Wednesday, September 25, 2013

The best words I hear on TV?

And they are, "Stay tuned for scenes from our next episode," spoken by Mark Harmon, star of CBS's "NCIS."

My dear, sweet wife and I have watched the show from the very first episode.  I watch because Harmon seems like a "man's man" and Sherri watches because he is a really good looking guy.  It's the perfect combination!

The new season, the show's 11th, began last night.  It solved last spring's cliff hanger ending and set the stage for a key cast member's departure.  During its run, NCIS has had supporting cast come and go but rating continue to climb.  And although the show gets no love whatsoever from the awards programs, it was last year's highest rated program not named "Sunday Night Football."

Why? Well, here's my theory.  In NCIS, good always prevails over evil.  Jethro Gibbs, Harmon's character, always gets the bad guy, always solves the crime.  And I think people like that a lot.

That's how we expect life to work.  But it doesn't.  Good, hard working people are victimized.  Evil, selfish people often  comes out ahead.  Our society seems to be in a state of disequilibrium.  It can leave us confused, disappointed and unsure about our future.

So, it's comforting when the bad guys get justice served on their heads.  And although NCIS is just a television program - make believe - it's nice to see wrongs righted and justice served.  And in 60 minutes! (Even less if you have TIVO). 

NCIS is coming up against some strong competition this fall.  And "American Idol" is always a threat to cut into the audience.  As for me and Sherri, we'll be sitting onto the edge of our seats for another year of NCIS.  And waiting to hear those favorite words at the end of each episode.