Review of C.S.I. Miami 2.1

Introduction

CSI: Miami is the second spin-off to the highly successful CSI franchise (three shows so far and counting). This formulaic show focuses on the forensic evidence behind the crime in a more slick and hip modern day version of Quincy.

Blood Brothers - A hit and run accident leads to the brothers Cruz, Baracan citizens with diplomatic immunity. Horatio Caine knows they committed the crime, but is forced to back off and humiliated into apologising by the State Department.

Dead Zone - Paul Jackson is discovered dead on his boat, harpooned with a spear gun. The team discover he was a treasure hunter, hunting a Spanish Galleon that sank in 1649 full of Spanish Gold.

Hard Time - A flood of maggots onto a Playboy-enhanced relaxing Miami man leads the team to a building space above his apartment. Delko doesn`t turn up and starts to feel guilty when it turns out that the victim is still alive. Horatio Caine discovers that the victim is due to speak at the parole hearing of the man of raped her, but is he responsible for this?

Death Grip - Lana Walker, a 14 year old tennis champion, is snatched from her bed in the middle of the night. A manhunt with massive press coverage gets underway, uncovering the severed arm of someone not deemed to deserve the same level of coverage from the local community.

The Best Defense - A nightclub shooting leaves two dead and one badly wounded. Caine`s curiosity is piqued when the evidence doesn`t match the survivors account.

Hurricane Anthony - A class 2 hurricane brings the discovery of two bodies in the same street. They seem unrelated, but are they?

Grand Prix - A pit stop accident leaves a fuel man dead. The high octane sport comes under the microscope and team rivalries are magnified.

Big Brother - A stock option broker is found murdered and it appears that prostitution and a dot com company are involved. Horatio receives a distress call from his dead brother Raymond`s mistress who turns out to have a child, bringing back painful memories and causing potential problems with Caine`s relationship with Raymond`s widow Yelina.

Bait - A girl is attacked and killed by a shark in a marina. Horatio finds that this highly unlikely attack was caused by a gun shot wound. The girl was bait for a Cheating Hearts detective agency and a cop the team know may be involved.

Extreme - An extremely well-dressed girl falls from the sky and the team need to find a murder scene. Her distraught boyfriend reveals that she had been professionally kidnapped as part of a high thrill game. Eric Delko also has some personal issues that interfere with his work, which puts him back into trouble with Frank Tripp.

Complications - A voyeuristic bored teenager sees the body of a hanging man through his telescope. The victim is an anaesthesiologist who works in a clinic specialising in plastic surgery and it appears his death may not have been suicide.

Witness To Murder - A diamond broker winds up dead after a car collision in a multi-story car park. In an unrelated murder, the body of a young girl goes missing during transit from the crime scene to the lab.

Video

Good clear and sharp picture, you can really tell the difference between DVD and the original broadcast just by viewing the end of the opening credits. CSI: Miami uses a mix of live action and CGI effects as part of the attempt to push the story forward and explain any specific medical or forensic terms referred to by the actors. The CGI is top notch and works well, although it is clear most of the time just how `CGI` it is. This doesn`t really matter though as you`re watching a TV series where the budget is nowhere that of a Hollywood film so it`s acceptable.

Audio

Good sound, a nice mix of clear dialogue and music soundtrack. Clearly following the Miami Vice template, the music on this show is a mix of incidental music and songs, the latter generally used to layer yet more emotion to already highly charged situations. It works well and the use of the Who song `Won`t Get Fooled Again` will forever be associated with this show now, and a nice in-joke from the team behind it with the sequel-nodding lyric `meet the new boss, same as the old boss` which is never sung but is there in the background all the same.

Features

Commentary (Blood Brothers, Hard Time episodes) - commentary by Elizabeth Devine (Exec Producer) and Deran Sarafian (Director). A series of interesting commentaries that span location filming, subplots and general background info on the episode plus the odd anecdote. Worthwhile in my book.

Commentry (Hurricane Anthony) - commentary by Ildy Modrovitch (writer) and Scott Schiffman (producer). Detailed commentary that follows the same path as previously but focuses more on the writing.

Commentary (Complications) - commentary with Sunil Nayar and Cory Miller (writers) on the creation of a `bottle` show. This is a show where a story is created at the point where the budget has virtually run out. Minimal effects of outside locations are used and fewer people appear in scenes together in an attempt to save money. Ironically it turns out that this attempt to save money is generally lost during post-production anyway.

A/V Lab Tour - Elizabeth Devine (Forensic Consultant) explains some of the technology used in the show relating to audio or visual techniques. It is surprising how many of the neat tricks pulled are actually real, although some cheating does happen in terms of available databases for ship figureheads or car engine noises. This feature is broken into short parts that really does lack a `play all` feature.

Conclusion

CSI is now a franchise to rival that of Law & Order, three of the former currently in production. Initially centring on Las Vegas and William Petersen`s Grissom, the action has switched to Miami, Florida where David Caruso gets a second chance in TV following his career dip after NYPD Blue. Caruso apparently decided that TV was too lowly for an actor of his calibre and promptly disappeared into movie obscurity whilst allowing Jimmy Smits to take the limelight. Caruso`s role of Horatio Caine is almost an act of redemption, his long slog back after his NYPD Blue fall-out complete and the popularity of this show a testament to both his and the other cast members acting.

Horatio Caine is clearly the main focus of this series, most of the stories focussing around him confronting the bad guys at the end of each story or providing the necessary observation that move the investigation along. Part of his appeal is both his use of sarcasm when questioning suspects and the poignancy shown by his character with either victims or certain witnesses. The last episode in this portion of season 2, Witness To Murder, is a clear example of this depicting Caine`s tragically-cut-short relationship with disabled witness Eugene. The ending is truly moving.

The second series of any successful programme always tries to elaborate more on the back history and relationships of the main protagonists. This season we get to learn more about Horatio`s murdered policeman brother Raymond and the consequences of his actions both prior to his death and after. We also see and learn more about the relationship between Caine and Yelina, Raymond`s widow. This relationship, in a kind of Mulder/Scully way, is about unrequited love and sexual tension. The other big relationship examined is that between Calleigh Duquesne and Detective Hagen, a relationship that has all but broken down by the midpoint covered here, some nice dialogue between the two early on describes their relationship without being too explicit.

The structure of the scripts for each episode is fairly formulaic and is backed up by the writers themselves during the commentaries provided here. You know that Caine is going to put on his glasses and get the smart punch line (some more successful than others) out just prior to The Who blaring from your speakers. You know that the first guy fingered is not the one who did it. You know that any comparisons in the lab will always get the right result on the second attempt. You know that information is telegraphed in a mostly subtle way to let you work out who the killer is before the final act. And finally you know that Caine always has the final word and the killer always looks suitably chastised when this happens.

Despite all this, it`s engrossing TV that attempts to educate you whilst not being patronising. There is some smart US television out there and the CSI franchise is up there with the best. Roll on 2.2…