NCIS: one of my favorite shows

I’m going to do a three part series on my favorite shows. First up, the wonderful CBS show, NCIS, a show which is now in its 12^th season. It is a show about a Major Case Response Team of highly trained special agents of Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS). They investigate crimes involving the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps.

The team leader is Leroy Jethro Gibbs (played my Mark Harmon), a former Marine sniper, tough investigator and even tougher interrogator. He relies on his gut instinct as well as evidence. He teaches his team his rules for the job and for life. Gibbs is very protective of his team and in many instances, a strong father figure for them. Second in command and senior field agent Anthony DiNozzo, (played by Michael Weatherly), is a movie-quoting former Baltimore Homicide Detective. At the show’s beginning he was a womanizer and chased anything in a skirt but he has evolved away it since recent season due to his friendship and possible love interest with Ziva David (played by Cote de Pablo). Forensic scientist and Goth loving, Abby Sciuto, (played by Pauley Perrette), is the brilliant scientist who can find even the tiniest piece of evidence. Timothy McGee (played by Sean Murray) is the computer-savvy special agent who can hack his way into any computer to get the evidence needed. Finally, Dr. Donald “Ducky” Mallard (played by David McCallum), is the medical examiner who has odd stories and tidbits of history which may seem out of place but often fit in with the nature of the case. In recent seasons, Ducky becomes a brilliant psychological profiler.

What I love about this show are: 1) the camaraderie among the characters. Gibbs may be rough with his team but deep down his feels like a father protecting his children. He even tells Ziva, when she asks him if he is lonely, “You’re never alone when you have kids” before kissing her forehead and walking away. That one line sums up the relationships among the team members. They are co-workers but they are also a family. DiNozzo  may mock and ribbed McGee must like an older brother would do, when push comes to shove he would fight to hell and back for McGee. 2) the great mixture of drama with humor. Many of the episodes of NCIS  has some great tearjerker scenes as well as some laugh out loud humor, particularly with Tony. And 3) I like Gibbs’ rules. In Season 10, it was revealed that they are 51 rules as the audience sees Gibbs write #51. Many of the rules make sense and can be applied in daily life. One of my favorites is Rule #11 “When the job is done, walk away.” It’s a good rule to live by and basically means leave work at work.

There have been a few changes to the show particularly characters who are gone whom I do not miss. First, Kate Todd, (played by Sasha Alexander), an agent who was featured in the first two seasons and killed off at the end of Season 2. She was annoying and constantly criticizing and shocked at DiNozzo’s womanizing ways. This character trait confused me because she came to NCIS from the Secret Service which she admits most of her fellow agents were men. So all her time in the Secret Service, she never, ever came across a man or men like Tony? That’s hard to believe. I never felt that Kate melded with the team like Ziva did. Second, Jenny Shepard (played by Lauren Holly) from Season 3 to Season 5. I did not like her attitude of “Oh I’m a woman but the boss now, deal with it” with Gibbs. I didn’t like the constantly alluding to Gibbs and Jenny’s affair when they were partners in the field. I think I tolerated her in the show because she did have some great moments in the show but I think her storyline with La Grenouille dragged on too long.

Even though I love the character, Ziva, I feel her departure from the show was needed because I knew the next step would be to develop the romantic relationship between Tony and Ziva and when that happens it almost always ruins the show. While I miss her interactions with the team, her leaving was the right thing to do. The new addition of Ellie Bishop has me on the fence about her character. I like her but I’m not quite sure how she will fit in with the team. Only time will tell, I guess. I love this show and look forward to watching it every week. I do not watch NCIS: LA or the new spinoff, NCIS: New Orleans because nothing will be as good as Gibbs and his team.