Callen, G (25 May 2010)

The late mysterious Keelson kept vast archives, including a file on Callen, G., but everything is destroyed by cellphone from the outside. Hetty officially pulls Callen off the case to ... See full summary »

Director:

Tony Wharmby

Writers:

Shane Brennan (creator), Shane Brennan

Stars:

Chris O'Donnell, Peter Cambor, Daniela Ruah

Cast

Episode cast overview:
Chris O'Donnell	...	G. Callen
Peter Cambor	...	Nate Getz
Daniela Ruah	...	Kensi Blye
Barrett Foa	...	Eric Beale
Linda Hunt	...	Henrietta 'Hetty' Lange
LL Cool J	...	Sam Hanna
David Dayan Fisher	...	Trent Kort
Eli Danker	...	Karim Akbari
Nancy Linehan Charles	...	Jessica Haymes
Jacqueline McKenzie	...	Amy Taylor
Lily O'Donnell	...	Young Amy
Charlie O'Donnell	...	Young Callen

Storyline

The late mysterious Keelson kept vast archives, including a file on Callen, G., but everything is destroyed by cellphone from the outside. Hetty officially pulls Callen off the case to prevent further identity compromising. Phone records trace to an Amy Taylor née Callen, and the address of a tortured murder victim. On the premise is CIA agent Trent Kort, who supplies an Iranian suspect, Karim Akbari. He is part of a former shah's secret police team aiming use a hidden fortune, once managed by the late banker Michael Lawson. His past, Amy's and Callen's.37 foster homes record somehow tie together.

---

Plot Keywords:

torture | electrocution | false identity | bomb | suspension

---

Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

---

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 May 2010 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Shane Brennan Productions, CBS Television Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Young Amy and Young Callen are played by Chris O'Donnell's children.

---

Goofs

Towards the end of the episode, the woman is shooting (and missing) at the older Iranian guy. She runs out of ammo and keeps pulling the trigger. The gun "clicks" several times as she pulls the trigger. The slide is shown in the forward position. With modern semi-auto pistols like she had, once all the ammo is gone, the slide locks back and you cannot pull the trigger and make the hammer fall as was shown. After the guy is shot by the others, you see her holding the gun and the slide is locked back as it should be.

---

Quotes

Amy Taylor: [to Callen about his sister] She loved you so much. You know, she cried herself to sleep every night because she couldn't be with you.

---

Connections

References Tom and Jerry (1965)

User Reviews

Season 1: Does the genre basics but offers nothing beyond that and very little spark or snap to attract viewers

I'm not really a fan of the many glossy weekly crime thrillers that exist out there; OK some are good and some are bad but with so many good shows available out there on TV, on-demand or DVD box set that I have not yet seen I don't really see the appeal of them. Of course love means never having to say you're sorry and also having to accept that your partner's viewing habits may differ. So it is then that I end up watching NCIS: LA despite having never seen any of the original series or having any desire to do so. On the basis of LL Cool J being in it and it being "easy viewing" to say the least, we watched season 1 of this and I have to say that I doubt I have a more productive hour in my week than the hour that this thing is on because I will easily find things to do to distract me while it is on.

It is not that it is "bad" though, because if you know what you are doing it is hard to make something "bad" when you are sticking to a formula that others have made work. Problem is though that it is like me trying to repeat a recipe that I have just seen a TV chef do with awesome results; I can follow the recipe/formula and do all the same things but I just don't have the skill of that chef or the certain something to make it special – so mine will be serviceable but not as good as the original dish I was trying to copy. That metaphor took a while to finish I agree but it is the central problem with NCIS: LA that it feels like something that exists because it makes financial sense to do so (and is what I always assumed was the case with NCIS). This may well be the case with everything (few shows are made at a loss because they are the "right thing to do") but NCIS: LA cannot shake the feeling of drinking a cheap store's-own brand of cola when really what you wanted was Pepsi or Coke.

It starts with the production values in the sets as, while it doesn't look "cheap" it certainly doesn't look like money was no option. Of course this sort of cosmetic stuff can be addressed with success and improved resources but the real problems come in other areas. The plots are solid but nothing more than that. At best they are fast-paced and loose but frequently the show will try and be more than it is by trying to inject depth or character into things and it fails. It fails because it does it in a very superficial way without any basis or foundation of meaning. The cast aren't helped by this but neither do they do much to help the show. O'Donnell is all toned good looks and twinkly eyes but all I can think when I see him is to wonder where his career went and if it can really all be blamed on Joel Schumacher. Cool J is a charismatic guy normally but for some reason he is as stiff as a board here. Not sure if it is the script or what but he lacks spark and even when he walks across a scene it is an unnatural walk of a man who has started walking for the shot and is timing it to a mark and the "cut", hardly surprising then that he is stiff in all other areas. The various support cast is mixed but do the basics; Ruah is very attractive and easy to watch while the masterful casting of Hunt only serves to make the lacklustre vehicle that much more disappointing by comparison. Cambor, Foa and a few others are "shrug" and beyond them everyone is pretty basic.

Overall NCIS: LA is a by-the-numbers affair that feels like a cut-price version of similar shows. It is not necessarily that those other shows are brilliant and this one is bad but it never shakes off the feeling of being a second rate attempt at something bigger. This comes over in the scripts, the sets, the characters, the cast and the performances, it all just feels a little flat and lacking in spark. If this is your sort of thing then it makes enough of a fist of the formula to perhaps do the job for genre fans but for casual viewers you will really need to be in an undemanding mood.