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NCIS

TV on DVD

Posted on 2008.12.14 at 12:15
Current Location: 75070
Current Music: Songs of the Heavens
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After watching the entirety of the third season of Criminal Minds this weekend (following previous weekends of House, NCIS, NUMB3RS, Burn Notice, Dexter, Supernatural, et al), I've decided that its all the same show.

All the same actors, all the same story lines, ALL THE SAME SHOW!



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dentin
dentin at 2008-12-14 19:35 (UTC) (Link)
Yeah. Fionna is watching all of NCIS right now. I saw most of one episode, and found it utterly unappealing: I'm not interested in the drama, and I'm not interested in the personal conflicts. I don't care about the girlfriend problems, the divorced wife, or the hatred they have for criminal X. What the hell is wrong with these people? (Don't even get me started on 'Lost'.)

I find the characters horribly flawed, shallow, and/or in drama pits of their own making. I see this around me all the time; I definitely don't need more of it in the media. How about positive role models? People who are sane, stable, rational, and don't screw up the lives of everyone they touch? People who have tough, crappy decisions to make, and simply do they best they can and deal with the fallout?

Once you remove the drama and personal conflicts, you're left with approximately two minutes of technobabble which sometimes makes sense. I consider this insufficient as a draw.

Some of this explains why I liked Babylon 5. The characters were IMHO much more rational and sane than I see in most of these dramas.
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ehowton
ehowton at 2008-12-14 19:52 (UTC) (Link)
I usually enjoy the first two seasons of a show. That's usually when it starts turning inward, the draw of the initial attraction being pushed to the peripheral as the writers focus instead on the characters. NCIS is the only series I have five of. I enjoy its humor - but its still all the same show. They all are.I've seen the same weak plots played out over many different series, and it becomes rote along the way. Nothing is new any more.

The reasons you mentioned play heavily into why I still enjoy BSG. real, flawed people struggling to do the right thing despite themselves. Or at least to their own myopic perspective, which always makes things interesting. They're not textbook heroes, but everyday, average ones. The real ones who make a difference day in and day out. There's enough real-world politics applied that lends an edge to it, as we see the same machinations going on around us. Which of course leads to not wanting to be 'entertained' by something you spend real life immersed in. At that point it just gets exhausting.
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Melancthe the Woe, So-Called
melancthe at 2008-12-14 22:46 (UTC) (Link)
I'm irrationally prejudiced against many shows for the sole reason that an acquaintance of mine is obsessed with most of them and insists on telling me, weekly, about each episode. In detail. Well, she used to, until there was a certain series of incidents involving fridges, virtual gold, instant messengers, and inconsiderate bags being left outside (ahem). Now I'm free - GLORIOUSLY FREE! - but the lingering annoyance remains.
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ehowton
ehowton at 2008-12-14 22:57 (UTC) (Link)
Does your friend also pick out the worst-behaved, most annoying character on the tele, then try to emulate that person citing, "They're successful at it, therefore I will be to?"

I mean, um...

Tell us, whatever will you do with your newfound freedom? Watch a little boob-tube?
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Melancthe the Woe, So-Called
melancthe at 2008-12-14 23:04 (UTC) (Link)
... actually, yes, she does, and tells me at length about their superlative characteristics. She even names her D&D characters after annoying characters on TV shows. However did you guess?

a little boob-tube

I prefer boob-tubes properly filled, thank you very much. Especially if they're my own! ;)
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ehowton
ehowton at 2008-12-14 23:32 (UTC) (Link)
... actually, yes, she does
I feel your pain. I really do.
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Melancthe the Woe, So-Called
melancthe at 2008-12-15 06:41 (UTC) (Link)
I just realised exactly what you're talking about.

*facepalm*

I think your pain might be even worse than mine.
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joey_glover
joey_glover at 2008-12-15 02:04 (UTC) (Link)
i declare it genius
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ehowton
ehowton at 2008-12-15 02:33 (UTC) (Link)
I think it'll be a sure thing - it has all the markers: Unoriginal, re-hashed story lines, all the same actors...Emmy's, here I come!
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Tat-Man the Zombie Hunter
scareypete at 2008-12-15 04:24 (UTC) (Link)
NCIS and House are OK... I HATE Law and Order and CSI...

Yes the episode structure is always the same, you can expect constant similar reactions from each character.
But I can get into both of those series and for the first time Since Deadwood actually enjoy non-animated TV.

NCIS, Subtle Military jokes that only service men get
House, 8 years as a medic I like pointing out the flaws in the medical writing (like when was the last time a Neurologist actually performed an EEG or CAT/MRI/PET scan?)plus when he makes social/political comments I find them agreeable. Not to mention Emense Respect I have for Hugh Laurie as an artist.

(Pauly Perette, Sasha Alexander and Cote De Pablo helped the NCIS fixation)
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ehowton
ehowton at 2008-12-15 05:15 (UTC) (Link)
NCIS, Subtle Military jokes that only service men get

Spot. On.

When I left the Air Force I spent a year as a contractor to the Navy - spent time on the big carriers. I pick up little things here and again on the show. Supernatural is the only one I enjoy that really surprised me. I got sucked in.
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irulan_amy at 2008-12-15 17:43 (UTC) (Link)
LOL, there are a lot of the same actors sprinkled throughout. Dexter and Burn Notice share a lot. A lot of BSG and Stargate people are on Supernatural.

I seriously adore Burn Notice. I would watch it just because Bruce Campbell was in it if nothing else. :) And the chick that plays Fiona. Damn. ;)
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ehowton
ehowton at 2008-12-15 17:54 (UTC) (Link)
Yesterday, while watching Lost my wife saw an actress we'd seen the night before in Criminal Minds. This post came to her mind immediately.

But yeah, Bruce Campbell is always good. I'm not too crazy about Fiona though. I liked her in the pilot better, before they changed her character.
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irulan_amy at 2008-12-16 03:30 (UTC) (Link)
I was really bummed they took away her accent. :(
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