"NCIS" (the original) has been an ongoing success for 13 seasons. To gain some perspective on that, when the show started the agents were using PDAs, not smart phones. No one knew (or cared about) Kim Kardashian, Justin Beiber, Taylor Swift, Facebook (they used MySpace!!) or the Donald (Trump, not Duck.) And there was no Homeland Security.
I have to admit that I was never much interested in this show - procedurals in general left me less than enthused. I watched the various Law and Orders but not regularly (another great example of long-running episodic TV.) Netflix brought me to this show and I somehow have become hooked.
I was a "Magnum P.I." fan but not "Jag." Both were created by super-producer Donald Bellisario as was "NCIS." The show is well-crafted with great characters - a hallmark of Bellasario. You can rail against the "formula" but it works:
- Gibbs (Mark Harmon) a tough-as-nails ex-Marine who runs the joint.
- DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly) the womanizer/joker.
- Ducky (David McCallum) the quirky, yet formidable forensic coroner.
- Abby (Pauley Perrette) - a goth in goth clothing (with pigtails) who is the (also quirky) jack-of-all trades forensic scientist.
- McGee (Sean Murphy) - a whipsmart geek/agent continuously trying to figure out who he is in the scheme of the agency and his fellow agents.
- Ziva (Cote de Pablo) the hot Mossad agent who came in on Season 2 and stayed until Season 11.