CSI: New York Third Season betrays one of the flaws of the spin-off shows, which is weak character development. The primary actors play supporting roles to the dead bodies that drop one or two at a time in each episode. Even the New York scenery sometimes upstages the weaker supporting actors like Eddie Cahill (Flack). It's not that the characters in the show don't have back-stories. By the third season, we know a fair amount about each member of the CSI team and there are only a few new revelations. The flavor of this season is heavy on the case puzzles and light on the drama between people. On the other hand, there are plenty of moments of drama between people since each episode contains a little slice of madness and murder. What's missing is a true connection to the major characters; we are impressed by them, but we don't feel deeply about them. Episodes like "Silent Night" and "What Schemes May Come" draw out some of the best emotional moments from our players, but they are the exception. Most of the episodes in this season are nifty little set pieces that often contain some pretty vivid moments. There's a high gore factor in CSI: New York that may put some viewers off. The other element in the show that wears thin are the snappy one-liners that litter the characters' dialogue. The device that viewers will love or hate is the celebrity cameo; watching terrible acting from The Suicide Girls, John McEnroe, and Nelly Furtado isn't my idea of a good time, but there's no accounting for taste. If it's any consolation, the show's creator Anthony Zuiker does seem genuine in his passion for incorporating current events into various episode plots.
The cast is fun to watch and Gary Sinise (Mac) is excellent as the arrow-straight detective in charge of the crew. Melina Kanakaredes (Bonasera) plays Mac's right-hand and encounters major challenges in a particular story arc this season. CSI: New York Third Season weaves several stories across multiple episodes that don't always help to build character portraits, but make the season more watchable. Carmine Giovinazzo (Danny), Anna Belknap (Lindsay), and Hill Harper (Shelton) round out the cast and have their own moments of intrigue throughout the season. The character that spends the least time on screen with the maximum impact is Robert Joy (Dr. Hammerback), one of the medical examiners attached to the CSI unit. Joy balances a very over-the-top enthusiasm for dead bodies with some moments of empathy for what happened to the people on his table. This quality is what makes the show more than just a sequence of tricky whodunits. We all want to love our job as much as these folks do. They make working all night look fun and they get the kind of closure most of us only dream about. The commentary and special features add some flavor for the hardcore fans, but don't make this collection a must-buy. The true must-buy aspect of CSI: New York Third Season is that the majority of these episodes are created with a lot of style, good acting, and some inventive scenarios. Watching the third season straight through, it's easy to see why the show was renewed for a fourth.
