CSI Trilogy

CSI Trilogy

Part 1 CSI: Miami 8x07 Bone Voyage
Part 2 CSI: NY 6x07 Hammer Down
Part 3 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation 10x07 The Lost Girls

I don't normally watch any of the CSIs (as regular readers of this blog could deduce), but I've seen the odd episode before and usually quite enjoyed it. So, as the idea of doing a three-part story spread across all of the series is the kind of thing that appeals to me (I have no idea why, but it's the kind of notion that does), I decided to watch them. And the advantage of V+ is getting to watch all three back-to-back.

I still have no intention of watching any of the series regularly, but that goes especially for Miami. Over-directed, over-edited, over-acted, over-technologised (a giant hologram screen with Minority Report-style controls? Seriously?), and full of bits that are meant to be Deadly Serious but push it too far (far too far) and are just unintentionally hilarious. How this show has lasted to its eighth season is beyond me.

Despite my memories from episodes I saw several years ago (of it being the worst of the bunch), NY is nothing like as bad. Which isn't to say it's great, but there's no one quite as po-faced-edly embarrassing/irritating as Horatio Caine and the show itself is more sensibly shot and edited. Thank goodness.

The original Vegas-set series is still the best, though this is far from the best episode I've seen. Don't know if it's gone off the boil after ten seasons or if it's just this episode, but it's still OK. Apart from a rather twee ending.

As a whole, the trilogy is quite neatly linked: sort of three standalone episodes with vaguelly related plots, but with one that distinctly develops under/alongside all of them. Some would've preferred a full-on three-parter with all teams, I'm sure, but with the strictures of finding a plot to believably bring three totally different departments together and the practicalities of the US network TV production style, it seems unlikely that would ever have happened.

It's not the "TV event of the year" that Five were trying to claim, then -- not even close, actually -- but it wasn't bad. Well, not that bad. Except Miami.

[Watch parts two and three (again) on Demand Five. No idea why the first one's not there.]