A team of special agents, operating outside the military chain of command, must investigate any crime with pieces of evidence connected to Navy and Marine Corps personnel, regardless of rank or position. Character driven stories with surprising twists play a large role in the second season of NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigative Service). The NCIS team of investigators is led by Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon), an experienced investigator with sometimes unorthodox, but always effective methods. Working under Gibbs are Special Agent Anthony Dinozzo (Michael Weatherly); Special Agent Caitlin Todd (Sasha Alexander); Forensic Specialist Abby Sciuto (Pauley Perrette); and NCIS's medical examiner Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard (David McCallum). Additionally, joining the staff this season will be Special Agent Timothy McGee (Sean Murray) whose communication and computer skills outweigh his naiveté. Whether investigating murder or espionage, the NCIS goes global in their quest to solve all crimes with Navy or Marine Corps ties.

CRITIQUE

NCIS presents a new investigation every week involving personnel and military of the US Navy, unlike CSI which focuses primarily on forensics work. NCIS also offers a slightly different approach to the investigation angle as the pace of the stories is sometimes more restrained and case leads and conclusions arrive at different times in each story. Moreover, the show adopts a different dynamic, one that works most of the time, between the characters by injecting humor into the dialogue that on other shows features procedural or technical jargon, so that’s a welcome surprise. As for the filmmaking, the show looks great, and the cinematography is excellent. However, one part of the editing is somewhat bothersome. For example, a scene transitions to a wide exterior establishing shot and moves closer via three jump-cuts, which are accompanied by an irritating noise each time. This editing trend got on my nerves a bit, but I soon learned to down out the noise.

The first episode of the season is Yankee White, but it’s not the first episode to feature the NCIS team. In fact, co-creator and executive producer Donald P. Bellisario introduced them in two episodes of J.A.G., but unfortunately those episodes are not available on this set. In the pilot, a Navy commander carrying the “football” on Air Force One collapses mid-flight and dies. It’s a strong episode to start the season as it sets up the NCIS team and the humor surrounding them. Interestingly, the character of Caitlin Todd works for the Secret Service in this story and butts heads with Gibbs over jurisdiction and who’s leading the investigation. Also, the climax is very effective. On the other hand, I couldn’t help but think of the movie Air Force One. In fact, Bellisario makes sure of this as he makes Gibbs reference the movie about three or four times over the course of the episode. On a side note, there’s a funny scene between Dinozzo and Dr. Mallard who engage in a pretend conversation mainly to conceal the fact they’re posing quickly for pictures at the President’s desk on Air Force One while Gibbs is in the next room.

As for the first season overall, the writers present a handful of very good episodes with interesting stories, starting with Seadog, which finds Gibbs and the team investigating the death of a Navy sailor, an apparent casualty of a drug war, but some digging leads them to an entirely different conclusion. Delivering back-to-back excitement is Sub Rosa, where Gibbs and Todd investigate an apparent imposter on board a nuclear submarine, and Minimum Security, the team investigate a mysterious death that leads them to Guantanamo Bay and a detainee who might have the answer. In Eye Spy, a satellite operative inadvertently witnesses a murder while spying on a nude sunbather. One Shot, One Kill dramatizes the killings of Marine recruiters by a sniper, and the top-notch Bête Noire deals with an unknown terrorist (Rudolf Martin) who enters the NCIS headquarters and takes several members of the team hostage. Dead Man Talking gets personal for the team when a team member is found murdered while exploring a cold case. Despite being a dramatic storyline all the way until the end, this episode features some very funny exchanges between Dinozzo, McGhee and Todd. In the season finale Reveille, Gibbs’ determination to track down the terrorist who infiltrated NCIS headquarters becomes an obsession that concerns the entire team, but things take a turn when his identity is discovered. The episode does a very good job closing out the season, and the last few minutes are especially good.

However, a few episodes suffer from the fact that the investigations are limited to only Navy personnel or military. Getting around this sort of limitation is not easy, which therefore requires the writers to invent fresh stories week after week. NCIS succeeds at this 75% of the time, approximately. Some of the stories are just not interesting enough. Right away, I should tell you that you won’t miss much if you skip these episodes: The Immortals, Marine Down, My Other Left Foot, The Good Samaritan, and UnSEALed. Every TV show has its share of clunkers, especially when you consider that there are usually between 22 and 24 episodes in a season, and here we get 23. The one episode that I wish didn’t turn out the way it did in the end is Enigma, which guest stars Terry O’Quinn as Gibbs’ former commanding officer who asks for help in uncovering a dangerous conspiracy. Other than the direction it took at the end, it’s a solid episode.

In terms of the characters, they’re a colorful bunch, with Abby leading the way. She dresses in a white lab coat, but her make-up is clearly Goth, and while working she likes to drink Big Gulps and listen to heavy metal “noise,” as Mallard and Gibbs call it. Yes, she is quirky in some ways and knowledgeable, but also comes off as somewhat unprofessional and I couldn’t imagine someone like her working in this kind of work environment. Gibbs is a smart and likeable boss and lead character with Mark Harmon turning in a pretty solid performance. Dinozzo starts off as kind of annoying with his colorful remarks and bits of sexist innuendo directed at Todd, but there are times in the season where he makes a strong impression and actor Michael Weatherly does a good job overall. The work relationship and humor/sexual tension between Dinozzo and Todd starts off odd and seems uncomfortable, but finds its place in the show’s universe by the second half of the season. Mallard is perhaps my least favorite character as he likes to talk to the deceased, though he makes a few nice quips here and there. McGhee joins the team late in the season and his by-the-books looks shouldn’t fool you as he works out quite well in his position.

The most interesting aspect about the show, by far, is that it deals with the real world. Characters make pop culture references from time to time, such as discussing a movie or mentioning a celebrity, but more effectively the show incorporates into some stories current President Bush (having a look-alike impersonator play him in the pilot episode) and Guantanamo Bay, and at times references evil terrorists or the Israeli Secret Service when they pertain to the story.

THE VIDEO

Paramount presents NCIS in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen. For some reason the colors appear overly saturated on my 71” widescreen TV, and so I had to adopt the “cinema mode” that muted them to make the show watchable. The episodes all look pretty clean and picture quality is free of artifacts, though grain is very apparent in the darker scenes. The stock footage used in several episodes has noticeably lower quality, but the show itself looks very nice in the widescreen format and the directors make very good use of it. Aside from the somewhat annoying color problems, this is a good presentation. On a side note, CBS neglected to include English subtitles and instead offers closed captions (these aren’t always accurate and contain spelling errors).

THE AUDIO

Paramount presents NCIS in English 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround. The dialogue is very easy to understand and the music score comes through very well. Most of the audio is located in the center of the sound field with the front speakers doing a fine job. Sound effects and certain music cues make their way out of the surround speakers, but not too often.

THE EXTRAS

The audio commentary on pilot episode “Yankee White” with Donald P. Bellisario offers an informative and enjoyable chat. The show’s co-creator and executive producer, and writer/director of this episode, goes into the show’s genesis, the characters, the story, and other things.

NCIS: Creating Season 1 is an 11-minute featurette that focuses on the show’s writing and directing, as well as the cast of characters and their humorous exchanges. Donald P. Bellisario, Chas. Floyd Johnson, Mark R. Schilz, Mark
Horowitz, and John C. Kelley are interviewed and offer their thoughts on the season.

NCIS: Building the Team is a 22-minute featurette about the characters and the actors that play them. Bellisario, Mark Harmon, Sasha Alexander, Michael Weatherly, David McCallum, Pauley Perrette, and Sean Murray comment on their respective characters and what drew them to the show, among other things.

NCIS: Defining the Look is a 9-minute featurette on the cinematic look of the show. Discussions include adopting a different style of filmmaking and editing for a television show, while technical advisor Leon Carroll, Jr. and Mark Harmon comment on the reality they bring to the show and the recognition of NCIS agents due to the show’s gaining popularity.

All three featurettes appear on the last disc.

FINAL THOUGHT