'NCIS,' I'm sorry I doubted you
Posted: Thursday, June 11, 2009 6:00 AM by Paige Newman
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TV
I’m not going to lie. I watch a lot of television. But even with cable and my DVR, it’s simply impossible to watch everything. But this being summer, I decided to give four shows that I never normally watch a chance to impress me. Here’s what happened:
“Supernatural” (The CW)
It’s a bit hard to jump into this show without ever having watched it, but I have to say, I enjoyed it. The episode I watched had sort of a “Back to the Future” plot about Dean (Jensen Ackles) going back in time with help from an angel, to stop the yellow-eyed demon that would eventually kill his parents. This was a two-part episode and I really want to see part two. The show reminded me a bit of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” But the one thing that worried me about this show was that there wasn’t much humor. The boys (although Sam, played by Jared Padalecki, was hardly in the episode) seem to be on the same “I’m tortured, but I’ll just keep going” path that David Banner was on in the “Incredible Hulk” episodes of my youth. I may keep watching, but tell me why I should. Is there ever any humor in this show?
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Mark Harmon and Cote de Pablo prove to be much more interesting than I thought they'd be on "NCIS."
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“NCIS” (CBS)
Maybe it was my long-standing aversion to Mark Harmon, but I really wasn’t expecting to like this show. But was I ever surprised. Of the four shows, this is the one I will definitely keep watching. I loved all the characters, especially former Mossad badass Ziva (Cote de Pablo) and the gothy Abby (Pauley Perrette). Heck, I even thought Harmon was kind of gruff and interesting. I actually watched two episodes – one from 2006 and one from this past season – and even though I had never seen this show before, I was able to jump right in. My question for readers is: What is the best season of this show? My Netfix queue is calling.
“The Mentalist” (CBS)When I first heard about this show, I was intrigued, but I never got around to watching it until this past week. And I was disappointed. Patrick (Simon Baker) is nice to look at, but so smug that I kept waiting for someone to hit him. It was puzzling, because I love “House,” but House is so flawed that there’s a certain amount of irony in his smugness – his narrow skill set is the only thing he has going for him. And he's pretty tortured. Conversely, Patrick seems to blithely glide from murder scene to murder scene like a game show host. The show is not helped by the ever-irritating Robin Tunney; oh, how I cheered when she was killed off “Prison Break.” Yet, this show is incredibly popular. Why?
“Two and a Half Men” (CBS)
When it comes to comedy, I’m definitely more of an “Office” or “30 Rock” person. “Two and a Half Men” is like a throwback to another time. In fact, watching it, I kept being reminded of “Three’s Company.” It has that same “what kind of misunderstanding will fuel this week’s episode” feel, with tons of double entendre humor thrown in to boot. There is a certain gentleness to the humor. No one is ever going to feel uncomfortable watching “Two and a Half Men.” It’s the opposite of something like “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” where I find myself giggling and cringing simultaneously. But what really struck me was that “Men” wasn’t all that funny. I only laughed twice, and I rolled my eyes more than a few times. It’s one of those sitcoms where you can easily play the “guess the next line” game. Is it the gentleness that keeps people watching?
