C.S.I. is an acclaimed, edgy, fast-paced drama series about a passionate team of forensic investigators who work the graveyard shift at the Las Vegas Criminalistics Bureau. Their job - to find the missing pieces at the scene that will help to solve the crime and vindicate those who often cannot speak for themselves - the victims. Between the hidden clues and the buried motives lies the trail to the truth because people lie... but the evidence never does...

The second half of CSI's seventh season sees Grissom return from sabbatical; Grissom and Sara's relationship starts to go places; it is revealed that Keppler has a hidden past which he wants to keep hidden; and Grissom wraps up the mystery of the miniature serial killer who has been taunting the police for months with a series of "miniatures" - mini replicas of their real crime scenes.

Highlights in this collection include:

Redrum: Catherine is asked to take part in the construction of a reverse forensics crime scene in order to drive a fugitive out of hiding. However, she has to tell no one and ask her team to process a crime scene that she has helped to stage - in order to ensure that no one leaks that it is not a real crime scene. If she can't trust her team, then who can she trust?

Meet Market: The crime lab is asked to investigate the world of the black market sales of body parts after it's discovered that a body involved in an arson investigation has had its bones removed - with metal pipes and even an umbrella replacing them.

Law of Gravity: This sees the end of the Keppler story line, as he leaves when Grissom comes back. However, the writers don't do things by halves, and Keppler's departure is pretty impressive. Sadly, the back story that is revealed in this episode would have had more of an impact if they'd started to examine his past a little from the first episode he appeared in. Keppler's introduction was a little two-dimensional, and you get the feeling that the writers tried too hard to give him a back story so that we'd miss him once he was written out.

Monster in the Box: On Grissom's return, he opens a parcel left in his office. Inside is another miniature model of a crime scene - this one includes a mini paper that indicates the crime will be committed in a few days. As usual, the race to catch the killer is full of edge-of-the-seat action, twists and turns.

Fallen Idols: The CSI team are called in to investigate the disappearance of a high school basketball player and his cheerleader girlfriend. Any thoughts that the two lovers may have run off to Mexico is soon quashed by the discovery of blood on the school playing field. This episode is interesting as it seems to have more twists and turns than most episodes. It also stars Laura Harris, who Dead Like Me fans will recognise as Daisy Adair, 24 fans will know as Marie Warner and Stargate: Atlantis fans will remember from her role in the episode The Game.

Lab Rats: Hodges convinces fellow lab rats Archie, Henry, Mandy and Wendy that Grissom wants them to secretly investigate the miniature murders while the rest of the team are out in the field. This is possibly the best episode this season - even if it is a clips show. Hodges and the other lab rats get an episode to themselves, and the results are great - adding some much needed humour into this collection. While this is a clips show, the writers do an incredible job of dressing this up - but then, to be honest, there aren't as many clips used as there usually is for an episode of this nature.

Leapin' Lizards: When a swat team arrive at a house to apprehend a suspect, he shoots himself rather than be captured alive. The CSI team making a horrifying discovery in his barn - along with all the mounted animal heads the dead man collected, he also has a female human head which he's fixed to a plaque. It soon transpires that members of a UFO-club are under suspicion of killing innocent people. Why? Well, they believe shape-shifting aliens have been working to conquer the human race for centuries, and they will take whatever steps necessary to stop this invasion. There are some great effects as we see the point of view of some of the brain washed fanatics. Ally Sheedy (The Breakfast Club) makes an appearance too.

Living Doll: As the CSI's close in on the identity of the miniature killer, Grissom and Sara's relationship gets exposed to the rest of the team. It's a shame that the show's writers finally wound up the miniature killer story arc, as this was one of the aspects of this season that made each episode a joy to look forward to.

After I moaned about the previous release (Season 7 - Part 1), extras on this release are a lot more impressive. I've no idea why they didn't spread these across the two releases for Season 7, especially when there are no major spoilers (apart from the Miniature Murders featurette).

We get audio commentaries on three episodes; The Real Crime Solvers (18 min 24 sec featurette in which Robert David Hall (who plays Dr. Al Robbins on the show) gets to take us behind the real Las Vegas crime lab on which the show is based); Smoke & Mirror: Direction (16 min 31 sec featurette that interviews some of the director's of Season 7); The Evolution of CSI Season 7 (25 min 46 sec behind the scenes featurette); and Miniature Murders (13 min 47 sec featurette that examines the miniature murders plot thread and explains that the story was based on a real model maker who used to make detailed models of crime scenes - seeing it as a way to help her get into the police force).

This is another fantastic CSI box set - there isn't a duff episode in the entire collection. However, the price still remains a bit of a sore point. £35 for half a season is a little steep in today's market.

8

Nick Smithson