The twelfth season of CSI was all about
change and how new characters changed the dynamic of things as one character left the show.
Ted Dansen comes on board as out-of-the-box thinker D.B. Russell, the new supervisor for CSI Las Vegas. The CSI team is first at odds with the way this CSI from Seattle works, but they come around to him and one of his old co-workers comes
to work with. Blood expert Julie Finlay (Elisabeth Shue) was once fired by Russell,
but he needs her methods and the producers describe as a female version of Grissom. Also
the latest season marks a turning point for Catherine Willows (Marg Helgenberger) as she must decide her future with CSI and
it comes to a head in a three part storyline with MS. WILLOWS REGETS and WILLOWS IN THE WIND being the last two parts. The writers continues to bring in various new story twists like CSI using old
school methods when the power goes out in Las Vegas, robbery and murder at an Alice In Wonderland themed wedding (MALICE IN
WONDERLAND), and a variety of guest stars like Paul Blackthorn to help them do it.
I love the character of D.B. Russell in a way that I never could warm up to Laurence Fishburne’s CSI character,
Raymond Langston (I love Fishburne in EVENT HORIZON and THE MATRIX films). Ted
Dansen is able to bring a humanity and quirkiness to Russell that it almost makes me not miss Grissom anymore.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
DEATH, TRUCKS, AND ROCK N’ ROLL- behind-the-scenes of the episode DUNE AND GLOOM where they get the world of off road
racing and get the lead guitarists of Aerosmith to contribute to the music score.
A CRIME A DOZEN: SEASON 12 OF CSI-
a focus on the new characters introduced during season 12 and the various storylines
WELCOME TO FABULOUS LAS VEGAS- a look at
the new cast members who joined the show for season 12 including one who actually had her intro late in season 11.
A FAREWELL TO MARG- Marg Helgenberger and the producers talk about the final arc for Catherine Willows and reveal that
they almost got William Peterson to come back for the end of season 11 as something that would lead into her final episodes
(but ultimately it didn’t come to pass).
PUTTING ON A FREAK SHOW- Cast and crew
show what goes into creating a freak show for the episode FREEKS AND GEEKS
A FAMILY AFFAIR- - David Robert Hall goes
behind-the-scenes as he gives a glimpse into the private life of Doc Robbins (where they even take a little from Hall’s
own life).
Deleted scenes for BITTERSWEET, BRAN DOE,
ZIPPERED, and GENETIC DISORDER
Audio commentaries for
MS. WILLOWS REGRETS with Marg Helegenberger,
Louis Milito, Christopher Barbour, Wallace Langham, Elizabeth Harnois, David Berman and Jon Wellner
WILLOWS IN THE WINDS with Marg Helegenberger,
Alec Smight, Christopher Barbour, Wallace Langham, and Elizabeth Harnois
FINAL ANALYSIS: CSI finds fresh life with season 12 as it continues to prove to be the strongest of the CSI series. The extras are good, but I wish they had more audio commentaries and I still
wish William Peterson would make a guest appearance in the near future.
This DVD review is (c)9-28-2012 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission. Send all comments to feedback@enterline-media.com
