Seeing Red

They could always kill her. Paris Summerskill. The name alone is enough to bring me out in a rash. Thing is, when they piloted NCIS: LA they had to remove and later kill the female boss. They can’t do the same again. She needs to die – or resign, I suppose – in part 2 of Red.

But enough of dear Paris for now.

It’s the spin-off idea I’m wanting to mention. I still feel LA is the weaker sibling of NCIS, except that this last year the writing has been better for LA. I suspect it’s because Shane Brennan is giving it most of his attention. And now he has come up with Red, the travelling NCIS unit. (Which doesn’t at all look like the Hollywood take on Rejseholdet. Oh, no.)

Nothing wrong with either spin-offs or stea… borrowing ideas. But I understand that Donald Bellisario – the wily old fox – had it written into his contract that he had rights on stuff that might happen later, even after he was got rid of. And whatever your opinion of his effect on NCIS or his departure, a contract is a contract. That he’s already rich enough not to need any spin-off related money has nothing to do with it.

(But, I do feel another spin-off might be taking spinning too far. On the other hand, a company that sits on the most popular show will want to get a larger piece of the cake if they can. I still feel small is beautiful. NCIS was best at the beginning. Bigger isn’t better.)

(Photo © CBS)

The Christmas episodes

Not surprisingly, some were better than others. Although we found ourselves making comparisons between fresh new writing as was the case for older new Doctor Who seasons, as well as for the earlier season of NCIS. Downton Abbey was OK-ish. Apart – obviously – for you-know-what. NCIS: Los Angeles felt more Christmassy than its big brother did.

Although, it was very noticeable that they had decided to throw in a little from many early NCIS seasons and stir well. Except maybe the stirring wasn’t done terribly thoroughly, after all.

I don’t care for the Doctor’s new assistant. She’s spunky, but the chemistry between us is all wrong. And I trust there is now a country full of children who will scream at the mere idea of a snowman.

How could they end Downton Abbey like that? They did, though, didn’t they? Someone here was disappointed it wasn’t a wintry episode, but when you’ve seen one snow scene, you’ve seen them all. And all that Scottish deer-stalking will suit the Americans just fine. Long live Mrs Patmore and her patés!

So, L A was an early NCIS medley with a Christmas twist. But at least once they’d sorted out the drugs on the ship (I just couldn’t get over the L A gang being on a boat in the first place) they went a little Christmassy. To my mind Nell didn’t need fake elf ears. Besides, didn’t she go from very sad to surprisingly chirpy very quickly?

But NCIS, oh, NCIS… What shall we do about you? This was an over sugary episode with too many cute scenes. I almost didn’t mind DiNozzo Sr being back. Again. He was almost more rational than Jr. And the sight of Junior’s bed is now forever etched on my mind. His flat was gorgeous, but was it him?

As for the goldfish… Or the snickerdoodles. Well.

Perhaps get Steven Moffat to write the next episode?

NCIS: Los Angeles – Season 4 so far

So, what do we think of the new season of NCIS: Los Angeles? The fact that I haven’t blogged about it yet could be an indication. That’s two months with little inclination to say, well, anything.

In fact, watching the second half of the double episode – which strangely was split over a the gap week of the US election – I had some difficulty remembering what the first half had been about. I recalled it as soon as we had the ‘previously on…’ bit, but in the two weeks I’d not given it enough thought to help me remember.

I enjoy watching it still. I look forward to a new week with both the shows. But something has been lost. Wondered if the timing over the election week was done in case viewers forgot about them, and only a double episode would guarantee our return?

Didn’t feel comfortable with the way Sam’s life developed last week. It can only lead to grief, or maybe incredulity. And what kind of end was that? It didn’t say it would be continued, so I’m guessing it really was an end.

Nell and Eric need to stop the flirting. On or off; either is fine. The middle ground isn’t. Granger is growing on me. Time to stop hating the man, perhaps?

(Photo © CBS)

NCIS: Los Angeles – Sans voir

If it’s May, then Hetty will resign.

Well, that was another explosive and deadly finale. Possibly deadlier than NCIS, because we lost two agents for certain, but at least they didn’t have the nerve to kill off Nate. Other than that, they are fond of killing off people we sort of know, and might be attached to. It’s a sneaky way of doing it. Use minor recurring characters, allowing the viewers to form a bond, but make them so minor that you can kill some off without compunction. And one of them doesn’t even get credited on IMDb. Some death.

The other interesting thing is that NCIS: Los Angeles is generally very violent, and people are shot, and killed, for very little reason. So we began with a ‘normal kind of bloodbath,’ only to find that when they got to the bad guy they don’t shoot at all. Clearly he needed to live for a bit. So why should we be all that concerned if someone kills him at a later stage? We wouldn’t have batted many eyelids if they’d got him from the start.

The writing continued pretty good, but I feel that if they offer us NCIS plot clones, they shouldn’t expect us to see it as fresh and clever. To my mind this double episode end to season three had several such moments. On the other hand, I do like the longer length episode. Wouldn’t mind that more often, as long as the frequency of episodes remains unchanged.

I have no doubt that once we return in September, the killer agent will soon be back to normal. Although, it would make for an interesting season if he wasn’t.

(Photos © CBS)

NCIS: Los Angeles + Hawaii Five-O x 2

When he found out he couldn’t watch last week’s episode of NCIS: Los Angeles without first sitting through an episode of Hawaii Five-O – something he has never even considered watching – the Resident IT Consultant took it well. I was surprised.

But also grateful that we didn’t try and watch LA without making that trip to Hawaii first. According to Daughter, who did, it just didn’t make sense.

What I really want to know, though, is why they did this to us? I can watch odd programmes if I have to, but there is a limit to the fun you can have when shows cross over to other shows. If you know them, it’s fun. Or can be. If you don’t, it’s just a pointless exercise. It’s like the special charity episode of EastEnders and Coronation Street. I half enjoyed it, because it was well written, but I had absolutely no idea who came from which show, since I watch neither.

I used to love the old Hawaii Five-O. I used to love Danny, especially. James MacArthur was the real Danny. This Caan chap was a disappointment. Chin Ho Kelly was all right. Maybe I’d like the new Hawaii Five-O if I watched regularly, but somehow I doubt it. Maybe this was to rescue a failing series? Is it failing? Was it an attempt at doubling viewing figures?

So, apart from being underwhelmed by the Hawaiians, what did I think? OK, and better once the action moved to the mainland. Not sure why we had to have a Comescu back. It would have worked fine with someone else.

Trying to grasp what, if anything, Kensi’s earlier trip to Hawaii had to do with this. Maybe it was just another attempt at doubling viewers.

I think this kind of experiment works if you watch both shows regularly. It works if you use one show to introduce a new show, like NCIS from JAGS or LA from NCIS. But I suppose if you don’t try crossing shows, you won’t know what it’d be like.

And they did get a trip to Hawaii out of it. Or did they?

It’s the girls they want

So, how often do people search for Chris O’Donnell? Here, not much at all. I won’t go so far as to say never, because that would probably be a lie. But I’m willing to bet that the bosses at CBS rate him higher than the ‘girls’ on NCIS: Los Angeles. I also imagine they pay him more.

Perhaps it’s time they realised how popular the ladies are. From L A most of my visitors want Renée Felice Smith. A few are after Daniela Ruah and occasionally it’s Linda Hunt they want to read about.

Sofie Gråbøl pops up occasionally and recently I’ve had some interest in Kate O’Mara, so presumably she’s ‘up to something.’

But for the most part my searches want Pam Dawber, with and without husband Mark Harmon. (Now CBS, him you can pay. People are always wanting him. Mark can almost be an honorary female on here.) They look for Pauley Perrette and her alter ego Abby. They look for her tattoos.

OK, I don’t know how much money Pam Dawber makes these days. Once, I’m certain she made more than her groom-to-be. I suspect that for all her fan following Pauley earns less than the men on NCIS do. And isn’t it interesting how few blog visitors look for Cote de Pablo?

As I’ve mentioned once or twice, I am getting impatient with Callen. Maybe I’m not the only one? They like showing off the pretty faces of Renée and Daniela, and don’t mind letting their characters get the better of the male characters. But do they rate them?

I remember the furore when it was discovered that the male presenters on Blue Peter were better paid than the female ones. It’s very hard justifying more money for a man jumping out of a plane than a woman doing the same. The effort of transforming an empty bottle of washing-up liquid can’t vary all that much between the sexes.

There is just that automatic assumption that men need more money. Are more deserving.

But I happened to start thinking about babies the other day. It’s great with a successful show on television. We fans like them. Another season – or five – is good news. The actresses have the advantage of a ‘secure’ job and the money – even for women – can’t be bad. But what about having babies? The first thing Sasha Alexander did when Kate was killed off was to get pregnant. Maybe Ziva and Abby and Nell and Kensi don’t want to be mothers. How would you choose? Leave a good series and leave the fans screaming, or go without children?

At least pay them more! And stop and think about how they might actually be more popular than Callen.

NCIS: Los Angeles – Kensi x 2

The two-parter about Kensi and her Dad proved to be another well written story for the LA arm of NCIS. True, it was another one with family involved, but it worked. We became suitably suspicious of Assistant Director Granger. Is he another Vance or not? That’s the question. To dislike, only to like later? Or not?

At least we have now had Kensi’s past sorted and she can be anguished about real crime in the present. Although, I expect we will get the past of some of the others. Callen might be done, but we could do more with Sam and Deeks. Maybe.

I wasn’t worried about Kensi’s future in NCIS, so didn’t have to freak out after the first of the two episodes. I could tell the shooting was about to happen and that it was probably planned in some way.

Less sure how they managed to clean up the house of you-know-who at the end. It can only have been a case of hours and usually crime scenes remain just that for some time. It would be good if fewer people were actually killed in this series. Surely it should be possible to shoot to disable more often?

And we had an armed Nell out with the others!

Red herrings, toys and the Christmas baby

If I’d been thinking properly, I’d have worked out that the only reason we ‘knew’ so long in advance that Deeks was leaving, was because he wasn’t. Just a plot trick. Have to remember this in future. But The Debt was still – very – good, because we learned a thing or two about people, and especially about Deeks and Kensi. So did they.

In Higher Power we had the LA Christmas version of parent needing tearful reunion with estranged adult child, similar to NCIS a few years ago. I felt the actors even looked the same. Again, a repeat of an earlier NCIS in the search for the must-have toy of the season. I almost lost my respect for Sam when I heard the $1000 mentioned. It’s too much, even if you are a good parent.

I wonder how Nell ended up with her parents? Or possibly the reverse. And how long is the ‘romance’ between Eric and Nell going to go on? It needs to end, but it needs to end extremely amicably. Although it is fun.

Newborn King turned out to be more of a Newborn Queen story, except girls don’t count. As with other Christmas episodes, it had less plot and mystery, and more snow and seasonal soppiness. I’m all for soppy, and it was obvious from the start that someone would have to give birth in the snow and that Gibbs would have to be midwife. Ziva did what she does better, which is dispatching people on to the other place.

But if you think of where to have a Christmas night birth, where better than a garage? It’s almost the new inn/manger. It has food (of sorts) and a toilet for that necessary ‘my waters have broken’ line, and even somewhere to repair the car.

And although I feel they need to steer clear of in-acency romance, I do believe that Palmer may well end up married. This is despite his awful future father-in-law. The man was more of a moron than you’d think possible.

But even he thawed at the sight of the newborn baby. Don’t we all?

(Photos © CBS)

More Nell

Nell’s character in NCIS: Los Angeles is growing stronger. She had an unaccountably senior role during Hetty’s absence, but now she’s back to more normal ‘clever’ background stuff.

We had a rather sweet exchange between Nell and Eric over flowers the other week. It worked well with their respective jealous reactions. But we can’t have them getting involved in a relationship sort of way. Hope the scriptwriters remember that.

Nice clothes, too.

(Photos © CBS)

NCIS season 9 – so far. It’s all in the family…

The funny thing is that I’ve been meaning to comment on the episodes we’ve seen so far this autumn, and despite the delays I’ve suffered, the topic doesn’t need changing. In fact, it’s been reinforced by the peculiar antics of the scriptwriters.

It’s television, so doesn’t have to be realistic. That’s why we accept and even welcome the inclusion of family members and others close to the team. We don’t bat more than one eyelid, and generally only briefly, over the fact that the team can investigate their own families.

But every week? OK, first we had Kate’s sister analysing DiNozzo. Then there was no personal connection in episode two, but it was certainly about families. Third is McGee’s grandmother, who also manages to be a little young. And she goes on a date with Ducky.

Next week it’s Abby in a right state over kidney donations and discovering her family background probably isn’t what she’s always believed.* Fine. But that tearful ending demanded a continuation, somehow, and six months later is too late! Now. But no, next week she’s as right as rain, and people are busy finding a girlfriend for Gibbs. And his ‘surprise’ reaction to that is out of character.

Three weeks after Ducky’s date with ‘granny’, he has an on-going romance with another woman. Fine with a love life, but when did he fit it in?

Last week Fornell was back. Yay! We have accepted by now that he shared an ex-wife with Gibbs, despite them never even having met in the first ever episode. Artistic license. But to have the reviled ex-wife turn up, be investigated by both the FBI and NCIS? And they are rude about her, only for Gibbs to go all soft and loving at the end. She knew about Shannon? No one else did. Before, anyway.

First half of Engaged Gibbs starts off in bed with the dead Shannon. Then he’s presented with a living red-head. And then we have Sean Harmon back as young Gibbs. Fine. Except he doesn’t look like a young Gibbs because he looks like his (real) mother. Handsome, but the wrong handsome. And this young Gibbs makes eyes at a woman who isn’t Shannon. Honestly!

There are discrepancies and there are plain silly things. Silly we can cope with, in moderation. But the (unnecessary) discrepancies. Have the scriptwriters not watched old episodes? Because the fans have, and we remember our facts.

We used to have threads, both obvious and more hidden ones, that could carry through a whole season. That requires not only some overall planning, but each writer ought to check how they did things before them, and what they did. Not just plough on as though they are the first.

I agree with Daughter, who says NCIS: Los Angeles is better written these days. It is. She looks forward to L A more. I don’t, but only because I love the NCIS characters the best. Maybe L A could lend them some writers?

(*Could deaf people adopt babies in those days? But Daniel Louis Rivas was the most fantastic match for Abby as far as looks are concerned. Well done!)