Whereas CSI and its spinoffs routinely misrepresent key facts in the interest of maintaining dramatic tension, Forensic Files—which its critics slander as "boring"—takes no liberties with the truth. That said, as techniques and technologies continue to develop and become more precise, it's virtually inevitable that some of yesterday's facts will be tomorrow's junk science. Diehard fans could soon find themselves wincing at the claims made in an old episode of Forensic Files in much the same way actual crime scene investigators wince at CSI.

Notable recent developments in forensic science include the establishment of the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), innovations in high-speed ballistics photography, and the discovery of a natural limit on forensic carbon-14 dating. CODIS is a national database containing DNA profiles of violent criminals. High-speed ballistics photography isn't just awesome to watch; it also provides investigators with invaluable information about things like bullet trajectory and spatter patterns. Forensic carbon-14 dating identifies skeletal remains by making use of the nuclear age's higher than normal levels of radiocarbon in the environment. It will be useful for another decade or so, assuming nobody drops another nuke.

The most celebrated development is the mounting library of evidence on the troubling relationship between chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and domestic violence. Due to the celebrity status of professional athletes, professional sports leagues' newfound interest in concussion-related medical research, and the disproportionate amount of incidental documentary footage that we have of athletes getting concussions, CTE-related research is booming. (Ridley Scott and Will Smith even made a pretty good movie about it.)