Better than CSI

~~~The premise~~~

NCIS is from the legendary Bellisario stable of shows. You think CSI is good? This is even better. NCIS follows the rich and varied cases of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. Yes, murder pops up, but there is so much more to it than that. Terrorism, brushes with civilian and military intelligence agencies blocking the way, in-depth and complex character portrayals, and humour. Yes, humour. The series features a very cohesive yet quirky set of characters, who play off each other well and rather remind one of a not quite dysfunctional family with their working relationships. From the resident quirky goth forensics genius Abby Sciuto (Pauley Perrette), slightly eccentric medical examiner Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard (David McCallum), playboy Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly), good girl Special Agent Caitlin Todd (Sasha Alexander) , aspiring mystery novelist and computer specialist rookie Agent Timothy McGee, to the dourly intense lead agent and former Marine, Special Agent Jethro Leroy Gibbs (the delicious Mark Harmon), there is not a duff portrayal in the bunch.

Viewers of JAG first met the NCIS team during a two part episode where Navy JAG lawyer Harmon Rabb is charged for the murder of a fellow JAG lawyer. While it was a good episode, it gave us the merest taste, and the best was yet to come when series one actually debuted on television. The NCIS agents are responsible for investigating crimes by and upon naval and Marine personnel, regardless of rank, as well as crimes by civilians committed on naval and marine bases.

The crimes are much more varied than on similar shows, such as CSI, and the pace is fast, with unexpected twists and turns, all playing out against real time headlines currently in the news and even links to headlines from the past. The interplay between the characters truly brings the stories to life and leaves you pondering. While the cases themselves generally stand alone, like real life, the exchanges between characters can bear fruit in later episodes, meaning that characters continue to evolve and engage you.

~~~What You get~~~

This box set contains all 23 of the original NCIS episodes from series 1, but not the two parter JAG pilot for this series. It is in widescreen format so best viewed on a widescreen TV and is in Dolby Digital sound. Like JAG, sadly the extras are only included on the Region 1 version of the box set. Those extras are: Creating Season 1, Building the Team, Defining the Look (all 3 chock full of cast interviews), and an audio commentary by Bellisario for the episode Yankee White (the first actual NCIS episode). The colour is crisp and the sound clear, which is what one would expect from a such a recently made programme being put onto DVD. Guess which region I ordered? I say BOOOOOOOOOOOO! to the studio for once more making a second class version for region 2 buyers.

~~~Episode List with Synopsis~~~

1. Yankee White.
This first episode lets you know straight off this is going to be like no other show you have seen. While on Air Force One (the US president's aircraft), a Naval Commander dies. They encounter resistance from the Secret Service, but Gibbs always gets his way, and Secret Service Agent Caitlin Todd is forced to help the team discover if the death was natural, or murder. This is also the episode showing how Kate joined the team.

2. Hung Out To Dry
During a routine training jump, a Marine's parachute fails to open. He crashes into a car with two teens making out inside, much to their dismay. The team must determine if it was an accident, or murder.

3. Seadog
A naval commander's body washes up onshore with those of two known drug traffickers. Gibbs refuses to accept the surface facts as presented, and digs deeper for the truth of what happened, determined to clear the final record of an excellent officer.

4. The Immortals
The team is called to a shipboard investigation when the body of a young seaman is discovered at the bottom of the sea, in his dress whites, with a ceremonial sword he should not have had. They find evidence of an addiction to an online role playing game, and an unusually intense rivalry with another player. Was it murder, or was it a suicidal revenge aimed at his online arch nemesis. And who IS the arch enemy anyway?

5. The Curse
The mummified remains of a naval officer are found in the deep woods. He had disappeared 10 years before, at the same time as a million dollars of pay packet funds. Evidence points to his being murdered, and the money still missing. The team must reopen the original case to discover what happened to the officer and the money.

6. High Seas
A shipboard NCIS agent stationed on an aircraft carrier calls on his former boss Gibbs to ask for assistance on a mystery surrounding apparent drug overdose deaths of sailors onboard. The problem is, they had no apparent history of drug abuse and simply collapse.

7.Sub Rosa
Excellent episode showcasing Ducky and Abby's skills at work! A tub of acid is discovered to contain the pickled and decomposed remains of someone in naval uniform. Their forensic tests prove that the body is of a submariner. but which one? Records show no submariners are missing, and all are on duty. So if this is a US submariner, someone must have taken his place. But who? the team must find when he was likely killed, fit it to new duty station reportings, and discover from this list who the impostor is, and what his intentions are.

8. Minimum Secuirity
The NCIS team travel to Cuba to investigate smuggling when a naval translator dies suddenly in an unusual manner while in his car when returning from duty at Guantanamo Bay. See why Gibbs could never possibly be a diplomat!

9. Marine Down
While his wake is on, a widow receives a phone call from her dead Marine husband. The team investigate to see if it is a prank, and find a nasty conspiracy of deceit and murder.

10. Left for Dead
A woman is believed dead, and is buried in a shallow grave in the woods. She claws her way out, and tells police that the only thing about herself she can remember is that someone has put a bomb on a US Navy ship. Gibbs and his team get involved as they try to unravel what happened to her, and which ship. But it gets very tangled indeed, and nothing is as it seems.

11. Eye Spy
A naval commander who was a technical advisor to a weapons contractor is found dead on a beach, and a spy satellite tech has helpful footage. The team must gain access to the footage, and use said satellite to catch a killer.

12. My other Left Foot
A leg with a Marine tattoo is found in a rubbish bin, so the team is called to investigate. The mystery takes them to a very out of the way small town, where murder for money and fraud is afoot.

13. One shot, One Kill
Marine recruiters start dropping like flies when a sniper with a grudge begins picking them off, leaving only a single white feather behind as a clue. There is a hilarious turn as an unlikely member of the team is called to pose as a Marine recruiter as bait.

14. The Good Samaritan
A navy dentist is shot dead by a stranded motorist in the middle of nowhere. They investigate a similar murder that is brought to their attention by Charley, a female sheriff who sets her sights on Gibbs romantically. The other murder was a civilian navy employees who was going through a horrific divorce, but the alibi of the wife is perfect. Or is it?

15. Enigma
Gibbs demonstrates how seriously he takes the Marine motto Semper Fi when he risks his entire career to clear the name of a former commander who is accused of stealing government funds.

16. Bête Noire
A terrorist takes Ducky, his assistant Gerlald, and Agent Todd hostage in the morgue. The team try to figure out how the terrorist got access to the base and clearance to work there. Interagency rivalry and intrigue hamper the team's efforts adding to the tension, and the final answer is one Gibbs refuses to live with peacefully.

17. The Truth is Out There
A teenager is found to be running an illegal night club, when a sailor turns up dead in a parking lot after a night out. The clues as to HOW he died, though, take a definite turn for the bizarre in a rather X Files sort of way.

18. unSEALed
A dedicated navy SEAl convicted of murdering his wife uses his skills to escape from prison. The team must track him down before his revenge can cause further tragedy. Gibbs looks deeper into the wife's death when it becomes apparent the revenge is to be on the person the SEAL believes actually murdered his wife, and framed him. But who the guilty party actually is, no one knows, not even the escaped SEAL. Gibbs races to discover the guilty party and see justice done.

19. Dead Man Talking
After mentioning to Gibbs he had something he wanted to talk to him about, a fellow NCIS agent is murdered while investigating a case. The team investigate to find out why and catch the murderer.

20. Missing
A marine goes on a date with a reporter, and then goes missing. The reporter informs them other marines from his unit have also disappeared or turned up dead. They investigate, and evidence begins to point at the unit commander being a serial killer. But is he and why?

21. Split decision
A local marine is found dead having been killed offbase with a rocket launcher. The evidence ties the death to a militia and a weapons deal gone badly wrong. Teaming up with the ATF (Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms Bureau), the team work to get the arms dealers involved and bust the illegal militia before anything worse can happen.

22. A Weak Link
Investigating the death of a navy Seal during a training exercise, the team discover a murder that was designed to look like an accident.

23. Reveille
The terrorist who held Ducky, Gerald, and Agent Todd hostage makes a reappearance. Gibbs is still running his face through the computer systems to try to find a match. Ducky, Di Nozzo, and Todd all meet for lunch, when Kate spies the wanted man. She hops into a car to pursue, but discovers it was a trap to kidnap her. The terrorist aims to attack Air Force One and foreign leaders on board with the president. The race is stepped up to find out who he is, why he has taken Todd, and ends with a surprising twist.

~~~My Verdict~~~

This box set makes a good investment (a great one if you get the region 1 version), and a must have for fans of the genre. It should be noted that the Region 1 versions apparently are RCE discs and some region free players may have difficulty playing them. I have only had this problem on name branded dvd players that have a stake in the making of dvd's and TV shows (hint) but not on unbranded types.