Jerry Bruckheimer must have been so proud of his first TV baby. It had garnered critical and commercial acclaim. Took the States by storm and made him look damn good by association. How can it go wrong if you take the same DNA and create a sibling for your pride and joy? Together they would rule the universe and inspire each other onto great new heights. That was the theory behind CSI-Miami anyway. As history has repeatedly taught us, just because one child is great does not therefore guarantee that a second will also be great.
The theory behind this show is logical. Take a massive hit show, jiggle it about a bit, and then you have two hit shows. Unfortunately the theory behind communism works, and that hasn't really caught on either! The Las Vegas, original, version of this show works like a fine Swiss watch. Never misses a beat and makes you marvel at its beauty, precision and craftsmanship. The Miami, newcomer, version is like a cheap Japanese digital. Sure ultimately they both tell you the time but it's the manner in which they do so that sets them apart.
The producers behind this version have tried to make this show as different as possible to the original. The Vegas version is set at night, Miami day. This creates a huge visual difference. No neon and desert, but replaced with sea, beach and sun lovers. This allows them to introduce cases that could therefore never have occurred in Vegas. That can probably be the only point in justifying allowing a great original concept to be span off and possibly diluting your audience's interest.
The cast are as different as is possible also. David Caruso (Horacio Caine) is the established star of this show. His character, like all in this version, has come up through a police background. He came to be a CSI via the bomb squad, so is used to pulling a gun and becoming more involved in active crimes. The Vegas CSI's are all scientists who have chosen this particular field, and the thought of them pulling a gun is as alien to them as you or I. The problem this cast has is that there is little to no chemistry between them. All are fine actors but unfortunately you can bake a cake but if you forget one ingredient you have wasted the rest.
The producers have, perhaps subconsciously, taken someone from every demographic (barring Asian). This is maybe to appeal to a wider audience or just coincidental. There is Khandi Alexander (Alex Woods) who is the black actress who plays the coroner. She is far and away my least favourite in the show. The way she talks to the dead bodies makes me cringe. Emily Proctor (Calleigh Duquesne) who is the blond southern belle, and also a munitions expert. Fans of the West Wing may remember her as Ainsley Hayes. She essentially plays the same character, but instead of lawyer substitute that with gun specialist. Adam Rodriguez (Eric Pelco) is a native of Cuba, who as a child fled to Miami, like many residents of that city. He is as wooden as Noddy and not quite as funny! Rory Cochrane (Tim Speedle) really looks like he is going through the motions, and considering he supposedly resides in one of the warmest cities in America I've seen Eskimos with better tans! The final main character is Kim Delaney (Megan Donner) who plays the former head of CSI who is just returning to work after six months bereavement leave. She apparently was drafted into the show to give a little extra star quality, and after her turn on NYPD Blue (See David Caruso) was thought to be a rival for top billing. This obviously didn't work as expected and the fact she leaves the series halfway backs that up.
Don't buy this box set if you are craving more CSI Vegas style, as you will be severely disappointed. I can see people who like one or the other, but few who could like both. I didn't get any kind of emotion running for any of the characters in this series. I thought at first because I was showing loyalty to the original, but have came to think that they deserve my affection because they earn it and weren't trying too hard to get it.
Extras on this Boxset weren't plentiful and were scattered over all the discs. I like to watch the extras at the end because potentially they could ruin a plotline if you watched them after each disc. So it was annoying that each disc had a special feature that you had to keep swapping discs to get the full experience. That is just something that bugs me maybe, but thought I'd mention it.
CSI-Miami Trailer. Introduces this series by letting people remember the Vegas original via clips of both.
Creating CSI-Miami. Danny Cannon, who directs much of the Vegas content, explains how the Miami show had an unusual pilot episode which was actually part of season three Vegas. Anyone familiar with that show will remember that there was a case that crossed states, which allowed the producers the opportunity to introduce the characters within an already established show. Also featuring comments from show creator Anthony E. Zuicker and some of the producers, who give there insight into why Miami was chosen etc.
CSI-Miami Uncovered. Cast members give their insight into how they see their characters and the process they undertake to portray that on screen.
Production of Handling Evidence. This was perhaps the most interesting extra feature in my opinion. John Haynes, one of the shows technical directors and retired police officer, gives us commentary on sixteen scenes throughout the season. He informs us of why these things are relevant to the scene and why the police actually do them in real life.
The Autopsy Theatre Tour. Khandi Alexander talks us through her domain, including the place where she chops and stores the humans in the show. Only three minutes long and doesn't tell us much we didn't know.
Gun Lab Tour. Another short and not so sweet look inside the show. Emily Proctor shows us the gun cases and firing range.
There are also three episodes that have commentary. These were informative in so far as they told you things like why that location was chosen etc. I'm not a lover of these in general so will leave you to form your own opinion.