Say ‘goodbye’ to CSI

[dropcap]S[/dropcap]ome TV shows are so good, or run for so long, that they become a cultural phenomenon. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation has done both, and, now that the cast have hung up their lab coats for the last time, what better occasion to reflect on it?

A procedural drama dealing with criminalists using physical evidence to solve crimes – it was never imagined to be the hit that it became when it aired back in 2000, drawing in 27 million US viewers at its peak, as well as succeeding worldwide.

Photo: Flickr / JamieMoVieSeRieS

The final episode, ‘Immortality,’ sees D.B. Russell (Ted Danson) and his team of CSIs investigate a bombing at the Eclipse casino, owned by former team member Catherine Willows (Marg Helgenberger).

Their inquiries lead them to Lady Heather Kessler (Melinda Clarke), a dominatrix and therapist who has cropped up in a number of cases before. In an effort to better understand her, the team bring back former leader Gil Grissom (William Petersen), who must delve into his past and repair his relationship with ex-wife Sara Sidle (Jorja Fox) to help solve the case and find the bomber.

This episode showcases everything that is good about the show. As well as the case, and the experiments that go with it, we get to see the characters that we have grown to love back together (there is also a return from Paul Guilfoyle as Jim Brass) in one last hurrah. They are given closure, but also the promise that life will go on – Russell leaves the lab (and will turn up in CSI: Cyber as a series regular); Catherine returns to take over; and Sara and Grissom quite literally ride off into the sunset together.

In talking about the show, it is impossible to ignore the effect that it has had in the real world

The ‘CSI effect,’ as it is dubbed, has affected the public perception of forensic evidence – jurors are often inclined to demand more, which has effectively raised the standard of proof for prosecutors. There are more factors to this – public awareness has increased the demand for forensic evidence in police investigations, and has seen a boom in forensic science courses at universities worldwide. Few TV shows have the power to impact the world as CSI has done.

CSI has suffered with falling ratings, which claimed its two original spin-offs (CSI: Miami in 2012 and CSI: New York a year later), but its standard never fell.

No matter what episode you tuned into, you would be guaranteed a piece of quality crime television: not bad when you think that the three shows had around 700 episodes between them

Now, it’s left to cybercrimes investigator CSI: Cyber to carry the baton, but nothing will ever compare to the original team catching killers in Las Vegas’ bright lights.