BauerAlmeida
Rookie
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.
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.
