Some portions of this review regarding general show information are shared with the Season 1 and Season 2 reviews.
After watching the first two seasons of CSI Miami I was pleased with the shows story arc, and although the latter season was starting to get a bit dull with regards to the character development, the case loads were just as engaging and bizarre. As I’ve said before, I hope that in Season 3 a few of the weaker aspects form the past two season can be rectified like the sometimes endless dialogue.
For those of you like me, who don’t know much about CSI Miami I’ll break it down for you. You may or may not remember the CSI episode where the Las Vegas team made their way to Miami to help out on a case, but that is where Horatio Caine and his team of CSI’s were introduced. Now CBS has another money maker in the workings, and other than some altered cinematography, a new city, and a new ensemble, CSI Miami is essentially the same show as the original CSI we all know and love. But that on the surface, for me what made CSI so great was its originality, which has arguably been worn thin with Miami. In addition to that you just can’t match the quality of characters in the original CSI, but for the remainder of the review I will critique (without bias) CSI Miami as a stand alone show. I just thought I would make mention right off the start that in my eyes, that although entertaining it doesn’t hold a candle to the original.
Horatio Caine (David Caruso, NYPD Blue) is the Miami Dade CSI Head Investigator, a forensic analysts who gathers and analyzes evidence in order to determine who is responsible for the crime in question. With him are various detectives, CSI agents, and medical examiners all who have a unique skill set to bring to the team. They compile their cumulative efforts in bringing down criminals, as well as on occasion participate in shootouts, brawls, and everything in between.
Season 3 is just more of the same of the last two seasons, which I did enjoy, but is starting to loose its appeal. There is no new edge to the show that I was hoping would brighten things up a bit. The death of Speedle in the first episode was a surprise, but at the same time I find things getting very repetitive. I found myself going through this same phase during the original CSI but the side stories kept things going, here I don’t care so much for the characters. Well I’m sure fans of the show will still be pleased with the material, I don’t know if I’ll further watch the show. I like to keep things fresh and this is too much of the same thing for me.
In summary, although there is nothing wrong or even different about this season in comparison to the first two I had recently watched, I didn’t enjoy it as much. But I think that was the problem, nothing changed and I was just getting more of the same thing. As I mentioned before, I’m sure fans of the show will be pleased with this season as there are some pretty cool cases like murderous prep students, a pirated ship, carjacking, and the deaths of IRS agents. But don’t expect much out of the ordinary.
Video
Presented in 1.78:1 Widescreen, this season looks even sharper than the other already impressive looking Seasons 1&2. Colors remain the series greatest strength and this season is no different. Flesh tones are realistic while oranges and black jump right off the screen with intense richness.
The print itself looks newer than the other season with grain and softness much harder to come by this season. Overall this is one impressive looking season, one that will please anyone who watches it.
Audio
Presented in 5.1 Dolby Digital in English and French, CSI: Miami continues providing great sounding tracks. If your already an avid CSI: Miami viewer than you already know that this show has a good amount of action. The opening episode of Season 3 features a pretty intense shootout that makes damn good use of the sub and rear channels.
While there are some episodes that have a fair bit of front channeled dialogue, there is usually a scene after it that makes full use of rear and sub channels. Balancing issues where no existent and the good sounding sound track only improved the mood. Paramount has produced another great sounding track for CSI: Miami.
Special Features
Like prior seasons Season 3 offers an impressive and informative array of features. Fans will want to check out the examiner features as it provides an interesting look on various murder scenes.
- Audio Commentary – Audio Commentary for episodes Lost Son, Under the Influence, Crime Wave, After the Fall, Shootout, and Whacked.
- Visualizing Season 3 – (00:11:37) A look on the creation of the season best visual effects including explosions and CGI.
- Examiner School – Separated in 8 parts this feature provides an in depth look on different types of murders like gunshots and stabbings. This is the best feature on the disc as it provides a very in depth and interesting look on what CSI’s have to look for at a murder scenes.
- Delivering the Goods – (00:12:59) Various crew discuss how they kicked off season 3 with the death of a major character. Cast members discuss how they missed Rory Cochrane on the set for the rest of season 3.
- Locations: Coast to Coast – (00:11:13) Crew members discuss how they filmed many shots in L.A. and in Miami. Location scouts have the hard job of finding spots in L.A. that will pass for Miami.
- Deep Sea – (00:08:33) A look on how the crew filmed the impressive under water shots. A lot of work has to be done in order for the shots to be completed properly and safely.
Final Thoughts
There was nothing morbidly wrong with Season 3 of CSI Miami, but I’m just getting tired of the show. Sometimes the dialogue seems endless, and there isn’t as much action as I’d like to keep me engaged. But still for fans of the show, and the season you will be happy that there is some nice audio and video transfers for the episodes and a cool batch of features. This is a good buy for fans, but otherwise be sure to check out the show before making the purchase.
