Customer Reviews

NCIS - The Complete Seventh Season

5 star:		(119)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Ok, now this review might sound strange, BUT.....

I am a late comer to NCIS, for several reasons. Over May, feeling a little under the weather and getting tired of all the stuff I already had on DVD, I bought seasons 1-6...I had only watched the shows in re-runs on USA and had occasionally watched some episodes of season 7 online (I had to cancel my TV service).

WOW....is all I can say. From the pilot (Yankee White) in season 1 to the episode Aaliyah (season 6); this cast/crew has my attention. And, I guess they're going to keep it for a while. The fact it is character driven, to me as a viewer, is more important than story-driven. It's the people we as viewers attach ourselves to, who we learn to love/hate each week. Who we connect with, some for different reasons.

I've had a hate/love relationship with Mark Harmon and his characters through his many projects. Who could forget he played Ted Bundy?

Each character has their own place in our hearts....and this is in no particular order.

As Leroy Jethro Gibbs, Mark Harmon has got my attention. His team is his family, often he gives into their "wild ideas", but he manages to keep them focused, and cares about them; such as seen in season 7's "Flesh and Blood" where at the end, he and DiNozzo share a steak and drink a beer almost like a father & son to show that blood isn't the only thing that connects people as family. Our family are the people we allow into our world, to share our lives with.

Moving on to Ziva David; she's an enigma of sorts. She was a trained assassin, but has come to be such an asset of the team and has provided an interesting glimpse into how our American culture is still mis-understood. She has good instincts, a good heart and I believe she cares about the team as her family, such as in the season 7, episode 1 "Truth or Consequences"; she was prepared to die, she didn't want McGee or DiNozzo to risk their lives for her; though down the road she apologized to DiNozzo and appreciates his efforts in trying to watch out for her, meaning she is learning to adapt, showing we can change what we have turned into.

Timothy McGee has truly come a long way since being a "probie" in seasons 1-2; as far as partners go, I prefer the McGee/DiNozzo pairing. McGee has stepped out from the "geeky" kid he was and can hold his own, thanks to DiNozzo's tricks and taunts. He is still the brains, but he has developed a personality and has the heart of a lion. The little brother who can dish it out as well, if not sometimes, better than taking it.

Abby is still Abby, lol. What can be said about her we don't know. Don't let her clothes fool you. She's excellent in her field. The "little" sister of the family, who displayed such emotion when Ziva was rescued, we thought this was a family. Abby is the perpetual ray of sunshine who, even though science might tell her one thing, is prepared to see the other side.

Moving on to Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard. Where do I start with him? He's the kindly grandfather or uncle in the whole mix and shows us that he has the best/worst job of the team. He sees the worst in humanity with the bodies brought before him, but he always teaches us that the dead do talk to us, though not the way we're used to. He shows care and compassion when doing his job, and he is an essential part of the team. He is thorough in his job and even gives Jethro a few good zings to keep him in place. Ducky reminds us there is always something we don't know and if we're in doubt, keep looking. His stories keep us entertained, but provide some kind of lesson in there.

Director Vance...while a good guy in this, I don't hold to having the "boss" in the mix. He's good, don't get me wrong. I wouldn't be him for the world. Sorry, no knock on the actor, but seriously, most of us don't like our bosses. So he is in the worst position possible, though he tries to make the best of it. And, amazingly he surprises us most of the time. But still, don't like too much of the bureaucrats' involvement.

Let's not forget, one of the key members of this team, and next to Gibbs...last, but not least...

NCIS Very Special (Senior) Agent Anthony DiNozzo. Yes, I know he's a goof-ball to some, but have you ever really observed him? He's the "perfect" guy (at least for this girl, lol)...he has a steady and not too shabby job, a sense of humor, an unparalleled dedication to his co-workers, good looks (very easy on the eyes), romantic, charming..and when he gets down to business, absolutely the best investigator on the team, again, next to Gibbs.

DiNozzo is the eternal "frat boy", but at the same time, I don't think I would get on his bad side. While he might hide behind the face of a clown, DiNozzo has "been there, done that" and it's his sense of humor that holds the balance to sanity with the demands of his job. He's seen the worst of the worst, and the job is stressful, so his goofiness is key to "keeping it together". He can be a bit unconventional, but if he were like Gibbs, he'd be....well Gibbs. DiNozzo also has a soft and kind heart, though he wants to hide it; particularly in "Flesh and Blood" where he paid his father's bill & "Obsession" where his obsession to find the woman led him to call her, and the team was able to figure out what happened. DiNozzo stayed with her until she died, proving he is human after all.

He too has grown up since the first season, but not at the rate he should have, lol. Then again, would we want him to change? I know I don't. And trust me, I was schooled in coming around to being a "DiNozzo Girl". He is who is his, he does his job and if that satisfies Gibbs, we don't question Gibbs.

All in all, this isn't just another "crime procedural/drama". This show goes ABOVE that level. I still love CSI: NY and CSI: Miami, just not as much as NCIS. Gibbs, Ziva, McGee, Abby, Ducky and Tony DiNozzo have become part of our culture and part of our family.

They're still going good at 7 seasons, and at this rate....here is to 7 more (and hopefully more).

I'm glad I only have to wait two months to get it....otherwise we'd have a rule coming up on that one. I can hold off on CSI: NY and Miami (and in that order). But, mess with my NCIS...might have to invoke a GIBBS RULE.


ADDED on 9/8/2010:

As of note; the two-part "starter" episodes of JAG (Ice Queen & Meltdown are what I call a "starter-pilot") they are still "Official" "JAG" episodes as "NCIS" goes...Yankee White can be considered the Pilot as well. Some series do that. Yankee White is still considered as "Episode 1" :)...just as the NCIS: LA Pilot or "starter" episodes are still NCIS :)

And, I have had no performance issues with the DVDs and I own all 7 seasons.

Well, the time has come for Season 7 to be released (less than 1 week to go in fact) so I thought I'd weigh in with my thoughts and opinions.

First, NCIS is the best TV show of all time. I know that over the years there have been some pretty close calls but I have to say, in my opinion, NCIS just edges them out. Being a big fan of the "good wins over bad" type of shows you can see why I love this team. I must admit that I did find M.A.S.H a close 2nd favourite and I do like JAG, CSI (Original instead of spin-off's), Third Watch and Alias etc but NCIS is still Number 1 for me.

Second, this team is amazing. Not only the actors but the director, producer, costume & set design, special effects, sound and vision and especially the writers. I even think that the camera crews and catering and make up - gee, even the cleaning staff deserve a mention. Each person contributes to the show in his or her own way and that's what makes such a lasting impression for the fans. Then you have the dynamic between the actual actors on the screen. I am not such a huge fan of Rocky Carroll but I think that could be because "Director Vance" has been made out to be the bad guy and you kind of have to not like him because of how he's portrayed.

Third, the stories and character development this season has broken the box. I love that no matter what we think of a person at the time, they always manage to surprise us. The Gibb's story line this season especially shows this. The different facets and developing character traits of each member of the team give a depth and believability to them in a way that makes you feel like they COULD be real.

Fourth, I would like to see more of Brian Dietzen (Jimmy Palmer) and his interaction with the other characters. I would be especially interested in seeing the DiNozzo/Palmer relationship. Jimmy became a bit of a sounding board for DiNozzo so I would like to have seen more of that kind of thing. Almost like a behind the scenes on the screen if that makes sense. Plus his relationship with Ducky is priceless. I love the almost jealous relationship he has in the "love triangle" with Abby - if it can be called that for the sake of arguement.

Finally, I would like to see some of the old school stuff that has been lost come back. For example:
* Abby's artwork - has she done any new pieces like those seen in Season 1.
* Also on the subject of Abby, what is happening with Bert her farting hippo etc. The Abby story line is one I'd like to see further developed such as in growing up years or historical reference.
* I would also like to see more of McGee's writing. I know Season 4 pretty much killed that when Landon, a nutcase fan killed people to make it reality but still I thought that was a good facet of McGee.
* I would like to see more of Ziva singing. Perhaps undercover as a singer or something. She did really well with that.
* I want to see Ducky in love. He had such a cute story line when he was with Jordan and I would like to have seen more of that.

OK so now that I've had a chance to vent my spleen, I'll go and continue counting down the days to the release date. My biggest problem is that because I live in Australia, I also have to wait for the discs to be shipped overseas. I'm kind of hoping that someone somewhere would take pity on us and let it out just a little earlier... well one can hope. I'm just thankful I have a multi-region DVD or I'd be screwed!

Let me just say finally that if you have never seen NCIS and want to know if it's worth buying the discs, I can honestly tell you that it would be one of the best shows you can buy. If you do a marathon run with it, you fall in love with the characters and feel their highs and lows intermingled with interesting, bizarre and sometimes shocking story lines. Do yourself a favour and check it out.

Thanks, Kat

PS If you don't like something I have written here, please don't bother sending me nasty messages as the thoughts stated here are my opinions only and while you might not agree, you can't change how I think. Just leave each to his own. Many thanks.

Not only will I recommend the 7th season of this show, I recommend the other 6 seasons. When the original pilot was a spin off of JAG, I said that I would not watch this show because Mark Harmon was not one of my favorite actors. But I watch it anyway. So, as I said earlier, I own the first six seasons and have pre-ordered the 7th season. Not only do I like Harmon but the entire cast is the best. This is my number one show on TV.The Mentalist is my number 2. I even watch reruns more than other 1st run shows. The whole cast works so well together. When Kate was killed off I thought that it would really changed the show. But I'm glad to say it didn't. If you haven't watched NCIS, give it a try and I think you will be hooked.

"NCIS: Season Seven" is the DVD collection for the 2009-2010 TV episodes. This unusually good franchise mixes drama and humor with an ensemble returning cast headed by Mark Harmon as veteran NCIS Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs.

At the end of Season Six, Mossad agent Ziva David (Cote de Pablo) was taken captive by terrorists somewhere in East Africa after leaving Gibbs' team. Season Seven opens with a suspenseful rescue mission organized by her former partner Tony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly). A connecting thread through the first half of the season will be the painful reintegration of Ziva into the team, including her reconciliation with Tony.

A highlight of the season will be a mission for Tony and Ziva to escort a witness back from Paris. There is drama on the flight, and a certain mystery as to what may have happened in Paris.

Another highlight is a guest appearance by veteran actor Robert Wagner, perfectly cast as DiNozzo's father, in a murder case that reveals much about Tony's background.

In the last half of the season, a persistent and obnoxious female defense lawyer becomes a temptation and a threat to Gibbs. Forensic expert Abby's (Pauley Parrette) involvment in a Mexican cold case triggers a deadly conspiracy against Gibbs that may have fateful consequences for the whole team.

"NCIS: Season Seven" is very strongly recommended to fans of the series and to TV viewers looking for a polic procedural with a military twist.

NCIS is by far a not miss drama. There is great story line and cast stories. You can tune in now for one episode and you are hooked. It is for every age group.

Each year I wait until the season shows up on DVD. It's a good show with a great cast, the writing is excellent, and the production values are top of the line. If you like patriotic action police television, this is the one to watch. I don't have TVO or cable and can't stay up late to watch it on primetime. Besides, the commercials degrade the plot! This way I can see it when I want and I can now watch 7 seasons anytime. It's a mood elevator for me to see positive roll models with character. UHRAH!

The greatness of NCIS has been its writing and use of the backstories of its characters. There is no greater example of this than the whole of the Season 7 storyline, in which the death of Leroy Jethro Gibbs' wife Shannon and daughter Kelly play out both in the scripting of the season and where many of the key sequences of the season take place.
In starting with "Truth Or Consequences"--the opening episode of the season--this episode plays as an extension of the Season 6 finale, "Aliyah", with our "Very Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo" being questioned under the influence of a truth serum administed by a terrorist named Saleem. We know by now that getting Tony to talk isn't exactly a hard thing to do, but we have seen examples of Tony not breaking to questioning, even flipping the script on the interrogator--as he did to Eli David in "Aliyah". Saleem isn't quite aware that he's been marked by Gibbs, Tony, and McGee for the death of Ziva--so the revenge mission turns into a rescue mission when Saleem brings Tony an alive Ziva. We know the climax of the episode--Gibbs sniping Saleem, kicking off the rescue of Ziva, Tony and McGee...but this is also where the main storyline of the season kicks off.
Obviously, the initial part of the season deals with Ziva--having been hung out by her father, the secret of why she shot Ari back in Season 3 revealed, having to mend fences within NCIS; then her becoming a US citizen being the secondary story of the season.
This season deals with Jethro, and his revenge on Pedro Hernandez coming to the surface. This is where the storyline uses Gibbs' house as metaphor through the season. Understand, this series literally began in the basement of Jethro's house, many of his meetings, arguments and thoughts had been done while building a boat in that basement. It isn't talked about in the special features on the discs, but until this season, WE HAD NEVER SEEN ANYTHING OF JETHRO'S HOUSE OTHER THAN THE BASEMENT. So, starting with "Outlaws And In-Laws", the living areas of the house that we hadn't seen (Not that we expected much in those areas) suddenly become the areas of conflict with Gibbs. Which is why there's a subtle discomfort with Mark Harmon's character in this season. His extradition of Robert Patrick's Merton Bell to Mexico sets Bell on a course to get even with Jethro...but opens up issues that Gibbs would have preferred not to have had come to the surface; hence, Jethro isn't in his comfort zone--the basement, or having his life not examined. Of course, Bell's revenge on Gibbs gets trumped by Paloma Reynosa--the daughter of Pedro Hernandez and heir to his drug cartel.
The cast are their usual outstanding selves--Mark, Michael, Cote, the brilliant Pauley, Sean, Rocky, David and Brian don't phone in their work. Weatherly is stunning in both "Flesh And Blood"--the series' 150th episode in which we meet Anthony DiNozzo Senior--and "Obsession", Tony's search for a missing reporter. De Pablo is marvelous in the opener, but also in "Good Cop-Bad Cop", the story of how her return assignment to Mossad broke down. Murray lets Tim McGee's inner geek fly in "Ignition", which also allows for the reintroduction of McGee's "Thom E. Gemcity" alias. Carroll's highpoint is "Endgame", where Leon Vance deals with an assassin from his past. McCallum is the focal point in the understory of the death of Dr. Mallard's mother Victoria (Plus, it is also a nice goodbye by the cast and crew to the late Nina Foch). Dietzen's Jimmy Palmer gets a girlfriend that gets DiNozzo jealous, but also starts cracking too wise during autopsies--and Gibbs isn't too happy with it.
I've always been big about the "extended family" of NCIS, though--the characters who drop in once or twice a season with their quirks. Muse Watson's Mike Franks--Gibbs' mentor and supervisor when Jethro joined the then-NIS. Joe Spano's Tobias Fornell--Jethro's opposite number at the FBI who shares an ex-wife with Jethro. This year, Paul Telfer--the steroid-enhanced Marine Damon Werth from Season 5's "Corporal Punishment"--turns up in a couple of episodes. Jackie Geary's Susan Grady--the polygraph expert for NCIS who has a thing for McGee--gets a couple of turns, and is a central character in "Moonlighting".
This was a huge year for the guest turns. Ralph Waite returned as Jethro's father, Jackson Gibbs--the Christmas episode "Faith" being poignant because Jack hides a secret that Jethro has to uncover. Robert Wagner is introduced as Tony's father--a match made in TV heaven between R.J. and Weatherly. The great Gena Rowlands is introduced as Joann Fielding, Jethro's mother-in-law, in an episode which again ties to Gibbs' sniping of Hernandez. Rena Sofer's turns as Margaret Allison Hart--a lawyer with ties to Merton Bell, disruptive to Jethro's investigations...but INTERESTED in Gibbs...and Dina Meyer's visits as Holly Snow, the Madam to the big players in the District. Meyer--always gorgeous--piques Jethro's interest simply because of Jethro's well-known preference for redheads. Kelly Hu's turn as the assassin Lee-Won Kai in "Endgame". Jacqueline Obradors and Marco Sanchez as Hernandez's offspring--the cartel head and the dirty cop.
Again, this was an interesting season because of the Gibbs' house being used as a metaphor for Jethro's past coming to light...with Harmon's last scene in the season being upstairs in the bright bedroom that he shared with Shannon. Think about it.
Highly, highly recommended.

Well, my wife LOVES NCIS, and I have to say I am a fan as well. I have bought all Seasons thus far w/o hesitation. This is in no part Amazon's fault, but this has been my experience with NCIS Season Seven:

Defective DVDs. The first Set I received, Disk 1 and 6 were unplayable. This has been my first problem with regards of items I have purchased from Amazon. No biggy, because they are great on getting you a replacement, even if you have yet to ship them your defective copy. Sent my first copy the very next day of Replacement order, got new copy 2 days later.

Defective DVDs, again! This time, along with Disk 1 and 6, we add 3 to the list. I just asked for a refund and will wait a couple of months and hopefully Amazon will get good DVDs. Either that or I am truly unlucky with this order in getting the 2 DVD Set with Damaged DVDs.

The defect is VERY visible, it's like random smears instead of smooth data on the recording. It looks like water was mixed in with the burning of the DVD disks, so you can have a visual. Disk 1, on both sets, froze and would not proceed after the first few warning screens, never got to Main Menu. Disk 6 would play first episode and then the smear would prevent from that episode to finish, much less play any other episode. On the 2nd DVD Set, Disk 3 was in the same boat as Disk 1.

I will buy again, but will wait for the second round of DVD Set to circulate. Again, this is clearly not Amazon's fault, who ever is in charge of burning the DVDs really did a low end job for this Season.

I would appreciate other Amazon members to leave comments to this review if you have experienced this. If not, then clearly I got the bad batch, and will buy again ASAP. Hopefully 3rd is the charm.

We have long been fans of NCIS and were delighted to find the video collection of season seven available so soon after the end of the season. Scheduling conflicts prevented our seeing many of the episodes during the regular season, so now we're able to catch up. Delivery was prompt and, as usual, there were no hidden charges.

Gibbs...(sigh)...DiNozo...mmm good...McGeek...so sweet...and Ziva...my idol! The only downside to this TV show is that it's not on 7 nights a week with a new episode each night! It can be touching, funny, sit on the edge of your chair exciting and sad. The seventh season was all that I hoped it would be, and more!