'NCIS: New York' seems to have a Brooklyn accent

Start spreadin' the news: Arguably the most successful franchise in CBS history, and 23 years old this season, has at long last come to New York. Launching Tuesday (9 p.m., CBS/2), "NCIS: New York" becomes the eighth series in a franchise that has already crossed oceans ("NCIS: Sydney") and Bourbon Street ("NCIS: New Orleans") before arriving in the Greatest City in the World.

We'll skip the "what took you so long," and get straight to this: Just how New York is "NCIS: New York?"

CBS has described the city as a main "character" in this spinoff, alongside Special Agent Sam Hanna (LL Cool J), agent Nick Schaeffer (Scott Caan) and special agent in charge Robyn Wells (Jennifer Beals.)

But what kind of "character" are we talking about? A beautiful, complicated, multifaceted one, to be sure, with 8 million people, and roughly 300 neighborhoods spread across five boroughs. Here's a look at six key scenes in Tuesday's opener, with grades for genuine New Yawk street cred:

32 Withers St., Brooklyn

With his day-off dinner interrupted with a call from headquarters, Schaeffer has to go to work to investigate a murder. Outside is a shot of Bamonte's in Williamsburg, which has been around since 1900 and is a Brooklyn classic. Good first foot forward.

GRADE A

Brooklyn Navy Yard

NCIS headquarters has to be in the Navy Yard, even though the Navy hasn't been there since 1966. (NCIS = Naval Criminal Investigative Service.) Where are the actual offices? Maybe Building 2 or 3, both overlooking the East River, but that's left vague. Unfortunately, the show doesn't make much use of this gorgeous location.

GRADE C

Gerritsen Beach, Brooklyn

Hanna and Schaeffer debrief the widowed wife of Hanna's close friend, who was murdered in the pilot's opening minutes, in a peaceful neighborhood. Viewers of crime procedurals — notably "Law & Order SVU" and "Blue Bloods" — should instantly recognize the tidy, wood framed homes with the Belt Parkway in the background because they've starred in so many shows already. TV producers love Gerritsen because a.) it's quiet, and b.) much easier to set up shots than nearby Sheepshead Bay or Brighton Beach. It's also overused.

GRADE C

Red Hook, Brooklyn

Hanna and Schaeffer head out to Red Hook to put the squeeze on a tugboat operator who may know what happened to Hanna's dead pal. Easily the most effective use of a New York locale in the pilot — look closely and you may catch a glimpse of the Erie Basin Auto pound out there across the harbor.

GRADE A

Bushwick, Brooklyn 

In the climactic scene, the Good Guys ambush the Bad Guys at a club that is identified as being in Bushwick, and named Saint Violet. There is no such place, but the street scene outside looks real enough — a vivid stretch of Brooklyn life under the el, on what appears to be Myrtle Avenue near Broadway.

GRADE B-

Queensboro Bridge

The final scene has the conquering heroes standing under the Queensboro bridge, with Roosevelt Island (and Manhattan) off in the distance. "New York City needs big Sam Hanna," Schaeffer tells his new partner who's reluctant to return to his hometown (spoiler alert: Big Sam will). What's so good about this scene is the Queensboro Bridge — instead of the far more iconic, and photographed, one with Brooklyn in its name.

Grade: A

Bottom line

"NCIS: New York" gets the Big Apple mostly right, but perhaps the show should really be named "NCIS: Brooklyn?"

GRADE B