Les Experts : Manhattan

Despite the fact that all three of the CSI franchise shows exaggerate the roles and scope of crime scene investigators, I enjoy them in varying degrees. As a retired cop, I've worked with CSIs on cases many times. They are mostly good, solid professionals who do their previously unsung job and help detectives solve cases. The CSIs on the CBS shows do far more than that and far more than they would be allowed to do in real police departments. I'll suspend disbelief and allow the wide dramatic license when I enjoy a TV show.

All of that aside, I was looking forward to CSI:NY for a variety of reasons, not the least its being set in my other home town. It also boasted Gary Sinise, a great actor, in the lead role. I think I still prefer William Peterson's Grissom, but Sinise as Mac Taylor is so far above Caruso as Cain that comparisons are hard to make. Yes, he is somewhat cold, but in police work it is rare to see someone who wears his heart on his sleeve. Cold professionalism is the hallmark of most cops. Add to that the loss of his wife in the tragedy of 9/11 -- which I do not think the show exploits; it is a legitimate plot point in the development of a character in NY and motivates Taylor to find justice wherever he can, something his wife was denied -- and his quiet demeanor makes sense.

If Emily Proctor leaves CSI:Miami, I'll quit watching. That will leave the original and this gritty, dark spin-off. With CSI:NY on hand, I won't miss Miami for a moment.

I just watched the season finale and am looking forward to next season. I agree that the spate of spin-offs shows a lack of creativity, but when it is done well -- as it is in CSI:NY and in Law and Order: SVU and Law and Order: Trial by Jury -- it can be good viewing. (I'd like to add Law and Order,: Criminal Intent -- I like D'Onofrio a lot -- but I just couldn't get into the show, try as I might.)With the loss this year of both Third Watch and NYPD Blue, we are left with only a couple of good cops and robbers shows. CSI:NY is one of them.

I absolutely LOVE the original CSI. I really can't watch CSI Miami - just a bit too much. So when they announced there was a third one coming out I was skeptical. But they've out done themselves! Although the original is still my favorite, this one steps away from the CSI format a bit. There's more of a glimpse into the characters and great story lines. There isn't the condescending tone that Miami has. Gary Sinise is, of course, brilliant as usual. If they keep it up this one will stick around. Combine this one and the original and I could watch all week! No one can beat Grissom, but Taylor is certainly going to give him a run for his money. Now a combined episode would be phenomenal!

When i learnt there was to be a second spin-off of csi, i was really looking forward to it......thankfully i was not disappointed. This show is certainly different from the original csi as we learn more about the characters but not all at once leaving some room for us to wonder about them. The acting and stories of the show are superb, Gary Sinise portrays Mac Taylor a likable character who is still dealing with the loss of his wife in 9/11, who i feel has the potential to match Grissom of the original, particularly as Petersen's contract is up in 2006. He has strong support from the rest of the cast including Melina (sorry can't spell her last name) as Stella.

The rest of the characters include Danny, Aiden, Dr Hawkes and Det Don Flack-who always has the best lines. All of them are brilliant with huge potential, as seen with Danny in the Tanglewood episode. It is also interesting to see how different characters pair up with others whilst investigating...my favourites are Aiden with Flack, and of course Mac and Stella.

If you like me are slightly disappointed with the Miami spin-off and find Horatio Caine unappealing this show is just what you need. A return to the forensics of the original with a New York twist..

Now i could not imagine a Saturday night here in the Uk without it...brilliant!

When most TV shows have spinoffs, they're usually not worth watching because of thing-they are different than the original. I think that is a major reason that many fans don't like CSI:NY. While the original show is set in glamorous Las Vegas, NY is set in a much darker city, giving the show a darker tone and feel than Miami or Vegas.

As for characters, New York has a great cast, and is still working on character development. They have been seen as not having personalities, but people have to give the show a chance to find it's foothold-it's only the first season. It took the original CSI five years to say that Sara's mom killed her dad, so its logical that it will take a few seasons to totally tell these characters backgrounds. Danny Messer and Mac Taylor's pasts have been partially revealed in the premiere "Blink", with the knowledge that Max Taylor's wife was in 9/11, and in "Tanglewood", with Danny's involvement in the Tanglewood boys street gang.

The acting in CSI:NY is just as good as those in the other shows, but most people aren't giving it a chance. Some will like it, some wont, but the least they could do is watch some of the stronger episodes, like "Blink", or "Tanglewood", and not scrunitze its difference from the originals...just give it a chance. Rome wasn't built in a day- it will take a little longer for people to accept this new show, but i think it's doing perfectly, and i can't wait for next season.

When this first came on TV, the first few episodes were just too downbeat for me and I stopped watching. It didn't have the excitement and color of the Las Vegas and Miami shows.

Well, I turned out to be premature in my judgment of this show. A year later, I obtained the DVD of the first season and thoroughly enjoyed it. In fact, I thought it might be the best of all three CSI shows but I'll wait on that call until a complete second season is done.

I liked this debut season more than the others for two main reasons:

1 - It did not have all the little soap opera side-stories involving the characters that the two other CSI shows have. Each show was strictly about the crime(s).

2 - All the lead characters are fun to watch and had no annoying personality traits. True, the head guy, played by Gary Sinise, didn't have much of a personality but I liked his low-key, no-nonsense approach. Bill Petersen interjects too much New Age philosophy on his show and David Caruso is so ultra-dramatic that he's almost cartoonish at times. Sinise just does the job with that's it. Same for the rest of the crew. I understand one them, Vanessa Ferlito, left the show after this season, and I'm sorry to hear that. I enjoyed her face and her humor. I can only hope the rest of the cast stays. A good share of the cast seems to be made up of New "Yawkers" with that accent and that just adds to the believability of the show.

Although I enjoyed "Stan," played by Carmine Giovinzzo, the best, the most interesting was Melina Kanakaredes. From shot to shot, she's different in appearance from strange and unappealing to gorgeous, depending on the camera angle and lighting. She's hard to figure, both in looks and her character.

I never get tired of those aerial shots of the city, either. Odd they were tinted the blue the first month of the season and then brown-and-gray the rest of the year. As with the other CSI shows, the camera-work is fantastic. Those who have never seen any of the CSI shows on DVD owe themselves a look. They are spectacularly filmed.

However, unlike Miami and Las Vegas CSI shows, this is basically a no-glitz affair with the stories dominating. One problem with these shows is they are filmed on Los Angeles movie sets, so most of the time, because of crowds and other problems in filming locally, you don't see the main characters actually in the locales they are supposed to be. It would be fun watching them chase criminals in Central Park, at the Empire State Building, through Madison Square Garden, etc.