Customer Reviews

CSI: Miami - The Complete First Season

5 star:		(42)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

Being a CSI las Vegas fan, I wasn't happy when they made CSI Miami. I picked this up due to the summer break of CSI, I needed something.. and this was my choice! I can honestly say that it was a worthwhile purchase after having watched all of the episodes. True David Caruso is no Gil Grissom, but would you want him to be? The feel of the series is very different with the set being in Miami. The cast is on par with the Las vegas cast. Las Vegas has a more personal feel to it, as many times the originals bring their personal lives into the story (i.e. Catherine being a stripper, Warrick being a Gambler), and you don't find that as much in Miami. The focus seems to stay more to the storyline.

Kim Delaney was a welcome cast-off in my opinion. She dragged the series down with her poor attitude, and had no chemistry with David Caruso. She came across as an uptight investigator who had no interest in getting along with her fellow CSIs, or have any passion in getting the truth. I was very glad when she finally left.

Another difference between Las Vegas and Miami that is striking is how each CSI is an expert in their certain field. Callegh is the "Bullet Girl", Speedle is the AV expert, Delco is the Diving tech who speaks russian, and spanish, acts as the go between the Cuban community and the MDPD. Alexx talks to her patients as they were still alive, and in general is friendlier then Al Robbins of Las Vegas.

In conclusion, try it, the two CSIs are comparable, like the many Law and Order spinoffs, you can choose your favorite, but in my opinion each one is strong, and holds its own. You can enjoy either, but take a vacation from Las Vegas to Miami.

CSI: Miami is a great "detective" show. The people behind this show tend to do a pretty good job of keeping things realistic and each episode typically features a plausable situation. While the show focuses more so on solving the cases and investigating the crime scene, they do tend to insert small pieces of sub-plot regarding each of the main characters, so the show is not without sufficient character development.

Typically, CSI: Miami is a good show to watch if you want to see the scientific side of things. Rather than most other police shows, which focus less on what goes on behind the scenes and more on the detective characters. However, while the main characters lack the focus of other shows, they are still enjoyable to watch. David Caruso does an excellent job with his performance as the logical and thorough Horatio Caine, while each of the other characters support him nicely.

I'd highly recommend this series to anyone who appreciates the scientific side of crime scene investigation. It's well worth your time.

There have been constant complaints about CSI: Miami because it is too similar to CSI. People have to realize that this show is not totally disconnected from CSI, but rather it is a spin-off by the same producer, writers, etc... The jobs are similar in crime scene investigations. The characters seem similar at first, but they are worlds apart.
Gil Grissom dislikes getting attached to cases in any way, but Horatio Caine is either your best friend (to the victims) or your worst enemy (to the suspects and the criminals).
Calleigh Duquesne is comparable to Catherine Willows. Both have family problems, both are often having trouble with men. (Calliegh- they are all over her, Catherine- just can't find a good one)
Eric and Nick are both the "ladies man" of their groups. They also have problems with evidence, Eric sneezes on it once, and Nick pulls the coating off an "ancient" sword once when he is finger printing it. Yet, we still see differences. Eric's family is very important to him, while we never hear things about Nick's family.
Kim Delaney's character, Meghan, and Sara Sidle can be deemed similar in only one aspect- they both have problems. Sara was abused and abused alcohol. Meghan's husband died and she cannot get over it.
The coroners are different as well. Doc Robbins is nonchalant and even drinks coffee when he is telling Grissom about the victim. Alexx Woods feels pain for the victims and talks to them as if they were talking back.
The characters are a little more dramatic on a regular basis, but less dramatic at big crime scenes. Eric becomes angry when the police do more for a missing blue-eyed, blonde-haired girl than they do for a missing Cuban girl, yet he doesn't reach the extremes and start shouting at the suspect as Sara did once. When the four murders occurred in CSI, everyone worked almost non-stop, some went without sleep. In the multiple on CSI: Miami, everyone stays pretty calm and collected on the outside, even when it came to the baby.
This show was made to hold up CSI. They did not want it to overcome CSI, but rather have it support viewers, giving them more options and enticing them to buy more products. The investigators are cops as well, making the show similar to a cop show, yet, CSI: Miami maintains the air of CSI.

I was quite the skeptic about this series from the moment I saw "Cross Jurisdictions." As an avid CSI fan, I was outraged that Anthony Zuiker and Jerry Bruckheimer were looking to turn their winning formula into a franchise, and spin it off in Law & Order fashion. I believed that sure, it worked for Law & Order, because each series was different than the original. Each dealt with different areas of investigation and prosecution. But to use the same crime-scene investigating formula over and over, just changing the cities around, did not appeal to me whatsoever.

That was four years ago. Now, as CSI: Miami moves into its fourth season, I have become a fan. Where I once was annoyed by Horatio Caine (his penchant for removing and replacing his sunglasses as well as his constant hands-on-hips stance), I began to like his character; the gentle way in which he treated the victims, his passion for solving cases and putting the bad guys away.... not to mention his obvious chemistry with MDPD's resident "Bullet Girl" -- the lovely Southern belle, Calleigh Duquesne.

The Horatio/Calleigh chemistry was what spurred me to purchase season one, and I am so far very pleased with the purchase. Other Horatio/Calleigh fans should consider buying season one, as all the great "H/C" episodes are contained therein: "Kill Zone", "Camp Fear", etc.

I still don't like the way Alexx Woods speaks to the cadavers in her autopsy theater. As a future pathologist, it just makes me roll my eyes. Otherwise, this was a worthwhile purchase.

I guess you could say that the skeptic has become the believer.

When i first got the dvd box set i was a little skeptical about it because CSI:Crime Scene Investigation(Las Vegas) was my favorite. But after watching the first few episodes of this set it became my favorite CSI yet. I think that you should buy it right away, you'll never get bored.I am going to get the second season after i am finished with this 23 episode DVD box set and i give my review for that too.

Living in Las Vegas, the last thing I wanted to see was a show about this city on television. Having lived here most of my life, I didn't see anything interesting about it.

So, when CSI: Crime Scene Investigation came along, I decided to give it a try and see what it had to offer. Maybe it would be interesting, after all I enjoyed Profiler until it was cancelled; and this was similiar, yet only to a point.

30 minutes into CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, I fell asleep. And, each time I would watch the episodes, I'd nod off. After a few times, I gave it up. (Nothing personal to the cast, but they were not that interesting).

But to each their own. If one likes it and another doesn't; it doesn't make it a wrong choice, just personal choices and certainly you shouldn't be comparing the way something is done in one city to what is done in another. We are all looking for something different when we watch TV, and that fuels the choices we make.

In 2002, another CSI was coming out, this time with David Caruso as the lead actor and set in Miami. I was thinking Miami Vice with David Caruso; not a pretty sight, but worth a try.

Tried it I did, and got hooked (so hooked I own season 1-4 on DVD) and watch it whenever time permits.

Here I am, now 5 years later, looking forward to getting season 5 on DVD (I have to wait until Christmas cause someone in my family decided it'd be funny to give it to me as a gift).

I find the characters compelling and more approachable, the kind of people you'd call for help.

Yes (biting my own tongue), that even includes Caruso's "Horatio Caine"; one of the best characters on the series. Tough when he has to be, compassionate where it warrants, never once forgetting about the families that are left behind. That to me is his only concern, and that is where it should be. It's that commitment I am attracted to.

Yes, he threatens dirtbags (oh my favorite parts of the episodes), but think about this, you would want Caine on your side to find your loved one's killer and would want him to do everything he could to ensure justice was done. No, you wouldn't like it if you were guilty of a crime, who would?

He's good with women and children, having perhaps too much of a protective instinct, which is lacking in today's society. Maybe that's why some people dislike his character. (Note: Caine's father killed his mother when he was younger, so there might be a reason for his attitude).

His tricks or nuances are his way of letting those around him know that he is always thinking, thinking about ways to get one step ahead of the killer and bring him/her to justice. Not to mention those little "nuances" make the suspect nervous, if you're guilty he will make you squirm.

The science is at times gruesome, then again, murder isn't pretty. We seem to forget that.

Alexx talking to the victims reminds us that these were once people too, that they had families, they were not just something that was discarded as trash.

We forget too often after people are dead that they were here and touched someone's life. We forget that they were someone's mother, father, daughter, son, brother, sister. They started out their day planning in some cases to come home to all of us, but fate intervened.

Alexx reminds us of this, and I personally like it. We need to be reminded of the consequences of greed, corruption and personal desires.

As far as Calleigh, Eric, Speed (who I miss in the series) and the rest of the CSI: Miami team, they are a diverse group that reminds us how workplace politics play a crucial role in how outcomes are determined; they have dedicated their lives to putting criminals behind bars and finding closure for the families.

Some of the stories are interesting, some make you think, and others are about par for the course when it comes to reality.

If you like it, you like it, there is no explaining it; you either have it on DVD or are planning to get it.

If you don't like it, no one is making you watch it or buy it, so leave it alone (clothing is clothing, I can dress like a model by buying certain clothes at Walmart). Don't waste your money, you're better off getting something you do like.

If you don't like the acting, don't watch it. This is after all--FICTION. The telling of a story that's purpose is to entertain.

And, I plan to keep watching as long as it's on.

Most first seasons struggle. The original CSI had problems but sorted them out quickly and became a massive hit.

The First season of CSI Miami starts with more confidence that its Vegas sibling and gets better and better, with the only major fault being too much focus on Caruso's character (but as his protrayal of the empathic Horatio Caine is such a pleasure to watch this is understandable).

CSI Miami is a spin-off, one of those things that fans can either love or hate and will always compare to the original. People who unfavourably compare the fully fleshed out Vegas people to the fledgling Miami cast should remember that it took us a while to get used to Sarah, Warwick and the rest of the crew so we should give Speed, Calleigh and Co. some time to grow on us (and they come on in leaps and bounds in season two). As for Caine vs Grissom - I can enjoy watching either.

The fact that some of the stories stray from bread and butter CSI work to other points of view make CSI Miami more distinct from the Vegas series and, in my opinion, more watchable.

A good show, getting better and better

The original series never clicked with me. But this grabbed hold from the first episode that I saw. Its great to see David Caruso back on TV in a role that fits him perfectly. His sudden departure from NYPD Blue was a disappointment back in 1994. Character development of the cast comes along nicely and every episode reveals something new.
The quality of these DVDs is excellent - wonderful sharp images and crystal clear sound. I believe Season 2 will be forthcoming in January 2005.
Much as I like the show, my only gripe will be the price of this collection. It was $67 when it was released and now I notice that it has gone north of $70. I hope its not somehow linked to price of oil. Mid-40s would be better, CBS.

I for one was quite impressed when I first saw the show on television a few years back! Before I saw it, I didn't that it would last, but after, WOW!, not only is it an interesting adaptation of the original, it by far surpasses it in all ways. The characters are so much more interesting, the special effects are better, the plots are thicker and drawn together quite nicely. David Caruso is the essence of all CSI!! There is NO COMPARISON between him and Grissom. Not that I don't like Grissom, I just find Horation Caine to be a much more interesting character and just plain awesome!!! I hope that this review will be able to help you decide whether or not you are going to purchase this fine DVD!

Although the Miami series is not as good as the Las Vegas series it is still fun to watch with interesting story lines. However, I think it is kind of weird the way the coronor talks to dead people. Also David Caruso picks up on to many things that the alledged MD seems to miss all the time. Still enjoyable viewing.