I love military style series. I haven't missed one episode of JAG or its spin-off NCIS over the years -- I even watched reruns, including airings dubbed in French! -- and have watched all NCIS: Los Angeles since it began. What I like most about NCIS: LA is that they do undercover missions, taking different personae and using gadgets, and that it stars one of my movie crushes when I was a teen, Chris O'Donnell, as well as the talented Linda Hunt.
Sadly, there are small things that I don't get about the series. These small issues are sort of bugging me and making me not enjoy the show as much as I would like as I keep asking myself these questions every episode.
Do you share the same issues? Do you have answers for me so I can enjoy the show as I want to? The list of things I don't get about NCIS: LA coming up!
1. I get why the team is not located in a building that looks like a governmental building. After all, they do undercover work, so you want them to be undercover all the way. However, why is it that the inside of the building looks like a house? The offices' set up are too casual for a sort of military team that works for government.
The only reason I can see why the offices and decor are too casual is to take some pressure off the team when they come back to the office. Even if I found a potential answer to my own question, every time I see the inside of the building, I can't help myself but think "not enough office-like".
2. The team lacks structure for a military/governmental organization. Yes, every character has a role, some better defined than others. But who is the ultimate leader? Linda Hunt's character is not the leader, she is the mother figure who provides the team with clothes and gadgets. The guy who summons the team to the command center (the only place that looks like a military-type organization is working there) is more a liaison officer than a clear leader.
As for O'Donnell's and LL Cool J's characters, they don't seem to be in charge, they are more the followers who are in charge when they go undercover. Who is NCIS: LA's version of Gibbs? Vance may be somewhat in charge but since he is not in L.A. there must be someone in that building who clearly answers to him and who is the one assigning who does what on a mission, answer to the Powers That Be when things go wrong, etc.
3. This issue I can live with since it's a TV show but I've been wondering if the real NCIS in the US has units like NCIS: LA that does undercover work to bring down the bad guys. I know that NCIS is based on some of the work the read NCIS does and that JAG also reflected work done by the real JAG officers. So is NCIS: LA based on reality or not?
As you can see, my issues with NCIS: LA are not that huge and won't prevent me from watching weekly. But I'm sure you had situations where a tiny thing you couldn't explain bugged you to a point it distracted you -- the title of a song that just played in an episode, the name of an actor who looks familiar but you can't think of his name and where you saw him, etc. We need to get answers to these small bugging questions, otherwise, they'll haunt you for a while.
Do you have answers for me? Do you have other issues with the show that you don't understand and would like other viewers to help you with? Share your answers, issues, etc. in comments below.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
10-12-2009 @ 2:20PM
David said...
I deleted the show from DVR after failing to successfully watch last week's episode. It's a bad show. I love NCIS and I really like Chris O'Donnell, but this show doesn't work. I kind of suspect they shouldn't have let the "leader" Macy go, but ...
This show has nothing on its parent, NCIS, and as a result, it's very, very vanilla.
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10-13-2009 @ 10:04PM
Grace K. Banks said...
I agree This show is nothing like any of the other forensic show that have spin offs. I mean if it is a show that is going to include forensics then when do they go into the lab and show what it is thsat they need to find to conclude at the end of the show. If it is all about glimmer then let the title of the show say this NCIS LA and the glimmer side of it as hollywood would play it. CIS had aspin off that included alab within the program and the spin off of CSI Miami became huge, the the next one to come along was CSI New York came along with the laqb and police finding out what happened with the lab telling what to look for to closed the case. If NCIS LA is suppose to be a spin off of NCIS, where is their Abby and Ducky that tells them what they need to find and where to look to make the sceintific part of the police work work to make the case.
10-12-2009 @ 2:36PM
D said...
I don't care for Linda Hunt.I feel she's out of place and not a character that would actually exist in the situation were it anywhere near real.It seems to me she's reading lines that were written for Louise Lombard.
I agree that the setting and the vehicles are too nice and too high dollar.I know it's LA but it's also the government/military and blend in even in LA does not mean mercedes,cadillacs and hummers.
The writing for the series seems a bit formulaic but I am willing to give that time.some of the dialog just seems plucked out of "TV 101".
Same for the token "young guy in training who messes up but also saves the day sometimes".
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10-12-2009 @ 3:31PM
John Heltsley said...
I am also a huge fan of JAG/NCIS, but LA just hasn't grabbed me like it's predecessors. It seems to be trying to be more action-oriented than NCIS is, but doesn't really put in enough action to pull it off.
Linda Hunt, while a fantastic actress, really is out of place in this show. O'Donnell and LL are good, and the pyschologist is okay, but the rest could all disappear, and I probably wouldn't notice or care. The technology is too over the top. The hands-on resizing and sliding display stuff is a gimmick, and not a good one at that.
I'm still recording and watching, because it can take shows a while to get off the ground, and the track record of its predecessors and the creator is good. However, if they don't make some major changes during or after this season, I may not be back next year.
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10-12-2009 @ 3:41PM
Richard said...
One of the things that bug me the most is that the Official NCIS site (original series) is not equipped with the technology supplied to LA. LA is like a substation of Gibb's office from the way it was presented (not under Gibbs but of that office).
I commented to my wife last week that Linda Hunt's character filled out the show making it better to watch. I do agree that there does not seem to be anyone really in charge.
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10-12-2009 @ 4:01PM
Bruce Bromley said...
NCIS:LA seems a bit lighter, more akin to a "Man From UNCLE" then to the original NCIS. It isn't that bad. The big thing that takes me out of the story is Linda Hunt. Everytime she pops up on screen I think on the character in "The Incredibes" Edna Mode. It's almost they were seperated at birth.
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10-12-2009 @ 3:59PM
kenm said...
I remember not thinking too much of NCIS when it began as a JAG spin-off. NCIS:LA has not been great thus far but I'm giving it a little time to find its legs. And Linda Hunt makes everything she appears in better.
As for your second issue with the show, there are many units within the military that don't have a dominant leader. They exist more as self-organizing teams that take orders from some entity outside the team.
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10-12-2009 @ 4:31PM
TR said...
Great minds really DO think alike.
My husband and I have asked the very same questions that you presented in this post. For a military unit it just doesn't seem to jive with what we've come to expect but then I think the casual presentation is somehow meant to represent the California scene.. very LA, West Sided sort of mentality. That's the only explanation we've been able to come up with.
Linda Hunt MAKES the show for us, I just wish they would have an episode to explain a bit more about her role within the unit. She certainly appears to have more clout than the procurement officer of the unit.
In the pilot there WAS a very definite leader but they seem to have removed that role when the series came out.
We love NCIS the original so much that we are giving the LA series a bit of latitude to see if it develops into something over time.
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10-12-2009 @ 10:59PM
mb said...
I agree, Linda Hunt makes the show for me. Right now she seems to be more "Q" than Gibbs.
10-12-2009 @ 4:58PM
Artie B said...
I think that the NCIS-LA "office" is a foreclosed/ condemned site or something- a base "of opportunity". I'd imagine that we'll see the group move, from time to time, as the show continues (as might befit an undercover operation).
I didn't care for the Macy character in the pilot- too stiff. Linda Hunt doesn't fill those shoes, and I don't think she's supposed to... she's a facilitator for the team. They should bring someone in to take the lead for the group (DiNozzo would be good, except for breaking up the team on the other show; the female Army officer who was dating Gibbs for a while there might also be a good fit).
I, too, am giving the show a bit of latitude.
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10-13-2009 @ 2:54AM
Nicol Leoraine said...
What I'm missing most on this spin off is the leader like Gibbs. Heck, Jag also had it's leader and X-files just the same. On the other side, I quite like Linda Hunt, but like someone said, everytime I see her, I think of Edna from the incredibles.
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10-12-2009 @ 5:05PM
Maria said...
I Love NCIS: Los Angeles!
I find histories interesting!
The series has action, drama and comedy! I adore series thus!
Chris O'Donnell you the perfect one as Callen and LInda also!
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10-12-2009 @ 5:05PM
andre said...
I totally agree. NCIS LA is missing the "Gibbs" character. They had that character in Macy, as someone previously noted. I have watched every episode of NCIS LA and to me it is clear they need that true leader. If any one remebers Legends part 1 and 2 (the episodes where NCIS LA was introduced on NCIS), Macy offered that true leadership because she was willing to contrad Callhen (Chris Odonnel) on how to do things. Until they get that leader, the show will struggle. CSI had Grssiom, CSI MIAMI has Horiati Cane, CSI NY has Mac Taylor, and of course NCIS has Gibbs. Successful series have successful leaders.
My second point is that I do not believe that they are utilizing the character as well as they should. He is supposed to be a chameleon; someone who is able to blend into his surroundings seamlessly. In Legends part 1 and 2 he did that and it was cool. He has not done that in my opinion. Callehen need to be more like the Prentender from NBC.
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10-12-2009 @ 5:19PM
miles said...
Linda Hunt's character reminds me of Edith Head. I keep waiting for her to start giving out fashion advise.
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10-13-2009 @ 10:56PM
chrissy said...
All Linda Hunt does is give out fashion advice and then jammers on about how expensive the shoes, shirt, ect are. If the government was truely footing the bill I would hope that croc shoes would never be approved. This show has a long way to go to even be enjoyable. I hope that the writters can turn this show around.
10-12-2009 @ 5:23PM
PB said...
"What I like most about NCIS: LA is that they do undercover missions, taking different personae" ... really? I don't see that they're really doing undercover missions at all. They did during the NCIS spinoff last season, but I haven't seen Chris O'Donnell morf into any character at all yet.
I like Linda Hunt, but the other supporting characters are pretty interchangeable to me. I'll keep watching, in hopes that the team gels and they get it together, but I'm not so sure how high my hopes are ...
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10-12-2009 @ 5:33PM
PurpleSlog said...
1) I assume they wanted something covert, and took the building as is. Office supply trucks coming and going would have been conspicuous.
2) NCIS is a civilian agency (mostly civilians, anyways) in the Navy Department. The not having a boss is weird. There would be a Special Agent-in-Charge (SAC). IN real life, there is a large NCIS office in San Diego. That office has a small residency in Los Angles.
2) NCIS is a civilian agency (mostly civilians, anyways) in the Navy Department. The not having a boss is weird. There would be a Special Agent-in-Charge (SAC).
3) In real life, there is a large NCIS office in San Diego. That office has a small residency in Los Angles which reports back to the San Diego office. NCIS does do some undercover stuff.
The show needs to have a boss character. Heck they could have the SAC grunt orders orders over a speaker phone of from his office but keep him off camera. The SAC character doesn't have to be a regular or the star.
The banter doesn't seem real. It seems forced and unrelated.
NCIS got better as it went along. Maybe, NCIS:LA will too.
I think they shouldn't have this type of spinoff. They should have spun out of NCIS a show revolving around 2 agents (one American, and one not) on some sort of international fugitive task force (different agencies from different countries). They could have spun one of the NCIS (Tony or Ziva) leads into it. Think NCIS X ALIAS X LIFE.
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10-12-2009 @ 7:01PM
John said...
I agree with most comments, the show hasn't found its sea legs. Some more oddities:
Why a secret HQ? In both series NCIS agents are plain-clothes/pain-cars, so is it really necessary to hide their workplace? With the number of people and vehicles coming and going, it would take about 10 minutes to notice that it isn't an abandoned water department building. This insults the audience's intelligence.
Why Los Angeles? The Navy is almost non-existent in LA, compared with San Diego. LA just so they can hang in Venice Beach? A nearby ocean does not equal "Navy". LA has an actual port (with very light military presence) but it's an hour south of Venice Beach.
San Diego has beaches too, and REAL Navy and Marine and Seal and submarine and other facilities and activities. Being in LA seems like a gimmick just to explain why everyone is so "cool"
Futther, what important "police" role could NCIS possibly play in Los Angeles compared with other federal agencies? NCIS exists to do Navy work. Since LA is not a natural place for this need (the real west coast NCIS is based in San Diego), they'll soon be stretching the concept in ridiculous plots -- Baywatch with more guns.
NCIS "classic" has interesting characters and dynamics, usally-good storylines, and most-of-the-time reasonable investigation and police behavior. NCIS Los Angeles (so far) has none of these.
PS: NCIS "classic" is also filmed in Los Angeles, at a suburban studio in Santa Clarita, just of I-5 near Magic Mountain theme park, same as The Unit, and just down the road from the home for many years of the original CSI.
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10-12-2009 @ 7:01PM
maggiecme said...
I agree with all your comments. Same stuff is bugging me. The show is a little more like NCIA than NCIS and not having someone(s) in charge is so "not" the government. I find the show somewhat entertaining but as someone else mentioned the character development leaves something to be desired for several of the players. The characters on NCIS are so well developed and engaging.
I'll keep watching and keep reminding myself that it's not NCIS. That way I won't be disappointed each episode. It's still entertaining....it's just not really intriguing.
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10-13-2009 @ 12:57AM
sophy said...
I am so glad to see someone(s) else as confused as me about the leadership structure of this place. It seems incredibly strange that they haven't even addressed the issue by maybe discussing how/why they don't have a clear leader if that's supposed to be the case. NCIS:LA - please let your audience know who is in charge here! :)
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