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- NCIS Is a Classic Police Procedural Show
- What Happens in NCIS Season 2?
- How NCIS Season 2 Still Ranks as NCIS’ Best Season, Explained
As a naval veteran who’s no stranger to the high seas and the battlefield, I can confidently say that NCIS Season 2 still ranks as the best season of this action-packed series. This isn’t just because I have a soft spot for anything Navy, but it’s all about the drama!
In October 14, 2024, NCIS will be back for its 22nd season. It’s a good question whether the series has reached its peak or not. With Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon) no longer heading the investigation team since his departure in 2021, it might be tough for the long-running show to reclaim past success. Interestingly enough, 2024 also marks the 20th anniversary of NCIS Season 2, a period often regarded as one of the best times in the series’ history.
NCIS Season 2 significantly advanced its game compared to its first season, with enhancements like fine-tuning the narrative structure of episodes and elevating a popular character to a regular role. In other words, NCIS Season 2 took things up a notch. Although it didn’t attract as many viewers as its tenth season did, it still stands out for its excellent writing, direction, acting, and the consistent format it introduced that continues to this day, making it a clear standard-bearer.
NCIS Is a Classic Police Procedural Show
NCIS is a widely-known American television series about crime investigations that first appeared on CBS in 2003. The acronym stands for Naval Criminal Investigative Services. This show focuses on the detective skills of Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Harmon) and his team from the Major Case Response Team (MCRT), operating primarily in Washington, DC. Besides Gibbs, significant characters over time have included Chief Medical Examiner Donald “Ducky” Mallard (David McCallum), Agent Tim McGee (Sean Murray), Senior Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly), Special Agent Caitlin Todd (Sasha Alexander), Forensic expert Abby Sciuto (Pauley Perrette).
Over the past two decades on NCIS, various main characters have joined and departed, with new ones taking their places. Characters who have been consistently present since Season 2 include Jimmy Palmer, the Assistant Medical Examiner (played by Brian Dietzen), Leon Vance, the NCIS Director (Rocky Carroll), Agent Ziva David (Cote de Pablo), and others. As Gibbs and his team tackle cases related to the U.S. Navy and armed forces, they also delve into the characters’ personal lives beyond their work.
Regardless of some repetition in its structure, the series has maintained a level of freshness that kept it on television for more than 20 years. It achieved its greatest popularity in 2011, peaking with its highest ratings and being titled “America’s Favorite TV Show” by an online Harris Poll. Nevertheless, even with relatively low viewership, fans missed out on the finest episodes of NCIS when Season 2 was released in 2004.
What Happens in NCIS Season 2?
In the world of NCIS, this second season is commonly regarded as the most exceptional. Building upon the lessons from its first season, the show significantly enhanced its quality compared to the original. The season commences with a tense kidnapping case involving a woman and her visually impaired daughter. This situation required Gibbs and his team to thwart a $2 million ransom plot, thus elevating the dramatic tension.
In Episode 4, Lt. Jane Doe, Ducky connects a mark on a submerged victim’s neck to an old unsolved case, thereby enhancing the formula that viewers would eventually become fond of. The “Phoofs,” or black-and-white preliminary footage at the start of each episode, which serve as a recurring theme, were first introduced in this episode and have continued since then. Although it may seem routine to modern viewers, Season 2 solidified the show’s consistent structure, boosting its appeal through familiarity.
Another reason why Season 2 stands out is that it elevated Agent Timothy McGee to a series regular character, who has been with the show second only to Ducky. As a result, McGee moved to work inside NCIS HQ and became an integral part of the team, becoming one of the audience’s favorite characters. Remarkably, McGee has remained on the show longer than Gibbs, showing that promoting him in Season 2 was one of the smartest decisions made for the series.
As the intensity and anticipation grow throughout Season 2, Episode 7, titled “Call of Silence,” finds Gibbs and his colleagues probing into the past when a World War II Medal of Honor recipient unexpectedly admits to a murder from 60 years ago, providing viewers with an engaging history lesson about the Navy. Charles Durning, a talented actor, portrays the naval veteran, drawing on his real-life three Purple Heart Awards for his WWII service. While later seasons of NCIS tend to explore topics beyond the Navy and frequently repeat plotlines, Season 2 remains faithful to its theme and consistently delivers high-drama episodes.
How NCIS Season 2 Still Ranks as NCIS’ Best Season, Explained
Going beyond enhancing Mcgee, refining the narrative structure, strengthening the opening sequence, and maintaining the brand identity, it’s the high-stakes, unforgettable drama that makes NCIS Season 2 stand out. After the episode “Call of Silence,” the show reaches its dramatic peak when the cherished NCIS character Ducky is mysteriously kidnapped from his home in Episode 13, titled “The Meat Puzzle.” Caitlin feels a sense of guilt for Ducky’s abduction, having failed to protect him and his mother earlier. This incident brings the main characters closer together as they urgently work to rescue Ducky before it’s too late.
In Season 2, Gibbs and his team delve into a mafia plot, discovering that a Marine shooting range served as a covert disposal site for bodies. The tension ratchets up in the second-to-last episode, “SWAK,” when DiNozzo falls ill with a lethal disease that hangs over him like a grim reaper.
The climax of NCIS Season 2 is the heart-wrenching episode titled “Twilight.” Initially, it was thought that ruthless Mossad Agent Ari Haswari had left the country, but he resurfaced in the U.S. to take revenge on Gibbs. Tragically, Caitlin Todd was fatally shot by Haswari. The emotional impact on both fans and the team, particularly Gibbs, was palpable, as the false belief in DiNozzo’s survival left viewers stunned. It wasn’t just hard for audiences and characters to bid farewell to Caitlin, but Season 2 served as a reminder that NCIS wasn’t afraid to eliminate a vital team member from its cast. This narrative technique, while more foreseeable now, was still a shocking development back then.
It’s not surprising that the NCIS episode “Twilight” ranks as the second highest-rated episode from Season 2, trailing only “Call of Silence.” Intriguingly, Season 2 of NCIS has been recognized as the third best season by Entertainment Weekly, with Season 3 and Season 9 taking the top spots respectively. Unfortunately, Season 2 recorded one of the show’s lowest viewership ratings (8.8), second only to Season 1 (7.8). However, even though NCIS took some time to captivate audiences, viewers returning to the beginning are likely to concur that Season 2 still represents the pinnacle of the series so far. By the way, you can stream NCIS on Paramount+, with certain seasons also available on Netflix.
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2024-09-04 02:32