Creators
Donald P. Bellisario and Don McGill
Cast
Mark Harmon Leroy Jethro Gibbs
Michael Weatherly Tony DiNozzo
Pauley Perrette Abby Sciutto
Sasha Alexander Caitlin Todd
Sean Murray Timothy McGee
David McCallum Dr. Donald Mallard
Lauren Holly Jenny Shepard
Cote de Pablo Ziva David
DVD Release Date: April 24, 2007
Rating: Not Rated
Running Time: 1057 Minutes on 6 discs
The Show
If you have never seen or heard of the NCIS before, then let me brief you. The NCIS or Naval Criminal Investigation Service is a team of investigators who specifically work within the jurisdiction of the United States Navy and Marines. They are a team of men and women working to solve any and all crimes that may happen to or from our uniformed “heroes.” These people may be the ones fighting to keep our country safe, but they aren’t above the law and the NCIS looks to bring those who go down the wrong paths to justice.
Season three seems to be centered on bringing up a lot of the past for many of the characters. Gibbs, Abby, Tony, and many more have either memories or people from their past show up to cause some kind of havoc or discomfort in their lives. There are so many things going on in this season that it sometimes seems hard to figure out how the characters don’t all have mental breakdowns from not only current situations but the past slapping them in the face.
A few new characters make their way into NCIS as Ziva David and Jenny Shepard both join the team. Shepard takes over as new director and has some history with Gibbs as it’s found out that they used to date. This makes for some serious tension between the two head honchos of NCIS, especially in the early episodes. Ziva doesn’t come without her own baggage as she isn’t exactly trusted by the team when she first comes on the scene. That doesn’t seem to make much difference as she eventually becomes a full time member of the time thanks to whom else but the other newcomer, Jenny Shepard. Ziva ends up becoming a big part of the team, but her methods are still sometimes questioned.
The team is trying to regroup after losing Kate, thanks to a terrorist named Ari, and also trying to deal with the new people coming in. But it’s not just new faces but a lot of action in season three that keeps NCIS on their toes. The intensity really seems to heat up with some storylines that go a little over the line the writers seemed a bit cautious of crossing in the first two seasons. A few mentions of 9/11, a female serial killer, and even putting the lives of a bunch of high school kids in danger are just a few of the edgy plots that carry us through each episode on the edge of our seats.
NCIS has done a fantastic job of keeping the things that have made the series a success so far and adding a lot more to them. The new characters fit in so well that after a few episodes, you don’t even realize that they haven’t been there for years. The souped up tempo and added tension between different members of the team make this the best season of NCIS out on DVD so far and I am sure they will continue to improve. A lot of crime dramas continue to be just that, dramatic. But NCIS follows along the lines of 24, and adds a lot of action to the drama, thus making the series not only one of the top crime dramas, but one of the best shows on TV period.
Episodes
Disc One:
Kill Ari (Part 1): The newest NCIS agent Ziva David may have ties to a terrorist named of Ari, the terrorist who is responsible for Kate’s death. The team tries to cope with the loss of their friend and colleague while trying to deal with these new revelations. Jenny Shepard also joins the NCIS as the new director and it’s revealed she and Gibbs have history together.
Kill Ari (Part 2): Ari takes things a step further and kidnaps Ducky and decides to do everything he can to mess with his mind. Gibbs is busy in this episode as he sends Tony out to follow Ziva, deals with Jenny, and also wants a showdown with Ari to end all his terror once and for all.
Mind Games: A serial killer is about to be executed but the bodies of his victims still have yet to be found. Gibbs tries to talk to him and get the information about the victims’ whereabouts so the case can be closed, but the killer isn’t budging. NCIS then decides to take it into their own hands and find the bodies themselves, but if they can’t and need the killer’s help then they have to hurry because he dies in three days. A fantastic episode that happens to be my favorite out of this entire season.
Silver War: A Civil War era tomb is found with a Sergeant that NCIS reveals was buried alive. The team tries to figure out who did this and why. Gibbs’ life doesn’t get any easier when Shepard announces Ziva to be a full time member of NCIS.
Disc Two:
Switch: A petty officer is murdered on the highway and the NCIS feel it will be a pretty easy case. That changes quickly as they soon realize the man was leading a double life. When they think they have that figured out, then they discover his dying words which send them in a totally different direction.
The Voyeur’s Web: A webmaster who owns a site that had two housewives running a live sex site is tracked down after a Marine’s wife is murdered live on camera. The NCIS team decides to follow the money and get to the bottom of it all as the housewives running the site have now also turned up missing.
Honor Code: A secret project named “Honor” is in serious jeopardy when the only man who has access to it has been kidnapped, or so says his six year old son. Gibbs tries to learn more about the boy and what he knows of his father’s disappearance and it turns out that things may not be exactly as they seem.
Under Covers: Tony and Ziva assume the identities of two murdered assassins and end up spending some bonding time in a fancy hotel trying to solve the case. While they end up getting closer then they could have imagined; Gibbs realizes someone else is hot on his tails trying to figure out “who dunnit.”
Disc Three:
Frame-Up: The NCIS team is caught between a rock and a hard place as Tony is accused of a woman’s murder. They are working frantically to prove their friend’s innocence, but it isn’t going to be easy when all the evidence points directly at him. A simple storyline but another excellent episode in this set.
Probie: Tony is haunted by things from his past which seems to be a running theme this season. And while on assignment, McGee kills an undercover officer. This escalates into even a bigger mess when Shepard allows the police to run their own investigation straining Gibbs’ relationship with her even further.
Model Behavior: A Marine base is the setting for a new reality show, but things get very real when a model on the show ends up dead. As NCIS investigates, they find out she had relationships with three men who all end up as suspects and the team must determine reality from make believe.
Boxed In: More trouble within the NCIS team as Tony and Ziva disappear in a shipyard while searching for stolen weapons. The team tries to find their missing friends while the couple still keeps trying to solve the case.
Disc Four:
Deception: A Navy Lieutenant Commander, who is in charge of a shipment of nuclear weapons, is kidnapped and taken hostage. The NCIS team wants to get him back and secure his safety but they have a bigger problem on their hands: If they don’t get him back quickly, the location of the nuclear weapons may become known by the wrong people.
Light Sleeper: The wives of two Marines are killed and the murderer is still on the loose. NCIS gets on the case and hopes they can solve it quickly because, they believe they’ve already found the next intended victims – a woman and her newborn.
Head Case: Uncovering an illegal chop shop is only the beginning of a new case for the team as they also uncover the head of a Marine in one of the cars. Not only must they find some suspects but they also need the rest of the body to figure out what exactly happened.
Family Secret: A dead Marine’s family is keeping something top secret after an ambulance supposedly carrying his dead body explodes. Upon investigation, the NCIS team learns that the DNA of the body that was in the explosion is not that of the late Marine and they intend to find out why.
Disc Five:
Ravenous: A group of kids find a Marine’s dog tags in a forest so of course NCIS is sent in to find out more. As they continue to get deeper into the woods, a few grim discoveries are revealed. First they believe they are dealing with a possible serial killer and second they learn that this rare type of serial killer may also be female.
Bait: Tony is left in charge of the team while Gibbs must address a very dangerous situation in a high school: A young boy is holding his classmates hostage with a bomb that is strapped around his body. As Gibbs goes inside and talks to the boy; he soon realizes that there may be someone else outside the school controlling the actions of the young teen.
Iced: A case takes a really weird turn when the NCIS team is called in to find out how a Marine ended up dead in a frozen lake. While searching the area they find three more bodies in the lake all with bullet holes in them and gang tattoos all over them. Two mysteries are to be solved now as they need to find out who killed them all and why the Marine was associated with the gang members.
Untouchable: A Pentagon cryptographer is accused of being an internal spy before she ended up dead. At first it seems like a simple suicide but then it’s discovered that she wasn’t alone when her death occurred. So now not only do they need to find who killed her but who the actual spy really is.
Disc Six:
Bloodbath: More secrets from the past come up as the team is investigating a simple murder case. Things turn ugly in the lab, though, as Abby is almost killed by important evidence that was purposely tainted by some enemies that want her dead.
Jeopardy: A suspect in custody dies while under Ziva’s supervision, and her way of doing things may actually be the reason he died. Shortly thereafter, Shepard is taken hostage by the suspect’s brother and demands that his brother be released or he will kill her. NCIS has to figure out something to save a member of their team from a man demanding the release of someone he doesn’t even know is dead.
Hiatus (Part 1): The NCIS team is greatly shaken when an explosion sends Gibbs to the hospital with serious injuries. While laid up, Gibbs recalls his painful and hidden past which has begun troubling him as his life flashed before his eyes. The team must put their personal feelings aside to continue working the case, but things get even more complicated when Tony is put in charge.
Hiatus (Part 2): Gibbs is still in the hospital and struggling to regain his memories of the past fifteen years. The team is also struggling without their leader who has some vital information in a case where terrorists are possibly planning an explosion of 9/11 proportions.
The Video
The episodes are shown in 16:9 Widescreen format and look excellent. The colors are very sharp and bright in all situations including some great explosions. The darker scenes, like deep in the forest or in a shipping container, are easily seen but still keep the closed in, claustrophobic feel about them. Each episode looks great and it really is a very nice transition from TV to DVD.
The Audio
The episodes are heard in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and is like the video is great, as well. The deeper and more dramatic moments are quiet in the background and loud where they need to be with the dialogue. The surround sound really kicks in during the intense action scenes with gunfire and explosions sounding like they are coming at you from all sides.
Special Features
The Real N.C.I.S. Declassified – Members of the real N.C.I.S. give some information and tidbits on who they really are and what they really do; which is virtually what the show explains to you. They then give some comparisons to how things are the same or different in the show itself. I have to go back and check, but I swear this is quite possibly the exact same special feature from season two but with different people.
Hit The Head Montage – A musical montage with scenes from the season of the cast members hitting each other but mostly Gibbs hitting his crew on the back of the head. A whole special feature devoted to this and it’s only one minute? Worthlessness.
The Round Table – Nice of them to give us a warning that this special feature contains spoilers, so watch the episodes first. Donald P. Bellisario and the producers sit around, yep, you guessed it – a roundtable . Their thoughts about the series are spliced with clips from season three, as they describe what they were looking for in certain episodes and the feelings they wanted to give out from the characters. They also compare it to other shows of its kind on television to show why N.C.I.S. is different. It’s rather short but an interesting watch, so I recommend giving it a look.
The Women Of N.C.I.S. – Spoilers! Bellisario is really going for a lot of screen time in these special features as he sits down and explains why each female is on the show and how their characteristics bring something different, compared to the others. The other producers, cast, and even the ladies themselves talk about the characters and how the newcomers fit in with the family they had already established in the first couple seasons. One of the longer features in the set – if still only fifteen minutes – but is a fun watch.
N.C.I.S. Season Of Change – Again, spoiler warning. All you pretty much get here is the cast and crew’s thoughts on the third season and how it differs from the first two. The new people on board, those who are no longer around, and how some topics are a bit edgier are just of the things discussed in detail. It’s actually enjoyable listening to why the producers did certain things like causing friction in the group with the addition of Lauren Holly’s character Jenny Shepard, so I also suggest you check this special feature out as well.
Audio Commentary – Particular episodes from the season have commentary from the creators and cast. Some of them are quite fun to listen in on, but there isn’t much to learn that you can’t find out by watching the other special features on the discs.
The Inside Pulse
Another good season of a series I never watch it airs on television, and I am still quite impressed. N.C.I.S. brings some great action and fantastic storylines together in a show that will keep you interested from episode to episode, and only wanting more when the season is over. The special features won’t hold you for long since each is rather short, but they made them fun enough to not pass up. Season two drew a recommendation from me to rent it and catch up, but I’m changing it this time around. I highly suggest running out and picking up the first two seasons and now this one because N.C.I.S. just keeps getting better and better.
