I may have mentioned that my partner works quite hard and, while I would love to watch more shows like Deadwood and Game of Thrones, the truth is that at times you do just need to switch off and have some time where your brain is not required. Enter stage left NCIS: LA – a show that has the decency to allow you to watch it without really having to be at the top of your game. If you miss a bit of the plot, you'll not need to worry because the characters are frequently explaining key bits to one another to help you keep up and, in case you are at risk of dozing off, there are frequent loud bits of running and shooting to remind you that the TV is on. This is the sort of TV she needs at the end of the occasional very long day and it is the reason I find myself back here for a second season.
Having watched a first season that seemed happy to go by the numbers I knew what to expect and the show didn't surprise me by doing anything different. Some shows will use a successful season and a solid audience to push the boat out, try to add new things, make it more interesting; however the majority will not do this and will instead try to keep delivering the same formula until the audience tire of it – this is NCIS:LA's goal. As before we have weekly cases where the team are drawn in to solve a murder or stop something happening against the clock etc – normally by a mix of technology, asking questions, running, driving fast and shooting. This mix is reasonably entertaining and the sunny locations and cool "no consequences" air does make it easy viewing for those looking for it.
I would have liked a bit more danger, tension or, frankly, guts from the show, but I was not surprised when it never came. It only actively hurts the show a handful of times, when main characters are hurt etc to create a plot but yet are totally fine even while in a hospital bed (specifically Deeks' double shooting at close range seems to have given him little more than a bit of a stiff shoulder). Speaking of plot devices, the show does at time seem to be stretching for a link to the team to justify them being involved (we asked each other several times this season "why are they in charge of this?") but mostly the slick presentation and pace takes over and you stop trying to resist it by clinging to the plot origins. At the end of the season the show suddenly decides to try and have a darker end and (in the final two episodes) reintroduces a theme from the first season as if it was a narrative thread running through the whole show (which of course it is not). This clunks badly and feels so cheap as it cries out "look at this plot – you'll have to come back for more in the next season now", even though it means no such thing and feels stuck on and out of place. Outside of these episodes though, mostly the show works pretty well and it seems to have a confidence in itself that lets it be a bit more slick and a little bit more fun.
The cast are part of the presentation and are part of this confidence. O'Donnell looks like he is battling weight a little (although if I look this good at 41 I'll be shirtless everywhere I go) but otherwise he is engagingly solid. If you think it is unfair of me to talk about an actor and mention his appearance first then talk to the show itself, since it started it. All of the cast are superficial and style first, character second (distant second). LL Cool J is not as good a presence as I hoped – he feels hemmed in and a little emasculated; it doesn't help that he looks a bit too plasticy for his own good – not alleging anything with that remark, I'm just saying he has a weird look to him. Of course any suggestion that LL has had plastic surgery is blown out of the water by the addition of Forlani to the cast – her face looks terribly affected by botox, surgery or something. I'm not sure why she is introduced at the end and I really hope that she is not in the third season for very long if at all (especially not if she is the replacement for Hunt, who again is funny and a welcome presence). It may detract from the danger but I liked Olsen's playful flirting and joking – it reminded me to enjoy the show and I thought he and Ruah worked really well together (again, despite robbing some action sequences of actual danger by their bantering). The geeks whose names escape me continue to be used for plot development and comic relief – to mostly good effect.
Overall this season benefits from a bit of confidence and a stronger sense of fun and energy to it, but it never goes too far from what you already know it is. Case per week stuff with slick presentation, good looking cast, cool technology and lots of running with guns. It lacks danger or tension and mostly you'll not care too much about the specifics, but it does the job. You already know what it is and it does it by the numbers throughout the season – you'll not remember it once it is gone but it is solid enough for casual half-watching at the end of a busy day.
