CSI: Las Vegas

One of CBS’s most popular programs (so popular it has spawned two spin-offs) is CSI: Las Vegas. Known for its good-looking and charismatic cast of characters, this show takes you into places other than just the Strip, exploring neighborhoods, surrounding deserts, and other parts of this large and diverse city. The CSI (Crime Scene Investigation) unit consists of leads Gil Grissom and Catherine Willows, and technicians Warrick Brown, Nick Stokes, Sara Sidle and Greg Sanders. Dr. Albert Robbins is the competent medical examiner and Captain Jim Brass completes the set as the lead detective on most of the cases.

Showing us the seamier side of Vegas via death, destruction, and mayhem, this television show is not for the faint of heart. Open-chest autopsies, burned corpses, and maggot-filled shallow graves are de riguer. Autopsies are performed in plain view, and all manners of death are shown as though they are every day occurrences (which, of course, they are). But the plot lines are strong, episodes well written, and interaction amongst the characters seems genuine, not forced. It is a somewhat intellectual show, fun for the fan of whodunit mysteries.

Celebrating 100 episodes, this show is destined to continue for a long time, feeding off the headlines that occur on a daily basis in America’s “Sin City.”

Need to catch up on an episode, find out more about the cast, or read the CSI Handbook? Check it out their website.

Where: CBS
When: Thursdays, 9 pm ET/PT
Why: Because it’s great and you don’t want to be left out of the watercooler conversation.