My sister introduced me to NCIS several years ago, when it was on Channel 5 when it was shown on a Friday evening and clashed with my teams home matches. I watched a couple of episodes and was hooked.
Due to the fact that I had missed several of the episodes I purchased the box set and though the programme is great entertainment I was disappointed by the fact that there were no extras on the box set. I decided to take a leap of faith and ordered and purchased the box set.
It arrived and I put it in the DVD player and I settled myself down for hours of non stop (except for disc changes, the call of nature and coffee and snack breaks).
I admit that had I known that it was a JAG spin off I probably wouldn't have tried it. I've tried JAG on several occasions since it started but have never been able to take to it. This series, however, is different.
The team of investigators is lead by Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon
Chicago Hope). I remember Mark Harmon in the hospital drama
St Elsewhere from when I was a child, he was so pretty, and he has become more handsome with age.
Michael Weatherly ("Eyes Only" in
Dark Angel) plays "Very" Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo.
Forensics are Dr Donald Mallard, aka "Ducky" (David "
The Man From Uncle" McCallum) the pathologist and Abby Sciuto (Pauley Perrette) as the NCIS forensic scientist. Their boss is Director Tom Morrow (Alan Dale - anyone remember Jim Robinson from the early years of the Aussie soap Neighbours).
*** This next section may contain spoilers ***
The series consists of 23 episodes and opens with Yankee White where we are introduced to Presidential Security Agent Caitlin Todd (Sasha Alexander -
Rizzoli & Isles). Agent Todd replaced Agent Vivian Blackadder (Robyn Lively) from the
JAG - Season 8 tester episodes Ice Queen and Meltdown (episodes 20 and 21).
I have never been able to take to Caitlin Todd as a character. She comes in to the team not from an investigation background but from a security detail background but by the end of episode 2 she is bossing DiNozzo about. In fact she is junior (would be a rookie trainee level member of the team) to DiNozzo. By the end of the series I started to wonder who was in charge of the team, and why anyone would allow that level of bullying from a person to another concerned me.
The episodes are:
Yankee White - when a sailor dies on board Air Force One there is a turf war between the FBI and NCIS for control of the investigation. The questions are: was this an attempt on the President; and is he now safe.
Hung Out to Dry - A marine dies during a parachute training exercise. It is up to Gibbs and his team to discover if this was it an accident, suicide or foul play.
Seadog - was a dead sailor really involved in drug dealing
Immortals - A sailor, who was believed to have gone AWOL, is found at the bottom of the sea by some divers. It seems that several of the sailors may have been involved in real-life battles based on a popular MMORPG video game.
Curse - the mummified remains of a sailor are found in an old jettisoned aircraft storage pod, without the money that he was believed to have stolen.
High Seas - when a member of an aircraft carrier flight deck crew is found naked in the ships freezer dosed up on methamphetamine Gibbs and the team are dispatched to discover what's going on.
Sub Rosa - after the murdered body of a submariner is found Gibbs and Kate Todd join the crew on board the submarine to investigate; while DiNozzo is left on dry land with an NCIS computer expert Timothy McGee (the introduction of Sean Murray -
Hocus Pocus - to the show).
Minimum Security - when a sailor's body is found along with smuggled emeralds the team is off to Cuba and Guantanamo Bay
Marine Down - Gibbs and co must find out how a dead man could be contacting his wife when he was killed on a CIA linked black-ops mission in Colombia.
Left for Dead - a woman escapes from a shallow grave and is unable to remember anything except that there is a bomb on a Navy ship.
Eye Spy - some men misuse a spy satellite to spy on female personnel sunbathing on a naval bases beach when they see someone running away from a dead body.
My Other Left Foot - the lower part of someone's left leg is discovered in a dumpster bin, the only identifying marks are a tattoo "Semper Fi", a sock, a boot and a titanium ankle joint, but who is he and how did he die.
One Shot, One Kill - a marine recruiter is killed by a sniper Gibbs and team must try and discover if it is terrorist linked or if there is another reason.
Good Samaritan - the body of naval dentist is found bound and gagged. Gibbs has a battle on his hands to prove that there is a serial killer on the loose.
Enigma - Gibbs former USMC commanding officer is suspected of stealing a large amount of money which he was transporting for the US Government. Gibbs doesn't believe it is true, even after the body of a marine is found in his cabin tortured to death.
Bete Noire - Ducky and his assistant, Gerald, are taken hostage by a terrorist who infiltrated NCIS in a body bag. Will anyone realise what's going on and can they be rescued before things become worse.
The Truth is Out There - during a party a body falls out of a ceiling. Gibbs and his team are called into investigate.
UnSEALeD - a former US Navy Seal convicted of murdering his wife escapes from prison claiming he is innocent and is on the trail of the real killer.
Dead Man Talking - an NCIS agent is killed while investigating a cold case, Gibbs and his team take up the investigation.
Missing - a Gunnery Sergeant disappears after telling a journalist that he might be the next of a group of friends to vanish. The investigation puts one of the team in grave danger.
Split Decision - When the body of a Marine Staff Sergeant is discovered by a group of children Gibbs and his team are taken down the path of weapons smuggling and militia groups. This episode introduces Jimmy Palmer (Brian Dietzen) into the NCIS family.
A Weak Link - a SEAL on a special training mission is killed when he falls while repelling with his team. Due to the nature of the operation they were training for Gibbs and the team are asked to look into the death.
Reveille - Gibbs is still searching for the unknown terrorist who held Ducky and his assistant Gerald hostage, before escaping when things take an unexpected turn.
*** Spoilers over ***
There are no special features in this boxset.
NCIS is a good detective series based around the US Navy and Marine Corpse. Please don't be put off by the military linkage as it is frequently done in the vaguest of ways.
I'm not sorry I bought the season one box set (in fact I have sinced purchased several of the seasons), but I was very disappointed to discover that there were no extras, unlike the US Region 1 version which has a lot of extras. If you have a multi-region player and want to see the extras then I can recommend that box set. Otherwise you're stuck as a region 2 aka second class DVD purchaser.
