Only one show could have a cast dependent on a slew of semi-nerdy, semi-badass crime scene techs, a Shakespeare quoting boss and a detective with a hooker for a daughter: "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation." Even recent off shoots of the Las Vegas-based original ("CSI: Miami" and "CSI: NY") have simply failed to stand up in terms of both success and quality.

"CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" has carved out a loyal following while competing with Thursday night juggernaut, "Grey's Anatomy," in the 9 p.m. slot this spring, along with a slew of other hard-hitting HBO shows not in its time slot. Yet, there are many avid TV viewers who completely avoid "CSI" - a show that risks mass popularity by taking a more artful approach to prime time TV, as opposed to relying on the sex-nudity-profanity rating's equation.

"CSI" is one of the few remaining shows focused on the technical details that make shows clever. In today's competitive, ratings-based society the focus of many networks has been awards and ratings. Yet the focus of "CSI's" art directors isn't on winning awards, but instead on creating compelling, entertaining, artful television.

One aspect that "CSI" has always nailed is the music. The soundtrack's utter simplicity feigns total complexity. The timing and placement of the music is a large part of that overall "CSI" formula.

It's true, the show went through a long period of episodes that went as follows: Arrive on the scene, collect the evidence and put the bad guy behind bars. The episodes were predictable, boring and they fed off of the simple-minded notion of good v.s. evil.

This past season, however, has strayed from the formula. The techs still process evidence, and Detective Brass still interviews suspects with his signature "I'm-a-hard-ass-even-though-I'm-short-and-balding" style. But new twists are thrown into the mix, and fewer murders are solved in one show. The advent of the Miniature Model Serial Killer has marked the shows move away from simplistic blueprint episodes to more of a complex, sequential set up.

Much like a large portion of CBS's line up, the violence of the show's crimes - usually murders - is dealt with directly. The show pushes the boundaries of prime time acceptability with graphic portrayal and discussion of victims in their typically dead state.

In the episode that aired a month ago ("Ending Happy"), the crime scene investigators had found that the victim, a professional boxer, had extreme genital swelling. A group of investigators stood over the body and described - in graphic detail - the abnormalities, deformities and all that was disgusting about the corpse.

But does this mean that if the morality police keep cable shows from actually depicting such graphic images, the writers should simply have the actors describe all the filth and profanity? Of course not. Those dirty details are put into "CSI" not in a feeble attempt to keep up with the increasingly raunchy nature of cable TV, but instead to keep the scientific factor up. Every bit of gross detail described in "CSI" is done so with scientific precision and accuracy.

Yet whatever oil CBS struck with "CSI" has not lubricated the network's creativity engines. The two "CSI" spin-offs, "NCIS", "Numbers" and "Without a Trace" are all crime dramas lacking the luster of the original "CSI". It's time that CBS stopped trying to recreate previously established success and come up with something that doesn't immediately remind everyone of "CSI". It seems that beneath the creative gold of the show is a rusty old ring of typical CBS crime dramas.