Crime Scene University

Crime Scene University follows a competition between two six-person teams of Penn State forensic science students out to solve fictional murders based on evidence carefully placed at mock crime scenes created by their instructors. On other so-called reality shows, contestants get kicked off one at a time over successive episodes. On CSU the only people eliminated are the hypothetical murder victims—played by dummies. Under the guidance of Dr. Robert Shaler, a pioneer in DNA analysis and director of the university's forensic science program, the students examine blood spatters on walls and ceilings, attempt to lift fingerprints, handle (and sometimes mishandle) fragile evidence, learn to use investigative tools, and “follow the maggot trail” while attempting to understand what really happened at each location. Some of what we're told is pretty simple stuff (that fingerprints have loops, whorls, and arches), but it's fun to watch the teams work to put together all the parts of a homicidal puzzle in the six episodes compiled here from the 2008 first season of the Discovery Channel series. Recommended. Aud: P. (F. Zoretich)