Why ‘NCIS: New Orleans’ Should Focus on the Smaller Stories, Not Apollyon-Level Ones
Opinion
NCIS: New Orleans solved perhaps its biggest — and among the most personal for Pride — case yet in Season 5 with Apollyon. But now it’s time for the CBS drama to take a step back and refocus on what makes it stand out among the other series in the franchise: the smaller stories.
“I think that the show’s going to be different in Season 6,” Scott Bakula previously told TV Insider. “I think it’s going to be a little bit less of the Apollyon kind of stories and more about getting back to the more local, more personal stories.”
And we hope that’s truly the case. While there was a satisfying payoff to that storyline in Season 5, particularly because Pride lost his father during it, New Orleans is a much more community-focused show out of the three NCISes and it’s better when the cases reflect that. For example, Pride previously focused on and succeeded in bringing down the mayor, and that’s not something we could see happening on NCIS or LA in quite the same manner.
NCIS: Los Angeles is the series you think of when you think of international missions (such as in Syria or Mexico). NCIS is the central office, in D.C., with cases sometimes involving the Navy Yard. And those two series tend to have the bigger-scale investigations. After all, could you imagine Pride and his team dealing with a missile launch à la the LA Season 10 finale? Or a terrorist group like The Calling like Gibbs and his team did at the end of Season 12 and beginning of Season 13? Not really, and that’s a good thing.
(Sam Lothridge/CBS)
Even though these three shows are part of the same universe, there has to be a way to distinguish one from the next, and it’s the focus on the smaller stories that helps to do that with New Orleans. It’s the one you think of for the more local cases, especially with Pride’s bar (a great place to relax after work, have drinks with coworkers, and enjoy live music and hide out and work a case) and the team’s office located in the middle of the city, in a building that doesn’t look like it houses a government agency.
Can you really imagine the NCIS or NCIS: LA teams discussing a case in a kitchen while Gibbs or Hetty (or Callen) cook a meal? Can you imagine Gibbs or Hetty living above the office? No, but you can with NOLA and Pride (and he has). Even with Pride working out of the Southeast Field Office in Season 5, we still had that sense of the smaller-scale stories because he kept returning to his old haunts to work with his former team.
We’ve seen the members of the team care about the people in their neighborhood — Dr. Wade even adopted two boys she met on a case, and they’ve returned multiple times since — and stories like that keep us tuning in week to week. Let’s focus on cases like that more often, ones that feature elements we only see in New Orleans (such as Mardi Gras or a second-line funeral procession).
Let’s get to know more of the people in the neighborhood. Let’s have a case that involves someone who’s a regular at Pride’s bar. Let’s hear more of NOLA’s music and perhaps have a local band that needs help from the team. Let’s mix an investigation with the local cuisine, much like the Season 2 episode, “Help Wanted,” did. Let’s see the team helping out friends and family more, like they have with Wade’s sons and Sebastian’s friend.
(Skip Bolen/CBS)
That doesn’t mean we don’t want to see another Apollyon type case. But let’s return to the show’s roots and get to enjoy NOLA (again) first.
NCIS: New Orleans, Season 6 Premiere, Tuesday, September 24, 10/9c, CBS
Conversation10 Comments
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O
Agreed! I stopped watching this season as the episodes seemed to be repeating the same story line over and over. Not everyone on the team should have their life threaten all the time. Hope they can get back to what it was before or it might be the first NCIS to get cancelled.
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B
Agree with the smaller story concept. Also, would like to see some outside musicians come in on occasion -- Harry Connick, Jr. (Mr. New Orleans) would be a great choice for a guesting gig!
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G
I agree with every point in this article, except the one about seeing another Apollyon case. I absolutely hate those conspiracy arcs, especially where the villain is always 10 steps ahead of the good guys and seem to have some kind of supernatural ability to know what the good guys are going to do next.
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R
I don't watch the NO version of this show... for one thing the silly, ridiculous name of the main character: Dwayne Cassius Pride? NCIS (and even predecessor JAG) has a history of major characters with awkward names.
But whether it's NCIS mothership or NCIS-LA, I have to say I hate, hate, HATE when they have long story arcs chasing baddies. When I want to watch serialized TV, I'll watch other shows. When it comes to NCIS, I want solve-a-murder, case-of-the-week entertainment.
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P
I quit watching it after the second of my favorite characters left. They diverged from the show creator's concept and heart and have never gotten back. Then match that with the shit has happened behind the camera, I couldn't stay with them as a woman. Even though all three shows are ranked well, their viewership has plummeted. Think about the last time that any of the three shows was nominated for an Emmy or People's Choice Award, even a technical one. Other networks have placed some very viable shows against them all and they are bringing in good numbers for a new show. THEN they make it impossible for viewers to give them feedback causing the number to slide even more. Very sad. I miss NCIS Nola. I only have a few hours a week to watch TV and am so disappointed that 'Nola has followed the first one into an abyss.
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I love the name...its indicative of the area...and its REAL not some flashy super hero name..the name of the man Pride's character was based on was "Dwayne"..a real person with a REAL name.
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O
Wow...I'm glad NCIS New Orleans has more imagination...and not as one dimensional as this comment
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R
Pride, when shot and visited by the angel the first time, should have been regulated to a role similar to Heddy. Instead he gets out of the hospital, disobeys doctors and machos his way back into leading the team.
Big, bad Dwayne Pride. Living his career in NCIS in FOMO mode. Gotta be in it. Can't be excluded. Gots to be better and stronger than anyone else.
When Pride was promoted and they brought in a new team leader he always had to come in and shove the woman leader aside and take over but always saying it in a way that he is there to help and give advice. No desk job for Pride. Gotta lead the action.
Time to get off the swing and let the kiddies run the playground.
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O
The lady is not a leader and doesn't belong in that position. & NOT because she's a lady...
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B
Excellent article and I agreed with every point. I'd only add that Scott Bakula, as Sam Beckett on Quantum leap, did a heartbreaking version of "Imagine" that still resonates with me. Love to see him do such a song in that vein.
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