NCIS - The new CSI?

Discussion in 'NCIS & NCIS: LA' started by Rizzoli, Mar 26, 2011.

  1. BauerAlmeida

    BauerAlmeida Rookie

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    I don't see why NCIS has to be the new CSI, these two shows are vastly different in their style and show growth.

    CSI burst onto the scene and led the wave in crime dramas, it was a new thing at the time and everyone wanted to check it out, it was about the science and the crimes and people loved it. But as shown in the ratings, people soon eventually got tired of it as well, the ratings slipped as most shows do as people began to find it redundant or just loose interest after a while. It's like a kid that gets a new toy and he/she plays with it all the time for a while but eventually just lost interest. There's no denying that CSI broke the wall for crime dramas to become a powerful TV genre, and there's no denying that it was quite a phenomenon, but it has lost its steam and staying power.

    NCIS is what one can consider a rarity in TV, and the fact is, it is a rarity, it's a show that after 8 long years that can still break series high ratings, and that is no small feat. People can say it all they want, but NCIS has achieved something quite special in television, it has gone from a small nobody show to become now the #1 Scripted Drama on TV. It has faced off against ratings giant American Idol for nearly 8 years and come out strong in what was considered the ratings death timeslot. It's a spin-off that has grown even better and more powerful than its parent show JAG could ever dream to be, and not to mention spawned a very successful and vibrant spin-off NCIS LA that does just as strong and well as NCIS itself.

    NCIS is a slow-burning candle to CSI's quick burst of fireworks.

    If you ask me why I say the two shows are different, I'd say, it's the cast chemistry and characters. CSI at its core is a show driven by their various crimes, it's the science and the forensics that are the center to the show and its episodes, it's dramatic, it's dark, it's CSI at its best. NCIS differs in that respect, it is a show that had once been about the crimes and drama but has since turned to focus on its characters and their backstories, and this is what has given power to NCIS's ratings growth, because we are starting to see more and more of these characters and their histories, these origins stories that fans have been waiting for years, it's these stories that brings in viewers and keeps the fans going.

    CSI has faced some recent tough cast changes, and that certainly didn't help its ratings, but NCIS has too faced blows to its cast. Sasha Alexander left the show in Season 2 and we got perhaps one of the most unexpected character exit when Kate was killed with a bullet to the head, and then in Season 5, we lost Lauren Holly's character NCIS director Jenny Shepard in a gunfight. And certainly adding to the dramas was also when show creator Don Bellasario was ousted from the show production after he and star Mark Harmon came to conflict over the show's long shooting schedules and productions. One would think normally a show would not survive when a show creator leaves, in fact, so many critics had predicted that NCIS would not last, but they are all now biting their words as NCIS has become even more powerful as the years go by.

    I love both NCIS and CSI, but NCIS always has more of my heart simply because this has been a show that has grown so much over the years, and the characters have grown and changed for the better, and it's a show that has come out of its shell of being just a another crime procedural drama to more about being a character driven show and bringing the characters to the forefront. NCIS has been able to find that perfect balance between great crime stories and amazing character moments, and it's that balance that NCIS does better than CSI which makes me love NCIS more.
     
  2. vegaslights

    vegaslights Brute

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    I think the majority of the people that tune into NCIS are more interested in the characters than the stories. Which... is cool. But with CSI, the storylines and the characters had me hooked. I love a good mystery, I love sophisticated storytelling, and great characters that you become emotionally attached to.
     
  3. BauerAlmeida

    BauerAlmeida Rookie

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    Well that is an assumptions...plenty of fans love NCIS for both characters and storylines, and even if they love the characters more, it's because the storylines put the characters front and center instead of just about the science and forensics.

    CSI and NCIS focus on very different types of crimes, so I don't see why one has to try to compare which is better because they have vastly different styles of what their crimes are and how it's done. CSI deals more with regular normal everyday crimes while NCIS often strays into matters of national security and that requires a different kind of storytelling.

    NCIS has plenty of sophisticated storytelling and great characters, it's a show that incorporates that balance well and that's why the fans love to watch the show and why it has grown so much over the years.
     
  4. Ladybronco

    Ladybronco Pathologist

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    I think they are all great shows, it seems like CBS owns my life for now :lol:

    I actually started with NCIS first somewhere back in season 4, then I became intrigued with CSI NY sometime in the summer before season 6 started. I absolutely love NCIS LA, I think it was the first spin-off show that I actually caught from the beginning of it's time, rather than in re-runs.

    Then came last summer, and I became absolutely hooked on CSI! Right now I'm kicking myself for not watching it earlier!! It's currently tied in first place for me with NCIS LA, I'm not sure I could live without either :eek:

    I love them all for different reasons, and I don't really compare them to each other, I just enjoy them each for their own merits. I'd be unhappy if any of them were canceled!
     
  5. MoonyGirl

    MoonyGirl Pathologist

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    I don't think NCIS is a new CSI cause the snow is so much different. I've tried to watch NCIS for years now but still I watch it if I remember but when I do I like the episodes. I just don't get myself watching as intendly as CSI's (NY)

    I think writing is better in NCIS and the cast is very talented too. I like that there's more humour and laid-back attiture with crimesolving and drama they're more balanced than in CSI's I think. I've always thought that's the reason why it's so popular all over the world.

    Still like I said before I watch NCIS but I don't think I'll ever be a real fan of the show. I didn't like NCIS L.A at all. I think it was so much a copy of a original one. I'll stick to CSI's I like the crime solving with top tecnology and all but even more I love the characters. I've grown to love the over the years. :)

    But I definitely don't wish of these shows to canceled! :)
     
  6. forza juve

    forza juve Hit and Run

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    I love both shows. NCIS has the humour that I like which lightens the mood of cop show.But it never goes overboard. The csi shows I just like them full stop. Started off liking csi but now miami is probably my favourite. NCIS has greater appeal now others have said because of the characters. However I still long for knowing more about my favourite characters in miami. Tune in every week in the hope that I do. Wheras if I never found out anything about Tony or the rest it wouldn't bother me.

    NCIS is not as unique some like to think. Just look at the forensics. Abby the forensic specialist that does it all. The forensics are exagerated, just not as much as csi. The agents collect the evidence and investigate. I'm sure law enforcement agencies have seperate units of agents that do that job for the detectives. Most shows now put greater emphisis on forensics now. It all started because of csi. It's what viewers still want otherwise law and order would be on top of the ratings.

    Don't get me wrong love ncis and it is unique. But the show will never be that ground breaking show that the csi's were. It doesn't have characters like horatio that are part of pop culture. As good as it is and I do love it. I think when we come to look back on csi it will be seen to be the show that changed cop shows forever. It's called the csi effect for that reason.
     
  7. BauerAlmeida

    BauerAlmeida Rookie

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    Well, no offense, but isn't CSI NY and CSI Miami just as much a copy of CSI itself? :confused: The CSI spin-offs are just CSI in different cities doing the same job.

    NCIS and NCIS LA however actually are vastly different because they deal with different issues. NCIS is more by-the-book, they deal with the normal naval crimes and forensic solving, they are the major crimes unit, but NCIS LA deals with more of surveillance and undercover work, they are the office of special projects and much more cases of national security and even overseas that NCIS doesn't deal with. I'd say that's pretty different, and NCIS LA goes into more intense cases than NCIS does.

    I guess that depends on the viewers, because dedicated fans of the show have always wished for origin stories on the characters, and as NCIS has slowly turned to taking origin looks at its main cast, it's what gets the fans excited, and it's why their viewership keeps growing while other shows wane and fade.

    I don't remember people saying NCIS is unique. It is a crime procedural show, there's not really much room for being unique when you are pigeon-holed into a genre like crime dramas. You just follow the formula and hope to put your own spin and make it work. And that's what NCIS has done. They took the old crime drama formula and added great characters and stories into it.

    As for what you are saying about the agents and evidence collection, NCIS as a naval crimes unit are not detectives, they are the ones doing evidence collection and investigation, they are not like cops. NCIS actually follows very closely to the real life organization, there are many behind the scenes segments where they talk to real agents and this is what they do.

    There is no doubt that forensics is interesting and CSI brought that forward, but NCIS rising up to the ratings is not about forensics or how cool it is, it's about the characters and how fans respond to them.

    NCIS isn't like CSI, but they both make ground breaking shows in their own way. CSI started the foray into forensics, but NCIS made its own mark as one of the few shows that at the ripe old age of 8 years on TV and still able to break series high records, it's a spin-off that broke more records than its parent show and not to mention spawning another spin-off that is just as strong and successful. NCIS may not be making the same ground breaking stuff as CSI, but it is making its own mark on TV.

    I love Horatio and David Caruso, but I can't say the whole Horatio in pop culture is exactly something to be proud of, considering people mostly just ridicule it and laugh and mock about it. I mean, it's because of this pop culture thing that people don't even take CSI Miami seriously, they have such a perception of the show that people think it's not worth the effort to watch, and that isn't exactly helping the show's image.

    CSI definitely changed cop shows, no doubt there, but the CSI effect isn't exactly all that good, I mean, kids go into forensics thinking that it's gonna be like the show but they drop it when they find out it's nothing exciting like it, and people in court and juries expect things to be simple and done a certain way. It hasn't exactly been all good press for CSI.

    CSI is a ground breaking show and it has brought great power to cop shows, but I'm not sure all of it is exactly good.
     
  8. MoonyGirl

    MoonyGirl Pathologist

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    Last edited: Apr 5, 2011
  9. togo2hot

    togo2hot Prime Suspect

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    Well i guess you just have to sit through it for a couple of episodes..I know know:cool:NCIS is like coffee~its an acquired taste..here's my story of how i came to love ncis more then my fav csi show-csi ny..:

    well the first time i saw ncis was for like an hour-it was an episode in season 5 and well just like to guys i was bored..however one day i saw mcgee and i thought he was cute so i started watching ncis episodes from season 6 onwards and after about 5 episodes i was hooked on it..mainly it was for mcgee but the more i watch the more i grew to love gibbs,abby,ziva hence even tony..:)So my point is its like coffee..

    oh and about csi-i dont watch it anymore...the 11th season bores me and csi miami i only watch for ryan wolfe(why did u have to be so sexy :guffaw:)The only csi series that i still love is csi ny..:)
     
  10. byline

    byline CSI Level One

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    I agree with this completely. IMO, "NCIS" has more of a standard type of casting and storytelling, whereas in the beginning -- and for many years to follow -- "CSI" was the trailblazer that paved the way for all the other forensics shows we have now. "CSI" provided the template on which "NCIS" and countless others are based (though it could be argued that "Law & Order" actually started that trend, but by using a slightly different template).

    Because "NCIS" has more character development, it does make it easier for people to relate to the characters, but I always appreciated "Law & Order" and "CSI" because these moments are more subtle, not so obvious. Some viewers need more of a personal connection with their favorite characters, others don't; I'm in the latter category, which is why, even though "CSI" is not as strong was it once was, I will still always favor it over the spin-offs and copycats.
     
  11. Desertwind

    Desertwind Head of the Day Shift

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    I like Mark Harmon and the rest of the cast, but to me the stories are never as good as the CSI ones. And S/11 has been one of the best in CSI history. I would never watch another show and say it's better than CSI. The character development is spectatular & the things the team has gone through in 11 years unbeliveable. Guess I'm a fanatic, and proud of it~
     
  12. ComicCollect_NL

    ComicCollect_NL Witness

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    I like both of the series. NCIS is limited to military affairs, and it's more a detective series. CSI is more forensic based. However, once they aired at the same moment, I'll watch CSI. NCIS is simply narrowed down to military issues, while CSI has a wider range of cases, it sometimes even include navy issues....

    I do like the human touch in NCIS. At least being an investigator you're allowed to make jokes.
     
  13. byline

    byline CSI Level One

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    I think another factor in the success of "NCIS" is that, while they are a team, they have a charismatic leader, much the way "CSI" used to have in Petersen. Somehow, that dynamic has been lost in "CSI"; I can't really comment on the two other spin-offs, since I rarely watch them. That seems to be the magic "it" that is lacking in "CSI" right now. The powers that be seem to be trying to cultivate that with Lawrence Fishburne's character, but it hasn't worked out. I actually think Marg could have pulled that off, had she been allowed to do so.
     
  14. jontogoisabeast

    jontogoisabeast Hit and Run

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    Personally I think NCIS is better because of the team. I do love all three CSI's and the teams, but, IMO, NCIS just wins in that round. Plus the writers for the show are amazing, there are times when a character can seem like it's been messed with a bit, but it's never gotten as bad as CSI or CSI Miami
     
  15. Urban Legend

    Urban Legend Captain

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    I have to say no, I do not think that NCIS is the next CSI. It's not as diverse as CSI as in what cases they investigate.
     

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