By Jae-Ha Kim
Amazon.com
November 20, 2007
The seventh season of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is as solid as any of the series’ previous years.
The stories are strong, the actors share potent chemistry, and the characters are believable because they are flawed human beings.
This year, CSI delves into the complicated romance between head investigator Gil Grissom (William Petersen) and his underling Sara Sidle (Jorga Fox). The two are reticent to let their colleagues in on their relationship, and the season finale offers a gasp-inducing prospect of their future together. Earlier on, though, there’s even a bit of a triangle when Sara learns about Gil’s prior romance with dominatrix Lady Heather (Melinda Clarke).
The normally steely Catherine Willows (Marg Helgenberger) faces her own dilemmas when she wakes up in a motel room, unsure if she has been sexually assaulted. And fellow CSI Greg Sanders (Eric Szmanda) finds himself the victim of a gang beating after he witnesses a brutal attack.
In a nice homage to the Who–whose song “Who Are You” serves as the theme song for the series–singer Roger Daltrey makes a guest appearance in an episode called “Living Legend.” Daltrey portrays a man who may or may not be responsible for a series of modern-day murders–even though he reportedly had died in the 1970s. The Who frontman, who has some acting credits under his belt, is perfect playing an enigmatic (and possibly crazy) man who is never quite what he seems.
Throughout the season, Grissom and Co. are plagued by a serial killer who taunts the CSIs with clues left at the scene of the crime, whose calling card is a series of painstaking miniatures replicating his atrocities.
The season finale deals with the Miniature Killer going after one of the CSIs. Whether the investigator lives or dies won’t be known until the eighth season, but it’s a breathtaking finale befitting this quality drama.
