NCIS 9.3: McGee's Grandmother

A fine all-in-the-family NCIS 9.3 tonight, with Lily Tomlin play McGee's grandmother, Penelope, a 1960s radical with ties to a Vietnam War era government think tank.

Penelope comes into play because tonight's victim, Navy lieutenant Booth, has McGee's card in his wallet (a card eight years old) plus he was talking on the phone to someone right before he was killed, someone whom we thought was his extra-marital lover.   But the someone turns out to have been Penelope, who had given Lt. Booth the only one of McGee's cards she happened to have handy.

Not only was the Booth the target, so is Penelope, because think tanks from way back then have secrets that those who started the think tanks might never want revealed.   The killer is caught, Penelope is saved, and along the way we get

• a fine scene with Gibbs interrogating Penelope
• followed by Gibbs letting McGee take over (that's what Gibbs actually wanted)
• fine scenes with McGee and his grandmother
• DiNozzo calling McGee "Tim" (when was the last time that happened?)
• Ducky taking Penelope out to dinner (a handsome couple, McCallum and Tomlin)
• and McGee calling his father, under Penelope's influence, for the first time in 8 years.

As I mentioned last week, this season of NCIS is providing some good personal touches among the major characters -  more of the team as family than ever - especially with Gibbs and DiNozzo (last week), and this week with both Gibbs and DiNozzo to McGee.   Good to see.

See also NCIS 9.1: Unpacking Partial Amnesia ... NCIS 9.2: Lying to Yourself

And see also NCIS Back in Season 8 Action ... NCIS 8.2: Interns! ... NCIS 8.3: Tiff! ... NCIS 8.4: Gary Cooper not John Wayne ... NCIS 8.5: Dead DJ, DiNozzo Hoarse, and Baseball ... NCIS 8.6: The Written Woman ... NCIS 8.7: "James Bond Movie Directed by Fellini" ... NCIS 8.8: Ziva's Father ... NCIS 8.9: Leon's Story ... NCIS 8.10: DiNozzo In and Out ... NCIS 8.11: "The Sister Went Viral" ... Bob Newhart on NCIS 8.12 ... NCIS 8.13: The Wife or the Girlfriend ... NCIS 8.14: Kate ... NCIS 8.15: McGee and DiNozzo's Badges ... NCIS 8.16: Computer Games ... NCIS 8.17: Budget Cuts ... NCIS 8.18: Gibbs vs. the Kid ... NCIS 8.19: The Deadly Book ... NCIS 8.20: CIRay ... NCIS 8.21: Mask and Eye ... NCIS 8.22: "I'd Rather Have a Lead" ... NCIS 8.23: Answers and Questions ... NCIS Season 8 Finale

And see also NCIS  ... NCIS 7.16: Gibbs' Mother-in-Law Dilemma ... NCIS 7.17: Ducky's Ties ... NCIS 7.18: Bogus Treasure and Real Locker ... NCIS 7.21: NCIS Meets Laura ... NCIS Season 7 Finale: Retribution

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The Plot to Save Socrates
"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly

"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News

"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book

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NCIS

It's the number #1 drama on television, my wife and I have been watching it on DVD and catching up with this season's episodes online for the past few months, so I figured I'd give it a review here on Infinite Regress.  The short form:  NCIS is superb, and deserves its enormous success.

Among the highlights - the characters and the acting are outstanding -

Mark Harmon as Gibbs is in the role of his long career.   He has just the right mix of toughness and twinkle-in-the-eye humor.   And a lot of heart and soul.

Michael Weatherly as DiNozzo is a breath of fresh air.   He has just the right mix of humor and toughness.   His encyclopedic knowledge of movies and television shows, cited by him in every episode as he tries to put the case in context, is genuinely instructive, and delightful.

Cote de Pablo as Ziva David is spectacular.   A former Mossad agent on loan to NCIS, now an outright NCIS agent, she's the best fighter on the team, as well as the best marks-person.   It's a pleasure to see her.   Not only that, it's a pleasure to see her wiping out a team of bad guys, when DiNozzo has all he can do to take down one.   Her replacement of Kate, who was killed at the end of the second season, electrified the show.

David McCallum as Ducky is wonderful to see back on the screen.   Illya Kuryakan, 40 years later, in a lab coat!

Sean Murray as McGee, and Pauley Perrette as Abby, are also excellent.

The show has given its characters considerable depth.   The fathers of Gibbs, DiNozzo, and Ziva have all played crucial roles in stories.   The killing of Kate gives NCIS a 24-like edge - a major character can be killed, unexpectedly.   The stories are often riveting, and always entertaining.   Even the music is great.

Especially appealing to me is the "meta"-commentary on the shows - not only from DiNozzo about other television shows and movies and their characters, but, for example, when Gibbs is asked what Ducky looked like when he was younger, and Gibbs says "Illya Kuryakan," or when Gibbs, in true McGarrett style, says "Book him, Dano-zzo".

I'll be watching every episode from now on, and posting reviews right here.


5-min podcast review of NCIS

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The Plot to Save Socrates



"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly

"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News

"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book