I guess that my binging on detective and drama series makes me an easy mark, so a few weeks ago, after finishing the 3 seasons of “Death in Paradise“, Netflix offered up NCIS.
Why not.
Broadcast TV, so there is some, ah, tameness that I usually don’t see, and that adds to the charm. I got hooked.
The show is timed for an hour, so 42-ish minutes, so there is not much time to dawdle int he story. Setup, search, conclusion moves pretty quick.
The stories are just engaging enough, but what really brings the charm to the show is the cast. The lead, Mark Harmon, probably in the best role I have seen him in, does a great job of shepherding the “cats” of his cast.
The “special agents” exhibit a lively interplay, mixing sarcasm, and innuendo, and inappropriate comments, it keeps the show fun. Now into the third season, Matthew Weatherly (plays agent Anthony DiNozzo) is the constant, and they have added a few agents, one nerdy guy (computer geek – played by Sean Murray), and one “hot” woman (two so far, played by Sasha Alexander and now Cote de Pablo). The interplay between the “woman” and the chauvinist DiNozzo is entertaining.
However, two of the other characters are the reasons that I keep watching. The Medical Examiner, an english doctor named “Ducky”, who is a pontificating, lecture prone, story teller.
The other, is my favorite, the character of Abby Sciuto, played by Pauley Perette. The forensics scientist, she is a bad ass, goth dressing, tattooed, caffeine hooked, great music listening bombshell. Yeah, I have a little crush on her. Partly, I see an early version of myself. I started my career as an analytical chemist, working with all sorts of killer instruments (that is how I started my life, and I miss playing with the instruments).
I am not sure I will make it through all 12 seasons, but for now it is good fun to watch.
