CSI: Season 3, Part 1

Someone out there must have heard me when I reviewed the second half of Season 2 and complained about the lack of input from any of the cast, because we do get to see them, albeit briefly, in the Introduction To Season 3 featurette. Each cast member talks about their character in the series, offering an insight into what they believe makes them tick and, while it is short (12.30 mins), it is a big improvement on the technical extras we were given last time around.

Also, for the most part, an excellent addition to this three disc set, are commentaries for four of the episodes: Revenge Is Best Served Cold, The Accused Is Entitled, Fight Night and Snuff. I assume these have been chosen to showcase the series's main directors and writers. Danny Cannon, Anna Donahue, Ken Fink, Naran Shankar, Richard Lewis and Elizabeth Devine all feature.

Fink proves to be the most interesting, which is handy as he was responsible for two of the four - Snuff and The Accused Is Entitled. He offers insight into the directing process - why he uses what colours and where; what type of lens he prefers, etc - in layman's terms, keeping it entertaining, while being informative.

Cannon comes across as being obssessed with the music which accompanies each scene of his episode (Revenge Is Best Served Cold) - possibly why he is more often credited with producing than directing.

Lewis and Shankar, the director and writer of Fight Night, offer the least interesting of the tracks, descending too often into technobabble and getting tied up with the minutae of the plot, rather than offering what would have been a more concise overview. They appear overly pleased with themselves, which, considering theirs is one of the weaker episodes, is all the more grating.

There are no subtitles for the commentary tracks, which seems a shame, particularly for a series which makes such a lot out of deafness. Commentary track subtitles would be handy for the hearing too, as sometimes it is tricky to work out who is speaking at any given time. The subtitles for the episodes themselves are clear, with the print and sound fine, as you would expect.

The only other extra is a 10 minute guide to the set of the police station. This tour is given by production designer Richard Berg, which rather relies on you having seen the whole series. I assume this extra would make more sense in the context of the double boxset available Stateside.

He is fine as an enthusiastic amateur presenter, but much of what he says is aimed squarely at a US audience and will hold only minimal interest to a UK viewer.