Customer Reviews

NCIS, Season 3

5 star:		(100)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

*SPOILER*
Killing a main character in the second season cliffhanger is a pretty shocking way to set up a third season. Ending with a bang, literally, NCIS returns with a excellent third season with the right combination of wit, drama, and cast. This is good television. And you dont let good television sit on the shelf too long, so hot on the heels of the release of the Second Season on DVD is the April release of the complete Season Three of NCIS.

NCIS is the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, responsible for crimes by and against members of the United States Navy and US Marine Corps. The team of NCIS agents introduced in Season 1 is led by former Marine Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon), a tough no-nonsense leader and interrogator. The team also includes ex-homicide detective Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly), Mossad agent Ziva David (Cote de Pablo), goth forensics expert Abby Sciuto (Pauley Perrette), computer specialist and rookie Agent Tim McGee (Sean Murray), and quirky coroner Doctor Donald "Ducky" Mallard (David McCallum). Season Three witnesses the aftermath of Kate Todd's murder by Ari, the introduction of Mossad agent Ziva David, and increased screen time for McGee and Abby. Harmon again does a knockout job as the lead, with his best work coming in the season premiere, as he grieves over the loss of Kate. Micheal Weatherley and Sean Murray continue to develop their competitive older-younger brother relationship, Perrette lights up the screen as Abby, and David McCallum delivers a refined and dignified performance.

Season three began with the two part episode Kill Ari 1 and 2, which examined the aftermath of Kate's death and the hunt for Ari. The introduction of Ziva and Director Jenny Shephard (Lauren Holly) seemed out of place and awkward considering the emotional tone, and it took five or six episodes for Ziva to be less of a cardboard character and more a part of the team. Her first really impressive episode came with Tony in the solid "Under Covers". Some of the better episodes include "Probie", when McGee shoots a man who turns out to be an undercover cop, "Mind Games", where Gibbs goes head-to-head with a serial killer, "Bait" which showcases a great performance by Weatherley. The season-ending Hiatus Parts 1 and 2 are decent episodes up to the last five minutes, which are incredibly rushed in order to get to the cliffhanger of Gibbs quitting NCIS.

The Season Three DVD box set contains all 24 episodes in widescreen for a total running time of almost 17 hours. Because of its quick turn-around time on the release, the extras are not as good as Season One, with only a few commentaries and featurettes anticipated. That is the unfortunate trade-off, but given that we get another full season of NCIS on DVD so quickly, its not a bad deal. Fans of the show will quickly snap this up, for those who have never watched before, if you liked JAG, CSI, or Bones, you will like this show. NCIS Season Three demonstrates exactly why this show is such a big hit. The DVD is on shelves in April. Highly Recommended.

A.G. Corwin
St.Louis, MO

NCIS is one of those hidden gems you always hunt for and so rarely find. A great ensemble cast headed by Mark Harmon (as special agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs) makes the whole show look so effortless. As with his other productions, Donald Bellisario has created a great group of characters who are so down-to-earth that you immediately see them as almost real. The stories can be far-fetched on occasion, but the real interest in the show is the cast of characters. Ably supported by Michael Wetherly (as Agent Tony DiNozzo), Pauly Perrette (as forensic expert Abby Sciuto) Cote de Pablo (as Mossad Agent Ziva David) Sean Murray (as Agent Timothy McGee), Lauren Holly (as Director Jenny Shepard), and David McCallum (as Medical Examiner Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard) Harmon acts as team leader and sometimes, stern father to the younger agents under his command.

Harmon and McCallum, the two old pros, often show up the younger actors with their seamless, believable performances, but everyone on this show is great. The characters all interact with one another more like a family than a working group, and the loss of one of the main characters at the end of Season Two gave everyone a chance to show their acting chops in dealing with the death of a friend who was more than just a co-worker. If there is a weak spot in this third season, it has to be the addition of Jenny Shepard as the new director. And old flame of Gibbs, there is entirely too much time wasted on fuzzy out of focus flashbacks of their evidently red-hot love affair in Paris, only hinted at (far too much) and never really explained. Although Ziva took some time to become more of a fleshed out character, she made a more than adequate replacement for the lost character, bringing a toughness to the group, and more humor with her mangling of English expressions.

There is a great deal to like about NCIS, and sadly, CBS has never really promoted this show, spending far too much time on their CSI franchise. NCIS handles odd murder cases, a la CSI, but the humor that rests in the characters interactions (you've gotta love a hero whose name is Jethro, and a co-worker with the nickname Ducky) and the actors performances bring a humanity and warmth to a crime show that is sadly lacking in the glitzy world of CSI. You really start to think of these people as someone you'd like to meet and talk with (particularly listening to one of Ducky's stories all the way through, since he usually gets cut off by Gibbs) and that you'd have something in common with them. It gives the show a touch of realism that you so rarely find in TV these days.

This series has been a class act from the first season. The proof of depth in this show is the loss of a major character at the end of the second season and replacement in the third. This is a great example of an ensemble cast. The actors have created believeable characters. Dialogue sounds like real conversation. Couple this with some really tight writing spiced with some fine humor and you have some excellent television. Story threads run through episodes giving a greater sense of continuity but it is not necessary to view in strict order. I have both season 1 and 2 and look forward to the release of season 3 with great anticipation.

Can't wait get this season.I am a huge NCIS fan.I have watched the 1st and 2nd season aleast 10 times each.I am glued to the T.V.each week watching it and It is without a doubt my favorite show.

I'm so glad that the release schedule is speeding up. This is truly the only current series that I simply MUST watch and will buy every season released on DVD. I do disagree wtih the lack of Bloopers, or as the NCIS cast and crew call it, the Michael Weatherly Show. C'mon, Don, Charles, John, please, please, please...for season 4?

Wow, this series came alive in the third season. Personally, I believe the introduction of the character of Ziva made all the difference. I never liked the previous female foils for the male characters. But Ziva, the Israeli agent, is aggressive, mysterious and has tremendous charisma. This is a great ensemble cast headed by Mark Harmon. David McCallum is adorable as the medical examiner. This is a lighter weight program than the CSI's or Criminal Minds, but I never tire of it. I even watch this one in re-runs. Highly recommended.

NCIS changed in third season..and gotten stronger

At the end of season two, Kate was shot and died. Season three handles her death in the openning two parter "Kill Ari" which also introduces the audience to Ziva David (Cote de Pablo) and the new NCIS director (Lauren Holly).

The change comes in many ways, Gibbs seems harder after Kate's death and it shows during the season, which builds to the two part season finale "Hiatus"...a cliffehanger to open season four. all the character grew from Abby, Ducky, Mcgee and especially Tony.

Most say change is bad, for this show is GOOD and we the audience reap the benifits

Bennet Pomerantz AUDIOWORLD

It was rough enough for the fans of NCIS to lose Kate Todd by having Ari Haswari snipe her at the end of Season 2. So, starting Season 3 off by showing Kate's murder from Ari's POV is a little rougher. But the two episodes that start off Season 3 of NCIS--the two part "Kill Ari" episodes--really bring up a subject in this series that hadn't been fully fleshed out. Obviously, these two episodes allow the regular characters to come to grips with the loss of Kate--the irony of Kate's ghost talking to Ducky and Ducky not talking back to the ghost, the overall story of how the survivors all see Kate. McGee seeing a superwoman, Abby seeing Elvira, Tony being Tony in seeing Kate (That schoolgirl outfit), and Gibbs seeing Kate as he last saw her--with a hole between her eyes. Just as obviously, "Kill Ari" allows for the introduction of Cote De Pablo's Ziva David, the Mossad/Masada agent liased to NCIS in the wake of Kate's death and Lauren Holly's Jenny Sheppard--Gibbs' former partner/lover who rose beyond working the field to the NCIS director's job.
But my observation after a couple of viewings of this box set is that the underlying story of the season is the revelations about the history of Leroy Jethro Gibbs. For much of the first two seasons, Mark Harmon's "tough, no-nonsense investigator" (To quote the liner notes on the set) has always had an understated sense of humor that has allowed him to smile quitely at the office interaction between the members of the team while presenting his harder face. But that exterior begins to crack in the "Kill Ari" episodes; the mystery surrounding Jethro's background begins to unfold as Ari murders Kate, then takes his shot at Abby and captures Dr. Mallard. This is what starts leading Jethro to being close to Ziva--maybe no one notices, but because of the information that she uncovered about Jethro and fed to her half-brother Ari, Officer David feels partially responsible for Kate's murder.
Through Season 3, we start getting clues to who Jethro is and what he keeps from everyone--the flask that we see at the end of "Under Covers", his continued attraction towards redheads (It certainly is no coincidence that Holly/Sheppard is a redhead), and the subtleties of his relationship with Ziva--forged in an oddly shared tragedy. Of course, much of all that goes on in the season comes to a head in the "Hiatus" two-parter at the end of the season. We find out why Gibbs is what he is, how many of his actions have prepared DiNozzo for running the team and prepped Tim for being an agent; and how the discoveries affect his relationship with Dr. Mallard and Director Sheppard.
As always since this series started, the performances are stunning. Mark Harmon continues to embody the toughness and instincts of Jethro, but also had to be very nuanced as Gibbs' painful history comes out.
Michael Weatherly's Tony DiNozzo continued being the second coming of David Addison (my usual Moonlighting aside), but Tony had to face growing up and being a decision-maker/leader ("Bait"), and had a difficulty through this season that he hadn't had in the previous two--ZIVA.
Cote De Pablo flipped the dynamic of the team. As Ziva, Cote brought a much more formidable presence to the squad. In the first two seasons, Tony could get Kate off-balance with his remarks and his stunts, offending her Catholic schoolgirl sensibilities. In the third season, Ziva--partially because of her background, partially because it was just HER--was able to get Tony off his feed more than he thought possible. An example of this--aside from her driving, or her mangling of slang--came up in "Probie", when she was able to get Tony to reveal why he was receiving calls from a sperm bank. De Pablo was able to affect a very cool and very canny customer in Ziva. Many viewers are always going to miss Sasha Alexander, but Cote is a wonderful fit.
Sean Murray's Tim McGee is still a wonderful work in progress; the nerd-boy field agent who continues to get tortured by DiNozzo in a big-brother/little-brother fashion. He still seems over his head at times, eager to please Gibbs (Or at least keep Jethro from popping him one in the back of the head--isn't it funny how The Head Slap has become one of the show's many trademarks?). Plus, there's whatever seems to be going on in his private life, whether or not it's with Abby.
Of course, what can be said about Pauley? Perrette is a scene-stealing wonder on screen, especially in Abby's lab when she's mainlining the "Kaff-Pow" or getting Bert to do what he does (Her stuffed hippo--YEAH, THAT ONE). Plus, we get surprised by Abby's ability with duct tape ("Frame Up") and her temper in general ("Bloodbath").
David McCallum's Dr. Mallard continues to be the second coming of Jonathan Quayle Higgins, though not as prissy as Robin Masters' major domo. Ducky continues to tell his stories while working his was through the cadavers. Plus, we get another visit from Nina Foch as Ducky's mom late in the season, getting a surreal moment when she's visiting the NCIS HQ.
Many people thought the introduction of Jenny Sheppard as fluff. Given the underlying story of the season, Lauren Holly's character was actually needed. Jenny became an insight to Gibbs' relationship issues and why he stays operating as an investigator--basically, she knows certain things about Jethro that his squad aren't privvy to--though as it turns out, she doesn't know the whole story (Until "Hiatus").
The good guest shots in this set have to start with Sasha Alexander, and her completion of the Catlin Todd storyline. Her ghost appearing in various forms to the team members was striking (Of course, her schoolgirl outfit in Tony's vision was typical Tony). Rudolf Martin's Ari Haswari was brilliant--slick, dangerous, deceptive and unstable. I found myself regretting Ari's storyline being completed--he could have been Wo Fat to Gibbs' McGarrett (Hawaii Five-O reference). It's always fun when Jessica Steen drops in to trade remarks with Weatherly as Paula Cassidy. Michael Bellisario's turn as Abby's lab assistant is a comical and dangerous turn. Finally, we can't forget Muse Watson's introduction in the "Hiatus" episodes as Gibbs' mentor when he joined NIS, Mike Franks. Franks' amusement at the changes--the female director in particular--are tempered by his having to fill in many of the blanks for Gibbs when Jethro is recovering from amnesia.
Ultimately, the season of change that is NCIS Season 3 is a storytelling wonder--full of the humor and action that has been the staple of the series since it's beginning, but also the undercurrent of melancholy that permeates this season. The loss of Kate really becomes the latest in a series of painful losses for Gibbs--but we never realize it until the end of the season.

I first began watching NCIS--Naval Criminal Investigative Service during the middle of Season Three. Since then, I have been catching up on the program's earlier episodes watching and enjoying the first two seasons on DVD. Now I have finished watching the Season Three DVD set, catching up to the point where I first began watching the show.
Returning cast members from Season Two include Mark Harmon stars as special agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, the no-nonsense leader of the NCIS team. Gibbs' teammates include special agent and former homicide detective Tony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly), agent Tim McGee (Sean Murray), forensics expert/goth chick Abby Sciuto (Pauley Perrette) and Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard (David McCallum, best remembered as The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'s Ilya Kuryakin), a quirky medical examiner. Lauren Holly joins the cast as NCIS Director Jennifer Shepherd, and Cote De Pablo comes on board as Israeli Mossad agent Ziva David. Ziva replaces Caitlin "Kate" Todd (Sasha Alexander), who had been killed by a terrorist at the end of Season Two.
The two-part season opener follows Gibbs and the NCIS team as they seek out Kate's killer. Jennifer Shepherd and Ziva David are also introduced in this episode. "Kill Ari" finds Gibbs and his crew trying to cope with the emotional impact of the loss of one of their own. The fact that Gibbs and Shepherd were once lovers, and that she once worked under him, complicates matters further. And Cote De Pablo's Ziva has certainly become the perfect foil for Weatherly's wannabe playboy DiNozzo, making for some very witty dialogue between the two.
The writing for Season Three is as sharp as ever. The action and drama are great, and the relationships between the characters have grown, making NCIS a lot of fun to watch. The cast members have truly brought their characters to life and made them believable. This program continues to get better with each season.
The bonus features for this DVD set include audio commentaries for "Kill Ari, Part 1," "Boxed In" and "Bloodbath." Also featured are several featurettes including "The Real NCIS Declassified" (a look at the real-life NCIS and the work its agents actually do), "The Women of NCIS" and "NCIS: Season of Change." Also included is a "Hit the Head" montage, with many instances of the characters slapping each other in the back of the head taken from numerous episodes. And creator/producer/writer Donald Bellasario holds a round table discussion of the third season with several senior members of the show's production staff.
NCIS has become one of my favorite programs of the last few years, and it is one of the best shows on television today. This DVD set is a must-have for fans who have loved the show from the beginning, and it's also great for helping newer fans get caught up with the program's past. I am looking forward to the release of the fourth season DVD set, which is due out in stores October 23rd. In the meantime, I shall continue to enjoy watching the first three seasons on DVD.

NCIS is one of my all-time favorite programs. The series is quirky and 'hinky' as their forensic scientist Abby Sciuto likes to say. The third season opens after one of their agents was killed in the line of duty. Revenge on the terrorist who killed her becomes a theme through part of the season. Plus, the agency gets a brand-new female director who just happens to have a prior relationship with Special Agent Gibbs, the leader of the featured NCIS team. Definitely an exciting show with a truly likeable and interesting ensemble cast. These episodes are well worth keeping and watching again!