CSI Thoughts

It's just gone 7.30pm.

I have less than 1 and a half hours wait until I can find out what happened to Horatio Caine in CSI: Miami. I've been waiting for about 6 months to find out whether Horatio is actually dead or not.

At the end of the last season, Horatio was standing just outside of an airport hanger. He takes off his famous sunglasses, and the camera pans up so you can see him and aeroplane from above. Suddenly, a gunshot is heard and Horatio collapses to the ground. Unexpected in every meaning of the word! You then are struck with all sorts of theories surrounding it - Horatio can't possibly have been shot? It's a plan! He can't be dead - he's Horatio. The audience are then provided with a close up shot of Horatio struggling for breath, with his trademark sunglasses broken. The camera pans up again...and Horatio does not move.

If you are an avid fan of the show, then this series of events will make you feel helpless and hopeless. Even though Detective Horatio Caine is a fictional character, he provides you with hope that uncorruptable people do exist. His death would be devastating.

And to rub salt into the wound, the camera goes to outside of the Miami Dade Police Department where we see Detective Ryan Wolfe receiving a text saying 'It's done'. Ryan Wolfe is part of the CSI team - so if he is involved in this crime...it will be an even bigger blow and he knows how to cover his tracks. However, he may be completely innocent and the text was to provide the audience with someone to blame. I guess we'll find out later. I would like to see how the characters of Calleigh Duquesne and Eric Delko will react to Horatio's demise (if he is actually dead)...and what they will do should they find out who was responsible as Ryan was the new guy when Eric's best friend, Tim Speedle, was killed in the beginning of season 2. Eric did not like Ryan, and still doesn't - he puts up with him. Even though we have known Ryan for longer than Speedle, we still love Speedle because he was the original, and really nice and had great chemistry with the rest of the team. Ryan never really fitted in - you may feel sorry for him - but he is a little arrogant walking around in his lovely suits. But if Ryan is responsible, he'd better get away from Eric...quickly. Calleigh, on the other hand, is the ballistics expert who will be devastated should Horatio die. She is one who doesn't hold grudges, who cares for people and gives everyone a chance -- however, when she wants revenge, she is one who will get it at any cost. But not knowing anything about what will happen is a weird feeling as these characters are fictitious...but you can't help but care about them.

This is a bit like what has happened at the end of season 5 of CSI: New York that was broadcast this last Saturday. It's different because with CSI Miami, I can finally find out what happened tonight. It's the same because I'm at the stage where I feel helpless - I want to help the CSI: New York detectives and I can't.

In the last episode of CSI:NY, we saw the death of Detective Jessica Angell who was not a CSI, but part of the police department. She was the love of Don Flack's life, and she was shot. She was guarding a man about to testify against his father...this large truck crashed into the cafe where there were and started shooting. She wasn't a main character, but I still liked her character as she was a young woman, who again wasn't affiliated with criminal dealings, and was a detective - and this is, hopefully, my future panned out - minus the death by shooting bit.

Anyway, at the end of the episode, the CSIs are in a bar toasting to her memory. They share memories of her, and support each other in their mourning. Then just out of the window, you see this silver car slowly driving up outside the bar. The window slides down and you can't see anything in the car apart from this automatic weapon slowly making itself known to the audience...but not the CSIs. The gun starts shooting, and with an automatic, you can keep your finger on the trigger and keep going until you run out of ammunition. Bullets are fired...lots of bullets. All you see is the CSIs leaping to the ground - whether they've been shot or they have been jumping for cover is unknown. I know nothing.

Detective Mac Taylor
Detective Stella Bonasera
Detective Danny Messer
Detective Lindsay Monroe
Detective Don Flack
Adam Ross
Doctor Sheldon Hawkes
Doctor Sid Hammerback

These people were all in the bar. No one knows who will die, get hurt or live. I really like all the characters...but should the producers decide to remove a main character from the series - they should really think again. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation has crossed that line.

In the original series of CSI, it was great...the best series I've ever seen. The team were close, the mysteries were original and unique, yet not too complex. Now, as it has now finished it's 9th season - it's lost it's originality. The producers seem to think that making numerous stories interweaving throughout a season is what people want...but it just makes it confusing. If you miss one episode, you're lost. It used to be that each episode was simple, you didn't have to see other episodes to understand. If there was an odd episode where it would be helpful to have seen the previous episode, it wouldn't matter if you didn't because they explained the background to it within the episode - thus meaning you could easily understand what was going on.

Now, it's just too complex. They should go back to how it was...simple episode long storylines. Every once in a while a storyline that takes up two or three episodes is ok...but having a whole season dedicated to numerous storylines is just so tough to understand. And to really annoy...Gil Grissom has left the team to join his love Sara Sidle in Costa Rica, and Warrick Brown was shot in the head twice, and died - this episode was sad, very sad - I cried. But since then, the original characters have been leaving in their droves and new ones being brought in...and it's just not the same anymore...there isn't the same chemistry anymore as the only original characters are Catherine Willows, Nick Stokes, Greg Sanders and Jim Brass. - and Greg and Jim have only really become main character recently. Getting rid of 3 originals is not a good move...especially not in a space of one season, and they decide that the public will suddenly love this new guy, Raymond Langston. He's only just come in, he's not a CSI, he's not qualified, he's not the leader of the team and he's just not as likable as Gil Grissom. Big mistake. Ok, the guy is played by Lawrence Fishburne who you will recognise as Morpheus from the Matrix trilogy...but that doesn't mean we will automatically replace our respect that we had for Grissom to this new guy. His character needs to earn it - and this past season, he has not succeeded in my own opinion.

(The original, and best, CSI cast)

Anyway, hope you've learnt a lot from my thoughts about each programme, and each spinoff. This was originally just going to be a CSI: Miami post...but it seemed to grow! But if you are now desperate to find out what happened to Horatio...it's on FIVE at 9pm tonight - if you miss it, it'll be on demand5 online for one week. Watch it...and I'll post again with my thoughts after the episode!