What is your opinion of NCIS?

[Louise]

I've just got into watching NCIS - yes, I know, I'm nine years late but that's fairly typical of me! I don't watch much TV these days but I did veg out in front of the TV over Christmas/New Year and caught an episode of NCIS - when I realised it was co-created by Bellisario I decided to watch a few more and now I really like it, though I'm seeing episodes fairly randomly and out of order.

I've been listening out for the Magnum references and the first one I've heard was the other night in a fifth season episode - a group of kids are visiting Abby's lab and she runs the fingerprints of one through AFIS and finds he was supposedly abducted by his father nine years previously. When DiNozzo and Zeva go to the boy's house, Zeva points out that his bed is a red Ferrari, just like Magnum's.

I like the characters in NCIS, with the exception of Tony DiNozzo. He is very immature and annoying - and yes I know that Magnum could be immature, but I forgave him that because of the whole "woke up at 33 and realised I'd never been 23" thing. And also, he could be very adult when it was required. When Magnum was childish, it was endearing. When DiNozzo is childish, he's just a jerk (or a prat as we would say in the UK!).

I really like Gibbs, a man of very few words. And I think Abby is a great character. And I've always had a soft spot for David McCallum - my older sister had a huge crush on him in his "Man from U.N.C.L.E" days!

I'm looking forward to catching up with nine years' worth of episodes!

[KENJI]

There are plenty of references to Magnum including Dr. Mallard/Higgins that N1095A brought up. In early episodes I could see storylines that were very similiar to Magnum's. Even Gibbs loosing his wife and daughter and seeking revenge is close to Magnum's. There were a few more that were so Magnum it was easy to come up with what happens.

The best episode that I remember was when Kate got shot - great episode and not expecting it. After that the show went border line silly with some of the characters and I haven't watched since. Ratings show people love it, so what do I know.

[Louise]

Yeah, I noticed the Ducky/Higgins similarity too - not just the long-winded stories they try to tell but the fact that they're both men of a certain age who've never been married (at least I'm assuming so in Ducky's case - I haven't seen enough episodes to know for sure.)

I also picked up on the fact that Gibbs has a dead wife and daughter - but I'm guessing that's deliberate on Bellisario's part to make his leading men appealing to both men and women. You've got the macho, man's man, tough Marine who appeals to male viewers, but add a bit of vulnerability and the romantic notion of his eternal love for a dead wife, and he appeals to women too. (I say "romantic notion" because it would be a pain in the ass for the next woman to deal with in real life, but works well in TV drama terms!)

I saw an episode the other night - about a super-soldier - which I thought had borrowed slightly from the X-Files too. I guess nothing in TV is ever original.

I'm still enjoying it though, I don't take the plots too seriously, I just enjoy it as an hour of escapist TV. What really gets me though is how easy it is for them to find out information about someone - I don't live in the US but surely a Govt agency can't just punch a name into a computer and find the person's driver's licence/phone records/bank records? And surely it can't be legal to access the last two without a warrant?

[ConchRepublican]

I was never able to warm up to this show. I like Mark Harmon, it's pro-military and patriotic like I am, but something about the characters and their interactions just rubs me wrong. And that DiNozzo guy . . . well, anyway.

It's a surprising, almost visceral dislike.

[Hawaii84]

We named our dog "Gibbs"

[AmandaByNight]

I had no idea it was a Bellasario production or that there was any Magnum references. I'll have to check it out.

What little I've seen of NCIS I liked because whatever I saw felt like a spoof of CSI, which I'm not a fan of... I tried watching it earlier this year when Ted Danson joined the cast, but it was just not very good. NCIS seems like a remedy to that with the humor.

Definitely going to try to check it out. Glad you guys have posted about it!

[Louise]

We named our dog "Gibbs"

That's a great name. Does he have grey hair?

Amanda, I'm not much of a CSI fan either though I don't mind CSI New York but that's only because Gary Sinise is in it. I've only ever seen a few episodes here and there though.

[Pedicab Driver]

A bitchin TV program to be sure. Season 8 was a blast and I hope season 9 is as good as all the rest.

[MagnumILWU]

I just watched an east coast showing of NCIS. Week in-week out, it is the best show on TV! The stories, the characters, every little nuance of the show is perfect! Leroy Jethro Gibbs, just a great character, and you better remember the rules!

[MagnumILWU]

http://youtu.be/rwSxC5wjc8s Fun stuff! It fits well!

[Louise]

http://youtu.be/rwSxC5wjc8s Fun stuff! It fits well!

Oh that's brilliant! You're right, it does fit really well.

By the way, I was house-sitting last weekend for a friend who has cable TV which I don't have at home, and I got to see the last few episodes of season 9. What a great cliff-hanger. But can you tell me if Ducky survives? I don't want to know yet about the rest of the team (who I'm assuming do survive anyway), but I'd like to know if Ducky is back for season 10. Or has David McCallum left the show?

I know I could Google it, but I don't want to stumble across any spoilers. I want to get the whole show on DVD when I can afford it, and watch it right from the beginning, so don't want to know too many spoilers.

Thanks!

[MagnumILWU]

How could they kill, The Man From U.N.C.L.E.!

[Louise]

Ahhhhh, thank you, that's good to hear. The show just wouldn't be the same without him!

[Louise]

I was watching an old NCIS episode last night, in which Gibbs' Dad pays a visit, and I was reminded that Bellisario chose similar names for the hometowns of Gibbs and TM - Gibbs comes from Stillwater, Pennsylvania and TM comes from Tidewater, Virginia. I don't know if anyone's picked up on that before.

Also, Gibbs has been married 4 times and, according to Wiki, Bellisario is currently married to his 4th wife (and is stepdad to Sean Murray who plays McGee) - art imitating life? It reminds me a bit of Joe M Straczynski who created Babylon 5 - in the first series his lead character was called Jeffrey Sinclair, who was replaced from season 2 onwards by a character called John Sheridan

[Chancellor Higgins]

There are plenty of references to Magnum including Dr. Mallard/Higgins that N1095A brought up. In early episodes I could see storylines that were very similiar to Magnum's. Even Gibbs loosing his wife and daughter and seeking revenge is close to Magnum's. There were a few more that were so Magnum it was easy to come up with what happens.

The best episode that I remember was when Kate got shot - great episode and not expecting it. After that the show went border line silly with some of the characters and I haven't watched since. Ratings show people love it, so what do I know.

After rewatching Unfinished Business last week, the scene where Magnum is about to take out Quang Ki and the scene where Gibbs takes out Pedro Hernandez are very similar. Also, Ducky has always seemed like a Higgins clone to me.