NCIS

                     For a long time I did not have any interest in this show.  I do not know if it was the whole head slap thing, or what, but I always sighed when I saw yet another NCIS marathon on one of the cable channels.  Did they not have anything else to air?  Then one day I actually watched an episode.  I cannot remember why.  Maybe the premise interested me, or I just left the TV on.  No matter what the reason, that day is when I slowly began to be a watcher of NCIS.     

                In essence, NCIS is a mystery show.  A team from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service solves cases involving members of the military.  Led by former Marine, Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon), more commonly referred to as Gibbs, the team consists of those in the field and those in the lab.  The current field agents are Timothy McGee (Sean Murray), Ziva David (Cote de Pablo), and Anthony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly).  During the first couple of seasons, before the arrival of Ziva, there was also the agent Kate Todd (Sasha Alexander).  Back at the NCIS facility is Abby (Pauley Perrette) the forensic specialist, Medical Examiner Dr. “Ducky” Mallard (David McCallum), and Jimmy (Brian Dietzen), Ducky’s assistant.  Each person on the team has their own skills and specialties which are essential to solving the case.

                I will be honest; I do not like all of the characters.  In fact, I do not even particularly like the show until Ziva arrives.  DiNozzo drives me crazy.  His arrogance and immature acts are too much for me.  I do, however, love all of his movie references.  Those are really good.  Gibbs can also irk me.  He has a “my way or the highway” and “I know better than anyone” attitude that shows up far too often for my taste.  Thankfully Gibbs also has a caring side and I am always happy to see that show up.  Most often Gibbs’ caring is shown in his interactions with Abby.  There is definitely a father/daughter relationship going on between the two of them.  For the most part I like Abby.  She is very clever and intelligent.  Abby definitely has her own style and is true to who she is.  But there are times when she can be bratty and mean.  I do not like when she gets that way.  Especially since it is so often directed at McGee, who I absolutely adore.  He is really sweet.  A bit clueless, but sweet.  I love the strength of Ziva.  She does not put up with anything and is confident in who she is as a person.  Then there is Ducky.  While the characters do not always like his educational tangents, I love them.  He has a lot of really interesting things to say.  Usually the only one who truly sticks around to listen is Jimmy.  He is another sweet guy who I like a lot.

                The cases the team works on are fascinating to watch.  Some are fairly straight forward while others have a lot of twists and turns.  Then there are the personal stories going on amongst the team members.  Someone is always up to something.  They all have very unique histories as well.

                At the moment I am watching the show on DVD and on the cable channel that airs the reruns.  The cable channel does not show the episodes in order, so there are a lot of storylines where I am missing pieces and am a tad confused.  That is why I went to the DVDs, to get the full storylines in order.  While I wait for the discs to arrive, I will keep watching the reruns, despite my confusion.  The show is too good not to.