|
|
 |
| Show Reviews |
|
Navy NCIS
David Birch-Jones
12/01/2005
|
|
Produced by: Belisarius Productions
Network: CBS
Scheduled: Tuesday, 8 p.m.
Reviewed on: CBS West Coast HD feed via Dish Network
Channel: 9484
 Navy NCIS gives viewers a glimpse into the U.S. Navy’s internal criminal
investigative arm. As with other crime dramas, Navy NCIS adheres to the
three-step formula that includes depiction of the crime, detection of the
suspect(s), and subsequent apprehension of the same, all squeezed into the 37 or
so minutes of non-commercial time typically allotted to network hour-long
shows.
The HD widescreen presentation appears to use a widened and vertically
cropped framing, with the tops of the principal actors’ heads in close-ups
routinely lopped off somewhere between the eyebrows and the top of the scalp—a
no-no in cinematographic modus operandi—suggesting that the taller 4:3
non-widescreen “safe zone” takes precedence for standard-definition
broadcast.
As with many other CBS prime-time HD offerings, the Dolby Digital
audio is two-channel only. CBS told us that it is now fully able to handle any
and all HD programming that arrives on its doorstep in 5.1. Hopefully more shows
will appear that give your surround-sound system some aural exercise, as the
sound design of Navy NCIS is decidedly run-of-the-mill, with limited dynamic
range and a noticeable lack of punchiness or surround-sound effects.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| Poll
|
|
|
|
