MORE ON SPIN-OFFS
10th August 2009
There’s a lot talk recently on spin-offs not just NCIS: LA, makes me wonder if in fact the need fo a spin-off is just a way of monopolizing the market for a particular series. Don’t get me wrong I’m all for NCIS monopolizing the TV series market, but any spin-off albeit NCIS:LA is a serialized form of franchising often considerably more expensive than the original product, in this case NCIS, and generally less productive and of dubious quality. Occasionally the reverse is true but that’s rare. I think the main reason behind the NCIS spin-off is a kind of tit for tat battle with CSI, i.e. if they can do spin-offs so can we. A different kettle of fish is when the main series runs out of gas so to speak and the spin-off takes over, however, this is not the case of NCIS, which is a very compact high quality series with plenty of script ideas much in the line of ER and the X-Files. Interestingly enough these latter two have had no spin-offs, and you would have thought that might have been a possibility but no, the producers for whatever reason decided they had reached the end of their ‘natural lives’ so to speak and closed them down.
NCIS is chorale or ensemble series rather like ER, therefore, there is no reason to suppose it’s ‘natural life’ is on the point of finishing whilst the actors are still interested in their roles and the scripts are good quality. Actors came and went on ER without the series losing interest, so there is no reason why NCIS shouldn’t be the same. So let’s not be in a rush to create spin-offs for NCIS, and as MargyW said given the nature of the real life agency there is in point of fact very little leeway for the creation thereof.
In the meantime I think our support should remain with NCIS, which has proven itself more than worthy of its following of fans. It’s not flashy product but one of honed quality that has crept up the viewing rankings slowly and steadily to consolidate itself in the top 10, no mean feat considering some of the competition, although many of their direct competitors are little more than flash in the pan products that will shortly fold.
There is an old adage, which I think is appropriate here “it’s quality not quantity what counts”, i.e. we have a top notch quality product, which is NCIS, we do not need a series of poor imitations as a by-product thereof.
LAST UPDATE ON 10th August 2009 9:00 PM – CET
SUBMITTED BY Sorgiña
NCIS – POSSIBLE FUTURE SPIN-OFFS
10th August 2009
Wow! How do I follow Sorgina’s blog? lol. Anyway, I’ll try.
There has been much discussion on here recently about NCIS: Los Angeles and an undercurrent of fear that the NCIS writers are going to follow the path of the CSI franchises. I don’t believe that to be a viable possibility. Let’s look at CSI for a moment, shall we? CSI is basically a team of forensics experts, be they police officers or simply civilian police personnel. You can take the idea and plop it down in any city anywhere in the world and still have a television program. CSI: San Francisco, CSI: Pittsburgh, CSI: Vancouver or CSI: Copenhagen for that matter. Don’t laugh, the Law and Order franchise have already done it. Currently screening in Australia is the newest member of the Law and Order stable – Law and Order: UK. It’s also Law and Order: Disappearing Ratings, but that’s another story.
NCIS is a totally different proposition. NCIS is a real Federal agency. The concept of the show is constrained by the real NCIS itself. The real NCIS has only 9 Major Task Force teams such as that headed up by Gibbs. They all operate in much the same manner, so doing another MTF spin-off is only reinventing the wheel.
We have a new take with NCIS: Los Angeles. This show’s premise is an NCIS special operations unit. Again, you can only go to the well so many times with that idea.
I think we have two more possibilities at the most. A NCIS set at sea covering an agent afloat. The rest of the cast could be selected naval officers, men and Marines. Perhaps a cantankerous Gunny to be the thorn in the side of the agent afloat?
The other possibility is to set an NCIS on a Naval or Marine base, such as Paris Island or Pendelton.
NCIS limits itself by its very uniqueness. That, to me, is a very good thing.
LAST UPDATE ON 11th August 2009, 6.23Am Australian Time
SUBMITTED BY MargyW
TIVA – THE OBSESSION
10th August 2009
I realise that my entry today may well ostracise me from a few members, but decided to take the bull by the horns and address the matter. Tony and Ziva shipping more commonly known as TIVA is the major obsession of many NCIS followers. Why?? Firstly, we have one handsome man Michael Weatherly aka Tony DiNozzo and one beautiful woman Cote de Pablo aka Ziva David, fellow cast members whose characters are partners in fighting crime, some of whose dialogues/looks thrown at each other purportedly demonstrate UST (unresolved sexual tension for those unfamiliar with the acronym).
These 2 characters also frequently banter with other characters on the series, so why are they automatically paired together? Why not McGiva (Ziva+McGee)? or Giva (Ziva + Gibbs)? or Ziva and Jimmy? or Tabby (Tony+Abby)?
Before Kate was killed I don’t recall such obsession for Tate (Tony+Kate), so why TIVA? I really don’t understand this desire for the characters to get together romantically, I mean this is a crime series not Grey’s Anatomy or any other soap. Surely people can’t seriously expect the scriptwriters to have a scene with them making out in the middle of the squadroom or the lift or at a crime scene; I mean it’s not series.
Perhaps I’m watching a different NCIS from everybody else, because you know I just don’t see this undercurrent, playful flirting, yes; but who hasn’t occasionally flirted with somebody of the other sex, with no other intention than just that, i.e. the fun of flirting, end of story.
If fanfiction writers wish to create this couple, fine, no problem, in fact there are one or two writers out there, who do it extremely well – and I don’t even like this pairing but am willing to admit there are some good stories out there, along with any other pairings you can imagine. However, that’s one side of the story; another very different is the series in itself, which would be totally ruined if the main characters were to be romantically partnered with each other, furthermore, it would be totally impractical. And as many of our adult members know, it is common policy among most companies to impede couples working in the same department to prevent domestic+professional matters from being mixed, which is perfectly logical when you think about it. Let’s take for example 2 police officers who are romantically involved and they have to face a situation where one is say taken hostage or held at gunpoint, how does the other half of the couple react professionally, i.e. rationally and not with how they’re feeling? Why are doctors normally prevented from operating on their family members when major surgery is required? Because like it or not emotions get involved since we are humans first and foremost, and what we feel for our loved ones comes first, meaning we tend to react IRRATIONALLY when they are in a delicate situation, albeit one of terror/violence/health, etc.
Another point to bear in mind, what would happen to the series if this TIVA relationship came to fruition? Would we then be a party to their discussions as opposed to solving a case? I mean come on people this is not a soap, one thing is for the characters to have romantic involvement with minor characters, i.e. those not involved in the main cast, quite another pairing them off willy-nilly and bedhopping like you get in Grey’s Anatomy and several other series I can think of, where the serious story arcs are relegated to a secondary or even tertiary position in favour of who’s sleeping with whom, etc.
Before I finish, another thought came to mind, why should Tony or Ziva’s love interest be a beautiful woman or man? I mean, hey! This is a very sexist not to mention chauvinistic attitude in this day and age not to mention terribly stereotyped. Moreover, why can’t Tony or Ziva fall for somebody else? I mean really there relationship’s not that deep, you don’t need to be particularly attentive to realise that. So Tony had Ziva’s bikini photos posted when he was agent afloat, big deal! It was probably to blend with the atmosphere, i.e. men tend to have pictures of scantily dressed women for distraction without it meaning anything, otherwise why else would the Pirelli calendar be so popular. And if Ziva were so really in love with Tony she wouldn’t have dated other people. I mean think TIVA is overrated – and I do realise there will be those who disagree with me, but frankly I just don’t see this partnering nor the ever increasing obsession about it.
This is just my taking on the matter, but then perhaps I view the series in a different light from others or I simply older than the majority of TIVA followers.
Please don’t kill the writer just yet:-)))))
LAST UPDATE ON 10th August 2009 5:20 PM – CET
SUBMITTED BY Sorgiña
JENNY IS DEAD – GET OVER IT!
9th August 2009
One thing has really been a burr under my saddle since the end of season 5. People who cannot accept that Jennifer Shepard is dead. The reasons behind Lauren Holly’s departure are immaterial. What is important is the character was killed off. Yes, I know, we didn’t see the body in autopsy. However, we did see the body in situ. Some people seem to forget that. Tony checked for a pulse. Jenny is most definitely dead. If she hadn’t been gunned down in an abandoned diner, she was going to die anyway. Horribly and painfully. Another thing the “Jenny is Alive” conspiracists seem to forget. The character was a gone goose anyway!
The character is not coming back. Shane Brennan, the show-runner has been quite clear on that in several interviews. That’s another thing, some people still seem to think that Donald Bellasario still has a say in the show. He does not. Donald Bellasario parted company with NCIS at the end of season 4. The show now rests in the capable hands of Shane Brennan. He runs it. He makes the decisions that Donald once made. Donald has gone – get over it!
I am sure there were many reasons for killing Jenny off. Most likely was the fact that in season 4 the character was sent so far down the path of Crazy Psycho Nutbag Chick, that it was impossible to realistically get her back. The Frog storyline could only result in Jenny loosing her marbles. Heck, that’s what the CIA were trying to do with the planting of the whiskey bottle and glass with her father’s fingerprints, and the planted Russian. Oh yes, both were most definitely plants. Something else Shane Brennan has been quite clear about in interviews.
The CIA wanted Jenny removed so she wouldn’t interfere with their little operation with Rene Benoit. The irony of the situation was that Jenny’s obsessive need for vengance was driving her insane anyway. A nice touch by the writers.
LAST UPDATE ON 10th August 2009, 6.28Am Australian Time
SUBMITTED BY MargyW