'CSI' Series Finale: Show Bows After 15 Seasons; What Is its Legacy To Television?

When CSI first aired in 2000, no one anticipated how it would change television. On its final airing this week, which marks the end of 15 years of the series, some of the actors and the series creator, Anthony Zuiker, reflect on the show's legacy. 

"'CSI' being my first TV script, the last thing on my mind was, Is this a format that can last for 16 years.' I was new to television and new to the industry. But me being from Las Vegas and being a risk-taker, the one thing I wanted to do was come in to TV and break every rule I possibly could," said Zuiker, according to Variety.

So he created a show that presented a fresh take on crime scenes. As there were similar shows already in existence, CSI stood out because it made investigations interesting and the stories were gritty and cinematic. The use of sophisticated forensic tools also contributed to its success that influenced real life.

"What's been happening (since the show premiered) is more inventions and more improvements of these forensic tools for law enforcement," Zuiker told Variety.

On the flipside, the show apparently messed up the justice system in America, according to the New York Post, because everyone watching the show became forensic "experts."

"I think the show is kind of like a car wreck," Zuiker told CNN back in 2003. "You want to keep watching it, but you don't want to turn away. And because people know it's not real and it's make-believe, and people are out there solving crimes and giving a great mystery week to week, I think that's what lures viewers to watch."

"The first year of the show was pretty remarkable in terms of the creative energy that was displayed on a daily basis from everybody that worked on it," said William Peterson, the show's original lead star, according to People Magazine. The actor played Gil Grissom, the odd but very astute lead investigator.

"[I'm proud of] the impact it had on young people to become criminalists, and how it really illuminated what criminalists and coroners do, people that were always behind the scenes when it came to crime solving. Now all of sudden, they got the attention, and it just became this phenomenon - that was a joy ride to be on," said Marg Helgenberger, who played Catherine Willows, Grissom's next-in-line, via The Hollywood Reporter.

CSI, which became the most-watched series in the world for many years, according to Zap2It, also spawned a number of spinoffs: "CSI: Miami," "CSI: New York" and "CSI: Cyber."