Once upon a time, I was watching JAG...
... so I started watching NCIS when it was
created, and I started watching NCIS: Los Angeles when it was created, and then NCIS:
New
Orleans, as well.
Today?
I think I've had enough, and if I want to be
honest, the biggest clue was there from the moment the future NCIS team was
featured in JAG (Ice Queen, s08e20): I flinched when the ME, Dr
Donald Mallard (David McCallum) was so unpleasant with a female agent and
judgemental about the female victim on his slab.
Example 1:
Dr Donald Mallard: How about dinner tonight after the autopsy?
Special Agent Vivian Blackadder: I never date men old enough to be my father, Ducky.
Dr Donald Mallard: Agent Blackadder reminds me of a young woman I autopsied once.
Because it's all right to compare a woman to an old corpse when she turns you down (for whatever frigging reason!)
Example 2:
Dr Donald Mallard: [
flirting while performing an autopsy] You sure you won't have dinner with me?
Special Agent Vivian Blackadder: Oh, Ducky, you're
disgusting!
Dr. Donald Mallard: The pursuit of sex is an affirmation of life, Vivian. That's why older men are so lascivious.
Seriously? Eugh!!!
Example 3:
Mallard is told that the dead officer, who was
pregnant, was also single. His reaction?
Dr. Donald Mallard: [addressing the dead victim] Shame on you.
Now, that's classy and such a modern thing to say in an episode that was aired on April 22nd 2003!
Of course, it was just the "introduction" of these characters, and the writers needed to fine-tune the new voices for these characters, but I think it was a sign of things to come.
As in:
- On December, 16th 2005 (Twilight, s02e23), the beloved Caitlin Todd (Sasha Alexander) is shot in the head. You can't get more violent and final than this, and why? Because the actress wished to leave the show.
Payback: Kate Todd is annihilated.
- On May, 20th 2008 (Judgment Day Part 1, s05e18), the female director of NCIS, Jennifer Shepard (Lauren Holly), is killed - after being diagnosed with something nasty that was taking its toll on the character.
The character's authority had been undermined from the start: Gibbs (Mark Harmon) was seldom an obedient subordinate and he ends up burning her flat in order to cover a blunder of hers.
- On October 1st 2013 (Past, Present, and Future, s11e02), Ziva David (Cote de Pablo) leaves the show. Her character had been manipulated by her father and ordered to shoot her half-brother so she could come close to Gibbs to spy on him. She was also tortured after being abducted by terrorists.
On February, 10th 2017 (Family First, s13e24), Tony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly, who said he wanted to leave to widen his acting skills and was given his own series) leaves.
His father's character will be invited in several episodes afterwards, and his character will be mentioned several times, as well.
How did the writers make DiNozzo leave? Ziva had a daughter with him (and she was such an utter bitch that she never told him) and now that Ziva died in a fire, he must be the hero, become a single father and raise his daughter? Even if Cote de Pablo left because she was disappointed with the scripts for her character, it reeks of sexist payback to have her burnt to a crisp so a man can leave to go play the main character in his own, brand new series. They couldn't even put her in a coma. No. The ungrateful bitch had to die - some horrible death.
- When Elenor Bishop (Emily Wikersham) joins NCIS (Gut Check, s11e09), her character's different, odd - innovative. She's quickly told (by Gibbs) to change her ways. Her husband was swell, but he goes and cheats on her. She finds love again - and he's murdered. Go on, pile up nastiness on her!
- Alexandra Quinn (Jennifer Esposito) was only in Season 14. She didn't return to Season 15 and there never was a proper explanation. Not even another character saying 'I phoned Quinn, and her mom's doing better' (as the mother's early onset of Alzheimer's seems to be the favourite theory - amongst fans... Not a word from the writers!).
- Delilah Fielding-McGee (Margo Harshman), a strong character, is hurt so badly in a missile attack that she ends up in a wheelchair. She's still a tough cookie, but she had to be hurt (no, it's not for the sake of drama; it's sexist writing, and - let's admit it - a part of the writers' childish bullying campaign against the McGee character).
- Gibbs and Fornell's ex-wife, Diane Sterling (Melinda McGraw), was always portrayed as a class A bitch. Surprise: she's killed like Kate.
- And now (Two Steps Back, s15e22), the kind-hearted Pauley Perrette was probably forced to leave because of physical
violence on set? I
believe her.
What makes me believe her? She's got nothing to gain by lying - and it's not as if it's the first time a loaded Suit does whatever he wants, is it?
I've seen some people say they don't believe her because she fought with her ex-husband (and they clearly sided with him) and - and that's a bit rich! - because she reported being attacked by a homeless man and they don't believe her because of the way she told her story (!).
I've also seen some commenters demand that she gives a name or they won't believe her. Perfect! Try to bully her. A survivor speaks when she (or he) is ready. Some commenters demand to have a name so they can know that it's not any of the actors (if bipeds paid attention they'd properly read what she said, and they would know that it's some executive).
On top of the way the producers and the studios could not protect her, there's the way she was
written out of the show.
All right, she wasn't shot in the head or
burnt alive, but everybody knows that she was assaulted outside her home a
couple of years ago (don't even try to tell me that the writers didn't know or
I'll club you with my favourite rolling pin) - and she's a survivor of domestic
abuse... and how do they make her leave? She finds herself in front of an armed mugger
and is shot, you say?
Don't even try to tell me that it's to add
"drama" about the character's fate. That was to hurt torture
the actress. Full stop.
Do you want to have Abby Sciuto go to London? Here's
how you do it if you're not a fucking sociopath:
1) After the restaurant thingy, Clay (Duane
Henry) punches the mugger as Abby uses her Taser on the bad guy, who's
eventually shipped to Gibbs's interrogation room.
2) It's early morning. Abby wakes up... in
Clay's arms and he tells her how frightened he was and how much he loves her.
3) The fake mugger gives clues to find the real
bad guy.
4) Clay is offered a massive promotion... in
London. He refuses because he's fallen in love with Abby.
5) Abby stops the nutcase - again.
6) Abby goes to see Gibbs, and then Clay: 'We
need to talk.'
7) Abby calls everybody to her lab: 'Clay's
taking the new job in London... and I'm going with him. I'll work for NCIS in
London - and for Scotland Yard.'
Hugs all around and Ducky starts giving Abby
tips.
No one dies, and two characters leave.
Apparently it would kill some writers to give
the public a happy ending from time to time (it didn't hurt the team from The
Mentalist or White Collar, though, did it?).
NCIS: Los Angeles now...
At one point (I can't remember which episode it was), I remember thinking that there was something interesting going on. I later realized that there was an equal number of women and men in the number of main actors and actresses, which was pretty cool.
Then, there are strong women: Henrietta Lange (Linda Hunt), Kensi Blye (Daniela Ruah), Nell Jones (Renée Felice Smith), Harley Hidoko (Andrea Bordeaux), Shay Mosley (Nia Long)...
But there are issues:
- Kensi is the one who's so badly hurt that she's got to go through physical therapy. Yes, the actress was pregnant and they needed a valid reason to have her off screen, but abduction or a secret mission for Hetty could have worked just as well. As well, in the latest episode (Ninguna Salida, s09e24), the strain with her fiancé and possible break-up is a cheap way to write drama into the plot.
- When Mosley arrives, there's a sheer lack of respect from Callen (Chris O'Donnell). The regular characters missed Hetty, who went missing, but their behaviours reek of passive bullying. We get enough of that in real life.
- Hetty, who's basically Superwoman and just rocks, is abducted and tortured in Season 9. The abduction was an interesting plot twist, but the torture was gratuitous (save me the "she won in the end").
- Let's not forget that Sam Hanna's wife, Michelle Quinn (Indira G. Wilson and Aunjanue Ellis), who's a character who was created out of the blue, was murdered in Unleashed (s08e24). Once more, spare me the "it makes good drama"; it sucked.
Basically, I'm not a happy bunny with this series, but I just growl at the telly.
Ah... NCIS: New Orleans...
The ME, Loreta Wade (CCH Pounder) is a great character.
Then... Meredith Brody (Zoe McLellan) left the show for stupid reasons. Her character could well have stayed with NCIS as Tammy Gregorio (Vanessa Ferlito) and Sonja Percy (Shalita Grant) joined the team.
So, one of the "heads" wanted some drama and "Goodbye, Meredith", and now Percy's gone, too. In the regular cast we're left with four blokes and two gals. Keeping Meredith and Percy would have given us a 4/4 (apparently, you can't have that in Hollywood!).
I'm beginning to think that some level of sexism is what makes some American series survive in the long run.
After all, we often see intelligent, daring, open-minded series be cancelled by spineless networks and/or producers (let's have a look at Lucifer, for fun: witty show that follows its bible, no sexism, and four blokes and six gals (I'm counting Trixie) in the main cast. It worked beautifully - until Fox decided to kill it to have more football instead - don't even try to tell me it's because of the ratings!).
Sexism-free telly can work, some of the boys need to understand that (and stop being afraid of their own shadows, and stop protecting abusers, bullies, and plonkers with a sexist agenda). In the meantime, I'm done with the NCIS crap.
