Zuiker: Television Is Changing

See Also: 'Down the Rabbit Hole' Episode Guide

CSI: New York is boldly going where no tv show has gone before.

New York is not the first to branch out into the online world of Second Life. Real-world companies have screened movies in the cyber community. Many universities offer virtual classrooms. Reuters has a virtual news bureau in the community, and Sweden and the Maldives operate virtual embassies in Second Life. Other television shows have dabbled in the online world, but none in the same way CSI: NY is crossing with Second Life.

"Television is changing. We're bringing people to other platforms," said CSI creator Anthony Zuiker. He went on to say that the future of television "is about community. We want to put that in a 3D application, make it available to the masses and encourage them to try it out." For New York, that meant creating a virtual lab to tie in with the latest episode of the show, "Down the Rabbit Hole". "The question was, is there a way to write a great episode in First Life," Zuiker said, "and have a deeper impact, a lifespan beyond the show itself?"

When fans log on to Second Life and enter the CSI: NY section, "it's like you're literally in a virtual New York City," Zuiker said. "You see the Flatiron Building, Times Square, Empire State Building, Chrysler Building--we've actually replicated every inch of New York City." And the virtual world does not end there. "The same lab you see on the show are the same exact labs you'll see in the virtual world," Zuiker explained. "You can go to the audio-visual department. You can go to trace, fingerprints, autopsy--you can actually do autopsies on bodies [and] gather evidence. Everything you can do in first life on-air you can do in Second Life too. And you are the CSI, in first life and Second Life."

The original article is from Sun-Sentinel.com. You can watch a video of Zuiker talking about Second Life on YouTube thanks to CrashBoxKid.

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