Gore, Guts And Pink Flamingos
Newcastle Herald
Friday July 18, 2003
TWO former NYPD Blue stars lead this tropical clone of the hugely successful CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.
David Caruso plays the improbably-named Horatio Caine, an ex-homicide detective who relies on gut instincts which often clash with the all-science approach of Kim Delaney's DNA specialist Megan Donner.
Southern-belle ballistics whiz Calleigh Duquesne (West Wing's Emily Procter), underwater recovery expert Eric Delko (Adam Rodriguez), investigator Tim Speedle (Rory Cochrane) and coroner Alexx Woods (ER's Khandi Alexander) are also on the case.
Caruso's Caine is Florida's answer to William Petersen's grouchy Gil Grissom.
He leads the forensic team by using both cutting-edge technology and good old-fashioned police work to solve crimes.
CSI watchers met Caine last season in an episode that existed only to set the stage for this series.
Originally Caruso was the sole star of the show but American TV executives decided he needed a female counterpart and quickly wrote in Delaney whose legal drama Philly had just been axed.
But her role will be short-lived.
The actress only appears for a few episodes and was joining the unemployment queue again after her character was deemed "less integral" and written out of show.
Alternatively, tough-talking Caine has resurrected Caruso's acting career that had taken a nosedive after his controversial and abrupt exit from NYPD Blue.
After a string of less-that-successful films (remember Kiss of Death?) he tried a TV comeback in 1997 with another cop drama Michael Hayes but that only lasted one season.
How Caruso landed a role on the show is a bit of kismet.
He had just happened to relocate to the Miami area to start a clothing business.
When the TV network suits were considering Miami for a CSI spin-off, his name came up because of the Florida connection.
When the show premiered in the States last year the actor told reporters he didn't feel much pressure about starring in a spin-off to a highly successful drama.
"The fact is that we are cut from a super-successful template and we are under the wing of these senior producers on the other show and let's not forget (executive producer) Jerry (Bruckheimer) ," Caruso said.
Nowadays, CSI:Miami is the highest-rating drama in the US.
The show is also filmed on an impressive set - with the kinds of dazzling new iMacs, shiny stainless steel autopsy tables and state-of-the-art forensic goodies that help prop up the original show.
And to make sure the characters know what they're talking about, Bruckheimer enlisted technical consultant and co-producer Elizabeth Devine, a 15-year veteran of the Los Angeles Sheriff's DNA Unit and Crime Scene Unit.
On the new CSI the character's personal issues also take centre stage along with the gore, guts and pink flamingos.
The first few episodes revolve around Kim Delaney's character's bumpy return to the unit she used to lead, now headed by Caruso.
CSI:Miami premieres on Wednesday at 8.30pm on WIN
© 2003 Newcastle Herald