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CSI: Miami - Season 5 aka C.S.I.: Miami
R1 - America - Paramount Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Pat Pilon (2nd January 2008). |
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The Show
 Try as he might, David Caruso can't seem to make the leap from television to film. It's not like he hasn't tried, but he wasn't all that successful with movies. Given his television track record, this isn't all that bad because he's had quite a career on the small screen. The fifth season of 'CSI: Miami' shows that he doesn't need the big screen, because he can be a massive star on television. The season is very strong and he carries every episode very easily. The show centers around the Miami Dade Police Department's crime lab, and the detectives and criminalists associated with it. Horatio Caine (David Caruso) leads the pack with his assured demeanor. He's helped out by Calleigh Duquesne (Emily Proctor), Eric Delko (Alex Rodriguez), Ryan Wolfe (Jonathan Togo), Alexx Woods (Khandi Alexander), Natalia Boa Vista (Eva Larue) and fellow detective Frank Tripp (Rex Linn). There are a few recurring characters, but these are the gang. Every episode (or just about every episode) sees a murder, and then the gang springs into action, using their brains and various other modern techniques to catch the bad guys, whether morally correct or not. This is one of the show's strengths, believe it or not. Sometimes, it's hard not to side with the murderer, as in 'Backstabbers', but the law is the law. Other times, it's pretty easy to know who needs to go to jail. Sometimes it's also a little easy, it seems. Every episode takes place in less than 24 hours. The police never come to a dead end. There's always one little piece of evidence that leads to someone who (surprise of surprises!) has had a criminal past and has his/her prints/DNA on file. I suppose an episode with nothing with dead ends would be both boring and pointless, but once in a while a hard case to crack would be fun. Also, many, many times, the suspension of reality is needed. Either the things that happen couldn't really happen in reality (like the thermometer thing in episode 504) or the logic to get a victim is a bit of a stretch or the method used to get the evidence is a bit sketchy, but I suppose this is a tv show and some of these can be forgiven. Some of the dialogue is kind of corny, especially the last line before the opening credits, but David Caruso's intense delivery may make it seem more realistic than it really is. For example, Alexx Woods looks at someone impaled on an ice scuplture, says that killing someone in daylight at a party is cold-blooded. She says: 'That's cold-blooded, Horatio.' He answers, 'It's as cold... as ice.' It also doesn't help that some of the special guest actors aren't the best. However, not every episode can be perfect. The writing is very strong, though, and consistent throughout the season. There are no weak episodes, in my mind, and episodes like 'Internal Affairs' and 'Backstabbers' are real standouts. They feature great drama and the episodes with continuity ('No Man's Land' and 'Man Down', 'A Grizzly Murder' and 'Bloodline', for example) involve the viewer to a tremendous degree. If the season had more continuity, having, for example, a four- or five-episode arc, the season would be truly outstanding. Despite the flaws I've written about, the writers are very strong and very intelligent. You really have to pay attention to every detail to know what's happening. Most of all, you want to see what happens at the end. The makers also went for a distinct style. They often use a lot of split screens and techno music to show what's essentially a dull process, like fingerprinting and extracting DNA from blood, skin or what-have-you. Other than that, the cinematography is very nice, with strong yellow and blue hues. The music is likewise very energetic, making the show very hip and modern. This is honestly the first time I've ever seen an complete episode of any 'CSI' show (let alone a whole season) and I was pretty impressed. The amount of thought that goes into every episode and the style of every episode made me want to see more. I don't know how strong the previous seasons are, but I certainly enjoyed this one. In the end, looking at David Caruso's filmography, there's probably a reason why he doesn't make many movies. If your career is peppered with strong shows like 'NYPD Blue' and 'CSI: Miami', why would you want to do 'Jade' and 'Kiss of Death'? Here is a rundown of the season by disc. disc 1: 501 : Rio (44:17) For fear of ruining season four's ending, I'll just say that Horatio goes to Rio de Janeiro to hunt someone down. There, he gets into more trouble. 502 : If Looks Could Kill (44:16) After a body falls from the sky onto and outdoor café, Horatio and gang try to catch a biker. 503 : Death Pool 100 (44:16) A few stars gets killed at a big backyard party after a robbery gone wrong, and it's up the gang to figure out who did it. They find out that a group of people gamble on which celeb will die first. (Insert Britney reference here.) 504 : Going Under (44:16) A jealous husband with a gun catches his pretty wife sleeping with someone else. Someone dies, but not who you're expecting. This is a really convoluted episode. disc 2: 505 : Death Eminent (44:15) The episode starts with a case of eminent domain, but gets deeper and deeper, going all the way up to Chief Judge Joseph Ratner (from episodes 'After the Fall' and 'Under Suspicion', from seasons three and four, respectively). 506 : Curse of the Coffin (42:55) A dead guy in the morgue gets up and leaves. This time, the murder is connected to a strange offshoot religion. I really like the ending for this one. 507 : Darkroom (43:29) In this episode, the world of modeling is featured. Natalia's sister is kidnapped and the race is on to find her before she's killed. 508 : High Octane (42:16) Someone gets decapitated while hotdogging in his car. Horatio and his guys look into the world of street racing. disc 3: 509 : Going, Going, Gone (43:26) A model wannabee dies in a glitzy auction selling off dates to wealthy buyers, and Horatio and his drug-sniffing dog suspect the party's emcee. The episode takes a weird turn and the Miami Dade police end up running after some terrorists. This episode sort of continues in 511. 510 : Come As You Are (44:17) A marine is killed, and the lives of some of the soldiers in Iraq are intertwined. The CSI gang wants to know what happened. 511 : Backstabbers (44:17) After a court hearing, a terrorist's lawyer gets shot and killed. Interesting morality plays in this episode. Sonia finds herself in danger. This is one of the better episodes of the season. 512 : Internal Affairs (42:25) Natalia gets arrested for a murder. We get to see the events leading up to this arrest. Interesting turns of events in this episode. disc 4: 513 : Throwing Heat (44:06) A rich Cuban refugee washes up on a Miami shore and gets blown up by a mine. If you can't see the problem with that sentence, then maybe you should steer clear of this episode. 514 : No Man's Land (41:46) A police arms transport van gets blown up, all the weapons get stolen and a cop gets killed. The police scramble to find the answers they need. The ending is quite nice, and is the first of a two-part arc. 515 : Man Down (44:17) After the end of the previous episode, the police try to piece things together. The team goes after the gun while Horatio goes after the man. 516 : Broken Home (44:16) A babysitter's parents die when she's at someone's house. You can guess what happens now. disc 5: 517 : A Grizzly Murder (41:45) A couple of weekend hunters get killed by the titular bear, and the Miami police want to know why they were attacked. 518 : Triple Threat (43:55) A man at a busy party, in broad daylight is shot and dies. This doesn't happen every day, so the case is on. This case just gets weirder and weirder. 519 : Bloodline (44:16) Anna (Paula Garcés) from two episodes back calls Horatio, crying and hysterical. She woke up next to a man in a pool of blood and she doesn't remember anything. Horatio and his gang try to find out what happened. 520 : Rush (43:49) An actor is found dead in the trunk of a stunt car, when the stunt is being filmed. The Miami police goes to rehab to find out the truth. disc 6: 521 : Just Murdered (44:16) There's a divorce from Hell going on, and the Miami police are caught in the middle of it when a dead body shows up in the couple's house. 522 : Burned (44:17) An arsonist has fun at a house, almost blowing it up. Of course, the Miami police won't let that happen without pursuit. 523 : Kill Switch (44:16) A carjacker ends up dead on a beach. MDPD wants do know why this thing happened. 524 : Born to Kill (44:17) A couple of girls want to go to the beach after leaving a club. One of the girls doesn't get home alive in the morning.
Video
1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen. The show has a very processed look. Everything tends to the yellow end of the spectrum, but everything looks exactly like it's supposed to look. The colours are often heightened, almost to be blown-out. This weakens the contras a little, but that's the way it's supposed to be. There's also a lot grain in the show, which is kept in the transfer, though sometimes this creates a bit more noise than it probably should. Nonetheless, the grain is supposed to be there and unless you're sitting too close to the screen, the intended look is going to appear very nice. Compression artifacts and edge enhancement are never a problem, as well. This is a very strong transfer, sure to please fans of the show.
Audio
The show comes in English Dolby Digital 5.1 and Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 surround flavours. The 5.1 mix is a very strong and aggressive track, especially when it comes to the music, which is very energetic and gives the speakers a nice workout. The dialogue is always audible, though, and always clean. Every word and intonation is clear as a bell. The rear speakers aren't used too much, but they do give the occasional ambient noise, like rain or gunshots. It's a very nice mixing job and is more than adequate for the look and atmosphere of the show. There are no subtitles.
Extras
Paramount was very nice and included a nice bundle of extras on this set. Disc one has some Previews and Start-up Trailers. Previews for 'Criminal Minds: Season Two' (3:15), 'CSI', 'CSI: Miami', 'CSI: NY', 'Numbers', 'Medium', 'The 4400' (2:42) and 'The Ghost Whisperer: The Second Season' (0:52) are here, and start-up trailers for 'Dexter' (2:18) and 'Twin Peaks: Definitive Gold Box Edition' (1:41) are also here. Luckily, that's not it. Not even close. Disc one alone has two audio commentaries. THe first is on 'Rio' and features producer Sam Hill, co-executive producer/episode writer Sunil Nayar and location manager Brian O'Neill. They talk a lot about shooting in Rio and everything that went into shooting there. They talk about the major establishing shots and the locations. They're never shy about spreading the credit where credit is due. They also talk about the B-story of the episode. The introduction of the Eva Larue character and is discussed, as is trying to make the show seem fresh after five years. The other is on 'Death Pool 100' and has producer/episode director Sam Hill, actor Adam Rodriguez and production designer Carey Meyer. This track isn't as good as the episode 501 track, but it's still very nice. They talk a lot about locations and how to maximise the space you have. They talk a lot about the crime lab and the Miami police department, and how they changed the sets to make the lab seem bigger than it really was. They also talk about the characters and how they evolved in season five. There's also a pretty big story point that was cut out, and the three elaborate on that, as well. To finish off the first disc, there's the Rio Grande: 'CSI Miami' Goes to Rio featurette (8:43). This is kind of a fluff piece. Basically the producers talk about going to Rio to shoot, and why they went to Rio. They talk about the Brazilian crew and how smoothly the shooting went. There's a bit of behind the scenes footage, as well. Disc two starts off with another pair of commentaries. The first is on 'Death Eminent' by actor Jonathan Togo, episode writer Corey Miller and visual effects guy Larry Detwiler. Mr. Togo is somewhat of a clown and it shows here. He jokes throughout the track and even if it's not as informative as the other episode tracks, is very enjoyable. There are a lot of behind the scenes Talk, and you learn a lot of what goes on behind the camera, even if information about the specific shots or the episode is a bit thin. Mr. Togo talks about working on the episode and they all talk about the writing and how that evolves from script to screen. Next is a commentary on 'Darkroom' by actress Eva Larue and episode writer John Haynes and this is by far the creepiest track on the set. This episode was based on an actual cold case and is close to Eva Larue's life. Most of the commentary is spent with Mrs. Larue telling the viewers to be careful and talking about what happened to her and her sister. There's also some talk about the writing of the episode and talk of why they wanted to write the episode. The track is not as good as others, but it's pretty scary. The If Looks Could Kill : Special Effects Makeup featurette (13:38) finshes disc two. It's all about makeup and how far they can go with the amount of detail and realism. They concentrate on the man bloating at the start of episode 505. They also show you how they get lungs to collapse and bodies to bleed out, creating a stomach being eating alive by heroin and a decapitation, among others. It's actually pretty interesting to watch. Disc four has one audio commentary on Man Down' with actor Gonzalo Menendez and episode director Karen Gaviola. This track is much more technical than all of the others (put together, now that I think about it). Mrs. Gaviola talks a lot about how she goes about shooting an episode, talking about lenses and locations. The music is also discussed. Mr. Menendez talks about his on-screen relationship with David Caruso and the history between the two characters. It's pretty informative and enjoyable, if a bit dry. Turning Up the Heat: The Look of 'CSI: Miami' (9:38) is a featurette that talks about the feel of the show. Locations and sets are discussed. Lighting and colours palette is also shown. The directors of photography and colourists talk about the intention of the cinematography and their jobs. It's a nice featurette, showing you some nice colour-time techniques. The last things are two featurettes on disc five and six. Disc five has the Dressing the Part featurette (5:57). The costume designer talks about the theory of dressing Horatio Caine up and why he's dressed the way he is. She also goes through the rest of the main cast, talking about how she changed their costumes for the fifth season and how and why they're now dressed this way. It's one of the better featurettes on the set. Disc six has the very interesting The Real MDPD with Jonathan Togo featurette (25:27). As the title says, Mr. Togo follows the Miami Dade Police Department and show you the inspiration for the show. Mr. Togo takes you around, shows you the DNA expert, the crime scene guy and the special response team (SWAT, essentially). The people talk about their jobs and what they do. It's actually pretty informative and if you like the show, you'll enjoy this.
Packaging
This set comes in a 6-disc digipak.
Overall
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