Solving Vegas’ Toughest Crimes
It’s almost hard to believe that it’s been nearly a decade since CBS launched what would arguably become one of the most popular and loved crime shows ever in CSI. With new episodes still in production (not to mention two long-running spin-off series’) and older seasons in syndication, CSI has long since been a household name. I haven’t always been a CSI fan, and still consider myself a casual one after having only seen parts of the first three seasons years ago. Paramount’s imminent release of the the complete first season to Blu-ray could bring me back into the fold, but let’s focus on the release shall we?
As I mentioned, most of us are at least partially familiar with CSI. The show’s premise is about an elite forensics squad (“Criminalistics” department, although that sounds fake) based in an ultra-violent modern day Las Vegas, Nevada. The team is led by quirky expert Gil Grissom, played by actor William Petersen. As most of you know in modern day CSI episodes, Grissom, along with other CSI vets from this first season, have left the series. Anyway, Grissom’s character is an interesting one to watch; he’s essentially the most consistent, persistent, and fact driven “rock” of the team who puts evidence above all else and is always able to help the team members around him. His colleagues include actress Marg Helgenberger who stars as a hard working mother of a young daughter. There is also the confident and outgoing Nick Stokes, played by George Eads, and his good friend Warrick Brown (Gary Dourdan). Actress Jorja Fox and Paul Guilfoyle take key roles as investigator and overseer, respectively.
Each of the twenty-three episodes in the first season contains several sub-plots which normally include the team splitting up into pairs to investigate various crimes around the city. Homicides, suicides, rapes, robberies, and all matter of other bizarre crime that need forensic analysis challenge the team day in and out, while many also face various problems and sources of stress in their personal lives (gambling, raising a daughter, etc). I personally enjoy TV shows that run several sub-plots at once, although I can be pretty picky as to what is makes a good sub-plot and what doesn’t. For the most part, CSI Season One does a great job of giving the viewer several juicy stories to follow, including some that last well beyond this first season.
On a more general note, something I did always like about CSI more so than many competing and similar shows like Law & Order was its focus on the science and investigative aspects of the crime, rather than other major topics like the politics or court process, etc. And while not every explanation in CSI seems foolproof, it’s still great entertainment and the reveal for each sub-plot is almost always satisfying.
I haven’t watched nearly enough of the complete CSI series beyond season one to say that this is the definitive best season, but it’s a darn good one, that much is for sure.
The Truth Is In the Evidence
Seeing the release of the Blu-ray version of this first season of CSI might not seem all that exciting at first, but it’s pretty special for a few reasons. For one, each episode is presented in 16:9 ratio for the first time. The DVD release of season one from many years ago was not in this ratio and obviously for TVs “these days,” seeing the show in true 16:9 is significant; having each episode in high-def is nice too, but the video quality isn’t a home run as I’ll explain shortly. Additionally, this Blu-ray release has 7.1 Surround Sound, for those fortunate enough to have such a setup (read: I am not one of those hah). Even on a good 5.1 setup, the audio sounds great.
As far as image quality, it isn’t bad, and it overwhelms my old DVD copy easily. And frankly for the majority of the time, everything looks great — vibrant colors, sharp edges, crisp textures are the highlights but some drawbacks include some off and on issues with grain and blockiness. I thought the foregrounds seemed a little blurred over or washed out at times too, but ultimately this visual miscues don’t overshadow what is an overall nice job by Paramount and CBS.
I would also like to note that the box design and especially the menu design on the discs is nicely done — very functional, easy to read and use, and also very nice and streamlined looking.
For extra features, there are several, including some that weren’t on the original DVD release. These include:
-Unaired Pilot Episode – The Director’s cut version with optional commentary, in HD. Good stuff.
-Deleted Scenes – Several deleted scenes across all discs except disc four. Nothing extraordinary (which is probably why they were deleted in the first place) but as always, worth a look see.
-Episodic Promos – Promos of the episodes are part of all discs except number two. Disc one also has some original launch promos for super fans to enjoy, and disc five contains some series promos.
-Outtakes – A handful of outtakes are included on the first disc lasting about five minutes.
-CSI: People Lie But the Evidence Doesn’t – This was actually part of the original DVD release. It’s basically been transferred over and left in SD. The feature feels a bit like a long commercial (it runs about twenty minutes).
-CSI Season One – Rediscovering the Evidence – A new feature, in HD, that runs about thirty minutes. Primarily interview based, this includes cast interviews and their thoughts on the first season and more general just how the show took off and become a part of TV pop culture. Like most extras you might not watch it a second time, but it’s a nice addition to the collection.
-BDLive Functionality – The integrated BDLive function has a really slick background image of a strand of DNA I wish I could make my TV screensaver. The BDLive offering is actually quite good and one of the better ones I have experienced. You can view cast bios of the stars and read up on forensic terminology, tools, and procedures. A collection of promotional stills is also available for viewing. Further still are exclusive Bonus Videos that are short interviews of some of the cast you can download. Lastly, there are links to other Paramount DVD and Blu-ray releases. This is definitely a nicely designed and interesting BDLive supplement.
To the summary…
