Review of C.S.I. Miami 3.1

Introduction

You`d have thought that the CSI franchise would have run out of steam by now. After all, it`s pretty formulaic stuff. Crime, followed by investigation, followed by twist in investigation, followed by arrest. That`s the self-same structure regardless of whether it`s set in NY, Las Vegas or Miami. The weird thing is that it simply hasn`t. It`s easy to see why the show continues to top the ratings in the US. Its appeal is exactly that which makes Sherlock Holmes so compelling. Dastardly crime thwarted by good logical, scientific intelligence. We love it!

In case you`ve been living on mars for the last five or six years, CSI: Miami is a spin-off from CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, first airing in 2002. Since that time its popularity has been reflected in an endless stream of awards (including prestigious Emmy`s), as well as monumental DVD sales.

Unsurprisingly, the series is set in Miami, Florida, and features a hot team of forensic investigators led by the low-voiced, moody to the point of melancholic, Lieutenant Horatio Caine (David Caruso - NYPD Blue).

Season 3 (and this set represents the first part of that season) is most notable for the writing out of one key character (Tim Speedle, shot down in the line of duty when his gun fails) and the introduction of a new character, Ryan Wolfe (Jonathan Togo), who certainly manages to breathe some new life into the series.

But for all of that, it`s Caruso who`s the star of this show, playing the ultra-cool Lieutenant Horatio Caine. His corny, deadpan delivery takes some getting used to, as does his propensity to stand at the scene of every investigation like a prison guard with his sunglasses on and both hands held at his sides. His silky `voice-over man` speech is reminiscent of Clint Eastwood, always delivered with a calm menace. He`s portrayed as a tough guy full of moral fibre, but with a soft heart too. Though he shows no exterior signs of upset, his eyes betray the enormous sadness he often feels for the victims of the crimes he investigates, and possibly for the tragedy of life itself.

Another aspect of the show that helps make it so damned entertaining is that, unlike real life, the forensic geeks here are allowed to be tough cops too. All equally glamorous, these cool-cats kick ass both in the lab and out. West Wing`s Emily Proctor plays one of Caruso`s closest sidekicks in the show, Calleigh Duquesne, and typifies this unique mix of natural glamour, hard-nosed toughness and sharp intellect.

Again, unlike their UK real-life counterparts, there`s never any bungling, no sick leave, no inappropriate sexism or racism - just brilliant efficiency. These guys don`t need four years to track down a serial killer, 42 minutes will do just fine.

The stories are always inventive (how can the creative well ever run dry with so many real life cases for inspiration?) and are often complex. There`s a `feature length` episode on disc 2, for example, that includes a Tsunami, several homicides, an elaborate bank heist and some domestic violence…and that`s just for starters! Brilliant!

Video

A nice anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen transfer. The stylised digital video enhancements (a noticeable film-like shudder) gets occasionally irritating but generally doesn`t get in the way too much. It`s remarkably crisp and satisfying despite having been through the usual NTSC to PAL transfer journey which the most discerning eyes may see manifesting as a slight loss of clarity in some of the interiors. Those familiar with the series will already know about the almost documentary like camera wobble, and the shocking illustrative detail close-ups that play out the CSI suppositions in full. It all works fantastically and it`s hard to imagine how it could look much better.

Audio

The soundtrack work on CSI: Miami is absolutely superb. Its use of lovely close dialogue sound, perfectly selected soundtrack (I love the use of The Who`s `You won`t get fooled again` in the titles for example. Inspired!) and perfect Foley effects make it really thrilling to watch.

Features

Well, I`ll be jiggered! A TV set with more audio commentaries than a movie blockbuster box-set! They`re not bad either if you`re into production background (`Everyone has two jobs…their own and directing movies` - can`t remember who said that).

The opening episode, `Lost Son` has a commentary with the Supervising Producer, Elizabeth Devine, who actually penned the episode.She`s easy to listen to and has plenty to say though there are some fairly hefty silences from time to time too.

`Under the Influence`, the third episode, has a commentary from Marc Dube and Corey Miller (writers) and Director Scott Lautanen. It`s studiously informative if a little serious.

`Crime Wave`, (Episode 8) the feature-length episode I mentioned earlier (the one with the Tsunami) has an Elizabeth Devine commentary along with episode Director Karen Gaviola. It was spooky that this episode was shot just a month prior to `that` Tsunami.

The tenth episode, `After the Fall`, brings writers Marc Dube and Director Scott Lautanen together with another scribe, Ildy Modrovich. This is another fairly dry affair though is somewhat lightened by having a female voice for company.

The twelfth episode `Shootout` has a commentary from writers Corey Miller and Sunil Nayar. This is a real `partial` commentary as they seem to be completely entranced watching the show (as if for the first time) and appear to not want to spoil it by talking too much.

OTHER EXTRAS

Disc One has: Deep Blue Sea - A featurette on the CSI filming work out on the open sea. Diverting enough if you have an interest in `challenging film work` though, in common with all these `making of` progs, it also carries a healthy portion of finished programme action leaving you with the feeling that you might be better off watching that - in the context of a programme proper. (Maybe the novelty of these `behind the scenes` things will wear off and we can get back to just enjoying `movie magic` for what it`s meant to be, without revealing how the magic`s made!).

Disc Two has nothing extra, packed as it already is with four episodes, one of which is `feature length`.

Disc Three has: Visualising Season 3 - a twelve-minute featurette on the special effects used for the various episodes, including the fairly spectacular bridge collapse. As usual, it`s a combination of getting the shot as close as possible, and enhancing with CGI - the logical extreme of `we`ll sort it in post`.

Conclusion

Despite being a spin-off of a popular show with two seasons under its own belt too, these first 12 episodes of CSI: Miami Season Three are actually very good indeed.

Sure they`re formulaic, but no more so than, say, Sherlock Holmes, a natural predecessor for the series with its dastardly crimes solved through cold forensic objectivity and intuitive ingenuity.

Lieutenant Horatio Caine himself is a charismatic, if corny, main man, stylistically more akin to Steve McGarret (Hawaii Five-O) than Holmes. His approach steadily grows on you, and he lends the show much of the continuity and glue that holds these episode-long stories together.

It`s all stylishly delivered, with a great transfer and packed with high-octane action and movie level production value. The set contains twelve compelling episodes, completely devoid of advertising breaks.

I`m trying to think of a single, sensible reason not to buy this set but I`m struggling. What`s not to like?