1.01 Identity **SPOILERS**

[Nici]

Discuss the first episode here.

Identity
Callen returns back to the NCIS Office of Special Projects to solve a kidknapping case.
Airs: 09/22/09


FOUR MONTHS AFTER CALLEN WAS SHOT, HE RETURNS TO THE OFFICE OF SPECIAL PROJECTS (OSP) AND JOINS THE TEAM ON A KIDNAPPING CASE, ON THE SERIES PREMIERE OF "NCIS: LOS ANGELES," TUESDAY, SEPT. 22

"Identity" - Newly located in a Los Angeles mission, the NCIS Office of Special Projects (OSP) welcomes Callen back to the team and races to solve a kidnapping case, on the series premiere of NCIS: LOS ANGELES, Tuesday, Sept. 22 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

SERIES REGULARS:
NCIS Special Agent G. Callen............................... Chris O'Donnell
NCIS Special Agent Sam Hanna................................. LL COOL J
Henrietta "Hetty" Lange........................................... Linda Hunt
Operational Psychologist Nate Getz.................................. Peter Cambor
NCIS Special Agent Kensi Blye ............................... Daniela Ruah
NCIS Special Agent Dominic Vail .................... Adam Jamal Craig

RECURRING CAST:
NCIS Director Leon Vance Rocky Carroll
Tech Operator Eric Beal Barrett Foa

GUEST CAST:
Helen McGuire............................. Clare Carey
Bobby Nixon..................... Mathew St. Patrick
Luis Perez................................ Alex Fernandez
Emma Perez.................................... Ariel Gade
Emilio.............................. Daniel Edward Mora

DIRECTED BY: James Whitmore, Jr.
WRITTEN BY: Shane Brennan

Source: CBS


Promo photos.

[princess ponytails]

I honestly couldn't concentrate on NCIS LA after watching the premiere of regular NCIS...so I have not watched past the first 10 minutes of this episode. Maybe I'll check it out another day when my brain isn't still going totally haywire over the first NCIS DC of the season

[shywriter]

Sept 22, 2009 23:46:14 GMT -5 princess ponytails said:

I honestly couldn't concentrate on NCIS LA after watching the premiere of regular NCIS...so I have not watched past the first 10 minutes of this episode. Maybe I'll check it out another day when my brain isn't still going totally haywire over the first NCIS DC of the season

;D Exactly the same here ... it was on, but nothing registered! ;D

[princess ponytails]

Lol! Glad it wasn't just me who was in a kind of happy delirium

[Phil]

I didn't find this episode particularly interesting and it felt like what it was: a first ep trying to re-establish the characters after a slight retooling. As much as I like Linda Hunt, I really couldn't look at her in this and not think of Edna Mode in The Incredibles, especially when she started giving Callen clothes to wear.

And only in Hollywood can someone take that many rounds to the torso and bounce back after only a few months.

I'm hoping the next episode is better than this one, 'cause I honestly can't see a large segment of television viewers to tune in if all eps of NCIS: LA are going to be as mediocre as this one was.

JMHO

[Belinda]

Sept 23, 2009 1:00:39 GMT -5 Phil said:

I didn't find this episode particularly interesting and it felt like what it was: a first ep trying to re-establish the characters after a slight retooling. As much as I like Linda Hunt, I really couldn't look at her in this and not think of Edna Mode in The Incredibles, especially when she started giving Callen clothes to wear.

And only in Hollywood can someone take that many rounds to the torso and bounce back after only a few months.

I'm hoping the next episode is better than this one, 'cause I honestly can't see a large segment of television viewers to tune in if all eps of NCIS: LA are going to be as mediocre as this one was.

JMHO

I think that's rather harsh, of course the show would need some time to find its footing, this is a new spin-off, it's still trying to find its own place.

It took the original NCIS quite a while too before it found the perfect dynamic and unique quirks. First episode premieres are never easy, especially since the LA show has to tag behind the original's season 7 premiere, it's obviously gonna be compared and found unimpressive to a well-oiled show that's been going on for 7 years.

I really think that placing LA behind the original may have been a bad idea, the original is always gonna end up overshadowing the spin-off, they should have had LA air on a different night like they do with the three CSI shows. It's hard enough as it is for the LA version to get past the many fans who thinks it's not gonna compare to the original, having it right after each other on the same night is just gonna give LA more disadvantage as people will subconsciously compare the two shows and no matter how good LA is, a first year show can never stand up to the solid 7 years of good quality show from the original.

Still, in the midst of all that re-tooling, the episode is still solid, good and, well-written. This ep worked well with establishing the characters and the situations, so all in all, I was impressed! For a new spin-off, they did well on their first outing! And personally, I found the Edna-thing quite endearing, it was cute, and I loved it!

Every new spin-off has many hurdles to jump through their first year, especially dealing with original fans who doesn't want a replacement show, but I'm sure if people give LA sometime, they will find their own place and become just as strong as the original NCIS! After all, those same negative sentiments about spin-offs were applied to CSI:Miami, New York, and even the original NCIS when they all first started, but look at where those shows are now at.....all with an incredibly strong fan-base!

LA did well for their first episode, and I'm sure they will get stronger with time!

Be patient my fellow NCIS fans, give LA some time, I'm sure it will do great things!

I did have one question though.....is LA gonna have an opening credit with the actors' names in them? Or is the one shown in the premiere gonna be how they do the opening from now on? By the way, the theme is pretty awesome!

[jo]

I liked it as well. Sure it wasn't as brilliant as the [old] NCIS premiere, but no one's really invested in these people yet. We don't "know" them yet.
And I agree with you, Belinda - I'm not sure placing it right behind the old NCIS was the greatest idea. Maybe if they'd shown the season premiere a week before or after NCIS's premiere... This way, people automatically compared them. Which isn't fair; it's two different show.

I like what my neighbor [who I watch tv with] said at the end of LA - "That was pretty good. It's totally different than NCIS, so I think it may have a chance." I think she's right. My greatest fear was they'd try to make it the same show - just in a different location with different characters. [Personally, that's how I see the CSI franchise.]
But they didn't do that. Even tho the director made a guest appearance, it didn't detract from the originality of LA.

I love Callen and Sam as partners. They're a hoot.
I'd never seen the little woman playing Hetty in anything before - she was interesting.
I'm not sure yet about the young woman [can you tell I'm horrible with names?]. She seemed kinda blah to me last night. Reminded me of Kate from NCIS in that the writers didn't seem to give her a lot to do...
I like Nate; the jury's still out on Eric; and I thought Dom was interesting.
Yes - I will be watching next week.

[Phil]

Sept 23, 2009 5:22:48 GMT -5 Belinda said:

I think that's rather harsh

You may think it's harsh, but that's my opinion and the opinion of my roommate as well. Unlike the original NCIS, this team didn't grab me and not let go. As I said, I hope future installments are stronger than this one.

YMMV

[celestial]

Sept 23, 2009 1:00:39 GMT -5 Phil said:

As much as I like Linda Hunt, I really couldn't look at her in this and not think of Edna Mode in The Incredibles, especially when she started giving Callen clothes to wear.

NO CAPES!!!

Actually, when she started going on about the paperwork, I couldn't help but think of Roz from Monsters, Inc. "Goldenrod..."

I guess that doesn't bode well for my enjoyment of the show, when all I could think of was which Pixar characters they were channeling. (Although I'd pay good money to see Wall-E turn up in there...) And the exposition at the beginning was about as subtle as Liberace. Oh well

[Phil]

Sept 23, 2009 9:08:31 GMT -5 celestial said:

NO CAPES!!!

Every time she showed up, me and my roommate exclaimed "No capes!" Every time without fail.

[Sean'sGirl]

I'm on a fence about it. I wasn't that impressed with it and if it weren't for the fact that it's a spin-off of our beloved little show (that's now a major one) I'm not sure I'd be back for episode two. Maybe I need to watch it apart from the original, doing them back to back might not have been the best choice.

Linda Hunt is awesome, I too was feeling Incredible vibes but it didn't bother me really. Seeing Batboy shirtless didn't hurt either. I'm not a fan and initially wasn't at all glad when he was cast but he is easy on the eyes.

I think even when NCIS was a new show they were a lot better but maybe it's just more of what I like in a show. It was funny and spunky and different even in Yankee White, so comparing the two season 1 premieres I would still have to say NCIS was superior to LANCIS. I wouldn't dream of comparing the S7 premiere of NCIS to this episode, they are worlds apart.

I'm also still bothered by the name—they could've come up with something a little more original than what they did for the CSIs. Did anyone else notice that LANCIS has the font NCIS used to have for the credits/title sequence? I thought that was kinda interesting.

Well, I'll be back next week to see how this turns out. I hope they can make me care about the people, that's what really keeps me watching a show.

[ashleybroadcaster]

I really like Linda Hunt so I gotta be honest, she's the only reason I deemed this spin off worthy of HD DVR space, lol.

All in all, I'm indifferent to the premiere. As a lot of you said, the chemistry isn't all there yet, the characters weren't (understandably so) developed enough to make me care about them and what happens to them.

I think I'll give it a few more episodes (the joy of series recordings, lol) before I give a verdict; Ms. Hunt is worth at least that.

PS: I'm new here and this site is crazy awesome! You guys are the smartest bunch of fans of anything, anywhere! Any tips from some veterans?

[danni]

I enjoy cop/drama/investigation shows. One of the thing that I LOVE about NCIS is how true it is to the actual agency - the gloves, the crime scene booties, repetitive procedures, etc.

I realize it's the first show so it has a lot of ground work that needs laid, however, I was sad to see that the military aspect was so far off. I could have seen that same story line in any come show. The murdered person just happened to be in the Navy. That was the only connection and I felt it was fleeting.

I was also on a super-high after the NCIS episode and couldn't really focus on it much.

[Belinda]

Sept 23, 2009 14:30:03 GMT -5 Sean'sGirl said:

I think even when NCIS was a new show they were a lot better but maybe it's just more of what I like in a show. It was funny and spunky and different even in Yankee White, so comparing the two season 1 premieres I would still have to say NCIS was superior to LANCIS. I wouldn't dream of comparing the S7 premiere of NCIS to this episode, they are worlds apart.

I think that's where I was different, the original NCIS premiere was cute, but I thought the characters were a bit off-kilter at times, and the intro eps that aired on JAG I didn't like at all, I just thought it was bland, Ducky was too weird, and Abby was too mellowed. It took me a bit to get used to the early episodes. You see, I was hooked on by Season 3, and by then the show had already got their unique style going on so that watching back on the old episodes was just a bit weird and I didn't find it all that gripping and powerful, well, except for Missing and SWAK, which were brilliant! And also the Season Two Finale! With the new show, the NCIS:LA intro episodes with the Legends two-parter I actually enjoyed alot and watch the beginning so I didn't have old/new episode comparisons in my head, and especially that ending scene with Callen being gunned down that totally came as a shock to me! I was quite impressed. And then the premiere night, it wasn't a shockingly brilliant episode, but I thought it was solid enough and they established the characters well enough that giving it some time, I'm sure the new group would find its own quirks and styles, I'm already digging their camera-flash style opening scenes, and I liked their subtle character moments.

So right now for me, I'm totally adoring both shows! NCIS is going strong, and that Season 7 premiere was the mother of all premieres, it was simply perfection! And NCIS:LA did great in their first outing, it's never easy for a new spin-off to follow the original, but I think the new team did it well, so I was quite proud. After all, there were so many ways that first premiere could have failed, but instead, I found myself laughing along with the characters!

I really think CBS should re-consider putting NCIS and NCIS:LA on the same night, they should be put them on different nights instead that would allow the spin-off series to stand on its own two feet and come out from being overshadowed by the original, this same-night-airing could be the one thing that would kill NCIS:LA. As much as people may deny it, but there will always be automatic and subconcious comparisons made between the show that NCIS:LA, being in its first year, would never be able to compete against the 7 year old NCIS.

[Sean'sGirl]

Different strokes, I guess. To me Yankee White had some classic lines and scenes already that LANCIS failed to deliver.

Fornell: How's your butt?
Tony: Still bouncing on the beltway.

Abby: There's a futon under my desk.
Tony: Bless you.
Abby: What are you my priest?
Tony: Curse you?

Abby: Do you dudes in the Secret Service ever think about throwing yourselves in front of the President's diet?

Gibbs: We're in the clear. You can get out of the bodybag now.
Tony: I never thought I'd say this, but I'm not sure I want to.

Kate: Look, don't dismiss me, okay? I earned my jockstrap.
Gibbs: Yeah, does it ever give that empty feeling?
Kate: What?
Gibbs: Your jockstrap.
Kate: No. Like some species of frogs, I grow what I need.

Gibbs: Hey - We're LEOs.
Dennis: And I'm a Capricorn.

It introduced some of Gibbs' rules which became an important part of canon.

Fantastic stuff (sorry, got a bit carried away with the YW-love there ;D). I just didn't have a 'moment' in LANCIS, you know? I'm not sure they know were all the characters are going yet. Dom in particular is pretty fuzzy to me still. But it's only been one episode, maybe they'll grow on me. Linda Hunt has potential for some lines like the ones above. I hope the writers make it happen.