Report Card: What ‘NCIS’ season 12 brought to the table
Was “NCIS” season 12 the best of the series? We wouldn’t say that, since we feel like it was probably a good five or so years ago when the show was really around its peak? However, it’s hard for any show to sustain itself for more than a decade, especially when you are introducing new characters and tackling a story that is for the most part procedural. At a certain point, it is pretty hard to avoid repeating yourself.
With all of this being said, we do consider season 12 a step up for the most part from an uneven season 11, which had to adjust so much on the fly to Cote de Pablo’s departure and Emily Wickersham signing on. There was some more stability, and that in turn led to some more consistent stories that focused more on the characters.
What worked – The three-episode arc at the end of the season was one of the strongest creatively we’ve seen from the show in years. You lost a recurring character in Dorny in the process, and it all helped to set up a really great, Gibbs-centric cliffhanger. Of course, he is almost certainly going to live to see the other day, but there is still the nature of consequences and just what they could be in this case.
To us, some standout episodes this season included “Grounded” (a great departure from the typical episode), the heart-wrenching “Check,” “We Build, We Fight,” and all of the Gibbs / Fornell scenes in “Cabin Fever.”
What didn’t – The show has never been able to do relationships well when you one of the two characters involved is recurring. Therefore, it’s hard to really get a full sense of McGee, Tony, and even Bishop’s personal lives when you just get reminders here and there that there are other people in their lives. Sometimes the show wants to be all about the job, and then at times it wants to show you more of what these people have going on. It’s never been able to mix the two completely when you only see so much of the significant other.
Also, a good portion of the fall season to us really sagged when it came to significant developments. The second half of season 12 was very strong and one of the best batches in some time, but it got off to a rough start.
Overall – A solid year for a show that has been most one of the most-watched dramas for some time. You can always nitpick little things here and there, but when it comes to giving you emotional stories and also little moments of humor here and there, the team should feel pretty good about themselves right now. Grade: B+.
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Jayce Everling
June 10, 2015 @ 2:15 am
My lineup of seasons
Season 10
Season 5
Season 6
Season 9
Season 4
Season 7
Season 12
Season 8
Season 11
Season 3
Season 2
Season 1
The arc with Zivas dad in season 10 was my favorite of the entire show and I’ve seen every episode about 5 times
Pat
June 1, 2015 @ 7:33 pm
I too still love the first four seasons above all others. Those seasons were fun and creative and ALL characters had a chance to shine, with out all the maudlin personal dramas, and all of them, and I mean ALL of them occasionally had their moment in which to be proven wrong. I miss seeing competent bad ass, significant agent Tony. Now everything and everyone must center around some drama for super/angsty Gibbs 90 percent of the time. Trying to replace Tony with McGee and think that it will be just as interesting is just wishful thinking. I hope they figure out that not everyone watches to see the super McGibbs show where every other regular is a caricature of their former selves and only serve to highlight Gibbs or McGee’s latest drama or awesomeness.
Matthew
June 2, 2015 @ 3:40 am
The show has never really been ever been about showing the Agents ‘off’ lives. Its not what this show is about, there is no mix like say a Grey’s Anatomy which attempts to depict the characters on and out of work, or going too far the other way like Suits which is all about showing the characters at Work but not really working.
I think the show has tried to flirt with the concept of showing that McGee and DiNozzo in particular do have lives outside of work.. more to differentiate them from Gibbs whose home is so spartan you would actually think he dosnt actually live there most of the time. Im not too sure this approach has worked, but when they have done so many of the ‘Jogger finds Body/ Wayward teen finds body/ other finds body’, they really did need to try a different angle with the show.
In regards to Gibbs being shot, Im guessing they wear vests under their clothing for such issues, but Id honestly like to see an impaired Gibbs going forward. Perhaps he lost too much blood in his leg, and it wont heal right anymore, or he got nerve damage or SOMETHING happened. Now he has decreased mobility ( a concept they went to give McGee’s girlfriend something.. different to spice up some storylines) and needs to rely more on the others, something Gibbs has never really done.
I think this NCIS is still streets ahead of its younger Spinoff in NCIS: LA which has never really found it’s mark.. and had to bring in the character of Deeks to increase its appeal.. and again its worked somewhat. NCIS: New Orleans rarely ever gets a mention in media so its very hard to gauge how thats going.
Alyson
June 1, 2015 @ 4:44 pm
The first four seasons will always be my favorite, but I thought NCIS did a great job this year with its stories for the most part. I liked the edge they brought to the season ending arc. Great that they did something a little outside the box for them. Grounded is one of my favorites of the season. I never get tired of watching it.
Chantelle Browne
June 15, 2015 @ 6:42 pm
I think that the writer s are getting more and more creative and that is a good for the show season 12 was absolutely amazing leaving you wanting to watch more and whats gonna happen next hope gibbs not gonna be killed off wouldn’t be the same with
him not there
Erin
June 16, 2015 @ 2:49 am
I have gotten bored with the constant and unvarying Gibbs drama focus. I don’t think that the current ptb are creative at all. All they do is repeat themes and focus on giving Gibbs, and only Gibbs, any drama or excitement. I hope that the writers are allowed to give Tony something interesting to do as an agent as opposed to his only focus being supporting the latest Gibbs or McGee drama, fretting about his father’s arrival, or some stupid completely lame obsession. I miss Tony being written as a smart bad ass but ultimately honorable multi dimensional and evolving character. The writers and ptb need to suck it up and actually DO something about the abysmal writing of Tony. It’s a waste of a talented actor and a formerly wonderful character.
Puff
June 1, 2015 @ 3:37 pm
I liked the old seasons better. The writing seems to be less creative.
LSilvaxx
May 30, 2015 @ 9:08 pm
I enjoyed S11 and S12 a lot. Great episodes.