Friday, August 22, 2008

Mini-DVD Review: NCIS - The Fifth Season (Aug. 26)

Welcome to a special edition of mini-DVD reviews! Today we we take a look at CBS DVD's Fifth Season of Navy NCIS. See Seth Thrasher's mini-DVD review of NCIS - The Fifth Season and:

NCIS - The Fifth Season (CBS, $55.98) is now on DVD. This season is marked by mysterious secrets among the team, an explosive showdown with an elusive arms dealer, and a shocking final episode that shouldn't be missed. The series starts Mark Harmon, Michael Weatherly, Pauley Perrette, David McCallum, Sean Murray, Cote de Pablo, and Lauren Holly. This set contains the 18 episodes of the 2008 Writers' Strike-shortened 5th season.
One thing I hope I'm made absolutely clear over the years is simply that I *love* this show. Judging by the ratings many others do to. What amazes me though is very rarely does a week go by where I don't hear someone throwing it under the bus and trying to group it in with shows like CSI, Law & Order, etc. Yes, there are elements of that to this series. But with NCIS especially there's so much more going on. This series is significantly more character driven, and seems far more willing to use recurring plot themes than many of those other shows. With the other series, you could insert just about any actor into the carefully crafted niches in the series framework, and tell the same stories. But in NCIS' first five series, this largely hasn't been true. Ziva is largely different from Kate, for example, in the show's one main cast replacement. Similarly, replacing any other character would have strong effects on the series. This makes me concerned about the plot twist at the end of this fifth season -- and I really hope they don't screw this up, as honestly anything more than a temporary tweak for story purposes might very well send me packing from the series.
What could be so big that it would even threaten to send me running--the 5th season finale. One cast member (Lauren Holly) made a permanent exit from the show, while three others (Michael Weatherly, Sean Murray, Cote de Pablo) all were "reassigned" as part of the ending of the episode. Whether this is a temporary change or a permanent one will be resolved in season six -- I think I've made clear my hope of the outcome (no, I haven't bothered to check for spoilers). Before that, though, you have a great season of episodes, including a great Gibbs-centric episode in "Requiem" that's kicked off when Gibbs is sought for help by the childhood friend of his deceased daughter.
In terms of the technical side of the set, the packaging is as always a box containing slimcases -- three cases holding five discs this season. The discs have taken on the silver standard look of Paramount/CBS releases. Menus are well-designed but static, with no music in the background. In regards to audio and video, a great thing about working with newer series is that the video quality and audio quality are great almost by default. This set is no exception -- the video looks flawless in its presentation. Color balance is nice and even, there are no compression artifacts, there are no problems in the transfer -- nothing. Audio is a crisp and clear 5.1 audio track. The usual CBS/Paramount disclaimer about edits appears on the bottom of the box, but the only missing footage I can find in the one episode I have for comparison, "About Face," is the Stay Tuned for Scenes from the Next NCIS tag at the end. In fact, excluding *it* the DVD version actually appears to have a longer runtime by a few seconds. More than likely, in an era of pre-negotiated DVD rights, that disclaimer is just for legal purposes. I highly doubt anything substantive is cut.
And since NCIS is a popular series currently airing on TV, that means more effort goes into the bonuses on a release. There are SIX special features, including cast and crew commentaries, a revisiting of the aforementioned episode Requiem, a featurette talking about NCIS Season 5 itself, a feature on the costumes and wardrobe for the series, plus a feature on what all goes into transforming Pauley Perrette into the Abby character, including all the wardrobe, makeup, hair, false tattoos, etc. All great stuff to sit through and watch/listen to. The commentaries in particular are a great addition to see. I always love seeing DVD releases with large numbers of special features.
I didn't want to devote too much time to it, but another positive of this DVD release is the lower MSRP. Whether due to an overall business strategy or the fact that this season has a couple fewer episodes, the MSRP is noticeably lower than with past releases. I've been a big opponent of overpricing DVD sets, so I applaud this change wholeheartedly.
For those of you reading this who are trying to decide whether to buy the set or not, I wholeheartedly encourage it. NCIS is a great character driven drama -- with comedic elements -- and would make a welcome addition to your TV on DVD library. And for fans of the series, while the presence of the Disclaimer of Doom is always troubling, I sincerely doubt you have anything to worry about. As such, this set is STRONGLY recommended.
-- Reviewed by Seth Thrasher
(4.5/5 stars)

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Navy NCIS TV.com Page


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Thursday, June 5

Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "A House Divided" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Audrey and Mary go to war over CeeCee and Georgie, and Mandy can’t help but take sides.

Ghosts - "Thorapy 2: Abandonment Issues" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Thor returns to therapy to work through his angst over being abandoned by his Viking shipmates. Also, Jay’s sister, Bela (Punam Patel), attempts to help him with the restaurant.

Bob's Burgers - "Snackface" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Tina, Gene and Louise strike it rich in the illegal snack business at school, but the addition of a new member to their "cartel" threatens to destroy it.

Grimsburg - "The Undies" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT)
In order to win this year's Undies Award for best undercover operation, Flute infiltrates the Preggo crime family.

Family Guy - "Martian Meg" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Fed up with feeling like she doesn't belong, Meg enlists in a training program for a mission to Mars.

The Great North - "Reservoir Dad Adventure" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Beef discovers the thrills of stunt fishing.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of June 1)

Thursday, June 5

  • Seth MacFarlane (Family Guy/American Dad!/The Cleveland Show) - Catch Seth on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Nick Kroll (Big Mouth/The League/Cavemen) and Andrew Rannells (Girls/The New Normal) - Nick and Andrew are guests on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Dakota Johnson (Ben and Kate) - Dakota stops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Maria Bamford (Lady Dynamite/Benched) - Maria is a guest on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Mario Cantone (And Just Like That.../Sex and the City) - Mario appears on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 10:15pm on Bravo.
  • Nicole Ari Parker (And Just Like That.../Second Time Around) - Nicole talks about And Just Like That... on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
  • Leslie Bibb (Palm Royale/God's Favorite Idiot/American Housewife/The Odd Couple/About a Boy) - Leslie talks about The White Lotus on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
  • Brianne Howey (Dollface) - Brianne talks about Ginny & Georgia on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am, on CBS Mornings Plus in the 9am hour, and on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
  • Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/One Day at a Time) - Drew-crewer Valerie is joining Drew with chef Bobby Flay to whip up something amazing in the kitchen on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Kerri Kenney (The Four Seasons/Maggie/Superstore/Reno 911!/The Ellen Show) - Kerri is a guest on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:40am.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series Frasier (2023) - Season Two Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered) Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)

01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season
05/13 - The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered)
06/06 - Shoresy - Season 2
06/17 - Looney Tunes - Collector's Vault - Volume 1 (Blu-ray)
07/08 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)

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