NCIS 8.21: Mask and Eye

A murder at the Pentagon starts off  NCIS 8.21, and serious as that is, it may be least significant in terms of longer range implications in tonight's episode.  But let's deal with that first.

Why would Navy Lieutenant Junior Lauren Ross happily say hello to Navy Petty Officer Eric Donner - the whole encounter was caught on security camera - only to be killed by him a few seconds later?  Answer:  Donner is not really Donner, but Navy Commander Nelson Tunney, who, it turns out, was wearing a lifelike Donner mask, and has a motive for the murder.   Far from being the easiest case Gibbs ever had, because it was all on camera, this one turns out to be a complex whodunit, with great lip-reading by Abby - of the security tape - to put the team on the track of realizing Donner was not Donner.

Masks ... DiNozzo gives a nice homage to the master of suspense, when he sees a mask of Alfred Hitchcock.   DiNozzo also needs to have a frank conversation with Gibbs, no masks, about Gibbs not being happy about DiNozzo in bed with E. J.   As I mentioned last week, there's no way that DiNozzo would let Gibbs run his personal life, much as DiNozzo is devoted to Gibbs professionally.  If E. J. and DiNozzo are to split, it will not be because of Gibbs - even though Gibbs may think he has that kind of control.  Which is to say, much as I admire Gibbs, I'm with DiNozzo on this.

The purveyor of the eye also sought to award it to DiNozzo last week.  Lots of speculation on the web about whose eye that is, fueled, in part, by Pauley Perrette's revelation on Twitter last week that the eye came from someone we know.

Tonight we learn, from what Ducky tells E. J., that the eye came from a male in his 30s, who had lasik surgery.  Let's assume this is true - that Ducky's not lying to E. J.   We also know the eye is blue.  And at the end of tonight's episode, we learn than that the eye opens up the door to the MTAC room, which confirms what Perrette said on Twitter.

So where does that leave us?  CIRay would be a possibility - we haven't seen him this week - except he has dark eyes (and, come to think of it, I don't know if CIA agents have clearance to MTAC).   I was thinking maybe Jenny - if someone took and preserved her eye a few years ago - but she obviously was not male   I think Mike has blue eyes, but he's way older than 30.

Ok - I'm stumped.  Which is good, that's just what I most enjoy in a mystery.

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 8.21: CIRay

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