Season 3 Discussion

[MyAimIsTrue]

The NCIS team partners with several federal agencies to track a sniper who is targeting crowded events in the city. Also, FBI Special Agent Tammy Gregorio arrives to investigate Pride and his team.

[JackONeill]

I don't get how all of a sudden the NOLA NCIS office is apparently cut off from the DC NCIS office. They should have said something like, "Well, Vance is in our corner and is fighting for us, but the FBI has jurisdiction in reviewing our behavior" (which, BTW, I don't know if that's technically correct. They are both govt agencies, but report to different head agencies.)

But it's like the NCIS NOLA crew is completely on their own against the big bad bully, FBI.

[Skycatcher]

Not a good start for me.  I didn't really like the Brody character too much, but she was part of the team, and I don't like the team without her.  Anyone think FBI-chick is going to be her replacement?

[Jaded]

8 minutes ago, Skycatcher said:

Not a good start for me.  I didn't really like the Brody character too much, but she was part of the team, and I don't like the team without her.  Anyone think FBI-chick is going to be her replacement?

New girl with the annoying voice is already in the opening so it sure looks like she is. I'm hoping her voice gets less annoying with time. This episode didn't really hold my interest that much but it sure flew by. 

[pcta]

7 minutes ago, Skycatcher said:

Not a good start for me.  I didn't really like the Brody character too much, but she was part of the team, and I don't like the team without her.  Anyone think FBI-chick is going to be her replacement?

Sincerely hope they aren't stupid enough to try to replace Brody with FBI bitch.  I actually liked Brody a lot.  Strong woman w/out being obnoxious.  Aren't many of those on the TV machine.  And FBI character definitely ain't one.

[Skycatcher]

Does anyone know if the actress playing Brody wanted to leave, or was the character written out?

ETA: Found the Meridith Brody thread and got my answer. The character was written out because of the relationship with the bad guy.  Sounds like the actress was kind of blindsided by it all. Booooo!

And it looks like FBI-chick is going to be a regular.

There's a great group shot of the JAG crew posted to that thread in May 2014.  Bud is trim, but has a lot of grey coming in on the sides of his head.  And if he was a Captain in tonight's ep, what would Harm and Mac be by now?  Probably retired?

Edited September 21, 2016 by Skycatcher

[immortalfrieza]

11 minutes ago, Skycatcher said:

Anyone think FBI-chick is going to be her replacement?

Considering that FBI chick is already credited as a main, yeah. Anybody know anything about contract or health or whatever issues that the actress was having? Brody leaving seemed to come out of nowhere as far as I could see, the last season ender really didn't have a "Brody is leaving" feel to it.

[torqy]

Vanessa Ferlito will always be "Claaauuudia!!!" from 24. Maybe Joaquim de Almeida will show up in a guest role....

Read the "Meredith Brody" thread in this forum and then wonder, like me, if there is something going on beneath the surface between Zoe McLellan and the production co.

[BookWitch]

Ferlito was on CSI NY for the first 3 or 4 seasons. I didn't see her in anything after that. Still has the same accent too.  City mouse seemed way more upset about Brody leaving than anyone else. Didn't they not get along when she first joined? 

[MyAimIsTrue]

Quote

 

Pride faces further backlash from the FBI when he helps former Navy Intelligence Analyst Elvis Bertrand, who is the lead suspect in a multiple homicide case.

[TimetoShine]

I think everyone spent the break working out a lot. I authorize them taking a bit of a break. The team is all super duper thin now.

In terms of the episode, I didn't really connect. I just started watching a month ago and was looking forward to it but, I didn't really enjoy this episode at all. 

Almost forgot to add, not looking forward to more LaSalle/Percy tension. Percy wasn't as bad this episode as she was last season (so annoying) but I don't want any team members getting together.

Edited September 21, 2016 by TimetoShine

[laredhead]

TimetoShine, they all left New Orleans and the good local food for a few weeks which is why they probably look slimmer.

[Mermaid Under]

Quote

Ferlito was on CSI NY for the first 3 or 4 seasons

If I'm remembering correctly, the actress was"let go"  for nebulous sounding reasons- after the first season.  Although she stuck around long enough to be killed off in the second season. 

So it seems odd that she is replacing an actress who is sort of in the same situation.  In order to get rid of Ferlito in CSI NY they wrote a storyline where the character was fired for mishandling evidence in a rape case where she knew the victim, and then a few episodes later she was killed off and never mentioned again. 

[Lebanna]

And not only that, they burned her beyond recognition so that they didn't even have to show her face. Which was then pretty much the exact same story used for the character (played by another CSI actress) that they wrote out of NCIS:LA after the pilot.

So, thinking about it, on that basis we pretty much know what's going to happen to Brody off screen at some point in the next couple of years...

[preeya]

5 hours ago, BookWitch said:

Ferlito was on CSI NY for the first 3 or 4 seasons. I didn't see her in anything after that. Still has the same accent too.  City mouse seemed way more upset about Brody leaving than anyone else. Didn't they not get along when she first joined? 

Vanessa Ferlito played a badass undercover FBI Agent on Graceland.  Her character's name was Catherine “Charlie” DeMarco.

[secnarf]

Wasn't overly impressed with this episode. I liked Brody, and am not satisfied with the way she has been written out so far. By making it the character's choice, it essentially takes away all of the character development from the last two years. She used to always run/leave when things got tough, and had decided to stay and face her problems. Now, she is back to running.

I didn't notice that new FBI lady was in the credits, and that is even worse. She reminded me of the new woman on the mothership that I couldn't stand either.

Overall, not a good start to the season for the mothership or NOLA, imo. I watch for the characters, and characters that I like have left/been written out and I can't stand any of the new ones. 

[catray]

To be fair, I've only watched the first half of the episode (decided not to stay up until 11) so I can't comment on the episode as a whole yet but my current 2 cents is: I really dislike the way Merri was written out (not to mention the show just dropping the actress). It seemed tacked on and forced. The only thing remotely believable about it was Percy and Sebastian's reactions. Personally, I think it would have been better if she had come back and then decided to leave or been suspended for a few episodes. But seriously, the mole was a DHS agent, so shouldn't this be their shit to clean up!? NCIS saved their ass. UGH to this whole damn storyline.

Not loving the FBI lady at all. And how the hell is she going to be a replacement for Merri? Gibbs and Fornell work over on the Mothership, but I don't need a random FBI agent tagging along with the team every episode, shoehorned in just because. Hmmph.

[Linderhill]

Do not like the new chick.  To me it feels like they are trying to create Ziva 2.0.  She's oh so special and talented and bad ass that we are supposed to be impressed and embrace her fully when she inevitably joins the NOLA team.  And I agree with JackONiell in that the FBI shouldn't have jurisdiction over NCIS.  Federal agencies don't really work that way no matter how Hollywood and the FBI like to portray them.  And to burst another bubble, profilers are not all that either.  I'll never forget how off the mark they were with the DC sniper case back in 2002. 

Another point against Ms. Ferlito for me was how bad she was on CSI:NY.  She and her fake nose were awful and it was one of the best things they ever did was to write her out.  I'm sorry to see Brody go, I liked the actor and the character.  And yes, DHS was the agency at fault with the mole, the NCIS team should have been cleared before they came back from leave.  All with nary a word about DC and the director of that agency.

I'm hoping that Ms. FBI proves so unpopular that she's quickly written out.  I was never much of a Ziva fan but I prefer her over this obnoxious twit.

[MissLucas]

The moment I saw Ferlito and realized she's got to be Brody's replacement I was out. Like Linderhill I've found her awful on CSI: NY. And the writing here isn't doing her any favors either, meh.

Edited September 22, 2016 by MissLucas

[neuromom]

Interesting how no one is talking about the actual EPISODE! Lol..I , too, dropped in to voice my concern over Merri's exit. I actually really liked her. Like someone else mentioned,,tough chick but not obnoxious. And she and Percy did bond.

The new gal? Awful. Just awful. Arrogant. Obnoxious. Bitchy. Apparently the new "special snowflake". She can do it all! Gah! 

[brgjoe]

When the episode started, I felt that either Merri would be either 1) barely mentioned or 2) her character trashed.  While it wasn't a complete trashing, they definitely leaned towards scenario #2.   Like others have mentioned, it seemed very forced and almost justifying to themselves that she (and the actress) would be better off not part of the team.   Annoyed too that Sebastian (another character who wasn't necessarily my favorite on the show) had to find out Merri was gone in that pretty much off-handed fashion.  So, yeah, I thought his reaction was very genuine.  Poor Sebastian.  :) 

As for the episode itself, I thought they really didn't explain fully why Mr. Sharpshooter was targeting those guys.  Who was "Mr. Big"?  Are they going to explore this further in future episodes?  I think they spent too much time in this episode over a (needless) rift between NCIS and the FBI. 

Speaking of which, also put me in the "unfavorable" opinion of the new regular.  I also didn't like her character in CSI:NY.  It almost looks like pretty much the same sort of role she's playing here.  I wasn't the biggest fan of Brody either, but I gotta think she's a much better part of this team than this FBI character will ever be.  If she's going to be there basically looking over their shoulder at everything this team does, this will get very old and played out quickly. 

Still will be watching, but this show is on a short leash with me.

[Jaded]

I meant to mention this previously but New Girl peeved me off so bad with her being so special because she's one of the few female sharpshooters crap. I don't think they cared if this episode made sense the goal seemed to be to make it an introduction for New Girl.

Those bullet proof vests with FBI and NCIS in huge white letters made me laugh. They just looked so cheap. 

[catray]

11 hours ago, brgjoe said:

As for the episode itself, I thought they really didn't explain fully why Mr. Sharpshooter was targeting those guys.  Who was "Mr. Big"?  Are they going to explore this further in future episodes?  I think they spent too much time in this episode over a (needless) rift between NCIS and the FBI. 

Yeah, they didn't really explain this, except that it relates back Russo and the attempted terrorist attack. And I was rolling my eyes over the pissing contest between NCIS and the FBI... so unnecessary. Gibbs and Fornell work together on the Mothership; I don't want or need a constant battle between these two agencies. It's dumb, stop it.

It still peeves me off that just because Brody slept with Russo, this somehow means NCIS needs to be investigated... when the mole was a DHS agent. Headdesk, people. Whhhyyyy?! Ugh.

[Prevailing Wind]

If FBI Chickie stays around, I may just have to give up the show. Not enough Bakula to suit me, anyway. I'm probably ditching Grimm this year, too, which leaves me with Jeopardy! and some Brit mysteries on PBS. I'm seem to be done with American television.

[piedmontgirl]

Once they said Brody was not coming back I stopped watching and may not be back. 

[Callietwo]

I hated the new person so much, I'm totally out.  Totally and completely so..  they dumped Brody for this?  

[neuromom]

6 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

If FBI Chickie stays around, I may just have to give up the show. Not enough Bakula to suit me, anyway. I'm probably ditching Grimm this year, too, which leaves me with Jeopardy! and some Brit mysteries on PBS. I'm seem to be done with American television.

I'm right there with you! Not getting my Bakula fix. I'll finish up the final 13 eps of Grimm ..just to complete the series.  I need a new show too. I tried The Blacklist yesterday. Gave up after 2 eps. So it's back to Netlfix for Enterprise for me.

I liked Brody, I think Sebastian pretty much channeled my feelings in that ep.

[12catcrazy]

So far I'm with the majority here.  I really liked Brody (as someone else said, tough woman without being obnoxious).  And while I didn't like the new female FBI badass, I actually liked her better than the new woman on the mothership.  

I used to look forward to watching both NCIS, and NCIS Nola, but so far I'm very disappointed in the new season.  I'll give them both a few more episodes, and if I don't like what I'm watching, it will be time to start reading more books. 

And I'm getting sick and tired of everybody from New York being portrayed as impatient, snide, and thinking they know more than anybody else (and yes, I'm from New York). 

[Rambler]

So there is a sniper on the loose and the city’s in panic mode. You know what would be a wonderful idea? To hold a concert in an open plaza surrounded by tall buildings. And just to make things interesting lets have zero police presence in the surrounding buildings. What could possibly go wrong? And I liked how the sniper created a citywide panic, yet knew his victim would show up at the concert anyways. He must have known that guy really loved his jazz music.

 

There is an FBI agent at the scene of the crime when the sniper starts shooting and she doesn’t stop him. She refuses to say how she knew he would be there. You would think that would set off warning bells that this FBI agent might be a mole for the cartel that was covering the snipers escape, especially after unwittingly working with a DHS mole the previous season, but nope let’s just trust her right off the bat. OK so I guess there might be a legitimate reason the NCIS team is being investigated for incompetence. Just sayin’.

[Raja]

Or the Mayor goes on a press conference to name drop that NCIS is on the case because they became the lead agency because one victim during the second attack was a uniformed sailor

[saylubee]

Finally caught up on the episode.

I had not followed media reports that Zoe was leaving, so when I saw the new girl in the credits I about fell off the couch.  It's a damn shame.  Brody had good chemistry with LaSalle and made Percy feel less shoe-horned into the team.  The awkwardness between LaSalle and Percy was magnified ten-fold.  They are nearly unwatchable for me now.

Pride is okay, but if he continues his NOLA #1, booboo my feelings are hurt campaign too much more this season, I'm going to be sick of him as well.

If Zoe/Brody had to leave, scapegoating her for the DHS incident would have probably been the best scenario.  They wouldn't have to write in the FBI team, Pride and the team would have a cause to fight for, and they could have introduced a new character organically that wasn't supposed to be antagonistic.

[Jaded]

 New Girl is just pooing all over this episode and ruining it for me.

[pcta]

58 minutes ago, Jaded said:

 New Girl is just pooing all over this episode and ruining it for me.

Ain't that the truth.  If TPTB think she's an asset to the show - they are idiots.  Unwatchable as soon as she showed up.

[immortalfrieza]

Anybody who wants to know everything there is to know about this episode, I'll sum it up. NCIS and FBI get into an episode long dick measuring contest, never tell each other anything or work together for most of the episode and constantly get in each others way when if they pooled their resources from the start the episode would have been over in 5 minutes. One agency is treated as the unreasonable jerkoffs by the narrative for the sole reason that they don't happen to be the protagonists.

In other words, what always happens when two government agencies collide in fiction. I hope real life government agencies aren't so stupid as to constantly treat their jobs as if it were a contest between them all and never tell each other anything.

Edited September 28, 2016 by immortalfrieza

[brgjoe]

As I said before, this FBI-NCIS conflict stuff would get real old, real fast for me.  In fact, it got super old by about the first 15 minutes of this episode.  At least with the Russo case supposedly over, maybe there will be less of that crap.  At least I hope so.

New FBI character still is super annoying to me.  I don't see why Pride would want her as a member of his team.  There are no available NCIS agents he could bring it?  

Speaking of annoying, normally Tom Arnold is that way for me.  But I actually liked him in this episode.  Ok, he was mostly playing the character of Tom Arnold, but I still thought he did a pretty good job in that role.  Wouldn't mind seeing his character again pop up down the line.

[threebluestars]

I am not enjoying Vanessa Ferlito. At all.

[Lizzing]

New FBI woman is just pissing me off.  The character is written horribly and she visually reminds me of a young Bethenny Frankel.  I'm no Tom Arnold fan, but I would rather an hour of his character just hanging out in Pride's kitchen, tasting various types of gumbo, than the pouty shouty Gregorio.

[Trey]

Is the FBI guy sticking around too?  I sort of like him.

I was just waiting for FBI girl to start agreeing with Pride - the transition from FBI to NCIS has started.

I am not much of a Tom Arnold fan but he was okay in this.  It sounded like he may show up again.

[MyAimIsTrue]

After a decorated petty officer is found dead inside a sports arena, evidence leads Pride and the NCIS team to a kidnapping case of a petty officer who was last seen in Mexico.

[TheGreenWave]

First time poster - I had to create an account just to echo y'all that this show has now become cringeworthy.  I normally love watching anything that has a connection with NOLA, but the FBI storyline here is horrible - I was actively embarrassed for everyone on this show the entire episode. 

[NYGirl]

I want Brody back.  This used to be one of my favorite shows and now it's gone down the tubes.  Why the hell do networks tinker with something that works?  It annoys the crap outta me

[Prevailing Wind]

Stick a fork in me; I'm done.  Buh-bye, Show.

[honeydo7]

The character played by Vanessa Ferlito told Pride she wants to go home......... if the show's ratings take a dive...... maybe the writer's will grant her wish. Plus since those CBS dunderheads decided to move NOLA to Tuesday nights at 10, it's very easy to forget to watch!

[Trey]

28 minutes ago, honeydo7 said:

Plus since those CBS dunderheads decided to move NOLA to Tuesday nights at 10, it's very easy to forget to watch!

I really hate that.  Luckily, I can catch it at 7 pm from NTV in Newfoundland - if I had to watch it at 10 I would probably be out too.

[TheGreenWave]

Totally agree - NYGirl - love how she was enjoying getting to know the Crescent City with her coworkers - I just liked her character in general.  Now we deal with Percy and LaSalle awkwardly grabbing for water bottles and they are just SO SERIOUS.  I think Pride was in a different episode.

Things I hated about this episode: (1) Ok, so Tom was sooo paranoid about FBI, cops, etc. that he left his car w/ a dead body in it on the side of the road?? (2) How did the FBI find the car and where was the warrant to search the vehicle?? and (3) FBI Agent Ferlito sends like 100 agents to surround Percy and LaSalle in full tac gear and guns drawn in the middle of the French Quarter while she meets with potential witness??

[rainsmom]

If Gregorio stays, I'm out. Sorry show. She is UNWATCHABLE.

[Sake614]

I didn't mind Ferlito on Graceland, but so far here, she's just annoying and doesn't fit. Maybe once she joins the team, she'll lighten up and develop a personality. I sure hope so.

I also am not sure this show can stand on its own. It benefitted greatly from having the mother ship as a lead in. Now it has Bull, which may or may  not survive. I still love Bakula, so i'll keep watching/recording, but Percy and LaSalle are acting like a couple of high school kids instead of federal agents. I don't even see chemistry between them, so that makes it worse.

Edited September 28, 2016 by Sake614

[Skycatcher]

1 hour ago, Sake614 said:

but Percy and LaSalle are acting like a couple of high school kids instead of federal agents. I don't even see chemistry between them, so that makes it worse.

The show is bad enough with FBI-chick, who apparently is sticking around not as an NCIS team member, but as some sort of liaison person.  Now we have Percy (whom I seriously dislike) and LaSalle  being forced together - just ewwww!  I like him well enough on his own, or teasing Merri, but I just don't FEEL any connection between him and Percy.  She is such a stick-up-her-butt character, with no sense of humor - just a complete drag on the show.

[BooksRule]

Quote

Speaking of annoying, normally Tom Arnold is that way for me.  But I actually liked him in this episode.  Ok, he was mostly playing the character of Tom Arnold, but I still thought he did a pretty good job in that role.  Wouldn't mind seeing his character again pop up down the line.

I'm not an Arnold fan either, but I think he did very well in this role.  If he would stick to more dramatic roles (with maybe just a touch of sarcasm or snarkiness) he'd be fine.  I just always thought that he was never very funny on 'Roseanne'.   I agree that we probably haven't seen the last of him. 

I got a little confused about the whole cyber-crime because of the red herrings (first they thought it was espionage, but it was just a money robbery, if I got it straight), but I figured that the woman at the fiber optic (or whatever it was) place was in on it.  

[catray]

Seriously, can someone please tell me WHY the FBI is reviewing NCIS for a freaking DHS mole?! Which the FBI boss even mentioned!!! I'm banging my head into a hall over this. So.freaking.stupid!! And the whole pissing contest and non communication between the two agencies had me wanting to chuck a brick through my tv-- it's just dumb and frustrating to watch. 

Still not happy FBI lady joining the team; why do we need her? She can go back to DC right now, please. Bring back Brody! 

I agree with others about Tom Arnold in general but I think he worked here. I liked how unimpressed he was with the FBI boss. 

I have nothing against Percy/LaSalle but it was written soooo awkwardly this episode. I'm sure it would be awkward in real life but just be adults, mmkay?