C.S.I.: Crime Scene Investigation - 3rd Season
Paramount Home Entertainment   -   2002   -   1022 minutes

Reviewed by Thor van Lingen

Review Date: April 27, 2004

FOR STARTERS

PHOTO GALLERY Gil Grissom listens to the slots

Las Vegas Police Department�s elite Crime Scene Investigation unit is back in business for another thrilling season. Gil Grissom and crew return to solve two or more murder cases a week, with all the gadgetry and DNA evidence of its previous two seasons. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation started out as a successful venture, and continues to do very well with television audiences. Its unique blend of cutting edge forensics, likeable human characters, and compelling story lines are what keeps this fiction marvel safely afloat amidst the rising tide of reality television. With consistent top five performances week to week, look for Grissom and the rest of the Scooby Doo gang to go on solving mysteries as long as they are successful.

� Episode 1: "Revenge is Best Served Cold"
Catherine and Nick become absorbed in the dangerous world of street racing after one of the illegal sport's hotshot drivers is found dead out in the desert at an abandoned airstrip. Back in town, Grissom and his crew probe the sudden death of a renowned poker player who suffered a violent convulsion in the middle of a high-stakes game with three others. It looks like natural causes, at first, but Grissom suspects foul play.
� Episode 2: "The Accused is Entitled"
Grissom and his crew are called in to investigate the death of a young woman found in the hotel room of popular actor Tom Haviland. Haviland admits that he slept with her, but denies killing her. Grissom believes otherwise, however, after finding blood evidence on the celebrity. Then things get personal when Haviland's lawyer hires Grissom's former mentor, Philip Gerard, to find mistakes in the forensic part of the case. And, unfortunately for Grissom, Gerard finds plenty of errors to exploit.
� Episode 3: "Let the Seller Beware"
An open house becomes a death house, when the two owners are found murdered � a cuckolded husband, and his wife, who may have been cheating a little too close to home; Sara investigates the gruesome death of a cheerleader, with cannibalistic overtones.
� Episode 4: "A Little Murder"
A popular dwarf is found hanged during the annual little people's convention, but his average-sized fianc�e insists that he did not kill himself, and as the CSI team investigates, she may turn out to be most likely suspect in his staged murder; meanwhile Catherine is sent to process a home invasion robbery, she is attacked by the suspect who has been hiding in the house.

� Episode 5: "Abra Cadaver"
A woman who volunteers to be part of a magic show is made to disappear � for real � and when the CSI team investigates, they find that a famous magician may be a murderer; Catherine and Nick look into the death of a rock star whose overdose may have been staged by one of his greedy band mates.
� Episode 6: "The Execution of Catherine Willows"
Fifteen years ago, Catherine (Marg Helgenberger) helped put John Mathers (Victor Bevine) on death row for the rape and murder of a coed at a nearby college. Her body was dumped in a trash bag, and two other girls found the same way were also linked to the suspect. As the episode opens, Mathers is about to be executed when he's granted a stay based on new DNA evidence. But while Catherine awaits the results of tests on hair samples found on the first victim, another girl at the same school is murdered...and discarded just like the first three---meaning the wrong man could be behind bars.
� Episode 7: "Fight Night"
During a middleweight championship bout, two fighters with bad blood between them enter the ring, but only one is left standing � and the CSIs are called to the scene when the loser is pronounced dead; meanwhile, in the aftermath of the fight, gang bangers use a different brand of violence to settle a score; and Nick investigates a smash-and-grab robbery in a casino store.
� Episode 8: "Snuff"
The CSIs investigate the death is a porn actress in a violent snuff film, but have no idea who she is, where the movie was filmed, or who shot it; Nick and Grissom trace a skeleton found in a toolbox covered with fire ants.

� Episode 9: "Blood Lust"
A young man is accidentally run over by a taxi, and a pack of angry bystanders attack the driver, believing he intended to flee the scene, leaving the young man dead on the street. But the CSIs prove the boy had already been fatally stabbed before the cab hit him, and now they are investigating three deaths � one, an impersonal hate crime, and the other equally sad, unnecessary and very personal.
� Episode 10: "High and Low"
A John Doe takes a flyer off the roof of the building, but he died in the air, not on the ground, and the CSIs have only his tattoo to jumpstart their investigation; Catherine is called to the scene of a shooting at a bar, and finds herself involved in the ultimate neighborhood feud.
� Episode 11: "Recipe for Murder"
A dismembered body is found in the grinder of a meat-packing plant, and the CSIs trace the murder to a five-star restaurant, where the victim was the head chef; the parents of a troubled young woman report her death, an apparent suicide, but Sara and Warrick soon establish that there are suspicious circumstances � the body has been moved and repositioned.
� Episode 12: "Got Murder?"
The CSI team work backward from the gruesome discovery of a human eyeball in a raven's nest, to discover that a wife who had formerly gone missing has been murdered � and both the husband and the teenage daughter have motives that shock the investigators; a car salesman winds up on Dr. Robbins' autopsy table, but he only looks dead.

� Episode 13: "Random Acts of Violence"
Warrick investigates the drive by murder of a young girl in his old neighborhood. The girl's father is a friend and mentor of Warrick's as well. Warrick struggles to control his emotions to the point where Grissom pulls him off of the case. Nick tackles the murder of a computer company employee. The only suspects are the three other employees in the building.
� Episode 14: "One Hit Wonder"
Catherine takes the point in the investigation of an escalating series of peeping tom incidents. The crew is racing to stop the attacker before his crimes become more serious assaults. Meanwhile, Sara reopens the dormant case of her friend, a district attorney. The DA is facing surgery to remove a bullet she got in an attack that killed her husband three years prior.
� Episode 15: "Lady Heather's Box"
In the first, Grissom discovers that the murders of a party guest at a nightclub and a man who was working out in his apartment are related. The deaths were similar and both victims were employees of Lady Heather (Melinda Clarke), a dominatrix who penetrates Grissom's cold exterior to reveal his vulnerability. The second case involves Catherine's ex-husband, Eddie (Timothy Carhart), who vanishes after his car crashes while he's traveling with their daughter. Sara leads the investigation, but Catherine quickly becomes displeased with the way it's being handled.
� Episode 16: "Lucky Strike"
The 5-year-old son of a professional basketball player is kidnapped while his father is at a casino, and a $5 million ransom is demanded. Elsewhere, Grissom and Nick investigate when a man with a wooden stake lodged in the back of his head stumbles out of his car and dies.

� Episode 17: "Crash and Burn"
Sara's personal life takes a hit when she investigates a deadly car crash. The accident is a bizarre and seemingly random one involving an elderly woman who killed and injured several people when she drove her car through the front of a bar crowded with happy-hour patrons. Among those hurt is Sara's EMT boyfriend, Hank (Christopher Wiehl). While Sara (Jorja Fox) is rocked by his injury at first, she soon manages to work the case in her usual professional manner. But her emotions begin to get the best of her once again as she learns disturbing news about Hank's presence in the bar. Elsewhere, a woman dies of carbon-monoxide poisoning, and Grissom quickly decides it was no accident.
� Episode 18: "Precious Metal"
A badly decomposed body is discovered in a beat-up chemical-waste drum in the desert. The investigation soon leads Catherine into the world of robotic demolition derbies in which custom-designed robots bash each other in combat-like competitions. Meanwhile, Grissom probes the death of a newly married man whose body is found in an alley.
� Episode 19: "A Night at the Movies"
The first case takes Grissom and Catherine to a dingy art house, where a moviegoer was stabbed in the back of the head with a screwdriver. Apparently, the man was killed during a noisy on-screen gunfight, perhaps by a tall redheaded woman seen leaving the theater during that scene. Across town, a team tries to unravel the mystery of a badly bruised 15-year-old boy found shot to death in a bullet-riddled warehouse, where more than 100 rounds were fired from every conceivable angle, including the roof.
� Episode 20: "Last Laugh"
Grissom and Catherine investigate the murder of a despised comic who died onstage, apparently after drinking from a tainted bottle of water. The case grows more puzzling when a 15-year-old boy dies in a convenience store after drinking the same brand of water. Also: Brass reopens a woman's accidental-death case after spotting the deceased's husband in a flashy new car with a trophy date on his arm.

� Episode 21: "Forever"
A murder aboard a luxurious 747 and the discovery of two formally attired teens in the desert confound Grissom and his crew in this absorbing episode. First, a horse trainer is found dead in the cargo bay of a private jet carrying 12 well-heeled passengers and a million-dollar show horse. Initially, it appears the victim was trampled to death, but Grissom and Catherine uncover evidence of foul play. Meanwhile, in the Hell's Gate section of Death Valley, Sara and Warrick probe the apparent suicide of a 15-year-old boy found under a bedspread. The investigation intensifies when a girl's body turns up a half-mile away.
� Episode 22: "Play with fire�"
A woman's body is discovered in a small press box at a high-school football field, apparently the victim of strangulation. The evidence leads investigators to two convicts, one of whom is still in prison. At the crime lab, an explosion destroys key evidence and leaves Greg and Sara injured.
� Episode 23: "Inside the Box"
Things get personal for the CSIs in the top-rated series' third-season finale, which explores the intersection of the investigators' work and their personal lives. Three masked bandits steal a safe-deposit box from a Las Vegas bank in a daring daytime heist, during which Det. Lockwood (Jeffrey D. Sams) is killed. Lockwood's death provides Grissom and his crew with added incentive to find the murderous culprits. But the case really hits home for Catherine when the evidence leads to casino owner Sam Braun (Scott Wilson), who is like a father to her. Also, Grissom's hearing gets progressively worse and he seeks out Dr. Robbins for help.

VIDEO

Similar to the release of season two previously, season three is brought to your living room in 1.66:1 anamorphic widescreen. Colors--as before--are true throughout. The various uses of blue and green--DVD�s favorite color--are noteworthy. Skin tones are warm and accurate, and Sin City�s neon lights are once again the star of the show. The science fact gadgetry that helped make the show popular is showcased in both normal and low light situations very accurately. The picture is stunningly sharp at times, and only the occasionally interspersed intentional grain interrupts the near-pristine video landscape.

AUDIO

With English 5.1 and Spanish 2.0 tracks to choose from, the audio selections this time around are also the same. The commentaries are likewise in 2.0, with the �Fight Night� commentary--the only one of the six I gave too much attention to--being moderately informative and entertaining. Though the pair was fairly quiet in total, there was some nice filler in there about some of the technical content, as well as some decent insight into the �B� and �C� story lines and the pertaining shooting strategies employed. As far as the individual speaker�s individual achievements, the center and the sub were good but wholly unimpressive. The rears were moderately enveloping as many off camera effects were subtly introduced as poignant background noise.

SUPPLEMENTS

Not to sound like a broken record, but much like the show copies its successful formula week after week, the season three DVD seems to be a successful copy of the season two offering. This is good news in that the content is all pretty solid, with the host of featurettes this time around all worth a look for fans of the show. �The CSI Tour: Police Station� (9:22), �The CSI Shot: Making It Real� (11:44), �The Writers� Room� (11:41), and �CSI Moves Into Season Three� (13:13) will all be of interest to the true fan. My only disappointment was that they didn�t seem to do much that was new with this new DVD. True, they did try and get tricky with the camera much like they do on the show, and the crime scene field kit is engaging, but the content seems like almost a complete rehash of the last one. It�s still worth a look, just nothing redefining.

THE BOTTOM LINE

This stellar show gets another solid treatment on DVD. With the only small let down coming in the way of seemingly recycled material, the set is still a must own for fans of the show. Good audio, great video, and a grab bag of supplements that would be stand out if it weren�t for the last season�s offering, CSI season three deserves a spot on your DVD shelf.