Has anyone noticed what's happened with CSI Miami this year? On one level, it has become the most extraordinary show on TV. Every episode is a work of art in color, composition, and abstract image. To hell with plot and character. And forget the gore that that is CSI's trademark (though it is still there.) Something completely different is happening here. It could be dubbed in Japanese and I'd still watch it for the visual beauty alone.
As it happens I sort of enjoy the show itself. Emily Procter is great to watch, and I can tolerate David Caruso in small doses. But now, the visual artistry of the show is an even stronger draw than the story. I wonder if Miami is really as lush and sparkling as they make it - in fact I wonder how much of the look has to do with special effects, color enhancement and the like. All sorts of effects come into play - characters walking along a corridor are mirrored over and over in the glass walls around them, reflections shifting with each step; rays of light shoot off polished surfaces and fracture until the TV screen becomes a fascinating abstract composition of color and light.
The other CSI's aren't like this. It makes me wonder what is going on. I'm entirely ignorant of how TV shows are made - but I know there's nothing else like this around.
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