Global shock: NCIS actress Pauley Perrette has passed away md20

No one can argue against the fact that NCIS is not only one of the most influential forensic procedurals in TV history. Heck, it’s even one of the most important TV shows of all time. However, NCIS doesn’t hold a candle to another, similar TV series that premiered three years earlier, also on CBS.

The one major advantage that NCIS has going for it is that it’s currently airing. The military police procedural TV series is heading into its twenty-third season on CBS, and it’s somehow showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon. NCIS has also created a shared universe full of spinoffs, prequels, and more. Nevertheless, one other show still beats NCIS.

NCIS Is Great But It Followed A Blueprint CSI Had Already Laid

CSI Premiered In 2000

Although NCIS is a leading force in the forensic procedural genre, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation surpasses it. CSI debuted in 2000 and quickly became a cultural phenomenon. Since it premiered three years before NCIS, perhaps CSI had a slight edge, but regardless of when created, the earlier series will likely always be considered the greatest forensic procedural of all time.

NCIS also followed a blueprint that CSI perfected, meaning it benefited from the first show’s success. If CSI had never existed, NCIS and all its spinoffs wouldn’t have accomplished as much as they have over the years. Consequently, the CBS military police procedural series has become one of the longest-running TV shows of all time and has produced six spinoffs.

CSI Was So Influential That The “CSI Effect” Is Named For It

CSI Was A Cultural Phenomenon

Yes, many would label NCIS as one of the most iconic forensic procedurals ever. It has run for 23 seasons and produced more than 1,000 episodes (across the NCIS franchise), after all. However, it never caused a phenomenon so influential and widespread that it was taught in schools like CSI: Crime Scene Investigation did with the CSI effect.

The CSI effect is an encompassing term for how the series shaped public perception regarding forensic science. Since it was a fictional show, most of the forensic science portrayed on the screen was exaggerated or false. Still, many applied what they learned from watching CSI to real life, causing jurors to have unrealistic expectations of having quick, concrete forensic evidence in court.

Aside from influencing public perception, the CSI effect can also be applied to how the creation of CSI popularized crime shows. Some of the top series in the mid to late 2000s were of the police procedural genre. So, if it weren’t for CSI, we wouldn’t have shows such as Cold Case, Bones, Criminal Minds, Without a Trace, or even NCIS.