CSI: NY - The Joy and Perils of Machinima on Primetime TV

Even though it's been a few days since the premier of the CSI: NY machinima blend piece, Down the Rabbit Hole, I still don't have a very clear reaction to it.

On one hand, the quality of the commercial machinima is incredible and I'm happy to acknowledge that this is a big step forward in mixing the technique with traditional movies/entertainment. Seeing machinima of Second Life on my TV screen was like seeing an old friend!

However, the joint efforts of CSI, Cisco, and The Electric Sheep, are part of a larger marketing campaign. As such, I am left with two large puzzles:

1. A technical issue: The Second Life seen in the CSI episode is the enhanced, Windlight edition, that is not yet available to the general public. Hugh Hancock alluded to it in the Machinima for Dummies book as an improvement on the graphics. Unarguably, it does a lot for the appeal of the platform, but I wonder how many people logged on to discover that the world isn't as pretty or doesn't work quite as seamlessly as it did on TV. Then again, I suppose this wouldn't be the first time television has lied. :)

2. A consistency point: Somehow, the goal of the CSI show seems at odds with the invitation to have people join a virtual world.
I don't typically watch CSI, but these kinds of police shows have an underlying theme -- that some kind of mind perversion is what creates criminals. The machinima section here basically depicts the technology that may enable those outlaws. Although there was a reference to the empowering characteristic of virtual worlds for people with disabilities, the sheer force of the imagery presented is making viewers think "hey, this looks so sexy, I have to try it!" The real murder under investigation starts to feel unreal, if you don't lose sight of it altogether.

Somehow, I'm more excited to see the TV series made by NBC in collaboration with Pierce P. The story line sounds more promising and internally consistent.


I hope Paul will chime in with his views on this moment in history. I'd also love to hear from other machinimists, with their thoughts on the episode and of Second Life as an up-and-coming machinima platform.