Why The First Season Of CSI: NY Feels So Different To Fans
If the first season of "CSI: NY" has a different feel than the rest of the series, then it's in good company. It's not uncommon for hit shows to take a while to find their groove. Sometimes, as is the case with "Sex and the City," it takes as little as a first episode. "The pilot of 'Sex and the City' feels different from the seasons that follow it," wrote Haley Nahman at Repeller. "It's grittier, Carrie speaks directly into the camera, and maybe most surprisingly, the fashion's extremely forgettable."
Other times, it takes a whole season for the writers, directors, cinematographers, and producers to figure out exactly what they're doing, and how all of their various purviews fit together. "Breaking Bad," for all its genius, fans noticed that the pink teddy bear signaled a shift for the series, in which it focused more heavily on symbolism and jarring camera effects.
As always, though, it is a show's most dedicated fans who tend to notice this shift in tone and approach first. In particular, those willing to take to the worlds of message boards and online discourse have often spotted a narrative shift for a series first. The case was no different for fans of "CSI: NY" on Reddit.
Season 1 of CSI: NY focuses more on Mac
During a thread on the r/csi subreddit, user u/wordy_shipmates pointed out that while subsequent seasons would see "CSI: NY" evolve into an ensemble show, much like other entries into the "CSI" franchise, its first season centered more heavily on the character of Mac Taylor (Gary Sinise). Other characters essentially are relegated to supporting status. "Season 1 doesn't go as in with the characters outside of Mac as some other seasons do," the user posted on Reddit. "From [Season] 2 forward the show changes a bit and I think for the better."
That the first season revolved so heavily around Mac was understandable, at least at first. The pilot of "CSI: NY" was essentially an episode of "CSI: Miami," in which Horatio Caine (David Caruso) has to travel to New York and collaborate with his NYC counterpart, Mac Taylor.
What's more, it's quite clear in those initial episodes show how much Gary Sinise was committed to making this new addition to the "CSI" universe work. As u/wordy_shipmates wrote, "You can tell how much Gary Sinise loved being a part of the show and it was his baby." This is in large part true, as Sinise was both a star of the series and a producer for much of "CSI: NY" (via IMDb).