The Problem With NCIS: L. A.

My wife and I are great fans of NCIS and we’re rather disappointed by its spin-off, NCIS: Los Angeles. We find it bland and uninteresting. It needs better writing, better direction, and better acting.

Consider the casts of the two series:

NCIS (at series premier) Performer Age Mark Harmon 52 Michael Weatherley 35 Sasha Alexander 30 Pauley Perrette 34 David McCallum 70 Median age 35 Average age 44

NCIS: Los Angeles Performer Age Chris O’Donnell 39 LL Cool J 31 Daniela Ruah 26 Peter Cambor 31 Linda Hunt 64 Median age 31 Average age 38

Obviously, they’re going for a different demographic. However, I don’t believe you can get there that way. I mean, there’s always Facebook if young people (or old people) want to see young, attractive people. NCIS: LA is badly in need of some gravitas and Linda Hunt, fabulous, interesting actress that she is, can’t do that because she’s essentially there for comic relief. Besides, they don’t give her much to do.

It’s not that I have anything against young, attractive people (quite to the contrary!). My wife’s favorite character in NCIS is Abby (Pauley Perrette) and we enjoy Cote de Pablo but her character, Ziva David, was born in the series fully developed as it were. She always was and is interesting which is more than you can say about any of the characters in NCIS: LA with the possible exceptions of Heddie and Nate.

Here’s my suggestion: bring Thomas Magnum in as a consultant. Magnum (another Belisarius production) did re-join naval intelligence at the conclusion of the series and he could make the series a little more Navy as well as adding some gravitas. He’s been doing gravitas pretty well in the Jesse Stone TV movies.