Crimes shows on television used to be the simplest of things. All you needed was a tough group of police detectives, a pad of paper, a gun and a badge and they got the job done. Each week they would hit the streets; their shoe leather leading them to the clues they needed to apprehend the suspect. About as high tech as they would get back then was to ask some pretty female office to run a license plate or maybe get somebody to trace a phone call. Well, all of that is long in the past. Now audiences demand a lot more from this type of TV series. The world is fascinated with technology so it was only a matter of time until the networks responded. One of the first to jump on this band wagon was CBS. In 2000 they came up with ‘CSI: Crime Scene Investigation’. Set in Las Vegas it rapidly became a huge hit. It also resulted in two spin offs, one for Miami and another in New York City. The DVD box set for the Miami variation’s sixth season has just been released. CBS has broken most of the stigma of the spin off by making a series that is related in theme to the original but with a look and feel all its own. Each of the three jewels in the CSI crown is unique. For Miami the colors are pushed to the yellows and oranges depicting the heat of the Florida sun. The crimes run the gamut from those concerning the idle rich to struggling immigrants. This series is part of the new wave for CBS. With crime shows like ‘Murder She Wrote’ and ‘Diagnosis Murder’ their demographic was trending towards older members of the audience. Series like this one helped to recapture the younger viewers and place CBS on top of the ratings once again. The show is well executed and more than worth while to have.

While most crime shows focus on the formal members of the police force this one is concerned with the people who are usually behind the scenes, the crime scene investigator. In an old school series they are the guys knelling over a body photographing the scene that is told by the detective to process the evidence right away. In this series it is all about that evidence. As is frequently stated in the dialogue the dead speaks to them through the evidence left behind. Actually most of the technology on display here is real. The manufacturers of the equipment are more than glad to have their top of the line devices on display in such a positive way. Just as a little reality check the technology and methods used are about ten years away and much of the time required for tests are compressed a lot. You cannot get a complete genetic analysis done during a commercial and finger print matches are helped by computers but still require the keen eye of a technician. Still, with reality aside the men and women in this field have changed the landscape of criminal investigation.

Heading up the team is Lieutenant Horatio Caine (David Caruso). With his stoic demeanor and trademark sunglasses he brings cool to the most dismay crime scene. He is less a lab rat then the leaders of the teams in New York or Las Vegas; ‘H’ prefers to work the field with his agents. It seems that more than the usual amount of trouble finds him. In the previous season he tracked down the killer of his new bride. As season six opens Horatio has a son, Kyle Harmon (Evan Ellingson), he hadn’t known about and the young man is in trouble. He is in prison for his involvement in a murder and kidnapping. The first crime of the season a probation officer is murdered and clues point to Kyle. This also allows the writers to introduce something the show has needed for a long time; a femme fatale. Julia Winston (Elizabeth Berkley) is an ex girl friend of Horatio’s and the birth mother of Kyle. She is involved in the murder of her husband and eventually marries a man, Ron Saris (Kim Coates), with a vendetta against Horatio. Saris is involved in a major illegal ammunition business that specializes in high tech bullets.

Second in command to Horatio is Detective Calleigh Duquesne (Emily Procter). She started out as a ballistics expert but a couple of seasons ago decided to broaden out her scope and is now a supervisor and general investigator. She is typically very organized and in control. Since Calleigh is also beautiful she gives the writers plenty of chances to write in a love story along the way. Detective Eric "Delko" Delektorsky (Adam Rodriguez) is a fingerprint expert and always ready for action. He is also the go to guy for whenever evidence has to be obtained underwater. Detective Ryan Wolfe (Jonathan Togo) is a junior level investigator who even after three years is still trying to prove himself to Horatio. He was injured when he was shot in the eye with a nail gun and later fired from the Miami Dade police force when he withheld information about a murder case. In this season he has found work as a crime scene report for the local news. The newest investigator is Natalia Boa Vista (Eva LaRue), a CSI trainee. The team typically works closely with Frank Tripp (Rex Linn) who is a senior detective on the force.

As with most series of this type there are usually two stories for each episode. One is the main case with the principle investigators while the second is more of a side case. Aside from there this series also gives some time in most episodes for the development of the story arcs that pervade the season or whole series. Often all the story lines intersect in some form or another. Typical of most crime shows many of the main stories are ‘ripped from the headlines’ or otherwise based on subjects that are of popular interest. In one a young girl Jessica Szohr (Samantha Barrish) is a swimming champion. Some people have been publishing inappropriate photos of her on the internet making her into an ad hoc sex symbol. There was one story that was very interesting that had a serial killer striking during an eclipse. Okay, there is not going to be a full solar eclipse in Florida for years but the show is about forensic science not astronomy. There is another where a prototype machine gun is used to literally vaporize its victims. It is a little out there from a technical stand point but the computer effects were certainly something to see.

As always when CBS Paramount opens their vaults of shows they do more than just put the episodes on DVD. There are several extras that are worth watching included here. Two key episodes have commentary tracks. There is a featurette of what it takes to direct an episode of this series and one on how to create realistic dead bodies. Next there is a look at the real women who work for the Miami Dade police force and an overview of the season. This is one that will provide a lot of enjoyment.