CSI: Crime Scene Investigation

    For many years I watched CSI on TV.  The problem was I kept missing pieces of storylines.  I figured I would find the episodes I missed eventually, and be able to put all the pieces together.  Then the show stopped airing on channels I had access to.  I was still curious about the storylines, and decided to get the DVDs.  To have everything make sense, I started at the beginning.  So far, I have gone through seven seasons.      

    Gil Grissom (William Petersen) is the supervisor for the late shift at the Las Vegas Crime Lab.  He and members of his team collect forensic evidence at crime scenes.  This field team consists of Catherine Willows (Marg Helgenberger), Warrick Brown (Gary Dourdan), and Nick Stokes (George Eads).  Not long after the first episode, Sara Sidle (Jorja Fox) joins the team.

Photo of back DVD cover taken by Kate Dorsey

    Back in the lab are the people who process the evidence found.  These people change over the years, but one constant is Greg Sanders (Eric Szmanda).  He starts out in the lab but is eager to be out in the field.  Greg manages to accomplish this after finding a replacement for himself, which was not an easy task.

    Another group involved with the crime lab is autopsy.  It is run by Dr. Robbins (Robert David Hall) and his assistant, David Phillips (David Berman).  Many of the autopsy scenes are not easy to watch.  Much of the time I have to look away because what they are doing is too graphic for me.

    The police are also involved in each episode.  The detective we see most often throughout the series is Jim Brass (Paul Guilfoyle).  Another detective we see fairly steadily for a while is Sofia Curtis (Louise Lombard).  The others we see periodically throughout the years.

    Each character has their work on their cases as well as their personal lives to deal with.  Some characters have more personal situations to deal with than others.

    Gil finds himself attracted to a couple of different women.  It is his feelings for Sara he battles with the most, though.  Especially since she has feelings in return.  And has little problem saying so.

    Catherine must deal with her ex-husband, Eddie (Timothy Carhart).  They have a daughter together, Lindsey (Madison McReynolds, Kay Panabaker).  Catherine is always working, and no matter what, Eddie is always up to something questionable.  This creates a lot of problems for Catherine, especially when it comes to raising Lindsey.  Her relationships with men other than Eddie never go well either.

    Warrick has a gambling problem.  It is such a problem, he leaves a new field agent on her own.  She is killed, forcing Warrick to deal with his gambling.  He does gets better, and eventually marries a woman, Tina (Meta Golding), who he has only known a short time.  This relationship does not go well, as Warrick has difficulties trusting.

    Nick doesn’t have too many personal situations.  His stories mostly stem from his care for the people in the cases he is involved in.  He wants to do more for them, while others want him to keep everything to science.  Otherwise, the only other big storyline for Nick so far is the aftereffects of being kidnapped and buried alive.  After this traumatic of an experience, it is completely understandable why Nick would have his struggles.

    Sara, on the other hand, has quite a few battles.  She must constantly fight her feelings for Grissom.  Becoming involved with each other is something he will not budge on, no matter how much Sara urges him to do so.  There seems to be a lot of reasons for this, more than simply him being her supervisor.  Sara does try to date someone else for a while, but that does not go well.  She finds herself struggling with alcohol.  And she gets very, understandably, upset with how people are treated during their cases.

    Greg’s main concern in the early seasons is how he can get himself into the field.  After that, there is one main incident he must deal with.  One night, out on his own, he kills someone who was beating a man and then came after him.  Once Greg hits the assailant with his vehicle, the assailant’s friends, who were also beating the man, come and attack him.  The consequences of this incident last for an entire season.

    Brass, like Catherine, has difficulties with his daughter.  Although, unlike Lindsey, Brass’s daughter is an adult with very different, serious problems.

    Even with all the personal situations going on, they are secondary to the cases being investigated. Evidence is collected. People are interviewed.  Scientific tests are run.  Sometimes the evidence and work lead to the culprit being arrested.  Other times it does not.  Very often we see the criminals get away with their crimes for one reason or another.  Those episodes are always very frustrating.  I want to see justice done, especially when there is the evidence there to make it happen.

    Another irritating thing is how complacent the characters can get when it comes to the people affected by the crimes.  Towards the women especially.  More than once a woman has been in danger and the people who could help her just shrug their shoulders.  This is not the case for every character.  As mentioned, Nick always tries to keep the people involved in mind.  Sara often does too.  Others only do occasionally.  Depending on the case.

    Even with these irritations, I enjoy watching CSI.  I like seeing how the evidence is collected, how the tests are run, and trying to put the pieces together myself.  The cases are all different, but the motives are pretty similar.  Money and jealousy are very common motives.  Motives often applied to adults, making one think an adult is the most likely culprit.  With CSI, the culprit could just as easily be a child.

    I have many more seasons, and lots of cast changes to go.  It will be interesting to watch how everything changes with each cast member, and what cases they will have to solve.  I know some of the answers to these questions.  Others I don’t.  I look forward to finding out all the answers. 

Crooked Crossword/Artwork by Kate Dorsey