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CSI: NY

Gary Sinise as Mac Taylor in CSI: NY
  • Posted at 4:40pm
  • 23 April 2009
  • by AlisonGraham-RT
  • 4 comments

Since the departure of Gil Grissom, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation has become, more often than not, a dull and turgid thing, which is a shame as it was once the most mighty of all police procedural dramas.

Grissom was the beating heart of CSI, giving blood and life to his small team. Now he's gone, they are quietly dying. I feel for Laurence Fishburne, who admittedly doesn't directly replace Grissom - Grissom's deputy, Catherine Willows, has taken over - but he was brought in to fill a Grissom-sized gap. He can't, through no fault of his own, largely because his character, Dr Raymond Langston, is so poorly scripted and realised. And dull.

So, in my sorrow, I have a) taken solace in the endless CSI repeats of Grissom episodes on Five USA and b) transferred my affections to CSI: NY (Saturdays, Five). This has always been the Cinderella of the CSI franchise, right from its rocky birth.

CSI: NY took an entire series to find its feet. If you watch repeats of season one you'll see it was very dark, washed-out, grimy, gritty and urban, which didn't seem to go down well with anyone (though I always liked this lack of sheen as it fitted with the dark side of New York). It returned with a second series covered in a CSI gloss after producers, worried that it was too grim for audiences, ordered a rehash.

I pretty much lost faith in the shiny new CSI: NY but recently it's burrowed its way back into my affections. I like the team - impassive, plastic boss Mac (Gary Sinise) I can pretty much take or leave because he's a bit too right wing and a bit too keen to give us his views on the death penalty (he's pro). But his satellites are a good bunch. From glamorous Stella to lab nerd Adam, they coalesce nicely in a way that the ridiculous CSI: Miami's shimmering personnel simply don't.

To me the ludicrous Horatio Caine's staff members feel as if they've simply turned up out of nowhere, like well-dressed strangers at a bus stop. There's no sense that they are part of a wider picture.

I don't even mind that CSI: NY's writers attempt to give their characters personal lives - widower Mac occasionally has a poised and glamorous lady love-interest that you just know won't last more than a few episodes, and Danny and Lindsay are a proper item now that she's pregnant with his baby.

To judge by some of the halfwitted dribbling fury of a certain section of the show's fans that greeted this particular move, you'd think that the sky was about to fall in. But it feels right. And it's sweet.

**

Alison Graham is TV editor of Radio Times - read her column in the latest issue of Radio Times magazine, on sale now.

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Comments

  • Posted on 26 May 2009
  • at 6:39pm
  • by macfan

Mac's my favourite, though I don't necessairily agree with his point of view on the death penalty. NY is my fave of all the CSIs, and Mac's my favourite character, I find him anything but plastic and impassive. I like all the others, though Danny's a bit too much of a bleeding heart for my liking, and Stella's 'glamour' often amounted to wearing distinctly unprofessional and low cut clothing, though she seems to have improved now, keeping the style without having her boobs practically hanging out! The Danny/Lindsay romance I can pretty much take or leave.

I think Mac is HOT, which makes his stance on the death penalty, and his right wing politics (personally I don't think he's too right wing) are therefore acceptable. Mac does get some really great emotional scenes every once in a while, they're a joy to watch. Sid the creepy M.E. and Adam the geeky tech,are fantastic and truly deserved being added to the credits this season.

I love NY, and all the characters (though Lindsay I can take or leave, I preferred her predecessor, Aidan) and I love Mac.

  • Posted on 28 April 2009
  • at 10:00pm
  • by mark

csi may be struggling since grissom left but this weeks episode was brilliant

  • Posted on 28 April 2009
  • at 7:27pm
  • by old yorkie

Its not so long agao that AG was dishing CSI NY as - from memory - dull and boring. I've always found it the best of the three. As for Grissom, going to the depths of the Central American jungle to find his tootsie was just a bit too much to swallow.

So, please give CSI Vegas and Fishburne time...

  • Posted on 25 April 2009
  • at 11:35am
  • by Caroline

I like NY the best of all the CSI's. I could never get into the original and Ho-Caine set my teeth on edge too much for me to watch the show. But NY I like just fine. Even Mac.

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