CSI: Crime Scene Investigation

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Cohan examines the status of evidence in relation to truth and justice in the television series CSI, using the story arc involving the Blue Paint Killer as a main example, and assesses the series' impact through the much discussed 'CSI Effect'. He addresses the series' visual style, the attention to both cutting-edge forensic technology and CGI close ups to represent the effects of weapons on the human body, and goes on to consider the series' locale, in which the fantasy delights of the New Las Vegas exist alongside echoes of its gangster-ridden past, and crimes bring out the contrast between the flashy spectacle of the Strip, suburban Clark County and the arid landscapes of the Mojave desert. Cohan analyses CSI's consistent questioning of identity and 'normality' in the numerous episodes that feature subcultural groups and questions if mainstream success has affected the show's edginess, particularly as it approaches a future without the key character of Grissom.--Publisher's note