CSI: Las Vegas - Crime Scene Investigation
What is it with CSI?
Given the seemingly endless global proliferation of the franchise, no doubt the good citizens of rural Victoria are preparing for the cameras to roll on CSI: Yackandandah- but it is the origin of the species that I speak of here. CSI: Las Vegas.
I'm sorry. I simply cannot watch it any more.
The acting is amateur-standard and overblown, the scripts cliched and melodramatic, the plotlines frequently ridiculous, and - most infuriatingly of all - the series relies for its impact not, on traditional dramatic elements such as plot or characterisation, but on a liberal display of gore to which the counterpoint is a prevailing attitude of world-weariness from the principal players. This mass disembowellment of a middle class family in their own home sure is shocking, but hey, I'm with the Las Vegas CSI team, and I'm far too experienced, and, hey, let's face it, cool, to be shocked by any of this.
Splashing the screen with blood and bodies is the bluntest of blunt instruments with which to bludgeon an undemanding audience.
CSI's other tried'n'true technique is a regular-as-clockwork weekly piece of technical whizbangery in which the viewer is televisually thrust through a victim or killer's arteries, intestines, brain, or alimentary canal to disclose the scientific detail behind the CSI team's breakthroughs. It's Hollywood special effects at its small-screen best, but, for all its dazzlement, it can't blind us to the shortcomings of the rest of the show.
We are meant to believe that police forensic scientists routinely pack weapons and interrogate suspects. The reality is that the people CSI glorifies are more often nerdy, bespectacled scientists who provide technical information to real police, who do the actual crimefighting.
But that would make CSI just another cop show.
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Article comments
1 - Sandra
Boy you really don't like the show do you.
First of all, get your facts straight. His name is Gil Grissom, not Gus, Gil.
And really how can I take anyone seriously who instead of arguing a critical point uses terms such as 'lardarse'. That just shows the maturity level of this writer which probably less than my five-year old daughter. I hope when she reacher your age, she won't be going around calling someone a 'pasty lardarse' to make a point. Didn't your mother ever teach that it's not nice to call people names?
And no, it may not be 'true to real life CSIs, but neither was ER, and neither was 'Quincy' and neither is 'Law and Order'.
It's about the entertainment...stupid.
2 - Dean
So, Sandra, let me get this straight: you can't take me seriously, but you CAN take CSI seriously?
3 - Sandra
OH..you want to debate this..
If you read my above comments about Quincy and ER, I am merely stating that these shows are merely for ENTERTAINMENT purposes.
And no I don't take any show seriously and can differentiate the facts versus fiction of each show. However, I do take personal insults seriously and there was no call for you to call William Petersen a 'pasty lardarse'. That was very low and not very professional and just down right immature. Thus the reason I actualy took time out of my day to write this post, because normally my attitude is 'fine that's your opinion' but you took it a step below when you resorted to personal insults. I don't think any critic should do that.
We spend our days teaching our children not to call one another names, yet as adults we do the same thing? Do you see my point? I mean, maybe five-year-olds aren't reading your post, but what about eight-year olds, and nine-year olds? Don't we have enough on the internet to contend with.
Fine, nobody says you have to watch CSI, it's free world for the most part, but I think if you want to write a critical piece on anything, try and steer clear of the name calling it puts people like me off..I had enough name calling in grade school, I've grown out of that, but obviously most people haven't.
And again..I don't take any show seriously, it's all just a bunch people getting dressed up in costumes and pretending they're doctors, lawyers and foresnics.
And anybody knows that there is no way, these cases can be solved in an hour. It is simlply entertaining to look into a window for an hour or two and watch the drama around these cases unfold.
There is one final thing, for every criticism of CSI, there are also many places in the US and Canada that are actually grateful for the show's popularity because with the popularity comes the increased interest of foresnics like there has never been before, and the actors on the show have actually attended their hometown to lobby with the real CSIs for more cash from the government. Finally, science departments in University are exploding with the number of applicants to their departments, kids all hoping to become CSIs. CSI has made science, physics and math more glamourous..there's nothing wrong with that..and even these kids will learn the real world of the CSIs which is quite different from the one on TV. But the show did influence them to go in that direction and there is nothing wrong with that either. POp culture has all influenced in some way or another.
And remember, this is about Entertainment, not reality, even my five-year-old knows that the people on CSI are all playing a big game of pretend.
So while I don't take CSI seriously, I also don't critics who call someone 'pasty lardarse' serously either. And to just to make a further point, I'm not a huge fan of William Petersen either, but I'll defend anyone who gets personally insulted.
Lighten up, it's only entertainment. There are worst things in this world to get uptight about.
4 - DrPat
Dean, how can you dislike a character who gets such great lines? "Amazing how the sight of blood can clear a room." Or, "I opened the door. Her body fell out. It happens."
5 - Dean
Sandra, relax.
Couple of things:
1. I didn't call William Petersen a pasty lardarse. I called Grissom (Gil, Gus, whatever) a pasty lardarse. He's the character. William is the actor. And I'm pretty sure William doesn't read my posts, so, let's face it, chances are he probably won't get insulted.
2. I think that deep down, you might have some grade-school name-calling issues you need to resolve.
3. I admire your spirited defence of William Petersen. Are you related to him or something?
6 - Dean
Dr Pat:
Good point. Maybe I'm missing the wry humour.
7 - Sandra
Related to William Petersen, you'd think I'd be typing on a 1997 Pentium II if I was related to him.
And...yeah actually I do have a unresolved grade school name-calling issues, but I think when you reach the level of adulthood, we should be beyond that now regardless of whether your insulting a character or an actor. You're insulting the physical appearance of someone.
And I was linked up to your blog through another link, so I'd be careful who reads my posts.
And just remember since we are name-calling, it's about entertainment-stupid. You think I'm gonna go out and try a procedure I learned on ER.
8 - Elph
I'm just copying and pasting something I wrote on a journal about Grissom's character. I'm sharing here because this is some of what I personally get from William Petersen's performance.
"There are lots of examples of cases where Grissom displays a deep compassion towards people. He is fascinated by understanding people as human beings, not just as puzzles. He also shows compassion in his acceptance of all people as humans and equals, even if they are a homeless schizophrenic person. He sees their humanity and takes them as equals. There's an episode where he offers help to a homeless woman but he doesn't force it on her, he not only listens to her but he hears what she is saying when others only hear madness. He responds to her humanity and also can see himself in her."
I certainly wouldn't be ducking into a broom closet to avoid him!
9 - DrPat
After several seasons of enjoying the fictional lives of essentially disfunctional characters (House, M.D./i>, Monk, Gibbs of NCIS, and Gil Grissom), I notice that the more they drift from the social and psychological norm, the more these characters interest us.
So, yes -- Grissom's hearing challenge, his emotional distance from people in his life, his chatty approach to insects (another great line: "Hi, bug!") contrasted with his inability to talk to humans -- these make him more interesting than a blah "real-life" balanced person battling paperwork would be. However closer to reality that would be, it's just not drama.
Grissom's "wry humor" is just another way he's found to make a kind of tenuous connection with people. Seen that way, it doesn't matter if his jokes are a little strained -- when he makes one, it's a triumph for Grissom.
10 - beautiful_loser
Television in itself is sensationalism. Especially crime dramas, whatever they may be. If you wanted to take a look at what really happens, you'd spend all your time watching the Discovery Channel. And yeah, that's a quote. I mean--how interesting would it be to watch someone in a lab all day, or to watch 5 different sets of people go over a crime scene? Or, for that matter, just see two people standing over a body in the autopsy room instead of actually seeing what happened?
CSI is a procedural drama, which relies on a story, not so much on the stories of the characters. Granted we do learn about the characters, just not all at once, not like we would on say, Days of Our Lives.
Its writing isn't perfect, but nothing is perfect. It's entertainment, it's allowed to have a few scientific, procedural, and misc. flaws.
Something keeps on telling me that you haven't really watched it all that much, and are just upset with the hype...?
11 - barbara
Hey Dean.
If you call warick "the black cop", Nick "the white cop",and Gil "gus" I know you have never scene CSI. If you give a show a chance it will most likely be better than the hype says.
Because when crictics find a good show they make
a big deal out of small issues in the show. All TV shows have some people who are fans and some who strongly dislike it. Over all CSI is a good show you don't have to be a fan but take a serious reality check no show is perfect,But CSI is pretty close seriously "Pasty Lardarse". I had better names than that when I was 9.
12 - whocare
my god! if dean doesn't like it. so what? sure he's being a big baby about it, but don't stoop to his level. dean, when you call the character a name, you might as well say it to the person playing him. what kind of name is a pasty lardarse anyway? think, man!!! other people, don't mind him. i guess he just wants the attention from people like you. you have better things to do than waste time with this dan/dean! guy... (who cares about spelling right?)