NCIS season 16 midseason report card: The state of the show
Related NCIS video! – Check out some more thoughts on the series + recent Mark Harmon rumors below! For more news, be sure to subscribe and check out our show playlist.
Going into the season, we do think that there were some major challenges that the writers had. For starters, this was the first season with Kasie Hines as the forensic scientist! Replacing Pauley Perrette was no easy feat and because of that, there were some definite reasons for concern. Yet, Kasie has clearly come into her own and feels like a natural part of the team. She fits in like a glove, she’s likable, and there’s no reason to worry about her long-term future with the program.
Beyond just this, though, there is the sort of constant challenge with this show of finding a way to tell some interesting stories and deliver fun, fascinating cases. There has been some memorable ones, whether it be Gibbs heading out into the woods, a murder at a bizarre suburban community, or of course the events of the winter finale with the baby. On the flip side of that, though, there have also been some cases that were reasonably-forgettable, and there does still remain a larger question: Where is this season going right now?
As good as some of the characters are on NCIS, we’ve long felt that the series has a little bit of a Big Bad problem. They have to find a way in order to ensure that there are formidable bad guys to face off against the heroes and, at this particular point in the season, we’re not sure that we have enough of that.
The romance question
Does NCIS need to establish more of a will-they-or-won’t-they romance? They have two possible ones in Gibbs / Sloane and then Bishop / Torres. We don’t necessarily think that it’s the sort of thing that is 100% necessary, but at the same time, we do also think that it is important for the show to have something greater to be building towards. If we were one of the writers, this is something that we’d be looking at as more of a long-term arc. It doesn’t need to be romance, but giving some characters goals and things to attain helps them to be set up in the long-term.
Midseason Verdict
Overall, NCIS season 16 does still have some holes in it, especially when it comes to getting some notable villains or making every episode shine. Yet, they’ve done a good job with the Kasie character and the Vance arc from earlier this season. It may not be the best first half of the season that we’ve seen, but clearly the show has figured out a way to do some rather-entertaining things. Midseason Grade: B.
Related News – Be sure to check out some more information on the next new NCIS episode
What did you think about NCIS season 16 to date? Be sure to share right now in the attached comments. (Photo: CBS.)