S1 NCIS:LA
Jan. 3rd, 2013 09:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
miss_lucy21So, I got both S1 and S2 on DVD for Christmas and I broke out S1 this afternoon while doing laundry. The DVDs start with "Legend" parts 1 and 2, which I was thrilled to discover (it's not printed on the DVD itself with the rest of the episode titles), because really, you need the backdoor pilot, even if things turned out to be different when LA itself started. I haven't checked out any of the extras yet, because I can't find the damn remote for the DVD player (we haven't been using it a lot lately- too busy with the DVR- so someone probably stuck it someplace that seemed like a good idea at the time when they were clearing up for company). So, while I can get the DVD to play the episodes with the buttons on the machine itself, exploring things is a bit more challenging.
The first thing that strikes me is how young they all seem. It's not even like the show is that old- it's only S4 now- but it feels like the characters have matured a whole lot in the past 3-ish years. The dynamics are different now, and that's not a bad thing, but it's different and I forgot some of the early interaction. G and Sam bickered a lot more and there was an edge to some of the banter that just isn't there anymore (even though they still banter- it's more banter than bicker now). They were both more and less careful with each other, early on. Oh, and G's got this huge, bright and shiny imagination that I think doesn't always come through anymore. He clearly thinks of some little aspects of what he does as a bit of a game, and while he takes it seriously, he's also clearly enjoying himself. I think he's lost a little of that, too. And Kensi isn't quite as experienced and it's clear that she's still learning things early on that are completely second nature to her now. And of course, it's Dom, instead of Deeks. One thing I'd forgotten about Dom was that while he was horribly inexperienced for the job and really did not belong in an operational capacity, he was really freaking smart. You can tell why Hetty thought to snap him up. The thing is, he needed to be on the analysis end of things and not so much the operational end, at least at that point in his career. And I really miss Nell in these early episodes. It seems almost awkward now having Kensi or Dom (well, less so with Dom) or someone else pulling together the kind of info that Nell always does now.
I'd remembered most of the details from the episode plots and most of the funny lines (I'd forgotten Sam and G at the end of "The Only Easy Day", though, where G bribes Sam to smile and go home with a beer and then yells "I love you, man" after him when he leaves. That cracked me up). I did forget (or blocked out of memory) how much they did not have the wardrobe right yet, at least in the first 4 episodes. Sam spends much of "Predator" in this truly awful striped shirt that does not look good on him. And G spends "Identity" wearing a blazer that Hetty hands him after a spiel about his wardrobe looking like it came from the orphanage and he looks kind of awkward, especially since Sam's wearing his usual henley. G just looks so much more comfortable in his discount-store specials (I can't see G voluntarily shopping in any store more high class than Target for himself. Probably not thrift stores- I think that would bother him too much, given that he probably never had new clothes growing up. But like those everything is $10 stores in strip malls, or Wal-Mart).
But, oh, baby show. They're all trying to fit together and sort themselves out. And watching some things, knowing what I know now, makes it interesting. Like, Sam offering G his sofa at the end of "Identity" and G shakes his head and says "Noisy". At the time, I interpreted that comment as Sam lives in a noisy building or on a very busy street. Now, I'm thinking he meant small child running around. I know as I go on, there's going to be bits and pieces of foreshadowing and I'm looking forward to it.
The first thing that strikes me is how young they all seem. It's not even like the show is that old- it's only S4 now- but it feels like the characters have matured a whole lot in the past 3-ish years. The dynamics are different now, and that's not a bad thing, but it's different and I forgot some of the early interaction. G and Sam bickered a lot more and there was an edge to some of the banter that just isn't there anymore (even though they still banter- it's more banter than bicker now). They were both more and less careful with each other, early on. Oh, and G's got this huge, bright and shiny imagination that I think doesn't always come through anymore. He clearly thinks of some little aspects of what he does as a bit of a game, and while he takes it seriously, he's also clearly enjoying himself. I think he's lost a little of that, too. And Kensi isn't quite as experienced and it's clear that she's still learning things early on that are completely second nature to her now. And of course, it's Dom, instead of Deeks. One thing I'd forgotten about Dom was that while he was horribly inexperienced for the job and really did not belong in an operational capacity, he was really freaking smart. You can tell why Hetty thought to snap him up. The thing is, he needed to be on the analysis end of things and not so much the operational end, at least at that point in his career. And I really miss Nell in these early episodes. It seems almost awkward now having Kensi or Dom (well, less so with Dom) or someone else pulling together the kind of info that Nell always does now.
I'd remembered most of the details from the episode plots and most of the funny lines (I'd forgotten Sam and G at the end of "The Only Easy Day", though, where G bribes Sam to smile and go home with a beer and then yells "I love you, man" after him when he leaves. That cracked me up). I did forget (or blocked out of memory) how much they did not have the wardrobe right yet, at least in the first 4 episodes. Sam spends much of "Predator" in this truly awful striped shirt that does not look good on him. And G spends "Identity" wearing a blazer that Hetty hands him after a spiel about his wardrobe looking like it came from the orphanage and he looks kind of awkward, especially since Sam's wearing his usual henley. G just looks so much more comfortable in his discount-store specials (I can't see G voluntarily shopping in any store more high class than Target for himself. Probably not thrift stores- I think that would bother him too much, given that he probably never had new clothes growing up. But like those everything is $10 stores in strip malls, or Wal-Mart).
But, oh, baby show. They're all trying to fit together and sort themselves out. And watching some things, knowing what I know now, makes it interesting. Like, Sam offering G his sofa at the end of "Identity" and G shakes his head and says "Noisy". At the time, I interpreted that comment as Sam lives in a noisy building or on a very busy street. Now, I'm thinking he meant small child running around. I know as I go on, there's going to be bits and pieces of foreshadowing and I'm looking forward to it.