NCIS: Los Angeles gets its beginning in NCIS: Season Six. Indeed, the first two episodes on NCIS: Los Angeles: The First Season are actually the two NCIS episodes that started it all off. In these episodes, the NCIS group has to go to L.A. to investigate a case. There, they work with the NCIS team in Los Angeles. This team is quite different from theirs!
McGee is jealous of their high-tech toys, which are really awesome I must admit! The Los Angeles team doesn't officially exist anywhere. Their building is condemned from the outside and their agents all work under aliases. They're all quite good at their jobs as well! Special Agent G Callum (Chris O'Donnell) is the head agent. Yes, his first name really is G since he doesn't know what it actually stands for. Callum is continually searching for answers about his past. Callum's partner, Special Agent Sam Hanna (LL Cool J) is quite a bit different from Callum, but that's what makes them good partners. Sam was a Navy Seal and very proud of that. It defines who he is and how he operates. Also working with the boys is Special Agent Kensi Blye (Daniela Ruah). She's not quite as awesome as Ziva, but she's pretty close. She can fight her way out of just about anything and is very good at acting, which is needed a lot in Los Angeles. Their final member is Special Agent Dominic Vaile (Adam Jamal Craig) or just Dom for short. He's the new guy. Dom is learning a lot, but surviving in this team can be difficult!
Hetty (Linda Hunt) is in charge of keeping the team in line. She reports directly to Director Vance (Rocky Carroll). Hetty seems to know everyone and can make anything happen when they're desperate. To help her keep things going, she's got a psychologist, Nate Getz (Peter Cambor) and a computer expert, Eric Beal (Barrett Foa). While they don't go in the field very often, these two are instrumental in making things happen!
NCIS: Los Angeles has a very different feel to it than NCIS, which I didn't really expect. Instead of focusing on specific cases and the evidence to solve those, their cases tend to lead them to solve more "big picture" things. Their cases lead them to do things like taking down international drug rings, militia groups, and counterfeiting schemes rather than just solving a murder or two.
The DVD set also includes quite a lot of special features including an LL Cool J Music Video, commentary, and featurettes, so there's a lot more than just a really good series for you to watch. While I haven't gotten as hooked on NCIS: Los Angeles as I am on NCIS, it is still a good show to watch. You can tell that they were playing a bit with the format and characters in the first season, so I'm waiting to see how the next one fleshes out. If you're a fan of these type shows, I recommend that you check out NCIS: Los Angeles: The First Season today!
