NCIS Season Three

cast
Mark Harmon, Lauren Holly

A hugely enjoyable series, in a classic TV kind of vein, NCIS has its third season released this month by Paramount in a 6 disc box set. Creator Donald P Belissario has an immaculate TV pedigree and knows just which buttons to press on the write a quality TV script computer.

The series itself is a spin off from JAG and follows the exploits of special agents who manage to operate outside the governments chain of command. Led by special agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon) the team work to crack any crime that has a shred of evidence connected to Navy and Marine Corps personnel, regardless of rank or position.

The second season finale, ending with the Agent Todd murder cliffhanger, propelled the series to become one of the most-watched programs throughout the summer of 2005, which then led to a growing audience throughout its third season.

Season Three is the first season of NCIS without series regular Sasha Alexander. Also, Alan Dale, formerly recurring character NCIS Director Morrow, leaves the series and is replaced by Lauren Holly as NCIS Director Jenny Shepard.

Cote de Pablo (The Jury) joins the cast as Israeli Mossad agent Ziva David, replacing the fallen Agent Caitlin Todd. As DiNozzo, McGee, Abby, Ducky and Gibbs each mourn the loss of Kate in their own way, Gibbs goes after Ari--the man he believes shot Cate and we're introduced to new NCIS Director
Shepard;

Stand out plot lines over the course of the season include days before his execution, a convicted serial killer caught by Gibbs ten years ago says he'll reveal the location of his victims bodies, but only if Gibbs interviews him again. A modern body in a Civil War coffin leads to a treasure map and a
conspiracy. A murdered marine leads to a case of identity theft and a mystery package; A web-cam voyeur session records a murder. A kidnapping leaves behind a young boy whom Gibbs befriends while trying to prove that the boy's father isn't a traitor.Tony and Ziva go undercover as a pair of
married assassins to learn who their target is at the Marine Corps birthday celebration; Forensic evidence left behind on a woman's body part implicates Tony in the murder, and the NCIS team scrambles to prove his innocence before the FBI charges him with the crime. McGee shoots an undercover cop, and NCIS attempts to figure out what happened while McGee deals with the consequences; A death on the reality show Bootcamp Babes brings NCIS to Quantico and into an investigation of the death of a supermodel. Ziva and Tony are trapped in a shipping container while investigating a smuggled shipment of explosives. An abducted officer leads to the possible theft of nuclear material and a suspected pedophile. Gibbs' long-suppressed memories overwhelm him as he recovers from injuries he sustained in a terrorist bombing.

Fans of the series will lap this up of course but the show is more than entertaining enough to pull in the casual viewer, well worth checking out.