Wednesday, September 26, 2012

'CSI: MIami' S10: Ending on a Key Note

This review of the recently released DVD set of the 10th and Final Season of "CSI: Miami" is the second in a trilogy of reviews of the sets of the three "CSI" series that were released on September 25. I reviewed "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" S12 a few days ago and will review "CSI: NY" in a few days.

Before sharing my thoughts regarding "CSI: Miami's" 10th season, I want to thank Paramount for including good extras on the DVD set. These include a review of the 10th season and behind-the-scenes look at creating a tornado for an episode.

The "CSI" series tell the tales of dedicated and (generally) photogenic "squints" who catch bad guys by collecting and analyzing forensic evidence.

I am a bit handicapped in reviewing "CSI: Miami" S10 because I only watched a few episodes before viewing 15 of the 19 S10 episodes for this review. However, I did not find this perfectly respectable series particularly compelling or entertaining.

I confess as well that "CSI: Crime Scene Investigations" is geared more to me and my fellow Gen Xers and that "CSI: Miami" is intended for our younger brothers and sisters in the same manner that I prefer "Star Trek: The Next Generation" to the original series.

At the outset, the lack of the anticipated dark witty comment by team leader Horatio Caine, played by David Caruso, at the end of each "CSI: Miami" pre-credits opening segment was disappointing.

I had also understood that Horatio was a coffee junkie, but "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation's" newcomer D.B. Russell seemed much more java obsessed than his Miami counterpart.

I additionally did not feel that the city of Miami played a particularly large role in the series. It seemed that San Diego, Malibu, or any other bright sunny ocean side community could have filled the bill. On a related note, having the "CSI: Miami" team fully decked out in business casual wear while conducting surveillance on a bright sunny beach (unintentionally) provided one of the funniest moments of the season.

"CSI: Miami" did do an excellent job with "Law and Order" style "ripped from the headlines" storylines. A multi-episode arc about a horribly botched Fast and Furious style U.S. government program that provided Mexican drug cartels with automatic weapons was one of the season's best. There was no mention of whether Attorney General Eric Holder's fictional counterpart was subject to contempt for his role in the effort.

A more predictable episode had a Jerry Sandusky like tennis coach having a long history of "horsing around" with young boys in the shower.  "CSI: Miami" told this story with appropriate sensitivity without the melodrama and had an outcome that many would have liked in Sandusky's case.

The series finale was also one of the season's best and wrapped this up on a nice note. It had the type of interesting twist that makes police procedurals interesting. 

I would love to see Horatio visit Las Vegas to help Russell and his team during "CSI's" 13th season. Caruso and Russell portrayor Ted Danson would play nicely off each other.

Anyone kind enough to provide more insight into "CSI: Miami" or just has questions or comments is encouraged to email me. As I would hope that Horatio would say, flamers always get burned.




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