This is the very hyped spin-off to NCIS. It was good. More hits than misses. LL Cool J and Chris O'Donnell play their parts like veterans.
Character wise you'll notice differences and similarities between this and NCIS obviously. There's a computer guru like Abby. There's a psychologist in the show where as in NCIS there isn't one. The main chief, Hetty, is an old woman who seems to treat her agents like their kids. In the first episode when Agent Callen (O'Donnell) arrives for his day back to work, Hetty makes sure he has everything he needs including a new wardrobe!!! She is definitely unlike Gibbs in many ways. Gibbs would never pamper his agents to that level. Gibbs is more direct and impatient. Hetty seems a bit more understanding. Hanna and Callen have a buddy buddy relationship in the tradition of Dinozzo and McGee. I found O'Donnell and LL's chemistry to be right on the money. Perfect casting here. They are creating a spin-off show with a couple of the same formulas from the original with an LA feeling. So far I think they've succeeded.
You'll also notice differences in the way of how the organization deals with cases. For the bulk of the pilot it was Callen and Hanna doing the bulk of the muscle for their investigation. Maybe this will change over time.
Story-wise the show seems to have a couple of stories to pursue. Callen still hasn't gotten his moment of justice for the people that shot him. In the the pilot is about a Navy Officer whose gunned down by people who are working for the drug cartel. There are a couple of twists to make the outcome not seem so obvious. OK sure it's a story that probably has been repeated many times but then again NCIS has plenty of routine stories that have been done to death.
"Identity" introduces the main characters of the show. They establish O'Donnell and LL as the main stars. We get a taste of the supporting characters but not enough obviously to let us know what makes them act the way they do. We also get a few characters making cameos for the show like Director Vance.
Overall, this so far is a nice spin-off. "Identity" was entertaining. There's a lot of possibilities here. As long as the show has character development and make stories interesting this could end up like NCIS having a long run.
Character wise you'll notice differences and similarities between this and NCIS obviously. There's a computer guru like Abby. There's a psychologist in the show where as in NCIS there isn't one. The main chief, Hetty, is an old woman who seems to treat her agents like their kids. In the first episode when Agent Callen (O'Donnell) arrives for his day back to work, Hetty makes sure he has everything he needs including a new wardrobe!!! She is definitely unlike Gibbs in many ways. Gibbs would never pamper his agents to that level. Gibbs is more direct and impatient. Hetty seems a bit more understanding. Hanna and Callen have a buddy buddy relationship in the tradition of Dinozzo and McGee. I found O'Donnell and LL's chemistry to be right on the money. Perfect casting here. They are creating a spin-off show with a couple of the same formulas from the original with an LA feeling. So far I think they've succeeded.
You'll also notice differences in the way of how the organization deals with cases. For the bulk of the pilot it was Callen and Hanna doing the bulk of the muscle for their investigation. Maybe this will change over time.
Story-wise the show seems to have a couple of stories to pursue. Callen still hasn't gotten his moment of justice for the people that shot him. In the the pilot is about a Navy Officer whose gunned down by people who are working for the drug cartel. There are a couple of twists to make the outcome not seem so obvious. OK sure it's a story that probably has been repeated many times but then again NCIS has plenty of routine stories that have been done to death.
"Identity" introduces the main characters of the show. They establish O'Donnell and LL as the main stars. We get a taste of the supporting characters but not enough obviously to let us know what makes them act the way they do. We also get a few characters making cameos for the show like Director Vance.
Overall, this so far is a nice spin-off. "Identity" was entertaining. There's a lot of possibilities here. As long as the show has character development and make stories interesting this could end up like NCIS having a long run.