NCIS remains one of the top rated and most watched shows on television today, even after 18 seasons. The spin off series were also among the top rated shows. Most. For some reason NCIS: NEW ORLEANS never quite clicked with viewers. With a respectable 7 season run the series was canceled due to low ratings. For fans of the show though you can now watch it over and over again. They have released the entire series on disc and that means repeat viewings are in your future.
I for one found the series as fresh and watchable as the other two series in the franchise. Each of the series has their own vibe, their own focus. NCIS is a weekly investigation more often than not a murder. NCIS: LOS ANGELES is usually focused on terrorism. NCIS: NEW ORLEANS seemed to move back and forth between the two, a murder that might be the result of terrorism or some local’s criminal activity. One long running plotline had them dealing with corruption in local politics that ventured into their field of investigation.
Leading the team was Scott Bakula as Dwayne Pride. Bakula’s character was all things combined, an ex-sheriff who joined NCIS in his hometown of New Orleans. The character of Pride gave us a view unlike the other two series in that he had a personal tie to the location the show took place in. For him this was watching out for the city he loved as well as those in it. Several other characters were the same.
First among them was CCH Pounder as Loretta Wade the medical examiner on the team. She too had ties to the community as became apparent in the final season when she took on the role of being part of a task force for the mayor. Wade’s character was the one that tried to keep the rest grounded. That is unless something affected her personally.
Aiding Wade in the first season was Sebastian Lund (Rob Kerkovich), a somewhat nerdy technical genius whose work in the lab helped her do her job. Sebastian changed as the series did though, going from working in the lab to becoming a full-fledged agent in the field. While his character was quirky he was good at his job and he became a character everyone loved.
In the first few seasons Pride’s right hand man was Christopher LaSalle (Lucas Black), another ex-NOPD officer who joined the team. Stubborn at times, head strong he was a solid member even when issues popped up concerning his brother Cade. When his character was killed in season six (spoiler but you probably knew anyway), it was devastating to fans of the series.
These were the core people in the series that were there (with one exception) from beginning to end. It isn’t to short change the other actors involved like Zoe McLellan as Meredith Brody, Shalita Grant as Sonja Percy, Daryl “Chill” Mitchel as Patton Plame, Vanessa Ferlito as Tammy Gregorio, Necar Zadegan as Hannah Khoury or Charles Michael Davis as Quentin Carter that I don’t go deeper into their characters but rather a shortage of space here. The same holds true for Chelsea Field as Rita Deveraux as Pride’s main love interest in the series (note that Field and Bakula are married in real life).
As with the other series this group bonded together to become more than just working associates. With each passing episode their fondness for one another grew to make them family. When something affected one it affected them all. They stuck by one another no matter what the accusations or problems they faced. It made them a more effective team.
There is no one season, no one story to pull out of this series to say it was the best or most interesting. All of them were. It’s part of what makes having the complete series to watch start to finish more than one a joy. There was no bad thing about this show from the scripts to the filming to the sets to the acting. All were some of the best found on TV. So why did it leave? Maybe it was the placement in the schedule. Maybe people just weren’t interested in New Orleans. In any event perhaps it will be re-discovered on disc. I for one will keep watching.
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