Customer Reviews

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation - The Ninth Season

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Crime dramas have a history of doing well on television, but nothing has ever had the kind of success of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. When the show first came out, it was groundbreaking. It captured the attention of the American public and changed the face of American prime time crime dramas. Spawning two spin-offs, CSI: New York and CSI: Miami and several similar shows on various networks, the effect of CSI on prime time crime dramas is unmistakable.

CSI follows the mysterious (and sometimes wacky) cases of the Crime Scene Investigation unit in Las Vegas. The key aspects of CSI are the fascinating forensic and logical deduction techniques that the team uses to track down killers. It's the traditional whodunit concept, but with a high-tech twist.

Season nine opens with Warrick Brown's (Gary Dourdan) funeral. Sara (Jorja Fox) returns to the team, and she and Grissom (William Peterson) have several awkward moments before Sara realizes that she can not remain in Vegas. Over the next few episodes, Grissom's mood takes a depressive downturn -- is it because of Sara's leaving, Warrick's death, or the change he finds in Lady Heather? Grissom eventually leaves to find Sara, leaving behind more questions than answers.

Enter Laurence Fishburne as Dr. Ray Langston.

The most polarizing occurrence in season nine is the departure of Grissom and the introduction of his replacement, Ray Langston. While Fishburne is still a great actor, it's nearly impossible to appease long-time fans of CSI with a Grissom replacement. Some fans accepted the change, while others thought Grissom's leaving should have signaled the end of the show's television run. While Fishburne's character Ray isn't bad, he just isn't as intriguing as Grissom. And, honestly, after Grissom's departure in episode 10, it became increasingly more difficult to watch the show. Soon after Grissom leaves and Ray comes in, the entire feel of CSI seems to change.

Gone are the strong ensemble cast stories that bring in all of the characters in engaging ways. Instead, we have a virtually entirely Ray-centric series that seems to drop all of the other characters. Greg's dialog seems to drop in every episode, Catherine becomes part of the scenery, Riley, a new CSI, adds very little to the series, and Nick feels like a shadow passing through each episode.

Aside from Grissom's departure, Sara is also written out of the show when she leaves Vegas. Online rumors point to Sara's return as a recurring or guest character in some episodes of season ten, but will she be able to save CSI? I wouldn't say that I am a big fan of her character, but it certainly couldn't hurt.

This DVD set includes all 24 episodes of CSI's ninth season on six discs. The bonus features include audio commentary on episode 16, "Turn, Turn, Turn," and episode 20, "A Space Oddity," along with deleted scenes, a feature on Grissom's departure, a feature celebrating CSI's 200th episode, and a pair of features going behind the scenes of the events in season nine of CSI.

It's difficult to say if William Peterson's departure will lead to the end of CSI. From what I've seen in season nine, post-Grissom CSI isn't off to the best start. Hopefully the writers can find a way to make fans fall in love with Ray next season, or it could lead to a serious slide in ratings and, possibly, the end of CSI.

CSI has been one of the best shows on TV over the last several years. Unfortunately this season is its weakest by far. That's in no small part to the loss of 3 main characters. The two replacements haven't brought much to the show yet either, and I think this show has run its course. With its high ratings, I'm sure they will want to keep this show going ala ER style for as long as possible, even if the whole original cast get replaced. I guess they figure it's the mysteries and tech that keep people watching, but that may be a mistake.
This show really went down hill after Grissom left and the replacement was not a good choice. The show still remains watchable, but it has fallen a great deal from where it was.

Season 9 saw William Petersen leave in the 10th episode. Sara Sidle (Jorja Fox) had already left Vegas after a very traumatic kidnapping (season 8), then Warrick Brown dies at the end of season 8.

The opening episode is Warrick's funeral. Sara returns and she and Grissom have several GSR moments until she realizes she can not remain in Vegas. Over several episodes we see Grissom take a depressing down-turn--is it because of Sara's leaving or Warrick's death or the change he finds in Lady Heather? Grissom even visits Natalie, the serial killer, and discovers her little secret plan. In these episodes, there are more questions than answers. Grissom does leave to find Sara.

Two new CSIs come in. Riley Adams, a smart-mouth woman with some experience, flirts with Greg but doesn't add much more. We get Ray Langston coming in as a new CSI, level 1. And within a few weeks, CSI, as we've known and loved for years, changes to The Ray Langston Show. He's the center of every episode, except one. He knows all, sees all, can do it all--he's the star now.

The regular cast seems to disappear. Greg has few lines, Catherine melts into a background ghost, Riley becomes a wall, and Nick passes thru the episodes as a shadow. What happened?? Did Petersen leave and take all the writers with him?

While I will purchase season 9, I doubt I will ever watch the last half of the season. I'm willing to give Season 10 a chance, but this is not your former CSI.

I can understand the disappointment exhibited here with some of the reviews about missing William Peterson's character of "Gil Grissom."

Imagine the difficulty for Laurence Fishburne in having to follow in the footsteps of such a popular TV role of iconoclastic "Grissom"... who's unique approach to Crimes and his quirky love of insects made him almost irreplaceable.

Okay, we all miss Warrick, Sara, and Gil........but let's get a grip and look at this series with a fresh perspective.

I think the writing on this show, as good as it was before, has gotten even better; and the plots have remained fresh, creative, and well constructed.

The solving of the Cliffhanger from Season 8 of "Warrick Brown's" murderer was well scripted, with moving roles from all the cast members, especially of course, William Peterson. When a Crime genre show makes this kind of leap into fine dramatic acting, one can only applaud and start believing in Hollywood scriptwriters once again.

And "One to Go".......Peterson's last and final episode was superb. The last moments with him finding Jorja Fox's "Sara" in the jungle, was so well directed and acted; it will remain as one of finest romantic scenes in modern television.

Now we all know why we miss "Gil."

But I think Laurence Fishburne is one of best actors in Hollywood today, and as inenvious a task as he had in replacing a beloved actor as this was, he is pulling it off with a quirkiness and intelligence that made William Peterson one of our favorites.

His ending scene with George Eads ["Nick Stokes"] in "Turn Turn Turn" was some of the best acting I have seen in this complete series. Eads has matured in his role over the years, and his portrayal of complete frustration and dismay over losing a young teen girl to a tragic death was absolutely wonderful.

Perhaps the remaining actors upon the departure of Peterson, Fox, and Gary Dourdan will now have the freedom to expand their characters in a way that was previously not availed to them; time will only tell. But a veteran like Fishburne, with 2 Emmys and an Oscar Nomination under his belt, cannot be a bad addition to an already excellent cast.

Like all things in life, "The Show must go on."

Five Stars again, for CSI, Las Vegas.

In my review of Season 8, I stated that it was time to end this show, & in some ways I still think it has run its course, however this Season really impressed me, at first I was not going to get it, but after catching a few episodes on "SpikeTV" I knew I had to get it, & it was definately a vast improvement over Season 8, this one begins where Season 8 left off with the death of Warrick & the team's attempt to take down the bad cop responsible, like Season 8's opener where they search for Sara, they do the same here, searching for Warrick's killer, Sara Sidle(Jorja Fox) returns breifly to attend Warrick's funeral, but leaves yet again, Grissom(William Peterson) leaves also after 10 episodes, at first I balked at the idea of him leaving, after all, him, Sara, & Warrick were my three favorite characters on this show, however, the beautiful Lauren Lee Smith as new C.S.I. Riley(replacing Warrick) quickly made me forget about Jorja Fox, Smith is so easy on the eyes, they had better not even think of getting rid of her!, & I quickly to my suprise warmed up to Lauarence Fishburne as Ray Langston, true, no one can ever replace Grissom, but unlike many believe, I don't think Fishburne or the writers had that intent, his Ray Langston is a character in his own right, & I believe that Fishburne was a good choice, he is after all a great actor, & this role fits him perfectly, he has definately come a long way since playing a thug in "Death Wish II" or Ike Turner in "Whats love got to do with it", to the "Matrix" or Tom Cruise's arrogant boss in "Mission Impossible III", here, he proves once again how versatile an actor he is, all in all, this Season 9 brings the glory of C.S.I. back, no ridiculous episodes this time around, a must for any fan.

Having been a huge fan of CSI (Las Vegas only) I have been sorely disappointed with season 9. We have all the seasons on DVD (cable not available and don't want a dish) and recently began watching this season. My dismay is not so much with the loss of characters but the increased shock value and gory-ness of the current season. Previous seasons focused more on "solving the puzzle" of the crime while this season seems to focus more on the portrayal of the crime (shock value.) The recent episode I watched had a whole sequence at the beginning where a woman was hunted down and strangled (took 1 -2 minutes.) Sorry, I just couldn't watch. The characters haven't really melded yet either which makes for awkward dialogue. Have put it aside for now, may come back to it later.....very disappointed. I guess it was to be expected, most shows don't have a run for this long without the edges starting to fray....

I have been a die-hard CSI fan since season 1. NEVER had I been disappointed with a CSI episode and even when I got rid of my TV the only show I rented to watch on my laptop was this show. And then the funeral of Grissom, Sara, and Warrick happened. Urgh....I was so disappointed to see these characters leave - especially Grissom. And I have to say, the mourning of these characters resonated throughout the season. I still watched every episode but it really was not the same. With different characters a change is to be expected but the intrigue and the x-factor of this show that made it stand out from the rest seem to have gone as well. The original cast had an amazing chemistry and they made the show work. And because of this, the writers were able to go on different tangents with the plot because it was safe to do so with this ensemble cast. It seems that the episodes on this season were unoriginal and too straightforward for the audience who's been spoilt with such original scripts in the previous seasons. The whole fun of watching CSI is the uncovering of the mystery in the most unexpected ways. I couldn't say that about this season's episodes. The writers need to create new chemistry and develop their characters to a new level quickly or the show may suffer - or worse, I might stop watching. :(

I am a big fan of CSI going all the way back to season 1. They put together the perfect cast for this show. It is very sad that 3 of the main characters left the show practically at the same time. It's very hard for anyone to join an established cast like this without some resentment from long time fans.

Yes. It was really hard for me to watch the show in season 9 with Grissom leaving. And I initially thought that the Ray Langston character was not a good replacement (but you have to give Fishburne his props for courage in joining this much beloved show after Petersen's long tenure), but he grew on me. Yes, I think the writers did try too hard to highlight him, but I think the reviewers who have criticized that the other main characters have been pushed into the background are too critical. I think the other characters are coming along (not as much drama in their personal life as with Grissom, but we have to remember that Langston is new and doesn't know the personnel like Grissom did). It was very refreshing to see the writers giving the "lab rats" some face time out of their labs. I enjoyed watching them expand their horizons (like taking biker gang members' fingerprints and the coroner taking a field trip with Langston to Reno for research).

It's very difficult to accept that Langston is now the main character because unlike Grissom he isn't the supervisor, like Grissom he is extremely intelligent which is great. It's going to take a little time for all the changes to gel and the new people to find their niche. Long time fans don't give up on the show just yet, give the writers and actors a chance to bounce back to their old glory. I like the direction the show is taking and I will look with anticipation for season 10. Remember, the show is different now because the new characters are different, lets give them a chance to grow.

Another CSI without any subtitles (including English). Usually you take a risk when you order because Amazon is so slack about providing this information but this time the product description actually indicates that they are available. Very disappointing.

After some rather soapy seasons (who's in mortal danger THIS season?!?!?!), season 9 seems to have gotten CSI back on the crime-solving track. Like many, I was fearful that William Peterson's departure would be the death-knell of the series and a number of desperate attempts to save the series would begin (like someone's long-lost hot cousin moving in, or a 14 year old savant joins the crime-solving force), but it was in the end a rather smooth transition. Marg Helgenberger's character (CSI Willows) steps up ably as the new leader of the evening shift, former day shift supervisor Conrad Ecklie (Mark Vann) is now an under-sheriff, and darn it, he's even likable now! Fishburne's character develops a collegial relationship with Doc Robbins (Robert D. Hall), the ME, and is an interesting, convincing and engaging addition to the cast. Although various character quirks among all the cast continue to emerge (and it is a good thing , it gives them multi-dimensionality), they do not overwhelm the main thrust of the series: catching bad guys, no matter how cleverly they try to cover their nefarious deeds. The cases are as varied as ever, and the writing approached in a manner that combines the best aspects of being responsible to the facts and science of each endeavor, yet maintains the right amount of dramatic license to keep things moving in a believable manner. If you've been following the series, you already know this, if you let it go for perhaps some of the same reasons I nearly gave up on it, then Season 9 is worth looking at and renewing your acquaintance with this terrific show. If you're new to CSI, I do strongly recommend starting at the beginning but you could certainly watch season 9 on its own and enjoy it a great deal.