Last updated on May 16, 2016
Hey, not everything that is popular ends up being bad! Honestly, I knew little of what to expect with Navy Criminal Investigation Services (thankfully called NCIS for short) – but, when things pop up on Netflix, my natural inclination consists of watching the first episode. And, I guess nine more or so, if that gives you any indication. Remember, I’m watching episodes circa 2003, so do cut me a little slack if this show suddenly receives a major increase in quality.
At its base, NCIS is basically a police procedural. You may have seen one if you’re turned on your television in the past 50-60 years. This one in particular deals with crimes that take place within the U.S. Navy or the Marine Corps. What’s interesting is that there’s a whole well of knowledge when you’re operating a police force within those parameters. Traditional police work combines with chains of command, army tradition, and a whole lot of uncooperative people. NCIS isn’t particularly well-respected, at least in the show, since most of its staff never served in any formal capacity in the military; thus, every case seems like a bit of an uphill battle, to say the least.
Still, that doesn’t make NCIS very unique: setting alone does not equal entertainment. “Well-made” seems more like it. Sure, they still go through all the tropes you’d expect, with a variety of murders and crimes. They find ways to completely lack understanding with your favorite hobby (video game episodes of shows like this are always hilarious to watch, if only for how little research they put into the script). But, they do exactly what the writers want out of an episode: an open and shut case that’s cogent, consistent, quickly understood, and resolved within a 45-minute time window.
Part of the show’s charms, I think, come from its surprisingly likeable, and quirky, cast. Mark Harmon, whose major roles were clearly before my time, plays Leroy Jethro Gibbs, who pretty much rules the roost on a case-by-case basis. Michael Weatherly’s Tony DiNozzo plays his opposite, as a so-called “ladies man” who acts as second in command. Their rapport is often amusing, enough that you grow to like them both. Even the forensics team ends up being pretty great, with old Englishman “Ducky” and the (stereotyped beyond belief) goth Abby, who now seems about a decade-and-a-half out of day. Oh, to be in 2003 again, when people shopped at Hot Topic! Why does fashion always look so awful in retrospect? I’m guessing Sasha Alexander disappears or something, but she’s fine too (she dies, right?). It’s just a very solid ensemble cast, entertaining enough for a semi-mindless night of television.
This is not a show of deep thoughts, let’s be honest. Shows like this usually start very, very slow in their early seasons, to the point where you wonder about who these characters actually are. But, since you’re watching a CBS show, you need to wait for the rest of America (I say that seriously) to catchup, and that takes a few seasons. Suddenly, NCIS dominated television with its consistently high ratings. Who knew, right? More than likely, that’s due to the development of the characters and the cast; usually, shows that run that long obtain a great deal of creative freedom to do whatever they want, and usually they can finally deliver. I’m just guessing that happened, though!
Still, I’m enjoying it. Standalone television shows without ponderous, entirely unsatisfactory seasons-long plot arcs started to become endearing around the time LOST “lost” me with “magic” being the answer to pretty much everything. NCIS seems to know what it is, and it knows what it does well; it’s hard to ask for much more than that.
