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Hercules Says Few Surprises Attend NCIS: LOS ANGELES!!
SPOILER ALERT !!
I am – Hercules!!
The stars are Chris O’Donnell and LL Cool J, who play Navy secret agents, and the Linda Hunt character may very likely be based on “The Incredibles’” Edna Mode.
It’s interesting how everybody in the show seems to know what an NCIS is. I know I’d have no idea were it not for the Mark Harmon hourlong. Perhaps an “NCIS” show airs in the universe these characters exist in as well? And is there an Air Force Criminal Investigative Service out of which someone could fashion a series?
It’s heavy on gunplay and punching and creaky banter that’s in not a lot of danger of making anyone laugh.
USA Today says:
… not the season's most exciting show. It's a serviceable hour that takes the NCIS formula — a light tone and a lot of banter wrapped around a fairly rudimentary investigatory plot — and transfers it to a special, undercover NCIS division in Los Angeles. Nothing more, but also nothing less. …
The New York Times says:
… the pilot rises just far enough above its sometimes tired trappings to make you curious about Week 2. The presence of Ms. Hunt, in her first regular television role (she had a recurring part on “The Practice”), is a special bonus. She brings a sweet gravity to everything she does, like tucking in Callen when he sleeps at the office rather than going home to his seedy beachfront motel. It’s exactly the right note for a lighthearted drama, if that’s the kind of show you’re trying to make. …
The Los Angeles Times says:
… Although much is familiar -- is it me or has the whole team-shrink-insta-diagnosis gotten old? -- that isn't necessarily a bad thing. The crime is intriguing and multifaceted, its resolution requiring a nice balance of street smarts and lots of gunfire. But as with the original "NCIS," the emphasis is on the characters of the team. …
The Washington Post says:
… isn't innovative or brilliant, but there's some kind of joy to be had from watching the parts of the machine fit together just right and operate slickly and smoothly. …
The San Francisco Chronicle says:
… does well is what all CBS procedurals do well - bring mostly believable, semi-pulse-pounding justice to bad guys by the end of the hour with some action, a dose of humor and the weekly, methodical unpeeling of each character's private onion skin. …
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says:
… Tonight's series premiere shows a greater emphasis on characterization and building a team that bonds through generic teasing and banter. … It's a decent team of diverse but largely expected types. "NCIS: Los Angeles" will rise or fall in the coming weeks depending on how well the writers build on what are essentially blank palette characters …
The Newark Star Ledger says:
… The problem is that Chris O’Donnell and Cool J aren’t naturally funny, nor do they (yet) have the kind of obvious on-screen bond that Mark Harmon and Michael Weatherly display in the same respective roles on the parent show. So most of the humor feels like a show that’s trying too hard, except when we’re watching the great-yet-tiny character actress Linda Hunt as the boss of NCIS’s Los Angeles field office. Hunt doesn’t have enough to do in the premiere, but her enthusiasm and amusement about getting (or having) to say lines like, "And, of course, it’s encrypted!" are infectious. …
The Boston Herald says:
… The team solves the case not so much through dogged detective work but through convenient guesses. Call it crimesolving through exposition. It’s one way to speed up an hour, and there is one effective twist late in the premiere. … [LL Cool J] and O’Donnell don’t have the buddy chemistry perfected, but they might mix in time. …
The Boston Globe says:
… It’s all about the crimes, the technology, the guns, and, mostly about not having - or wanting - to think too much.…
Variety says:
… O'Donnell and Cool J have credible chemistry, and it's nice to see Linda Hunt as their boss. Beyond that, no investigation is necessary to grasp the formula. …
The Hollywood Reporter says:
… Chances are, it will enjoy some serious audience flow. Also, a similar dearth of Emmy noms. … The plot is thin, and some of the performances are threadbare. There are flashes of Los Angeles landmarks but no real attempt to give the show a Southern California vibe. Except for the occasional flash of recognizable scenery, this could be "NCIS: Lubbock." …
9 p.m. Tuesday. CBS.
From The Guy Who Wrote
The Making of Star Wars
And The Guy Who Wrote
Star Wars: The Annotated Screenplays!!
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> And is there an Air Force Criminal Investigative Service out of which someone could fashion a series?
Yes. But it's called the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI). -
The Air Force has the AFOSI.
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if they wanted a Spinoff from NCIS CBS should have focused on Sr. FBI Agent T.C. Fornell -Joe Spano- That would have been worth watching....
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Sep 22, 2009 10:25:47 AM CDT
And they stopped explaining to everybody what NCIS is...
by derlanghaarige
...something around season 2. I remember a piece of dialogue in the first episode. "NCIS...is this something like CSI?" "Only when you are dyslexic."To be fair, the dialogue became better later. And from time to time people still ask: "NCIS?"
I just hope they got the character interaction right. Yes, Herc says the banter in this show isn't funny, but he laughs at Sarah Silverman, so I don't trust his sense of humor. Although of course it might be very possible that the lightning didn't strike twice. NCIS is maybe not the most innovative show on air, but it's definitely the one with the best character interaction. I don't watch many crime shows. You really need to give me interesting characters to pull me in. Every CSI show bores me to death and not even Psych is on my must-see list. But NCIS seriously delivers 150% in the character category. Each one of them could succeed in its own spin off and exactly like "Nash Bridges" 10 years ago, the stories about their private lifes and the running gags and just the way how they interact with each other, is so much more interesting to watch than the case of the week!
Without having seen one second of the new show, I so far approve on the casting of LL Cool J, because he is not just one of the few rappers who seem to enjoy acting and not just do it to sell more records, he is also damn charismatic, as everybody who ever saw him on a talk show can confirm.
Anyway, I hope it's at least half as entertaining as NCIS, but for the moment I hold my judgement till the end of Season 1. Because that's the same amount of time that I needed to fall in love with NCIS. -
Because when I said that every NCIS character could succeed in their own spin offs, that also included a recurring guest star like Fornell.
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NCIS: Akron, Ohio
NCIS: Stargate: NCIS
NCIS: My Closet
NCIS: Mark Harmon's Sing-Along Blog
NCIS: Guess What the Letters Stand For
NCIS: New Guinea Outback -
But JAG begat NCIS which begat NCIS:LA. I'm sure in 6 or 7 years NCIS:LA will beget something else. Say what you will Bellisario, active producer or not, just keeps turning out the shows.
Wonder how he measures up to Spelling? His shows are ussually quieter hits, but he's had a show on tv every season since what? 1981? Do you count the time he was just the Producer of the Rockford Files and didn't own it?
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I love the original NCIS, but the 2-episode spin off for Los Angeles were probably the two worst episodes of last season. But, there may be hope, the first season of NCIS isn't that good either and maybe they just a need a little time to find their footing.
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I'll give it a try though. Who wants another cop show set in LA? Really? I think we've seen enough of LA to last 10 lifetimes.
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how do you have NCIS in LA? Sure there's Port Hueneme and Mugu, but they're 60 miles out of town. That's a real stretch if they're going to drive all the way to LA each episode.
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that Linda Hunt apparently stopped aging like 25 years ago? She looked 80 when she did Dune, when she was only like 40, but she looks exactly the same now. Has anyone ever seen her in direct sunlight, because I think that little woman might be a Nosferatu.
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In all of her hot goth character goodness. Will there be one on NCIS:LA? No? Then there's not much reason for me to watch.
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Or better yet... Law and Order: CSI
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that's a boring dude.
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But it doesn't make you think or anything like Lost does.
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All of these procedural shows suck. Mailed in every week with boring ass characters.
As silly as it seemed, "It's not TV, it's HBO" was so fucking accurate. This procedural shite? It's just TV. -
C'mon Herc, you gotta at least liked that season premiere. I thought it was bloody brilliant anyway.
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Lost to us five years ago today...
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enough with the procedural spinoffs
At at least until CSI: Paducah is in it's 3rd season -
I believe Patrick Swayze's brother played a Shemp look-alike in one episode who wondered aloud, "What's an NCIS?"
It's weird that the letters CTU are more well-recognized by that series' Average Joes than NCIS is on its own show. -
I'd love to take an episode of NCIS back in time, say 40 years-ish, and show it to David McCallum during his "Man from U.N.C.L.E." days.
His younger self reaction: "Well, it's good to know that I'll continue to get regular work on television for the next several decades!" To which I'd reply, "Yeah, about that... here's the thing..." -
Not good at all. Really, I fell asleep. I give this six weeks.
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The pilot was very weak, the characters were not likeable at all and I have a feeling this will get cancelled. Is it just me or are t.v. spinoffs television's version of remakes. NCIS, CSI, Law And Order...all have at least one of more spinoff taking place in another city. What's next, a Lost spinoff on another island?
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The characters are so much fun I can get halfway through an old episode before I remember I've seen it already. Anybody who doesn't enjoy Pauley Perrette needs to turn in their geek card.
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and PS - the music is intrusive
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It felt weak, cartoony and almost 80's cardboard. It was not a good show, and I tuned out. LAME.
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The season opener for Gibbs and Co. garnered 20 million viewers and 18.3 million of those stuck around for NCIS:LA. I haven't watched the Los Angeles show yet, but last night's episode of NCIS was great!
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Tony and McGeek. Love'em all.
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