I wasn't enamored with the spinoff last night, but it had enough that I kind of liked that it didn't turn me off completely.

And I can understand thinking that the writing isn't the best thing since sliced bread. But I much appreciate fun, fast, action writing to exposition, soapy character writing that might be technically better if one was teaching a class on how to write a television show.

I agree completely with your thoughts on NCIS. I watched the episode last night of the original, and I watched a lot of the reruns on USA, and it was enjoyable but nothing special. It's very formulaic, and I guess that's comforting and relaxing to just sit back and watch with occasional relationships between characters thrown in, but it's nothing I'm thrilled about. I don't mind watching it, but can live without it.

No, you don't get it. It's neither a reality show nor a stupid soapfest drama. It's fun. That’s it. It’s meant to be fun, to entertain. There’s no higher message, no moralizing, no patronizing. You watch it to be entertained. And if all you watched of the show was the season premiere last night, of course you don’t get it. There was actually a huge amount of back story involved, so much that a newbie to the show would be lost and confused. The opener would not give you a chance to like the show, because the show is all about the characters, and last night was about the motivations of those characters. You don’t know enough about them to care. And if you haven’t been watching it, you know nothing about what has been driving the show, oh for the past FOUR YEARS! I mean, come on. This show has been on since 2003, multiple story arcs between then and now, and you think that you can watch one episode (a premiere dealing with the aftereffects of the whole last season) and make a judgment about how good it really is? You don’t like it, fine. But do admit that one episode does not make you a good judge about a whole series. And as for formulaic, please tell me what isn’t formulaic on television, movies, music, or books nowadays. At least if NCIS is formulaic, it knows how to work within it and still deliver.

Thank you S. for that comment! You are absolutely right! Nobody should judge a whole series, because he watched one episode! NCIS is all about the characters and I love them all! It's FUN!

I totally agree with you about cute-as-button hotties O'Donnell and Cambor (from Notes from the Underbelly...a tragically underappreciated show), but I think you're underestimating the draw of NCIS. It's not genius television, but it's crazy satisfying...I like nothing better than waking up on a lazy, rainy Sunday to discover that there's an NCIS marathon on...I think NCIS: LA will be equally enjoyable...(think of these shows as like high-octane Murder She Wrote...I could watch them for hours....)

LL Cool J and Chris O'Donnell have great chemistry, but it was more of the same stuff. Shane Brennan can try, but he's no Donald Bellisario. Full review of the episode on my blog.

http://th3tvobsessed.blogspot.com/2009/09/ncis-los-angeles-more-of-same-quality.html

I'm one who doesn't get it. Tried to like the original (Mark Harmon!), but found it poorly written, especially the dialogue. Tried to watch the pilot last night and fell asleep -- sitting straight up! (not my normal procedure)

As someone who knows who le granouille is, and the model of McGee's first car, I can authoritatively say that NCIS is wish fulfillment for authoritarians, and on par with Law and Order as one of the most vapid and morally repellant shows ever produced. (Sorry, Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire.)

Casting should be given a hand...because that's the only thing that prompted me to turn this show on. I'm in the age range that most likely loves Chris and LL. The supporting cast is decent. The storylines are decent. There's just nothing exciting about this show. I DVR the series and sometimes I don't watch it for weeks, then I slowly catch up while I'm multitasking other things.

I wouldn't cry if it were cancelled, but I watch it for the most part.

Now we know who the sesbnile one is here. Great post!

I can’t put my finger on why, but I actually like NCIS LA better than the original. For some reason though this is one of those shows I keep forgetting about, and then, once reminded, I can’t believe I ever could have forgotten about it. Lucky for me, my employer, DISH Network has dishonline(dot)com. It’s this great streaming site with thousands of shows and movies available to watch absolutely free, including NCIS LA. It’s a lifesaver when you miss episodes and is also great to browse, because I’ve found a few shows, (like Athena) that I really liked and probably wouldn’t have even heard of without the service. It’s definitely worth a few minutes to check out, especially considering non-dish customers are free to check out a good deal of the programming too.