Roush on NCIS
Question: A while back, somebody wrote to ask why critics talk so much about low-rated shows instead of hits like
NCIS. I think the simple answer is that the low-rated shows are more interesting. On
NCIS, you always know that Gibbs will bully Tony and Tony will bully Probie. They'll come up with a wrong answer 15 minutes from the end and the right answer 5 minutes from the end. The characters' personal quirks never affect their work. Nobody will have life-changing experiences unless it's a season finale. By contrast, on a show like
Veronica Mars (also a detective series), you had a detective who was emotionally complex, who occasionally came up with the wrong answer or wondered whether she was on the right course, and who developed over three seasons. Any literary critic would value round characters and situations over formulaic ones.
— Charles
Matt Roush: No question. But a point of fact: Hits can be just as interesting as low-rated critical "darlings" like Veronica Mars, Arrested Development and any number of niche cable cult faves. They're certainly interesting to their fans, which is why even if I don't dwell much as a critic on a show like NCIS for the obvious reasons you point out — its formulaic nature and general episodic predictability (although this show does shake it up from time to time and is certainly doing so for at least the first part of next season) — TV Guide itself has devoted a fair amount of attention to the show with numerous features and even several appearances on the cover. We're not going to ignore success. And a show like NCIS, which doesn't pretend to be more than it is, achieves what it sets out to do: entertain with a mass-appeal format that millions seem to like. But as a critic, I'd be lying if I didn't add to this that I rarely feel compelled to watch the show. If I hear there's a turning point (a character's death or some other change of pace), I'll tune in, and sometimes I watch it randomly just to see how it's coasting along. But there are so many other shows out there that give me more to work with critically, both hits and ratings-challenged underdogs, and I find that's a much more productive use of my sorely limited time. NCIS has already found its sweet spot. It doesn't really need me, one way or the other.
