by Larry Brody
Changes, changes, changes….
ncis
I’ve always found Gary Cole to be off-putting. He’s a good actor, but I never like the characters he plays. Just don’t want to be around them.
Mark Harmon, OTOH, I’ll hang out with any time, anywhere.
Ergo:
Sorry, CBS, but the Brode isn’t watching NCIS again until Gibbs comes back. (And nope, a cameo doesn’t count.
the rookie
I enjoyed this show when it first appeared. It had a certain good humor to it, and everyone’s pal (yes, there are polls that demonstrate them) Nathan Fillion played the title role with what appeared to be genuine joy, as in, “Boy, I get to be a cop…at last!”
But over seasons two and three it got progressively darker, and the current season has added a twist to the darkness: The show is now a soap opera, dealing with the personal problems of minor (and unlikable) characters like the jerk lawyer who married the character played by Alyssa Diaz. (Yeah, that was the only good decision the jerk lawyer has made since he first appeared.)
I admit that there’s one thing I will miss by not watching. Mekia Cox as Nyla Harper. Time for her to get her own show.

I think Gary Cole was seriously type cast and actually plays the characters you hate really well — which is why they’re off-putting (IMHO). But how many productions have wrecked their own shows? Remember “Feather and Father” with Harold Gould & Stefanie Powers? It was clever. Then they gave them guns and called it “The Feather and Father Gang.” Then in vanished. And “MacGyver.” A smart show. The guy always came up on top and never even had a gun to point at someone. Then they gave him a gun, too, I rarely trust notes from producers — most of them don’t seem to know either character or story. But they all impose their opinions anyway.
Yeah, I produced a series called PARTNERS IN CRIME back in the ’80s. Two very lightweight stars, Loni Anderson and Linda Carter, played ex-wives of a private detective who inherited his agency when he died. The premise was sold with the understanding, clearly stated in the pilot, tht the women would never use guns because:
a) they didn’t know how
b) they were terrified of them
The first batch of episodes were cute and fluffy, sometimes even funny, but then a new mandate came down telling us to – aw, you guessed it – “Give the girls guns and teach them how to shoot!” And that was the end of the show. In and out in, I believe, 13. (Fortunately, before it was cancelled I left the show to be the showrunner of MIKE HAMMER, where the guy had always used guns to good effect…and quippy dialog was one of its ultimate undoings. (Stacy Keach, the star and my good friend, ending up in Reading Gaol for real so we had to stop filming didn’t help the situation either.)
Now you’ve got me thinking more about Gary Cole. One thing positive I can say for him is that he’s got that slack-jawed, open-mouth sneer thing completely mastered. But I doubt it’ll work on NCIS.