CSI: New York - Season 1: Part 2 (www.the-usher.com)

Tanglewood
Mac and Stella investigate the death of Paul Montenassi, a young man left to bleed to death in the snow. The investigation leads them to another victim, Mihok Lev, who had been killed by Montenassi in a robbery earlier that evening. When Hawkes concludes his autopsy on Montenassi, he is able to reveal a sanded-off tattoo that leads the detectives to the Tanglewood Boys.

Blood, Sweat And Tears
The body of a young trapeze artist is found folded into a box on Coney Island, leading Mac and Stella to the circus where they find themselves embroiled in a real-life Romeo and Juliet story between the dead contortionist, Lukas, and a trapeze artist, Anasuya. Danny and Flack find a woman's body in a laundry chute and learn that she was actually the former sorority sister of the woman who lived in that building, and turn their suspicion to the abusive husband the woman was hiding from.

'Til Death Do We Part
The team's investigation into the death of Hannah Bloom, who died at her own wedding, is put on hold when her father refuses to allow them to perform an autopsy until after his daughter's body is blessed by a rabbi. Danny and Mac turn their attention to the woman who trained the doves who were supposed to be released, but cannot tie her directly to Bloom, who died from formaldehyde poisoning.

Hush
Mac and Stella investigate when they find the body of Paddy Dolan, a longshoreman. Part of the body is found on a transport truck and another part back at the warehouses, but Mac encounters difficulty with the investigation when the workers put up a wall of silence against them.

The Fall
When young gang members murder the owner of an upscale Bronx wine store, the CSI's must work to find evidence that ultimately ties someone to the crime. Before dying, the storeowner makes a statement to police identifying his attackers as young gang members. Tempers flare when the murder investigation reunites Detective Flack with his long-time mentor and friend Sergeant Gavin Moran, who was the first to arrive at the crime scene.

The Dove Commission
When the chief investigator of a controversial report documenting corruption within the NYPD is gunned down the day before his findings are published, Mac and Stella must find the killer, launching a massive search that makes every officer listed in the report a suspect.

Crime and Misdemeanour
When the body of a young woman is discovered at a laundry facility, the bed sheets she is wrapped in lead Mac and Stella back to an upscale New York hotel that houses diplomats from around the world when the United Nations is in special session.

Supply And Demand
When a college student is beaten, shot to death and his apartment ransacked in what appears to be a drug-related hit, the team must track down his killers. After examining the evidence in the murdered student's apartment, the team finds traces of pure, unprocessed heroin and discovers that the victim had a female roommate who is now missing.

On The Job
While processing a crime scene, Danny is suddenly attacked by a suspect hiding in the victim's closet. The ensuing chase leads them to a crowded New York subway where the suspect, an undercover cop and Danny all fire shots. When the smoke clears, the team is left with a dead cop, a missing suspect and Danny under investigation for the possible murder of the officer. Mac must prove who killed the cop in order to save Danny's job.

The Closer
The team examines the murder of an avid Boston Red Sox fan found dead with a ruptured spleen following a tough loss against New York. Danny must put his baseball skills to the test to piece together the evidence as the CSI's try to find out how and why he was murdered.

What You See Is What You Get
While Mac dines at his local breakfast spot, a gunman opens fire, leaving a waitress critically injured and a man dead, and Mac having to choose whether to chase after the suspect or save the life of the young woman. Meanwhile, before the chaos, a shy patron who awkwardly engaged him in conversation approached Mac. After feeling that he saved her life during the shoot out, she asks him to join her for a drink and Mac must decide if he is ready to start dating after his wife's tragic death.

The first season of the newest show in the CSI franchise concludes as it continues to prove that the Big Apple is very different to Las Vegas and Miami.

The main problem with the two previous incarnations of the show is that none of them really developed any backstory or out of work relationships for the main characters. The shows just concentrated on the solving the crime and offering only the odd titbit of information about their lives outside of the lab. The writers have now tried to address this in New York.

Gary Sinise's Mac Taylor is probably the most developed of the characters. His backstory reveals why he is so devoted to his job and why his personal life is virtually non-existent. In fact after the events that happened on 9/11, the CSI's of New York each have their own stories from that day and how it affected both the police force and the people of the city.

Carmine Giovinazzo's Detective Danny Messer is also another character that has received some development. After growing up on the wrong side of the tracks, he uses his street smarts to get information to help in the cases. His background does bring him into conflict with his fellow officers and mainly with Mac, especially during the episodes 'Tanglewood' and 'On the Job'.

Hill Harper's Dr. Sheldon Hawkes is probably the most interesting character of the first season, so much so that his screen time increases as the show progresses. The reclusive coroner grows through the series and even gets to leave the confines of autopsy. This is testament to the talents of Hill Harper and the writers for developing the character.

Probably the weakest character of the show is Aiden Burn, played by Vanessa Ferlito. It might be because she looks too beautiful to be a scientist but you just can take her seriously in the role she is probably too young and too attractive for. The first season of

'CSI: New York' sets the series up as its own entity and makes it suitably different to the two other shows. The fact that New York is one of the highest populated cites in the world, makes this very different from Las Vegas or Miami and gives the writers a whole new set of parameters to play with. The show also proves that the CSI franchise is one of the strongest on television.

PICTURE AND SOUND

Presented in 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen with a Dolby Digital 5.1 surround soundtrack the transfer is very good.

BONUS FEATURES

Audio Commentary
Listen to commentary tracks for the episode 'Tanglewood' from creator Anthony E. Zuiker. This is a chatty and informative commentary that offers an insight into the making of a modern TV show and allows the series creator to reveal how the season is progressing.

The World's Largest Crime Scene (8.50 mins)
Producers/series creators Anthony E. Zuiker and Ann Donahue, writers Eli Talbert, Timothy J. Lea and Carol Mendelsohn, executive producer Jerry Bruckheimer and stars Gary Sinise, Melina Kanakaredes and Carmine Giovinazzo talk about making the show a little different from the ones set in Las Vegas and Miami. With behind the scenes footage from the CSI: Miami pilot 'MIA/NYC Non-Stop', the people behind the show reveal how moving the franchise to one of the biggest and highest populated cities in the world has made the franchise difference.

The Cast Examine the Characters (14.38 mins)
Producers/series creators Anthony E. Zuiker and Ann Donahue, writer Eli Talbert, technical advisor Bill Haynes and stars Gary Sinise, Melina Kanakaredes, Carmine Giovinazzo, Vanessa Ferlito, Hill Harper and Eddie Cahill talk about the characters Mac Taylor, Stella Bonasera, Danny Messer, Aiden Burn, Dr. Sheldon Hawkes and Det. Don Flack and reveal their favourite episodes from the first season.

The Zoo Year (9.27 mins)
Producers/series creator Anthony E. Zuiker, writers Eli Talbert and Matthew Lau, technical advisor Bill Haynes and star Vanessa Ferlito talk about the dogs, horses, rats and elephants used during the first season of CSI: NY.

CSI: NY Set Tour (9.05 mins)
Production designer Carey Meyer, construction coordinator Steve Fidler and set decorator Cindy Coburn take you on a tour of the sets for CSI: NY. Here we are shown autopsy, Hawke's office, the lobby, Mac's office, DNA Lab, reconstruction room, finger print lab, trace lab and AV lab.

OVERALL

With more featurettes but only one commentary, the second part of the first season of CSI: NY balances itself out over the two releases. Why Momentum continue to release them in two halves is still confusing but they do manage to put together a good package for fans.

DVD

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