TV Shows with Staying Power
Joy Fleishhacker -- School Library Journal, 4/15/2009
Since its October 2000 premiere on CBS, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, now in its ninth season, has become a Thursday night television staple. Created by Anthony E. Zuiker, this drama series follows a team of Las Vegas forensic scientists as they attempt to solve (often grisly, gruesome, and/or violent) crimes by examining evidence. This season saw the departure of William Petersen, who has played Dr. Gil Grissom (the insightful Las Vegas Crime Lab supervisor) since the show’s inception. He’s passed his rubber gloves on to Laurence Fishburne, who portrays Dr. Raymond Langston, a former medical doctor. Seasons one through eight are available on DVD (Paramount Home Entertainment) and the series is now in syndication. Fans can visit the official Web site to read plot recaps, watch full episodes and videos, and access fan forums and news. This consistently watched program has spawned two additional shows on CBS: CSI: Miami, now in its seventh season, and CSI: NY, the veteran of five seasons.Tempt devotees of these perennially popular police procedurals with an eye-grabbing selection of gritty tie-in titles that feature familiar characters. Pocket Star Books offers a selection of original novels based on each of the TV series.
In Greg Cox’s CSI: Headhunter (2008), a package containing a genuine shrunken head arrives at the anthropology department of the University of Nevada. It doesn’t take long for Gil Grissom and his team to discern that this is no ancient relic, but the work of modern-day killer. 
Other books in the “CSI” series include Jerome Preisler’s CSI: Nevada Rose (2008), Ken Goddard’s CSI: In Extremis (2007), and Max Allan Collins’s Snake Eyes (2006), with more to come later this year. Jeff Mariotte’s CSI: Miami: Right to Die (2008) is the latest adventure from the Miami-Dade Crime Lab. When a young man is murdered in Bicentennial Park, it seems to be a run-of-the-mill drug-related or gang killing, but the evidence soon has the team looking for deeper motives. Other recent entries in the series are Donn Cortez’s CSI: Miami: Cut and Run (2008), CSI: Miami: Harm for the Holidays: Heart Attack (2007), and Harm for the Holidays: Misgivings (2006). Set in the Big Apple, Keith R. A. DeCandido’s CSI: NY: Four Walls (2008) delves into a double homicide at a medium-security facility on Staten Island. Other titles include Stuart M. Kaminsky’s CSI: New York: Deluge (2007) and CSI: New York: Blood on the Sun (2006).
Mature graphic novel fans will be captivated by the “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” series from IDW Publishing, originally presented as individual issues and now gathered into easy-to-circulate GN paperbacks. 
Written by Max Allan Collins with art by Gabriel Rodriguez and Ashley Wood, Serial launches the sequence with a story about a brutal killer who is
terrorizing Las Vegas. The pressure to stop the murderers becomes more intense when Gil reveals that the perp is copycatting the crimes of Jack the Ripper. With razor-sharp dialogue, myriad plot twists, and strong characterizations, this book mirrors the show’s careful pacing and compelling storytelling. Shifting perspectives, neon colors, and starkly realistic images—supplemented by more abstract scenes recreating the crimes—make the artwork effective. Follow this one up with the other volumes in the series: Bad Rap, Demon House, Dominos, Secret Identity, Dying in the Gutters (all 2008).
24
Now in its seventh season with shooting scheduled to begin again in May, this thriller from Fox has kept viewers on the edge of their seats since its launch in 2001. Created by Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran, the award-winning series is presented in real time, with each season focusing on an action-packed 24-hour period in the life of Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland), a government operative who works to protect the nation from terrorist threats. Send teens to the official Web site to get the latest news and chat, watch full episodes, and look back at the previous seasons. The first six seasons and Redemption (a 2008 made-for-TV movie) are available on DVD (Fox) and the series in syndication worldwide.
Viewers who breathlessly await Monday nights
may enjoy getting their Jack Bauer fix through another medium. Published by Harper Entertainment, original novels in the “24 Declassified” series center around this intrepid main character and the newly created Counter Terrorist Unit. Set in various U.S. cities, each book focuses on an early CTU mission that has since been declassified by the government. True to the TV show format, each chapter details the events that take place during one hour of a suspenseful 24-hour period, resulting in densely packed, high-octane action. David Jacobs’s 24 Declassified: Head Shot will be released at the end of April, and previous titles include John Whitman’s 24 Declassified: Trinity and Marc Cerasini’s 24 Declassified: Collateral Damage (both 2008).
The graphic novel, 24: Nightfall, collects together the five issues of IDW Publishing’s comic book prequel to the show’s first season. Set two years before David Palmer’s victory in the California presidential primary, this handsome trade-size paperback describes the covert mission of future CTU agent Bauer and his special forces team: to travel into the former Yugoslavia and take out the mass murderer Victor Drazen. As a small digital clock ticks away the hours, the dangerous operation begins to spiral out of control. The photo-realistic artwork and terse text tell a fast-paced story of action and intrigue with lots of visual firepower.
“CSI” series
COX, Greg. CSI: Headhunter. 2008. ISBN 9781416545002.
PREISLER, Jerome. CSI: Nevada Rose. 2008. ISBN 9781416544999.
GODDARD, Ken. CSI: In Extremis. 2007. ISBN 9781416574767.
COLLINS, Max Allan. Snake Eyes.2006. ISBN 9780743496650.
MARIOTTE, Jeff. CSI: Miami: Right to Die. 2008. ISBN 9780743499545.
CORTEZ, Donn. CSI: Miami: Cut and Run. 2008. ISBN 9780743499538.
_____. CSI: Miami: Harm for the Holidays: Heart Attack. 2007. ISBN 9780743499521.
_____. Harm for the Holidays: Misgivings. 2006. ISBN 9780743499514.
DECANDIDO, Keith R.A. CSI: NY: Four Walls. 2008. ISBN 9781416513438.
KAMINSKY, Stuart M. CSI: New York: Deluge. 2007. ISBN 9781416513421.
_____. CSI: New York: Blood on the Sun. 2006. ISBN 9781416509585.
Ea vol: Pocket Star Books. pap. $7.99.
COLLINS, Max Allan. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: Serial. (vol. 1). art by Gabriel Rodriguez & Ashley Wood. ISBN 978-160010203-5.
_____. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: Bad Rap. (vol. 2). art by Gabriel Rodriguez & Ashley Wood. ISBN 978-160010202-8.
_____. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: Demon House. (vol. 3). art by Gabriel Rodriguez & Ashley Wood. ISBN 978-160010170-0.
OPRISKO, Kris. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: Dominos. (vol. 4). art by Gabriel Rodriguez & Steven Perkins. ISBN 978-160010171-7.
GRANT, Steven. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: Secret Identity. (vol. 5). art by Gabriel Rodriguez & Steven Perkins. ISBN 978-160010187-8.
_____. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: Dying in the Gutters (vol. 6). art by Stephen Mooney. ISBN 978-160010188-5.
Ea vol: IDW Publishing, dist. by Diamond Book Distributors. 2008. pap. $11.99.
“24” series
JACOBS, David. 24 Declassified: Head Shot. pap. $7.99. ISBN 978-0-06-177152-1.
WHITMAN, John. 24 Declassified: Trinity. 2008. pap. $6.99. ISBN 978-0-06-143119-7.
CERASINI, Marc. 24 Declassified: Collateral Damage. 2008. pap. $6.99. ISBN 978-0-06-143118-0.
Ea vol: Harper Entertainment.
HAYNES, Mark & J. C. Vaughn. 24: Nightfall. pencils and inks by Jean Diaz. colored by Debora Carita. IDW Publishing, dist. by Diamond Book Distributors. 2007. pap. $19.99. ISBN978-160010089-5.
