Why did it take me so long to give NCIS a chance? I’ve loved Mark Harmon since I was 12 years old. It must’ve been the time slot or the fact that it’s a quasi spin-off of JAG, which my mother was obsessed with back before I knew that she actually does have good taste in TV…. Anyway, I have been watching the ratings recently, and when the CBS drama set an all-time series high in this, its sixth season, for a second time, I decided it was time to tune in. A Saturday marathon on USA, combined with the need for three doses of DayQuil, was the perfect opportunity for me to do that — for 13 hours.
The episodes I caught were from the second half of Season 4, when, SPOILER ALERT, the then NCIS director (Lauren Holly) was consumed with capturing the elusive arms dealer La Grenouille (guest star Armand Assante), who she believed killer her father; special agent Tony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly), a notorious playboy, fell in love with a doctor, who, it turns out, he was dating undercover because she was the daughter of La Grenouille; special agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Harmon) dealt with commitment issues of his own after becoming intimate with his female counterpart in the Army’s criminal investigation division; Mossad Liaison Ziva David (Cote de Pablo) found her soulmate in a Navy Lieutenant dying of radiation poisoning; and special agent Timothy McGee (Sean Murray), a.k.a. McGeek, sorta confessed his feelings for forensic specialist Abby Sciuto (Pauley Perrette) while saving her from a delusional fan of the crime novels he pens under the anagram Thom E. Gemcity.
I had no idea NCIS had this much character drama in it. Nor did I expect it to have as much humor and sweetness: Gibbs appears to enjoy hitting DiNozzo on the back of the head almost as much as he loves kissing Abby on the cheek (pictured). (I say that is just fatherly appreciation for a job well done on those computers that she’s been known to talk to, but my mother thinks that Gibbs and Abby might someday get it on — discuss!).
While I play catch up and program my DVR to record all episodes of NCIS (Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on CBS; weekdays from 5 to 8 p.m. on USA), tell me if you’re a fan, a deserter, or someone who’s yet to enlist.
More on NCIS:
Ausiello’s NCIS scoop
NCIS gallery: Exec producer Shane Brennan shares his cast dossier
NCIS gallery: Stunt coordinator Diamond Farnsworth takes us inside an underwater stunt
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I think this might be the Dayquil talking. Who under the age of 40 watches NCIS??
My fiance and I TiVo NCIS everytime its on. We LOVE this show. Oh yeah, we’re 20.
I started watching this show when there were long breaks in between House, and then I was torn and flicking back and forth between the two. The show was great and I love me some Mark Harmon. And Ducky will always be the Man from UNCLE. Now that House is moving to Mondays, problem solved at least until the second half, I have to watch The Big Bang Theory.
Tom,
For the record, I am under 30.
You forgot about the lovable but sometimes creepy, Dr. Mallard, aka “Ducky”, played perfectly by David McCallum. It took me a little while to give this show a try as well, but it really is an excellent show. The end of season two is both shocking and one of the best hours of TV, I’ve seen.
Oh, and I’m 33, and I started watching three years ago.
I got addicted to this show, too, thanks to a USA marathon in the summer. I was on my way to a 4th of July party and was mad that I had to leave home before finding out if and why “Ari” killed “Kate”.
I’m 26 and LOVE NCIS. There isn’t a character that I don’t love on the show. I haven’t felt this way about a show since Arrested Development . . . and that says a lot.
Abby and Gibbs . . . ewwww! It’s a father-daughter type of relationship. Abby and McGee all the way!
i’ve always loved NCIS, I think this current season has been great so far, it kind of dragged with Jenny as the director, especially when she was so obsessed with the “frog” but the first season was really the best. Love this show & I’m not real sure how I feel about a spin-off. Those seem to kill the originals (as evidenced by CSI)
i love this show!!! i literally screamed and through my remote at the tv after the season 2 finale, those who watch know what i’m talking about. ncis actually was helped by having little or no hype then, as it was truly shocking when a major character dies(nowadays, every knows whos leaving/wants to leave, blah blah blah blah) i want to know why a show that sets record highs gets no love, while crap that has like 2-4 million viewers, a tiny TINY fraction of ncis’s audience, *cough, gossip girl, cough 90210*, gets so much hype.
I’m under 30 and have been a fan of this show from the beginning.
oops, that should be *threw*, lol.
I discovered NCIS during the writers strike last year. I am over 50 but, my kids(21 abd 23) were home for the holiday and watched the Saturday marathon on USA and also became fans. The characters are wonderful and work so well together.
OK let’s just assume that it is as good as you guys give it credit for. Does it really warrant the ratings that it is getting? Shouldn’t shows like Pushing Daisies, 30 Rock and Arrested Development be getting better ratings than this show? I hope the answer is yes.
- izi
by the way Tom I’m under 40 as well.
I just started watching the show a couple of months ago when I got laid off from work (at least now TIVO gets to record them for me since I am employed.) There are so many episodes that I haven’t seen so I know I have quite a while of “new entertainment”. Love Mark Harmon and the whole cast.
izikavazo – I watch all those shows, as well as NCIS. I do avoid anything on the CW like the plague, though, so I guess I’m missing out on that.
Oh, and Tom, I’m 31.
NCIS is designed (as is a lot of CBS programming) to appeal to a much wider demographic than “Pushing Daisies,” “Arrested Development,” or other ‘quirky’ shows (even this year’s critics darling ‘Fringe’). Why shouldn’t it get the ratings? It’s well-done, has a very good cast, and still manages to shake up its procedural plots by introducing more character background. Hey, Ralph Waite guest-starred as Gibbs’ dad this season (in a perfect bit of casting). And I too have been a Mark Harmon fan since my tweenie years.
When this show first came out, I was ticked off because I thought that since it was called NCIS, they were trying to play off CSI which it has nothing at all to do with. I’m not sure why I started watching it (nothing on maybe) but I became hooked. First of all, I realized that it had nothing to do with CSI and also put it together with JAG which was a great show. Now I NEVER miss it. Best line – I wonder what Ducky was like as a young man and Gibbs said, He looked like Ilia Kuriakan (the character David McCullum played in “the man from Uncle”). I thought it would lose ratings with Kate left but now I see that she is the present day Shelly Long and Zeva is such a cool character. I’d hate to meet her in a dark alley. I also watched the marathon but I’d seen most of the episodes but loved them anyway. I read that Mark Harmon had Bellisaro fired and isn’t even allowed on the set – morale stunk and the scripts were getting to “Jag” like. The new writing is great!! love the show.
I’m in my 50’s but my 22 year old daughter NEVER misses it and loves it – Abby is a great character – freaky but a genius. McGee is nerdy but sexy in a way and Tony is great with his movie knowledge. Loved the episodes where he fell in love with his undercover mark (sad but human) But once again, ZEVA is the coolest person on the show. Kate who???
I have loved NCIS from the beginning, for many reasons. First, the cast is excellent and the interaction between the actors is often quite funny. Second, the scripts are normally of high quality and produce good dramas and often surprising endings. Third, and most important, it is ENTERTAINING and makes you forget your other worries for an hour. There is nothing like a little verbal battle between testosterone-driven agent DiNozzo and cute Mossad agent Ziva David to make you smile.
Since you finally do get it, I’ll give you a pass.
NCIS is one of my favorite shows, because of the reasons you mentioned and more.
(And, I personally agree with your mother re: Gibbs/Abby.
Tom, I’m 26 and a HUGE NCIS fan! And an even bigger Mark Harmon fan (YUMMY).
This has been my mom’s fave show for years and when I last visited her this fall, I finally gave it a chance. Couple that with seemingly endless marathons and several days where I *had* to work from home… and I’m quasi hooked. I’m setting it up on my DVR for the rest of the season.
Part of the under 30 crowd and I (as well as many other members in my family) LOVE NCIS. What’s not to love, between Gibbs, Tony, McGee, Abby, Ziva and Ducky you get just about EVERYTHING you could ask for!
Love, love, love NCIS! I’m 27 and have been in love with Mark Harmon forever as well!
I love this show because it’s funny, somewhat informative and feeds my procedural drama mix while still being (mostly) wholesome and relationshippy enough to keep you coming back for more.
I’m 26 and I absolutely love this show! My husband and I started watching it this season and we’ve been recording all the old episodes on USA with our DVR so that we can catch up. And now way will Abby and Gibbs hook up…he treats her like a daughter!
I resisted for the longest time. I lumped it in the JAG category too…but it’s so different. Actually it’s even better than all the CSI’s because there is real heart and depth to these characters. I believe all the characters are emotionally invested in one another. I don’t get that same feeling on the CSIs. Although I’m partial to the quirky, genre specific shows, ala Fringe, Burn Notice, Leverage, Smallville, Lost, etc…this is the first procedural I really like. Oh and I come in just under the 40-mark at 36.
this show looks okay. a little cheesy, but okay, maybe… i would never watch it…
I’m over 30, and I don’t get NCIS. I’m tired of workplace banter being characterized as nonstop sexual innuendo and general insults. I don’t expect reality out of TV crime dramas, but would any woman really want to carry on a conversation with someone like DiNozzo, especially while trying to investigate a crime? Good ol’ Jethro would get his butt sued or fired for allowing what goes on in that office. Is DiNozzo some bitter writer’s mouthpiece to get back at women? Abby rocks, but that’s about all I like about the show.
I’ve been a fan since the beginning! Glad to see my show show up on the blog. NCIS is one of the rare shows that gets BETTER over time.