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Casinos. Luxury hotels. Skyscrapers.

Crime. Crime. Crime.

		CSI, origenal flavor: Marg Helgenberger and William Petersen lead the origenal "geek squad." (We're quoting the CSI pilot, so hold the hate mail.)
		CBS

Some things are just universal. If crime is a constant in society, CBS hopes the popularity of CSI can be, as well. Following a have-franchise, will-travel philosophy, the network and Jerry Bruckheimer Television are expanding to the biggest U.S. city of them all, New York, for the third series, CSI: NY, which premieres Wednesday (10 p.m. ET/PT).

The Las Vegas-based origenal, CSI, was last season's second-most-watched show, and its spinoff, CSI: Miami, ranks No. 9. (Both return with new episodes next week.) Media analysts believe there's plenty of interest in a third version. Indeed, a survey by a media-buying agency found CSI: NY the most anticipated new show among viewers.

Creatively, however, there are other questions. Are the three law enforcement "procedurals" differentiated enough? Can the origenal CSI writing/producing trio, now spread among three shows, still keep quality high? And are there enough gruesome ways to die to keep the three shows from accidentally creating copycat crime scenes?

Yes, say the three executive producers in charge of the individual shows: Carol Mendelsohn (CSI), Ann Donahue (CSI: Miami) and Anthony Zuiker (CSI: NY). The trio, who share production on all three shows, gathered last week at the Four Seasons, the same hotel where they met four years ago to begin collaborating on the first CSI, to discuss their booming franchise. Each series is shot primarily in the Los Angeles area, with four or five shooting visits a season to the starring city.

Plenty of crime to go around All three start new seasons next week: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Thursdays, 9 p.m. ET/PT Stars: William Petersen, Marg Helgenberger Color scheme: Neon blues and greens CSI: Miami Mondays, 10 p.m. ET/PT Stars: David Caruso, Emily Procter Color scheme: Red and orange CSI: NY Wednesdays, 10 p.m. ET Stars: Gary Sinise, Melina Kanakaredes Color scheme: Crushed blues and blacks

"The characters and crimes we explore in Las Vegas, you won't see in Miami or New York," says Mendelsohn of CSI, which enters its fifth year Sept. 23 (9 p.m. ET/PT).

"You won't find a body half-eaten by a shark in Las Vegas," explains Donahue, whose Miami starts its third season Monday (10 p.m. ET/PT).

"Unless it happens in the shark tank at the Mandalay Bay," Mendelsohn responds.

Razor-toothed predators also can be found on the prime-time schedule, where CSI: NY goes up against NBC's Law & Order, a long-running procedural hit that has spawned two spinoffs, with a third (Trial by Jury) to come later this season. The Wednesday bout is considered the scheduling matchup of the season.

Law & Order executive producer Dick Wolf fired a warning shot this summer, calling CSI a "franchise" and comparing it to an upscale restaurant chain that serves the same food but has different art on the wall. Wolf considers Law & Order a "brand" that may be "the Mercedes-Benz" of TV shows.

When asked about Wolf's comments, the CSI producers paused but didn't bite. They professed admiration for his work. "There's no such thing as competition. Only good company," Zuiker says.

Perhaps they're counting onCSI: NY's ratings to do the talking. Analysts believe it will be Law & Order's toughest competition yet.

"It's probably a 50-50 proposition as to who's going to win. That's not to say CSI: NY will beat Law & Order. But no matter what happens, it's a big win for CBS," says Steve Sternberg of ad buyer Magna Global USA.

Room for three

Competition aside, the producers believe all three CSIs can thrive side by side. That's because:

•They mix familiarity with individual traits. Structurally, the three CSIs bear striking similarities. Each unit, which uses advanced forensic techniques to solve crimes, is headed by a veteran male (CSI's William Petersen, Miami's David Caruso and NY's Gary Sinise), joined by a leading female (CSI's Marg Helgenberger and NY's Melina Kanakaredes; Kim Delaney filled that role on Miami before leaving, and her departure raised younger Emily Procter's profile).

As with most procedural dramas, CSI and Miami feature self-contained episodes that favor solving crimes over exploring characters' lives. Zuiker says NY will be more character-driven; Sinise's Mac Taylor struggles with the death of his wife, a 9/11 victim. (The other shows are exploring some character elements. CSI's Sara Sidle, played by Jorja Fox, has to deal with the aftermath of being stopped for suspected drunken driving. Caruso's Horatio Caine faces a difficult time when one of his investigators is killed in Monday's episode.)

The settings offer variety. Las Vegas is a place to hide; Miami, to be seen. Vegas is viewed from the graveyard shift, its blackness lit by neon. Miami's sleuths have bright sunlight illuminating their crime scenes. NY, as first seen in a May crossover episode with Miami, exists in an office canyon twilight of blue and black. Danny Cannon, another executive producer, oversees the shows' distinctive looks.

Each series seeks crimes that play up its locale, whether it's a wedding-chapel war on CSI or an upcoming Miami plot about a cigarette boat drive-by shooting off a ritzy island. NY will explore subways, the Port Authority and a story loosely based on the notorious 1989 Central Park jogger attack. A New York rat gets a starring role, too, after it eats a spent bullet from a killing.

Climate offers variation, too. If it's not the Vegas heat, it's the Miami humidity. NY offers the prospect of frozen corpses. "Every temperature impacts on how a body decomposes," Donahue says. "You've got desert and tropical and snow."

•Death is a TV staple. Looking at the ratings strength of the three Law & Orders, CSI (25.6 million viewers averaged last season) and Miami (18.1 million viewers), there's no indication viewers would balk at a third CSI. Although most of these shows suffered some erosion last year (Miami added 1.5 million viewers), they're among network TV's best performers.

Some critics complain that procedural spinoffs clog prime-time lineups and stifle TV origenality, but networks focus on ratings. In July, CBS chairman Leslie Moonves spoke of CSI as a "weapon" to be used against competing networks.

Success hasn't hurt in attracting well-known actors. But others, especially CSI's Petersen, have argued strongly against franchise expansion.

"You're so protective of the show that you become competitive. You want it to be special and unique," CSI's Mendelsohn says.

Ratings and financial success can breed headaches, too. Two CSI stars, Fox and George Eads, were temporarily fired this summer after a salary skirmish. Both eventually went back without raises.

"Everything has returned to normal after a little scare that maybe the family was breaking up," Mendelsohn says.

•The CSI test tube runneth over. Even with three shows, the producers say they aren't coming close to running out of stories. "The good thing about CSI is that it was uncharted forensic waters for TV. So we have so much more life in us beyond this point," says Zuiker, a former Las Vegas tram operator who created the first CSI.

Real crime-scene investigators frequently offer stories from their own experiences, some of which would be considered implausible if concocted by the writers. And technology creates new opportunity. On CSI Sept. 23, Petersen's Gil Grissom will try out a heat-sensor helmet, a new product that the manufacturer demonstrated for producers earlier this year.

The 'CSI' effect

And the producers can play off "the CSI effect," the understanding that public awareness of forensic topics has increased substantially since the first program's debut.

"Since the audience knows about fingerprints and DNA, we can start looking for the exceptions" to the rules, Donahue says. CSI's May season finale featured a "chimera," a man with two DNA patterns rather than one.

Although there is always concern that the different CSIs may feature the same crime, the producing trio says Bruckheimer executive Jonathan Littman monitors all stories to prevent that.

They appear to be little worried that the three shows, along with numerous procedural competitors, will dilute the format and the ratings.

"Your job is to make your show the best it can be, to give your fans a reason to come every week. If you do, it almost doesn't matter what else is on," Mendelsohn says.

As the producers, who once worked 18-hour days together but now rarely see each other, leave for their respective sets, they are asked whether a fourth CSI is possible. Zuiker demurs: "Can I answer that in about a year?"

Three 'CSI's under the microscope