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Det. Tripp's no-nonsense, deep-Texas verbiage gives one the impression that he's a real cop, rather than an actor; Alexx's voice has a street-wise, nearly flippant sound to it; Ryan's is youthful and almost sultry at times, while Natalia's reveals a zest for life. Then there's Horatio, whose calm, low voice exudes the control and confidence he needs to get to the bottom of an issue.

Musical backdrops and flashbacks play a big part of the draw here as well. Whether it's the driving beat of dance music during the recreation of a murder on a dance floor or a slow, sentimental ballad as Horatio comforts a child who's lost his mother to a drive-by shooting, the music adds meaning to specific scenes. The flashbacks not only keep the viewer on track as to what's occurred, but show how events unfolded from the witnesses' and perps' explanations. These create a variation on the old "who-done-it" murder mysteries of old: viewers can study the vignettes for themselves and match them against the evidence and information already uncovered by the investigators.

It could be said the only drawback to the series is the repetitiveness of specific crimes, and the manner in which they're perpetrated. However, isn't that the crime cycle in real life? Copycats abound, and each crime has to be treated as if a new and separate case. Fortunately, the producers - possibly realizing the redundance - compensates by providing subplots involving the interactive personalities of the crew. For example, the final show of the current season not only saw Wolf fired, but also an apparently mutual attraction between Calleigh and Eric (to the chagrin of Natalia). We've experienced Horatio's angst as he dealt with the murder of his new wife, Marisol. As these subplots flavor the main storylines, we're drawn into the series even more.

Naturally, we learn a lot of legal terms and crime-solving methods from shows like this, but, on occasion, this series provides more: A group of high-schoolers are brought into Alexx's examining room, where a victim's body is covered. After a brief word about the possibility of losing their lives to drunken driving, she pulls the shroud back. As the shocked, tearful teens look on, she reminds them that this could happen to them. A more powerful statement on the effect of drunken driving can't be found anywhere, on-screen or off - and police departments around the nation would do well to adopt this "scared straight" concept.

The guest stars who appear on the program are so precise in parlaying the emotions needed for a scene that the characters almost become them, rather than the other way around. Even their actual facial features seem to reflect the characters - a definite plus if you want to "sell" the character to the audience in any genre.
While each CSI:Miami episode is laid out perfectly, with just the right mix of action, forensic investigation and interpersonal emotion, its ending is just as good. Normally ending with an impactive statement about the episode, it occasionally builds to a suspenseful, edge-of-the-seat crescendo ... then rolls the credits. Obviously, we know that we'll see what happens in next week's episode ... and can't wait!

No wonder, then, that Jerry Bruckheimer and his associates constantly find this second member of the CSI franchise constantly in the top ten of the Neilsen charts. When the program finally ends, and the local news begins, we find ourselves less interested in what's going on in our area; after all, we've just witnessed a major crime and its solution. After that, everything else seems almost cartoonish.

Learn more about this author, Chuck Hinson.
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