NCIS 9.8: Intersections with Reality

A powerful, sensitive NCIS 9.8 last night, which begins with Gibbs dreaming about Shannon, awoken with news about a plane bringing fallen Marines back to the United States, which crashes.  It turns out that Marine First Lieutenant Gabriela Flores, thought to be among the fallen, was apparently not on the plane - none of her DNA was there - and the story shifts to an attempt to find out what happened to her.  This is the first of a two-part story, so we'll find out more next week.


The story is very much Gibbs', with his much younger self played by Mark Harmon's son Sean.  Any episode that tells us more about Gibbs is always welcome and prime.


But what I was thinking about most, this morning, as I set out to write this little review, was the synchrony between last night's episode and what's happening in the real world.  The news broke yesterday about the mishandling of Marines' remains at Dover Air Force base.   I couldn't help envisioning what Gibbs would have thought and done about this.


And I've been thinking for two weeks about former Marine Scott Olsen, who was critically injured by a point-blank shot to the head with a rubber bullet, fired by a cop in Oakland, California when Olsen was peaceably demonstrating as per his First Amendment rights.  I've called upon President Obama to send in the National Guard to protect our American citizens from out of control cops - just as Eisenhower sent in the Guard to protect the civil rights of Americans in the South in the 1950s - but I don't expect that to happen any time soon.


But how would Gibbs react to what happened in Oakland?  What about the NCIS-LA team?   They no doubt would have already gone in, and brought the criminal police to justice.  Sure, they would have run into resistance from the local authorities, but that never stopped them before.


If only our real world could be as just and satisfying as NCIS on television.


See also NCIS 9.1: Unpacking Partial Amnesia ... NCIS 9.2: Lying to Yourself ... NCIS 9.3: McGee's Grandmother ... NCIS 9.4: Turkey Vulture as Explained by DiNozzo ... NCIS 9.5: Behrooz's Mother ... NCIS 9.6: Too Good to be True ... NCIS 9.7: "You Were My Shannon, Leroy"

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

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



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