ForReal

Alyssa was the very last contestant in the initial try-outs, and I thought then that they gave her that slot for a reason. Then she sings last this round. Don't get me wrong, I think she's great, and I think and hope that she will be in the finals as well.

I know, right? I heard the lyrics of one song, was sure I'd heard them before, asked my husband who had no clue, only to finally catch on by the end that it was Phil Collins' In the Air Tonight -- and my husband is a huge Phil Collins fan. That is not what I call "making it your own."

Seriously. Most everyone who goes through makes me wonder, how will they do when they have sing again for two minutes in a big assembly line? How will they function when they have to sing in a group with potentially uncooperative partners? We go through all this audition stuff just to get to good stuff. It seems to me that the vast majority of sob stories this year include the dad, and the moms are getting short shrift.

Or maybe saying what he wishes were true?

Well, it looks like they are trying. I read that a new male figure will be in an episode this season, and today I read that a new female figure will be introduced as well. It's like they are throwing characters at the show and hoping one will stick. I found myself wondering if they are trying to make Gibbs crack, or if he will continue to be the stalwart on whom everyone else relies. I can't even imagine how they will show Fornell getting over this, and yet I don't want the show to just gloss over him or forget about him. You are so right, they need to inject some nice heart into the show.

My thought on it at the end was, "What was the point?" I would like to think there is something coming in the future that will make this all make sense, but I was left shaking my head. I just don't love this show anymore. During the interrogations, I was reminded of Booth and Bones during interrogations, and that is not a compliment. They sometimes seemed a little cartoonish, and in this episode I got a whiff of that, too. Like when the perp says maybe it was this person who did it and the agents look at each other like a light bulb went off, and they go off to find that person. It just doesn't seem...realistic, knowing, of course, that this is a TV show.

I finished the series last night and was so glad to find all the commentary here. I agree with so much of what's been said. Leslie and Margo improved for me, too, over the seasons, and I found Gerry the least compelling, although I didn't dislike him. The Louisa and Spiros romance...I wasn't offended by it, in fact I quite liked them together. I think the show did a good job of showing the conundrum of marriage and love and life. I was struck by Leslie's privilege in telling Daphne they shouldn't get married if they aren't in love, seemingly oblivious to the reality she was facing, and yet it turned out to be the right move, if not for the right reasons, or maybe it was the right reason. Spiros kind of paralleled Leslie -- he mentioned that he had had lots of girlfriends when he was young and that his wife was pregnant before they got married, so he theoretically did the "right" thing, but their marriage wasn't happy. I read a lot of blame in the comments toward Louisa and Spiros for having an emotional affair that broke up his marriage, but I thought the story showed Spiros and his wife as two people for whom familiarity bred contempt and they were unhappy before the Durrells came along. I think Louisa just happened to be the right sort of person for Spiros who came along at a certain point in his life to show him life could be better. That said, I am glad he stayed in Greece. I really enjoyed this show, especially the funny lines and most of all the heartfelt lines that were slipped in. I think one that will stay with me was when Larry was moving out for the first time. I thought Louisa was being a little bit too mother hen about it all, but when she told him, "It will be like being widowed all over again. I will turn to say something and you won't be there." So much heart in this show.

I totally agree. Having her go all mopey and depressed the past few episodes was a weird way for her to go out. I couldn't see her on a beach in Costa Rica, but staying in a war-torn country didn't feel right, either. And a hug from Gibbs would have been better, in my book.

As I recall, when he went to the hospital with his leg, he was in a relationship with Stacey but knew Cuddy from college. Later, after he sustained the permanent damage to his leg and his relationship with Stacey ended, Cuddy hired him at the hospital. I seem to remember House saying she hired him because she felt guilty, and she would respond that she got him cheap because no one else would hire him. Later, the writers retconned that they had hooked up in college and that Cuddy had a thing for House, and he for her.

Same. This round was all about crying and dads.

That was such a ridiculous aspect of the show. I think it was just to give House an excuse to make lewd comments. He called her out on it many times, but the show never addressed how she reconciled dressing that way with wanting professional respect. It was a part of the show that it was unusual for a woman to hold the position of Dean of Medicine at a major hospital, so yes, she was detracting from her professional reputation by dressing the way she did.

I always skip those, except for the final episode of that arc when he gets out of jail.

Last night I saw for the first time I think the episode where Tony opened mail packed with poison and got sick. That was the nicest I ever recall seeing Kate act toward Tony, and I understand now why he named his fish after her. It was a good episode.

I almost came here to read first before watching, and after watching realized I may just as well have read first. This is not must see TV for me anymore. I really don't get the 1mm insistence. So Gibbs was 1mm away from causing McGee's death? Versus allowing McGee to go to his death in an explosion? Are they mad that Gibbs didn't fire a shot *more* than 1mm away from a vital organ, or are they patting him on the back for being so precise as to miss a vital organ? I almost wanted Gibbs to say, "I hit my mark, so quite whining."

Same here. I get that she regrets her decision, or at least feels remorseful about it, but she had -- and chose to use -- the freedom to make that decision, and it's not alright with me that she would take it away from someone else. I recall Lim driving her motorcycle that way in the first season or so and living rather recklessly. Watching this episode, it really hit home how much she's lost. Melendez was a colleague, competitor, friend, lover...they had a long history. Now she has a bunch of younger people who need her and a colleague that second guesses her. I like that Claire tries to support her, but the woman needs more, I think.

I kinda think whoever is responsible for keeping agents' gear working should be fired for McGee's headset failure. At least, I think that's why he couldn't hear Gibbs telling him to stop?

I really enjoyed the scene between Gibbs and Fornell in the hanger. Me, too. I liked how they could carry on a conversation while pretending to be trying to shoot each other. Shows what years of friendship can do for you. I'm not sure how I feel about the resolution and that Bishop was taken. The former was anti-climatic, the latter was unnecessary, in my opinion. It was uncharitable of me, but I found myself thinking that for all she acts like a hot shot agent, she got snatched out of a van in broad daylight. Did she not even have the door locked while doing dangerous undercover work? Did I get that right, Bishop and Torres were talking about Gibbs being unfazed by having to shoot McGee? Haven't they been with the team long enough to know that Gibbs does not show his feelings but that that does not have to mean that he's unfazed? Not to mention that I think that it was obvious that it was on his mind. Yes, he did what he had to do but it still wasn't easy for him and I think it showed. But what was he supposed to do? Go on a guilt trip? This right here! I couldn't believe it when she said, "Maybe he should feel bad," about shooting McGee. Wouldn't they all feel worse if they had all watched McGee die? At least Delilah understood, although she seemed to feel a bit shaky about it. I think it was clear that it was on his mind and that he felt very responsible for McGee and what he was going through.

My husband was having a conniption fit that the steaks were burning in the fire, lol. I figured it had to be the same house when Ducky mentioned a basement that Gibbs would like.

Yeah, I didn't see what Gibbs and Fornell saw in Diane, enough to marry her. I would expect Emily, as Diane's daughter, to be intelligent and outspoken, but I wish she had a little more Fornell in her and was a bit quirkier and more humorous, and less demanding.

Last night I watched the episode where Finn was introduced. I got the same impression that I did the first time around -- the character was too broadly written, almost like a caricature. I mean, his language -- it was like he went out of his way to sound hickish, despite being brilliant. Now, I'm not saying you can't be a brilliant hick, but it seems to me the years spent in educational institutions learning the things he knew (which he didn't learn on the farm or in a swamp) would have included exposure to more sophisticated language, and he should have picked up more of it. Also, his back story was a little too much. Suspected of killing his abusive stepfather, okay, but to the point where Caroline tells Cam she made a bad hiring decision because his background would cast doubt on his contributions to a case? Puhlease. That said, I did like the friendship that developed between him and Hodges, but I loathed the relationship between him and Cam's stepdaughter. I felt quite bad for him when she eventually dumped him.

I was so confused by that -- why did he do that? Hadn't Lim just asked someone in the OR to go get it?

It detracts so much from the show and the character to have Fornell somehow forget his whole career's worth of experience and just fall apart from seeing a young girl looking to buy drugs. He almost blew the whole case by indulging his emotions. And the pony tail? Just no. It almost felt to me that Sloan was channeling the therapist with whom Gibbs is friends (Grace?) when she kept probing for information, but Grace has the standing to dig and Sloan was just being intrusive. I think she just doesn't fit in the show, although she's fine as an actress. I won't miss her when she's gone. I felt like we were being set up for Tyler to join the show. She seems to have some strong tie to Vance, although I couldn't quite catch what. That she works at NCIS with people like Gibbs and Vance yet decides she's better off stealing a body and trying to get her daughter back on her own begs belief. I don't want to see more of her. As always, it annoys me how the new kids slack off whenever Gibbs isn't around. The lack of urgency or professionalism galls me. Even Tony was often at his desk doing paperwork. And McGee is suffering from their influence. Gibbs tells him he's in charge as he's leaving, and McGee just looks confused? I know he was wondering where Gibbs was going, but he should be more able to take things in stride, with all his years on the job.

I kept thinking that about Claire, too, and then concluded that she must have been doing it on her time off, because otherwise it would have been ridiculous. I was struck by the lack of masks, too, but figured since it's a tv show they took the liberty of showing faces.

Last night I saw an episode with Hannah. I don't really remember why Booth tried so hard convince himself that he was in love with her, but it was as uncompelling this time as it was last time. I also saw the episode mentioned previously where Booth went sniper mode and was on a table imaging taking a shot. Turns out it was the episode where the Gravedigger was assassinated. I have to say, that was one of the goriest openings of all time. It was interesting how her death impacted everyone. Loved Caroline admitting she was scared in an attempt to make Sweets feel better.

I like McGee when he's reached the point of feeling like he's really on the team instead of about to be sent away all the time. I remember reading a comment once and have observed it to be true how Abby's voice was deeper and she was more of a cool chick instead of a quirky girl. I liked the episodes where Kate has to toughen up to keep up with Gibbs, like when they flew somewhere and she asked where the bathroom was on the plane. Yeah, I like these old episodes.