NCIS: New Orleans

TV SHOW TITLE: NCIS: New Orleans
CREATOR: Gary Glasberg
YEARS ACTIVE: 2014-present
GENRE: Crime Drama
RATING: TV-PG or TV-14, depending on the intensity of the violence
GRADE: Pass


Whenever a marine or navy sailor is murdered in post-Katrina New Orleans, it is the job of Special Agent Dwayne Pride and the rest of the crew of his NCIS branch to solve those crimes. It takes a lot of trickery, intelligence, and martial arts skills for the crew to find what they’re looking for. But once the job is done, it’s party time in the Big Easy. Lots of beads, lots of booze, lots of tasty food, and an endless supply of fun is what each Special Agent can look forward to at least once in every episode.

Just like with NCIS and NCIS: Los Angeles before it, the New Orleans spin-off has its fair share of colorful characters. The NCIS office is led by Dwayne Pride, a southern gentleman who can be tough when it matters and a maker of sweet potato pie when a friend or family member needs comfort. The two junior agents are Chris LaSalle (another southern gentleman who loves a good time) and Meredith Brody (a Michigan transplant who’s slowly learning the ways of New Orleans culture).

For behind the scenes detail, we have Dr. Loretta Wade (a medical examiner with infinite wisdom), Sebastian Lund (a geeky lab technician with a hunger for conspiracy theories), and Patton Plame (a wheelchair-bound computer hacker who tries to be cooler than Sebastian). With this many eccentric personalities coming together in one office building, witty dialogue, strong chemistry, and deep character development are bound to happen, which is why NCIS: New Orleans is so enjoyable.

And with that many three-dimensional characters running around, it’s only fitting that this series take place in New Orleans, an exciting town full of party animals, jazz, yummy food, black magic, and of course the serious side of it all, brutal murders of American soldiers. No matter how much stress is put on the NCIS team by these hard cases, they always seem to have a good time before and after the case is solved. And why wouldn’t they? New Orleans is a fun city to be in whether you’re vacationing for the first time or you live there full time. “Never a dull moment” is the phrase that usually comes to mind.

And of course, we have my mother’s favorite part of NCIS: New Orleans: the opening theme music. It’s a late 90’s rock song called “Boom Boom” by Big Head Todd and the Monsters. If you’re not familiar with it, go to You Tube and check it out. If you’d like a preview before you go, it’s the same song with the jazzy guitar and snare drum burst in between the lead singer going, “Boom, boom, boom, boom! Bang, bang, bang, bang! Ho, ho, ho, ho! Hey, yeah!” If there was one song in our collective music library that fits New Orleans culture, it’s that one. Every time I hear it, I expect some wild party animals to throw me some plastic beads. I don’t think they want to see my tits, though. Hehe!

Whether you’re a fan of the NCIS franchise or you just like good cop dramas, this show is for you. If you can find one thing in this show to complain about, you’re obviously not in the New Orleans spirit. Whenever there’s hardship or anger, they don’t whine and cry. They boogie! What’s that phrase LaSalle likes to say all the time? “It’s on like Donkey Kong!”