CSI: Las Vegas vs CSI: Miami

[Dark Jezter]

Okay, I know that the original show is just titled CSI (or CSI: Crime Scene Investigation if you want to get all technical about it), but I decided to call it CSI: Las Vegas for the purposes of differentiating the two shows.

So, last week we had CSI's season finale, and earlier we had CSI: Miami's season finale. This poll is for people who watch both shows to see which one they like better.

I'm going to pick CSI:LV. CSI:M is a good show, and I catch it every Monday night, but I like the cast in CSI:LV a lot more than CSI:M.

First off, there are the main characters: Gil Grissom (CSI:LV) and Horatio Caine (CSI:M). Grissom is intelligent and clever. He's serious, but not overly so (Grissom often provides a few humorous one-liners in each episode). He's a walking factbook, and has a keen knowledge of literature, science, psychology, and criminology. But despite his intelligence and education, he is open to new ideas and new approaches to investigation. Most importantly: Grissom dosen't hog the spotlight, and gives the other CSIs a chance to shine.

As much as I enjoy CSI:M, I'm not very fond of Horatio Caine. He's way too serious, he never cracks a smile, and he inserts one or more dramatic pauses in nearly everything sentance he speaks (I'm expecting him to someday say something like "We... are going to McDonald's... to get a Big Mac."). Plus, his tone of voice makes him sound like he is saying "you stupid idiot" to everybody he talks to. Caine tries too hard to be a super-cool, intense, hard-boiled, badass cop. My biggest reason for disliking Caine, however, is that he's the central character in every episode. The focus on Horatio Caine can probably be blamed on David Caruso (Caine's actor), as Caruso has a reputation for being a spoiled, egotistical jerk.

Another reason I like CSI:LV is because of the supporting characters. Sarah, Nick, Warrick, Greg, Catherine, Detective Jim Brass, and Doc Robbins are all likable characters that are easy to get attached to. In CSI:M, the supporting characters haven't really had a chance to develop much because of the show's focus on Horatio. The only non-Heratio character we've seen much of is Alexx, who has a disturbing tendancy to talk to the corpses that she does autopsies on.

Finally, I just like the "feel" of CSI:LV more.

Well, there you have it, my reasons for preferring CSI:LV over CSI:M. Now I want to hear what other ENWorlders think of the shows.

 

[Wycen]

I voted the Las Vegas. You made some good points, but there are some other things, probably which I can't quantify that I like about the original better than Miami. I think the writers for the original are probably more like me, they have actually mentioned Farscape and other shows I watch besides CSI. Also, there is Marge Helgenberger.

On Miami, I count down until I hear the coroner say, "Oh baby girl, what happened to you?" or something similar. It was cute the first few times. Also, I think LV has a mystique you can't equal with Miami.

I saw the finale for CSI, but I believe the finale for Miami was on tonight and my Monday game night ran long so I missed it. However I did see the week before which had Horatio going to New York. I'll assume you know there is a third CSI in the works, CSI New York.

Gary Sineese, (spelling?) is the lead. I might watch it just for him, plus it is CSI, but I definitely noticed a difference.

Las Vegas is usually at night, thus the scenes are darker. Miami, being sunny, is usually during the day and brighter. New York looks like they are going for the NYPD Blue look, viewing everything through a blue filter, (and I don't mean blue as in adult). I don't watch NYPD Blue, never have and probably never will, so I'm not sure if I'll like the CSI NY version.

 

[Dark Jezter]

Yep, I'm aware that CSI: New York is coming this fall. I'm going to give it a chance for two reasons: One, it's a CSI series. Two, it stars Gary Sinese, whom I am a fan of. I am a little concerned that the series takes place in New York, simply because there have been countless New York cop dramas on television over the last few decades.

You brought up a good point in your post, Wycen. CSI:LV has a darker feel, and usually takes place at night (which makes the neon lights of Vegas really stand out). CSI:M has a very bright, sun-bleached look to it. I prefer the feel of Las Vegas, although I can understand that some people may like the feel of Miami more.

New York looks like they are going for the NYPD Blue look, viewing everything through a blue filter, (and I don't mean blue as in adult).

I noticed that too. When I was watching the CSI: Miami episode where they went to New York, I turned to the person I was watching it with and said "Man, they really love blue camera filters, don't they?"

 

[Henry]

I picked the original, as well. However, Horatio Caine is a more likeable character than Gil Grissom, which is what the writers to the respective shows intended. Overall, the supporting cast is stronger on LV than M, mainly because we know more about them. The only way we know about Yelena for instance on CSI is because she's related to Horatio.

Caruso's biggest problem is that he has Caine coming off as TOO caring and concerned. I can't see any law enforcement officer being so soulful about EVERY dead person they find justice for. Same problem with Khandi Alexander (Alex), who talks to every corpse like it's still alive. It's a great characterization trick for a few times, but EVERY DARNED SHOW? :\

The other positive about Las Vegas is that they DO have cases that go unsolved; sometimes, they have to let the bad guy walk. I can only remember ONE case where it happened on Miami (girl shoots an obnoxious guy at from a beachside theater viewing).

But when it comes to the originality of cases, the supporting cast, and the storylines, I'm giving LV the thumbs up. Both are entertaining shows, but CSI is the stronger of the two.

 

[Cor Azer]

Yup, the original CSI gets my nod.

Henry, I disagree with your comment that Caine is more likeable than Grissom - Grissom is the friendly but socially awkward guy. Caine, to me, just seems to... try to hard to be friendly (if you can understand what I mean).

I agree with other comments - my main problem with CSI: Miami is that Caine is basically the primary solver in every case... but he almost never seems to be doing any lab work (but that could just be because I haven't seen as many episodes of Miami as I have the original).

 

[James Heard]

I think what CSI:Miami is missing is perhaps letting an episode pass where Caine does absolutely no police work but cleans house a bit and lets the rest of the cast take the spotlight (and I don't mean wiggling boobs under a sweet Southern accent either, something substantial). The metas in CSI:LV are much better, but even they could probably stand to clean some of the drifting loose ends in an episode or two. I realize that both shows are trying to focus on crime solving but after a while you have to resolve some of the vague subplots you let in. That's true even for shows like Law and Order, which truly strive to have little or no metaplot at all.

 

[pensiv]

I would have rather seen them do CSI: Chicago over CSI: New York, especially since both William Petersen and Gary Sinise are from Chicago and former members of Steppenwolf Theatre. Oh yeah, I'm from Chicago too, that's another reason ;}

You don't see quite as many Chicago cop dramas as New York.

 

[Ghostwind]

I agree that CSI: LV is a far better written show, but I try not to compare them because they are so drastically different in style. The characters on LV have all been written so they are well-rounded and yet we are still finding things out about them. That is one of the facets of the show I really enjoy. The writers make a conscious effort to make you think of the characters as real people with real emotions. I also like that they make references to events and happenings from past episodes which helps establish a sense of continuity. Very few series do this.

CSI: Miami is also good, but I think it has yet to find its stride and pace. The first season was really good with Kim Delaney because she played well against Caruso. There are definitely times when I think to myself that Caruso graduated from the William Shatner School of Dramatic Pause Acting. After all, there's contemplative and then there's Kirk. They need to give him a strong and combative female lead to play against.

I do see a focus on the other characters in Miami, but not to the extent as we see with LV. For example, there was the one episode where Calleigh is advising her recovering alcoholic father attorney about the evidence in a case. There was another episode where she went after a serial killer by herself. The supporting cast do get their moments, but it's much more subtle than with LV. Of the entire cast, I tend to like both Calleigh and Speedle best as characters. They have the most depth potential.

 

[Psychotic Dreamer]

I also voted for CSI: LV over CSI: Miami. LV has just a better feel, better characters and usually better stories. Pluse Horatio seems like he would fit better on an animated version of CSI. Just something about the personality that screams cartoon character, plus it somedays seems he runs the entire Miami-Dade police department.

Of the proposed sequals that became CSI: NY, I would have prefered CSI: New Orleans. There is just so much untapped potential for a police show there. Although CSI: Chicago would have been cool. Hell I would've prefered CSI: Anytown USA to another NYC cop show. Not that I wont give CSI: NY a chance.

 

[Mark]

Although CSI: Chicago would have been cool. Hell I would've prefered CSI: Anytown USA to another NYC cop show. Not that I wont give CSI: NY a chance.

Looks like CSI: NY is going to go head-to-head with Law and Order on Wednesday next Fall, which might be why it was chosen to be a NY series. The kowtowing of CSI: NY to Chicago audiences by the inclusion of Gary Sinise might be offset by Law and Order's choosing of Dennis Farina to replace
Jerry Orbach who retired this year.