Let me get this out of the way right now: I love CSI: Miami. Though the original Las Vegas version of CSI is classic, I never got into NY because I’ve always thought it was too dark. But Miami is the perfect balance of both. It’s like a great cupcake: light, fluffy with really delicious filling.
You may not know it, but surprisingly, CSI: Miami is the world’s most watched television program. While most CSI-ers think the original is the best, Miami has the demographic appeal down.
Its formula is simple: someone commits a crime and the CSIs solve it. So, something good emerges from something bad. Pretty standard, actually, but it’s so different than its CSI siblings because of the way it looks. And while a lot of viewers can’t relate to a city like Miami, that’s probably the reason why it’s so popular. It’s lush and beautiful, and I’m not just talking about the landscapes.
CSI: Miami is filled with gorgeous killers, sexy suspects and flawless detectives and forensics experts, who never seem to have a hair out of place – unless it’s been found at a crime scene, in which case it will soon be placed under the most perfect piece of magnifying equipment money can buy.
Heck, even their bright and sunny interrogation room looks like it was ripped right from a couture-filled boutique.
Everything about the Miami-Dade police headquarters and the lab they work in is just so darn pretty. Nothing like gloomy Vegas or gritty New York. Miami’s got clean, modern lines, bright, colourful interiors and sunny, warm exteriors. The almost eerie blue light, the high-tech gadgets and the crazy touch screens they use instead of computers are simply out of this world.
Like the show itself, its star, David Caruso, sharply divides critics and viewers alike with his portrayal of Horatio Caine. Vanity Fair’s James Wolcott refers to his acting as a “macho-moron empath perversion of the Dirty Harry mystique.”
But I, unlike (presumably) most of you, actually like Caruso’s “overstated understated acting,” as Mr. Wolcott so eloquently put it. I enjoy the donning and removing of the sunglasses and the way his body is positioned almost sideways and his head is perfectly cocked, sort of like a Sears catalogue pose.
And the icing on the cake, for me, is the oh-so-obvious, almost-bored-sounding lines the writers give him to say, right before the credits kick off to The Who’s “Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!” That’s when Hubby and I exchange a glance and chuckle, and either say, “Ooooooooh, that was a bad one” or “Hmmm, that one wasn’t so bad.” It’s just something we look forward to on our Monday nights.
But Horatio Caine is more than just the strong, silent type with some quirky body language thrown in. H, as his co-workers so affectionately refer to him, is emotional, can get caught in the personal aspects of his cases, and is a master at comforting crime victims.
He doesn’t really say a lot, but when he does it’s usually some sort of statement or promise that everything’s going to be OK, something along the lines of “the future’s so bright …”
But to all the naysayers, watch enough episodes and Caruso’s hypnotic, slow-moving mannerisms become relaxing, almost comforting. The camera is usually positioned low, sort of like in a Michael Bay blockbuster flick, capturing Caruso with just the right amount of light.
There are the usual backdrops of gorgeous homes, stunning overhead shots of yachts on stunning teal waters, and most times, shots of red from a vicious, yet visually beautiful, crime scene.
And that’s when Lt. Caine enters, sunglasses on, hands on hips, a dramatic pause followed by one of his classic one-liners.
Clearly, he must be doing something right since he’s the world’s most popular cop.
Thoughts? denette@tvguide.ca
