NCIS: Origins

Both young Gibbs and NCIS: Origins take a minute to find their bearings, but once they do, this latest NCIS offshoot shows promise.

With “Origins,” the franchise not only gets to resurrect Franks, but give Gibbs the chance to be part of a buddy drama. The new show looks like it will be more of a two-hander than first imagined… or at least, with any luck, it will be.

Nobody tunes in to the sixth incarnation of a long-running procedural for something challenging. They tune in for lovable characters, familiar scenarios, and messaging that confirms what they already believe to be true about crime and law enforcement. In this sense, NCIS: Origins is a success.

"Origins" is good enough for military work, if a little too self-serious. It doesn't help that its leading man is the most boring element of the show. But the writers spin up a good enough case to solve every episode, and the cast fits into neat, recognizable boxes. If you want more of the same but just different enough, well, CBS has done it again.

Solid opener that otherwise oversells the premise.

That the main character is a member of the team rather than its leader, as in other “NCIS” series, can feel a little awkward, given that it’s necessary for Gibbs, fresh behind the ears though he may be, to stand out from the group — that he see what others miss, and can handle a situation in an original way. When he says of a suspect, “He’s not our guy,” it won’t be that guy. It throws the ensemble off balance.

The group of primary investigators is small, if not particularly interesting. .... But the real breakout is Kyle Schmid as the cowboy who runs this ragtag team of NIS investigators. He’s got a Marlboro Man mustache and a big swinging … ego. This character trope shouldn’t work, but it really does.

What a great new show! Raw, funny, emotional, and so well written. The cast is excellent. You don't need to have watched the original to get into this show. I really love it so far!

As someone who never watched the original NCIS, I've been enjoying Origins. You don't need to have watched the original series to enjoy this. It's pretty much a murder of the week style show that's tied together with a plot based around Gibbs and the murder of his family. Characters are interesting and the acting is pretty good. The murder of the week scripts are good enough that you don't really notice any logic flaws, but it is limited by only having a handful of potential suspects per episodes due to its format.

The cast is great and the premise is very promising. Gibbs start with NCIS starts at NIS at around age 35 in 1991. Great to learn what made the man— Gibbs. Worth watching like NCIS gonna be a hit!

Nobody asked for this. What is it with origin stories that makes Hollywood Execs think there's money in them?