And let‘s not forget acronyms.  Do you really think that, in this thoroughly dyslexic age we live in, the letters “C-S-I-N-Y-P-D” would actually register with the average person on the street?  Maybe these TV shows just do it because nobody seems to have an attention span these days.  Personally, I think it’s just Jerry Bruckheimer’s way of making the show “hip” and “edgy”.

You know, he might be responsible for some of the most overrated, overhyped and overly shitty movies out there.  Yes, he’s one of the Four Horsemen of the Hollywood Apocalypse.  But, at times, I really do have to commend Jerry Bruckheimer for his courage to unabashedly make -- not one -- not two -- but three entire network television series that are essentially the same damn thing (he’s also made two other sister series, “Without A Trace” and “Cold Case” which are also rather similar to each other).

“CSI: NY” the youngest of the CSI family, definitely wins the silver medal when compared to its siblings, the original “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” and the god-awful “CSI: Miami” (it also ranks a lot higher than its bastard red-headed step-brother “NCIS”)… and yet, for some reason, doesn’t appear to be as appreciated by the fans… fans would evidently would prefer staring at an increasingly-bloated William Petersen (who would have gone nowhere had it not been for his series, incidentally) or an excessively annoying David Caruso (whose career has succeeded in going nowhere… even with his series).  Give me Lt. Dan (Gary Sinise) any day (I think it’s that amazingly Ken Doll-like rubber neck of his -- I just can’t get enough of it!). 

I really like the New York characters in the movie (nothing says “attitude” like a New Yorker to me)… and it doesn’t even bother me that the show is filmed in Los Angeles.  I also like the casting of Robert Joy as the doctor… although I wonder if his character is an attempt to equal the casting of his former Terminal Choice co-star David McCallum from “NCIS” (anybody else?).  But then there are the women on the show.  Sorry, but Melinda Kanakarededeskanaanarke just doesn’t do it for me.  And Anna Belknap as the cute redhead looks like she’s there just so geeky science-loving nerds can blurt out “I bet SHE would have sex with me… ” as they cry themselves to sleep.

Season Four of “CSI: NY” starts out with Detective Mac Taylor (Sinise) returning from London (alone) only to be terrorized by the “333” caller: a mysterious individual that calls him every morning at 3:33 and prevents him from getting sleep.  Instead of simply putting his mobile number on the Do Not Call list, Mac very passively goes about investigating who the unknown caller is (I think it’s a half-Satanic midget, personally).  Meanwhile, Mac’s crew (Carmine Giovinazzo, Hill Harper, Eddie Cahill, et al) discover the joys of solving some of the most truly baffling and bizarre murders ever to plague The Big Apple… including such highlights as a bloody Statue Of Liberty, a naked (dead) man from the future, and even a real zombie (on Hallowe’en, nonetheless).

There’s even a usage of the famous Wilhelm Scream.

Sure, most of the premises are improbable at best and the series tends to stretch the fabrics of rationality (as do the other CSI programs)… take for example the cool space-age machinery that doesn’t exist or the flashy, briskly-edited, and decidedly upbeat montage sequence of forensics-in-action that is usually accompanied by someone’s attempt at techno music.  These elements are no doubt there to remind us that the whole show is “hip” and “edgy”.

Thank you, Jerry Bruckheimer… we almost forgot for a moment that science is boring.

Presentation:
All 21 episodes are brought to us on 6 discs from the good folks at CBS/Paramount in some truly exceptional-looking 1.78:1 anamorphic transfers, with rich and vivid colors throughout.  I also enjoyed the 5.1 soundtrack… it’s so nice when somebody actually goes that extra mile and gives the rear speakers something to do for a change.  A Spanish Surround track is also available, but no Subtitles are thrown in (although the discs are Closed Captioned).

Extras:
Disc One houses a few Previews for several kajillion CBS series.

Disc Two features an optional Audio Commentary on Episode 405 (“Down The Rabbit Hole”) by co-producer Anthony E. Zuiker as well as a Featurette, Art Imitates Second Life (15:25) which interviews a lot of crew (and some cast) members that worked on this popular ep (which I didn’t find to be particularly engrossing, but I guess it was fun for the many computer trolls out there).  Also on Disc Two is Dante’s Infernal Episode (10:05), another Featurette revolving around Episode 406, “Boo”.

Disc Five’s Special Feature is the Episode 416-related Featurette Art Attack (4:12).

Rounding up the handful of Extras is the Disc Six Featurette Cutting To The Core: Season 4 In The Big Apple (13:33).

The Bottom Line:
Now, I don’t want to sound picky.  I have nothing against the group in question.  But exactly where does it say that all CSI series must have a composition by The Who for its theme song?  I would have settled or a little Floyd or something… you know, just to change the pace… ?