CBS 'CSI: NY' goes up against 'L & amp;O'

The latest 'CSI' spinoff will air in the 'Law & amp; Order' time slot this fall.
By DAVE MASON
SCRIPPS HOWARD
On TV, he plays a New York cop. In real life, police work is in Carmine Giovinazzo's blood.
"My father was a cop; he worked 15 years for the NYPD. My brother-in-law was a detective assigned to Mayor Rudy Giuliani," said Giovinazzo, who stars in "CSI: NY."
His sister also has worked as a police officer in the DARE program designed to deter kids from drugs.
But Giovinazzo, a native New Yorker, said he's more interested in the shades of grays in acting than by the black-and-white world of police work.
"I'm more of a philosopher," said Giovinazzo, who starred in 1999 as a bachelor in the short-lived UPN sitcom, "Shasta McNasty."
Giovinazzo said he gets advice from his law-enforcement family about how to play a cop. He portrays Danny Messer, a forensics investigator, on the latest "CSI" spinoff, set to premiere this fall on CBS.
Already, there's a sign the spinoff will be a hit.
When the pilot aired as part of a regular episode of "CSI: Miami" last month, it was the series' highest-rated episode. And movie actor Gary Sinise is the top star, playing New York police Detective Mac Taylor.
CBS is counting on Sinise's star power and the success of its "CSI" franchise to draw viewers away from NBC's original "Law & amp; Order" series. CBS has scheduled "CSI: NY" to air in the 10 p.m. Wednesday "L & amp;O" time slot.
The original "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" remains TV's highest-rated program and "CSI: Miami" has consistently been in the top 10.
While it has been in the top five shows in previous seasons, "Law & amp; Order" has dipped to No. 13, and it might become more vulnerable with this month's departure of longtime lead Jerry Orbach.
Orbach is taking his character, wisecracking detective Lennie Briscoe, to a recurring role in the new "L & amp;O" spinoff, "Trial by Jury," set to debut sometime midseason.
Going to war
Next season, NBC will pit four "L & amp;O" shows against CBS' three "CSI" series in a big war of two of TV's most successful franchises.
And while CBS relies on Sinise, NBC has recruited another successful movie star, Dennis Farina ("Saving Private Ryan"), to replace Orbach on "L & amp;O."
While less famous than Sinise, Farina has a reputation for playing tough criminals and cops. In 2002, he starred as the tough father-in-law in the short-lived NBC sitcom "In-Laws."
All the "Law & amp; Order" shows are filmed in New York City, where the stories are set. But like its sister shows on CBS, "CSI: NY" will be filmed in Los Angeles. Some exterior scenes will be shot in New York.
In addition to Giovinazzo and Sinise, the series stars Melina Kanakaredes ("Providence") as Detective Stella Bonasera and Vanessa Ferlito as Aiden Burn, an investigator.
As for Giovinazzo's character, Brooklyn-born Danny Messer, "he's a street guy who decides to do some good and gets work on the forensics side," Giovinazzo said. "He's really a passionate person."