CSI: Crime Scene Investigation-Season 2-Episodes 2.1-2.12 (2000) |
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CSI: Crime Scene Investigation-Season 2-Episodes 2.1-2.12 (2000) |
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| BUY IT |
| General | Extras | ||
| Category | Drama |
Main Menu Audio & Animation Scene Selection Animation Audio Commentary-Cast And Crew Commentary: Episodes 2.1, 2.6 and 2.10 Featurette-Behind The Scenes Music Video-The Who - Who Are You Theatrical Trailer Featurette-Cast And Crew Feature Featurette-Set Walk Through Booklet |
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| Rating |
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| Year Of Production | 2000 | ||
| Running Time | 497:23 | ||
| RSDL / Flipper |
Dual Layered Multi Disc Set (3) |
Cast & Crew | |
| Start Up | Ads Then Menu | ||
| Region Coding | 4 | Directed By |
Lou Antonio Matt Earl Beesley Danny Cannon Charles Correll |
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Studio
Distributor |
 Imagine Entertainment |
Starring |
William L. Petersen Marg Helgenberger Gary Dourdan George Eads Jorja Fox Eric Szmanda Robert David Hall Paul Guilfoyle |
| Case | Gatefold | ||
| RPI | $89.95 | Music | John M. Keane |
| Video | Audio | ||
| Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None |
English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) |
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| Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 1.78:1 | ||
| 16x9 Enhancement |
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| Video Format | 576i (PAL) | ||
| Original Aspect Ratio | 1.78:1 | Miscellaneous | |
| Jacket Pictures | No | ||
| Subtitles | English for the Hearing Impaired | Smoking | Yes |
| Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
| Action In or After Credits | No | ||
The premise of Anthony Zuiker’s C.S.I.: Crime Scene Investigation is fairly basic – it follows the talented forensic investigator Gil Grissom (William L. Peterson), who heads up the night shift for the Las Vegas Police Department Crime Scene Investigation Unit, called to the scene of every crime to help gather evidence and find the criminals. Working with him are fellow investigators Catherine Willows (Marg Helgenberger), Warrick Brown (Gary Dourdan), Nick Stokes (George Eads), and Sara Sidle (Jorja Fox), forensics processor Greg Sanders (Eric Szmanda), forensic pathologist Dr. Al Robbins (Robert David Hall), and L.V.P.D. Captain Jim Brass (Paul Guilfoyle).
Ultimately, this is a classic ‘whodunnit’ series, following the clues to catch the bad guys. However, it is the interesting mix of investigators and the techniques they use that makes this show different from your standard ‘whodunnit’ cop show. Rather than the ‘lean-on’ or ‘rogue’ tactics that a lot of cop shows tend to employ, here we have pure applied science showing us how the cops use the evidence they have to get convictions.
Interestingly enough, the distributors have chosen to release Season 2 in two parts. This first part of Season 2 breaks down as follows:
2.1 Burked (42:12) -- When a wealthy pit-boss at one of Las Vegas’s most prestigious casinos is found dead, Grissom quickly determines that the apparent suicide scene has been faked and goes to work trying to discover the murderer. The case brings back memories for Catherine as the murdered man was the son of her former boss when she was a showgirl.
2.2 Chaos Theory (41:54) -- The disappearance of a college girl uncovers a twisted web of infidelity on campus. But where everybody has a motive, who is the killer?
2.3 Overload (42:03) -- when a construction worker is killed, everything points to electric shock. But as Grissom pokes deeper, he discovers there is more going on here. At the same time, Catherine and Nick investigate the death of a young boy who apparently had an epileptic fit at his psychiatrist’s office.
2.4 Bully For You (41:08) -- When the school bully is shot dead in the school toilets after a game, a child becomes the immediate suspect. But soon the net of suspects widens and Grissom starts looking for evidence to give him a clear picture of who did the killing. At the same time, Sara and Nick investigate the discovery of a degraded body with an army jacket found in a sports bag.
2.5 Scuba Doobie-Doo (40:35) -- Nick and Catherine find the body of a scuba diver in a tree after a fire has burnt through the area. At the same time, Grissom, Sara and Warrick examine an apartment with blood stained walls to discover if there has been a murder, and if so, of whom and by whom.
2.6 Alter Boys (42:32) -- A man is discovered burying multiple bodies, but is he the killer? Only the C.S.I. team can find out. At the same time, Catherine and Warrick investigate the death of a guest at a casino who died in a spa under suspicious circumstances.
2.7 Caged (42:25) -- The death of a book restorer leads Grissom to a high-functioning autistic that may be the only witness to events. At the same time, Catherine and Warrick try to figure out what really happened when a car was hit by a freight train, killing the driver.
2.8 Slaves Of Las Vegas (42:35) -- The discovery of a murdered woman in a playground sandbox leads Grissom and Catherine to a sado-masochism club where a relationship forms between Grissom and the mistress. At the same time, Warrick and Sara investigate an armed robbery at a Spanish grocer.
2.9 And Then There Were None (38:53) -- A violent armed robbery at a casino, seemingly by a group of women, leads Grissom after a series of male suspects and one female. At the same time, Catherine and Sara are sent to gather evidence at a distant grocery store still within L.V.P.D. jurisdiction.
2.10 Ellie (40:59) -- The murder of a con artist leads Warrick to a drug trafficking operation with Captain Brass’s daughter caught in the middle. At the same time, Sara investigates a possible money counterfeiting operation.
2.11 Organ Grinder (39:52) -- When a wealthy businessman is found in a casino elevator, the C.S.I. team is caught up in a murder conspiracy with two female suspects.
2.12 You’ve Got Male (42:15) -- The discovery of two bodies at a construction site leads Grissom and his team to a bloody residence. But was it the aggressive ex-boyfriend, or a mysterious internet friend that did the killing? At the same time, Catherine and Nick investigate the death of a deer hunter – was it an accident, or something more?
I started watching C.S.I. about half way through Season 1 simply because it was on when I got home from the gym. It soon became one of those shows that I liked to keep up with, not merely because it has plenty of interesting stories and very high production values, but also because the characters are multi-dimensional, quirky and consequently interesting. The big question, though, is does this show hold up to repeat viewings, even when you already know the who, what, where and why of the crimes (and, therefore, is it worth owning)?
I have found that yes, it does hold up to repeat viewings, for a variety of reasons. As is the case with Joseph Condrad’s Heart Of Darkness (the loose basis for Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now), sometimes it is about the journey, not the destination. It is not so much who did it or how, but how these investigators go about finding that out. This process is interesting, and holds up to repeat viewings. Moreover, the characters are worthwhile and engaging, not two dimensional like the characters in so many other police investigation shows. Although some of the criminals sometimes remain two dimensional, the lies of the investigators themselves are slowly seeping out between all the hardcore forensics so that you get a better picture of who they are.
As a final note, I would just like to add that, at least in my opinion, this Las Vegas version of C.S.I. is much better than its Miami counterpart, simply because its characters are that much more interesting. C.S.I.: Miami has great production values and some particularly nasty crimes for the cast to solve, but the characters are two-dimensional at best, and so the show is just not engaging. William L. Peterson does a far better job than David Caruso, expressing compassion by comparison to Caruso’s cold off-handedness. Indeed, the whole of the Las Vegas C.S.I. crew is fallible, with their own problems and their own faults which make them human and thus easier to empathise with.
If you are a fan of the show, this collection is a must have. Season 2 is considerably better than Season 1, with better production values and more depth to the characters. For those of you who know nothing of the series but like crime shows, this is a good place to start.
Presented in 1.78:1, 16x9 enhanced, this is the original aspect ratio for the series.
Colours are well saturated and balanced. Shadow detail is very good, which is very important given that most of this show takes place either at night or in shadowy laboratories where light sensitivity is an issue.
The image is intensely detailed, and very well reproduced, with only some faint graininess.
There are no serious MPEG artefacts, and film-to-video transfer artefacts were minimal. There is some faint aliasing in the background of some scenes and some minor aliasing and moire on the tweed jackets that Captain Brass likes to wear.
There was no distracting dirt on the transfer, just an odd white dot here and there and only very rarely.
Subtitles are available in English only. They appear as white with a grey/black border and are easy to read. They do not convey the exact dialogue word for word, but they cover what is being said with all the important detail included, editing it down slightly so as to make it easier to read.
The dual-layer pause is in between the episodes, with two episodes per layer, on Discs 1 and 3. However, on Disc 2, the dual-layer pause is at 11:07 during the episode Caged. It occurs during one of the fade-to-blacks for an ad break and so is barely discernible.
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Audio is available in English 5.1 Dolby Digital only, a re-mix of the broadcast audio of 2.0 Dolby Surround.
Dialogue is clear and easy to hear and there were no audio sync faults that I could see.
The range here is very good, the music exhibiting a fine bass depth which is usually lacking in 2.0 Dolby Surround tracks.
Surround information itself is very good, with lots of left-right directional cues and a surprising amount of information from the rears. Although this is generally just ambient noise (office sounds, lab sounds, etc.) there is the odd gunshot that traverses through the soundfield from front to back or vice versa and this can be very impressive.
The subwoofer is given a decent workout, but it is not highly utilised. You can feel it rounding out the score here and there, and also its use to give depth to vehicle noises and gunshots or the like is apparent in certain scenes, but it is not heavily relied upon.
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The distributors have done a nice job of providing us with some extras for the show.
All menus are presented in 1.78:1, 16x9 enhanced, with a 2.0 Dolby Stereo audio backing. The main menu is a CGI recreation of a forensics lab and has a 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack. The episode menus have moving chapter selections with about ten seconds of footage, however there are only three chapters per episode.
The set comes with a 16-page booklet with episode summaries and promotional artwork which is very snazzy.
Presented in 2.0 Dolby Stereo, this is a commentary track by executive producers Carol Mendelsohn and Anthony Zuiker as well as episode director Danny Cannon. While they take a bit to get going, these three play fairly well off each other after they warm up a little. Still a few too many quiet patches, as if they are watching the episode themselves for the first time rather than commenting on it.
Also on Disc 1 is the music video of the show’s theme song “Who Are You”, performed by The Who. Presented in 1.33:1, Full Frame, 2.0 Dolby Stereo.
Presented in 1.33:1, 2.0 Dolby Stereo, this is a trailer for the Season 2 DVD release.
Presented in 1.33:1, 2.0 Dolby Stereo, this is a ‘behind the scenes’ on the set of C.S.I. kind of thing. It deals primarily with the make up effects, scoring and digital animation.
Presented in 1.85:1, Letterbox, 2.0 Dolby Stereo, this is a trailer for the PC game based on the series.
Presented in 2.0 Dolby Stereo, this commentary is by executive producer Ann Donahue and episode director Danny Cannon. The two are a fairly interesting mix, Donahue talking about the scripting and the casting and how the episode got together on that level, and Cannon talking about lighting effects and cinematography. There are very few silent patches.
Presented in 1.78:1, Letterbox, 2.0 Dolby Surround, this is effectively a season overview by the production crew, looking at the direction of the characters and the show from Season 2 leading into Season 3. Includes interviews with creator Anthony Zuiker and principal cast and crew. Very interesting stuff.
Presented in 2.0 Dolby Stereo, this commentary is by series creator and executive producer Anthony Zuiker and actor Gary Dourdan who plays Warrick. These two play very well against each other, and there are very few quiet spaces.
This is a walk-through of the C.S.I. crime lab with tour guide Helen Devine, a former real-life C.S.I. investigator and now consultant to the show. She talks about all the various gadgets used on the show and in real life.
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
From what I can tell, the R1 release comes in one whole 6 disc set of the whole series. Without knowing what is on the next part of Season 2 in the R4 release it is kind of hard to make a definitive judgement. However, what I can tell you is that the R1 release also has an English 2.0 Stereo track and a Spanish 2.0 Stereo track. Other than that, the sets would appear to be identical so far. The only real differential is cost: the R1 release gets all 6 discs for USD $79.95 where we get only the first half for as much in AUD. Given the current transfer rates, this makes the R1 release look a little more appealing (other than PAL vs NTSC issues).
C.S.I.: Crime Scene Investigation - Season 2, Part 1 gets the second series off to a good start. It is good watchable T.V., with solid characters and interesting and sometimes original plots. It is perhaps limited only by its Las Vegas locale, as I would assume much more intense crime goes on in, say, South Central L.A. But maybe that’s why we have shows such as The Shield?
The video transfer is pretty good, with only some minor film-to-video artefact problems and some slightly apparent graininess.
This 5.1 Dolby Digital remix is also very good, giving the show a more cinematic feel than it did during its original broadcast.
The extras were very good, even if there isn’t an apparent abundance of them.
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| Review Equipment | |
| DVD | Panasonic DVD-RV31A-S, using S-Video output |
| Display | Beko 28" (16x9). This display device is 16x9 capable. |
| Audio Decoder | Built in to amplifier/receiver. |
| Amplification | Marantz SR7000 |
| Speakers | Energy - Front, Rear, Centre & Subwoofer |