Primetime Show Reviews

"NCIS: Los Angeles" Series Premiere
Review by Suzanne
Airing on CBS Tuesdays at 8/7c
Frankly, I don't think that NCIS is the kind of show that you
can easily spin off or copy because its relies so much on the personalities of
its cast/characters. Sure, the writing is good enough and the stories are
interesting-that's a given. The best thing about it, though, is the
interplay and dialogue between Mark Harmon and the others. It even took a while
for them to really figure out how the show should all work, and that was after
killing off one of its main characters (Kate).
I was skeptical when I heard they were spinning the show off
with Chris O'Donnell and the others into an L.A. branch of the show. The episode
where they all appeared was good, but as always it was really Tony, Ziva, and
the others that made the episode. Of course you could tell right away that
it was one of those spin-off episodes, anyway, and I guess TV always has to try
to duplicates its successes one way or another.
The writing - stories and dialogue - are as good, as solid as
the original NCIS. That is a relief. The characters in the show (the
team, if you will) are interesting and make you want to know more about them.
Chris O'Donnell plays the team's leader, G Callen (he doesn't know his first
name because he was a foster kid/orphan). He was shot at the end of the spin-off
episode, so here he comes back after his recovery. He teams with Sam (played by
LL Cool J), and they have various other agents. It is just different
enough to make it interesting, not a carbon copy of NCIS. Linda Hunt heads the
cast as the operations manager. The acting is top-notch.
They mostly did investigation, not anything forensic that I
could see. NCIS was always more of a cops-and-robbers-type show than a Navy CSI,
anyway, despite the title. They are more interested in chasing bad guys or
figuring out who shot whom then lifting fingerprints.
The L.A. locale gives it plenty of color and pretty beach
scenes, too.
It's a good solid show. It will be interesting to see if the
cast gels into the same fascinating and fun group that they have on NCIS.
Stay tuned!
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