A Little Bit of a Reality Jump

I’ve been watching more and more of CSI:Miami and I’ve got to say, I’m becoming more and more a fan of the series and specifically the cast. I’ll even throw Horatio Caine into the mix as well.

My only problem with some of the science I get from CSI:Miami that I don’t get from the other two series is a question of believability.

Maybe I just don’t see some of the equipment functionality mentioned in Popular Science or news stories or that type of thing. I know it’s TV, but with shows like this, I think a more rigid standard of believability is required in my opinion.

An item that really threw me this evening though had nothing to do with equipment, it was more about responsibility and role. In this episode the team was preventing terrorists from running a semi-truck full of plastic explosives into a nuclear power plant.

Horatio is standing behind a car at a police roadblock with a rifle perched on the cars hood. He fires the gun into a flammable gas canister on the truck that then obviously blows-up the entire semi.

Now really? Would a CSI be the one to pull the trigger in that event. I know it makes for more interesting TV, but come on.

Comments

By Jude

It goes down like this:

CSI is a lot of crap haha. We do not have guns, we do not have DNA results in minutes (more like months) and the crimelite is NOT a UV light. Thats my major bug bare with Miami. Calley keeps calling her Crimelite a UV light. I have one it has noooooo UV light in it at all. If it’s blue it’s not UV. UV light denatures DNA with all the useage they wouldn’t get their profiles. We do not interview suspects and we do not ahve a murder case ever week. We spend most of our days dealing with “volume crime” which is things like housebreakings and assault victim photographs. It looks good on the TV and on paper but in reality the job can be sooo boring. I should know been doing it for 3 years! We are always amongst the last on scene also to answer that question.
The real CSI xx (from the UK)

By Lynn

I have to admit there are times they do take a bit of creative license with the role of a CSI. There are times when the CSI teams are the ones to lead the apprehension of a criminal, but I don’t think that’s how it’s done in real life. I think they go in behind the regular police, perhaps even wait until they have got their suspect, then go in.

But it makes for great TV. That’s why they call it “suspension of disbelief…” ;-)

Are there any real CSIs out there who can set us straight about this? If so, leave us a comment to tell us how it really goes down.