Okay, Aaron liked it. That helps, because his review gave me some perspective:
CSI:NY brings a new element to the table – Psychological Thriller.
Okay, if that’s what it’s aiming for, great.
Let’s go back a bit though, back to the pilot review that was launched from CSI: Miami:
Okay, the show’s over, and you know what? I’m really not thrilled. The characters were subdued, the fancy tricks were getting old and the plot was hard to follow. Oh, and what was with the forced one-line conversations? “Miss moppet got him hard” “Yeah, he likes his tricks with a candle stick” “One word” “Blow” “Yeah”.
…
I think a large part of my distaste stems from the fact that picking New York seems like such a copout. They can play to all the stereo types, say “ahh… New York” 20 times and just ride the wave.
I’ll also ignore the fact that the other CSI’s weren’t in New York for a reason: New York has been overdone for crime stuff.
So, how was the show? It was a hell of a lot better than the pilot. The forced lines weren’t there. There wasn’t a single “only in New York” type line either.
That said, I don’t feel it stayed true to CSI or to crime dramas in general and, as a series opener, I felt it was too much too soon. At least for me.
CSI (and L&O to a lesser extent) both value one thing above all else: the chain of evidence. No conclusion is allowed unless there is evidence to support it. No premise is allowed unless the evidence leads you there. And no hunch can be followed without some kind of evidence to back it up.
So, what happens? Girls are murdered. They follow the evidence to the primary location of the murders. The only evidence they find there is some semen. They eventually tie the semen to one of the girls’ uncles. He’s a mad scientist. But they can’t prove he did anything to the girls, and he doesn’t admit to it. The episode ends.
So… They found the bad guy (probably). He’s never lead away to jail. And even if he was there isn’t enough to convict him anyways because his semen is only in the house (he was renting) and not in or on any of the girls.
Grr…
Aaron says this isn’t about the legal aspect so much as the Psychological aspect. I can buy that. I didn’t like the show because of it, but maybe if I watch next week I can do so with a more open mind. It was better than the pilot. But it really didn’t feel like either of the other CSI’s.
I’m willing to give it a second shot, but only because the other two are so good.
September 23rd, 2004 at 6:35 pm
An aspect I left out in my review was the character development. CSI: (I’m watching it now) is great for drama but short on the intimacy with the characters. I liked the old New York Undercover – you know, the one before the last one – because you knew the characters intimately. Their lives became your life. I get the feeling it will be that way with CSI:NY. The main guy is struggling hard to recover from his wife’s death on 9-11. The main girl is struggling to recover from a relationship with one of the other casgt members. Come on! Classic Soap Opera material!
September 23rd, 2004 at 7:21 pm
I really liked the emotional aspect of the show too. It was darker and had an edge to it. You could feel the tension the characters had. I think they managed to stay true enough to the formula, working the crime scenes and gathering evidence. I felt like I had the closure from the case though. Unlike CSI, this show has more in common with Miami because they are cops too. They can always take a suspect into a room and get a confession, which seemed like exactly what happened.
I can’t imagine the toture these characters go through on any of these shows. The things they have to deal with. CSI sort of plays it a little on the lighter side most of the time. CSI: Miami hits home now and then with episodes like the premiere. But CSI: NY really banged out a great episode giving us a peak and the very emotional side of what they have to do. I’m sure it won’t always be like this. I’m guessing next week we’ll get the 2 case formula that has become standard for crime dramas and I look forward to seeing how they handle it. I hope they keep the emotional stuff but use is where it has impact. If they are always wearing them on their sleeves we won’t take it very seriously. At least I won’t. But all in all, I have to watch all 3 shows now. Argh! I *really* need to get a Tivo. Probably this weekend.
September 25th, 2004 at 7:04 pm
Found my way here due to Wayne at Blog Business World.
I’m a fan of CSI, the original series. I don’t like the Miami version and unfortunately, it seems the NY version isn’t going to interest me either. And I had such high hopes thanks to Gary Sinise playing lead. I fell asleep 10 minutes into CSI NY. Glad to know I didn’t miss much.
Now, the original CSI, because I know the characters and like them, I keep watching. The crime solving gets tired but the characters are why I still watch. Grissom is the best by far, I think anyway. Quirks are entertaining.
By the way, Globe & Mail is my fav paper so I’ll have to search the archives to see your write-up. Congratulations!!!
October 3rd, 2004 at 8:18 am
I made a point to watch this show to see if I would enjoy it as much as CSI. I was so let down words can not express it! I have not been that depressed in years. The entire show was slow, boreing and an over all let down. I am a very big fan of Gary Sinise’s but this is not the role for him. I do not plan on watching the show a second time.