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mariannNew York Is Noir Again: In Dark Times, TV Sings of the Dark City
By PATRICK D. HEALY
Published: February 21, 2005
NOTE: This article is primary about NYC on television, but this excerpt focuses on CSI:NY. There's a bit more on CSI:NY toward the end of the article.
In the shadowy criminal netherworld of "CSI," CBS's prized prime-time franchise, the streets and the story lines are supposed to be grim, not the ratings. This was especially true of its latest spin-off, "CSI: NY": it had five boroughs of bloodshed to work with and debuted as a top 10 show last September.
But as the body count rose, the Nielsen numbers slid, worrying producers and catching the attention of top CBS Entertainment executives. The multiple homicides, the gore, the specter of terrorism, the blue tint in daytime scenes and the pitch-black night ones all cast a melancholy spell over the city and the show's lead detective Mac Taylor (Gary Sinise, intense as ever), whose wife was killed in the twin towers.
"We were going much too dark in the tone of the show, too aggressively, and there's no doubt we lost some viewers in that patch," said Anthony E. Zuiker, the creator of the "CSI" franchise, who oversees the New York edition.
Finally Nina Tassler, the head of CBS Entertainment (and a New Yorker), issued what Mr. Zuiker called a mandate for "CSI: NY": Go beyond the dark underbelly of downtown and capture more colorful and vibrant tales of the city.
"The series was presenting one hue, one neighborhood, when there are so many different voices and tones and styles that you really don't have in other cities," Ms. Tassler said in a phone interview. "They would stay downtown for too many stories, and they realized that their storytelling was best served in finding a balance."
By PATRICK D. HEALY
Published: February 21, 2005
NOTE: This article is primary about NYC on television, but this excerpt focuses on CSI:NY. There's a bit more on CSI:NY toward the end of the article.
In the shadowy criminal netherworld of "CSI," CBS's prized prime-time franchise, the streets and the story lines are supposed to be grim, not the ratings. This was especially true of its latest spin-off, "CSI: NY": it had five boroughs of bloodshed to work with and debuted as a top 10 show last September.But as the body count rose, the Nielsen numbers slid, worrying producers and catching the attention of top CBS Entertainment executives. The multiple homicides, the gore, the specter of terrorism, the blue tint in daytime scenes and the pitch-black night ones all cast a melancholy spell over the city and the show's lead detective Mac Taylor (Gary Sinise, intense as ever), whose wife was killed in the twin towers.
"We were going much too dark in the tone of the show, too aggressively, and there's no doubt we lost some viewers in that patch," said Anthony E. Zuiker, the creator of the "CSI" franchise, who oversees the New York edition.
Finally Nina Tassler, the head of CBS Entertainment (and a New Yorker), issued what Mr. Zuiker called a mandate for "CSI: NY": Go beyond the dark underbelly of downtown and capture more colorful and vibrant tales of the city.
"The series was presenting one hue, one neighborhood, when there are so many different voices and tones and styles that you really don't have in other cities," Ms. Tassler said in a phone interview. "They would stay downtown for too many stories, and they realized that their storytelling was best served in finding a balance."
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