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.
Click here to order.
No comments:
Post a Comment