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    • ‘NCIS: Origins’ review: Good enough for Gibbs
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    ‘NCIS: Origins’ review: Good enough for Gibbs

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    Considering how many millions of people watched CBS’ massive military crime drama “NCIS” over 21 seasons on network TV, you probably know Leroy Jethro Gibbs.

    You know, the leader who always gets the bad guy of the special agents team, portrayed in all his sculpted, salt-and-pepper glory by Mark Harmon for over 400 episodes? The one with the piercing stares, the strong sense of personal morality and fewer words than most mimes?

    Did you know that’s true? even more could tell his story on TV for two decades?

    Well, at least that’s what CBS is banking on with “NCIS: Origins” (Monday, 9 EDT/PDT; goes to 10 PDT/EDT Oct. 21, ★★½ out of four). Set in 1991 with a fresh-faced Leroy (replacing Harmon’s real-life son Sean, who played young Gibbs in “NCIS” flashbacks), ‘Origins’ takes the tried-and-tested formula of combining patriotism, military culture and murders of the week into the past. The twist here is a surprisingly good period soundtrack, which must have cost a fortune in licensing fees, and a neo-noir style that suits the melancholic young Gibbs, whose wife and daughter have just been murdered.

    Cast Interviews: Mark Harmon asked ‘NCIS: Origins’ new Gibbs, Austin Stowell: ‘Are you ready for this?’

    Just as it worked in Los Angeles, New Orleans and Hawaii, “NCIS”’s procedural recipe largely fits the old days of 1991. “Origins” is good enough for military work, if a little too self-serious. It doesn’t help that the protagonist is the most boring element of the show. But the writers craft a good enough case to solve every episode, and the cast fits into neat, recognizable boxes. If you want more of the same, but just different enough, CBS has done it again.

    Our young US Marine Corps Scout sniper turned special agent Gibbs shows up at the NIS office in San Diego on his first day with bruised knuckles. (Astute viewers will recall that the titular federal agency used to be called “Naval Investigative Service.”) In this office, he is the probation officer nicknamed “probie,” and learns to catalog evidence and trust his gut. As he deals with his grief for his family, he helps put the bad guys away for crimes that even remotely involve the Navy or Marine Corps. As in all “NCIS” series, there are a shocking number.

    Stowell, largely unknown aside from some TV work and a starring role in the Lucy Hale rom-com “The Hating Game,” clearly took notes on Harmon’s many episodes of “NCIS.” He maintains Gibbs’ classic stoicism and prickly attitude without much effort. He certainly smolders with every look and has a jawline that could cut glass, so it’s not hard to see why CBS cast him. If his Gibbs is impenetrable and superficially defined, then that’s a fundamental flaw in the entire concept of creating a show around a character known for being annoyingly mysterious.

    If Gibbs is the least interesting part of Gibbs’ origin story, then what? The fine folks at CBS, including “Origins” series creators Gina Lucita Monreal and David J. North, know how to put together a team of attractive Navy agents in baseball caps and latex gloves. This time it just says ‘NIS’ in all capital letters instead of ‘NCIS’.

    Rounding out the cast we have the talented, ambitious woman Lala (Mariel Molino), who is skeptical of Gibbs and his mental state, while being a better investigator than any man on the team (Ziva, anyone? ). There’s Randy (Caleb Foote), with McGee-level seriousness and a goofy nickname. Secretary Mary Jo (Tyla Abercrumbie) steps in as the mother figure. And don’t forget the young versions of “NCIS” favorites: Agents Mike Franks (Kyle Schmid) and Vera Strickland (Diany Rodriguez), both here to help with the nostalgia game. Franks, now Gibbs’ boss, must rein in the young Whippersnapper before his impulsive heroism gets them all into trouble. But Franks is not at concerned. He doesn’t play by the rules either.

    Clichés abound, and the stories can get a little weird, but “Origins” also tends to be the thinking person’s “NCIS.” Lala must figure out how to deal with Franks’ blatant sexism and office politics. Gibbs is severely traumatized and has not dealt with it. Franks struggles with guilt for allowing the killer to escape in Gibbs’ family case. I’m not expecting any transcendent moments from the series, but hey, the series tries to be a little more mature than its predecessors, known for its soapy twists and sometimes infantile notions of good and evil. It gives you some points for effort.

    So go ahead and enjoy the almost as handsome as Harmon Stowell and his friends as they solve maritime crime in the ’90s. Enjoy the sometimes corny dialogue and ‘SNL’ alum Bobby Moynihan, who appears as a forensic technician. Feel comforted by the familiar, but slightly different.

    And if this ‘NCIS’ spinoff doesn’t work for you, there’s always another one coming.

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