'C.S.I.' EVIDENCE OF CBS' RATINGS SUCCESS.Byline: David Kronke TV Critic Heretofore in this rather woebegotten TV season, before ``Survivor'' reared its behemoth behemoth (bē`hĭmŏth, bĭhē`–) [Heb.,=plural of beast], large, fanciful primeval monster, like Leviathan, evoking the hippopotamus mentioned in the Book of Job. of a head, the big story was the surprise emergence of ``C.S.I.'' (for ``Crime Scene Investigation'') as the season's unqualified hit, particularly when all the smart money was on the remake of ``The Fugitive.'' Now, no one cares whether Richard Kimble Dr. Richard Kimble is the fictional character featured in the television series The Fugitive, portrayed by actor David Janssen. Kimble is a pediatrician falsely convicted for the murder of his wife, Helen Kimble, but freed in a train wreck en route to execution. will catch the one-armed man or if Gerard will catch Kimble (the stars, seeing the writing on the wall, didn't even bother to show up at a CBS (Cell Broadcast Service) See cell broadcast. media event last month). All they care about is who Gil Grissom Gilbert "Gil" Grissom, Ph.D. is a fictional character portrayed by William Petersen on the American TV crime drama . Grissom is a forensic entomologist and the night-shift supervisor of the Clark County, Nevada CSI (forensics) team, investigating crimes in and around the (William Petersen William Louis Petersen (born February 21, 1953) is an American actor, most known for playing Gil Grissom on . Biography Early life Petersen was born in Evanston, Illinois to parents who worked in the furniture business. ) will catch next. Essentially, ``C.S.I.'' is a sexier ``Law & Order,'' tricked up with high-tech gadgetry gadg·et·ry n. 1. Gadgets considered as a group. 2. The design or construction of gadgets. Noun 1. gadgetry - appliances collectively; "laborsaving gadgetry" and more attitude. The show is particularly well cast, with Petersen as an eccentric, absent-minded genius, Marg Helgenberger as a sexy single mom, Gary Dourdan as a slyly surly investigator and George Eads as comic relief. The formula is evergreen - our heroes, skilled in the art of forensics See computer forensics. , happen upon a crime scene and pick it apart, minute detail by minute detail, even more assiduously as·sid·u·ous adj. 1. Constant in application or attention; diligent: an assiduous worker who strove for perfection. See Synonyms at busy. 2. than O.J. Simpson's defense team. Everything is explained in jargony language, then dumbed down for us goobers at home. From there, it's just a trip to the lab for some testing, a session with thinking caps and a little dumb luck, and the case is solved. Tonight's episode finds Grissom searching for exculpatory evidence that will free a man accused of an arson-murder, and Willows (Helgenberger) and Stokes (Eads) searching for the murderer of a teen-aged numbers runner. Occasionally, as on tonight's show, the forensics teams do a little bit more of the investigating that regular cops would be expected to do. And tonight's episode is a little too conveniently linear - a clue or break pops up whenever it's most needed. Nonetheless, ``C.S.I.,'' by strength of an underused exotic/seedy setting (Las Vegas) and its straightforward depiction of hard-working police procedurals, is a strong hour of TV, strong enough perhaps to put a chink in NBC's Must-See Thursday armor. ``C.S.I.'' What: Popular drama about Las Vegas forensics investigators. The stars: William Petersen, Marg Helgenberger, Gary Dourdan, George Eads, Jorja Fox. Where: CBS (Channel 2). When: 9 p.m. Thursdays. Our rating: star! ``C.S.I.'' What: Popular drama about Las Vegas forensics investigators. The stars: William Petersen, Marg Helgenberger, Gary Dourdan, George Eads, Jorja Fox. Where: CBS (Channel 2). When: 9 p.m. Thursdays. Our rating: Three stars |
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