The new season premieres on September 22, which happens to be the kick-off date for my new novel, Hardball. I don't know whether to skip out on my book tour to see whether Gibbs rescues Ziva and she returns to the team, or to count myself lucky that I won't have to see another woman agent maimed and murdered.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Women of NCIS
I'm a huge fan of NCIS, even though some of my friends criticize the banal dialogue and predictable story trajectories. Like Abby, I know I can count on Gibbs, the stern but kindly ex-Marine, to keep me safe and make all well--unless I'm a female agent. Agent Todd: shot through the forehead by Ari. Director Shepherd: killed in a shoot-out while battling a life-threatening illness. Agent Cassidy: killed by a terrorist bomb. Agent Lee: a dastardly traitor, taken off in handcuffs and seen no more. And now--Ziva David, the Mossad operative, who saved Gibbs' life, looked after Tony when he got involved with the anorectic Jeanne--when last seen, her left eye was dangling from the socket as she was brutalized in a Somali torture camp.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
16 comments:
I was sorry to lose Kate, Paula and Lee but have to say I was glad to see the back of the incredibly inappropriate Jenny Sheppard. I would also be very happy to see Ziva gone. Ziva never transcends her "hot woman who can fight" stereotype as well as being just a bizarre character with an equally bizarre background. She doesn't seem to belong on NCIS, although I think she'd be quite at home on a show like Alias. Alas, TV execs write women so badly that I'm at the point where I'd rather they didn't write them at all. I thought the deaths of Lee and Paula were totally unnecessary and detracted greatly from the show. But Ziva? Nah. Couldn't care less!
It took me a long time to warm up to NCIS. But since I am one of the few people on this planet who was pissed off when JAG went off the air, I'm glad NCIS is around. The main trio of characters on NCIS remind me of the group on JAG: one tough leader, one handsome/smart mouth guy, one geeky (a bit overweight) guy, and one hot chick.
Sorry, I forgot about Abby, my favorite NCIS character. Abby is lots of fun, and wicked smart. I love her brains, and mostly that she's not afraid to be herself.
I did notice that they seem to have to kill off women characters instead of just having them move on. I also didn't love Jenny, especially since her revenge problem got in her way (& completely messed up Tony's life). I've been okay with Ziva, but watching reruns with Kate--I love her. Also Abby is a goddess! It should be interesting to see if they do kill off Ziva, or she comes back wearing an eye patch...
It is something of scary trend in TV-wierd, the basic attitude towards women.
We've been discussing the lack of 'good' female characters in NCIS on a number of boards and threads and this post "Women of NCIS' fits well with what we've been saying.
Even now, the spoilers for the opening has focused on the 'replacement' for Ziva and it seems ONLY females need have applied; if a female character is on the team just so there is a female character (and all the UST that can go with that fact) then bring on the misogyny.
We accept that characters are often stereotypes but the set of female types seems to be very limited, and NCIS looks like they's ticked the box on all of them:
1) Xena warrior princess (Ziva)
2) S-e-x doll/fetish (Abby)
3) Balls of steel (Kate)
4) Controlliong but damaged uber- b i t c h (Jenny)
5) Week female ruled by emotion (Lee; she becomed a mole rather than seek help)
6) Back-stabbing angry woman (Jeanne ended up grabbing that role)
Well, accept for the box we'd like to see ticked. Competant female who can do her job, isn't interested in climbing into the pants of her nearest HOT looking male colleague and doesn't need to be killed off/hurt/victimised just because she is a female.
I agree--Jenny Sheppard made me feel like nails on a blackboard. All the inappropriate sex refs to her past with Gibbs--and he was at his chauvinisty worst in those scenes, too. I confess, though, that I love Ziva. If she's going to be replaced by some vapid sexpot, maybe I'll go ahead and do my tour. Sigh...
In comics they call this "The woman in the refrigerator syndrome".
It seems a lot of men can't keep writing women characters in a strong way and would rather just kill them off.
Didn't like Jenny Sheppard, so I was ok with that, Agent Todd dying kind of worked, but was a wimpy way to write off a character when the actress left the show.
I still love the show, but if anything ever happens to Abby, there will be Hell to pay.
NCIS is very popular tv show. i watch NCIS every season .is anybody know NCIS star Cote De Pablo looked extremely beautiful at the 24th Annual Imagen Awards, which were held on Friday, 21st August, 2009. She stole hearts of the guests with her natural sweet smile and gorgeous looks. She wore a deep ruby red asymmetrical one shoulder evening gown for the event.
This is a common thread that pops up every now and again on NCIS discussion boards.
It happens especially when newer viewers play catch-up with the seasons, and learn when and how all the aforementioned agents get written off.
(And just to point out Lee wasn't led away in handcuffs; unless they handcuffed her corpse.)
I think if Ziva had not survived her capture, there would have been a massive hue and cry, and a resurgence of the "Why do the NCIS writers always kill off the female agents?"
Well, really, if one does the math, an equal number of male to female NCIS agents have been killed.
We just don't care about *those* guys, because they weren't in any way regular or re-curring, and therefore had zero emotional attachment to them.
Let's face it: (well, with the possible exception of Madame Director) we really cared about Kate, Paula, and perhaps felt a bt sympathetic towards Lee.
Kate's 'departure' didn't have to be permanent, but no one can deny the loss of a main team member was a big deal, and propelled the story arc in ways it never could have, otherwise.
When it comes to Paula, to this day people still grumble about what went down to write her out, and she wasn't even a main character.
Both Kate and Paula, IMHO, were well-written and were not the damsel-in-distress types that needed rescuing by their much-more-competent macho-man partners.
Wow. This 'reply' has gone on much longer than I thought it would. I'll shut up now.
-Anon.
i also agree,abby is lots of fun.she is looking very gorgeous.this is definitely a Tony episode.i have also watch ncis season episodes and think this is one of crime drama series produced on CBS.The opening scene was very good and take it on top position.
I was wondering the same thing. Maybe the producers think Ziva, Tony and McGee are too good to be killed off.
Any idea on the statistics of females who end up being the guilty person at the end of the case/show? Once I noticed the high percentage of women who were found to be guilty on NCIS, compared to the rate of male killers,
I can't stop seeing it. Especially if you watch the USA re-runs in fairly rapid succession. Also, as a military based show, shouldn't there be a disproportionate number of males found guilty compared to the larger society which is more 50/50? If so, there should be even fewer guilty women. What do you all think? Thanks
NCIS TV Show is really fantastic show. I have read you blog its really true that the women of NCIS are really brave and dedicated to work. Thanks for this wonderful post.
Women of NCIS has played a wonderful role throughout this show. And this show is really great having these wonderful and multi talented women. I always Watch NCIS Episodes online.
Actually, Agent Lee was killed by Gibbs,not taken off in handcuffs. :)
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
Post a Comment