Network: CBS
Time: Tuesdays, 9:00-10:00pm
Cast: Chris O'Donnell, LL Cool J, Linda Hunt, Daniela Ruah, Eric Christian Olsen, Barrett Foa, Renee Felice Smith
WARNING: MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!
Summary (from imdb.com): A botched assignment forces Hetty to fire Deeks and send him back to the LAPD. Meanwhile, an awkward goodbye between Kensi and Deeks leaves her with unexpected emotions for her old partner.
Review: I have to admit, I was a little worried when I first heard that Deeks was being fired in an episode of NCIS: LA. I always kind of suspected it wouldn't stick, but with this show, you can never quite be certain, since they have a tendency to write off popular characters. Luckily, this was not one of those situations.
In this episode, our favorite NCIS team (in Los Angeles) was investigating stolen explosives alongside the LAPD. They were staking out a deal being brokered by a man named Clarence Fisk, who the LAPD had been trying to put away for a while. While attempting to protect a female civilian, Deeks shot and killed an Aryan thug. As a result, the LAPD dissolved their agreement with NCIS, and Hetty was forced to fire Deeks.
Deeks was then approached by John Quinn, an Internal Affairs agent who said he believed there was a leak who was giving information to Fisk and his organization. They suspected Lieutenant Bates, Deeks' supervisor with the LAPD. The NCIS team was coming to the same conclusion around this time, which is when Kensi found out that the man Deeks had supposedly killed was really an undercover NCIS agent who was alive and well. The whole thing had been a setup so Deeks would be recalled to the LAPD and get close to the investigation.
Bates had originally told Deeks he wanted him nowhere near the Fisk case, but eventually he came around and wanted Deeks' help with a raid, one that was off the books and therefore shouldn't have the opportunity to get leaked. Deeks, along with Kensi, followed Bates, while Callen and Sam followed Fisk and his gang. While Fisk was trying to make a deal to sell the explosives, Callen, Sam and the SWAT team invaded and broke it up, catching Fisk in the act. That's when they discovered three of the explosives were missing.
Deeks realized Bates wasn't the leak, and that Quinn had been playing them off each other. Quinn was the real mole, and he'd wired the car that they were using as a meeting point with explosives. Luckily, Kensi figured it out just in time and they were able to get away safely (and catch Quinn).
As a whole, I liked this episode quite a bit. So often they use Deeks as a fool, but I always appreciate seeing his more serious side. Sure, he still had some of his quippy one-liners, but he was much more the straight man in this episode. It's nice to be reminded every once in awhile that he's both a good cop and a good agent, and that there's obviously a reason why he still has both jobs.
The only thing I didn't understand was why Kensi had to be kept in the dark. They tried to explain it by saying that she needed to truly believe he'd killed an unarmed man so she could sell it to Bates when he called her in, but I don't buy it. Kensi is a trained undercover agent; she's practiced in lying, and especially lying under pressure. If she'd known the whole story, there's no way she wouldn't be able to convince someone else that this was what she truly believed.
That being said, I can't be too upset about the deceit, since it led to some wonderful moments between Kensi and Deeks, as well as between Kensi and Hetty. I'd rather NCIS: LA not go the way of its predecessor and tease the romance so long the opportunity passes (like NCIS did with Tony and Ziva), but I like the fact that they almost addressed their feelings... and that Hetty was quick to point out that it might be a good thing if they were separated for awhile if those feelings existed.
Romance aside, it was nice to see Kensi and Deeks' relationship as partners portrayed in a serious light as well. So much of it is characterized by potshots and jokes, and it's always nice to see the moments where they show just how much they care about each other.
The story was easy to figure out this week, but I don't think it really detracted much from the episode. I was more focused on watching the evolution of Deeks than caring who actually leaked information from the LAPD to Fisk, but I didn't have to work hard to figure it out. Even with this weakness, this episode was still a strong way to end sweeps and begin the coast to the midseason finale.
Rating: 3/5
Favorite line:
Kensi (storming in): You kept me in the dark?
Callen: Please tell me you didn't waterboard Nell.
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Showing posts with label show: NCIS:LA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label show: NCIS:LA. Show all posts
Friday, November 25, 2011
Sunday, November 13, 2011
NCIS: Los Angeles - Greed
Network: CBS
Time: Tuesdays, 9:00-10:00pm
Cast: Chris O'Donnell, LL Cool J, Linda Hunt, Daniela Ruah, Eric Christian Olsen, Barrett Foa, Renee Felice Smith
WARNING: MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS
Summary (from imdb.com): When a Navy ID is found on a dead body tied to a hazardous material smuggling case, NCIS is granted permission to investigate in Mexico and asked to help locate the missing materials.
Review: It's been a long time since I've reviewed an episode of NCIS: LA. I love this show; it's one of my most highly anticipated each week. But I rarely have anything to say about each individual episode. This season has been strong so far, particularly as we learned more about Callen's backstory (and Hetty's). This episode didn't stand out much from the others, but it had some wonderful moments.
Both NCIS: LA and its predecessor NCIS are very formulaic shows. In LA, each episode begins with some cute character interaction before diving into the case. This often becomes a recurring joke/theme in the episode, and it's often one of my favorite parts. I love these little moments, where the characters aren't super special agents; they're just normal co-workers. Well, okay, normal co-workers who are wittier and pithier than most. In this case, the episode began with Hetty teaching Deeks and Kensi how to waltz. This scene completely tickled me, and I have to admit I was disappointed that we didn't get to see Sam and Callen's turn.
The main plot of the episode began with a double murder south of the border in Mexico. The NCIS team was dispatched because one of the the bodies had a Navy ID on him. Through a cell phone video, they found out that there was a box missing, one that they believed was smuggled into Mexico from the Sudan.
Kensi and Deeks traced the box back into the U.S., while Sam and Callen met with the dead sailor's wife, who admitted she knew about the box. Her husband had planned to steal it because, as she claimed, it contained $8.5 million in gold.
Meanwhile, Eric traced the tire tracks they found to a truck owned by a Mexican drug cartel in the United States. Sam and Callen went to the garage, got into a shootout (because this is NCIS: LA and therefore there has to be gunfire every 15 minutes or so), and saved the life of one of the less-than-brilliant cartel members who'd gotten himself stuck under a car. He spilled his guts to the men who'd saved him, telling them that there was never any gold in the box. It was brown heroin. Obviously, since they were a drug cartel. Also, Jaime tells them that the guy who has the box wears red cowboy boots and has a wristband with a monkey on it.
Well, that's all Eric and Nell need, and they trace the wristband to its owner in downtown Los Angeles. Unfortunately, when our team arrives, he's already dead and the box is gone. However, they do meet up with Sam's buddy, Michael. Apparently, Sam's been working on an undercover operation for the CIA, and Michael is the CIA operative he's working with. Michael tells them that, nope, it's not brown heroin, it's uranium.
This is where I started to lose the story a bit, and I blame two reasons. For one, it got awfully complicated by this point. Somehow they narrowed it down to three men who were going to use the uranium to attack a convention center. Sam, Callen and Michael rushed in while the center was being evacuated and saved the day, but not before Michael got covered in uranium. He now has only a few months to live, so he returned to the Sudan to continue his work.
The other reason I lost the main story was because I was much more focused on the Eric and Nell subplot. Nell had received mysterious flowers, and Eric was feeling... competitive, so he sent a flower to himself as well (which Nell, not having fallen off the turnip truck yesterday, saw right through). However, it turned out that Nell had sent the flowers to herself as well, since she loves flowers and no one had sent her any in awhile. At some point, between wanting to give Nell a hug and smack Eric in the back of the head, I stopped paying attention to some silly terrorism story and completely lost myself in the geek love plot. Which is because I'm admittedly a 13-year-old girl on the inside. But come on. It was cute!
That aside, I do appreciate that NCIS: LA can tell a compelling, serious story without feeling the need to be too melodramatic. I mean, terrorism in and of itself is a dramatic plot, but the storytelling is simple. The characters move from one theory to another without much fanfare. They rarely break the rules if they can work within them, so when they do go rogue, the situation is made all the more intense for it. This episode set up the next, in which Sam will return to the Sudan to find Michael. I imagine this means eventually Callen (and maybe Kensi and Deeks) will wind up there as well, and I'm looking forward to seeing what the story will hold.
And the 13-year-old girl in me is looking forward to seeing what the Eric and Nell story will hold.
Rating: 4/5
Favorite line:
Nell: You took a flower from Hetty's desk?
Eric: She cuts them herself. It's a big bunch. She'll never miss it.
Nell: Hmmm.
Eric: I'm doomed, aren't I?
Nell: You sacrificed yourself to compete with me.
Email me at NewarkCrimeTV@gmail.com or follow me on Twitter.
Time: Tuesdays, 9:00-10:00pm
Cast: Chris O'Donnell, LL Cool J, Linda Hunt, Daniela Ruah, Eric Christian Olsen, Barrett Foa, Renee Felice Smith
WARNING: MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS
Summary (from imdb.com): When a Navy ID is found on a dead body tied to a hazardous material smuggling case, NCIS is granted permission to investigate in Mexico and asked to help locate the missing materials.
Review: It's been a long time since I've reviewed an episode of NCIS: LA. I love this show; it's one of my most highly anticipated each week. But I rarely have anything to say about each individual episode. This season has been strong so far, particularly as we learned more about Callen's backstory (and Hetty's). This episode didn't stand out much from the others, but it had some wonderful moments.
Both NCIS: LA and its predecessor NCIS are very formulaic shows. In LA, each episode begins with some cute character interaction before diving into the case. This often becomes a recurring joke/theme in the episode, and it's often one of my favorite parts. I love these little moments, where the characters aren't super special agents; they're just normal co-workers. Well, okay, normal co-workers who are wittier and pithier than most. In this case, the episode began with Hetty teaching Deeks and Kensi how to waltz. This scene completely tickled me, and I have to admit I was disappointed that we didn't get to see Sam and Callen's turn.
The main plot of the episode began with a double murder south of the border in Mexico. The NCIS team was dispatched because one of the the bodies had a Navy ID on him. Through a cell phone video, they found out that there was a box missing, one that they believed was smuggled into Mexico from the Sudan.
Kensi and Deeks traced the box back into the U.S., while Sam and Callen met with the dead sailor's wife, who admitted she knew about the box. Her husband had planned to steal it because, as she claimed, it contained $8.5 million in gold.
Meanwhile, Eric traced the tire tracks they found to a truck owned by a Mexican drug cartel in the United States. Sam and Callen went to the garage, got into a shootout (because this is NCIS: LA and therefore there has to be gunfire every 15 minutes or so), and saved the life of one of the less-than-brilliant cartel members who'd gotten himself stuck under a car. He spilled his guts to the men who'd saved him, telling them that there was never any gold in the box. It was brown heroin. Obviously, since they were a drug cartel. Also, Jaime tells them that the guy who has the box wears red cowboy boots and has a wristband with a monkey on it.
Well, that's all Eric and Nell need, and they trace the wristband to its owner in downtown Los Angeles. Unfortunately, when our team arrives, he's already dead and the box is gone. However, they do meet up with Sam's buddy, Michael. Apparently, Sam's been working on an undercover operation for the CIA, and Michael is the CIA operative he's working with. Michael tells them that, nope, it's not brown heroin, it's uranium.
This is where I started to lose the story a bit, and I blame two reasons. For one, it got awfully complicated by this point. Somehow they narrowed it down to three men who were going to use the uranium to attack a convention center. Sam, Callen and Michael rushed in while the center was being evacuated and saved the day, but not before Michael got covered in uranium. He now has only a few months to live, so he returned to the Sudan to continue his work.
The other reason I lost the main story was because I was much more focused on the Eric and Nell subplot. Nell had received mysterious flowers, and Eric was feeling... competitive, so he sent a flower to himself as well (which Nell, not having fallen off the turnip truck yesterday, saw right through). However, it turned out that Nell had sent the flowers to herself as well, since she loves flowers and no one had sent her any in awhile. At some point, between wanting to give Nell a hug and smack Eric in the back of the head, I stopped paying attention to some silly terrorism story and completely lost myself in the geek love plot. Which is because I'm admittedly a 13-year-old girl on the inside. But come on. It was cute!
That aside, I do appreciate that NCIS: LA can tell a compelling, serious story without feeling the need to be too melodramatic. I mean, terrorism in and of itself is a dramatic plot, but the storytelling is simple. The characters move from one theory to another without much fanfare. They rarely break the rules if they can work within them, so when they do go rogue, the situation is made all the more intense for it. This episode set up the next, in which Sam will return to the Sudan to find Michael. I imagine this means eventually Callen (and maybe Kensi and Deeks) will wind up there as well, and I'm looking forward to seeing what the story will hold.
And the 13-year-old girl in me is looking forward to seeing what the Eric and Nell story will hold.
Rating: 4/5
Favorite line:
Nell: You took a flower from Hetty's desk?
Eric: She cuts them herself. It's a big bunch. She'll never miss it.
Nell: Hmmm.
Eric: I'm doomed, aren't I?
Nell: You sacrificed yourself to compete with me.
Email me at NewarkCrimeTV@gmail.com or follow me on Twitter.
Monday, October 4, 2010
NCIS: Los Angeles - Borderline
Network: CBS
Time: Tuesdays, 9:00-10:00pm
Cast: Chris O'Donnell, LL Cool J, Daniela Ruah, Linda Hunt, Barrett Foa, Peter Cambor, Eric Christian Olsen
Summary: Deeks and Kensi partner on a mission to find three marines who disappeared after their Humvee was ambushed in the desert.
Warning: This review contains spoilers for the episode. Stop now unless you've seen the episode or you don't care.
Review: NCIS: Los Angeles is a show that really started growing into itself towards the end of season one, culminating in a wonderful season finale and a strong two-part premiere. I was worried when pre-production started that it could never live up to its predecessor, but there are times when I actually think it might be better than the original (not that I don't love NCIS, of course!).
I find this show far more serious than NCIS. The characters manage to have both a sense of humor and a level of professionalism, and they deal with more international terrorism cases than simply missing or murdered Marines. They also don't have the "cowboy" quality that Gibbs' team has. For the most part, they follow the rules. When they do break them, it's because of special circumstances.
This episode centered around a Mexican drug cartel that had kidnapped two Marines and killed another. To find the missing Marines, the team split into two groups. Sam (with Callen as backup) reactivated a dangerous undercover identity to work the drug angle, while Kensi and Deeks tried to track the cartel through the southern California desert. The humor went with Kensi and Deeks; the drama went with Callen and Sam.
Amidst the case was a lingering mystery... where did Hetti send Nate, and how did he learn to shoot?
The drug cartel story was done well. Unlike NCIS, Los Angeles seems to be able to pull off case-based episodes, even when the characters' personal lives aren't in the forefront. This may be because Los Angeles is newer and hasn't had as much time to use lots of different scenarios. Or it could be because they don't look for plot twists; the focus of this story was how they got from the crime to the rescue.
The chemistry between Kensi and Deeks was pretty good as well, though Deeks is clearly struggling to find his place in the show. I liked him when they introduced him, so I'm hoping he eventually settles in.
My biggest problem was the resolution of Nate's storyline. I understand that the writers and producers are trying to show the audience that no character is safe, but did they really need to write Nate out? The team was working, and his character provided something that no other offers: the psychological insight into the criminals (as well as the team). Obviously the show can survive without him, but it's stronger when he's there. I haven't heard whether or not it was Peter Cambor's choice to leave, nor do I know if this is a permanent move, but I'm bothered by the trend in shows to get rid of the side characters whose jobs are not the main focus of the show. I hope he'll be back by the end of the season.
Speaking of side characters, I heard rumors that Eric is in for a story of his own sometime soon, and I'm really looking forward to seeing some more of him, considering I think he had about five lines this episode.
"Borderline" was another in a line of solid episodes of NCIS: Los Angeles, but I worry that constantly shaking up the team will turn more people off than the quality writing and acting can keep. It is only the beginning of the second season, so I suppose the show is still suffering from some growing pains, but I hope they don't do any damage to themselves while they continue to develop.
For more crime TV news, follow NewarkCrimeTV on Twitter.
Email me at NewarkCrimeTV@gmail.com.
My Rating:
[5] Excellent
[4] Good
[3] Average
[2] OK
[1] Bad
Time: Tuesdays, 9:00-10:00pm
Cast: Chris O'Donnell, LL Cool J, Daniela Ruah, Linda Hunt, Barrett Foa, Peter Cambor, Eric Christian Olsen
Summary: Deeks and Kensi partner on a mission to find three marines who disappeared after their Humvee was ambushed in the desert.
Warning: This review contains spoilers for the episode. Stop now unless you've seen the episode or you don't care.
Review: NCIS: Los Angeles is a show that really started growing into itself towards the end of season one, culminating in a wonderful season finale and a strong two-part premiere. I was worried when pre-production started that it could never live up to its predecessor, but there are times when I actually think it might be better than the original (not that I don't love NCIS, of course!).
I find this show far more serious than NCIS. The characters manage to have both a sense of humor and a level of professionalism, and they deal with more international terrorism cases than simply missing or murdered Marines. They also don't have the "cowboy" quality that Gibbs' team has. For the most part, they follow the rules. When they do break them, it's because of special circumstances.
This episode centered around a Mexican drug cartel that had kidnapped two Marines and killed another. To find the missing Marines, the team split into two groups. Sam (with Callen as backup) reactivated a dangerous undercover identity to work the drug angle, while Kensi and Deeks tried to track the cartel through the southern California desert. The humor went with Kensi and Deeks; the drama went with Callen and Sam.
Amidst the case was a lingering mystery... where did Hetti send Nate, and how did he learn to shoot?
The drug cartel story was done well. Unlike NCIS, Los Angeles seems to be able to pull off case-based episodes, even when the characters' personal lives aren't in the forefront. This may be because Los Angeles is newer and hasn't had as much time to use lots of different scenarios. Or it could be because they don't look for plot twists; the focus of this story was how they got from the crime to the rescue.
The chemistry between Kensi and Deeks was pretty good as well, though Deeks is clearly struggling to find his place in the show. I liked him when they introduced him, so I'm hoping he eventually settles in.
My biggest problem was the resolution of Nate's storyline. I understand that the writers and producers are trying to show the audience that no character is safe, but did they really need to write Nate out? The team was working, and his character provided something that no other offers: the psychological insight into the criminals (as well as the team). Obviously the show can survive without him, but it's stronger when he's there. I haven't heard whether or not it was Peter Cambor's choice to leave, nor do I know if this is a permanent move, but I'm bothered by the trend in shows to get rid of the side characters whose jobs are not the main focus of the show. I hope he'll be back by the end of the season.
Speaking of side characters, I heard rumors that Eric is in for a story of his own sometime soon, and I'm really looking forward to seeing some more of him, considering I think he had about five lines this episode.
"Borderline" was another in a line of solid episodes of NCIS: Los Angeles, but I worry that constantly shaking up the team will turn more people off than the quality writing and acting can keep. It is only the beginning of the second season, so I suppose the show is still suffering from some growing pains, but I hope they don't do any damage to themselves while they continue to develop.
For more crime TV news, follow NewarkCrimeTV on Twitter.
Email me at NewarkCrimeTV@gmail.com.
My Rating:
[5] Excellent
[4] Good
[3] Average
[2] OK
[1] Bad
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
NCIS: Los Angeles - Missing
Network: CBS
Time: Tuesdays, 9:00-10:00pm
Cast: Chris O'Donnell, LL Cool J, Daniela Ruah, Peter Cambor, Barrett Foa, Adam Jamal Craig, Linda Hunt
Summary: When one of their own goes missing, the team races the clock to find him.
WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR THE EPISODE. DO NOT READ THIS IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT YET. IT WILL GIVE THE ENDING AWAY.
Review: I usually like to take a day or two to reflect on an episode before I review it, but this one left me with so much emotion that I needed to get this out right away. It's 10:09pm in New Jersey when I'm writing this, exactly nine minutes after the episode ended.
This is the NCIS: Los Angeles episode I've been waiting for for weeks. Since Abby came to LA back in episode 9, I've been sorely disappointed by the quality of Los Angeles episodes. I feel the show has been too focused on Sam and Callen, and they cases have been confusing and just-this-side-of-boring.
This episode did neither. This episode was, I believe, the proof that CBS was not wrong to renew this show for a second season.
Also, it made me feel pretty stupid for my review of the last new episode, where I complained that they weren't focusing enough on the team, so much so that they left Dominic out of the last scene, where the team goes out together. Just so you know, this episode takes off exactly where that one stopped.
The promos teased an important point in this episode: that Dominic, the LA team's probie, goes missing and that the team has to find him. They even hinted that it is much harder than anyone imagined it would be to find him.
What they don't tell you is (and I'm warning you one more time that there's going to be a spoiler) they won't find him.
In fact, there isn't even a hint. No leakage that Adam Jamal Craig was leaving the show. No teasers that this could be part of a multi-episode arc (hey, a girl can hope). I just assumed that the episode would resolve itself the way most shows do, with Dominic returning home and riding off into the sunset with Kensi (okay, okay, that part is optional).
Instead, we're left without a motive and without Dominic. And the teasers for next week don't seem to imply we're going to get any resolutions.
As I said in my latest White Collar review, I find cliffhangers to be a necessary evil. As far as necessary evils go, this one was the best I've seen in a long time. Perhaps because it truly is a cliffhanger. The audience has no idea if Dom is coming back or not, and either option seems perfectly likely. It's kind of weird, being so in the dark like this. Normally, even if you don't know how exactly the arc of season will go, you know which cast members are coming and going because their contract negotiations are leaked. In this case, I haven't heard anything. Has anyone else?
From promos to cliffhanger, this episode was great. For the first time in awhile, the team was working as a team, and everyone seemed to share the spotlight semi-equally. Nate and Eric, who are often pushed to the side by the more dominating characters of Callen and Sam, were actively involved in almost every scene, and Kensi, who they've been giving more and more on-screen time to, had several starring moments. Hetti struck the perfect balance between worried den mother and compassionate confidante, and the new character they just introduced (Ty, a future Dom replacement? Oh no!) was awesome. The ending, though unresolved, was beautiful and heart-wrenching, even while I was begging the TV to say it wasn't so.
Which leaves me with just a few questions? Who took Dom and why? Is this really all Los Angeles will give us about this case, or is it possible they'll revisit it (and hopefully soon)? Is it just me, or does Claudia Taro not sound like a Colombian name? And why wasn't this aired next week, during the first episode of sweeps? What are your thoughts on these and the episode as a whole?
Time: Tuesdays, 9:00-10:00pm
Cast: Chris O'Donnell, LL Cool J, Daniela Ruah, Peter Cambor, Barrett Foa, Adam Jamal Craig, Linda Hunt
Summary: When one of their own goes missing, the team races the clock to find him.
WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR THE EPISODE. DO NOT READ THIS IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT YET. IT WILL GIVE THE ENDING AWAY.
Review: I usually like to take a day or two to reflect on an episode before I review it, but this one left me with so much emotion that I needed to get this out right away. It's 10:09pm in New Jersey when I'm writing this, exactly nine minutes after the episode ended.
This is the NCIS: Los Angeles episode I've been waiting for for weeks. Since Abby came to LA back in episode 9, I've been sorely disappointed by the quality of Los Angeles episodes. I feel the show has been too focused on Sam and Callen, and they cases have been confusing and just-this-side-of-boring.
This episode did neither. This episode was, I believe, the proof that CBS was not wrong to renew this show for a second season.
Also, it made me feel pretty stupid for my review of the last new episode, where I complained that they weren't focusing enough on the team, so much so that they left Dominic out of the last scene, where the team goes out together. Just so you know, this episode takes off exactly where that one stopped.
The promos teased an important point in this episode: that Dominic, the LA team's probie, goes missing and that the team has to find him. They even hinted that it is much harder than anyone imagined it would be to find him.
What they don't tell you is (and I'm warning you one more time that there's going to be a spoiler) they won't find him.
In fact, there isn't even a hint. No leakage that Adam Jamal Craig was leaving the show. No teasers that this could be part of a multi-episode arc (hey, a girl can hope). I just assumed that the episode would resolve itself the way most shows do, with Dominic returning home and riding off into the sunset with Kensi (okay, okay, that part is optional).
Instead, we're left without a motive and without Dominic. And the teasers for next week don't seem to imply we're going to get any resolutions.
As I said in my latest White Collar review, I find cliffhangers to be a necessary evil. As far as necessary evils go, this one was the best I've seen in a long time. Perhaps because it truly is a cliffhanger. The audience has no idea if Dom is coming back or not, and either option seems perfectly likely. It's kind of weird, being so in the dark like this. Normally, even if you don't know how exactly the arc of season will go, you know which cast members are coming and going because their contract negotiations are leaked. In this case, I haven't heard anything. Has anyone else?
From promos to cliffhanger, this episode was great. For the first time in awhile, the team was working as a team, and everyone seemed to share the spotlight semi-equally. Nate and Eric, who are often pushed to the side by the more dominating characters of Callen and Sam, were actively involved in almost every scene, and Kensi, who they've been giving more and more on-screen time to, had several starring moments. Hetti struck the perfect balance between worried den mother and compassionate confidante, and the new character they just introduced (Ty, a future Dom replacement? Oh no!) was awesome. The ending, though unresolved, was beautiful and heart-wrenching, even while I was begging the TV to say it wasn't so.
Which leaves me with just a few questions? Who took Dom and why? Is this really all Los Angeles will give us about this case, or is it possible they'll revisit it (and hopefully soon)? Is it just me, or does Claudia Taro not sound like a Colombian name? And why wasn't this aired next week, during the first episode of sweeps? What are your thoughts on these and the episode as a whole?
Sunday, January 17, 2010
NCIS: Los Angeles - Past Lives
Network: CBS
Time: Tuesdays, 9:00-10:00pm
Cast: LL Cool J, Chris O'Donnell, Daniela Ruah, Barrett Foa, Peter Cambor, Adam Jamal Craig, Linda Hunt
Summary: Callen begins to withdraw from the group when he must revert back to an old alias from his past.
Review: This was another episode that required a second watching before I could write a review of it, which really doesn't bode well for what I'm about to write. I've been disappointed lately by the trend that NCIS: Los Angeles is taking. It's focusing too much on the cases and not enough on character development, especially when you consider that the cases are often rather weak.
This was yet another Callen-centric episode. I understand that the writers need to develop Callen and Sam as our main characters, but they've gone to the point of excluded some of the supporting characters completely. For example, they begin the episode with a conversation between Dom and Callen, which led me to believe Dom might have a strong role in this episode. Instead, he completely disappears after that scene, and doesn't even return for the final scene, where the team leaves for what is supposed to be a team outing. Could this be because Adam Jamal Craig had a conflict on the days when they were shooting? Absolutely. And this by itself wouldn't be so bad, except Dom hasn't been really involved in an episode since somewhere around episode 3 or 4.
In that thread, Nate and Eric each got one or two scenes, where their entire purpose was to further the episode for the main characters. Again, their characters were not developed at all, except that Eric loves his job and Nate won't reveal another person's innermost thoughts to anyone else. Hetty came and went as usual, giving us occasional glimpses into her past, but never cementing herself as anything more that the responsible, older stereotype.
The only character that the writers have changed tacks with is Kensi. In the beginning of the season, they seemed to have written her off as a supporting character, somewhere on par with Eric and Nate. As its progressed, however, they've slowly by surely moved her up, so she's closer (though not yet equal to) Callen and Sam. They're giving her her own stories, and they even gave her a potential romance in this episode. And she's developing in a likable way, enough that her successes make me happy and her failures make me sad. I truly enjoy the scenes with her in them, and I like that the writers have started to use her more.
The actual case was, as most NCIS and NCIS: Los Angeles cases are, the weakest point of the episode. The purpose was to give the audience more information about Callen's past, including an undercover op where he got involved with a suspect's sister. Now, the people he was investigating, who were all part of some money laundering scheme where the money was never found, are being killed, and Callen is called upon to use his old alias to figure out who's doing it. The ending was predictable, not because it made logical sense for the killer to be who he was, but because many NCIS episodes have contained the same "twist."
Certainly the episode had its positives. Team banter was fun at the beginning and the end. If the writers could begin injecting more of that into the middle of the episode, they'd have a real winner there. And, as I said, they've really developed Callen and Kensi (and Sam to a certain extent) into enjoyable characters with both positive and negative attributes. Now they just need to develop the rest of the cast.
CBS just picked NCIS: Los Angeles for a second season (to no one's surprise), and I think that was a great decision on their part. Sure, the show has some kinks now, but, if it's anything like its parent show, it will get better with age. The weak storylines will become more enjoyable once the characters are fully developed, and the audience will come to appreciate the dialogue as much as, if not more than, the investigative work.
Favorite lines:
Callen: Hetty plus mechanical bull plus tequila equals bar fight. Trust me, I've been there.
Sam: I smell like a cop?
Callen: Actually you smell like baby powder, but that's a whole different conversation.
Eric: Ooh, intrigue, betrayal... this is getting interesting.
Kensi: Sometimes he's so cheerful, I want to punch him. Repeatedly.
Rating:
[5] Excellent
[4] Good
[3] Average
[2] OK
[1] Bad
Comments? Leave them here.
Time: Tuesdays, 9:00-10:00pm
Cast: LL Cool J, Chris O'Donnell, Daniela Ruah, Barrett Foa, Peter Cambor, Adam Jamal Craig, Linda Hunt
Summary: Callen begins to withdraw from the group when he must revert back to an old alias from his past.
Review: This was another episode that required a second watching before I could write a review of it, which really doesn't bode well for what I'm about to write. I've been disappointed lately by the trend that NCIS: Los Angeles is taking. It's focusing too much on the cases and not enough on character development, especially when you consider that the cases are often rather weak.
This was yet another Callen-centric episode. I understand that the writers need to develop Callen and Sam as our main characters, but they've gone to the point of excluded some of the supporting characters completely. For example, they begin the episode with a conversation between Dom and Callen, which led me to believe Dom might have a strong role in this episode. Instead, he completely disappears after that scene, and doesn't even return for the final scene, where the team leaves for what is supposed to be a team outing. Could this be because Adam Jamal Craig had a conflict on the days when they were shooting? Absolutely. And this by itself wouldn't be so bad, except Dom hasn't been really involved in an episode since somewhere around episode 3 or 4.
In that thread, Nate and Eric each got one or two scenes, where their entire purpose was to further the episode for the main characters. Again, their characters were not developed at all, except that Eric loves his job and Nate won't reveal another person's innermost thoughts to anyone else. Hetty came and went as usual, giving us occasional glimpses into her past, but never cementing herself as anything more that the responsible, older stereotype.
The only character that the writers have changed tacks with is Kensi. In the beginning of the season, they seemed to have written her off as a supporting character, somewhere on par with Eric and Nate. As its progressed, however, they've slowly by surely moved her up, so she's closer (though not yet equal to) Callen and Sam. They're giving her her own stories, and they even gave her a potential romance in this episode. And she's developing in a likable way, enough that her successes make me happy and her failures make me sad. I truly enjoy the scenes with her in them, and I like that the writers have started to use her more.
The actual case was, as most NCIS and NCIS: Los Angeles cases are, the weakest point of the episode. The purpose was to give the audience more information about Callen's past, including an undercover op where he got involved with a suspect's sister. Now, the people he was investigating, who were all part of some money laundering scheme where the money was never found, are being killed, and Callen is called upon to use his old alias to figure out who's doing it. The ending was predictable, not because it made logical sense for the killer to be who he was, but because many NCIS episodes have contained the same "twist."
Certainly the episode had its positives. Team banter was fun at the beginning and the end. If the writers could begin injecting more of that into the middle of the episode, they'd have a real winner there. And, as I said, they've really developed Callen and Kensi (and Sam to a certain extent) into enjoyable characters with both positive and negative attributes. Now they just need to develop the rest of the cast.
CBS just picked NCIS: Los Angeles for a second season (to no one's surprise), and I think that was a great decision on their part. Sure, the show has some kinks now, but, if it's anything like its parent show, it will get better with age. The weak storylines will become more enjoyable once the characters are fully developed, and the audience will come to appreciate the dialogue as much as, if not more than, the investigative work.
Favorite lines:
Callen: Hetty plus mechanical bull plus tequila equals bar fight. Trust me, I've been there.
Sam: I smell like a cop?
Callen: Actually you smell like baby powder, but that's a whole different conversation.
Eric: Ooh, intrigue, betrayal... this is getting interesting.
Kensi: Sometimes he's so cheerful, I want to punch him. Repeatedly.
Rating:
[5] Excellent
[4] Good
[3] Average
[2] OK
[1] Bad
Comments? Leave them here.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
NCIS: Los Angeles - Breach
Network: CBS
Time: Tuesdays, 9:00-10:00pm
Cast: LL Cool J, Chris O'Donnell, Daniela Ruah, Peter Cambor, Barrett Foa, Adam Jamal Craig, Linda Hunt
Summary: When a petty officer is murdered, the team finds a link to Sam's past. Meanwhile, Hetty examines how her agents are coping with the stress of the job.
Review: NCIS: Los Angeles has the unfortunate tendency to have one really great episode and follow it with a mediocre episode. It's one of the hazards of a new drama--it's still testing the waters, seeing what it can get away with and what is just out of its reach.
This was an out of its reach day.
I don't know which part was the worst. Perhaps it was the unnecessarily complicated storyline. Perhaps it was the three or four names that sounded exactly the same, making it nearly impossible to tell who was responsible for what. Perhaps it was watching the normally wonderful dialogue between the characters degenerate into something forced and uncomfortable. Whatever it was, NCIS: LA was just not on its game this week. I watched the episode twice before I wrote this review to try to understand the case, and I never quite got there.
That's not to say this episode was without its merits. I enjoyed the interaction between Callen and Hetty in the last five minutes of the episode more than almost any other moment on the show, even if it was a little corny. And Sam had a nice storyline involving a Sudanese boy who he'd helped (even if that part didn't end exactly the way I'd have hoped).
I missed my characters. Sure, they were still there, but this episode focused almost exclusively on the case, and not enough on the characters. We're not at a point yet with the Los Angeles team where the writers can focus solely on a case. Character development is important, especially in the first season. If the characters aren't being affected by the case, why should I care about it? And, in this episode, only Sam (if anybody) was affected at all, and even that was minimal. I want them to develop the team more, especially the supporting characters (Eric, Kensi, Dom, and Nate). I know enough about Callen and Sam right now, but I haven't really formed attachments to anyone else for reasons other than the ones I've created by having an overactive imagination and a lot of free time to think about them.
Overall, I had trouble focusing on this one because it was too complicated, and I didn't have a reason to care because the characters didn't seem to be personally affected by anything that was happening. I've really liked NCIS: LA so far, but there are times when it's really hit or miss... and this week was a miss for me.
Rating:
[5] Excellent
[4] Good
[3] Average
[2] OK
[1] Bad
Comments? Leave them here.
Time: Tuesdays, 9:00-10:00pm
Cast: LL Cool J, Chris O'Donnell, Daniela Ruah, Peter Cambor, Barrett Foa, Adam Jamal Craig, Linda Hunt
Summary: When a petty officer is murdered, the team finds a link to Sam's past. Meanwhile, Hetty examines how her agents are coping with the stress of the job.
Review: NCIS: Los Angeles has the unfortunate tendency to have one really great episode and follow it with a mediocre episode. It's one of the hazards of a new drama--it's still testing the waters, seeing what it can get away with and what is just out of its reach.
This was an out of its reach day.
I don't know which part was the worst. Perhaps it was the unnecessarily complicated storyline. Perhaps it was the three or four names that sounded exactly the same, making it nearly impossible to tell who was responsible for what. Perhaps it was watching the normally wonderful dialogue between the characters degenerate into something forced and uncomfortable. Whatever it was, NCIS: LA was just not on its game this week. I watched the episode twice before I wrote this review to try to understand the case, and I never quite got there.
That's not to say this episode was without its merits. I enjoyed the interaction between Callen and Hetty in the last five minutes of the episode more than almost any other moment on the show, even if it was a little corny. And Sam had a nice storyline involving a Sudanese boy who he'd helped (even if that part didn't end exactly the way I'd have hoped).
I missed my characters. Sure, they were still there, but this episode focused almost exclusively on the case, and not enough on the characters. We're not at a point yet with the Los Angeles team where the writers can focus solely on a case. Character development is important, especially in the first season. If the characters aren't being affected by the case, why should I care about it? And, in this episode, only Sam (if anybody) was affected at all, and even that was minimal. I want them to develop the team more, especially the supporting characters (Eric, Kensi, Dom, and Nate). I know enough about Callen and Sam right now, but I haven't really formed attachments to anyone else for reasons other than the ones I've created by having an overactive imagination and a lot of free time to think about them.
Overall, I had trouble focusing on this one because it was too complicated, and I didn't have a reason to care because the characters didn't seem to be personally affected by anything that was happening. I've really liked NCIS: LA so far, but there are times when it's really hit or miss... and this week was a miss for me.
Rating:
[5] Excellent
[4] Good
[3] Average
[2] OK
[1] Bad
Comments? Leave them here.
Friday, October 23, 2009
NCIS: Los Angeles - Identity
Network: CBS
Time: 9:00-10:00pm
Cast: Chris O'Donnell, LL Cool J, Peter Cambor, Daniela Ruah, Adam Jamal Craig, Barrett Foa, Linda Hunt
Creator: Donald Bellisario, Shane Brennan
Summary: A spin-off of NCIS, this show focuses on the undercover operations department of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service based in Los Angeles. The show technically premiered as a two-part pilot in the sixth season of NCIS, when Gibbs and McGee go out to LA to investigate a potential terrorist sleeper cell. In this episode, what seems to be a kidnapping gone wrong turns out to be something completely different when Sam (LL Cool J) and Callen (O'Donnell) find out that the Navy officer in question was picked up and dropped off at home by his alleged kidnappers every day for a week.
Review: I'm going to to do my best not to give away too much about any episode of this show because half the fun is the twists and turns of the case work. Anyway, with a brand new show, I like to start with the characters and premise and work my way up to the plot.
Since NCIS: LA is a spin-off, it seems fitting that I should compare it to its parent show (not to be confused with its grandparent show, since the original NCIS was a spin-off of JAG). From the first episode, I already had some similarities and some differences. For one thing: team dynamic. Very similar, with a few mild differences. As much as I love the team in NCIS, I think I actually love the LA team more. Every single one of them is brilliant; they have street smarts and technological smarts. And it's a good thing, since the LA office is way more geek-chic than the DC office. They definitely got all the cool toys, and they all know how to use them.
Then there's the team itself. Sam and Callen are the lead guys, sort of the Gibbs and Tony of the show, but the lines aren't as clear. They're partners, not leader and sidekick. If I was pressed to say, Sam--a former Navy SEAL and all-around macho guy--would be Gibbs, and Callen--a joker with a vague past who tends to move frequently--would be Tony. But they're not carbon copies, so don't worry. Sam and Callen definitely have distinct personality traits that make them different from their predecessors. For example, Sam's way more fun than Gibbs is, and he's not above sharing a joke or a conversation with his colleagues. Callen doesn't do the playboy thing Tony does, and, while he is more of the joker than Sam, he's much more serious than Tony. The relationship between them is clearly the focal point of the show (anyone who watches the opening song can tell that). Unlike NCIS's ensemble cast feel, NCIS: LA is about Sam and Callen. The others are important, but clearly supporting, roles.
Kensi (Daniela Ruah) is the Kate/Ziva of the show. With both Kate and Ziva, there was definitely a warming period where I grew to like them. With Kensi however, I fell in love with her from the first episode. She's the only woman in this boys' club (with the exception of Hetty, who isn't an agent), and she handles herself with a self-deprecating humor and generally awesome attitude. Like Kate or Ziva, she can hold her own in a fight, both physically with the suspects and verbally with the guys. Unlike Ziva, she has a complete grasp of the English language and some quality that makes me really like her. She's the kind of agent I'd like to be if I ever became a fictional NCIS agent.
The role of McGee would have to go to Eric (Barrett Foa), but it's only about half true. In a world of techies, Eric is the resident computer geek. He's always on a computer, or a handheld, or a handheld computer. All their information is sent back to him. He can hack, although he's not as good as McGee. But the similarities end there. Eric isn't a field agent. I think the team would be frightened to give him a gun. And he's a surfer (and how LA is it for the computer geek to also be a surfer dude?). That side of McGee's job description would probably go to Dominic (Adam Jamal Craig). Dom is the rookie agent, brand-spanking new in this first episode (he wasn't in the two-part NCIS episode). He's the team's probie, and he's just as nervous and hesitant as McGee ever was. But he seems to be coming into his own pretty quickly, so we'll see how his character develops as the show continues.
Nate (Peter Cambor) would be Ducky... ish. Because the LA branch of NCIS is primarily an undercover agency, they don't have autopsy. There is a coroner, but she's not part of their team; they just call on her when they need information. Nate is the operational psychologist instead, hired to profile suspects and victims to help the team solve crimes (and be better, more effective undercover agents). So he's got, like, half of Ducky's job. And, really, no other relation to Ducky. He's not old, he doesn't tell cool stories, and he doesn't act like a parental figure to the rest of the team. Those honors go to Hetty (Linda Hunt), who is the other half of Ducky. Hetty coordinates the undercover missions for the team, and she's responsible for wardrobe. She's 4'9" and the entire team is scared of getting on her bad side.
There's no Abby. Whether that's because the undercover unit has no forensic team, or Bellisario realized he couldn't possibly come up with anyone as cool as Abby, we may never know. Either way, there's no team member that can possibly be compared to her.
Whew. OK, that's all the characters. As for the plot, that's pretty similar to the original NCIS too. Solve cases. OK, got it. The difference is, I'm not entirely sure what the LA unit's responsibilities are. They're not like our major crime response team in DC, who go out whenever someone was killed (or occasionally abducted). They go undercover, but I'm not always sure for what purpose. And that's a flaw in this new show. I enjoyed the first episode, but it was confusing. I couldn't follow the case, and I couldn't figure out why anybody was doing what they were doing. As the show continues, if it hopes to make it past the first season, they need to better define the responsibilities of the team and better explain why they do the things they do.
Overall, it's a good watch. It has it's problems, like all new shows, but I think, like the original, it's a show that will get better with age. It already has a few advantages. It's a spin-off of an incredibly popular show. It was created by Donald Bellisario, who has a laundry list of prolific and successful shows that I couldn't begin to list here. It has a pretty great cast of characters who have good chemistry. With a little refining and a little time, I think this show has the potential to be a very good one.
Rating (this episode):
[1] Run in the other direction
[2] Don't bother
[3] Worth a watch if you've got nothing better to do
[4] Definitely try it out
[5] A total keeper
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