NCIS
Year in Review
December 31, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
As 2009 turns into 2010, we take a look back at the year in television.
We saw Ziva David leave her role as a Mossad liaison in NCIS and return to the Mossad full-time under the reign of her father, Mossad Chief Eli David.
After she got captured during a mission in North Africa, the NCIS crew rescued her.
And Ziva returned to NCIS as a full-fledged member of the team, thereby abandoning any remaining and confusing loyalties to her father.
We met the team’s Los Angeles counterparts in a crossover appearance that set the stage for the spinoff NCIS: Los Angeles.
We saw Sarah Palin confront David Letterman in the media because of a joke about her daughter’s pregnancy.
And we saw David Letterman in another media controversy rooted in his extracurricular relationships with female staff members.
We saw Jay Leno move to 10:00 pm with the slogan It’s About Time. We saw Conan O’Brien move into The Tonight Show host position with a new studio at NBC Universal.
We saw Jimmy Fallon take over Conan’s old job as the host of Late Night.
We saw Julianna Marguiles return to network prime time as the scorned spouse of an adulterous Chicago politician in The Good Wife. Her character returns to the practice of law after a 15-year absence so she can support her children.
We saw a story line span all three CSI shows during the November sweeps period.
On Entourage, we saw Ari Gold merge his agency, Miller Gold, with the agency of his mentor and nemesis, Terrence McQuewick.
We saw Johnny Chase get his big break with a network holding deal for a television series to be centered on him.
We saw Eric fold up his small talent management company to take a job with a legendary talent management company.
We saw Turtle and Jamie-Lynn Sigler break up.
And we saw Eric and Sloane get engaged.
On cable news channels, we saw a balloon that looked like a huge Jiffy Pop container travel across Colorado and we feared that a six-year-old boy was inside the balloon.
We soon learned that no one was inside. It was a hoax so the parents could get media attention and pitch themselves for a reality show.
We saw Jon and Kate split up.
We saw Southland get cancelled before its second season even aired one episode because its content is suited for a 10:00 pm broadcast time slot, but NBC does not have that time slot available. TNT picked up the show.
We saw the return of sitcom favorites.
Courtney Cox in Cougar Town.
Ed O’Neill in Modern Family.
Kelsey Grammer in Hank.
Patricia Heaton in The Middle.
Ray Romano in Men of a Certain Age.
We saw Jim and Pam get married on The Office.
We saw the end of King of the Hill and the launch of its replacement -- Family Guy spinoff The Cleveland Show.
We saw The Simpsons begin its 20th season.
We saw the debut of Amy Poehler’s comedy, Parks and Recreation.
We saw Chevy Chase finally ready for prime time as part of the ensemble cast of NBC’s rookie comedy, Community.
And we saw America’s favorite high school football coach, Eric Taylor, begin the next chapter of his career in Friday Night Lights. Same town -- Dillon, Texas. Different high school -- East Dillon High.
We saw unknown Taylor Schilling capture our hearts as the lead character in Mercy, Veronica Callahan, a nurse at the fictional Mercy Hospital in Jersey City, New Jersey.
We saw Saturday Night Live begin its 35th season.
We saw a remake of The Prisoner, the revolutionary late 1960’s drama.
And we saw a Seinfeld reunion of sorts on Curb Your Enthusiasm.
We said hello to Royal Pains, White Collar, and Castle.
We said goodbye to Monk, The Unusuals, and Life on Mars.
We also said goodbye to icons of the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s.
Soupy Sales, who entertained children of the 1960’s as an unofficial precursor to Pee Wee Herman.
Farrah Fawcett, who inspired women in the late 1970’s to wear their hair long and feathered.
And Michael Jackson, who helped launch MTV in the 1980’s with videos that told stories.
2010 is just around the corner. If it’s anything like 2009, it should take us on quite an odyssey in the world of television.
david@davidkrell.com
As 2009 turns into 2010, we take a look back at the year in television.
We saw Ziva David leave her role as a Mossad liaison in NCIS and return to the Mossad full-time under the reign of her father, Mossad Chief Eli David.
After she got captured during a mission in North Africa, the NCIS crew rescued her.
And Ziva returned to NCIS as a full-fledged member of the team, thereby abandoning any remaining and confusing loyalties to her father.
We met the team’s Los Angeles counterparts in a crossover appearance that set the stage for the spinoff NCIS: Los Angeles.
We saw Sarah Palin confront David Letterman in the media because of a joke about her daughter’s pregnancy.
And we saw David Letterman in another media controversy rooted in his extracurricular relationships with female staff members.
We saw Jay Leno move to 10:00 pm with the slogan It’s About Time. We saw Conan O’Brien move into The Tonight Show host position with a new studio at NBC Universal.
We saw Jimmy Fallon take over Conan’s old job as the host of Late Night.
We saw Julianna Marguiles return to network prime time as the scorned spouse of an adulterous Chicago politician in The Good Wife. Her character returns to the practice of law after a 15-year absence so she can support her children.
We saw a story line span all three CSI shows during the November sweeps period.
On Entourage, we saw Ari Gold merge his agency, Miller Gold, with the agency of his mentor and nemesis, Terrence McQuewick.
We saw Johnny Chase get his big break with a network holding deal for a television series to be centered on him.
We saw Eric fold up his small talent management company to take a job with a legendary talent management company.
We saw Turtle and Jamie-Lynn Sigler break up.
And we saw Eric and Sloane get engaged.
On cable news channels, we saw a balloon that looked like a huge Jiffy Pop container travel across Colorado and we feared that a six-year-old boy was inside the balloon.
We soon learned that no one was inside. It was a hoax so the parents could get media attention and pitch themselves for a reality show.
We saw Jon and Kate split up.
We saw Southland get cancelled before its second season even aired one episode because its content is suited for a 10:00 pm broadcast time slot, but NBC does not have that time slot available. TNT picked up the show.
We saw the return of sitcom favorites.
Courtney Cox in Cougar Town.
Ed O’Neill in Modern Family.
Kelsey Grammer in Hank.
Patricia Heaton in The Middle.
Ray Romano in Men of a Certain Age.
We saw Jim and Pam get married on The Office.
We saw the end of King of the Hill and the launch of its replacement -- Family Guy spinoff The Cleveland Show.
We saw The Simpsons begin its 20th season.
We saw the debut of Amy Poehler’s comedy, Parks and Recreation.
We saw Chevy Chase finally ready for prime time as part of the ensemble cast of NBC’s rookie comedy, Community.
And we saw America’s favorite high school football coach, Eric Taylor, begin the next chapter of his career in Friday Night Lights. Same town -- Dillon, Texas. Different high school -- East Dillon High.
We saw unknown Taylor Schilling capture our hearts as the lead character in Mercy, Veronica Callahan, a nurse at the fictional Mercy Hospital in Jersey City, New Jersey.
We saw Saturday Night Live begin its 35th season.
We saw a remake of The Prisoner, the revolutionary late 1960’s drama.
And we saw a Seinfeld reunion of sorts on Curb Your Enthusiasm.
We said hello to Royal Pains, White Collar, and Castle.
We said goodbye to Monk, The Unusuals, and Life on Mars.
We also said goodbye to icons of the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s.
Soupy Sales, who entertained children of the 1960’s as an unofficial precursor to Pee Wee Herman.
Farrah Fawcett, who inspired women in the late 1970’s to wear their hair long and feathered.
And Michael Jackson, who helped launch MTV in the 1980’s with videos that told stories.
2010 is just around the corner. If it’s anything like 2009, it should take us on quite an odyssey in the world of television.
Baa Baa Black Sheep
September 30, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
After the United States pulled out of the Vietnam War in 1975, a war-weary country looked back to a simpler time for war heroes.
The Flying Misfits was a television pilot based on Baa Baa Black Sheep, the autobiography of World War II Marine pilot ace Greg “Pappy” Boyington.
Bruce Gamble wrote two authoritative books about Boyington and his pilots -- Black Sheep Squadron and Black Sheep One: The Life of Gregory “Pappy” Boyington.
Gamble’s comprehensive research details the story of the real-life heroes of the VMF 214 squadron.
Known as the ‘black sheep,’ these pilots were the champions of the World War II Pacific Theatre.
In one chapter, Gamble nicely explains the genesis of The Flying Misfits and the subsequent television series Baa Baa Black Sheep, also known as Black Sheep Squadron.
Frank Price was the head of Universal Television in 1975.
He commissioned Stephen J. Cannell to write the script for Flying Misfits.
The tv auteur behind The A-Team, Hardcastle & McCormick, and The Rockford Files admitted that he took some pretty good liberties.
NBC aired The Flying Misfits in 1976 and picked up the series loosely based on Boyington and the VMF 214 pilots.
The liberties that Cannell mentioned are evident and sometimes necessary in writing a television series based on real people and real events.
Indeed, the premise of the show seems like The Dirty Dozen meets World War II Marine pilots.
In fact, pilots of VMF 214 were not misfits or screwballs.
They were fine pilots with sharp senses, killer instincts, and rare skills.
Their ability to confront, engage, and defeat the Japanese in the Pacific Theater was a key element to the Allies victory in World War II.
But the creative powers looked at the bigger picture -- the relationships, respect, and regard between Boyington and his men.
In Black Sheep One, Gamble quotes Robert Conrad, the tough guy actor who portrays Boyington.
His feeling about the show was that if the producers wanted to embellish it, if they wanted to Hollywood it, that was fine with him. Poignant moments between the commanding officer and his pilots were important to him. How his character related and played that part. Esprit de corps was very important to him. Anything that was fictionalized didn’t bother Boyington.
Inspired by the success of Charlie’s Angels, Price looked for sex appeal to attract more viewers. Four nurses known as Pappy’s Lambs became fixtures in the show’s later episodes.
Baa Baa Black Sheep left the airwaves in 1978. But the show about masters of the air laid the groundwork for a tremendous television legacy.
John Larroquette plays Lt. Bob Anderson. He later won several Emmys as Assistant District Attorney Dan Fielding on Night Court.
Larry Manetti plays Lt. Bobby Boyle. He later moved to a Hawaii setting as Rick Wright -- friend, confidante, and information feeder to Thomas Magnum, Hawaii’s favorite private investigator, on Magnum, p.i.
And Donald Bellisario, a former Marine Corps sergeant, wrote and produced for Baa Baa Black Sheep. He became one of television’s most successful creators -- Magnum, p.i., JAG, Airwolf, NCIS, and Quantum Leap.
It might not have been true to detail.
It might not have been exact to history.
And it might not always have been recognizable to the actual participants and witnesses.
But Baa Baa Black Sheep deserves recognition as a show that honored the spirit of the Marine Corps.
david@davidkrell.com
After the United States pulled out of the Vietnam War in 1975, a war-weary country looked back to a simpler time for war heroes.
The Flying Misfits was a television pilot based on Baa Baa Black Sheep, the autobiography of World War II Marine pilot ace Greg “Pappy” Boyington.
Bruce Gamble wrote two authoritative books about Boyington and his pilots -- Black Sheep Squadron and Black Sheep One: The Life of Gregory “Pappy” Boyington.
Gamble’s comprehensive research details the story of the real-life heroes of the VMF 214 squadron.
Known as the ‘black sheep,’ these pilots were the champions of the World War II Pacific Theatre.
In one chapter, Gamble nicely explains the genesis of The Flying Misfits and the subsequent television series Baa Baa Black Sheep, also known as Black Sheep Squadron.
Frank Price was the head of Universal Television in 1975.
He commissioned Stephen J. Cannell to write the script for Flying Misfits.
The tv auteur behind The A-Team, Hardcastle & McCormick, and The Rockford Files admitted that he took some pretty good liberties.
NBC aired The Flying Misfits in 1976 and picked up the series loosely based on Boyington and the VMF 214 pilots.
The liberties that Cannell mentioned are evident and sometimes necessary in writing a television series based on real people and real events.
Indeed, the premise of the show seems like The Dirty Dozen meets World War II Marine pilots.
In fact, pilots of VMF 214 were not misfits or screwballs.
They were fine pilots with sharp senses, killer instincts, and rare skills.
Their ability to confront, engage, and defeat the Japanese in the Pacific Theater was a key element to the Allies victory in World War II.
But the creative powers looked at the bigger picture -- the relationships, respect, and regard between Boyington and his men.
In Black Sheep One, Gamble quotes Robert Conrad, the tough guy actor who portrays Boyington.
His feeling about the show was that if the producers wanted to embellish it, if they wanted to Hollywood it, that was fine with him. Poignant moments between the commanding officer and his pilots were important to him. How his character related and played that part. Esprit de corps was very important to him. Anything that was fictionalized didn’t bother Boyington.
Inspired by the success of Charlie’s Angels, Price looked for sex appeal to attract more viewers. Four nurses known as Pappy’s Lambs became fixtures in the show’s later episodes.
Baa Baa Black Sheep left the airwaves in 1978. But the show about masters of the air laid the groundwork for a tremendous television legacy.
John Larroquette plays Lt. Bob Anderson. He later won several Emmys as Assistant District Attorney Dan Fielding on Night Court.
Larry Manetti plays Lt. Bobby Boyle. He later moved to a Hawaii setting as Rick Wright -- friend, confidante, and information feeder to Thomas Magnum, Hawaii’s favorite private investigator, on Magnum, p.i.
And Donald Bellisario, a former Marine Corps sergeant, wrote and produced for Baa Baa Black Sheep. He became one of television’s most successful creators -- Magnum, p.i., JAG, Airwolf, NCIS, and Quantum Leap.
It might not have been true to detail.
It might not have been exact to history.
And it might not always have been recognizable to the actual participants and witnesses.
But Baa Baa Black Sheep deserves recognition as a show that honored the spirit of the Marine Corps.