CSI -- Crime Scene Investigation -- Season One Episodes 1-12 [2001]

Star William Petersen plays a variation of his role from Manhunter, the cool puzzle-solving genius who can rattle off mystifying speeches with aplomb, while his contrasting partner is Marg Helgenberger, cast as a single mother/ex-stripper who is as concerned with the emotional as well as the physical mess left by crime.

While most US cop shows (witness NYPD Blue) tend towards soap, neglecting the cases in favour of personal crises, CSI gives its regulars enough life to make them human but is essentially puzzle-based, with individual episodes following two or three cases à la Homicide: Life on the Street. The occasional special focuses on a major job with the team investigating the slaughter of a whole family ("Blood Drops") or a death in first class on a plane over Vegas ("Unfriendly Skies"). A few continuing threads are laid down, with a recurrent villain who gets away, but will inevitably return, but on the whole these shows play pretty well as one-offs. Very high-tech in style, with lots of zooms into microscopic examinations of hair follicles or stomach contents and distinctive visualisations of the different stories told by witnesses and evidence, this is one of the best shows currently airing.

On the DVD:CSI's first DVD box set contains the show's first 12 episodes: the pilot followed by "Cool Change", "Crate & Burial", "Pledging Mr Johnson"; "Friends and Lovers", "Who Are You?", "Blood Drops"; "Anonymous", "Unfriendly Skies", "Sex Lies and Larvae"; "The I-15 Murders" and "Fahrenheit 932". In addition to inventive menus, the three-disc set offers character profiles, a trailer, some B-roll on-set footage, a subtitle option, and snippet-like interviews with the cast and creatives. --Kim Newman

Customer reviews:

A new fan..., 2008-05-13
It's all been said before...I have a major crush on the Grissom character..I have only watcvhed 5 episodes but the boxset is definitely going to get bought!

By far the best of the CSI series, 2007-07-17
Isn't it great when you discover a programme yourself without any hype and end up really liking it. Love it or hate it, I don't think that there is anybody on planet earth that hasn't heard of CSI, but when I first saw this one Saturday night on channel 5 in either 2000 or 2001, I had never heard of it and I don't think many people had, this was one of those programmes that I accidentally watched by channel hopping and I just really enjoyed and thought how fresh it felt.

It is not always true that original is best but in my opinion it is definitely true with this because CSI: Vegas is by far the best of the CSI series, I still like CSI Miami but I have tried and now completely given up on the extremely boring and shallow CSI: New York, I just find it more like a fashion show plus everybody has to be good looking, even the main cop, I wouldn't mind so much but most of the characters are so wooden that I am suprised that they don't get attacked by woodpeckers. I know that people will disagree and some people will obviously prefer either Miami or New York but I am only saying what I think.

This is where it all began but it is still as good as ever. I just find it much more enjoyable, yes this does have good looking people in it but at least they have got some charisma and I find all of the characters in this likeable plus the chemistry overall between the actors is much better in this. I also think that there was a very good reason for filming this in Sin City because to me it just adds to the enjoyment and gives it a much more darker feel and it also makes good use of atmospheric music.

Nobody ever said that this is a believable programme but who gives a flying circus, it is enjoyable and that is all that matters.