Saturday, June 25, 2011
NCIS
Whereas the producers in one of their supplements admit that criminal investigations are not normally wrapped up in a 45 minute period they fail to acknowledge that cases would not normally come up conveniently one at a time as old ones were put to bed.
Even after working in the civil service for nearly 40 years the characters who make up this unit are among the most eccentric given such a small group. The goth crime lab operator, even allowing for indulgences given the truly brilliant, gets away with murder. The over-sexed Tony seems almost cliche had I not met people just like him in the work place. Any boss of mine would never have gotten away with slapping me on the back of the head more than once. Nor would I have put up with the hazing, teasing, and practical jokes. The condescending manner in which Tony treats Tim, the new hire is unconscionable to me. When someone pulled stunts like that on me when ‘training’ me for a new position he expressed surprise when I was resistant to attempting to learn from him. More galling at the time was his being 30 years younger than me and 25 years junior in seniority.
The equipment in Abby’s crime lab boggles the mind. It’s worth millions. The morgue scenes are graphic in the extreme, anyone sensitive about the sight of blood would lose their supper rather quickly. Funny how none of those cadavers possess genitalia. Ironic that we see chests cracked open, livers and hearts pulled out, but nary a penis in sight. How can we believe in tests for rape and the presence of semen in the absence of the body parts that would hold them.
It is obvious that this is a prime time network show as sexual references are all inuendo and small talk. Despite the violence done the victims here never is an expletive so much as bleeped out. You’d think these were choir boys.
The character of ‘Ducky’ is truly inspired. David McCalum has lost his youthful sex status long since. In one episode reference is even made to his character in The Man from UNCLE. Mark Harmon is no longer the young hunk he was in St Elsewhere. Old age it seems come to us all.
It also strikes me that for law enforcement officers, these agents seem to have little regard for the law breaking into private spaces at will and hacking into databases with impunity. It may speed up the process of their investigations but the legalities.... ?
Every professional organization possesses its own jargon and esoteric language and none more than the navy. Those who have watched the series JAG got introduced to a lot of it but we get even more here in an attempt to lend authenticity to the show. Ofttimes the explanation for acronyms and expressions seem almost laughable when explained. For instance VFR means Visual Flight Rules. Just recently I was moved to finally research the term ‘full bird colonel’; the term gets its credence from the fact that an individual of such rank gets a complete eagle on the insignia he wears.
As in all things where this show is concerned the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Despite all my criticisms and reservations about this series it possesses a charm and a verisimilitude that engages the watcher and draws one into the action. I am indebted to my Brother-in-Law and Sister for introducing me to NCIS.
So far my favourite episode is entitled ‘Heartland’. When a few people are forced to work in close proximity to one another privacy is often hard to maintain. When posted to Iraq a male and female officer find themselves forced to share an empty barracks with not even a curtain in sight. The unit’s leader has maintained an absolute blackout on his own background but in this episode he is forced to take he and his team to the small town in which he grew up for an investigation.
When we arrive in town we meet the sheriff who pulls him over and immediately renews a long-standing enmity. At the general store we meet its owner, Gibb’s Father, and learn that he left home thirty years ago and hasn’t returned since. What follows is a revelation of the adage about the difficulties of returning home. To a parent one is always their child. Being bystanders to this relationship is an eye-opener for the members of Jethro’s Team--here he is Leroy. Seeing the mighty Gibbs wield a pricing machine over a case of soup cans like he’s done it all his life boggles the mind. Big city operatives find culture shock in a red-neck hick town. Everyone knows everyone else here if they aren’t related and cell-phone service does not exist but land-lines do have touch tone.
Part of the appeal of this show is its willingness to reveal such vulnerabilities.
Even after working in the civil service for nearly 40 years the characters who make up this unit are among the most eccentric given such a small group. The goth crime lab operator, even allowing for indulgences given the truly brilliant, gets away with murder. The over-sexed Tony seems almost cliche had I not met people just like him in the work place. Any boss of mine would never have gotten away with slapping me on the back of the head more than once. Nor would I have put up with the hazing, teasing, and practical jokes. The condescending manner in which Tony treats Tim, the new hire is unconscionable to me. When someone pulled stunts like that on me when ‘training’ me for a new position he expressed surprise when I was resistant to attempting to learn from him. More galling at the time was his being 30 years younger than me and 25 years junior in seniority.
The equipment in Abby’s crime lab boggles the mind. It’s worth millions. The morgue scenes are graphic in the extreme, anyone sensitive about the sight of blood would lose their supper rather quickly. Funny how none of those cadavers possess genitalia. Ironic that we see chests cracked open, livers and hearts pulled out, but nary a penis in sight. How can we believe in tests for rape and the presence of semen in the absence of the body parts that would hold them.
It is obvious that this is a prime time network show as sexual references are all inuendo and small talk. Despite the violence done the victims here never is an expletive so much as bleeped out. You’d think these were choir boys.
The character of ‘Ducky’ is truly inspired. David McCalum has lost his youthful sex status long since. In one episode reference is even made to his character in The Man from UNCLE. Mark Harmon is no longer the young hunk he was in St Elsewhere. Old age it seems come to us all.
It also strikes me that for law enforcement officers, these agents seem to have little regard for the law breaking into private spaces at will and hacking into databases with impunity. It may speed up the process of their investigations but the legalities.... ?
Every professional organization possesses its own jargon and esoteric language and none more than the navy. Those who have watched the series JAG got introduced to a lot of it but we get even more here in an attempt to lend authenticity to the show. Ofttimes the explanation for acronyms and expressions seem almost laughable when explained. For instance VFR means Visual Flight Rules. Just recently I was moved to finally research the term ‘full bird colonel’; the term gets its credence from the fact that an individual of such rank gets a complete eagle on the insignia he wears.
As in all things where this show is concerned the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Despite all my criticisms and reservations about this series it possesses a charm and a verisimilitude that engages the watcher and draws one into the action. I am indebted to my Brother-in-Law and Sister for introducing me to NCIS.
So far my favourite episode is entitled ‘Heartland’. When a few people are forced to work in close proximity to one another privacy is often hard to maintain. When posted to Iraq a male and female officer find themselves forced to share an empty barracks with not even a curtain in sight. The unit’s leader has maintained an absolute blackout on his own background but in this episode he is forced to take he and his team to the small town in which he grew up for an investigation.
When we arrive in town we meet the sheriff who pulls him over and immediately renews a long-standing enmity. At the general store we meet its owner, Gibb’s Father, and learn that he left home thirty years ago and hasn’t returned since. What follows is a revelation of the adage about the difficulties of returning home. To a parent one is always their child. Being bystanders to this relationship is an eye-opener for the members of Jethro’s Team--here he is Leroy. Seeing the mighty Gibbs wield a pricing machine over a case of soup cans like he’s done it all his life boggles the mind. Big city operatives find culture shock in a red-neck hick town. Everyone knows everyone else here if they aren’t related and cell-phone service does not exist but land-lines do have touch tone.
Part of the appeal of this show is its willingness to reveal such vulnerabilities.
