Crime Scene Investigation
Created | Updated May 28, 2002
Crime Scene Investigation is a fast-paced American TV show about the joys of discovering dead bodies and taking them to pieces with tweezers etc to 'make them talk', as part of the Las Vegas crime lab.
The Location
Las Vegas, allowing lots of desert-set crime scenes plus a steady stream of gangsters, molls, cardsharps and exotic dancers to make up the body count.
The Team
Grissom
Grizzled, grey-haired and ever so slightly chubby, Grissom leads the team. He's a loner, like all detectives, and like the rest of his team, he has no life. His main passion, if he could be said to have one, is learning about the bugs which infest dead bodies.
Catherine Willow
Blonde and glamorous, her 'I have a life' credentials comprise an ex-husband and a daughter who are never seen. She has lots of friends in high places and was formerly an exotic dancer at a Vegas club before moving, as you do, to crime scene investigation.
Nick
Chisel-jawed, manly, slightly dim - Nick mostly just stands there looking earnest and people confess what they've done to him. He once nearly had an affair with a hooker but luckily for his career plans, she was murdered.
Sara
She's brunette, she's a workaholic and she has a worrying tendency to flirt with Grissom. Still, unlike the X-Files, this show has wisely invested in an ensemble cast, so it can keep reshuffling its USTs (1) forever, rather than winding up with Moonlighting Syndrome (2). Greg from the DNA lab also has a crush on Sara which she shows no sign of reciprocating.
Warwick
He has an afro dating from the late 70s and an ex-gambling habit but other than this, Warwick's main adventure has been to fall in love with an exotic singer from a Vegas bar.
There are also a team of nerds to serve the CSI team's evidence-processing needs. These comprise:
Dr Robbins, the forensic pathologist
Bearded, middle-aged, he's got about as much charisma as any other person who spends their time cutting out dead bodies. (Think Quincy.)
Greg, the DNA expert
A nerd with tousled hair, bright Hawaiian shirts and a tendency to flirt with everything that moves, Greg injects a welcome dose of humour to the show. He even answers Grissom back and has, as stated before, a big crush on Sara, which he expresses by always analysing her DNA samples first.
Things To Note
Most of the detecting is also done by the crime scene investigation team. They have a tame police detective who trails round with them and politely waits for them to finish deducing things before presuming to make any suggestions himself, but generally Grissom and the team get to follow up clues, interview the suspects and even make arrests.
I'd hate to think what would happen if Mulder and Scully ever came to Vegas to investigate a puzzling murder. They could never stand having a CSI team that had its own opinions.
In conclusion, CSI is glossy, slick and fast-moving. Occasionally it even proposes a halfway baffling whodunnit. No wonder we love it so much.
1. UST = Unresolved Sexual Tension.
2. Moonlighting Syndrome - the disastrous drop in ratings leading to ultimate axing of the show which follows resolution of a UST. See also, The X-Files.
The Location
Las Vegas, allowing lots of desert-set crime scenes plus a steady stream of gangsters, molls, cardsharps and exotic dancers to make up the body count.
The Team
Grissom
Grizzled, grey-haired and ever so slightly chubby, Grissom leads the team. He's a loner, like all detectives, and like the rest of his team, he has no life. His main passion, if he could be said to have one, is learning about the bugs which infest dead bodies.
Catherine Willow
Blonde and glamorous, her 'I have a life' credentials comprise an ex-husband and a daughter who are never seen. She has lots of friends in high places and was formerly an exotic dancer at a Vegas club before moving, as you do, to crime scene investigation.
Nick
Chisel-jawed, manly, slightly dim - Nick mostly just stands there looking earnest and people confess what they've done to him. He once nearly had an affair with a hooker but luckily for his career plans, she was murdered.
Sara
She's brunette, she's a workaholic and she has a worrying tendency to flirt with Grissom. Still, unlike the X-Files, this show has wisely invested in an ensemble cast, so it can keep reshuffling its USTs (1) forever, rather than winding up with Moonlighting Syndrome (2). Greg from the DNA lab also has a crush on Sara which she shows no sign of reciprocating.
Warwick
He has an afro dating from the late 70s and an ex-gambling habit but other than this, Warwick's main adventure has been to fall in love with an exotic singer from a Vegas bar.
There are also a team of nerds to serve the CSI team's evidence-processing needs. These comprise:
Dr Robbins, the forensic pathologist
Bearded, middle-aged, he's got about as much charisma as any other person who spends their time cutting out dead bodies. (Think Quincy.)
Greg, the DNA expert
A nerd with tousled hair, bright Hawaiian shirts and a tendency to flirt with everything that moves, Greg injects a welcome dose of humour to the show. He even answers Grissom back and has, as stated before, a big crush on Sara, which he expresses by always analysing her DNA samples first.
Things To Note
Most of the detecting is also done by the crime scene investigation team. They have a tame police detective who trails round with them and politely waits for them to finish deducing things before presuming to make any suggestions himself, but generally Grissom and the team get to follow up clues, interview the suspects and even make arrests.
I'd hate to think what would happen if Mulder and Scully ever came to Vegas to investigate a puzzling murder. They could never stand having a CSI team that had its own opinions.
In conclusion, CSI is glossy, slick and fast-moving. Occasionally it even proposes a halfway baffling whodunnit. No wonder we love it so much.
1. UST = Unresolved Sexual Tension.
2. Moonlighting Syndrome - the disastrous drop in ratings leading to ultimate axing of the show which follows resolution of a UST. See also, The X-Files.
