Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad: CSI

We’ve always been fans of the original CSI – CSI (Vegas). This season’s dynamite premier, “Goodbye, Warrick Brown,” did nothing to dampen our enduring affection for the program. Besides us, some 23 million other viewers also tuned in.

CSI: New York has also gotten off to a good start by attracting its largest audience since November 2006. In last week’s episode, Lieutenant Dan, played by Gary Sinise, stumbles onto a murder while taking a flight down to Washington, D.C. I must confess that even though I’m from the northeast, this show always repelled me for various reasons. For one thing, every scene, whether interior or exterior, seemed to have been shot in near darkness. Secondly, Melina Kanakaredes, who we had loved on The Guiding Light and Providence seemed a little too glamorous for a cop. Thirdly, there are just so many images of bullets piercing body parts that a guy wants to see with his late-night snack. But, because of a lack of competition, CSI: NY is currently our 10 PM Wednesday choice.

Though, initially, I was receptive to CSI: Miami, over the years I’ve grown tired of Horatio Caine’s predictable one-line quips as well as his side-winding delivery. Is there a practical reason why he can’t face people head on? Every time David Caruso (Caine) sidles up to someone, I can’t help laughing which is bad for a show that’s supposed to be a drama. Luckily, it’s up against some flimsy competition – Boston Legal which has long since run out of gas and My Own Worst Enemy which will never get off the ground. In the meantime, we’ll still be watching Horatio, but we’re eagerly awaiting a decent alternative.