NCIS Los Angeles ‘Leipei’ Picture Review

Starting right off with a BOOM... I likey !!

Starting right off with a BOOM… I likey !!

"Perfect shot" in so many ways...

“Perfect shot” in so many ways…

Highjacked or not... Eric has the perfect timing again...

Highjacked or not… Eric has the perfect timing again…

Leaving Eric... not cool, Deeks, so not cool !!

Leaving Eric… not cool, Deeks, so not cool !!

So this guy wasn't who we thought he was...

So this guy wasn’t who we thought he was…

Nell and her *hobby*...

Nell and her *hobby*…

So Greek guy was on witsec cos he turned on PK ?? Should make for a lot of suspects...

So Greek guy was on witsec cos he turned on PK ?? Should make for a lot of suspects…

"Reading" the bomb...

“Reading” the bomb…

"My husband's like totally paranoid that I'm cheating on him." I'm with Sam... I wonder why... LOL

“My husband’s like totally paranoid that I’m cheating on him.” I’m with Sam… I wonder why… LOL

So Greek guy #2 was in the US before (killed) Greek guy #1... curious why...

So Greek guy #2 was in the US before (killed) Greek guy #1… curious why…

Bromance !! They are really nailing it this time...

Bromance !! They are really nailing it this time…

"I trust you..." Woah... that's an awesomely deep statement so well build into their usual (luckily not overdone at all) banter...

“I trust you…” Woah… that’s an awesomely deep statement so well build into their usual (luckily not overdone at all) banter…

Excellent use of the sound of flies buzzing around... I wanted to FF before I even saw the guy...

Excellent use of the sound of flies buzzing around… I wanted to FF before I even saw the guy…

I love when they reference old cases we haven't seen...

I love when they reference old cases we haven’t seen…

Callen - the Health Inspector... HI-LA-RI-OUS !!

Callen – the Health Inspector… HI-LA-RI-OUS !!

Callen just knows when "Not-In-The-Mood"-Sam needs a little more teasing... :)

Callen just knows when “Not-In-The-Mood”-Sam needs a little more teasing… 🙂

And they all turn when it comes to their family...

And they all turn when it comes to their family…

"Miss me?" "Every solitary second..." Aww !!

“Miss me?” “Every solitary second…” Aww !!

Chauvenet?? Like in "We-Sold-Hettys-Addresses-And-Sombody-Nearly-Killed-Her" Website Chauvenet ?? *gulp*

Chauvenet?? Like in “We-Sold-Hettys-Addresses-And-Somebody-Nearly-Killed-Her” Website Chauvenet ?? *gulp*

Uh-oh... that would make one big drone...

Uh-oh… that would make one big drone…

"I hate those." "Which one? Cults? Or Coorperations?" "Both." *grins*

“I hate those.” “Which one? Cults? Or Coorperations?” “Both.” *grins*

What? Wait? Huh? Planted information ??

What? Wait? Huh? Planted information ??

Drone gone... pilot gone... what now ??

Drone gone… pilot gone… what now ??

Car chase... Woop Woop !!

Car chase… Woop Woop !!

"Too late..." Uh-oh...

“Too late…” Uh-oh…

Callen flying blind...

Callen flying blind…

Yeah, better get that thing away from you...

Yeah, better get that thing away from you…

Phew...

Phew…

Of course Sam wants his own drone... LOL

Of course Sam wants his own drone… LOL

Wow, what an awesome Hetty/Nell conversation !!

Wow, what an awesome Hetty/Nell conversation !!

And the team's *only* getting the Makers... LOL

And the team’s *only* getting the Makers… LOL

Well, I’m not exactly sure why this episode has me as enthusiastic as I feel but it could be that… Kyle Harimoto’s writing feels like he pins the characters from the very beginning and not only for those few episodes… and that David Rodriguez’ directing really nailed it !! It was his first TV show he directed ?? No way…

Curious what you think about the ep… Let’s talk in the comments !! 🙂

54 thoughts on “NCIS Los Angeles ‘Leipei’ Picture Review

  1. Mogorva

    Thank you sindee, nice recap 🙂

    I really liked this episode. Entertaining standalone and while I dont think that 2 sentences qualify that episode as part of a longer arc, this awfully sounds like the story is being steered towards the 6×09 “Traitor” episode’s events.

    This season is getting really good, I’m excited about the next episode and that’s not an everyday thing. 🙂

  2. Rayanne

    I really enjoyed this episode. I didn’t feel that the Nell knowing about drones was over the top. Its believable that she could have it as a hobby. The Sam Callen bromance was great and the ending with Callen trying to get the drone down was very exciting. I was a little nervous about the Hetty and Nell talk but it turned out to be OK. Thanks for the pics!!!!!

  3. Fenix

    Sindee again nice piece of work with pics, thank you for this.
    .
    I don’t know, what’s wrong with me, but I still missing something (bad mood, big Moon or what?).
    .
    Dialogues between Kensi and Deeks is not natural.
    Like very old boring, and irritating couple.
    After Afghanistan missing spark between them.
    I feel it not just in show, but in their interviews as well.
    Deeks wasn’t funny, he was awkward.
    That’s happen, when someone want be funny for any cost.
    Doesn’t work anymore.
    .
    Nell get skills, that was really nice.
    But Nell in charge position, not so much.
    That is not for her.
    It’s happened before, and many fans don’t buy it.
    .
    First, and second explosions was too small.
    2,5 kg of explosive material, is quite different, from what we saw.
    .
    Sam and G boundaries, not bad, sometimes was even fun.
    .
    Hetty…. well she is not my favorite person, so her Jedi mind tricks, now with Nell, is for me just terrible.
    .
    Others was not so bad, sometime too childish, but not bad.
    3,5 from 5
    .
    .
    This comment is for post “Daniela Ruah & Eric Christian Olsen on Densi: Could There Be Wedding Bells?”
    .
    Honestly yes I believe for some wedding bells in some future, probably in end of show.
    But what we get until then?
    I wrote my opinion, educated from Tiva… not so good. 🙂
    .
    S06 nothing serious happen.
    .
    S07 Kensi get new boyfriend, and at end of season, Deeks (or Sam, or G) shoot him, because he was undercover terrorist.
    .
    S08 dancing around each other, and again nothing happen.
    .
    S09 Deeks get new girl friend, but she ended badly (car accident?).
    .
    S10 wild card what they can use any time, because wild card can be DR second pregnancy. So she get captured like Dominic, or she get new mission on… ISS or Moon, or Jupiter, or whatever.
    .
    S11 Deeks open second box, and inside will be …. “surprise” the third box!
    .
    S12 someone die, probably Monty, and then start some small action between Kensi and Deeks. Maybe they finally go together visit Nate, and ask for help with their mental disaster.
    .
    S13…13 is not lucky number, so we get just another round dancing around each other.
    .
    S14 Wedding bells….is impossible, because DR is in her third pregnancy, and she not signet new contract.
    .
    S15 Deeks end in psychiatry clinic, blame him self from past few years “VERY SMART” moves, racoons, crypted messages (what is impossible decrypted)… and other “brainiac” actions.
    But anyway, at end S15 Deeks use some weet (it’s of course strictly just for medical treatment), and we can see his dream. Yes in Deeks weet dream, we finally can see their wedding!
    .
    Well, maybe I am wrong (Deeks can use weet in S18, or S25).
    So many possibilities, and so little time. 😉
    .
    Hope I am absolutely wrong, because all that stuff is totally boring, and awkward, and we already saw it in NCIS. 😀
    .
    Not end yet.
    .
    Somewhere around 2049-2050 we can watch remake NCIS LA 2.0 whom CBS bring to us 29 years after original.
    Similar to Hawaii 5-0 and that’s great, I can’t wait for those years. 😀
    .
    OK, little bit reality.
    Bones marriage in S09, Castle in S07.
    It’s 9 and 7 years in show.
    Deeks is in show only 5th year, so we have to wait minimum next 2 years, but I think, lot lot lot more then 2 years. 🙁 (keep Tiva in mind)

    1. Mogorva

      S18.. 🙂 well, I’m in 🙂

      About the wedding. Why is everyone so fascinated with a piece of paper in the first place?

      My guess is, they will be in a longterm relationship sooner or later, and they can get the wedding thing as a series finale. (Like in Numb3rs)

      NCIS showed, that dragging on a will they or won’t they game ends in total disaster. People lost interest, even the writers lost interest in it, I don’t think we saw anything suggesting the closeness between Tony and Ziva in the last 4 seasons of Ziva being in DC. I think the writers learned from that and will not drag that struggle on for too long.

      1. Fenix

        Trust me, “paper” is for many peoples more important, than you think.
        .
        Wedding at show finale is cliche.
        It’s just very easy for writers, because they no need think about stories “what after that”
        And “after that” is many times more fun, more pain, more love, more complicated…, than “before that”
        Of course if writers know what about have to wrote.
        .
        Today was wedding in the middle of serie (Castle) and it’s OK.
        Bones similar story, end of serie, but not end of show.
        So why wait until total end?

  4. Deeks Fan

    Good morning
    Thanks for the picture recap.
    Well, I hate to say this but I found this episode to be only marginally better than BlackBudget. Sam and Callen were funny. Not enough Deeks and Kensi.
    Too much Nell. I like Nell but even for a genius she seems to know too much about everything. I like Nell in ops doing what she does…analyst.
    There are 4 major players on this show. Too much time with the support players is time not spent with Deeks and Kensi. Sam and Callen always seem to be front and center.
    It may not sound like it but I really like Nell, Eric, Granger and Hetty but I don’t watch this show because of them.

    1. skippy

      Just a question. What makes you think there are four major players in this show?
      I don’t know but for me there are two options.
      1. All the regulars of this show are majors
      or
      2. The DVD covers reveal who are the major characters in the show.
      So I guess we have to deal with what the producers decide.

      And I agree with you on Nell. She is an analyst and should stay in the ops.
      And no, she is not a second Hetty and it would be ridiculous if she would take over Hetty as an OPS Manager. Sorry, but this wouldn’t work out, also Nell as a field agent. I hope they will stop this path before it is to late

      1. Deeks Fan

        Well, I could be wrong but I think if you asked, most people would consider Sam, Callen, Kensi and Deeks to be the main characters,
        To be fair I guess I really should say that for me they are the main characters. I doubt I would be watching if the stories were centered around the rest of the cast.
        Since you mentioned the DVDs…I have always hated that the only characters on the cover are Callen and Sam.
        As for Nell, I can’t see her as a second for Hetty either.
        Again, I really like everyone in the cast, but……..

  5. Andrea

    Fenix: I agree with you in some ways. Wait 2 years for wedding bells? Sounds good! (I know how you think it) But I am really not sure that the show will last for next two years or more (because of ratings…). So the examples you offer are a bit scary and if it really happen I think that a lot of fans will be dissapointed and angry. I hope that their “thing” will grow up soon! I’m looking forward two next episodes and Densi scenes.

    I’m sorry about my English, but I’m from Slovakia, so..

    1. Fenix

      Wrote that “future series preview” just for fun, not some serious stuff.
      I know, ratings is not so good, but from february is The Blacklist move to different day (thursday?) and after it will be OK (I really hope).
      That 2 years is quite possible (hope not more than 3).

      Don’t worry about english, my is not excellent as well, because I’m from …. ahoj 😉

      BTW: I saw today Castle wedding.
      In California they shoot beach wedding before green screen?!
      Is really that hard, find there some real beach?
      Without close friends?!
      Pure disaster!

      1. Mogorva

        We could create a Central-Europian group, I’m from Hungary, so my english is a little rough around the edges too 🙂

        I’m a little scared by the seemingly low ratings too, but this was a deathslot for CBS for a very long time, and right now the timeslot ratings are much better than the year before. (like with POI: ratings are scary but much better than last year)
        I’m not completely sure, how long the show can go on, but hopefully for many years. And creating a relationship and/or a wedding has its’ risks. Some people can loose interest, part of the tension and fun could go away (that happened for me on Bones), but it has some opportunities too. We’ll see. (I would like to see how they play out the relationship card too, it would be interesting.)
        I think as long as the ratings stay on these levels, there is no real chance of a cancellation for a few years. Yes, The lifespan of the show will be most likely shorter than it would have been in it’s original timeslot, but life just isn’t fair. My guess is at least 10 seasons, maybe 12.

        Blacklist does not air more episodes this year, so next week it can be decided, if that helps the ratings or not. (For Castle, it did not helped anything last year, if my informations are correct)

  6. Claire

    Thank you for your review. You just forgot to picture that amazing Callen’s smile (for all of Callen’s fans 🙂 )
    I think that even if Nell succeeds in becoming an undercover agent she won’t be there for long. In my opinion she resembles young Hetty so much and if Linda Hunt decides to retire Nell will get her position.
    For Granger would that be a step back in his career, so that is out of question. Plus the actor looks really ill, I’m worried about him…
    I absolutely loved the huge amount of Callen/Sam bromance and as a nice bonus no Densi at all.

    1. Mogorva

      “In my opinion she resembles young Hetty so much and if Linda Hunt decides to retire Nell will get her position.”

      My thoughts exactly. I have this feeling from season 2 onward, and my suspicions were confirmed (at least for me) in season 4 and 5. Linda Hunt is almost 70, and it seems, the writers are preparing Nell’s character to take her place, when she retires.

  7. Christine

    Thank you for investing so much time in all the recaps you have posted up to now! It’s so much fun looking at the pics and reading your comments.

    IMHO, it was an okay episode. I liked the banter between Kensi & Deeks as well as between the “boys”. But I’m no fan of the Neric ship, so the whole “miss me” conversation kinda creept me out. I just can’t fathom them having some kind of workplace romance. I feel Eric’s just not mature enough for an adult. He’s like a boy who never wants to grow up. Kinda like Peter Pan. Nell needs a real man. Callen would be much better suited….

    As for the whole marriage discussion … I’d be more than happy if we could at least see them doing some couple related things together. Some things that indicate they’re an item.

    That’s OT now, but can it be that ECOs voice has changed a bit in the last two or three years? I’ve watched “Neighborhood Watch” today and got the impression his voice was a bit different then.

    (I’ too would like to apologize for any grammar or language mistakes. English is obviously not my first language. German is…
    But NCIS Los Angeles is a fun way to better my language skills :-))

  8. Mogorva

    I don’t get the Callen and Nell relationship thing (kinda buzzkill on fanfiction too, ditched a lot of otherwise good stories because of that), I don’t see anything resembling a spark or attraction between them, they are colleges with mutual respect for each other, nothing more. But I’m not expert at reading people or these kind of signs (unfortunately), so I might be mistaken.

    Eric and Nell would make a much better couple, they have much more in common, if they ever end up together, but I’m not sure, the writers are going that way with the story. There is something in the air, but nowhere near as obvious as the Kensi and Deeks relationship.

    Everyones voice changes with age, so it’s possible, that his changed too. Or the voice technicians mastered it slightly differently adding more to the deep tones.
    Speaking of language skills: I’m also using my favorite show to make my language skills better: first in english, then in german, when it is available, but season 6 is only english so far :). It is really interesting, how the translations alter parts of the conversations (sometimes I watch the hungarian version also, and seeing the 3 different version can be fun).

    1. Christine

      Love doesn’t always start with a huge firework, but sometimes evolves between two people that have known each other for quite some time. I try to quote a German song text. “We’ve touched a thousend times. A thousend times nothing happend. Thousend and one night and it made booom.” (Booom is actually used in the original German song text and means as much as the firework has been ignited unexpectedly). Anyways, a hundred people, a hundred opinions 😉

      I prefer to watch the English original version as there always gets something lost in the translation. And I’m not a huge fan of some of the German dub voices.

  9. Mogorva

    Agreed, I prefer the original also, altough I don’t have big problems with the german dub either. The hungarian voices and translations on the other hand… geez. No big problems with the voices, but I’m accustumed to the original ones but a bunch of the original puns or sentences get lost during translation. Sometimes the episodes are even cut shorter.

  10. Teresa

    Thank you for pictures!

    First, I think Nell and Callen are totally wrong for each other, but love Nell and Eric. Just throwing that out there, since I liked how Eric convinced her to speak up about her drone knowledge.

    I really enjoyed this episode! I liked all the perfectionism discussions between Sam and G, and their general teasing attitude. I liked the Nell/Hetty conversation. I even like Granger more.

    My favorite parts, though, were when Deeks was shown as smart (figuring out about the big drone) and effective (shooting out the tire). I even appreciated that he found the fact that Witness Protection lost the terrorist ridiculous, and didn’t try to hide that behind humor.

    The only parts I didn’t like were when Deeks walked out on Eric and the Granger/Hetty mole briefing. I can’t believe Hetty would even consider a member of the team!

  11. Linda

    I loved the episode. I loved all the Callen/Sam scenes. This episode had the feel of the season 1 episodes as far as Callen and Sam go. The only issue I have is how much Nell is being pushed to the forefront. I agree with those who see her as a good supporting character. The show already has 4 series leads: Callen, Sam, Kensi and Deeks. I prefer the episodes center on those characters. That being said, I still think its been a great season so far. I wish more people were watching.

  12. skippy

    Thank you for the recap sindee. I love your captions.

    This episode was okay. Good parts and some annoying scenes.
    Actually I expected a bit more from this writer. But as I said it was okay. (Much better than the last one but that was not a real challenge).
    I love that Deeks was not the clown all the time anymore and Kensi and Deeks worked well together as partners and they have the partner banter back.
    I love the Callen mocking Sams on his desire to be always the best. And the action scene at the end was good.
    I appreciated that Granger and Hetty mentioned the mole at least. Though I don’t get why they are still working as if there is no mole. In season 5 (5-17 ‘Between the lines’) ATF had a mole and Hetty wanted to shut down all undercover operations due to the danger all agents were in. Why not doing the same now?
    I don’t get why they try to make Nell the second Hetty. Hetty will retire soon, so Granger will take her spot. I mean could you imagine Nell running the OPS? No way. She should stay in ops with Eric and do her job.
    The ratings are not really great (depending on what criteria you use). But you can’t expect more if you have only a certain quality. IMO it is a confession of failure that you wait for another show to be removed to increase your ratings. They should at least try to improve the stories and get better ratings for a better show on their own. And trying to improve doesn’t mean using the teaser #wontdisappoint again and again. This is for the audience to decide.

    1. Fenix

      “IMO it is a confession of failure that you wait for another show to be removed to increase your ratings.”
      .
      This is exactly my point.
      Winner without competition is like “One-eyed man is king among the blind.”
      .
      When writers have to ask ECO (who is most serious person in cast) about some funny stuff for script (was mentioned in interview), then is something wrong.

      1. Deeks Fan

        NCISLA had the best lead in on TV for the last 5 years. Moving this show to accommodate Mark Harmon produced ncisnola was pretty crappy of CBS. (Imo).
        That being said, consider the time slot our show is in today as a black hole for CBS. The Blacklist is a big hit and already had a fairly large audience following. Castle has been on in this time slot for a few years and it also has a following. CBS has been trying to get something in in there that could compete. Most of the commentary I have read indicates that CBS made a very smart move putting Ncisla on Monday
        nights.
        I think Ncisla shares viewers with both castle and the blacklist which dilutes everyone’s live ratings. Anyway, what I am trying to say is that it isn’t a failure on anyone’s part to be looking forward to not having the blacklist as competition anymore. That audience will be up for grabs. Hopefully Ncisla will grab them!

        As for the writers askin ECO to fill in the blanks comedy wise….he is known for his roles in comedies and got his early training with an improv comedy troupe. Why not take advantage of his skills?

        1. Fenix

          “I think Ncisla shares viewers with both castle and the blacklist which dilutes everyone’s live ratings.”
          .
          I think you are wrong.
          Already check statistics numbers of audience, and this is fail.
          Caslte and The Blacklist hold their numbers, but NCIS LA fell down. (source is stvplus.com then in upline click “ratings” choice shows for comparsion and check your self, if don’t believe)
          Castle’s rating go slowly down, similary with NCIS LA.
          The Blacklist rating stay high, NCIS LA fell down.
          .
          Numbers is from all season years.
          There is clearly visible, how NCIS LA fell from move to monday time slot, and others hold their numbers.
          So, they don’t take audience, or rating from others.
          Castle and The Blacklist fans is same strong as we are.
          They don’t let fell their show.
          And don’t forget for very important thing.
          Many of them is also NCIS LA fans, and stay before Sophi’s chioce…
          From numbers is clear, who was/is choice….
          .
          How you see (even if you don’t like it) main trick is quality of show.
          No stealing viewers or rating from others, it’s doesn’t work, and that’s clearly not happened.
          .
          “As for the writers askin ECO to fill in the blanks comedy wise….he is known for his roles in comedies and got his early training with an improv comedy troupe. Why not take advantage of his skills?”
          .
          Yes, from S02 to S05 I really agree with every your word.
          This season …. well, not so much.
          I’m also Deeks fan, but not blind.
          His jokes in this season, is faraway from previous seasons.
          More silly then funny. (70/30)
          And from that I’m really sad.
          I’m missing fun and spark from previous seasons.
          .
          But I still hope.

          1. Fenix

            OK Deeks fan, then convince me with numbers.
            (I already gave you mine, where is yours???)
            Hope is not enough for solid discussion.
            Please give here some source of your numbers from last 2 years of all mentioned shows and then we can compare.
            .
            And maybe some source about that “smart” decision “Most of the commentary I have read indicates that CBS made a very smart move putting Ncisla on Monday
            nights.”
            I mean real commentary, from real profesionals, not commentary from fans under some post.
            Because from profesionals I didn’t read any.

          2. Anon

            The Blacklist and Castle have been fluctuating, whereas NCIS:LA is quite steady. Yes, LA has dropped about 6-5 mil from 14 mil to 9-8 mil, but we’ve been sort of steady in our viewers and demo.

          3. Mogorva

            http://www.ncislamagazine.com/ncis-los-angeles-leipei-ratings/

            “UPDATE:
            NCIS: LOS ANGELES EVEN WITH LAST WEEK AGAINST BLACKLIST FINALE AND Castle WEDDING; BUILDS ON YEAR AGO TIME PERIOD BY +80% IN VIEWERS & +36% IN A18-49
            At 10PM NCIS: LOS ANGELES averaged 8.17m, 1.5 in A18-49 (nc from last week against highly promoted Blacklist finale and Castle wedding) and 2.2 in A25-54. NCIS: LOS ANGELES improved the year ago time period by +80% in viewers, +36% in A18-49 and +69% in A25-54. NCIS: LOS ANGELES is projected to add+54% in A18-49 (to 2.3) with 7-day viewing.”

            This year’s ratings cannot be compared to last year’s. Because that would be comparing an apple to a banana. For a network and for a specific timeslot aren’t just the absolute ratings important, but also the comaprison to the same timeslot last year, and the other shows on the other networks. On tuesday LA had the lead-in of the most watched show with a fairly consistent 2.3-2.5 rating, and held almost 100% of it (5×19 even topped it). Now it has two sitcoms, which aren’t the most watched by far (Millers are really bad to say the least) and Scorpion, a rookie drama (though it has 2+ ratings), and is at 10pm, not 9 pm.
            It goes against two well-known shows which are in that timeslot for quite some time now and share a lot of audience.

            All CBS ratings press releases emphasises the fact, that this year’s ratings are much better than last year’s in that specific timeslot, so mission accomplished. Even when that means, the absolute numbers are not so nice as last year for NCIS:LA. (They did the same with POI and The Amazing Race too).

            The cancellation of a show does not depend on how good it performs against the other networks, it depends on how well a show performs against the own network shows and the expectations. So far NCIS:LA is performing really well against other CBS shows (more than 80% of the average ratings for every scripted show) and lives up to the expectations of the CBS suits.

            I understand your point of view, at first I had not so nice thoughts about the knuckleheads too, but they are getting what they wanted, that means, the show is good to go for at least a couple other seasons. There are also a lot of syndication deals which can bring some not so small amounts of money and they are not public, so they can elongate the lifespan of a show even more.

            The smart move was in a few words at least 0.5-0.6 rating points considering the monday 10 pm and tuesday 9 pm timeslots.
            Last year LA had ratings around 2.3 at tuesday 9 pm, the shows at monday 10 had about 1.0.
            This year NCIS:NO has 2.3 rating points at tuesday 9 pm, NCIS:LA has about 1.6 at monday 10 pm. From the network’s point of view that was a smart move, they boosted the overall ratings, that means more ad revenue. And the NCIS:LA ads aren’t the cheapest either, so bottom line is: network gets a lot more money for these 2 timeslots than a year before.

          4. Fenix

            Morgova.

            Beauty of statistic is, you can get from any numbers, result what you want.
            Especially when you have write some PR numbers.
            I know what about I wrote, because I studied economy, include statistic methods.
            I can wrote extremely good, or very bad post about same thing, from the same numbers.
            It depends who I’m, ultrafan, or hater.
            I’m somewhere between, I’m realist.
            From comments of others I see, I’m not alone.
            .
            But point in this discussion was about quite different thing.
            I disagree with “I think Ncisla shares viewers with both castle and the blacklist which dilutes everyone’s live ratings.” because that’s clearly not happened.
            Numbers clearly prove it.
            .
            I’m also happy from get steady audience and rating, and I’m sure that raise after The Blacklist is gone.
            Question is, if numbers rise because The Blacklist is gone, or because quality of show going up?
            Hope for rise of quality.
            Only time will tell us.
            .
            And that’s it.
            Nothing more or less, just it.

          5. Mogorva

            Fenix

            Than I must have misunderstood a little, what you were saying, sorry.

            I can totally agree with your latest comment, and know more than one thing about the statistics and its’ interpretation too (I learned it too, and we had a saying: “Three types of lies are in ascending order: little lie, big lie, statistics”). All I was trying to say is, these numbers can be good or bad depending on your point of view. I sometimes overanalyze these kind of things (sorry, the engineer always kicks in), but I’m not sure, they wanted to steal viewers from Castle or Blacklist, CBS just wanted to raise the ratings in this slot. In which they are clearly succeeded. They couldn’t steal many viewers from the other two shows, so if that was their plan, they failed.

            As you mentioned, time will tell, if the absence of Blacklist will affect the numbers. My guess: not significantly. And hopefully I will be wrong 😀 .

            IMO the show’s quality is excellent, but we are different people, what counts as an excellent episode or season for me, might outrage someone and cause one to stop viewing.

        2. skippy

          deeks-fan, you just said it,
          “NCISLA had the best lead in on TV for the last 5 years.”
          They were spoiled too long with the 8pm NCIS. Last season the viewers dropped quiet clearly. And also last season they had the worst rating ever for one of their eps at the 9pm time slot (5-10). So I would say this may be one of the reason to give this time slot to a new show.

          NCIS LA now has to learn to swim on their on. No swimmies, no strong lead.
          And so far, they are still learning to say at best.

          And regarding your comment Anon, no NCIS LA is not steady. Within 7 eps from 9.50 to 8.15 is not steady neither is 1.9 to 1.5.

          I am not saying they lost it, but they have to improve, have to do it on their own and better sooner than later. They did so many mistakes last year incl. the beginning of this season and because of that they lost many viewers. Now the difficult part is to get some of these viewers back and you can achieve this with a good episodes and consistancy in your stories.

          1. Mogorva

            The total viewers number does not count for the networks, the ad revenue comes from the 18-49 ratings mostly. A drop in 7 weeks from 1.9 to 1.6 is normal, for example castle is also around 1.6, but it started on 2.3 or something like that.
            Total viewers are between 9.5 and 8.3 for this year, and that is also fairly steady, look every week’s data, not just one. That’s the best way to get the wrong conclusion (Being an engineer, I learned that on the hard way… :))

            Last season LA even topped NCIS in 18-49 ratings for 5×19 so I wouldn’t say the viewers dropped. In season average it was over 15 M total viewers. Look it up on Wikipedia. Do not judge a whole show or a season based on one episode.

            And I disagree with the last year’s mistakes part. In overall S05 was really good, with some mediocre episodes, but in every season, there are not so good episodes.

  13. Mogorva

    Taking Hetty’s place would be a step back for Granger, as someone mentioned above. And I respectfully disagree with those, who say, Nell couldn’t do Hetty’s job. She is respected by the team for what she already done in the field and in ops, and IMO she has the necessary skillset except practice.

    The stories in this season are very good, with the only exception being 6×05 Black Budget, at least the majority thinks so, judging by the votings on this site and the imdb rates of the episodes. Viewer ratings can be interpreted at least in two whole different ways. That’s just the beauty of statistics. Compared to the show’s last year it’s tragic, but in this timeslot it’s much better than the last year’s show could get (details in the ratings post).
    The moving of a hit show like Blacklist is always a factor. It remains to be determined, if it will influence the ratings at all, and if yes, to what extent.

    1. Claire

      I completely agree with you. Nell can handle Hetty’s job (not that I want her to retire anytime soon).
      I remember when Kensi was kidnapped last season and Hetty was collecting the money, Nell briefed the team, was calm and determined – ”We are going tactical, now.”
      And the whole statistics thing. I know it’s important, but Americans are obsessed with it a little bit too much.

  14. GG

    Excellent recap yet again sindee. I found the episode good enough even if it had too much Nell for my liking. It had good banter between partners and its only flaw in my eyes was the small amount of Deeks again. On the contrary in this episode Deeks seemed more composed and serious so no harm done there.

    I read plenty, if not all of the comments about Nell and the possibility of taking over from Hetty. I think it wouldn’t feel realistic. Nell is probably the youngest from all the team members and we all know that nobody can be an operational manager of a federal organisation’s department at this age. I understand those who are supporting Nell as she has helped the team many times, but OSP hasn’t only one team and certainly somebody would make a move to take Hetty’s position, even from another federal agency. Another reason for being against this change is that Nell hasn’t got any experience of undercover work. An office like that needs this at the most. Of course for Granger to take over from Hetty would be even more unrealistic under these circumstances.

    At last about the ratings, it is clear that the show has improved last year’s Monday ratings, but it is also wrong to compare CBS’ second most watched drama until last year with a first year show. In my opinion, and without being an expert, LA’s problem is the demo ratings. Slight differences in total viewership wouldn’t be that bad but having so low demo ratings shows that a) the show couldn’t bring in Monday last year’s audience b) in a very good season so far, 18-49 people tend to prefer the other shows. I hope that without “The Blacklist” and after a couple of weeks with ” State of Affairs” settling the show will rise in numbers.

  15. Rayanne

    First off Nell is my favorite character with Callen right behind her. I love seeing her grow over the last few years and hope it continues slowly and in a realistic way. I don’t see her as a replacement for Hetty anytime soon. She’s simply not ready. Yes the team respects her and yes she is getting more experience but I don’t see it happening.

  16. PK Rossi

    Sindee the comments this week are not the best –they almost have a desperate tone — Which is sad because TV shows with 8M+ viewers a week don’t get cancelled. Some may even say its quite popular!! The18-49 demographic for pretty obvious reasons is an advertisers dream audience –People under 18 don”t have money to spend and people over 49 are thinking about retirement. The more viewers in the 18-49 demographic the more money a network can charge for ad space–simple right higher priced ad space equal bigger profits for the network. Low % of 18-49 viewers doesn’t get a show cancelled just moved around.
    >+3 and +7 day adjusted ratings are great to boost fan and cast/crew morale — but do not mean shit to the networks. Because… its all about the almighty dollar not about the # of viewers who DVR’d a program
    >This entire season of NCIS LA has been boring — not bad just boring and not because of any one (or two) characters not getting enough screen time — just boring/pointless stories that are kind of like my 95 year old grama —They start off strong but somewhere halfway thru they loose the thought and the conversation /show ends with everyone saying HMMM?? and scratching their head. Truthfully I’ve watched all episodes via my DVR in 22 minutes or less—-
    >Deeks and Kensi I am not seeing anything romantic in their scenes AT ALL. They act like brother and sister. They seem to be going out of their way in interviews to talk about their friendship, how in love they are with their respective spouses and how amazingly great their kids are— Not sure thats not some subliminal messaging to the fans. Not sure where this will go I suspect i their love story will fizzle out till the very end of the show as DR has stated in interviews—because regardless of the professionalism working with a spouse, sibling, parent or in-law is a tough order—Period regardless of what the job is.
    >I agree with some other comments that Deeks comedic relief is getting tired and forced. However asking him to go outside his bandwidth and play a lead dramatic/dark role will probably end up being just as comedic since that type of acting is not in his wheelhouse — He a very good support player for comedic relief in a drama or as the dopey sidekick in some straight to DVD movie/comedy. But lead drama —Naaahhhh
    >This softer Kensi is just so GD boring — I need her to kick some ass this year even if its Deeks!!!!! She’s a badass Fed not Mary Poppins!!!!
    >I do love Callen and Sam this year I actually lauded out loud with some of their banter this season
    >I am not even going to waste my time commenting on Nell in the field—Ok I will — Its just stupid. She belongs in ops or better yet in a think tank making a boatload of money
    >Eric is just steady Eddy in OPS doing a great job — Please Please no love story with Nell and Eric it would be nauseating!!!!!!!!!
    >My prediction is NCIS LA gets moved again after this season as CBS is ending a lot of veteran procedurals and quite frankly are not doing well overall in the ratings this year (with the exception of the mothership). Option 1 –If CBS keeps Thursday night football — NCIS LA could be put on hiatus and come back as a mid-season filler post football season. Option 2 is that H5O is cancelled and they move it to Friday nights at 9pm. I just don’t think it will be cancelled but it is clearly not making enough money to support the disaster that has become Monday nights on CBS.

    1. Mogorva

      I don’t think there is any desperate tone to the comments, but let’s just not start a flamewar by judging other people’s comments.

      L+3D ratings are called Commercial for a reason. They are not just DVR views but also VOD, where the viewers can’t skip ads.

      Read the FAQ here: http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/numbers-102/

      “But the advertising is bought and sold based on Nielsen data we almost never see, commonly referred to as C3 or C+3 which stands for live viewing of commercials plus three days worth of commercial viewing on DVRs. That’s right, they actually measure how many are watching the commercials.”

      1. Sol

        Thank you for sharing this link! I was desperately trying to remember where I’ve read about all the “L+3 more important in ratings this year thing”.
        Thank you for your last comments too. After reading tons of comments, statistics and posts about ratings, I agree with your ideas about this show and the smart move thing.
        Good discussion.

        And, for me, good season 6 so far.

      2. skippy

        Mogorva you said
        “In season average it was over 15 M total viewers. Look it up on Wikipedia.”
        You mean season 5?
        Please check again.

          1. Mogorva

            You are trying to judge the viewer numbers of a whole season based on one or two episodes which are lower than the average, which is only makes sense, if you are trying to pull the old PR trick which sais: Don’t mind the facts, say what you want people to believe loud and often and they will.

            It’s clear, you didn’t like S5, but unless you provide some reliable data source as proof to support your view of “crumbling viewership and ratings” throughout the whole season in trend and in average compared to previous seasons, I choose to ignore any more comments about S5 ratings. It’s in the past anyway, we should focus on this season, and much more on the stories than the ratings. I like juggling around with the numbers, but it’s getting old.

      3. PK Rossi

        No one was judging anyone’s comments Morgova — Having an opinion that does not agree with your opinion is not judgmental –The facts are the facts and CBS has a lot of serious thinking to do about their fall line up. My point was advertiser’s who pay big big money for commercial time — do not want to hear about how much a shows ratings went up post episode — because DVR or VOD watchers are more likely not sitting watching the show start to finish but more than likely doing other things while watching a taped show. The bottom line NCIS LA has ok ratings for an ok show. The timeslot is tough and the type of show it is just doesn’t warrant people staying up to 11pm to watch — The fact that The Blacklist and Castle are also having only mediocre (yawn) boring seasons is helpful to CBS. I think the second half of the season will be very telling for NCIS LA and their exec’s. Bringing a comedic support actor to the front of the storyline in a dark dramatic role will be taking a huge risk—I’d love to be a fly on the wall to see how or if the second half of the season will play out differently than originally planned now that the ratings are down. What I’d really like to see is a new character come on board — a replacement for Deeks while he is back at the LAPD — Maybe a male “Kensi” type character who will challenge both personally and professionally.

  17. BH72

    Thank you sindee for a great recap on Leipei.

    Great timing by Eric to rescue the team from Deeks’ rambling and what a great remark from Eric after Deeks left him alone. “I killed my opponent and buried his body under the stage.”

    Like always, the Callen and Sam banter was great. I’m also with Sam over the woman having an affair. She needs a brain transplant if she can’t see why her husband is paranoid that she’s having an affair. ROLF!

    Kensi has softened around Deeks, it was more fun when there was a level of intensity between these 2. Perhaps DOJ’s recent visit bring back her memories from Afghanistan has left her more subdued?
    It was great to see the writers utilise the other main characters on the show, with Nell to the rescue with her skills with a drone.
    It’s been hinted over more to come over Eric and Nell, however I see them just best friends.
    I enjoyed that chat between Hetty and Nell. I think they are trying to get across that Nell will do it her way, so please stop comparing her to other agents.

    Although NALLEN is fun on FF, I think that is where it should stay. The writers have been playing around with whom Callen should have as a mate over the seasons. Tracy is still the best so far. All the others have had fans disgruntled. There was friction, distrust, heat and desire in Callen’s eyes with Tracy. They had chemistry! Callen needs a woman who can keep him on his toes.

    I would like to see a new player come in to replace Hetty when Linda Hunt retires. It will shake things up on the show, like when Deeks and Granger came on board.

    I hope they don’t drag the Densi thing out for too long and have learned from the Tiva mistake.

    GREAT S6 so far. Thanks for an awesome job to the cast, crew and writers on the show. To write on this show would be the ultimate dream for me.

  18. Jan

    I finally watched the episode last night. Not very interesting. Wake me up when we get a good Deeks episode. Whatever else they’ve been doing this season hasn’t held my interest.

  19. Linda

    Thanks Sindee for the recap. Glad to see that the ratings seem to be getting better. I thoroughly enjoyed this episode. It was a real team effort as everyone was involved in solving the crime. Kudos go to Nell for saving the day with the drone. Loved Eric and how proud he was of Nell. Kensi and Deeks were funny and smart as they discovered the size of the drone. I loved the banter between Sam and Callen. There were many examples as you know. One of my favourite scenes was in the Greek restaurant. Callen was absolutely hilarious. How I love his facial expressions. There was lots of action and excitement. I just gasped when Callen was trying to control the drone and voila an explosion. Hetty and Nell had a great scene where we see Hetty’s mentoring of Nell and we also see more of Nell’s ambition. Hetty and Granger also had a small scene where we see that the “mole” is still very much in play. It was for me a great episode. Season 6 has gotten off to a terrific start.

  20. diane

    I don’t care what they say about how they are happy with the ratings. It’s got to hurt when they used to be in the top 5 shows of the week and now they are not even in the top 25. I think CBS screwed them over. I am curious to find out if their ratings would have dropped (of course, not as much) if they would have gone to 10 o’clock on Tuesday.

    1. Mogorva

      More than likely it would mean a smaller drop, if any. I have my own thoughts what they should have done, but I’m not sitting their chairs, so that is just thinking about the nothing. (IMO POI should have moved to monday 22:00 and LA should have moved to tuesday 22:00. NO is boring as hell, but keeps the ratings of the lead-in very well, albeit not as good as LA did.)

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