Artificial life rears its head; 'CSI: NY' pulls out all the stops
Chicago Sun-Times, Oct 24, 2007 by Doug Elfman
'CSI: NY' Rating 3 out of 4
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Aw, look how cute. The old executives at CBS are trying to be "cool" or "hip" or whatever. In tonight's "CSI: NY," Mac goes snooping in the virtual world of "Second Life" to catch a killer. Artificial art imitates artificial life.
The mystery is traditionally linear. A dolled-up woman shows up dead, and her corpse looks exactly like her costumed persona in "Second Life." The good guys track a suspect. Then another. Then another. There's a highly unlikely climax.
But Mac (Gary Sinise) and tech-xpert Adam (A.J. Buckley) go trolling in "Second Life" in search of a real life killer hiding behind the anonymity of a nasty avatar.
Lucky for "CSI: NY," this promotional stunt is a fairly entertaining diversion, even if everyone on the show spits out the word "avatar" repeatedly, as if it's on fire and burning their tongues. They're trying to clue in semi-Luddite viewers at home that "avatars" are online illustrations, which represent persons/bunnies/ etc.
Anywho, Part Two of this adventure doesn't air until the sweeps ratings period known as "February."
If delaying the sequel doesn't sound gimmicky enough, look at this trick: CBS will run ads tonight for a new "CSI: NY" section in "Second Life"; it was crafted to be an easier entry point for "Second Lifers" who are older and just now finding out what an AVATAR! AVATAR! AVATAR! is.
Obviously, this episode isn't a groundbreaker. Remember, "The Simpsons" once turned Homer into an avatar, and there was "TRON," and that "X-Files" episode where Scully saved Mulder from a hot murderess lurking in a multiplayer shooter.
But "CSI: NY" does a good job of composing story elements in its modern way, since this is the Age of the Howdunit, not the Whodunit.
Cops make use of fancy computers, ballistics and forensics. (Music video montages!) They sift through impossible clues. (A splinter!) There is the devilishly smart killer. (Avatar!) And cop chatter around the autopsy table runs thicker than blood:
"I'm thinking [a tick] burrowed into our vic just prior to T.O.D," says Dr. Sid. (If you parlez vous procedural, I bet you know "vic" means "victim", and "T.O.D." stands for "time of death.")
"CSI: NY" is a worthy distraction. This is quite the silly little accomplishment, considering it's just another crime drama on CBS, which posts 10 howdunits in the Top 20 of the ratings. Half of those procedurals even have the word "crime" in the title, or a variation of the word "crime."
"Crime, crime crime!" "Avatar, avatar, avatar!" CBS takes no chances you'll be confused about anything, ever.
'CSI: NY' Rating 3 out of 4
- - -
Aw, look how cute. The old executives at CBS are trying to be "cool" or "hip" or whatever. In tonight's "CSI: NY," Mac goes snooping in the virtual world of "Second Life" to catch a killer. Artificial art imitates artificial life.
The mystery is traditionally linear. A dolled-up woman shows up dead, and her corpse looks exactly like her costumed persona in "Second Life." The good guys track a suspect. Then another. Then another. There's a highly unlikely climax.
But Mac (Gary Sinise) and tech-xpert Adam (A.J. Buckley) go trolling in "Second Life" in search of a real life killer hiding behind the anonymity of a nasty avatar.
Lucky for "CSI: NY," this promotional stunt is a fairly entertaining diversion, even if everyone on the show spits out the word "avatar" repeatedly, as if it's on fire and burning their tongues. They're trying to clue in semi-Luddite viewers at home that "avatars" are online illustrations, which represent persons/bunnies/ etc.
Anywho, Part Two of this adventure doesn't air until the sweeps ratings period known as "February."
If delaying the sequel doesn't sound gimmicky enough, look at this trick: CBS will run ads tonight for a new "CSI: NY" section in "Second Life"; it was crafted to be an easier entry point for "Second Lifers" who are older and just now finding out what an AVATAR! AVATAR! AVATAR! is.
Obviously, this episode isn't a groundbreaker. Remember, "The Simpsons" once turned Homer into an avatar, and there was "TRON," and that "X-Files" episode where Scully saved Mulder from a hot murderess lurking in a multiplayer shooter.
But "CSI: NY" does a good job of composing story elements in its modern way, since this is the Age of the Howdunit, not the Whodunit.
Cops make use of fancy computers, ballistics and forensics. (Music video montages!) They sift through impossible clues. (A splinter!) There is the devilishly smart killer. (Avatar!) And cop chatter around the autopsy table runs thicker than blood:
"I'm thinking [a tick] burrowed into our vic just prior to T.O.D," says Dr. Sid. (If you parlez vous procedural, I bet you know "vic" means "victim", and "T.O.D." stands for "time of death.")
"CSI: NY" is a worthy distraction. This is quite the silly little accomplishment, considering it's just another crime drama on CBS, which posts 10 howdunits in the Top 20 of the ratings. Half of those procedurals even have the word "crime" in the title, or a variation of the word "crime."
"Crime, crime crime!" "Avatar, avatar, avatar!" CBS takes no chances you'll be confused about anything, ever.
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