csi and science

We were talking about media effects a couple of weeks ago. People worry an awful lot about the effects of things like the coverage of bird flu or SARS, but I wonder whether these kind of things pass most of us by (although having said that, I did see someone on the tube the other day wearing one of those face masks - clearly flu season is upon us again). Maybe most of us non-scientists actually pick up most of our science from fiction?

And so we come to CSI. I have to confess that I'm fascinated by this show: each episode is basically the same, with different dead bodies, but I can't get enough of it. But it's not just the thrill of seeing if I can catch on to who the murderer is, or the cheesey puns (and terrible dialogue), or the innovative (when the show first started) SFX: I also think there's a great research project (or analytical essay) in the making in there. If all we knew about science came from the programme, what would we think? Well, that science provides certainty and truth, for a start. That 'evidence' never lies. And that all labs are incredibly shiny, clean and high-tech and all scientists incredibly good-looking.

I also think it's interesting that, for all the cutting-edge science and edgy camerawork, the show is basically conservative in the values it chooses to emphasise and extremely limited in the voices, people and situations it showcases. I feel like a lot of issues are reduced to black and white in it - including the 'messiness' of science; that human factor which we talked about the other day.

But then, I'm not basing this on anything but vague impressions. I would love to see someone do some proper analysis. For now, other thoughts or comments on the show?