Like Law & Order before it, NCIS has been one of the more successful television stables. Whatever is aligned with the NCIS brand seems to do well and run for many seasons on television. A product of CBS, NCIS: Los Angeles is the younger brother to the original – NCIS. In what seems like a blink of an eye, we have completed season 13 of NCIS: Los Angeles. This season they celebrate the 300th episode of the series. Cast changes happened but the NCIS machine keeps rolling.
Here the Navel Criminal Investigation Service operating out of Los Angeles takes on cases. Big cases. Cases that are dangerous and often involve undercover work. Cases involving hate crimes, arms dealing, stolen weapons, hostage taking, kidnapping, and stolen technology.
Now, the show and stories are what you would expect from a show of this type. Nothing really out of the ordinary in that regard. Lots of technology, car chases, hand-to-hand combat, explosions, and gun fights. In the end no matter the case the team, made up of G. Callen (played by Chris O’Donnell), Kensi Blye (played by Daniela Ruah), Fatima Namazi (played by Medalion Rahimi), Marty Deeks (played byEric Christian Olsen), Devin Rountree (played by Caleb Castille), and Sam Hanna (played by LL Cool J) under the guidance of Hetty Lange (played by Linda Hunt) and retired Navy Admiral Hollace Kilbride (played by Gerald McRaney).
What it does add to the mix this season are plenty of lessons. One after another. So much so that by the midway point of season 13 it all gets a little preachy. Seems like those behind the scenes seem to have forgotten the formula that got them to season 13. The action/investigation sequences are as solid as they have always been. Where the series dips is when it tries to be something more that the typical NCIS formula. Hopefully, they don’t keep straying away from the raison d’etre or they might suffer the fate of NCIS: New Orleans.
21 episodes and a bunch of special features.
