2007 Fall TV Preview: NCIS On CBS

NCIS - Season 5

Premieres: Tuesday, September 25th at 8:00 p.m. EST
Network: CBS
Creator(s): Donald Bellisario
Starring: Mark Harmon, Michael Weatherly, Cote de Pablo, Pauley Perrette, Sean Murray, Lauren Holly, David McCallum
Website: CBS.com

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NCIS is a spin-off of the now cancelled series, JAG and centers on a team of investigators who handle crimes related to the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. The acronym stands for Naval Criminal Investigative Service.

Like all of the other procedural dramas, the NCIS team is made up of people with very different personalities and backgrounds. In this case though, the common thread is of course is that they’re all working for the military. Special Agent Leroy Gibbs (Harmon) leads the group. He’s a former gunnery sergeant who is now a top-notch investigator. S.A. Anthony DiNozzo (Weatherly) is an ex-homicide detective who has excellent instincts in the field. Abby Sciuto (Perrette) is the forensic expert and has a dark, witty side.

Everyone on the team has a lot of experience in their field; so naturally, they’re able to take on some fairly high profile investigations, like military-related murders, kidnappings and terrorist threats.


NCIS is one of those shows that I always see getting decent ratings despite the fact that I don’t know a single person who watches it. I expect the series appeals mostly to people with military backgrounds or if not, people who have an interest in military shows.

I’m all for supporting the troops but my enjoyment of anything even remotely military related is limited to movies like Platoon and Saving Private Ryan and Nelson DeMille books. I have no interested in crime related procedural dramas and even less interest in a series that shows the genre in a military light. That said, the show has gotten good ratings over the last few years so there must be something to it. And to those of you who do watch the show, I invite you to comment below and let people know why they should watch it.