How does ‘CSI’ measure up to procedural powerhouse ‘Law & Order’?

With the 25th anniversary of the premiere of NBC’s “Law & Order” on Sept. 13 and the conclusion of the CBS mainstay “CSI” which aired Sunday night, it seems only natural to compare and contrast the two long-running series that both redefined procedural television as we knew it. While “Law & Order” famously busied itself with “the police who investigate crime and the district attorneys who prosecute the offenders” “CSI” delved into the science behind those same police investigations. Each a product of the decade they debuted in, “Law and Order” understood the inherent conflict that existed not just between cop and criminal, but between officer and attorney, and found new complications to exploit therein, where “CSI” gave the individuals doing the dirty work at the crime scenes, who would be background figures in any other show, center stage. 'LAW AND ORDER' VS. 'CSI' 'Law and Order' 'CSI' Debut Sept. 13, 1990 Oct. 6, 2000 Finale May 24, 2010 Sept. 27, 2015 Setting New York City Las Vegas Number of episodes 456 337 Spin-offs 4; "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," "Law & Order: Trial by Jury," "Law & Order: LA" LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT Christopher Meloni and Mariska Hargitay 3; "CSI: Miami," "CSI: NY," "CSI: Cyber" CSI: MIAMI David Caruso and Sprague Grayden Number of franchise episodes 1,054 777 Season ratings high Season 12, 18.7 Season five, 26.26 Emmys, won/nominated 6/37 6/39 Best season Five Three Longest-running cast member 393, S. Epatha Merkerson as Anita Van Buren S. Epatha Merkerson 335, George Eads as Nick Stokes George Eads Young guest stars Claire Danes, Emmy Rossum, Kate Mara Claire Danes Taylor Swift, Dakota Fanning, Justin Bieber Taylor Swift Guest directors Eric Stoltz, Tony Goldwyn Quentin Tarantino, William Friedkin Notable crossovers “Homicide” “Without a Trace,” “Two and a Half Men,” “Mythbusters” Theme-song composer Mike Post, "Theme of Law and Order" Pete Townshend, "Who Are You" Exists in Westphall Universe Yes Yes Series regulars who hunted Hannibal Lecter None 2.