NCIS 8.7: "James Bond Movie Directed by Fellini"

A"James Bond movie directed by Fellini".  That's what DiNozzo says as he looks at his father - Anthony DiNozzo, Sr. (played by Robert Wagner) - on his way up to a high-stakes mission in a soiree, Ziva in sleek, elegant black on his arm, to smoke out the arms dealer on his way to acquiring an American nuke found in a plane that crashed years ago.

Fathers play important roles in the infracture of NCIS, in particular Gibbs', Ziva's, and DiNozzo's.  Anthony Sr is every bit as suave as his son, with as keen an eye for the ladies.   But he has extravagant tastes which, coupled with his penchant for bankruptcy, had made for difficult times for him and Tony.  Indeed, he manages to run up a huge bill on behalf of his NCIS mission in episode 8.7, but Gibbs, pleased with the happy ending, says it was well worth it (and Vance agrees).

There were some good tense moments near the end of the cocktails, as the Turkish arms dealer recognizes Ziva (she was accompanying Anthony Sr as his colleague, Sophia - close to Sophie, one of her other aliases) to the point of knowing her whole story - father in charge of Mossad, Ziva now an American operative (a probie, as Tony and McGee remind her, but happily in possession in this episode of her first American passport).   NCIS prevailed tonight, but the mention of Ziva's father sets the stage for next week's episode, which will follow up on what we saw at very end of the first episode this season.

Tonight story ended, though, with a great scene between Tony and his father in which they finally draw a little closer.   Gibbs has reconciled with his father, now Tony with his.   Next we'll see happens with Ziva and hers.   I have a feeling it won't go too smoothly....  Parent/child relationships are tough enough when they're not on separate continents, now working for separate governments.

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

And see ee 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 

Dexter 4.11: The "Soulless, Anti-Family Schmuck"

"You'll come across as a soulless, anti-family schmuck" - not a shot against Dexter Morgan, or any major character on the show, but what Laguerta says to Captain Matthews, as she stands up for her marriage to Batista in Dexter 4.11, and tells Matthews to stop threatening her and Batista about their romantic relationship. One of the best lines in the show, and I mention it because it shows how sharp even the throwaway lines have been on this series, especially this year.

Actually, Trinity, last week unveiled as more accurately called the Quadro killer (at least by me), turns out to be even more of a "soulless, anti-family, schmuck" than we thought. He tells his daughter Christine, after knowing that she killed Lundy to protect him, that was she was "always a stupid girl" and he was sorry she was ever born. This leads her to take her life, after confessing to Debra.

But Dexter Morgan has more soul than ever, even it's split among at least five parts, as Harry enumerates - "blood tech, husband, father, serial killer, and now Kyle Butler" - as Dexter stands before a four-paneled mirror, and the camera moves slowly over Dexter's refections, and then to Dexter, in a scene that Hitchcock and Fellini would have been proud of.

This show is so good, so well made and acted, so powerful in plot, brilliant in dialogue, that it's almost painful to watch, as befits a show about a serial killer who in all other ways is a mensch.

And the Season 4 finale is next week!

5-min podcast review of Dexter



See also Dexter Season 4: Sneak Preview Review ... The Family Man on Dexter 4.5 ... Dexter on the Couch in 4.6 ... Dexter 4.7: 'He Can't Kill Bambi' ... Dexter 4.8: Great Mistakes ... 4.9: Trinity's Surprising Daughter ... 4.10: More than Trinity

See also reviews of Season 3: Season's Happy Endings? ... Double Surprise ... Psychotic Law vs. Sociopath Science ... The Bright, Elusive Butterfly of Dexter ... The True Nature of Miguel ... Si Se Puede on Dexter ... and Dexter 3: Sneak Preview Review

Reviews of Season 2: Dexter's Back: A Preview and Dexter Meets Heroes and 6. Dexter and De-Lila-h and 7. Best Line About Dexter - from Lila and 8. How Will Dexter Get Out of This? and The Plot Gets Tighter and Sharper and Dex, Doakes, and Harry and Deb's Belief Saves Dex and All's ... Well

See also about Season 1: First Place to Dexter

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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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