CSI: Miami: Season One - Part 1 (www.the-usher.com)

The Miami-Dade CSI team of Lieutenant Horatio Caine (Caruso), Calleigh Duquesne (Procter), Eric Delko (Rodriguez), Tim "Speed" Speedle (Cochrane), Chief Medical Examiner Alexx Woods (Alexander) and Megan Donner (Delaney) investigate…

Golden Parachute
Megan Donner returns to the CSI unit in time to work on a jet crash in the Everglades. While searching for survivors, they inexplicably discover a female victim found five miles from the crash site. When the only survivor says the woman opened the plane's hatch in order to commit suicide, Horatio is suspicious. The team must now recreate what happened on that fatal flight, especially when the pieces don't quite fit together.

Wet Foot/Dry Foot
A shark caught off the coast of Miami contains a human male arm and partial torso with a single .45-caliber bullet wound. From a tattoo on the forearm, the CSIs realize that the victim was likely a political refugee from Cuba. When a matching bullet is found lodged in the hull of an abandoned boat stained with female blood, the CSIs realize that they are looking for another victim.

Just One Kiss
A dead man with a slit throat and a partially burned face is discovered on a Miami beach, along with an unconscious young girl who was beaten and thrown into the ocean. The investigation leads Horatio to a prominent Florida family and its steely patriarch, who was once involved in a mysterious case that has plagued Horatio for years.

Losing Face
A serial bomber appears to be targeting Miami's Colombian community as a wealthy importer of Colombian goods is discovered wearing an explosive collar. Disaster strikes when the collar explodes killing its intended victim and Horatio Caine's mentor. Horatio and his team now face a race against time to solve the case before the bomber strikes again.

Ashes To Ashes
When a priest is found dead in his rectory after being brutally shot, Megan, Calleigh and Speedle must untangle a messy web of familial issues that lead to his death. Elsewhere, Horatio and Eric attempt to solve the emotional case of an exploded vehicle, which was home to a mother with child.

Broken
The whole team investigates the crime scene of an indoor amusement park when a young girl is found dead in the bathroom. They must track down the relentless man responsible for the heinous crime quicker than usual, as everyone on location has been detained until they can be cleared. What looks to be like a regular attempted kidnapping turns out to be much more than any of the detectives had bargained for.

Breathless
Horatio, Calleigh and Speedle investigate the death of an exotic dancer found dead after a sexual party, and must dig through the evidence to discover a motive. Meanwhile, Eric and Megan investigate the death of a man involved in diving that mysteriously died after climbing onto a random boat.

Slaughterhouse
Horatio and his team must uncover the evidence in the brutal murder of an entire family in their own home. The only survivors are a blood-soaked toddler, and the father who's in surgery. The immediate assumption is that the mother is responsible but the evidence discloses a different outcome.

Kill Zone
During a typical morning rush hour in downtown Miami, an unseen sniper chooses three victims at random and opens fire, killing each with a single shot to the head. Horatio and his crew rush to the scene, which is quickly mobbed by TV news reporters eager to spin the murders into a national story. The initial investigation doesn't reveal much, as there were no witnesses and little evidence remains. But the case heats up when the sniper strikes again, killing two more innocent people.

A Horrible Mind
Horatio, Speedle and Calleigh root through the evidence in the homicide of a strange, and unorthodox college professor when they find him tied to a tree. Elsewhere, Delko and Megan investigate a car found in the water with a dead body in the trunk, and immediately suspect an insurance scam.

Camp Fear
They investigate the death of a young model, whose body was found near a juvenile detention camp for girls. Across town, Delko and Speedle probe the bizarre death of a man who was apparently burned from the inside.

Entrance Wounds
Horatio and Speedle investigate the slaying of a hooker who is found dead under a bed in a plush beachside cottage, her naked body having been stabbed 23 times. But the crime scene yields few traces of blood because the killer bathed the victim in the cottage's tub with cardamom soap. Across town at an urban gas station, Calleigh and Delko attempt to uncover why a German tourist was gunned down in an apparent carjacking. They learn that a masked assailant approached a vacationing couple's rental car, shot and killed the husband, but left the wife unharmed and then fled the scene.

After the phenomenal success of Las Vegas based CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, US TV Network CBS wanted more, so the makers of the show brought us CSI: Miami. But would it be more of the same or could this show have its own style and voice. The answer to that question is a resounding yes.

While people might argue that having two shows based around forensic science would be too similar to co-exist, the makers of the programmes have made a conscience effort to make the shows as different as they can. Where the original is a night based show, tinged in the neon and razzmatazz of Vegas, the Miami show is a daytime show filled with sun, beaches and fabulously good-looking people. What they both have in common is murder and while they might use similar techniques to solve the crimes, the environment and life styles make them very different. The main difference between the shows is that the CSI: Miami team are actually trained police officers. Were the Vegas team are civilians with the technical expertise to do the job, the Miami-Dade Crime Lab investigators follow through with their cases and actually make the arrests. This makes for a more action driven show as Horatio and his team chase down criminals and don't simply hand the case over to an arresting detective.

As with the original show, the spin-off has a first rate ensemble cast. After failing to launch a movie career David Caruso returns to television in an even better role than the role that brought him to prominence in the first place, Det. John Kelly in NYPD Blue. As Lieutenant Horatio Caine he totally commands the scene every time he graces it. The character is a no-nonsense criminalist who is passionately driven by the pursuit of justice. This is a role that suits Caruso's acting style and as the lead character, he is very different from the original's Gil Grissom, played by William Peterson. Emily Procter gets the chance to shine as Calleigh Duquesne, Miami's resident ballistics expert. After a few bit parts in other shows and a reoccurring role in The West Wing, this is the actress's big break and she grabs it with both hands to produce one of the best and most rounded characters in the show. Adam Rodriguez also grabs his chance as Eric Delko, after having only small parts in series like Roswell and Brooklyn South.

In the only move that was copied from the original show, Kim Delaney was brought in to play the Miami equivalent of Marg Helgenberger in CSI. This was a decision that really didn't work as David Caruso had too much screen presence for her to compete. This led to Delaney leaving the show after ten episodes.

The major thing that CSI: Miami has in common with the original show is the high quality of writing. Each show is extremely gripping from the off and not one episode is mundane or similar to any they have done before. The scripts are very detailed and meticulously researched, with the programme makers never afraid of showing you the grizzly aftermath of a violent death and how that death was executed.

CSI: Miami is another example of first rate, must watch television. This is one of the best-produced shows on the box and it only gets better with every episode. With riveting stories and excellent ensemble cast, the show is just as good as its illustrious predecessor but not two similar that it becomes

PICTURE AND SOUND

Presented in 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen with a Dolby Digital 5.1 surround soundtrack the transfer is very good. The sharpness of the picture conveys the brightness of the Miami setting at the yellow tint shines through. The surround sound is also very good for a TV show, with the vibrant Latin beat of the Florida city coming through loud and clear.

BONUS FEATURES

Disc 1

CSI: Miami Trailer (1.03 mins)
The original CBS trailer used to promote the spin-off series

Golden Parachute Episode Commentary
Episode writer Steven Maeda and director Joe Chappelle provide a more technical driven commentary track for the first episode of CSI: Miami. The track reveals behind the scenes stories about the production like what it was like to film in the Everglades, covering continuation mistakes and how this was originally going to be the third episode of the season. The writer discusses how much input he had in creating the back stories of the characters and how both he and the director worked hard on creating a different look and feel to the spin-off show.

Disc 2

Creating CSI: Miami (11.57 mins)
Series creators Anthony E. Zuiker, Ann Donahue and Carol Mendelsohn, producer Danny Cannon and writer Elizabeth Devine talk about creating the first CSI spin-off series. They reveal how Danny Cannon set the tone and look of the series in the un-official pilot Cross-Jurisdictions, which aired as part of the second season of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, taking you behind the scenes of that episode. The also outline the differences between the two shows and the fears and problems they had with spinning off a series that had only ran for two years.

Disc 3

CSI: Miami Uncovered (12.23 mins)
Series creators Anthony E. Zuiker, Ann Donahue and Carol Mendelsohn, producer Danny Cannon, director Joe Chappelle, technical advisor John Haynes and stars David Caruso, Emily Procter, Adam Rodriguez, Rory Cochrane, Khandi Alexander and Sofia Milos talk about bringing CSI: Miami to the small screen. With behind the scenes footage, the cast and crew talk about creating the spin-off series and the new characters that inhabit the Miami crime lab. Each actor talks about their character and explain how much research and preparation they had to do to play the character.

OVERALL

A first class TV series gets a decent treatment on DVD. The featurettes are informative, if a little short and the commentary track on the first episode gives a fascinating insight into the making of the show. The package would have benefited from been the complete season however and maybe a few more commentaries on the episodes but the show transfer is first rate. CSI: Miami is one of the best shows on the box and if you haven't seen it, the DVD is a must buy or rent.

DVD

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