>>From NCIS on TV (I had to look it up)..
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>Thanks. I haven't watched the show but just read something about it the other day. Apparently it is an unexpected hit. The article said it has been on for several seasons without being that big in the ratings, and that the critics don't like it, but for whatever reason it is flying high now. Maybe it's riding the coattails of all the other criminal investigation shows.

It's got a few things going for it - it fills the gap created after NBC killed Jordan; it's just another team with a wise old crazy boss (Miguel Ferrer's character --> Jethro), one full-of-himself guy (Jordan's guy/DiNozzo), at least one geek (Nigel/McGee), rogue politicians on top who will threaten with an internal investigation etc - the rest are a bit harder to map 1:1, specially with this Israeli tough girl (I wonder when will she be replaced with yet another character from the same program - Polish, Estonian, Filipino?). The series has a fast paced dialogue, which is actually a bit faster than the editing (good), and doesn't dwell too much on itself (I stopped watching "Without a trace" after fourth case when one of the crew's personal life was involved), has only a moderate level of reset after each episode - they do remember their history, and there are continuations, wow - so apart of it being a blatant advertisement for militarism and interventionism, they're OK when not taken too seriously.