"NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service" is a spin-off of the popular show "JAG" and focuses on a crimes related to the Nay and the U.S. Marine Corps. Featuring a veteran cast of stellar performers including Mark Harmon, David McCallum ("The Man from U.N.C.L.E." which will hopefully show up on DVD soon if the gods of the legal system can iron out their difficulties), "NCIS" is an entertaining, thought provoking show much like the "CSI" TV shows. Produced by Donald Bellasario ("Quantum Leap", "Magnum P.I." and, of course, "JAG") this isn't your typical rip-off of "CSI" as the characters aren't limited to just what happens in Las Vegas or Miami but do a bit of globetrotting to deal with a wide variety of crimes. Filled with witty dialogue and strong performances "NCIS" is an impressive show. With the cast's dry wit (andDavid McCallum's wicked performance as the coroner the show) has its own distinctive personality. ***

The third season of the series had cast changes with the death of a major character in the line of duty and another character for a promotion. Jen Shepard (Lauren Holly) joins the cast as the new NCIS director. The other new character is Officer Ziva David (Cote de Pablo) who is a Mossad Intelligence operative who is sent in to prevent the NCIS team from pursuing the killer of their colleague. ---

Image & Sound:

A sharp, colorful presentation blacks are rock solid with nice detail. There are some rare compression artifacts but, overall, the show receives a very nice transfer. Audio is quite good as well presented stereo surround with nice depth and presence. All 24 episodes look fine on DVD.

We have a number of very nice special features included with the third season set. Audio commentaries include "Kill Ari" (Part 1) with producer/creator/writer Donald P. Bellisario, "Frame Up" featuring Pauley Perrett and Michael Weatherly, "Boxed In" with Bellisario and Avery Drew and "Bloodbath" with a new tag team of Perrett and Weatherly. All are interesting and fun to listen to although hardly essential for fans until the second or third time watching the episodes. ***

"Hit the Head Montage" is exactly what its title suggests-the cast smacking each other in the head a token of "affection" from Gibbs. ***

Round Table" features the creative crew discussing the challenges and benefits of working on the show but what also makes this show different than other procedural crime shows. ***

Women of the NCIS features the cast and some key creative folks discussing the female characters on the show. ***

"The Real N.C.I.S. Declassified" features a mixture of real life experts that work for the real life counterpart of the show. It's a pretty fascinating glimpse into the world that inspired our fictional counterpart. ***

"N.C.I.S.: Season of Change" gives us the low down on the changes for the third season in terms of cast, tone and focus. I'd watch this after watching the entire season as it does include some storyline spoilers and bits of background that might otherwise impact your enjoyment of the show. ---

Final Words: