CSI Miami did something fairly remarkable in its Seventh Season, which was to replicate the DNA of the other CSI shows. Where we typically saw CSI NY as having by far the grittiest themes, CSI Miami pulled no punches this season. The Las Vegas crew seemed to gel much better as a cast, but now almost every member of the Miami bunch has some connection and plot thread knitting them together, making for a very family feeling. Being Medical Examiner for CSI Miami is apparently a little bit like being the drummer for Spinal Tap, as the lovely Megan Echikunwoke steps into the role vacated by Khandi Alexander. Echikunwoke as Dr. Price is an improvement in our book on Alexander's Dr. Woods, but CSI Miami did lose a bit of its "Cougar Factor" in the switchover. At least we still have Calleigh... The other surprising new face on the show is none other than Sean Combs, in a double-header of episodes showcasing him as an up-and-coming Miami defense attorney. Is it because CSI Miami tends to feel over-the-top that Diddy raises nary an eyebrow, or can the guy actually act? You be the judge... The casting around our team of investigators continues to feature the perfect blend of tough, creepy, sexy, empathetic, and just plain pathetic characters. The city itself is still where all roads lead, as lots of music-video inspired cuts, wipes, and transitions between scenes demonstrate. The show at times seems like it could just as easily have been produced by the Miami-Dade Tourism Board as by Jerry Bruckheimer, which isn't a bad thing.

After the City of Miami, we can say with certainty that CSI Miami: The Seventh Season is all about Eric Delko. The first episode ("Resurrection") wraps up some of Horatio Kane's business from the previous season (see below for a link to our review of CSI Miami: The Sixth Season), and Episode 2 ("Won't Get Fueled Again") lands too close to home for Eric after a murder occurs in his psychiatrist's office. This is a nice transition for viewers that may just be jumping on here, to learn about the problems Eric had after being shot in a previous season, and losing his memory. The story arc in CSI Miami: The Seventh Season draws Eric and the team into Russian Mafia activities in Miami, and not just because of the Russians' penchant for lawbreaking and bloody mayhem. Eric has some revelations about his birth father that lead back to the Russians, while Horatio manages to make an enemy of a powerful mob boss, Ivan Sarnoff. Calleigh's attachment to her elusive undercover cop boyfriend, Jake Berkeley, is handily dissolved in the first episode so she can remain almost out of reach for the remainder of the season as a romantic interest for Delko. Eric has his hands full throughout, and actor Adam Rodriguez steps up boldly to fill the spotlight. We won't spoil the ending for folks that missed out on this season, but we'll just say the dramatic payoff is definitely there after all the elaborate plotting just described.

In the cracks between the Delko/Russian Mob arc are a few other interesting plot threads, some new and some remnants from previous seasons. Characters like Ron Saris, Yelina Salas, and Horatio's quasi-family unit of Julia and Kyle play pivotal roles in keeping things dramatic for Lieutenant Kane and everyone around him. Some of the most dramatic episodes are drawn from a pool of one-off stories told in just an hour. Whether gut-wrenching and emotional - as in "Gone Baby Gone" and "Smoke Gets In Your CSIs" - or just clever and taughtly plotted - as in "Bombshell" or "Power Trip" - CSI Miami: The Seventh Season delivers the goods. This DVD collection also contains great extras for fans that are simply building their collection. You'll find four features, two of which ("The New AV Lab" and "Miami Classified") are meaty, and commentary tracks on two episodes. Too often, a long-running series will fall into predictable patterns, and the formula of CSI is pretty... formulaic. Murder, clues, solved murder, right? The fact that character drama and authentic emotional content can be injected at all is nothing short of a miracle, and CSI Miami goes a long way in its Seventh Season to demonstrate it doesn't have to stand in the shadow of its older (Las Vegas) or more star-laden (CSI: NY) sister series. There's a distinctive look and feel to CSI Miami that you'll either love or hate, and the former will find lots to love in this collection.