Chronicling the work of the Miami-Dade crime investigators, CSI: Miami is set against the sun, fun and tropics of the Florida tourist haven. Leading the team is Horatio Caine, an ex-bomb squad detective who is no stranger to confrontations with criminals and the underworld...

This latest DVD box set of CSI: Miami houses all 22 episodes of the show's ninth season, spread over six discs.

This season has an interesting story arc that revolves around a prison break that releases a handful of criminals (from the show's past) into the community. Over several episodes the team confront each of the escapees. Another recurring theme seems to see the CSIs chasing down suspects on foot - I don't know why, but there seemed to be much more of this activity than in previous series. In addition, season nine sees Caine acting more like a vigilante in order to get information or bring a criminal to justice. Personally, this was an aspect of the show I wasn't keen on. I know it adds to the drama, but I prefer the good guys to play it by the book.

Highlights in this season include:

Sleepless in Miami: A man rings the police to tell them a murder has been committed, when the CSI team turn up the man has no memory of calling them, but he's standing above the remains of a man's buried head. As the team investigate, the man's memories start to come back and he leads them to where the man's other body parts are. Surely he's the killer, as how else could he know where to find the parts? This episode opens with a trippy sequence that helps to add to the story's bizarre plot. This is one of the most intriguing episodes this season.

F-T-F: The CSI's must race against time to preserve the crime scene that is being contaminated by water gushing from a damaged fire hydrant. Two people lay dead - one in a crashed car and another sat on a bench. The deaths seem related, but who killed who and why?

Stoned Cold: When a teenage girl is tied up and stoned to death, the CSI team have a job working out who is behind it. It would seem that everyone she knew hated her as she was such a nasty piece of work.

About Face: Natalia is kidnapped by one of the escaped convicts. The man was originally put away for kidnapping, raping and killing his female victims, is Natalia about to become his next prey? This is an interesting episode as it flips everything on its head as we discover a few worrying truths. The ending also brings up further questions and illustrates that even with justice done, not all conclusions have as happy an ending as you'd wish.

G.O.: When a man is accused of killing a stranger after a bar fight, he is forced to go on the run. But at every turn something more bizarre happens. The dead body vanishes, only to reappear in the suspects car, and some organisation sees to be out to kill him. Things become even more odd when the CSI team step in to investigate. Companies seem to vanish before their eyes and the people that witnessed the original bar fight have a strange connection. This episode is of interest because it just keeps getting stranger and stranger - until everything is revealed.

The season ends on quite an unexpected cliffhanger. Of course we know everything will be fine for those involved (mainly because they are still regulars in season 10), but how the writers work there magic will be interesting to watch.

Extras include audio commentaries on a few episodes; deleted scenes for a few episodes; A Miami Milestone: The 200th Episode (8 min, 06 sec behind the scenes look at the episode Happy Birthday); Behind the Scenes with Adam Rodriguez (17 min, 59 sec behind the scenes look at the episode Hunting Ground, which Rodriguez wrote and directed); The Whole Nine Years (25 min, 21 sec look at the themes and characters of this season. It was interesting to discover that Emily Procter's character (Calleigh) didn't get to do much this season because she was pregnant in real life); To Be Continued... The Season Finale (7 min, 17 sec behind the scene look at the last episode in this season).

So, another cracking season which, stylistically, throws many different themes at the viewer. It's why the show continues to feel fresh, and is why I can't wait for season 10.

8

Amber Leigh