October of 2004. All caught up, it takes about a year to get a new set. DVDTalk has reviews of all seven sets: One | Two | Three | Four | Five | Six | Seven

The Show
All good things must eventually come to an end, and unfortunately, the crime-scene investigators of Las Vegas are not immune from this reality. After watching the Miami and New York squads suffer loss and turnover on a regular basis, and after seven seasons with the original team more or less in tact (we hardly knew ye, Holly Gribbs), change in Sin City was inevitable, but it doesn't make it any easier to see.

The year started off with the conclusion of the excellent "Miniature Killer" storyline that powered Season Seven, following up on the cliffhanger season finale that put CSI Sara Sidle's life in danger. With the emergence of the personal relationship between Grissom and Sidle, this situation was the perfect way to bring everything to a boil, with the subtle importance the case puts on paying attention to small details. The story also forces Sara to look at what she has with Grissom and her job, and decide if it's what she wants in life. The progression of what happens is so natural and honest to the show, which is key when trying to evolve long-established characters.

Sara's not the only character going through changes this season, as Warrick (Gary Dourdan) struggles with his marriage, a dependency on prescriptions and a case against an old-school mobster that gets severely personal in the final few episodes, giving one of the series' strongest actors some time in the spotlight. Considering he's battled problems in the past and barely gotten by, his troubles don't bode well for the future, and the season finale does nothing to clear the clouds for him. At least he didn't just vanish like CSI Sofia Curtis (Louise Lombard) did after the first episode, after a brief run as a featured player and potential pal for Grissom. The same goes for Ronnie Lake, the perky, rookie who seems to hang around only long enough to remind Sidle of her cynicism.

Fortunately, the rest of the gang is present and accounted for, including Grissom (for now.) Also on hand are the usual unique cases and challenging mysteries that viewers expect. The show stands out from its brethren, as brains are always more powerful than brawn (or more to the point, firepower), with the smart Grissom setting the tone for the team. What also helps this series, diversity of the locations in the show's setting, as there's a little bit of everything in Las Vegas, including rodeos ("Bull"), film studios ("The Chick Chop Flick Shop",) and specialty restaurants ("A La Cart"). You can set just about any situation in Vegas, and it feels right, especially since it's such a tourism locale. Thus, even a case that's not Sin City-centric, like the exorcism in "Got to Hell," just fits in with the show.

This was an unusual season, as between the Sara Sidle stories and Warrick tales, there were several episodes that, for lack of a better word, were gimmick shows. "Grissom's Devine Comedy" shows an ill Grissom telecommuting on a big case, solving the crimes by phone; while everyone's out of the office in "You Kill Me," as, for a second-straight season, the techs in the lab get an episode of their own. Hodges, the "top dog" among the "lab rats," leads the support team in a "thought exercise" involving their own murders. While still loaded with the mysteries and techniques of an average "CSI" episode, it goes mainly for laughs and hits them, as the regular cast gets to play it silly instead of serious, which is great fun. There's more laughs in "Two and a Half Deaths," which was written by "Two and a Half Men" scribes Chuck Lorre and Lee Aronsohn, as part of a staff swap with that show. Despite the unusual behind-the-scenes concept, the episode works just fine, as the show is a straight-forward CSI story, drawing from the writers' experience to tell the story of a vengeful comedy writing staff.

Crossovers aren't limited to comedy either, as FBI agent Jack Malone (Anthony LaPaglia) of "Without a Trace" pops in, chasing a murderer into Grissom's turf in the first-half of a two-parter that leads the CSI leader to New York. In some ways, it was a call back to Season Seven, when the gruff Michael Keppler invaded the show, so having him for a quick visit was for the best. It was more interesting to see a familiar place return in the key episode "Goodbye and Good Luck," as child villain Hannah West (Juliette Goglia) is back for more, as her brother is once again accused of murder. Her unusual aggressiveness is shocking to watch, as are the results of her actions. It's probably one of the highlights of the season, along with "A Thousand Days on Earth," one of the most heartbreaking episodes to date, as the body of a little girl is found, and the discovery destroys several lives, leading to a haunting ending, the ramifications of which haven't been felt yet. But knowing this series, patience will be

The DVDs
Before I get started, I'd like to note how gorgeous the cover art is on this set. Embossed and holofoiled, the image of the Vegas strip dissolving into Grissom's powerful profile is just outstanding.

The writers' strike is to blame for a shorter than usual collection of episodes this season, with just 17 episodes spread over five DVDs. The slipcased, book-style packaging returns with three trays (two double-sided) and an episode list, as well as that trademark yellow crime-scene tape wrap-around. The DVDs feature animated anamorphic main menus that follow the same design as previous seasons, with options to select episodes, adjust languages and check out the special features, where available. Audio tracks are available in Dolby Digital 5.1 English and Dolby Digital 2.0 Spanish, but there are no subtitles, only closed captioning.

The Quality
The feature film-quality look of "C.S.I.:" is beautifully ported to DVD, as the anamorphic widescreen transfers feature bright, vivid color (where appropriate), while keeping the frequently dark scenes from becoming muddy, thanks to deep, dark black levels and a very high level of fine detail. Dirt and damage are not an issue in this set, nor are there any obvious problems with digital artifacts. If any network TV show (besides "Pushing Daisies") requires a top-notch visual presentation, it's this one, as the look and style is constantly changing, and these discs deliver them well.

The Dolby Digital 5.1 audio is once again excellent, keeping the dialogue clean and clear, while pumping through strong music that helps build the atmosphere of the scenes. Though you're not going to get much dynamic movement in the surrounds, there are some nice sound effects, and some atmospherics that enhance the feel of the episodes.

The Extras
Like most TV DVD releases from the '07-'08 season, this one feels cut down, thanks to the writers' strike, especially in the area of audio commentaries. After hitting a home run with last season's pack of seven excellent tracks, we're down to just two this time, though they are admittedly solid commentaries. Up first is a reprise of last season's Lab Rats commentary, on this season's techie-focused episode "You Kill Me," with executive producer Naren Shankar, and actors Wallace Langham, Liz Vassey, Archie Kao, Sheeri Rappaport and David Berman. Like last time out, it's a fun track by a group of friends, with good info on what it's like to do a different kind of episode.

The second track is a bit more subdued, but offers up a good deal of star power, as Friedkin and Petersen (joined by writer Dustin Abraham) talk about "Cockroaches," the legendary director's turn in the "C.S.I.:" chair. Petersen takes a bit of a backseat, letting his old pal Friedkin do most of the talking (which is a hoot), while Abraham adds in info about his role in the process. There's a lot of apple polishing, with Friedkin gushing over Petersen, Abraham and the rest of the cast, as well as th opening titles of the show, but it's nice to get an outsider's perspective, as well as that of a film heavyweight.

In a nice touch, this set includes "Where and Why," the "Without a Trace" episode that concludes the cross-over story begun in "Who and What." Although both shows are JErry Bruckheimer productions, considering that "Without a Trace" is not a Paramount series on DVD, and the wars that are waged over DVD rights, it would not have been shocking to have had to buy two sets to complete the story. The series is quite a bit different in tone from "C.S.I." and doesn't really do anything for me, but to see Grissom out of his element is enjoyable, as is the opportunity to see the case completed.

Up next is a first for this series, as a deleted scene is included from "Grissom's Divine Comedy." Basically, one of the CSIs visits Grissom at home, does a little investigating and finds out some info about the big man. The revelations eventually made it into the series, but it's still interesting to see some CSI-on-CSI investigating.

The rest of the extras are the usual interesting spread of featurettes the CSI DVDs have become known for, starting with the 14-minute "While the Cast's Away, the Rats Will Play," a look inside the second annual(?) lab-tech episode. Loaded with interviews with some of the producers and the actors, the piece talks about the unique comedic/fantasy feel of the episode and the production effort that went into it. The 9:28 "William Friedkin: A Different Take" is somewhat similar, focusing instead on the director's eighth-season episode, via interviews with Friedkin, Petersen and company, along with on-set footage of the behind-the-camera work. These two pieces cover some of the same ground as the commentaries for these episodes, but they are done well enough to not feel too repetitive.

With a spoiler-iffic title of "So Long, Sara Sidle," the next featurette spends 15:20 looking at the story arc surrounding Sidle and her exit from the series as a regular cast member. As said in the piece, this was the first time this has happened in this series, and this featurette discusses how much went into putting it all together, especially in terms of getting it right for the show and the character, with interviews with all involved. Pulling back, "What Happened in Vegas..." (21:12) looks at the season as a whole, via interviews with most everyone involved, focusing on what you can and need to do after seven years on the air, along with the stories and changes this season and even the effect of the strike.

The featurettes on "CSI" DVDs have come to fill certain slots, and this set is no different, as you get episode-specific pieces, season overviews, crew profiles and real-life CSI information. The craft side of things is covered by the 9:22 "Shot in the Dark" which sheds some light (pun intended) on the directors of photography on the show, and how they cope with the challenge of shooting feature-film style on a television schedule. Considering how good the show looks, they are doing a fine job. The final featurette continues the trend of exploring the reality of the CSI world, as "TOD: A Bug's Life" (21:23) examines how insects are used in forensics, playing off Grissom's role as an expert in the field. There's lots of creepy, crawling bugs in here, so the squeamish will have to watch through their fingers, but it's still fascinating to see how this is done in reality, after seeing it mentioned often on the show.

The Bottom Line
Another great season from the original CSI is marked by variety, with departures, changes and even a number of "gimmick" episodes, and managed to maintain an entertaining overall storyline, while delivering excellent standalone episodes, despite a shortened schedule. The a/v of the DVDs match the show in terms of quality, and though the extras are a slight step-back from last season in quantity, the quality is still very nice. Overall, the CSI fan will enjoy this collection, from the episodes to the supplementary material, but new viewers should jump back a bit, as there's a lot of story that culminates here.

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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.