C.S.I. Miama - good move, or striking the anvil too soon? (1 Viewer)

[Alex Spindler]

Do you think they're sending out a spinoff too soon or is this a good move on CBS' part to hit while the other networks are lagging?

The pilot seems pretty good (but CSI investigating a plane crash? That's the NTSBs job), but the cast just doesn't strike me quite as charistmatic as the Vegas cast. I mean, everyone in that crew just gripped me right away, while this one (with the exception of the great Caruso) has some pretty bland people. I'm keeping an open mind, but they seem too much like they were trying too hard to make sure they didn't just recast the same characters from Vegas with new actors that they forgot to make them compelling.

I hope it turns out, and I'll give them my time.

*Edit : Also, can someone (like a mod) help me spell Miami right? *

 

[Pete M]

I love CSI, and really want this show to work. But.... couldn't they have mixed up the characters a bit? They have the exact same ratio and sex of characters, with the exception of the coroner (which I really don't like the woman in Miami as a coroner). Sure, I'm sure they're stories are a bit different, but it seems they match up to similarly. (Horatio = Gil, Megan = Catherine, Rory = Nick, Kallie (sp?) = Sara, the other guy = Warrick)

I enjoyed the story of tonight's episode, I just hope they don't retread some of the stuff already (or upcoming) on CSI(LV).

Oh, and the HD was absolutely stunning on tonight's episode.

 

[David Williams]

I thought the first episode was pretty darn good! David Caruso is not a favorite of mine (mostly because of this idiot NYPD Blue exit and crappy movie career) but he is growing on me, like William Peterson before him. Megan needs to take a chill pill (hopefully she will stop second-guessing Horatio sometime soon... I realize the position was hers before but she just makes them all look bad by constantly trying to control the sitch). I am thinking the producers are using this as a plot device (ala Dr. Bashir's annoying qualities on DS9).
Khandi Alexander's Coroner (didn't catch her name in this ep or the crossover) is creepy.... I'd rather she didn't speak to the dead bodies! I like Las Vegas' coroner much better... he's more of a pragmatist.
Emily Procter continues to shine despite wherever she lands. She gets my vote as second most-interesting character after Horatio. The pigtails were a great touch.
Tim Speedle (Rory Cochrane) was a much more interesting character in the crossover, it's like they sucked the personality out of his character in this ep. And Delko was much less of an ass in the crossover, I might add.
I'm not really fond of their theme, although it does fit the show (I was hoping for a new mix of "Who Are You?" ala Law & Order) I think the show being a spinoff doesn't really hurt either show since they are sufficiently different... I mean without the little title card reading "C.S.I.: Miami" I would have forgotten I was watching a spinoff.

Kallie (sp?)

According to the closed captioning, it's Calleigh Duquesne. As she said, very Southern.

 

[Jordan_E]

Cracked me up, hearing another song by THE WHO. Still watching it now and it isn't terrible. I'll give it the time. Hell, I didn't get into CSI until the second season.

 

[Mike I]

Not only a great show but the HD broadcast was outstanding..

 

[Frank Zimkas]

I watched the season premier last night and was not impressed. I like the original and think this spin-off was not timed well at all. I kept expecting Dennis Franz to make an appearance, possibly as a crusty Miami cop, but that would have been a stretch! I guess it's kind of like the Law & Order franchise, you got your SVU, Crime & Punishment, Traffic Enforcement, Bunko & Vice, Etc.

A good spin off is a very rare thing, I don't think this one will last.

 

[MikeAlletto]

The thing that REALLY bugged me was what Alex said. The NTSB would be searching and investigating at the crash scene. They would be searching and evaluating the black boxes. Not some local police team. That was enough to make me not think this first episode was very good, but I'll still watch next week.

 

[Joe Bernardi]

I didn't think the first episode was up to the original CSI standards, but also loved the very good HDTV image.

 

[Raasean Asaad]

Well here’s to the first season of CSI:Miami and let me put my .03 cents in. First I think it’s a pretty good effort, it didn’t fall into the trap of being exactly like CSI. No uber-investigator knowledgeable about every little detail of everything, matter of fact I think they did a good job of spreading the knowledge amongst the staff. But let me break things down.
Cheers:
1. Khandi Alexander brings meat and style t every role she has be it comedy or drama, we need to see much more of her.
2. The aforementioned spreading of knowledge amongst the staff.
3. Medium cool David Caruso doing his thing.
4. Same CSI formula, good exposition throughout.
Jeers:
1. The god-awful Kim Delany playing the same character yet again, more Khandi and less Kim
2. Miami hopefully will be more than the swamp and alligators, 2 episodes and we’ve seen this twice already.
3. StubbleTech rides a motorcycle and is the clichéd crusty yet lovable one (glad to see he got a job after all those Miller Lite commercials.
4. A little too much suspension of disbelief, I mean I’ll almost buy the red pump disabling the engine and I’ll believe the “rivet-as-bullet” theory but I won’t believe the NTSB being nowhere to be found and allowing the locals to tromp all over there jurisdiction. In the crossover episode the FBI were all over the CSI team, I can’t believe the NTSB would be so lax in a city with one of the east coasts maor international airports.
BTW: I hope this isn't too bad of a first post for a LONG time lurker..

 

[Lee L]

The thing that REALLY bugged me was what Alex said. The NTSB would be searching and investigating at the crash scene. They would be searching and evaluating the black boxes. Not some local police team. That was enough to make me not think this first episode was very good, but I'll still watch next week.

But no one has a problem with the Crime Scene Invesitgators on the original CSI continually going out and questioning suspects or hauling them down to the police station sometimes without even Brass being there?

I love CSI, but some parts of it are very realistic but others aren't. I just have to put that aside from time to time.

 

[John Doroshenk]

I could only stomach this god awful show for the first 30 minutes. I think it really sucked, the acting was awful, whats with caruso named heratio(SP?) Did he pick his own name for this crap? While the HD was great that was the only thing keeping me going. Once they got that dead women to the coroner and she started talking to the dead body, "hi there, what can you tell us. Oh hi cristina" I almost lost it, how stupid. The first 15 minutes of the show, they just show people going around picking up parts and pictures of the swamp. David Curuso must have put on and taken off his glasses 1000 times in 3 minutes, it was annoying, Kim delaney was god awful and so was the rest of the 6 people who spoke. I'm sorry but this was crap. Give me law and order over this anytime. I've never seen the normal CSI, but with all the hype over that, I hope its better than the CSI Miami.

John

 

[Pete M]

About the NTSB - I thought Horatio mentioned that to Megan, saying it was possible there were still survivors so they had to conduct a rescue operation. (Megan objected, though, but she said it wasn't her call) Horatio also pointed out that because the crash took place in the swamps that the evidence was 'moving' at 4 feet per hour, so they had to document as much as possible.

I remember when the ValuJet crashed a few years ago in Florida (and I remember this applying to other crashes) it took the NTSB a couple of hours to arrive on the scene. I think the NTSB is a team in DC that has to hop on a plane anytime there is a crash which obviously would delay their arrival at any crash scene. I'm sure local agencies have the OK to go to a crash scene if there is any chance of rescue of survivors.

 

[Alex Spindler]

Raasean, welcome and good post.
Pete, I got that and accept that as the reason that they were prominent in this episode. But unless the NTSB was coming in walking to the crime scene, they should have shown up eventually. Even CSI:LV has officials showing up even when they fudge the facts about who does what job. But CSI:M's team was doing it all: failure analysis, black box recovery and analysis, and their own regular crime scene analysis. I never got that same kind of vibe from CSI:LV, which really only oversteps their bounds with regard to interacting with criminals by themselves.
I'm going to give it some time, but it wasn't the slam dunk that the original series was from the first episode.

 

[todd s]

Johm D.
I am going out on a limb and saying you really didn't like the show.
I thought it was pretty good. I will give it a few episodes before I make a final judgement.

 

[Elizabeth S]

Not a bad first episode, though the solution felt pretty weak. I love seeing Caruso back on TV. Nobody quite does "focused sincerity" like him. On the other hand, I can't stand Kim Delaney and wish they'd chosen someone else.

 

[Marty M]

I think it is going to be tough to come up with story lines for two CSI series. My wife and I both like the cast on the original CSI better. We are not David Caruso or Kim Delaney fans. Kim Delaney is a terrible actress.

Did anyone see Biff Henderson on Late Night with David Letterman. He did a feature about the filming the first episode and pointed out himself as an extra in one shot. A very funny bit. Much better than CSI, Miami, IMO.

 

[Ken Chan]

I liked Caruso's work on NYPD Blue, and I even liked him in Michael Hayes. But the real reason I'm watching is Emily Procter. Unfortunately, they added Kim Delaney to the cast, which gives it the odd "NYPD-castoff" vibe, and inevitably reduces Emily's role. Kim never did much for me. Charlotte Ross and Jacqueline Obradors are so much better.

The season premiere was just OK. The spin-off episode was better; of course, that had all of them wearing sunglasses during the tactical entry of that house....

//Ken

 

[Rob T]

I'm not really fond of their theme

Neither am I.
I think "Who Are You?" is a much better song.
Oh well.

 

[Steven L]

We were a little disappointed in the episode. The pacing which seemed slow - I guess that could be because they're working on one case rather than the usual two in CSI. But most of all because the story seemed forced and weak.

However, being fans of CSI, we'll probably give this show a few more episodes before deciding whether we'll watch it regularly.

 

[Jodee]

I really liked the coroner, I thought her approach was cool and was a different way to do the scene.