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If NCIS only sounds vaguely familiar to you, here’s a clue: it’s that show clogging up your parents’ DVR. Not to be confused with the similarly-named CSI, it’s been on the air for nine years and has even earned its own spinoff, NCIS: Los Angeles. Yes, the show’s lead, TV veteran Mark Harmon, is one of the biggest draws for those who once watched St. Elsewhere and Moonlighting. But something else makes it must-see TV: it’s the best place to watch a Jew kick ass on a weekly basis.

It’s not often that an Israeli character makes the cover of TV Guide Magazine. In fact, it’s not often that an Israeli character is regularly featured on an American television show. As adapting hit Israel shows for American TV becomes more common (think In Treatment and Homeland), there’s an indelible Israeli personality that’s been around for the past seven years: Ziva David, Mossad liaison to the U.S. naval agency NCIS.

What’s most notable about Ziva being a Jewish character so prominently spotlighted in the show is how little her Judaism is actually featured. Sure, she sports a Star of David around her neck and occasionally makes a Jewish reference, but she’s more accurately described as a nonreligious, secular Zionist. What her unexplored religious identity leads to is a portrayal of Ziva as a stereotypical Israeli rather than as a stereotypical Jew.

Ziva’s cultural trappings include a remarkable ability to butcher the English language, constantly confusing expressions and eliciting sarcastic mockery from her comedic teammate Tony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly), himself a champion of all that is Italian. The Internet is full of clips of Zivaisms, including one that starts with Tony firing off expressions at her, receiving only blank stares in return.

Linguistic difficulties aside, Ziva is the show’s most stable and dependable character, as steadfast as Harmon’s Gibbs. Upon her arrival in Washington, D.C., Ziva proves her loyalty time and again, first saving the life of her future mentor Gibbs by shooting her murderous half-brother who was threatening him. That selfless, endearing act is representative of the kind of behavior that Ziva later exhibits over the seasons as she bends over backward to defend her teammates amid, and in spite of, the jokes her foreigner status frequently elicits.

Ziva’s portrayer, Cote de Pablo, is not Israeli, nor is she Jewish. Though the Catholic-born Chilean actress’ pronunciation of the name of her character’s home country leaves something to be desired, she does capture a certain Israeli toughness and no-nonsense attitude.

As far as plot developments go, her character’s existence has facilitated trips for the whole NCIS crew to Israel, painting the Jewish state as a staunch American ally. Objectively, there’s no reason why Israel should even be a topic on this navy-centric show, yet Ziva’s presence prompted me to establish a lasting connection to the show—I got to root for the Israeli chick, who was Jewish like me, even if we didn’t actually resemble each other all that much.

Ziva is a rock, sternly committed to defending those she cares about and to serving the country to which she has newly sworn allegiance. She’s not the kind of Jewish character we usually see on television, and she redefines what being the token Jew on a TV show may imply. This Jew may still be the butt of jokes, but she’s definitely not going to take the abuse lying down.

http://www.jewcy.com/arts-and-culture/network-jews-ziva-david-from-cbs-ncis

LONDON: New research from Essential Television Statistics, Madigan Cluff and Digital TV Research puts the value of imported drama series for European broadcasters at about $6 billion in 2011, with NCIS, the CBS military procedural starring Mark Harmon, leading the pack.

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NCIS generated $210 million for European broadcasters, according to Imported Drama Series in Europe. Closely behind were CSI: Miami—recently axed in the U.S.—which was worth $193.7 million to European broadcasters, followed by CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, worth $176.6 million. All three shows are sold by CBS Studios International. Other series in the top ten—a combined value of $1.4 billion—were House, The Mentalist, Criminal Minds, CSI: NY, Two and a Half Men, Bones and the sole non-American entry, Sturm der Liebe (Storm of Love.)

CBS Studios International sits atop the ranking of distributors by value created. Its shows in the top 200 list of imported drama series in Europe generated $1.04 billion. Warner Bros. came in second with $691.4 million, followed by Disney ($634.6 million), NBCUniversal ($582.7 million), Fox ($357.1 million) and Sony (189 million.) “However, these six companies are probably not as dominant as many people would have guessed,” said Michael Cluff, co-author of the report and director at Madigan Cluff. “Indeed, seventh-placed ZDF [$183 million, 12 titles] was pretty close to Sony in 2011. ITV was next with $116 million [9 titles]. Ninth place (and the only other distributor to record more than $100 million from Europe’s top 200 titles) went to Bavaria Media [$113 million], but this was solely for Sturm der Liebe.”

http://www.worldscreen.com/articles/display/34630#.T8ZFc1dePO1.twitter

ANOTHER INFO

NCIS was Europe’s top drama show in 2011

30 May, 2012

The value of imported drama series for European broadcasters was $5,990 million in 2011, with the top 200 titles supplying 81% ($4,829 million) of that total. The Imported Drama Series in Europe report estimated that the top 10 titles accounted for 23% ($1,400 million) of the 2011 total value, with the top 50 taking 55% ($3,268 million).

Michael Cluff, co-author and Director at Madigan Cluff, said: “CBS distributed the top three titles in 2011, with NCIS leading the pack by generating $210 million. The three CSI franchises appear in the top 10. Only one of the top 10 titles (Sturm der Liebe) originated from outside the US.”

Jonathan Bailey, co-author and Managing Director of Essential Television Statistics, explained: “Only 22% of the hours screened for the top 200 titles appeared in primetime [20,507 hours from 94,638 in total]. However, 69% [$3,337 million] of the value created for these titles was in primetime.”

http://www.digitaltvresearch.com/press-releases?id=32