Now, very little buzz. Viewership and ratings are slipping. I don’t need to wait for the commercials to get a snack or empty the dryer. Little desire to viewt the episode again.

Season 11 was the first season that I had no desire to own on DVD. TPTB are claiming that the missing 2 to 3 million viewers are still watching but now on DVR. They won’t own up to tired plots or mediocre writing. Their die hard fans refuse to give up. They are hoping for a miracle. Even the diehards are slowly drifting away. Can this be fixed? I think it can. The things TPTB could do is get Cote de Pablo back even for a few episodes. She could inject a lot of excitement into even a mediocre episode. Another thing is “fix the writing.” I’ve suspected that TPTB inject their ideas into the writing–perhaps micromanaging it. An example of that is the totally non-organic way they treated the exit of Ziva. The failure to mention Ziva, an 8 year member of the family, was a poor decision. It left a pervasive feeling that her team mates did not care for her. All of the poignant moments between Ziva and her team mates were now hypocrisy. Her team mates are now less likeable. I’m sure that there were bad feelings toward Cote de Pablo but to transfer them onto her team mates was sheer stupidity. I wonder how bad it has to get before TPTB would fix the problems and let this show become great again. Right now, they are holding it back.

I decided not to watch NCIS NO last week. I too was not impressed with the first two enough to give it a third chance. I agree the writing has just gotten bad all around. NCIS NO is trying to force the City of New Orleans as a character. I live in Houston and am very familiar with Louisiana and New Orleans and their accents and their ways. It’s not authentic to me how they are portraying characters. I had no idea Harmon’s ego matched Glasbergs. Somebody needs to be the bad guy to these guys and say their input of late is ruining NCIS. The Bishop character is abysmal. I turn the channel when she comes on and sometimes forget to go back. Letting Ziva go was a huge mistake. I think their egos are responsible for that blunder too. The writers must have wrote for Scooby Doo cartoons – it’s awful! Scooby Doo was better than this mish mash!

I’d just like to see Tony featured in a danger filled arc instead of romances that tptb have no intention of developing. They’re just teasing Tony “possible” romance stories because they create buzz. They have no intention of giving Tony any relationship or danger filled episodes in which he is cast as the hero. That would be way more attention and importance than they’re allowed to give Tony. The big stories ALL have to go to Gibbs now. Heaven forbid they take the spotlight off of super hero, practically walks on water Gibbs for even a second. They need Tony to be an ass so that Gibbs can look even more awesome by comparison. The show is all about Gibbs now. No more team. Just super Gibbs and how he will act, impart wisdom, is so admired, handles all danger, outsmarts everyone, saves everyone, nobly sacrificing himself, and of course, saving the day. What can the rest of the team do but bask in the glow and look on in awe?