NCIS MODERATORS’ BLOG 59

LAST EPISODE OF 2009

15th December

Tonight’s the night of the last episode for 2009, with an interesting title as per usual, i.e. Faith, a word covering more than one concept. Here’s what the Oxford Dictionary says:

I wonder which version of this noun will be shown tonight. I have my theory of course, but I’m not saying since I’d hate to influence anyone’s thoughts on tonight’s episode.

We know Gibbs’ father Jackson reappears and has a secret; Abby’s best friend appears. Incidentally, the actress who plays Abby’s best friend is in fact Pauley Perrette’s best friend in real life too according press articles.

That’s all for now. Enjoy tonight’s episode!

Y con esto y un bizcocho se acabó lo que se dió.

LAST UPDATE ON 15th December 2009- 7:35 PM CET
SUBMITTED BY Sorgiña

SCRIPTS OF STEVEN KRIOZERE

14th December 2009

Although Steve Kriozere has been co-producer on a number of episodes, he has only written two scripts for NCIS. Let’s take a brief look at them.

• Witch Hunt. From season 4. Notable for a number of reasons. McGee’s appearance as a snow elf, earning him the nickname Elf Lord, from Gibbs. Ducky chasing several teenagers who egged his van and catching them and then making them clean the van. But most notable for Abby’s Halloween costume as Marilyn Monroe.
• Road Kill. One of season 6’s little oddities. This is the one with the man found in a shack in a national park, having been disemboweled, and with a pentagram engraved on his back. Does Steve Kriozere do weird or not?

Given that he does weird so well, it would be nice to see a few more scripts from Mr Kriozere.

I came across one interesting little fact whilst researching Steven on the internet. Apparently he is proficient in boomerang throwing. Some how that just seems so right.

LAST UPDATE ON 15th December 2009, 6.21AM AEDT
SUBMITTED BY MargyW

THE GOOD WIVES CLUB

13th December 2009

“The Good Wives Club” written by Gil Grant is an episode that is fairly popular with NCIS fans. To refresh your memories, the mummified body of a woman in a bride’s dress is discovered in an underground room at Naval housing that that is being demolished. When the team discovers another young woman is missing in similar circumstances they realize they may have a serial killer on their hands.

This episode shows up the contrasting personalities of Tony and McGee. McGee is still uncertain in the field. Tony is over confident.

Having watched this episode again last night, I am at a loss as to way so many fans have said they prefer Tony as he was earlier. Excuse me? In this episode Tony is paranoid, nasty, arrogant, and sexist. He is, to use a fine old Australian phrase, a complete ratbag. No Tony As Comic Relief in this episode. “The Good Wives Club” only reinforced to me why I dislike the character of Tony. Tony of season 5 onwards is a vast improvement on the vicious little twerp of earlier seasons. “The Good Wives Club” could have been vastly improved by Tony getting a good swift kick where it hurts from the female NCIS agent at Jacksonville Naval Base. The only cheerful part was the captive Petty Officer whacking him over the head with a lamp. I admit I cheered at that scene.

The scene were Kate is setting up the underground prison in the evidence garage is a good one. Gibbs’ reaction when she wants to chain him up in a reinactment is a classic. Even funnier is the cut back where we see Gibbs chaining Kate up. To her acid comment of “This is not what I had in mind.”

Another good scene is Gibbs on the phone to Tony. Not only does Gibbs know Tony is goofing off, he knows exactly what he is doing. Hmmm, maybe there was a reason for Tony’s paranoia after all.

“The Good Wives Club” did give us some very good lines.

Gibbs: A little more left. (McGee moves right) Your other left, McGee.

McGee: Ever seen anything life this before, boss?
Gibbs: Only in the movies.

Tony: This is really sick. Stephen King would love it.

Gibbs: He’s cautious.
Abby: So am I when I chain guys up.

LAST UPDATE ON 14th December 2009, 6.35AM EADT
SUBMITTED BY MargyW

FURTHER TO THE WSJ ARTICLE ON NCIS 11/12/09

13th December

Like a dog with a juicy bone to gnaw I thought I’d go over some points in relation to this article.

One of the points, which came to the attention of us all was “NCIS” barely has a fan Web site, much less the endless digital dissecting of “Lost.” This comment is a particularly sorepoint considering our site has over 6700 members – some 4200 since mid-March 2009, then there is the French site Team-NCIS.Com, with 9075 members but with fewer activities than ours, on FaceBook Fans of NCIS totals at 784,732 fans. I would say these statistics alone demonstrate the popularity of this series beyond shadow of a doubt, this is without mentioning the Live Journal NCIS Communities where there are various and with a great many members, likewise the various FanFiction sites, such as: NCIS Fiction Archive, Live Journal NCIS Fan Fiction Communities, MTAC.com, FanFiction.Net; etc., amen to the many other sites. Of course, we can’t forget our satellite sites, which have arisen due to this series: Mark Harmon Fan Site, Michael Weatherly Fan Site, Cote de Pablo Fan Site, Pauley Perrette Fan Site, Sean Murray Fan Site, David McCallum Fan Site, Muse Watson Fan Site and David Dayan Fisher Fan Site. Messrs. Harmon, Weatherly and McCallum already had other fan sites due to the fact they’ve appeared in other popular series as lead actor or lead supporting actor.

Another sore point was the following: “Advertisers crave a young, urban demographic; “NCIS” does best among older folks in the middle of the country. And rather than hoping to cash in down the road with DVD sales as “The Sopranos” did, “NCIS” makes money for its owner the old-fashioned way: through foreign sales and reruns. It’s the No. 1 U.S. show in Australia and the top primetime show on its network in France, as well as the No. 1 rerun of a network show in the U.S.” This in fact touches on several areas, since when is the middle of the US more important than the West or East Coasts? Surely they’re all on equal footing? Outside the US it can definitely be averred the series is extremely popular amongst the under 40s, furthermore, on this site there is a high percentage of under 50s who are members. Plus the fact, why should the younger age range have priority over the older age range, particularly taking into account acquisition power. The over 40s are more likely to have higher acquisition power than those under. I think the fact of it being the Nº1 rerun of a network show in the US is more than worthy of a hearty pat on the back, since just how many shows/series/films today stand up to being frequently rerun? Very few and far between, since a high percentage of today’s production is like a kleenex tissue, i.e. use once and throw away. Moreover, quality products are more likely to be advertised during the commercial breaks in a consolidated series than say a flash-in-the-pan series, which is probably for trendy foibles with short shelflife/sell by date.

Here’s yet another point to quibble over: “NCIS” is proof that even if the economics of the business are in upheaval, large swathes of the audience still want traditional storytelling, righteous heroes, and reality that’s not offensively gritty. CBS executives say the success of “NCIS,” which stands for Naval Criminal Investigative Service, rests in the show’s levity. In between solving crimes related to the military, “NCIS” star Mark Harmon’s Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs and his cohorts exchange witty guy banter and crack jokes, even as they stand over a dismembered corpse.” Newsflash: everyday life with the current economic upheaval is hard enough as it is without having gritty, depressing and trite TV series. There’s something to be said for having something solid with a touch of humour. Moreover, the episodes don’t always have happy endings, I mean this is not the Little House on the Prairie not by a long chalk.

Another of the journalist’s arguments was this: advertisers also love young people with money, who supposedly aren’t set in their ways about what brands they use and can be persuaded to switch. That’s why a 30-second advertisement during “NCIS” costs $133,304, compared with $140,065 for “CSI: Miami” and more than $240,000 for ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy,” Newsflash: This series is a solid consolidated commodity, proof of that is the fact it’s peaked in its 7th season, and looks like continuing in this line, which speaks of something more promising than say Grey’s Anatomy or 24 or Lost, for example. NCIS is the tortoise in Aesop’s fable The Hare and The Tortoise, and the motto/slogan of this fable was: slow and steady wins the race, i.e. it’s a marathon or long-distance runner not a sprinter. Think how short a sprinter’s career is in comparison to that of a long distance runner’s. As a matter of interest, on Spanish TV the series 24 was a disaster, Lost, didn’t do too badly all things considered, but again nothing to write home about. Grey’s Anatomy is losing popularity likewise House, etc.

As to this sweeping generalisation: While “NCIS” has the ratings crown for the first half of the season, Fox’s “American Idol,” which attracts around 30 million viewers, returns next month. “Idol” draws a younger crowd so “NCIS” largely retains its audience, but “Idol” is likely to rule the second half. I’d say don’t count your chickens before they hatch.To assume American Idol will rule the 2nd half is a big assumption, since with the reappearance of this series in the New Year, Season 7 of NCIS will be virtually halfway through its run for the season, therefore, American Idol can hardly be considered a threat even with the February Sweeps to be considered. Of course, since Amy Chozik is basing this comment on an “assumption” Gibbs and Gibblets would not be convinced and the same can be said for the fans. Remember Ms. Chozik you’re supposed to check and double check.

Of course, one thing we NCIS fans should bear in mind with regard to Ms. Chozik’s article is that it was written for the Wall Street Journal, i.e. finance and economics are the central topics for the same, and as such there is a certain logic to the article centring on financial details. And, given the fact, TV productions receive a large percentage of their income through advertising, then perhaps Ms. Chozik’s insistence on this area may be considered appropriate, as much as we disagree with it.

And just one final point before I stand down from my soapbox, it should perhaps be pointed out to Ms. Chozik, that as fans go we are also objective in our “fan-ship”, in that we not only praise episodes and performances, but we also pick holes in them, criticise them, suggest improvements, etc.

Ok, just one more point, I promise – perhaps Ms. Chozik might like to take a look at all the fan art and fan fiction produced in relation to this series, since I feel these 2 areas are worthy of note, as a lot the work produced, if not the vast majority (this is an impression I have, therefore it might be incorrect), is by the younger generations, i.e. the under 50s.

Y con esto y un bizcocho, se acabó lo que se dió.

LAST UPDATE ON 13th December 2009 8:30 PM CET
SUBMITTED BY Sorgiña