The Rise of CSI

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation has become the most successful, intelligent, improbable and geekiest drama on commercial network TV. Considering its setting -- Las Vegas -- and its subject matter - decomposing pigs, corpse-sucking larvae, transgender serial killers, serial killer make-up artists, murderous and skate-wielding hockey fiends -- and its near total absence of traditional TV fare like sex or shoot-em-ups, this show shatters conventional wisdom about what people want to see on TV. A year ago, CSI seemed promising. Now it's great and getting steadily better. And as CSI has become more successful, its production values have soared. At times, it's beautifully shot, a cross between the old Miami Vice and the early days of The X-Files, from which it borrows heavily.

The stars of CSI are William Petersen, 49, who plays the solitary, brooding, and obsessively scientific Las Vegas Crime Scene Investigations chief Gil Grissom, and Marge Helgenberger, who plays his sidekick Catherine Willows. They have a team of young and hunky criminalists, including a recovering gambling addict and an ex-jock who has fallen in love with a casino hooker. According to Variety, C.S.I. has become the number two drama on network TV (behind ER), with over 25 million viewers a week.

The real star of the show is science. Grissom and Willows and the other criminalists share one pronounced trait -- they believe nothing anybody tells them, and they only trust solid evidence. They depend heavily on a well-equipped crime lab and use a wide variety of scientific tools to re-construct crimes. Like X-Files, the show shoots many scenes in darkness and shadow, and has a tendency to include brief and disciplined flashes of shocking gore: the path of a bullet will be illustrated graphically, or a diseased organ, a rotting corpse or slashed artery. Computers are a mainstream tool of this crew, along with smart thinking, and laser and DNA testing.

Like X-Files, the show has a dark view of science. Science is the real hero and the real star, but it's used mostly to reveal truth in sad circumstances. The CSI criminalists work in a depressing world where they nonetheless seek the raw truth, and believe in the ability of science to uncover it. Grissom is an older David Duchovny. He has a lonely life, a corrupt boss, endemic authority problems, and absolutely no patience for the stupid, dishonest or lazy. He shares another trait with Mulder -- he has to deal with the fact that in this world, the good guys don't always win.

It's fitting that TV's most intelligent drama follows one of its shlockiest programs -- Survivor. It would seem to be a foolish pairing, an idiotic broadcast followed by one so cerebral. Together the two shows cover the spectrum of contemporary TV. But while Survivor seems to become more unbearable by the week. CSI, already good, is getting better all the time -- gutsy, smart and inventive.

Comments

poor family watching

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes, CSI does give viewers an appreciation for those dedicated public servants who sift through police evidence. It has also spoken out against rape, drug abuse, domestic violence, incest and violent crime. But it creates an unintended quandary: Should families entertain themselves by ingesting graphic images of medical autopsies, brutalized bodies, blood-spattered sets and decomposing corpses?

Who does Jon Katz work for?

[bitpusherdotorg]

Who is Jon Katz, and why does he have such infantile taste in film and TV? It seems that everytime there is pro-US propaganda thinly disguised as "entertainment" he is there, attempting to convince us that it is not utter and complete drivel, which is apparent to anyone with a brain and half an education. Example: Jon Katz's ridiculous review of "Blackhawk Down" and "Behind Enemy Lines" which were both US government propaganda films designed to promote patriotism in the wake of September 11th. Jon Katz consistently picks the worst propaganda films and TV shows. Either he really likes this second-rate military propaganda and is completely moronic, or it's his job to spew this crap on slashdot, which traditionally has been very critical of the US government and its policies. Next he'll be trying to convince us that "The Agency" is a good show, and that the CIA is a bunch of brave heroes keeping the world safe from terrorism when the historical record actually shows that they've been one of the largest supporters of state sponsored terrorism in the world in places such Indonesia, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Chile, Argentina, and Angola, to name a few. So Mr. Katz, please spare me your pathetic reviews. This American can think for himself.