Release Date: November 14, 2006 (CBS DVD)
Color/2004-05
MSRP: $64.99
Number of Discs: 6
Number of Episodes: 23
Running Time: 16 Hours, 47 Minutes
Total Run Time of Special Features: 104 Minutes, 16
Seconds.
Audio: English 2.0 Surround, Spanish 2.0 Surround
Closed Captioned
Special Features:
- “Investigating Season 2”
- “What’s New in Season 2”
- “The Real N.C.I.S”
- Lab Tour with Pauley Perrette
- Audio Commentaries
Introduction:
N.C.I.S: The Complete Second Season continues to
thrill audiences with its surprising twists and
character-driven stories. Led by Special Agent Leroy
Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon), this squad of highly
trained NCIS agents proves it is willing to make the
ultimate sacrifice to thwart espionage and terrorism
around the world. Intense and fast-moving, all 23
episodes of NCIS Season 2 are filled with even more of
the wit and humor that has become a signature of this
smash hit show’s incomparable style.
Memorable Episodes / Notable Guest Stars:
Anyone who’s a fan of this show knows exactly how the
memorable episodes section for *this* season ends
already. So, we’ll definitely get that last. As
I’ve mentioned before, I didn’t especially get into
this show until season three, so most of these
episodes are new to me. Season Two kicked off with a
good episode, “See No Evil.” The title refers to one
of the characters being held hostage, the blind
daughter of a Navy Captain (his wife is also being
held hostage). It is classic “hostage scenario,” but
in this series it works. In “Call of Silence,” an
elderly Marine veteran and Medal of Honor winner
confesses to murdering his best friends 60 years ago
in a war battle. NCIS winds up getting involved in
trying to solve the inherent secrets of the matter,
and saving the man from prison. In “Forced Entry,”
a Marine’s wife shoots an intruder in self-defense
when he’s about to rape her. They find out the wife
was leading a double-life, and had been chatting with
the stranger on the internet, and that she might have
lured him to her home not knowing he was a serial
rapist. In Doppelganger, the team receives a call
from a telemarketer (aaaaah!)… no….the team receives a
call from a telemarketer, reporting a possible murder
of a petty officer who appeared to be dying while on
the phone with him. The team discovers this to be a
practical joke, however, the person is soon found
dead….(cue dramatic music)
In “The Meat Puzzle,” Ducky identifies the bodies of a
sheriff and prosecutor that worked with him on a rape
case 10 years ago. Anyone want to guess what
happens next? If you said “Ducky gets kidnapped,”
give yourself a cookie! Wonder Years fan might be
interested in the next episode, “Witness.” Not only
is it a good episode (A woman claims to have seen a
murder of a sailor in the apartment across from
hers….Gibbs assigns it to McGee, which doesn’t go so
well), but it guest stars Danica McKellar, AKA: Winnie
Cooper. Musician Mya is in the episode “Pop Life,”
for those interesting. In “Red Cell,” a Marine is
murdered, and shortly thereafter the main suspect is
murdered as well. A trace is discovered in e-mails
involving the two, called “Red Cell,” leading them to
believe the marine must have been involved in a death
game. In “SWAK,” Tony opens a mysterious letter,
thinking it’s for him. A small puff of white powder
comes out, releasing a virus. Kate calls for help,
and as a precaution, they’re both isolated in a
bio-hazard isolation room. McGee and Gibbs try to
find who sent the envelope and how to cure whatever
was in the envelope, while Tony’s health gets worse.
Finally, there’s “Twilight.” For those of you who
don’t know, here’s a brief synopsis: A group of
terrorists seek revenge and send an operative, Ari, on
an assignment to kill Gibbs. The NCIS team goes on a
hunt after him, but discover he has a second plan, and
it’s already too late…NCIS now has to face the death
of one of their own team members….Kate.
Packaging:
As with season one, this set contains three slim cases
inside a box. For season two, they’ve gone with a
black/blue color setup. The show logo is at the top,
with various still shots in a blue-ish black-and-white
collage below it. The secondary characters are in a
strip across the center, with Gibbs Being in front of
the strip and collage, going all the way to the
bottom. Each of the 3 slim cases is similar, with
Gibbs standing on the right of a similar setup on case
1, Kate standing on the left of a strip on case 2, and
Dinozzo standing on the right for case 3. Each disc
is blue and black with out-of-focus stills making up
the background the entire cast is on disc 1, Gibbs
is on disc 2, Kate is on disc 3, Tony is on disc 4,
McGee and Abby share disc 5, and Ducky is on the final
disc. Each disc contains 4 episodes except for
disc 6, which contains 3 episodes.
Menu Design and Navigation:
The menu is just like last season’s, except with
different clips being used in the center. The center
clips are bordered on either side by a blue data grid
and tech font, similar to the opening credits of the
show. Clips play while a rock track (not the theme)
plays. Episode names are at the bottom no play all
while Previews, Disc Setup, and Features are at the
top.
Video and Audio Quality:
Impeccable--the video is simply outstanding, and the
audio is no slouch either. Admittedly, I’d love to
hear a 5.1 audio track for this show but that minor
nitpick aside what’s here is wonderful. The video is
pristine a genuine credit to its medium. Every
little detail is shown in the finest quality, even on
the most demanding sets. The best thing about
reviewing new(er) shows on DVD is that the video is
bound to be good at worst, amazing at best. For
those curious, the video is anamorphic widescreen, as
it says clearly on the bottom of the back of the outer
box. Colors appear bright and vivid while not being
over-saturated, there are no compression issues, no
grain….it’s perfect. Audio is about the best usage of
a Dolby Digital 2.0 track you’ll find. Chapter stops
at the end of each scene.
Disc 1:
See No Evil: 44:15
Vanished: 44:16
The Good Wives Club: 42:47
Lt. Jane Doe: 44:06
Disc 2:
The Bone Yard: 43:54
Terminal Leave: 44:08
Call of Silence: 44:20
Heart Break: 43:11
Disc 3:
Forced Entry: 44:05
Chained: 43:31
Black Water: 43:14
Doppelganger: 44:15
Disc 4:
The Meat Puzzle: 43:22
Witness: 44:16
Caught on Tape: 42:49
Pop Life: 43:33
Disc 5:
An Eye for an Eye: 43:30
Bikini Wax: 43:40
Conspiracy Theory: 44:18
Red Cell: 44:11
Audio Commentary: “The Bone Yard” with Chas. Floyd
Johnson (43:54) - Co-Executive Producer of the show,
for those unaware. There’s a lot of production
details and information given. One tendency he shows
early on however is to mention what’s about to happen,
which can be a bit distracting if you don’t already
know.
Audio Commentary: “Twilight” by Pauley Perrette, John
C. Kelley and Michael Weatherly (43:21) - John’s a
writer; you should know Pauley and Michael. You
should know what they mention early on, but you REALLY
shouldn’t watch the commentary before the episode,
ESPECIALLY if you’ve never seen it before.
Investigating Season Two (18:01): Love the disclaimer
at the start that the feature you’re about to watch
contains season two spoilers. Don mentions that
starting with season two; he withdrew from the Navy
aspect just a little to attract viewers.
What’s New in Season Two (14:42): Interviews with
the crew with behind the scenes tidbits and info. The
show uses multiple cameras in a one-camera setup,
meaning a LOT of footage is shot and the final product
is edited down. They spend a LOT of time on the
episode SWAK.
The Real NCIS (6:15): Interviews about the realism of
the show relative to the real NCIS. Generally, the
show is considered more or less “realistic.” A fun
anecdote is told about Mark Harmon filling in on a
real NCIS meeting and pretending to be an agent during
an inspection of the agency and he fooled them.
Lab Tour with Pauley Perrette (4:46): It’s a lab
tour…with Pauley Perrette. This should be obvious.
*Total Running Time of Special Features: 104 Minutes,
16 Seconds*
Final Comments:
I love this show; I really, really love this show.
The show was finding itself in the first season to an
extent, but this is the season where things really
pick up, and it’s been a genuine treat to get to watch
the entire season start to finish.
Aside from having a couple fewer special features than
I might like, this is a technically impressive set for
a GREAT show. When the inevitable season three
release comes out, I hope they spend some special
features real estate talking about the beginning of
the season story-wise, and requisite cast change.
Also, they mentioned that a lot of raw footage gets
edited down. I know this might be a bit of a long
shot, but if some of that’s still around, it’d be
great to see. Or even just your standard blooper
reel and deleted scenes.
Anyway, this set is STRONGLY RECOMMENDED, and I urge
everyone to pick it up (You can purchase the set, AND
help support SitcomsOnline.com by ordering through our
partner Amazon.com by clicking the link at the end of
this review.). If you’re hesitant, watch a couple of
episodes on TV first the show can be found Tuesdays,
8 PM, CBS I genuinely think you’ll like it; it’s not
a “procedural” by any stretch, nor is it a “military
show.” There are elements of both, but there’s simply
so much more here.
