Mark Turner
Holy smokes! It's one thing to have the complete series of a lesser known title or a show that only ran a few years on TV. But to think that the complete series of the first and original CSI is now available is mind boggling. For 15 seasons we were privy to the forensic stylings of the series that took place in Las Vegas. At times it's hard to believe it's off the air now, even more so since it still airs in reruns.For those who somehow missed it during its 15 year run the series was about the crime scene investigation unit of the Las Vegas police department. This skilled team was led by Gil Grissom (William Peterson) who took a special interest in entomology. Grissom led a team that was the best of the best, tracking down killers and criminals by applying science and technology towards the goal of building enough evidence against them and to find them as well.In talking to forensic scientists once the show was released you could learn (as I did) that a number of things they did on the show were done for that reason alone, because it was a show and not reality. But that didn't take away the thrill of learning some new way they used of discovering clues or doing things like reconstituting fingerprints that had been wiped away. There was a basis for the methods they used even if some of them haven't been applied. Yet. That potential always laid out there.The show was so popular that it stayed in the top ten for years and spawned three side series as well, CSI Miami, CSI NEW YORK and CSI CYBER. None of those lasted near as long as the original but all did well on their own (with the exception of the last which was cut short). Each had their own specific look too. Watching these episodes the original seemed to use a lot of green and red color palettes. Miami always had oranges and yellows. NEW YORK a blue tinge. Only CYBER lacked its own color scheme.What made the show work was that it covered more than just a weekly murder. Other crimes were committed as well. The CSI team always went in and scanned the crime scene looking for clues. Those clues would help when it came to booking the guilty party one most shows but they also helped in catching the crooks first.Another thing that made the show stand out was that it was one of the first shows to truly start a TV family. These characters related to one another, cared about one another, helped one another and worked side by side without having to create a new romance of the week in it. That being said one romance did develop but it wasn't the highlight of the show.This series also proved that you could carry on if you lost one of the main actors involved. Peterson left during the ninth season of the show and other actors were brought in to take over the department, including Lawrence Fishburne and Ted Danson. The same held true for various actors who chose to leave the show, replacing them with new ones capable of picking up where they left off. At the same time some of those characters were allowed to return to assist in future episodes which felt right as well.I would love to say I watched each and every episode of this new packaging of the series but let's be serious. With 93 discs and 244 hours worth of material here the odds of that happening from the time it arrived here to my writing about it wasn't likely. I did pick a few to sample and the quality of the discs is fantastic. Shows that were interrupted by bad weather are now there for me to rediscover. And to use the term binge watching to relate to sitting through this entire series is an understatement.Not only do you have the entire series on hand to enjoy there is a ton of extras as well. Plus the entire 2 hours series finale is included here, something I missed but can now enjoy just like you can. Having picked up the series each year as they were released I can tell you that this version and packaging takes up far less room on the shelf so collectors will be glad to take advantage of that. It's still a sizeable collection but not near as big as the space those 15 boxes take up.The end results is that for a decent price and in a package that fits your shelf you can now own the entire series with little effort. Lost seasons won't need replaced as they're all here. As a fan of the show I can say without a doubt that this one is worth adding to your collection.
ma-cortes
This show by creator Anthony E. Zuiker describes the hard-working assignments carried out by the Las Vegas Police Department Crime Scene Investigations bureau , in the city of Las Vegas, Nevada . Being the second busiest crime lab in America , CSI investigators use the best scientific and technical methods to resolve enigmas and detain delinquents , utilizing complex analysis and the occasional leap in logic . Led by hard-nosed Captain Jim Brass (Paul Guilfoyle) and by Grissom (William Petersen , being subsequently replaced by Ted Danson and Larry Fishburne) , as his second in command , who while attached mainly to their works , they do make friendly connections with his staff . And at least one friend is willing to relocate entirely to work with quirky Grissom , Sara Sidle (Jorja Fox) . With an extreme dedication towards their quest for the true facts , he and his elite team of investigators work several twisted cases using scientific skills and equipment that are capable of finding valuable tracks from the most allegedly unlikely sources .The Las Vegas PD Criminalistics Division follows essentially the nights of the detectives , pursuing perpetrators using scientific analysis and solving crimes that practically every other crime lab has given up on . As they record at all stages of the process of decomposition , local predation , and of course, bugs entomological interference . The choice to place this series in Las Vegas was not random , among US crime labs , Las Vegas is the second most active, surpassed only by the FBI lab at Quantico, Virginia . In addition , Grissom and Catherine are loosely based on real-life LVMPD criminalists . The extreme popularity of this TV series was credited for a large surge of applications for courses in forensic science . Some actors attended actual autopsies over the course of the series for personal research purposes . The majority of the techniques and technologies used in the CSI shows are accurate and true to reality , though the writers and crew readily admit that they "time cheat" ; tests that take seconds in the show often take days or even weeks in real life . This exciting series packs a moving atmosphere by means of shaky camera and reconstructions in a really dynamic style . The nice actors who play these notorious characters are the followings : 1- CSI is led by Gil Grisson nicely performed by William Petersen , Gil has a long curriculum , at only 22, Grissom became the youngest country coroner in California history , he enjoys teaching , perhaps in part because it provides him with a structured social setting in which he can find success through sharing his interests . Grisson becomes emotionally involved in cases and often offers pointed quotations to illustrate his reaction . 2- Marg Helgenberger plays faithfully Catherine Willows , she became an exotic dancer . Finally finding her calling , she danced her way through a medical technology . Her supervisor, Grissom, mentions the fact that she was his first friend in Las Vegas, and the first person he recruited for his team . While a reliable and meticulous CSI , Catherine still enjoys flaunting her sexuality, and occasionally uses it to make a point or win over a difficult suspect , she is a single mother with an attitude and a complicated family life . 3- Sarah Sidle well played by Jorja Fox , CSI Sarah appears in the second episode of the series, called to run an internal investigation , she is ferociously intelligent and adept observer . Six years after she arrives from San Francisco, Grissom and Sara - who keep their relationship hidden- are finally shown to be a couple , as Gil reveals their relation during Sara's kidnapping , that she is the only one he has ever loved . She suffers depression due to her violent childhood and more recent ordeal . She leaves him to return to California to confront her ghosts , while Grissom , giving her the space she asks of him, throws himself entirely back into work . 4- Wisecracking , deadpan Jim Brass is nicely played by Paul Guylfoyle , he is an ex-New Jersey cop turned CSI turned cop again . He tries his best to be a good cop and a good man while attacking the underbelly of Las Vegas' seedier culture . While he still has an eye for the ladies , he is shown to live a solitary life , married to his job , and occasionally indulging in a heart-to-heart over single-malt with Grissom, or telling war stories to the CSI team . He is a particularly talented interrogator , moving between sincere sympathy and provoking angry , revealing outbursts from suspects . 5- Gary Dourdan plays rightly Warrick Brwon , he is a complex character, with idealism and compassion , humble despite his strong intellect and investigative talents, but with personal demons that threaten to wreck his life and damage the reputation of his team . Warrick has an addiction to gambling ; in addition to the financial and psychological problems gambling causes him , Warrick also runs afoul of the law on several occasions , though he is mentored and sometimes covered for by his supervisor , Gil Grissom . 6- George Eads acts as Nick Stokes , he is a solid , reliable worker and witness for the prosecution, but becomes driven to make a case stick when angered or appalled . Nick is generally considered the most low-maintenance of the crew , he represents the emotional heart of the series , being deeply empathic and does not hide his feelings , especially from the families of victims of crime ; he is a solid, reliable worker and witness for the prosecution . 7-David Berman, who plays assistant coroner David Phillips , is also a head researcher for the show .
amethystwings32
Who ever said change was good, was wrong this time for sure. The saying that would have worked better, for this one would have; if is not broken why fix it! this show was not broken and they, broke it really badly to! I loved it when it first started, but now I hate, what they did to what used to be the #1 drama on TV. This show might as well be axed now. Because it was replaced by one of the worst shows on TV as #1. This is my mom's opinion on what was once the # 1 drama! She was a devoted fan and never missed one episode ever! That is why she is so angry about the recent changes! This last season and refuses to watch it anymore, because it is no longer the show she remembers and loved. review BY : Meagen Jensen and Angela Jensen
