I love these kinds of shows, so I came across CSI:Crime Scene Inestigation by accident while flicking through channels, and since that moment I have been hooked. I like how each crime is looked at from a different perspective, it offers a whole new slant on things, although some of the more disturbing/graphic images may turn your stomach a little. Also, I love the colours the series is shot in, reds, blues, greens and yellow, really a treat to the eye, and the photography is very impressive. And the music is funky and cool, well the theme song is from The Who, they ooze with coolness. I like the writing, Grissom's dialogue and asides are a joy to behold especially, and the methodical but well structured story lines. The season finales nearly always manage to be gripping and compelling. And the acting is great, William Peterson was wonderful as Grissom, and although I was sad to see him go, the character's departure was handled very well so I was glad of that. The reason why it isn't quite as good as it could have been is because somehow I don't find it as well thought out as the earlier seasons. And while Laurence Fishburne is a great actor and does a good job, I kind of miss Grissom if you get the jist. That said though, this is a great show. 8/10 Bethany Cox
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=G=4 August 2004The hugely popular "CSI" is no less than a contemporary entertainment marvel. Finding its stride in season 2 with a formula which pushes the envelope while still being doable, this series packs ample portions of entertainment into 40 minute episodes while staying fresh, delivering palatable doses of science didactically, and, most of all, manifesting a strong sense of social responsibility in all of its subliminals. While most entertainment aims for the crotch, the gut, or the heart, "CSI" goes for the most difficult target, the head, as it teaches forensics and the empirical process while remaining cooly detached from sensationalism and melodrama all the while using the "truth is stranger (and more interesting) than fiction" thesis to its and our advantage. The results are fun and interesting lessons in everything from dwarfism to Down syndrome to anatomy to ballistics to etc. all the while maintaining a social conscience. Whether explaining how S&M is not necessarily perversion to simply dissing Don King, "CSI" is one sweet sugar coated education with solid mainstream values. My favorite lines? CSI1:"There's a sucker born every minute." CSI2: "Yeah. And they all come to Vegas." Truer words....
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darrenrusk18 June 2020The first 8 1/2 seasons of CSI were great. I watched almost every episode, including its Friday beginnings. I was so happy when the show moved to Thursday and became a massive hit. However, after original star William Petersen (Gil Grissom) left midway through Season 9, the show fell apart IMO. I watched until Season 11, and when Fishburne left, I gave up. Anyway, watch Seasons 1-9 for the best quality.
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kidcurry19677 December 2000C.S.I. is the best new show of the 2000 season! William L. Petersen is the coolest of the cool as Gil Grissom. I've followed his career since I first saw him in To Live and Die in L.A. He's an amazing actor and he heads up a cast of amazing actors as well. This show really keeps you on the edge of your seat as the investigators literally take a crime scene that appears to leave them with nothing to go on. The investigators take nothing and turn it into something amazing as each crime is solved right in front of you and you as the viewer, never see it coming! Wow! I hope this is one show CBS will pick up year after year!
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rednexrock200511 September 2006This show is the greatest show ever created. I mean the second I turned on the T.V. it just threw me in there and made me feel like I was par of the CSI team.
Just the other day I felt behind so I went to Blockbuster and rented Season 1-3 to try and catch up and I didn't go to sleep until I finished watching every episode.
This show has some amazing characters as well: Gil Grissom; great guy but is very hard headed about his science Nick Stokes; gets cocky a lot but is one of the best Sara Sidle; great character she is all business when it come to work but loves to play ;) Greg Sanders; my personal favorite he loves his job while he is in the lab but loves it more when he gets out on the field Warrick Brown; gets in really deep with his cases and makes them personal Catherine Willows; great investigator but has a lot of personal problems The list goes on. This show is just flat out amazing and I would recommend it to anybody my Rating= **********/********** -
ajkbiotech9 April 2021The excellence of this show is largely based on the first 8 seasons where the cast is led by William Peterson.
No disrespect to the great actors who followed him, but Peterson to me embodies the introverted scientist wrapped up in the details of CSI perfectly.
The rest of the ensemble cast follow his lead and thus you have a great show consisting of curiously introverted scientists with poor social skills but terrific science skills who can crack a case wide open.
My heroes!
And, the iconic intro and extro music by the great rock band, the Who! -
blminer25 May 2019In general I really like the show. I just started watching it a few months ago on Hulu. The only character I'm not real fond of is Catherine. The characters behavior is just in constant "must be sexy" mode. It gets boring. She doesn't put her daughter first at all. She sleeps with bad boy types and when she finally wises up and gets a good man she treats him like crap. And as for her father Sam Braun, the storyline is too all over the place. One minute she acts as if she hates him and is calling him a thug and the next she doesn't and once he dies she starts referring to him as her dad which she never did before. I really like the other characters though and will still watch.
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henry-429-88363218 September 2012Great acting, great research, great writing, great photography. The series bear watching over and over again. I can't think of a better crime drama.
It is however a tiny bit formulaic from time to time. SO on a light- hearted note I thought I'd distill the formula as much as possible.
spoiler:
a) Either boys playing around, or lovers having hot sex (with essential undies inexplicably still on) chance upon, become, or walk by a disembodied head/skeleton
b) Grissom is suddenly there, quoting Confucius at the puzzled CSIs. David is taking the liver temperature (unless it's a disembodied head or skeleton)
c) Sara picks up a cigarette, then gives an explanation for any thick viewers out there "This was not a hit and run!"
d) Grissom says "evidently he didn't run enough", or some other wise- crack, and ...
e) TITLES: "Who are you do do do do". Never get tired of 'em
f) on the other side of town, Catherine's progress towards a crime scene is impeded by a dumb male jobsworth. Because she's smart and has the facts at her fingertips she sets him straight, squashes his ego in fact. Squish
g) she strolls haughtily in on a crime scene and points a torch at a racing track, nods sagely and says "Testosterone!" as if that explained everything
h) meanwhile back at the lab, Grissom and Doc Robbins are having a chat over a dead body, usually one showing signs of "petechial haemorraging". Their conversation is useless to them, but might be useful for anyone who happened to be watching who hadn't yet drawn the 'correct' moral conclusions about the scenario,
i) Nick and Warrick make an unspecified and probably inappropriate bet about the new hot chick in DNA lab,
j) cut to the Cool Science Scene. A CSI does a week-long experiment in 2 minutes, accompanied by booming Radiohead/Sigur Ros/etc
k) Greg eloquently (for a nerd) explains how many jobs HE did in that 2 minutes,
l) Grissom and Sara flirt in much the same tone of voice as nerds call out blindfold chess moves to each other. Same facial expression too.
m) they close in on the killer who is Not Who You Thought It Was. Brass' wisecracks at this stage provide 50% of the show's pleasure
n) Catherine's killer turns out to be either a 12 yr old girl who smiles back uncaringly, or a mother who has just killed her daughter. Catherine, whose daughter is the same age, looks disillusioned and world-weary.
o) Nick solves the main case for the 100th time. Grissom explains to him that he's not quite good enough yet
p) more "The Who". Warm feeling inside, tempted to watch another... -
ma-cortes11 November 2016This 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 . -
wondernat21 September 2009I am an avid CSI fan. I have followed it since Season 1. CSI has consistently sacrificed unnecessary background drama in favor of science and forensics. It was absolutely thrilling to watch the cases and science come to the fore as the main character of each episode. I'm not a science person, but this clever development over the seasons has made CSI a unique show. Unfortunately, the show's been killing / booting off characters (Sarah Sidle, Gary Dourdan, the lady who plays Sofia), throwing off the dynamic of the team (though Lauren Lee Smith has meshed extremely well).
Then, Grissom leaves and Laurence Fishburne replaces him. I love Mr. Fishburne. He's the BAMF of any screen. However, his addition is just wrong. First off, he's CSI Level 1 (bottom of the feeding barrel) and yet his screen presence supersedes that of Catherine (newly promoted supervisor). Yes, I know he's a bigger star and all, but it's just wrong to change the show for a superstar. He does not make CSI: CSI is already established. It ain't broke, don't fix it... For instance, he goes on cases by himself. He's a friggin' level 1. Not only that, but there's so much more drama. The last episode I saw, "Mascara" was the epitome of my objections. The entire case was resolved with flashy productions and over-dramatized acting. Nick was reduced to tears in an episode. There's this new camera angle w/ a 360- rotation directly on the person.
Dunno... if the end of Season 9 doesn't improve, I'm writing it off. I'm sorry to say, but CSI will have lost a fan because of all of these changes. So sad. -
PetrifiedPops10 April 2022If you can let go of accuracy and credibility, it can be a somewhat captivating series. Crime scene investigarors are not detectives. The abundance of errors and inconsistencies made me cringe more than once.
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evareyniers18 October 2018Watching reruns and still loving the show to death. But it ends for me when Grissom leaves.
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bluedragon01104 September 2006After initially being introduced to this series, I instantly fell in love with the show. I feel that the writing is very inventive and even when the show is based off of something from the news, the writers do an excellent job of putting a unique spin on it to fit the fluidness of the shows style. But what I think makes this show so successful is the characters and the way each of the cast members pull off their character to bring a unique blend of personalities that work perfectly off of each other. The characters of Grissom and Willows, played by William Peterson and Marg Helgenberger, give the show its balance. Then you have characters like Nick Stokes (played by George Eads) who is your typical guy's guy and Warrick Brown (played by Gary Dourdan) who is more level but the two play off of each other very well, as you tend to see them in competition with each other. The writers have also written in a great character named Sara Sidle (played by Jorja Fox) who is portrayed as a confident woman in a manly male dominated cast. Sidle is able to stand her ground and even at times run circles around Stokes and Brown, yet she still has the uncertainties and emotions of a woman, but it is played with an certain grace that makes the audience feel confident in her character. The writers have taken great lengths to make sure that the science, which is also a character in this show, is very accurate, yet easy enough for the audience to understand. It is very easy to see why this show has become such a hit, and its spin off shows (Miami and NY) are becoming just as popular.
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Kaptain_Bluddflagg2 December 2011The main reason I dislike this show is how inaccurate it is; CSI techs are not cops. They can't arrest people, can't serve warrants, don't interrogate suspects and lab results take MUCH longer then they do on the show.
Granted, most procedural dramas stretch the truth a bit to make the show more entertaining, but CSI doesn't just stretch the truth, it fabricates it. Some people might be able to sit and watch a show like this and suspend disbelief, but I can't. Knowing that this show is 90% false keeps it from being entertaining for me, and I honestly do not understand why some people can watch this show and think they have learned anything about forensics. -
supertom-35 April 2002CSI has come to the UK and has been on our screens for around a year. I saw the first episode and was impressed but like with a lot of TV series I found good such as the X-files I just forgot about it and never watched it, anyway about 2 months ago I heard and advert on the radio for it and so watched it. I have been watching it religously since, I have missed most of series one and the first few episodes of series two which annoys me but every episode is great, well written and excellently acted and directed. What sets this out from other TV shows is the incredibly professional look, from the movie like cinematography to the brilliant acting, the writing is always very good and the plot twists always surprising whilst feasible. I wish I had watched it since series one. I am a fan of Marg Helgenberger, I find her very sexy, she is a gorgeous woman and this really made me finally decide to watch it, as I usually watch something from the movie channels on saturdays. The show has a great production value and its got that Bruckheimer class about it. They always have good directors such as Danny Cannon who also did the underrated Stallone flick Judge Dredd. All the actors are good the two younger guys played by Gary Dourdon and George Eads and the nice looking Joja Fox and they and Marg are all led by the ultra intelligent Gill Grissom, excellently played by the one of the shows producers William Peterson, the lines Grissom has are classic. The show has some generally interesting characters who are all likeable. This show is pure TV excellence and it gets a bonus thumbs up because they cast one of my fave actors Mark Dacascos in an episode which should reach the UK in about 7 weeks. 10/10
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jamestkelly-9326630 May 2020This show was great. Lots of very interesting story lines. One of the best things on tv. Until William Peterson leaves the show. It goes downhill fast. But the time Ted Danson joins the cast, it's over; jumped the shark. Well worth catching in reruns. Holds up well.
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shelbythuylinh11 November 2021CSI Crime Scene Investigation there as it was suppose to be a follow up to the short lived "Fugitive" on CBS but fate had other plans.
It is the second largest lab in the USA as the FBI is the first and largest there. As the CSI investigators are both crime scene experts to look at the evidence and in the detectives doing the interrogation on it there. It would have in that over in the getting on that with the nabbing the suspect and finding evidence linked.
The original that started it all! -
ellagarden11 November 2006CSI Las Vegas is the best TV show is have seen in many years. I became a fan of crime related show several years ago. I have always consider X-files to be the best TV series until i bought the DVD of CSI. And to be honest, this one is even better! intriguing plot, excellent acting and, there's humor. and the city Las Vegas seems to have so many interesting, sometimes rather ironic ways of living, i just can't get enough of it! Someone thought CSI has jumped the shark in season 4, but i think in season 6 things are just getting more interesting. the whole season 6 kept me on the edge of the seat, so did the new season 7. i hope the show never ends,really!
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andrea-burche3 September 2007I just love this movie. I've always been fascinated about serial killer stories an crime, and solving crime scenes and finding the killers.
I've always been fascinated about how the doctors can find so many details on a dead body and tell so many things about the man or woman that have lived, about their lives even hobbies.
This movie keeps getting better and better, new ideas improving special effects, creepy crime scenes, weird stories..
And another thing, I love the fact that the movie is concentrated over the subject and the crime scenes and the crime committed in every episodes and on the main idea and not on the characters lives. Even when it shows the personal live of a character or the relationship between two of them, it's discreet .
I have learned a lot from this movie, it is even educational. It's just great and I could never get bored of it.
I can't wait for season 8 to come up! It has posted me interested! -
micke-bystrom23 June 2023The original Las Vegas CSI is really the best. Actors, stories, execution, style. It all just works and manages to maintain charm, generosity and warmth despite all the horrific acts driving it. This version has soul.
The Miami and NY versions are just plain dark and badly executed at that in comparison. In "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation", or as I prefer to call it "CSI Las Vegas", the casting is really good and authors and directors are all generally doing a fantastic job. You want to watch episodes to the end.
Unfortunately, I feel the series took a turn for the worse with the departure of William Petersen. To me Grissom is a central character. Don't get me wrong, I love Laurence Fishburne normally, but he doesn't work as well here. I tried for one season before I gave this one up. But the first, is it 9 seasons (?), with Grissom are really worth to watch.
The only thing I dislike are the speculative violence close-up zooms. They're just dreadful and sensationalist for little gain. Even for me who's no stranger to violent imagery, it's just disgusting. But it's easy to look away as you learn to see them coming.
I don't believe the work depicted is even close to reality, but I can live with that. It's ok to focus on the exciting parts of the work, I feel. -
joey259-895-8073484 April 2022I love this series, I can't get enough of watching it, it's so good even after so much time (the Americans are strong anyway), from any point of view, this series is deadly.
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murathoti-4882217 April 2024I watched this show earlier but recently I watched the series again on Netflix. As I came to the end of the series, I realized that what seemed so good a show actually became an eyesore after the character of Finn enters the show in the later seasons of the show. This character is the worst of all in this show. I know Elizabeth Shue is a versatile actress but her character in this show is very stupid and totally unprofessional. A CSI who is always flirty, two times divorcee who hops into a bed so easily and falls into trouble so easily for so many times. The character is portrayed as a total unprofessional CSI who has the time to hops into beds when she is in the middle of cases. Except for this I think the show at most times is good.
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VeronicaJ12 August 2006Since Crime Scening is a very popular thing in the world these days, TVseries have to live up to that. 'CSI' isn't just another series like those we all know. It gives some high-tech and yet easy information about crimes and scenes, but it also brings the human part back to the viewer. Every character has it's own personality and problems. Also some oddities of nature are made visible in the series, such as lycanthropy, sexual preferences, addictions and some things you've never even heard of before. 'CSI' shows us that nature (of God) has a will of it's own. It also is a how to become a better criminal show: never forget to wear gloves and remove any trace! It's yet another cash-machine, turned to gold by Jerry Bruckheimer.
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riverzak28 January 2015This incarnation of CSI (the one true CSI) has the same shortcoming of every single CSI style procedural I have ever watched. It seems that every crime scene always has to have "the one thing". And that is defined as the one thing that immediately narrows down the list of suspects to one or two people, or the list of regions to one area.
Think back to the shows you have watched. Even better, pay attention from now on. How many times do the CSI techs discover a marine organism specific to only one small bay (NCIS New Orleans), bird poop that results from a specific breed of bird eating a specific berry only found in either South America or one specific casino (CSI).
I can live with the accelerated time-line resulting in DNA tests taking only an hour instead of weeks but in most cases when a lab tech analyzes dirt left at the scene, what he/she discovers is that it's just freakin' dirt with absolutely nothing special about it. Lab techs do not routinely find that the victim ingested a type of chocolate that is not yet on the market and can only be found at one specific person's house (CSI:NY), or pollen from a plant that only grows in a ten square yard area in Central Park and only blooms on the third Thursday of June (CSI:NY again).
And yet, time and time again those miraculous techs (in conjunction with incredibly stupid and/or unfortunate villains) manage, with a few tests, to "nail it". Either these techs are regular miracle workers or the writers just assume we are all morons who won't recognize lazy writing. -
Dark_liquid29 June 2009I believe that the thing i hate mostly about criminal series is the...perfection. They always solve the cases in that steady rhythm, just like a well trained music band. So nice, so easy, so sci-fi at moments, with everybody doing their job brilliantly, with the help of their uber cool technical equipment; almost iritant. It is somewhat enjoyable, i suppose because of the use of excellent cinematic techniques, but i can never get excited watching it. I can't get in touch with the victim, i can't feel what the killer felt, i can't get upset when some supposedly important twist happens. I'm never surprised. Alright, i know i'm asking for too much out of an hour long episode, but even in such case, i don't think it's impossible do make that level of quality investigation drama happen. In CSI, it just feels like it's all about the looks; the show looks good and it's estheticaly very pleasant, but wait a minute, what about the story?