CSI: Miami: The Complete Second Season

Like Law and Order before it, the CSI franchise has grown into something of a seemingly unstoppable prime time juggernaut, spawning two spin-off series less than four years after the launch of the original show in 2000. CSI: Miami is the first of these spin-offs, hitting the airwaves in 2002. Like the other shows in the CSI franchise (CSI and CSI: New York), CSI: Miami is essentially a series driven by the science of solving crimes and the investigative team that works the forensics on each of the cases. And just as the plots of the original CSI were typically Las Vegas-style crimes (suited to the locale of the show), the ones investigated in Miami continue to be more unique to that region (hurricanes, offshore drug running, illegal immigrants). While the series typically adheres rather strictly to a "crime of the week" format, season two does delve further into the lives and histories of some of the main members of the investigative team, including that of department head Horatio Caine (David Caruso), whose uniformed brother (Raymond) was killed under suspicious circumstances, and Lt. Yelina Salas (Raymond's widow, played by Sofia Milos). Despite the somewhat flimsy and unimpressive packaging, the episodes are delivered in widescreen format with 5.1 surround sound and the collection is loaded with a hearty serving of extras. Seven of the 24 episodes boast commentaries (including the season premiere and the episode "MIA/NYC — Nonstop," which launched the third spin-off series, CSI: New York). The bonus disc contains four "behind the scenes" featurettes, the most compelling of which is "CSI:Miami — Visually Effective," an in-depth look at the creation of the special effects used in season two. The remaining three features are two lab tours ("Trace" and "A/V") with brief descriptions of how the different equipment shown in the show is actually used in real-life forensics work and another short doc where cast and crew recall the making of season two. (Alliance Atlantis)