Creator:
Anthony E. Zuiker
Cast:
Paul Guilfoyle …. Captain Jim Brass
William L. Petersen …. Gil Grissom
Gary Dourdan …. Warrick Brown
George Eads …. Nick Stokes
Marg Helgenberger …. Catherine Willows
Eric Szmanda …. Greg Sanders
Jorja Fox …. Sara Sidle
Robert David Hall …. Dr. Al Robbins
David Berman …. David Phillips
Wallace Langham …. David Hodges
Watching the sixth season of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation it’s no wonder the show is still rolling as well as it is. Of all the various Police Procedural shows that are filling the TV airwaves, CSI’s winning formula somehow manages to keep the show fresh and entertaining week to week. More playful and flashy than its genre competitors, CSI is also able to bring a surprising amount of gravity and quirk, which could help account for the show’s place as a new staple of American TV. After five years, many series start to show wear and tear, but with such expert construction there’s no telling how long this show will last.
Even after all this time and over a hundred “whodunits?” it can be shocking how well these episodes are put together. Take, for example, the season’s second episode “Room Service” as the show’s creative team comes up with an installment showing the dichotomy of two murders that take place among the elite and downtrodden of Las Vegas. After the two storylines converge, the episode’s last shot exemplifies how death leads even the most varied people to the same place.
Tweaking their formula even further, is the two-part episode “A Bullet Runs through It”. Starting out as if it were an episode of The Shield, a furious gun battle between cops and gang bangers on a scale we’ve never seen on this show before leads to several deaths on both sides. The aftermath of the battle is chaos, as the CSI team tries to decipher what has happened through the evidence, while the Latino community around screams for justice. Taking an unexpected sociological turn, the CSI must use their evidence to heal the wounds of the area, showing how the police did not purposely murder or plant evidence during the shootout.
Making the episodes even more personal is the possibility that a downed officer may have been the result of friendly fire. Two CSI regulars, Captain Jim Brass (Paul Guilfoyle) and Officer Sophia Curtis (Louise Lombard) become the main suspects in an IA investigation about the shooting that both divides the police department and the crime lad as the incident strains relationships while the community puts pressure on both sides. Lombard is particularly great in these episodes, as you can feel the event weighing down on her mind. She’s at the breaking point toward episode’s end, and the resolution is both shocking and inspiring.
Now while the show doesn’t really veer from its formula of standalone episodes through season six, this year did feature more running storylines than usual. Well handled is the struggle of Nick Stokes (George Eads) who is still reeling from being buried alive in last season’s Quentin Tarantino directed finale. The experience effects his work, as Nick both searches for more evidence in the kidnapping as well as having to deal with situations similar to his own, such as in episodes “Shooting Stars”, where a cult living in an underground facility commits suicide, and the brilliant installment “Bubble Gum” where Nick gets seriously involved in solving the kidnapping of a young child.
Surprisingly, the show also started to peel back some of the layers of the personal lives of some of these characters, which had been left in the dark in previous year. Gary Dourdan’s Warrick Brown secretly gets married, which elicits some surprising sexual tension with another CSI teammate. Also, a sort of love triangle causes rifts with Officer Curtis and Sara Sidle (Jorja Fox) as they each become rivals for the affections of William Peterson’s Gil Grissom. Each seems to constantly try to agitate the other, without being too obvious as to their intentions.
This makes for some great scenes and dialogue, the strongest coming in “A Bullet Runs through It, Part 2″ as Curtis is on the verge of a nervous breakdown due to her possible involvement in the officer shooting. Sidle becomes indignant, and the moment is one of the harshest ever seen in the show’s six seasons, as emotions run raw. While the show’s creators may have been slow to show more about these characters we’ve watched for years, their strategy seems to have worked, as these moments of impact on this show stand out even more due to the anticipation of their happening.
With all the “big” moments on this show, the best reason to watch is still William Peterson. The acto’s Gil Grissom is plain and simple one of the best characters on TV, with enough quirks for ten characters. Even after six seasons, we’re still learning more about this character, as little tidbits get dropped here and there about the man’s life. The show’s structure of standalone episodes week to week make CSI extremely accessibly, so it’s not too late to watch the actor work, as he displays the same intensity that he first displayed in Michael Mann’s Manhunter in 1986, every episode.
CSI’s sixth season is as good as any the show has ever had. With an adventitious amount of emotional resonance, the show seems as strong as ever. If the series’ creative team can keep up this momentum, there’s no reason the show couldn’t go another five years. As it is, this is a standout season for the show and a great setup for the year to come.
The Video
Absolutely beautiful print from CBS and Paramount. The show looks as great as a series by Jerry Bruckheimer should look. The series is presented in Anamorphic Widescreen with an aspect ratio of 1.78:1
The Audio
As good as it looks, the show sounds great too. The Dolby Digital 5.1 track is super crisp and clear.
SPECIAL FEATURES: Commentaries, Featurettes
Audio Commentaries by: Danny Cannon (“Shooting Stars” & “A Bullet Runs Through It, Part 1”),Sarah Goldfinger & Richard J. Lewis (“Gum Drops”),Carol Mendelsohn and Rich Catalani (“A Bullet Runs Through It, Part 1”),Carol Mendolsohn and Kenneth Fink (“A Bullet Runs Through It, Part 2”), Naren Shankar, Dustin Lee Abraham and Kenneth Fink (“Killer”),Dustin Lee Abraham and George Eads (“Poppin’ Tags”) — You get a ton of commentary tracks on this set and there are some really good ones included. The best are on the season’s best episodes, the epic two part “A Bullet Runs through It”. On the first part you get two commentaries, one from Show Runner and Writer Carol Mendelsohn and Writer and Technical Advisor Rich Catalani, then another one from Director Danny Cannon. The most interesting aspect of either commentary is from Rich Catalani who used his experiences in actual gunfights to help write the episode.
The Science of Sound – This is a 26 minute Featurette on the sound design on the show, which is very complicated indeed. A demonstration of what it takes to even put together one sequence ((“A Bullet Runs Through It, Part 1’s” gunfight) is mind boggling.
Gadgets & Gizmos – Short, but fun; this look at the show’s different gadgets is fascinating as Technical Advisor Rich Catalani goes through about five or six of the tools used by the CSI’s on the show and in real life.
Coroner Reports – Robert David Hall and David Berman, who play coroners on the show, share some of their favorite moments of the season. This is pretty short, but it’s neat how they can point out the little character moments you may miss in the course of a show.
Apparent Cause of Death – This Featurette covers CSI’s awesome makeup department that is able to make all of those really convincing dead bodies. It’s fun to learn that many of the bodies are actually actors that have to lie terribly still as the coroners on the show go to work on them. It’s really hard to tell who’s living and who’s deceased, when watching the show.
Season Six Trajectory – This goes about 18 minutes and has the cast and crew talking about the direction the show took this year and their various favorite moments. Again, it’s interesting to see the little moments that the cast loved that we as an audience may have missed, such as Grissom revealing facts about his daughter or the grueling experiences that Officer Curtis has to go through.
The New Title sequence – The show’s title sequence got a face lift this season to give it some opening titles that match the slick ones for CSI: Miami and CSI: New York.
THE INSIDE PULSE:
CSI is still the best Police Procedural show on TV, and the Sixth Season is a great example why. This is a terrifically constructed show, with smart writing and great characters. The DVD is also filled with extras, so if you’re a fan of this show, there’s absolutely no reason to miss this.
