Discovery Channel Sowed Seed For Cbs’ ‘C.S.I.’

Anthony E. Zuiker’s wife became so hooked watching shows about forensics investigators on the Discovery Channel that she suggested her husband should check them out for himself.

“I never knew there were such things as crime scene analysts,” says Zuiker, who is the creator and co-executive producer of “C.S.I. (Crime Scene Investigators),” the hot new series seen Friday nights at 9 on CBS.

“I just thought it was detectives and cops who did this stuff.”

So Zuiker, a Las Vegas native, pitched a show about Vegas forensic investigators to Jerry Bruckheimer, the heavyweight Hollywood producer of films like “Top Gun” and “Con Air.” Then he contacted the Las Vegas Police Department and managed to hang out with a forensics unit for several weeks.

“I figured Vegas was a great setting for a nighttime crime drama with forensics,” Zuiker says.

“There are 3 million people coming into town every 30 days, so there’s a lot of transient crime. And the town is 24 hours, so anything can happen at any time.”

But even though “C.S.I.,” which stars William Petersen and Marg Helgenberger, provides a fascinating look at the Las Vegas that lies beyond the Strip, its success does not really depend upon physical ambience. The show is steeped in the minutiae of forensics technology: blood spatters, fingerprints, hair analysis and scientific crime-fighting techniques.

“C.S.I.” also explores teamwork and personal interaction. So the relationship between Petersen, who plays the squad’s senior forensics officer, and Helgenberger, one of his key underlings, is crucial.

Zuiker says that as “C.S.I.” progresses, the private lives of its major characters will be fleshed out even further. Helgenberger’s life as a former stripper and current single mom will get more play, as will the reasons behind the Petersen character’s reclusiveness.

Yet crime solving is what “C.S.I” is about, and the program intends to live and die on that basis.

“Everybody likes to look at clues, figure out whodunit,” says Devine. “It’s just more sophisticated kinds of puzzles.

“There have been enough shows about detectives, and they have always looked over their shoulders and just sort of barked at criminalists. And I think there’s a huge group of people that’s just been ignored for years.

“I think people want to know how we get these answers.”