# CBS's Navy NCIS has the worst fake computer tech speak I've ever heard! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 27, 2004, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbss-navy-ncis-has-the-worst-fake-computer-tech-speak-ive-ever-heard/271356 "2004-10-27T01:59:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2004, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbss-navy-ncis-has-the-worst-fake-computer-tech-speak-ive-ever-heard/271356/1 "2004-10-27T01:59:20Z")
Scene: Two purported investigative techs with serious computer hacking chops trying to break into a server to get some emails. The gobblegook is only moderately bad until they start babbling excitedly about “flashing the BIOS” as part of the break in wizardary they are performing. How lazy are the writers on this show? They’re not even trying. ---
**Author:** ![Ilsa\_Lund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a6a055/32.png) [@Ilsa\_Lund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ilsa_Lund)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2004, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbss-navy-ncis-has-the-worst-fake-computer-tech-speak-ive-ever-heard/271356/2 "2004-10-27T02:40:31Z")
[NCIS is the best show ever.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=282759) ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2004, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbss-navy-ncis-has-the-worst-fake-computer-tech-speak-ive-ever-heard/271356/3 "2004-10-27T04:11:33Z")
I watched it for the first time tonight, and I liked it. I like Mark Harmon’s character, and the other regulars could probably grow on me too. The technical and forensic stuff won’t be accurate, but that’s not why I’ll watch. The interplay with the characters is the draw for me. I didn’t get that with the CSI shows (didn’t really like **any** of those people), so I didn’t bother to keep up. Since winter’s approaching, it won’t hurt to have something else to sorta look forward to. I need to get TiVo so I won’t have to choose between NCIS and Scrubs. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Long\_Road](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5a626/32.png) [@The\_Long\_Road](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Long_Road)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2004, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbss-navy-ncis-has-the-worst-fake-computer-tech-speak-ive-ever-heard/271356/4 "2004-10-27T04:33:13Z")
Well, flashing the bios would be a method to use if you needed to defeat a BIOS password. Since I didn’t see the show I don’t know what context it was used in but flashing the BIOS is used in some instances. That’s nothing like trek talk where they need to charge the flux gadoodle before the dilithium thingamabobs go wackywhoom. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2004, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbss-navy-ncis-has-the-worst-fake-computer-tech-speak-ive-ever-heard/271356/5 "2004-10-27T06:54:26Z")
Didn’t I see a Jimmy Fallon sketch like this on SNL? ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbss-navy-ncis-has-the-worst-fake-computer-tech-speak-ive-ever-heard/271356/6 "2004-10-28T00:38:07Z")
I am not as impressed with the show as I feel I should be. The magic computer stuff bothers me, but my main peeve is with the resolutions. The answers to the investigations seem to come out of far left field with no foreshadowing. Next week we will find that the murderer was Shirley Booth, despite her never appearing on the show prior to the unmasking… But Abby amuses me. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbss-navy-ncis-has-the-worst-fake-computer-tech-speak-ive-ever-heard/271356/7 "2004-10-28T00:41:11Z")
> [@](#): > > The gobblegook is only moderately bad until they start babbling excitedly about “flashing the BIOS” as part of the break in wizardary they are performing. Sounds fine to me. Why yes, I am a computer moron. Why do you ask? ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbss-navy-ncis-has-the-worst-fake-computer-tech-speak-ive-ever-heard/271356/8 "2004-10-28T01:15:38Z")
> [@The Long Road](#): > > Well, flashing the bios would be a method to use if you needed to defeat a BIOS password. Since I didn’t see the show I don’t know what context it was used in but flashing the BIOS is used in some instances. That’s nothing like trek talk where they need to charge the flux gadoodle before the dilithium thingamabobs go wackywhoom. The “flashing the BIOS” was described as part of the hacking wizardry they were engaging in _over the internet_ to get into the ISP servers email database. It’s just pathtically lazy attemot at geek speak. A six pack of Mountain Dew, a pizza and some hungry comp sci grads would have gotten them all the hacker geek speak they needed ---
**Author:** ![igloorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/858c86/32.png) [@igloorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/igloorex)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbss-navy-ncis-has-the-worst-fake-computer-tech-speak-ive-ever-heard/271356/9 "2004-10-28T04:15:07Z")
At least they are consistent: They match lazy attempts at computer speak with lazy attempts at Navy speak. This, of course, begins with the title (“Navy NCIS”). Any guesses what the “N” stands for? ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbss-navy-ncis-has-the-worst-fake-computer-tech-speak-ive-ever-heard/271356/10 "2004-10-28T11:39:09Z")
Nachos? Nigeria? Nickel? Nerd? Needle? Numb? Come on, don’t leave us hanging. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cbss-navy-ncis-has-the-worst-fake-computer-tech-speak-ive-ever-heard/271356/11 "2004-10-28T11:46:50Z")
> [@igloorex](#): > > They match lazy attempts at computer speak with lazy attempts at Navy speak. This, of course, begins with the title (“Navy NCIS”). Any guesses what the “N” stands for? To their credit, they’ve dropped the “Navy” from the name of the show this season, and it’s just _NCIS_ now. I think they had the word Navy in there the first year to make sure people didn’t confuse it with _CSI_.