CSI - My How You've Grown

I was watching the CSI pilot episode on Thursday. It's one of my favorite shows and I started watching it around 2003-04. For my money, it's one of the most influential shows of the last decade as far as influencing the awareness of forensic evidence and being a successful show about Las Vegas.

So of course, I think why not see how it all started. Just if anything to laugh at how young the characters looked. Sure enough, Gil Grissom and Capt. Jim Brass set the whole episode off by investigating a homicide and Grissom's typical wit set off the intro.

First thing I noticed was old the graphics looked in 2000. It looked like a typical CBS drama with the block lettering and dusty camera work. If I saw that show at 15/16, I probably would've been curious but would've passed on it because it didn't look cutting edge or fresh like the "24" premiere did my senior year.

Second, I saw some good old stereotyping in how Warrick Brown was portrayed early on. As the leading Black character on the show, he was hot-headed, distrustful, spoke in slang, rebellious to authority and a bit prejudiced. Not to mention he was pulled over for DWB (Driving While Black). It was bad but not as bad as the side Black character in the lab who got something right for Grissom and was so happy, he started dancing.

It just showed that TV's come a long way from the Black character explicitly having to fit certain stereotypes. But it also shows how far the show has come. I know that Warrick had a gambling problem that he overcome so I wasn't surprised to see that. It was more interesting how it played out and how deep he was involved in it.

I loved how they showed Nick Stokes' empathy right away too. I've long believed that Nick's the glue of the show because he can be forceful when he has to be but always shows a genuine care for the victims and witnesses that sets him apart from the cold-hearted cops he works with. Along with Chloe from "24", he's one of the best side characters in recent TV history.

Gil Grissom had a great quote in the show that not only summarized the premise of CSI, but also a great way to view things in life. "Focus on what cannot lie, the evidence." Evidence can be manipulated to support any agenda but taken as it is, it'll usually lead to the truth.

It's always funny to see how a show matures over its run. 10 years and counting and I love watching to see how the series continues to evolve.