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Episodes
Disc Three: “And Then There Were None”, “Ellie”, “Organ Grinder”,
“You’ve Got Male”
Episodes
Disc Four: “Identity Crisis”, “The Finger”, “Burden Of Proof”,
“Primum Non Nocere”
Episodes
Disc Five: “Felonius Monk”, “Chasing The Bus”, “Stalker”, “Cats In
The Cradle”
Episodes
Disc Six: “Anatomy Of A Lye”, “Cross-Jurisdictions”, “The Hunger
Artist”
Stars:
William Peterson, Marg Helgenberger, Gary Dourdan, George Eads, Jorja Fox, Paul
Guilfoyle, Robert David Hall, and Eric Szmanda
Created
By: Anthony Zuiker
Executive
Producers: Jerry Bruckheimer and William Peterson
Feature
length: 16 hours and 45 minutes
Extras:
Select Episode Commentaries, Behind The
Scenes Featurettes
Languages:
English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and Spanish Language Stereo Sound
Subtitles:
English Closed Captions and Spanish Language Subtitles On The Featurettes Only
Packaging:
Six-Disc Book Style Digipack Within A Slipcase
Chapter
Stops: 6 per episode
Sound:
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and Stereo Sound
Year
of Television Broadcast: 2001-2002/DVD Release: 2003
Home
Video Distributor: Paramount Home Entertainment
MPAA
Rating: Not Rated
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
“CSI:
Crime Scene Investigation” is one of the most popular crime dramas on
television. Syndicated reruns have aired on TNN while CBS aired new episodes.
After only two seasons, the show had already spun off a companion program
“CSI: Miami” starring David Caruso and there has even been merchandising
associated with the show that includes a popular PC CD-ROM, a soundtrack CD,
novels, and even a series companion that covers the first 50 episodes. Executive
Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer with series star William Peterson serving as one
of the show’s Executive Producers, I have to admit that “CSI: Crime Scene
Investigation” fascinates me.
What
I like about the series is that it is as educational regarding it’s adherence
to forensic science and how crimes are solved through various methods with none
of the grim details candy coated for television. After tons of gritty cop dramas
that range between the glossy “Miami Vice” styled pulp and the brooding
“NYPD Blue” type production and lest we forget the antihero Detective of
“The Shield,” I find “CSI” to be refreshing and entertaining.
They
could not have picked a better leading man than William Peterson for the show. I
have been a fan of this actor since I first saw him in “Manhunter” back in
1986 and I think his previous experience as “Will Graham” in the original
big screen adaptation of Thomas Harris’ “Red Dragon” helps to build upon
his character in this show. I realize that both characters are extremely
different, but one cannot deny that essentially they are both detectives who use
extraordinary techniques to catch killers. Marg Helgenberger is great in her
role as the single mother CSI detective with a sorted back-story route into law
enforcement. She is as bright as she is sexy on the show.
The series alternates from various stylized if not overexposed camera
techniques to glossy photography and it all comes off very well on DVD.
The
second season
is when the show became the number one television drama in its time slot,
beating out “E.R.” with the episode “Ellie.” The second season also gave
a chance for supporting characters to grow and more interesting storylines to
develop that had such diversity that one can imagine some episodes taking place
anywhere. We also see episodes where the killer is not the one put in jail
despite the forensic evidence. With the fourth season to premiere on CBS soon,
Paramount Home Entertainment with CBS DVD have released the complete second
season of “CSI” with gorgeous anamorphic widescreen (1.78:1) aspect ratio
presentations and excellent as well as discrete English Dolby Digital 5.1
Surround Sound. A Spanish Language Stereo Soundtrack and English Closed Captions
for the hearing impaired and Spanish Language Subtitles for the extra
featurettes only are also encoded onto the discs in this set.
This
is the way the first season of “CSI” should have been released from the
beginning and not just because of the picture and sound, but because the extra
value features truly enhance the TV on DVD experience in a manner standard
television broadcast simply cannot match. To begin with there are three episode
length audio commentary tracks for the season two episodes entitled “Burked”
with commentary by Executive Producer Carol Mendelsohn, Series Creator Anthony
Zuiker, and Executive Producer/Director Danny Cannon, “Alter Boys” with
Executive Producer/Director Danny Cannon and Writer Anne Donahue, and
“Ellie” with Series Creator Anthony Zuiker and Actor Gary Dourdan. All three
are screen specific and informative, but my personal favorites were the
commentaries for “Alter Boys” because it featured discussion about the
writing of the series and “Ellie” because it is the first “CSI” episode
that hit number one in the ratings and began to expand the characters with Gary
Dourdan performing a fine leading role for the episode.
The
rest of the extra features are on disc six, which features a detailed
interactive tour explaining the uses of the various equipment seen on the show
in short clips at the Trace Lab, Ballistics Lab, and DNA Lab under the “Tools
Of The Trade” banner. There is also a tour of Grissom’s Office hosted by
Production Designer Richard Berg (8:33), a featurette on the location shooting
(6:27), and a featurette covering the “Make-up, Music and Special Effects”
(9:55) of the series. A retrospective Season Two featurette entitled “The
Making Of A Hit” (11:37) wraps up the extra value features included in this
DVD box set.
“CSI:
Crime Scene Investigation: The Complete Second Season On DVD” box set is an
excellent must-have video collection every “CSI” fan should add to their DVD
library and is available now at retailers on and offline from Paramount Home
Entertainment.
©
Copyright 2003 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.
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