The Show
The great thing about a city like Las Vegas, the general public has no trouble believing that all manner of sick, twisted crimes happen there on a weekly basis, and hence brave, smart men and women are hopefully solving every case. How else could a show like CSI: Crime Scene Investigation have achieved The Ninth Season? (Of course, the tenth season is currently unfolding on CBS Thursday nights, but we won't write much about that until it hits Blu-ray, too.)
The ninth year saw its share of change, as the CSI's mourned the loss of one of their own, which indirectly led to the departure of team leader Gil Grissom (star/producer William Petersen). To the writers' credit, his "replacement" (Laurence Fishburne as Dr. Raymond Langston) is far from an even swap, bringing his own drama to the proceedings. There are scary episodes, funny ones, multi-part story arcs and one that crams an entire year into a single TV hour. Watch for a brief while and you'll be reminded why it remains one of the highest-rated shows on TV.
The Picture
Especially compared to the very first season of CSI, the only other one currently on Blu-ray, the beauty of this high-def is striking. True, a very faint layer of video noise can be detected across the surface of the 1.78:1 frame sometimes, or perhaps in the shadows or in the backgrounds, but by and large this is one sharp, stable image, true of all 24 episodes. It impresses in the exquisite vistas of the city and of the desert as well as in the detail of the faces in the many close-ups, plus effortless fine textures. I can't remember the last time a TV show looked this good.
The Sound
As good as it looks, I might have to say that the CSI: Blu-ray sounds even better: The producers have taken the time and trouble to craft an outstanding discrete DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 soundtrack for each story. It's most evident during action scenes, as bullets can ricochet around us in a confined space, but the designers have taken the time to render the various environments--an office, a forest, a casino--more elaborately than most TV shows; heck, more than most movies! This is in addition to the more artful soundscapes and an amazing explosion. The rechanneling of the signature Who song is also much improved here versus The First Season, with clear separation and healthy bass, even more demo-worthy when stripped of the vocals for the end credits.
The Extras
Two episodes are viewable in "Interactive Investigative Mode," which supplies picture-in-picture interviews, optional pop-up text and branching away to making-of-a-scene videos, each with an episode-specific introduction. Another includes a "CSI Mode" ("Comprehensive Scientific Information"), on-screen facts about the job, the perfect accessory for Langston's first shift. Elsewhere, an audio commentary accompanies the episode "Turn, Turn, Turn," featuring writer Tom Mularz, star George Eads and guest star/singer Taylor Swift. Another adorns "A Space Oddity," this time with executive producer/co-writer Naren Shankar, co-writer David Weddle, and the "lab rat" actors: Wallace Langham, Liz Vassey, Jon Wellner, Archie Kao and Sheeri Rappaport.
"Rats in Space" (27 minutes) goes deep on "Space Oddity," the thinly-veiled, cameo-laden Star Trek parody probing the fantasy lives of the guys and gals who toil away inside the crime lab. "From Zero to 200 in Nine Seasons" (19 minutes) takes us behind the scenes of the 200th episode, helmed by Oscar-winning director William Friedkin (The French Connection). "Crime Scene Initiation" (15 minutes) discusses the transition from Petersen to Fishburne, while "Good-Bye Grissom" (18 minutes) offers closure.
BD-Live (on all discs) links to "dynamicHD" content, the three-part "CSI Handbook," exclusive bonus videos in our choice of HD or SD, plus some promotional material for related products, as well as entree to the "CBS-BDlive" community. Except for the assortment of deleted scenes--which are neatly paired with their original episodes, where they occur--everything in this set is in high definition.
Final Thoughts
In addition to serving up challenging, compelling drama, CSI: The Ninth Season is one of the best-looking, best-sounding TV-on-Blu-ray sets yet released, while the extras represent the best that the format has to offer.
Product Details
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