Unrealistic TV Shows

By Chyanne West

Ever see those shows on TV that depict what forensics is all about? If you have, then your idea of forensics may be slightly different than what it’s really all about.

Yes, the shows are somewhat accurate, but not fully, since it doesn’t take them very long to solve a case. In truth, it can take years to solve a case at any given time, while the shows usually take only a few days.

Some forensics shows are CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigative Service). Both having to deal with quite a number of forensic values, the shows use ballistics, DNA analyzing, and fingerprinting to solve the case.

The show CSI  has been criticized by police and district attorneys, who feel that the show portrays an inaccurate way to solve crimes. With that said, the show still gets quite the number of views; an average of 21.899 million for the 10 seasons of the show.

NCIS has had an average of 15.67 million viewers for the seven seasons. The fifth season averaged 15.65 million viewers and the seventh season episode, “Reunion,” averaged 21.37 million viewers.

When asked about the shows, some students liked them and others did not. Socorro Perez 10 said that she “doesn’t care” for the shows while another student, Stephen Johnson 10, said that they’re “pretty good.”

Two other students also gave their opinions about the shows. Lee Relf 10 said that the shows were “fun” while Selina Wakefield 10 said that they were “mindless nonsense.”

Even though both shows have to deal with the same concept, they are very different from each other. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation deals with crimes in Nevada around Las Vegas while NCIS deal with any crimes related to the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps.

The creator of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is Anthony E. Zuiker and is produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. Donald Bellisario is the co-creator and executive producer of NCIS, and another creator is Don McGill.

Both shows are shot in Santa Clarita, California but are set in different locations. CSI  is set in Las Vegas while NCIS is set in Washington, D.C.

Both also have spin-offs; shows that are based off of the original shows but, in different places. NCIS has a spin-off called NCIS: Los Angeles while CSI has two spin-offs called CSI: Miami and CSI: NY. NCIS is a spin off of JAG which aired from September 23, 1995 to April 29, 2005.

From each show, there is a main character. The main character in NCIS is Leroy Jethro Gibbs, portrayed by Mark Harmon. CSI’s old main character was Gil Grissom, portrayed by William Petersen, but was replaced by Raymond Langston who is portrayed by Laurence Fishburne.

NCIS: Los Angeles began airing on September 22, 2009 and airs in the 9 pm time slot following NCIS on Tuesdays. CSI: Miami first aired on September 23, 2002 while CSI: NY first aired on September 22, 2004.

CSI has been airing since October 2, 2000 and is continuing to air. NCIS has been airing since September 23, 2003 and is continuing to air.

In my opinion, I like both shows, but NCIS appeals to me more.