CSI: NY—The Complete First Season

After scoring successes with both the Vegas and Miami versions of CSI, series creator Anthony Zuiker was bound to come up with another variant, and the Big Apple—the setting for more bizarre crimes than any cop can shake a nightstick at—made a perfect venue for the next spin-off. Although CSI: NY didn't have the instant impact of its predecessors, the show got better as the 2004-05 season progressed. The principal investigators are Mac Taylor (Gary Sinise), who still grapples with the grief of having lost his wife in the terrorist attack of 9/11, and Stella Bonasera (Melina Kanakaredes), half Greek, half Italian, and all cop. Other team members include Detectives Danny Messer (Carmine Giovinazzo), Aiden Burn (Vanessa Ferlito), and Don Flack (Eddie Cahill). Following the same format as the other CSI series', NY finds science-savvy sleuths solving crimes based on clues discovered in forensic investigations. Most of the best episodes from the 24 collected here hail from the season's second half, including the standout "On the Job," in which Danny is attacked by a murder suspect while processing a murder scene. In the ensuing chase and firefight, another officer is killed and Danny is blamed, forcing Mac to take the lead in trying to clear his fellow team member. Other highlights include "Supply and Demand," which focuses on the murder of a college student apparently connected to the heroin trade (Kanakaredes shines here, as Stella's overly aggressive interrogation technique backfires and nearly costs the feisty detective her badge), and "Crime and Misdemeanor," in which a young woman's death leads the team to a luxury hotel populated by U.N. bureaucrats whose diplomatic immunity threatens to stymie the investigation. DVD extras include audio commentaries on seven episodes and five featurettes. Recommended. (E. Hulse)