There is literally no reason to dislike this show. The cast is amazing and gorgeous, the stories are exciting and the characters and their relationships are completely engaging. NCIS: Los Angeles is not reinventing the wheel here people, but it is moving things along very smoothly in a familiar but not completely overdone direction.

The second in the NCIS series of shows, this one focuses on the Naval Criminal Investigative Service based in Los Angeles; although many of their cases have them traveling abroad and dealing with different terrorist groups scattered all over the world. The bulk of the action does happen in and around the streets of L.A. but the show isn’t at all limited by its static location.

Anyone who lives in L.A., or knows it well, will definitely get a kick out of all of the on location filming that happens on the show. They basically use the entire city as their back lot. They film everywhere from Hollywood Blvd and the Hollywood Hills to Beverly Hills and the beaches. I don’t think there’s a single notable area in L.A. that hasn’t been filmed at one point or another.

On location filming always adds a touch of authenticity to the episodes and avoids that “uhg, they are clearly on a fake street on a studio lot somewhere,” feeling; which can obviously really take you out of the story. NCIS: Los Angeles just wouldn’t have the same power without it.

This series is definitely more of a “one-off” adventure show rather than a continuing story arc; which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Each week a new group of guest stars show up and there’s little to no need for a “previously on” segment at the opening of a new show. There are continually developing story lines for our main characters but they aren’t integral to the plots of each show. So you can come into this show on almost any given week and enjoy it as much as a loyal steady viewer. It’s true they will gleam more from the small personal moments that pepper the series, but you won’t be missing out on much.

This formula makes it easier for casual viewers to tune in but also has the unfortunate side effect of not leaving the steady audience member with any sense of urgency to return to it. You have to remind yourself that every hour of this show is solid and that you should sit down to watch it as opposed to needing to find out what happens next. We tend to forget that this formula was the predominant one for years on primetime before 24 hit the airwaves and redefined how we watched episodic television. It’s nice to be reminded of the old formula every now and then.

Little Angles is the first episode of the season that really hit me.

It’s a nail biting edge of your seat hour that involves the kidnapping of a young girl and several victims being buried alive. Much like the 2010 movie Buried starring Ryan Reynolds the sequences shot from within the coffins produce an incredibly uncomfortable feeling of claustrophobia in the viewer and even though you can assume a good outcome it is none the less highly unnerving.

Archangel is another touching episode that deals with stolen classified war information that turns out to be far less classified than expected. It also addresses the issue of how in today’s culture we don’t herald our warriors the way cultures used to and give them the respect and praise they deserve. As Hetty says, we’re just too obsessed with “dancing celebrities,” to notice their sacrifices.

We’ve got some arms dealers with some very smart rockets and G’s ex-partner / gorgeous x-wife in Standoff, Absolution and Deliverance give us our first two-parter of the year as well as a long awaited look into Hetty’s Cold War past, Disorder sees the return as both director and guest star former Star Trek: The Next Generation star Jonathan Frakes, a dirty bomb scare in Overwatch, a stolen nuclear bomb in Empty Quiver, a look into Detective Deek’s past in Personal and also in Plan B which shows us a darker side to his past undercover work… all of that and Taliban operatives and jihadists pretty much all over the place round out the storylines for the season.

The episodes that are by far and away the most powerful and best of the year are the final two episodes, a two-parter beginning with Imposters and ending with Familia. This season finale will definitely have you tuning back in next year. I already can’t wait to see it! As I said the stories aren’t all connected but they do run several important arcs throughout the show and these final two episodes pick up on a couple of major ones.

As I mentioned earlier this cast is pretty much perfect. Each actor is so suited to their roles that it’s scary and I have to admit to being a little bit in love with every last one of them.

First we have former Batman sidekick, Chris O’Donnell as Agent G. Callen the team leader with a mysterious past. Callen is often times the brains behind the operation and the glue that holds the team together. O’Donnell in real life is the father of five kids so it’s no surprise that he plays the role of pack leader convincingly. His relationship with partner Sam Hanna (LL Cool J) is a seemingly perfect one that in my opinion could use a little more conflict. The two trust each other implicitly; they know each other’s moves before they make them, it’s basically like a flawless marriage.

LL Cool J on the whole

as Sam Hanna can be a little more emotionally volatile than Callen and that serves the show well. There was an episode for example, where the storyline hits a little too close to home for Hanna who goes slightly rogue taking matters into his own hands. It’s good for the show when things like that happen; it helps to mix things up a bit.

Our supporting cast members all have their own unique chemistry to their relationships and mostly come in pairs. First up we have fellow in-the-field members Kensi Blye (Daniela Ruah) and L.A.P.D. Officer Marty Deeks (Eric Christian Olsen). Playing the obvious love / hate ‘when-will-they-finally-get-together’ couple on the show has its ups and downs but I have to be honest, I don’t see a lot of down’s. The two have the best one liners on the show and the most layered and dynamic relationship to explore. Callen and Hanna are very one note, Kensi and Deeks are all sorts of different notes that don’t really go together at all yet somehow play beautifully.

Then we have the team back at the base, basically the brains of the operation, computer experts Eric Beal, played by former Broadway boy Barrett Foa and season two newcomer, Nell Jones played by the adorably pocket sized Renee Felice Smith. These two begin with a somewhat contentious relationship as Nell steps on Eric’s hacking toes a bit but ultimately they form a good working relationship that has them comfortably finishing each other’s sentences. Personally, I would have liked to have seen them do more outside of the office. They don’t have as many opportunities to play up the tension of the relationship as much as Olsen and Ruah do and I think that would be interesting to see; particularly because these two are way more like brother and sister in real life so the tension wouldn’t be sexual, it would be more sibling rivalry which I always find more interesting to watch. Barrett does have one brief excursion outside of Ops in the episode Rocket Man which is the only time we really see him out of his element. Aside from almost getting ‘frelted,’ it goes well for him.

And finally we have a woman who I am so pleased to see working steadily again in film / TV the enormously talented Linda Hunt as the big boss, Hetty Lange. Standing at a mere 4 feet 9 inches tall this woman commands a presence three times as large. She is most definitely the ‘Yoda’ of the series. No one is quite sure why she has so much power but you know she does and you know not to cross her. I love the obvious contradiction inherent in that. In the episode Overwatch Callen actually compares Hetty to Yoda and challenges her to a race to the top of a climbing

wall and let’s just say that the results are interesting. She also plays the dual role of surrogate mother to her team members espousing life advice almost as often as she does professional guidance.

The special features on this six disc set are pretty interesting. They are spread out on a couple of different discs. The first of these appears on disc three and is a featurette of a table read for the episode Absolution; it runs the entire length of the episode and cuts back and forth from the table read to the actual show which was an interesting choice. I love watching table reads because the actors never appear to be more human than at a table read. No hair and make-up, they are usually eating and more often than not they seem exhausted… it doesn’t get more human than that!

The next feature shows up on disc four and is called, Shooting Up LA: The Cinematography of NCIS: Los Angeles. This is a feature just for those really interested in the technology behind the actual filming of the show. If you’re not into the real behind-the-scenes stuff you can go ahead and skip this one.

On disc five we have Location, Location, Location which is all about my earlier statement of how the on location filming really makes the show what it is. There some good interviews here that will really make you appreciate how much goes into filming this show. It’s really amazing what they are able to achieve on a week to week basis.

The final special features are found on disc six and they are Uncovering Season 2 and There’s Something About Hetty. These are definitely the best of the lot. The first is almost a full half hour long behind-the-scenes look at the season with interviews with each and every cast member and also members of the creative team. This feature gives you a real sense for who these people are and also where they see the show going from this point on. The latter is slightly shorter but just as well produced and it is all about the amazing Linda Hunt and her perfect marriage to character Hetty Lange.

This show has a real classic espionage feel to it and is always a joy to watch. There’s always a ton of gun play in every episode, a lot of witty banter between partners and an overall feeling of family between the team; oh and as I mentioned they are all hot as hell to look at! So as I said in the beginning, there is really no reason not to enjoy this show. You don’t even have to watch the first season to be fully on board with what’s happening. In fact, I’d say season 2 on DVD would be a great place to start!