Review-”CSI: The Eighth Season”

• Release Date: October 14, 2008
• Publisher: Paramount
• Price: $58.99 on Amazon.com (Buy It)
• Rating: Not Rated
• Run Time: 720 minutes
• Special Features: 6 Featurettes, Deleted Scene, 2 Audio Commentaries, Crossover Episode of “Without a Trace”
• Starring: William Petersen, Marg Helgenberger, Gary Dourdan, Wallace Langham, Robert David Hall, Eric Szmanda, Paul Guilfoyle, George Eads, Jorja Fox
• Genre: Crime Drama

I’ve never really been a big fan of procedurals but “CSI” has always been one of those shows I would love to watch, I just don’t have time on an over-stuffed Thursday. Thus, I was very happy to receive the eighth season set for review especially since this might have been one of the finer seasons of the show.

For those who have been living under a rock for the last eight years, “CSI” is a huge hit about a crime team that uses some of the most cutting-edge forensic tools to examine crime scenes and solve the case. There is a bit more character development than your typical crime drama but you should be fine just jumping in now.

Like most shows, this season was shortened by the writer’s strike. Instead of the usual 22-24 episodes, only 17 aired. This wouldn’t be so bad if the price were a bit lower. Even if the show is one of the highest-rated on TV right now, 17 episodes for $58.99 is a bit ridiculous in my opinion. Still, some of these episodes are amongst the best and most emotional the series has to offer so if you are a huge crime drama fan it could be worth it.

This show would look very nice on Blu-ray but until then, the DVD transfer is definitely satisfactory. In fact it is rather gorgeous. Audio quality is also great with a very nice soundtrack to boot. Making up somewhat for the price, there are quite a few bonus features and most of them are very interesting. You get your normal commentaries, deleted scenes, and featurettes as well as a bonus episode from “Without a Trace” (”CSI” has a crossover with it this season).

If price is no worry and you even just like crime dramas, you should definitely pick this up. I’d also recommend it to those who love crime dramas but I might wait for a sale unless you have already tried the franchise. Overall this set is recommended despite a very disappointing price.