Guilty Pleasures: My Secret Love Affair with Gibbs

"Should I call you Leroy?  Or Jethro?"

Pause.

"Gibbs it is, then."

What amazes me about this show is that the season premier this week had me on the edge of my couch cushions and it's the tenth season!  A crime drama centering around the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, it got its start as a spinoff of JAG, or Judge Advocate General, a military courtroom drama.

What sets NCIS apart, for me, is the strength of the writing and the rapport between the characters.  The shows from week to week aren't the same-old, same-old.  Each time we get a little glimpse into the lives of each of the people we've come to love and, unlike some other cop shows that I've enjoyed but then found to grow dull, we are kept interested by the development of those characters.  Tony Denozzo, for example, started out as a cad and has become a well-rounded man with a yearning for a real relationship but a fear of being hurt.  Each of the characters has matured and changed, evolved, if you will.

I find it useful to watch these kinds of shows because a) they have to tell a tight story in a specific time frame, which is good discipline for a storyteller and b) because they have to keep the audience engaged over time, even with the same characters.  That isn't easy to do and I think those of us who write in series can learn a lot from these shows.

And besides, am I the only one that has a crush on Gibbs?  Come on, ladies, 'fess up.  Who's your favorite?

Gibbs vs. Longmire

Our theme for the month centers around characters and threw me straight into the horns of a dilemma.  Who is my favorite character on television right now, Gibbs or Longmire?

Well, let's see.  Mark Harmon plays Gibbs as quiet, reserved, dedicated, intense.  Robert Taylor plays Longmire as quiet, reserved, dedicated, intense.

I guess it's a good thing they're not on television at the same time.  NCIS was voted "America's Favorite TV Show" and has just been renewed for the 10th season starting September 25, 2012.  (Wikipedia article "NCIS", accessed 08/01/2012.)  It airs on Tuesdays nights on CBS.  Longmire is a new show on A&E and airs on Sunday nights; episodes are available on the A&E website.  

Shows that I really love (Firefly, Dollhouse, Alcatraz) don't seem to stay around on television very long.  It's rare that I fall in love with a "popular" show (I loathed Seinfeld, for example).  I'm pleased that NCIS is being renewed and am enjoying going through the episodes through Netflix.  The season finale of last season was a doozie (I won't type the spoiler here, but fans who saw it will be with me when I say I'm on the edge of my seat to find out what happens).  

Longmire is a little different.  It centers around a small-town sheriff who lost his wife and his focus, but is now getting the focus back.  Set in rural Wyoming, it involves the local Cheyenne tribe as well as encroaching Mexican drug cartels and Amish families.  I like its twist on the traditional police procedural and how it portrays different cultures with a penetrating and more realistic eye than I've seen done previously.

What about you?  What's your favorite characters to watch this season?

Murder, anyone?

Let me just start by saying that I really don't like reality shows. Sometimes I will find myself watching -- fascinated by the penchant some people have of making total fools of themselves for the world to see.

Personally, I prefer make believe. My favorite form of television entertainment? For years and years, it's been the weekly mystery/crime drama. If they can add a bit of humor, all the better.

I remember tuning in every week to watch Columbo or McMillan and Wife, and others in the NBC Mystery Movie night. These die-hard favorites often included intrigue, danger, some quirky characters, and a car chase or two. I loved Columbo and his wrinkled raincoat; his seemingly inept manor that put every bad guy and gal at ease. I thought Susan St. James was wonderfully cute and perky while she tried -- in an almost Lucille Ball fashion -- to help her husband solve crime.

But I was young. And, in all honesty, so was television for all intents and purposes. The weekly crime drama has evolved. Blood and gore abound... plots are a bit more twisted and not always so easy to figure out. But I do still love a good murder. ;) My favorites, however, are the ones where I have to figure it out along with the show's resident 'detective' -- whether that person be a mystery writer, cop, or forensic scientist*.

*Although, really, how many pathologists head out in the field to question suspects? Ummm, I'm thinking not many.

I love puzzles. I adore discovering those clues right along the hero (or heroine) on the small screen. I thrill at being able to piece it together and, sometimes, figuring it out before the professional sleuth does. With some shows that task is often difficult -- and those are the ones I watch more often.

So, while I still need a bit of mindless, silly comedy from time to time, (Thank you, Disney Channel); and something educational at rare moments (ala The History Channel) -- the crime drama is still my special fave.

Monk, sadly, is gone, except in reruns. But I still adore:

NCIS (the original, not the LA version. Sorry).

Other favorites include: Castle (love the character interaction);
Flash Point (fast-paced and often riveting);
Psych (much silliness and Shawn's dialog tends to wear me out.);
The Mentalist (sort of a 'grown-up' Psych?);
The Closer, a must-see every week (Again, love the characters!);
Bones;
Warehouse 13 (rarely murder involved, but I love the sci-fi aspect and the characters).


I suppose it really comes down to which shows have characters that fascinate me? Entertain me? Characters that I care about?

This life-long fixation is why I like to include a bit of mystery in my novels. It keeps me, and the reader, involved with a story.

Do you like mysteries? Crime drama? Or do you prefer to laugh your way through television viewing?

~~Meg Allison

Indulge your senses...
http://www.megallisonauthor.com