CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (TV Series) Pilot (2000) User Reviews

Here come the nerd squad..

[henry-429-883632 · 7/10 · 15 December 2012]

It's an exceptional, vibrant opener. Already with the high level of acting & scriptwriting that has set this show apart. In fact, to get someone interested in this show, I think you could do a lot worse than to say "start with the pilot"

A newcomer, Holly Gribbs, joins LV CSI team, breathes some life into them as she meets each personality. She has an eventful day ... of the wrong sort. Warrick is meanwhile busy trying to go off the rails, and he and Nick make a bet on which one can solve the next case quickest...

From an addicts point of view:

We get to see a different Grissom to the one we know in later seasons. Perhaps the makers of the show weren't sure which way to take him at this stage. He certainly gets pretty pompous fairly soon into this season: the smiles disappear and he starts giving Zen koans when people ask him for advice, and small lectures at the end of some episodes. Much is made - particularly by Catherine - of his less than gregarious existence in a later episode. But here he is mischievous, cheeky, and compares notes with a lab worker he went on an unsuccessful date with. They banter and she says as an aside "You're slipping!"

I rather like him this way :)

Nick and Warrick seem to interact much as will they do in the remaining series. Sara isn't here yet. Brass is plenty meaner than he is later, and picks on both Gribbs and Warrick, who decides to answer back and pays for it.

There are also lots of plot lines to be picked up later, Nick meets a lady of the night who is doing "trick-rolls" (if I remember right). While investigating an apparent suicide, Grissom meets a gentle, enigmatic designer of toys who we will meet again..

How much is there in all these early episodes? Anyway, so glad I foud this :)

Nicely Begun

[Hitchcoc · 8/10 · 23 December 2020]

The first episode of what became a franchise, with its long success and spinoffs. Here was are given a glimpse of the characters that we will meet many times. We also get some neat use of their skills in solving a number of cases, both serious and frivolous. Gil Grissom is a wonderful character, at the center of each of the first incarnation.

CSI: Pilot

[Scarecrow-88 · 8/10 · 10 September 2014]

The inaugural episode of CSI: Las Vegas, one of the all-time greats and a CBS television staple. The pilot deals with the flaws of Warrick, a fine investigator with a gambling addiction that haunts him thanks to bad decisions while on the job. He has a judge he makes bets with, placing one on the Packers when he was supposed to be shadowing a rookie CSI detective on the job her first shift (Chandra West, in a cameo that seems like the beginning of a starring role). Because Warrick fails to obey his commander's orders (Paul Guilfoyle), she is shot in the line of duty, dusting the prints of a robbery with the man who shoots her the one responsible. West's character seeks advice from Catherine Willows (Marg Helgenberger) about this new job, unsure she wants to do it as a career, motivated by her traffic cop mom to become CSI. Catherine tells her to stick it out, and that she wouldn't regret it…haunting words that loom over the shooting, and indicate to us that harm to a cop could come at any moment. Prior to her being shot, West's Holly Gribbs had a gun pointed towards her while dusting for prints at a store owner's establishment…irony is the owner was the one pointing the gun! So it is kind of foreshadowing. In the pilot, Gill Grissom (William Petersen) is supervisor of the graveyard shift but he answered to Guilfoyle's Jim Brass. He tries to comfort and ease Holly into the job after a shaky interview with Brass and vomit during her first visit of an autopsy. So the tragic aspects of Holly are evident throughout. This is the nature of such a dangerous job. You could be in danger at any time. Anyway, Warrick has a bet with Nick Stokes (George Eads) as the two are competing for CSI Level III position which has the perks of extra pay and vacation time. Warrick's being so involved in his self-improvement jeopardizes his job. Catherine and Warrick were the CSIs on the case of a husband who murdered his wife's brother, and it appears that whether or not it was "protection of family" hinges on a shoe and toe nail. Meanwhile, Catherine has a moment with a little girl that was molested, providing a realization that protecting her own daughter and loving her deeply is important. Meanwhile Nick investigates the odd results of a tourist (character actor Royce Appleton) awakening to find his items stolen (wallet, keys, etc.) thanks in part to a babe (the always-delicious Krista Allen) who seduced him in a casino…waking up to find himself robbed, with Nick believing something was ingested that knocked him out. What that knock-out agent ultimately is quite a stunner…let's just say it isn't eye wash. Brass proves to be a real asshole in this episode, particularly nasty towards Warrick who needs a warrant to search his suspect's toenails for a link to the brother-in-law's murder. This pilot proves that the show has several threads going on during each episode. This ends with Gribbs' shot-in-line-of-duty, with Brass informing Warrick that he must face administrative leave for not shadowing her as he was told. Gribbs is said to be in surgery and possibly dying as the first episode ends.

The storyline thread not yet concluded involves a murder faked as a suicide, and a fingerprint left at the scene was left by a prosthetic hand from a novelty warehouse! The mother of the victim tells Grissom that the voice leaving a "suicide confession" was not her son's voice, too. So the pilot basically sets up the next episode. That dummy being bludgeoned in the head by Grissom has blood that is spattered that came from Holly, told by her supervisor that it was a mandatory part of the first day!

My view of the series in general

[kiwakokiri9596 · 10/10 · 31 July 2013]

Utterly and unashamedly love this programme in all it's entirety.It has made me realize that many factors come into play in order to see justice is done. This programme has opened the door for many successful spin offs which needless to say, I also thoroughly enjoy. Adhereing to the same guidelines which made C.S.I such a hit will also ensure their continuity, fan base and success. The story lines, plots and cliffhanger series finales are mind-blowing to say the least. Thank you very much to the cast and crew for making this all so enjoyable and entertaining. I miss Grissom and Catherine as they were the leading forces for the C.S.I. teams. I wish them both well on their new endeavors.

The start of something Big...........Welcome to Vegas!

[frazpong · 10/10 · 11 April 2007]

This is where it all began. The first episode of the highest rated series, (in the world I think). I think this was well written, directed, and performed. It was Gripping, it left it on a cliffhanger, which is the best thing a pilot can end with.

It starts with a few short cases, (the first one won't really be significant till later on in the series, and in season 2) a suicide (apparently), Warrick investigates a shooting, Holly Gribbs Struggles as the new CSI, which later leads to the cliffhanger when a suspect returns to a crime scene and shoots her. Warrick gets the blame for not supervising her. Will she live? Will she die? (She does, Yay! No offense to her, but if she didn't there'd be no Sara to replace her, way more interesting character. and she opens a whole new storyline throughout the seasons with Grissom) It introduced us to the main characters, briefly. Having read some of the books first, I found myself wondering, "Where is Sara?!?" and "why isn't grissom in charge?!?", but it was that episode that got me hooked on the series itself. I actually bought season 1 on DVD when Season 6 was on TV, now season 7 is nearly over, and I'm still trying to watch it all in chronological order, stuck on season 3 until I save up and buy the next season, I don't watch season 7. It's the story lines of the CSIs which will bring you to watch this week after week. That, and of course the evidence, Which takes you into worlds unknown to you. If you want thought the cops did solved the cases, think again. If you want to watch the best Murder mystery/crime solving drama ever made, you have to start here to understand.

Promising Beginning

[claudio_carvalho · 8/10 · 9 August 2022]

The CSI team, composed by the cop Chief Jim Brass, and the scientists Dr. Gil Grissom, Catherine Willows, Warrick Brown and Nick Stolkes, is short staffed and plenty of cases to be simultaneously resolved. There is an apparently suicide; a murder case of a trespasser; and a man lured and drugged by a young woman. When the rookie Holly Gribbs is assigned to work in the CSI team, Jim does not like and asks Grissom to stay with her in an autopsy. Holly intends to give up working in the CSI, but Catherine convinces her to stay a little longer and have the final decision later. The gambler Warrick is assigned to go with her to a crime scene, but he leaves Holly doing the forensic work while he bets in a horse for the corrupt Judge Cohen and himself. Meanwhile something happens to Holly Gribbs that will affect the whole team.

"Pilot" is a promising beginning of the "CSI" series. The plot is engaging, the characters are real and the cases are well-resolved, using science instead of force. The fate of the rookie Holly Gribbs is not good and looking forward to see whether she will survive or not. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Piloto" ("Pilot")

Did Susan Gibney's scene(s) get left on the cutting room floor?

[brenda_loves_to_freecycl · 8/10 · 9 April 2024]

As a fan of the Star Trek franchises, I am something of a fan of Susn Gibney's.

I went through this episode with a fine-toothed comb and could not find even a glimpse of her.

The closest I could find to age/gender/appearance, was the lab tech (?) that had appaarently been on a date with Grissom, but that's not her.

I know sometimes actors' names are still left in the credits, even if their scenes were cut from the episode.

Does anyone know if that is the case here?

For those that watched the various Star Trek episodes, but don't remember Gibney, she played Dr. Leah Brahms in a couple of episodes of TNG, and in at least 1 or 2 other Star Trek franchises.

Pilot

[Metal_Robots · 8/10 · 4 February 2024]

This is how it all began, and looking back on the pilot episode, it's interesting to see how CSI has changed from its first outing. Though it's a more stylized and darker show now, CSI's quirky humor and smart writing was evident from the get-go. The pilot manages to be straightforward and accessible even as it lays out some complex plot threads that will continue throughout the season and beyond: the faked suicide killer, Warrick's gambling problems and Catherine's attempts to balance her job with raising her daughter.

Looking back at the pilot from 2008, when forensics shows are in abundance, it's easy to forget how groundbreaking the show was when it first premiered. Before CSI, it was all about getting a confession or finding a key witness or tripping a suspect up in the recounting of a story. In CSI, things are much more concrete: striations on a toenail clipping from a suspect match it to one found in the victim's shoe and similar skin discolorations reveal that a prostitute drugged her john. As Grissom quips, "Concentrate on what cannot lie: the evidence." People are fallible and, as Doctor House would say, "everybody lies." Whether they're trying to conceal shady behavior or an actual crime, people can't always be trusted. The evidence can.

It's easy to see why quirky, eccentric Gil Grissom makes such a compelling hero. He's different from the typical brash, posturing detective (personified in this episode by Jim Brass). What supervisor would ask for a pint of blood on a new employee's first day? Who yells, "You assholes!" at a morgue full of dead people? Grissom garners a few laughs in the pilot, but he's also an insightful, clever character. And a determined one as well--when the husband tells Grissom he cut his toenails and flushed them down the toilet, Grissom gamely sets about searching around the toilet for the clippings. The message is clear: incriminating evidence can't really be gotten rid of.

Grissom comes across as less reserved in this episode than he does as the series progresses. William Petersen is clearly having fun with the CSI's quirky side. He greets Holly Gribbs with a smile--and a request for a pint of blood. The moment where he yells, "You assholes!" at the corpses after Holly is startled by them is funny and completely unexpected. Who knew Grissom had it in him? He also apparently tried romancing one of the lab techs, with little luck. Grissom might be good at reading crime scenes and interpreting evidence, but women are something of a mystery to him it seems.

CSI's leading lady doesn't get much screentime in the pilot. Catherine does swoop in for a memorable rescue, getting Holly Gribbs out of a sticky situation with a convenience store owner who doesn't want the CSI to waste her time looking for evidence. Catherine's pragmatic side shows through right away when she assesses the situation and tells Holly to come with her. Why bother processing the scene of a robbery if the victim doesn't care about who robbed her? Catherine's got a point. She gives the frazzled Holly advice about the job, urging her to stick with it until she closes her first case. Catherine promises her she won't regret it.

Sadly, Holly probably does regret it, given that the episode concludes with her getting shot and as Brass says solemnly, isn't expected to pull through. It's a shocking ending to the first episode; the audience has been lulled into thinking Holly was their gateway into the CSIs' world, that she would be their guide, gently easing them into the world of forensics as she got the hang of it. But it's not to be so; Holly provides a quick introduction and then is summarily dispatched. Holly is a fairly stock character--the newbie uncertain of her path but eager to impress and please. The loss of the character is worth the message her death sends: that this is dangerous work and that the show isn't going to play it safe.

Holly's predicament puts Warrick in even bigger trouble than he already has stirred up for himself during the episode. He goes around Brass's back to get a warrant, but does so by making a deal with a judge: he'll place a bet for Judge Cohen in exchange for a warrant. I can't imagine Grissom would approve of this kind of backdoor dealing. Then, after being pulled from the case by Brass, Warrick blows off shadowing Holly to go place the bet for the judge. Warrick might never have gotten caught for that if Holly hadn't been shot, but his actions clearly have grave consequences here. It's a risky move, introducing Warrick with so much maverick behavior in the first episode, but it also immediately makes him one of the more fascinating characters to the audience.

His counterpart and rival, Nick Stokes, plays it a bit safer, but he does offer a deal to Kristi Hopkins rather than simply having her arrested. It's unconventional, but it does allow him to close the case, return the hapless victim's belongings to him and earns Nick the promotion to CSI Level Three. Nick comes off as easygoing and charming guy; it's no surprise that at the end of the episode it's he and not the troubled Warrick getting the promotion.

Brass is the very opposite of easygoing in this episode, and it's clear the character was initially envisioned as the stereotypical hard-nosed detective in opposition to the "nerd squad." Though Paul Guilfoyle does well with the material, Brass is a little too caustic to be likable here. First he lays into Holly Gribbs for being a legacy hire and then he opposes Warrick, disagreeing with the CSI but also clearly looking to rattle his cage. Brass also appears to be the one in charge of the CSIs, giving Grissom orders and putting Warrick on suspension following Holly's shooting. I'm grateful the character of Brass was mellowed as the series progressed; though he's on good terms with Grissom in the episode, his antagonistic attitude wears thin after a while.

There's no sign of Sara Sidle or Dr. Al Robbins here, but Greg Sanders shows up, geeky and quirky from the get-go as he banters with Nick about what kind of swabs are the best. From his goofy shirt to his quick wit, Greg is every bit the lab geek. In just two scenes he makes a strong impression, and it's not hard to see why he was eventually added to the main credits while the rest of the supporting players in the pilot didn't survive much beyond it.