CSI: Miami - The Complete First Season  (2000-01)

Starring: David Caruso, Emily Procter, Adam Rodriguez, Kim Delaney, Rory Cochrane

Rating: NR

Distributor: Paramount Home Entertainment

Release Date: June 29, 2004
Review posted: July 9, 2004

Spoilers: None

Reviewed by Greg Malmborg

SYNOPSIS

Following in the footsteps of the successful Law & Order spin-offs, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation created a spin-off of its own, CSI: Miami. This 7-disc collection includes all 25 episodes of the first season plus loads of extras. CSI: Miami follows the same successful formula as the original series and then puts some unique touches on it. It centers on the Crime Scene Investigation team of Miami, FL and each episode delves into the unique ways the CSI team uses forensic science to piece together the puzzles of evidence left at the scene to solve crimes.

Just like the original series premise for each episode, a grisly and/or ingenious crime is committed and the team must use its unique skills and ingenuity to piece together what happened to uncover the truth. The big differences between this series and the original is that these investigators are cops with the power to arrest and most of the episodes are in the field instead of in the lab. They process evidence at the crime scene in many episodes, move in on suspects with the SWAT team in others, and even process two or more crimes at once.

The CSI team is led by Lt Horatio Caine (Caruso); a tough-as-nails veteran cop who leaves no clue unturned or unprocessed and accepts nothing but the best from the rest of the team. The team is made up of ballistics expert Calleigh Duquesne (Procter), underwater recovery expert Eric Delko (Rodriguez), investigator Tim “Speed” Speedle, and ex-front woman Megan Donner (Delaney) who is always at odds with Caine in the way the team approaches each crime. Caine is almost always following his gut (which is right almost 100% of the time), while Donner wants to follow only the evidence. Each member of the team brings something unique to the table that is used to solve these horrible crimes.

CRITIQUE

CSI: Miami has the same entertaining and addictive premise of the original series and, in that vein, it is a success. The way the team approaches, processes, and devises scenarios around a crime scene is engaging and interesting. Each episode throws new curves and bounces the suspicion around from suspect to suspect, so the plot always holds the viewer’s interest until the truth is revealed. The show takes ample time to explain all the different aspects of forensic science used by the CSI team and even illustrates (with CG effects) what they are discussing in relation to the human body. The processes of forensic science are the shows’ true stars and everything else takes a back seat. The episodes are full of energy (they are nicely directed) and the plots are always believable (some are ripped from the headlines).

Yet, CSI: Miami is not nearly as good as the original series. It lacks the most important element of all good dramatic TV series: strong, interesting and believable characters. The most interesting dramatic characters are the ones who have flaws, the ones who show their human side at the most inappropriate times. It grounds the character in something everyone can relate to and it provides depth and uniqueness. The characters in CSI: Miami are almost all cardboard cutouts; they hardly ever make a mistake or show true emotion or complexity. In fact, they never discuss anything personal or show any signs of being a normal human being.

The worst of all is Caruso’s character, Horatio Caine. He is so completely one-note through each and every episode that it becomes extremely tiresome. He always follows his gut and it is always 100% correct (and he sure knows it) - I mean he is never wrong and he is always guessing, how is this believable? He is always so gung-ho, so serious, so dead on accurate about everything that the spin at the end of the series could be that he is actually a robot. That might also explain the fact he wears those Matrix sunglasses everywhere in every episode, inside or outside.

The rest of the cast is no exception. Rodriguez and Cochrane seem about as deep as a puddle and bring almost nothing to their characters. The two of them could disappear from the show and you wouldn’t notice. Speaking of which, that is exactly what happened with Kim Delaney’s character. After the tenth episode, she never showed again and I barely even noticed. I heard she had a problem with the chemistry between her and Caruso. Well, don’t worry Kim, there isn’t a lick of chemistry in the entire show.

One of the main reasons for these cardboard characters is the poor writing on the series. If the writers took more time to delve into characterization this could have been a great series. I mean, the scientific processes and all the forensic science action is interesting and hold attention, but without character development the show is D.O.A. The dialogue is almost unbearably bad at times. At the end of possibly the best episode, “Kill Shot” about a sniper terrorizing downtown Miami, the last bit of dialogue is so horrid it almost ruins the entire episode. 

This extreme focus on science over anything else does have an interesting benefit though. CSI: Miami is able to show some extremely graphic images and cover some intense and shocking subject matter because it is unwavering in its science premise. This is discussed by one of the co-creators on the DVD commentary. I guess if you’re not joking about it or showing the human element of the act, you can get away with it. Some of the show’s storylines centered on sex parties with detailed descriptions of what went on, a father killing his whole family including a new born baby, pedophilia, sodomy… you name it.

So, if you like your forensic science without characterization and emotion getting in the way, CSI: Miami is your ticket. I prefer characterization, emotion, and realism. But, again, the episodes are interesting, entertaining, expertly directed and manage to keep your attention throughout.

THE VIDEO

The video transfer is fantastic; crisp, rich and vivid in color with no visual clarity issues. Edge enhancement is terrific. I was very impressed by the enhanced DVD transfer; the discs are so well done it is a joy to watch.

THE AUDIO

CSI: Miami is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and the audio is absolutely phenomenal. This is perhaps the best audio I’ve heard on a DVD TV series release; the sound mix is absolutely perfect.

THE EXTRAS

A lot of time was spent on the extras and they are all expertly done, yet they just are not very interesting. And a lot of them are very repetitive (as are most DVD extras):

Creating CSI: Miami – The creators and producers of the show discuss how this spin-off came to be. It is fairly dry, but it is interesting to learn how these TV executives think that any spin-off to hit show is the obvious next step.

CSI: Miami Uncovered – This is a detailed look into the show and the characters.  It has interviews with almost the whole cast (except Kim Delaney who almost no one mentions as if her brief appearance on the show is taboo - she doesn't appear on the DVD cover either), including David Caruso. The cast interestingly enough doesn’t really delve into their characters all that much (probably because there isn’t much to talk about), instead they focus on all the hard scientific research work they did to prepare for the show. This is an entertaining extra.

Procedures of Handling Evidence – The technical advisor on the show goes over many scenes from the actual episodes and explains a lot of the forensic science that was used at the crime scenes. It starts off very interesting and then gets so repetitive it is hard to get through the whole thing. But the science is the heart of the show, so it does make sense to have this extra and the DVD people did a decent job with it.

The Autopsy Theater Tour – Khandi Alexander, who plays the coroner on the show, takes the viewer through a tour of the autopsy room. Alexander is one of the only people on the show who gives her character some uniqueness so it is a joy to watch her over any of the other characters.

The Gun Lab Tour – This is basically the same deal as the Autopsy extra, except this time it is Emily Procter who gives the tour of the gun lab. Brief, yet interesting extra.

Commentary Tracks – There are four episodes with commentary tracks from the various producers and creators of the show. The pilot episode commentary track with Danny Cannon is particularly interesting, learning about how the show came about.

FINAL THOUGHTS

CSI: Miami is not a great series, but it is interesting and entertaining, as far as the plot is concerned.  The processes and the forensic science itself is the true star of the show, and that part of the show is riveting. It is just too bad that the writers and producers didn’t add an ounce of character or humanity to that mix, because then the series could have been great. But at least a lot of time and effort was put into this DVD release and it shows, the discs are of a tremendous quality and it makes the whole viewing that much better.

VERDICT: RENT IT FOR DISC QUALITY

Home | Back to Top