Crime Scene Investigation

Okay, this topic is one of my favorites. This is a series that I have found intriguing since the very start. This genre is very interesting to me, no matter how similar the different series are. Every episode begins with the crime happening and the viewer seeing the victim, dead, in whatever setting that the investigation will take place. Then the show progresses through certain suspects (usually several being wrong) then the accomplishment of finding who is responsible for the death of the person and usually some sort of motive behind it. This supporting what Dobson says, that the three series stick to a very strict narrative sequence. This allows the show to be predictable in the aspect of how things are going to happen, and it seems to be that I can focus more on the actually content of the show because I know how it is supposed to work. This genre is fairly typical - and it attracts a very large audience, therefore there is almost promised success if all aspects are followed in the way the narrative is told.

Dobson also points out this idea of graphic realism. Not only does the story seem true, but the actual images also are very realistic. It is not at all about the characters doing the investigation, it is purely interest in the individual narrative from episode to episode. This I also think allows me to connect to the story, because I am not busy dealing with the drama on the sideline between characters.

The realism of the show is also what attracts the audience. The framework of the criminal receiving punishment after the crime has been committed brings closure as well as an ending to the episode. There tends to be no cliff hanger in these shows, and the "bad guy" is caught - unlike shows/movies in the horror genre that often leave the killer somewhere to come back.

In the article of CSI as Neoliberalism we see that even though the punishment and seeing of the victim is real, the actual seeing of the crime is not possible. The timing of the introduction of the show is what also attributed to its success - the niche it fit into really a place that needed devlopment and something new to attract viewers.

For me CSI is all about the action packed hour that envelopes me. There is no part of the show that is not interesting. From the quirkiness of certain characters, the relationships they have with one another (purely work), and the interest in going behind the scenes. I'm not sure what is more inriguing to me, the narrative story or the lay out of the crime and the solution of it. It is actually be far my favorite show, and I will say that the complexity of the crimes is interesting - the way they figure it out is also different than any other experience.