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S14.E05: Philly

MyAimIsTrue

By MyAimIsTrue
in NCIS

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Skycatcher

Skycatcher

WOW!

NCIS-LA

NCIS-NO

and

NCIS-Quinn (with an attitude)

I watched the first half hour of NCIS-Quinn before I couldn't take anymore.  While the girls are out agenting, the guys are in the office dealing with printer envy.  Last week an engagement ring, this week printers. 

CBS has sure done a number on what was my favorite TV night.  Good thing I stopped at the library today.

  • Love 6
KLovestoShop

KLovestoShop

I'm really not liking this show anymore.  It really has become NCIS-Quinn.  They are focusing far too much on the new people, so we see much less of Abby, Ducky, and even Gibbs.  It's like the writers are trying to shove the newbies down our throats.  Quinn is chewing up scenes  and why do they need to bring in a guy from MI6?   Plus, if he HAS to be a regular, clean up his lazy Brit language, i.e. Fink instead of Think.  And where is Rocky, aka, the Director?   I like him and his character.   Are they going to phase out Gibbs so Mark Harmon can slip into retirement?   

And, I don't give a rat's patoot about the background stories on the newbies.  Get back to telling procedurals and not an NCIS version of This Is Your Life.  

  • Love 7
stonehaven

stonehaven

Is it too much to ask for more Fornell? Other than that, it was an okay episode....I do like Quinn on some level..it gives Harmon a new dynamic to play but yeah, they needed three new people to replace one?

I'll stick with NCIS mainly because seeing Mark Harmon on a weekly basis thrills me..but I think the glory years on this show are kinda gone...

  • Love 1
camussie

camussie

Quote

Remember Bishop's first season? This is Round 2, but with Quinn. Why the writers feel they have to shove the new character down our throats is beyond me.

I would say more like Ziva's introduction.  Tortured past.  Needed the team.  Special connection to Gibbs.  Gibbs doesn't push back when she disobeys orders.  I didn't much like the first round of that so I don't want to see round 2.  

  • Love 5
Skycatcher

Skycatcher

(edited)

I agree forumfish.  I wouldn't mind Quinn so much if I didn't feel as though I was being force fed.  They brought in three new characters, and all I know about supposed hot-shot Torres is that he doesn't like typing, can't manage a printer, and desperately wants to get out into the field. The MI6 guy came in tonight, but I turned the show off shortly after he appeared when I realized it was going to be another Quinn-a-thon.

As for comparing it to Bishop's entry, over time I've come to tolerate Bishop.  But Quinn and Bishop together - no way - too much time wasted on characters I'm not interested in. 

Edited by Skycatcher
  • Love 3
Ohmo

Ohmo

I could have done without the tortured backstory for Quinn, but overall I still like her.  One thing I also like about all the new people is the ability to have varied combinations of people working together.  i liked Gibbs and Quinn and Ellie and Clayton working together, and I thought Duane has done a better job with making himself easier to understand as Clayton.

  • Love 2
camussie

camussie

(edited)

The tortured backstory would have been more tolerable to me if Gibbs didn't let Quinn use that as an excuse to be derelict in her job.  It just gave me annoying flashbacks to  the way he treated Ziva and even Kate with kid gloves at times.  As for Torres I don't mind his fish out of water story because he is and it has to be a big change.  The difference there, though, is that Gibbs is checking his attitude.  

Edited by camussie
  • Love 7
Whining yapper

Whining yapper

Thanks, CBS for freeing up my 8-9 hour.  What was once one of my favorite shows has become virtually unwatchable this season.  I hate the new characters - not sure which is worse, the horrible acting (and blindingly white teeth) of Quinn or the other new guy and his issues.  Boring!   I actually don't mind the MI-6 guy, but the other two are destroying the show.  They're not needed and are not fitting in.  

  • Love 2
MissLucas

MissLucas

11 hours ago, JackONeill said:

Why does everyone's backstory have to have some dark aspect? Is that the only way writers know how to present a character?

Because happy people don't provide good drama (don't yell at me, I'm just the messenger from Joss Whedon and countless other tv writers). That's why they needed to break up Bishop's marriage and deprive me of Jamie Bamber, hrmpf.

Going to be the voice of dissent: I enjoy this season immensely. Quinn brings a new dynamic to the time, she has experience and that allows her to deal with Gibbs in a manner the others can't or won't. That's why I liked agent Borin but since we can't have her (for whatever behind the scenes shenanigans) I'll take Quinn. Of course she's got a dark backstory (as did Borin btw) that was predictable but at least we've got it out of the way now.

Torres digging himself a rhetorical grave at the beginning was pretty funny - especially with McGee's 'I'm sorry, do I know you?' I enjoyed Torres and his office frustration and Gibbs not letting him out. Torres and McGee were also great together. And we've seen McGee go scary on a suspect before - it's just very rare.

The case was a bit meh. Finn came across as fishy from the get-go. But I've been looking forward to Clayton's return. So I wonder how they'll add him to the team. I don't mind all the newbies but maybe that's because I thought the 'old' team was getting stale and a tad claustrophobic at times.

The one thing I thought worrisome was Ducky's lines to Gibbs. They sounded ominous - David McCallum has earned his retirement but I'll miss Ducky it that's really going to happen (no spoilers just speculation). No offense to Jimmy!

  • Love 10
JackONeill

JackONeill

8 minutes ago, MissLucas said:

Because happy people don't provide good drama (don't yell at me, I'm just the messenger from Joss Whedon and countless other tv writers). That's why they needed to break up Bishop's marriage and deprive me of Jamie Bamber, hrmpf.

While I agree with you and Mr. Whedon, the problem becomes apparent when ALL the characters have some awful baggage. How much did we have to endure over the years with everybody?!? I mean, even Jimmy was saddled with a jerk of a father-in-law. (Frankly, there for awhile I thought I was watching a soap opera.)

You mentioned Bishop. Well, I think it would have been more interesting, under the circumstances (Gibb's divorces, Tony's failure to commit) to keep Bishop married. She could have been a reliable counterpoint. She has always been the squeaky-clean-but-far-from-perfect character. Well, let her be married, too.

The thing is, it is SO expected in dramatic TV for the lead(s) to have a tragic backstory. And with NCIS, we have certainly seen some tragic backstories. But it gets old after awhile. Let Bishop (one character out of seven or eight) be happy.

I remember back in the Ziva years people were  complaining about Gibbs being so...gloomy. That's what happens if you go too far into the dark.

People are now talking about his new-found bounce and his smiles.

  • Love 8
Betweenthisandthat

Betweenthisandthat

(edited)

I'm going to have to join in as a voice of dissent as I like Quinn and Torres.  She's not insecure but she's not a know it all either.  She's not really reminding me of any of the agents who have come before her.  She has her issues like everyone on this show, but she is the relatable to me, maybe more than Ziva or Kate or Bishop have been.  She kind of does remind me of Borin without the alpha mentality I thought she had. 

I also enjoyed Torres with the other characters.  I think he fits in well with everyone.  He obviously has his issues but is given humor as well, which I love. I was afraid he'd be a more brooding character so I hope this is a sign that he won't be as one note as that.

 

Quote

because I thought the 'old' team was getting stale and a tad claustrophobic at times.

I agree.  Honestly it feels like after 13 or more seasons that the regular cast's stories have been told.  I can't get excited by the same old Gibbs drama or sam old relationships anymore.  That's not to say that can't grow but they can only do that by interacting with new people and new dynamics.

Ncis has changed, but it has been on forever so I like the focus on new characters and new storylines.  The other older characters still get things to do as well but it needed new storyline if it's to continue for two more seasons at least. I miss Tony because he was my favorite character but I'm enjoying this season more than I thought I would. My only concern is how they're going to fit in this third new cast member.

Edited by Betweenthisandthat
  • Love 6
MissLucas

MissLucas

40 minutes ago, JackONeill said:

While I agree with you and Mr. Whedon, the problem becomes apparent when ALL the characters have some awful baggage. How much did we have to endure over the years with everybody?!?

He! Post this question over in the Grey's Anatomy forum!

Quote

You mentioned Bishop. Well, I think it would have been more interesting, under the circumstances (Gibb's divorces, Tony's failure to commit) to keep Bishop married. She could have been a reliable counterpoint. She has always been the squeaky-clean-but-far-from-perfect character. Well, let her be married, too.

I totally agree and this is not just my Bamber-crush speaking. The one thing I truly enjoyed about Bishop was how normal she was. Stable relationship, no Daddy issues, no dark secret in her past - the weirdest thing about her was her metabolism. But I suspect they introduced her as a married woman to make sure no Tony-shipping would occur. Once that line in the sand was drawn for good they got rid of her husband - maybe because Bamber was too expensive or maybe there was some long-term planning going on - what with two eligible bachelors joining the team *eye-roll*

  • Love 5
threebluestars

threebluestars

I found it really hard to connect to Quinn in any way, and the backstory changed nothing to me. I really don't like her character.

I don't mind Torres' fish out of water stuff, but I'd like to see the team take more of a hard line with him and maybe push back to a lot of the crap he's bringing. I like the idea that the office is not where he's comfortable, and that's an issue, but I hate that he seems to be the alpha in the group when he's the newbie AND a fish out of water.

I think they should have found a way to have Fornell join the team.

  • Love 2
HansMoleman742

HansMoleman742

This show is quickly turning in the direction Elementary went when they introduced that insufferable Kitty character.  I wouldn't watch Elementary until I had heard Kitty had died on the way back to her home planet. NCIS has now introduced several  Poochie-esque characters and the one who has to go now is Quinn.  Fez should go undercover. And they can keep the MI-6 guy.

Packerbrewerbadger

Packerbrewerbadger

I don't think the big problem is the new Characters as much as it is the writing.  The story of the week has become so boring and predictable. I can't remember the last timed I was wowed!  For example when Tony was handcuffed to the escaped prisoner or Ducky and Palmer kidnapped and use their wiles to escape.  Or even more recently the airport one with Bishop , her husband ( never should have broken them up , terrible storyline ) and Tony have to find assassin before plane arrives.   Nothing fresh anymore. 

  • Love 6
catray

catray

I didn't hate this episode, but didn't love it either. I felt like Quinn's backstory (or part it) was suuuuuuper overwrought. Not that the backstory itself was necessarily bad (though I agree-- why does everyone have to have a tragic backstory?!) but just the overdramatic way it was all portrayed had me rolling my eyes.

Torres was also as an ass this episode; first the (maybe) joking comments about women always wanting to settle down, which he was rightfully torn down for, and then stealing McGee's printer. I don't mind the fish out of water/man of action stuff but his behavior was annoying this episode. I did like badass McGee.

Nice to see Clayton again; I liked the easy, friendly relationship between him and Bishop. Makes me wonder if they are toying with the idea of a romance. Anyway, totally called the other MI6 agent as being in on the smuggling; it felt so obvious, even before the bathroom question. 

  • Love 3
betsyboo

betsyboo

(edited)
15 hours ago, MissLucas said:

Going to be the voice of dissent: I enjoy this season immensely. Quinn brings a new dynamic to the time, she has experience and that allows her to deal with Gibbs in a manner the others can't or won't. That's why I liked agent Borin but since we can't have her (for whatever behind the scenes shenanigans) I'll take Quinn. Of course she's got a dark backstory (as did Borin btw) that was predictable but at least we've got it out of the way now.

Torres digging himself a rhetorical grave at the beginning was pretty funny - especially with McGee's 'I'm sorry, do I know you?' I enjoyed Torres and his office frustration and Gibbs not letting him out. Torres and McGee were also great together. And we've seen McGee go scary on a suspect before - it's just very rare.

I am an unabashed fan of Jennifer Esposito that dates back to Spin City. I like that she's more of an equal (for lack of a better comparison) to Gibbs. I love me some Jethro, but McGee's and Bishop's fawning over the magic that is Gibbs gets old. I like that Quinn goes back at him. (Altho I do not agree with her giving him lip about having to go to Philly - you still have to take orders from your boss.) But I do like that she can at least bust him with a "You've been spending too much time with your shrink friend." Nobody else could get away with that. (Well, Tony, but...) 

And God strike me dead, this is the second week in a row that I am going to say I like WV. I don't know what's wrong with me! LOL. I think he has integrated himself into the team pretty well. I laughed out loud not only at McGee's "I'm sorry, do I know you?" but Torres' incredulous response "So that's how it is?? Really??" I also enjoyed his "UMM. What was THAT?" after creepy stalker agent walked away from Quinn. (what was that about anyway? Are we setting up an agent-in-peril s/l?) And with him, I like that he's not fawning all over *Abby. Yes, he recognizes her talent, but doesn't automatically think she is the be all/end all.

15 hours ago, Driad said:

"A bit surprised Magic Abby did not immediately recognize that Torres had brought McGee's printer instead of another of the same model.  Did Torres think he could get away with that?

I interpreted this as he just assumed she would realize it was McGee's and he "borrowed" it while hers was broken. I didn't think he intended it to come across as a gift until she went so bananas about it and he couldn't walk it back. (Perhaps I am giving him too much credit.)

What's the pool on Hottie James Bond and Bishop hookup? I say by Christmas. Or maybe a drunken New Year's kiss. IMO, he is too good for her. 

I miss Fornell.

Edited by betsyboo
merging my replies
  • Love 3
GHScorpiosRule

GHScorpiosRule

I miss Tony. 

I miss Fornell.

Not enough Gibbs (is code for not enough of Mark Harmon's yummiliciousness for me).

Loved seeing MI6. He can stay.

Knew Findlay? Finley? was part of the gang from the moment after he was "saved" and he was all gung ho to find the "bad guys" and shot the chop shop dude, who had more of a New Yawk accent.

Torres made me howl with the printer stuff, because jammed paper is the very DEVIL.

And how could McGee NOT notice his precious printer was missing???

Sean Murray contines to look haggard and drawn.

Did other stuff happen?

  • Love 2
Skycatcher

Skycatcher

When I first heard that they were bringing 3 new characters onto the team, I was delighted.  I agree that NCIS-original had become stale and I was looking forward to the new blood.

I think what has turned me off of Quinn is that she's been so heavily featured on the past few episodes, leaving me feeling as though I was being force fed another Mary Sue character, angsty warts and all.  My favorite show had turned into NCIS-Quinn. 

Why bring WV-Torres on board if all he's good for is office pranks and jokes?  Of course I know they'll get to him, but I hope they're not as heavy-handed as they've been with Quinn.  Granted there can never be another Very Special Agent, but it sure looks like the writers are trying to turn Torres into the Tony-hijinks-replacement. 

I would have expected that the newbies would follow the lead of the established members of the team, not push them aside to fuss over printers and engagement rings. After all, isn't McGee the Sr Special Agent now? 

It's all been a very uncomfortable transition, not well managed at all, IMO.

marina to

marina to

On 10/18/2016 at 10:48 PM, kittygirl said:

I can't stand Quinn. And I know why... it's her teeth. Bad dental work, too large, too shiny white, too difficult for her to get her mouth around them to talk. It is very distracting to me. She may be a well known actress but a bad fit for the show.

Since I don't have perfect teeth, I love that her teeth are "non-standard". It's reassuring to see someone more like me on my tv.

  • Love 1
Clanstarling

Clanstarling

(edited)
On 10/19/2016 at 6:55 AM, Betweenthisandthat said:

I also enjoyed Torres with the other characters.  I think he fits in well with everyone.  He obviously has his issues but is given humor as well, which I love. I was afraid he'd be a more brooding character so I hope this is a sign that he won't be as one note as that.

I agree. I think he adds a different kind of sexy, and I'm enjoying him struggling with not only the technology and boring aspects of a regular job, but with working with strong women who don't take crap.

 

On 10/19/2016 at 8:09 AM, stonehaven said:

My main issue was Torres stealing Mcgee's printer...1. that's office theft...2. Mcgee's a Senior Agent...so that's a disrepect for the chain of command..

After that stunt, Torres can get off my TV..it is time that Mcgee be the leader..and not the butt of jokes and stunts...

When has the team ever been particularly respectful of that (excluding their respect for Gibbs, that is)? McGee does need to step up, with his change in title his world has changed as well - the dynamic doesn't automatically change.

 

On 10/19/2016 at 9:05 AM, HansMoleman742 said:

This show is quickly turning in the direction Elementary went when they introduced that insufferable Kitty character.  I wouldn't watch Elementary until I had heard Kitty had died on the way back to her home planet. 

I hated Kitty too, at the beginning - but then they developed her character and no one was more surprised than I was that I was upset when they wrote her off.

14 hours ago, Skycatcher said:

I would have expected that the newbies would follow the lead of the established members of the team

Given the new characters are well seasoned agents, who were basically in command before, I wouldn't have expected that at all. Quinn and Torres are both alphas, and it will take time for them to accustom themselves to the pecking order (to mix a metaphor). I think both of their story lines in this episode are showing just that - them learning what they can and cannot do, and the strengths of the established team.

That being said, I'm not wild about Quinn, but I don't hate her. I like Torres - and man, the MI6 guy always pops in his scenes. I'd like to see more of him.

Edited by Clanstarling
  • Love 3
love2lovebadtv

love2lovebadtv

On 10/18/2016 at 11:01 PM, Ohmo said:

I could have done without the tortured backstory for Quinn, but overall I still like her.  One thing I also like about all the new people is the ability to have varied combinations of people working together.  i liked Gibbs and Quinn and Ellie and Clayton working together, and I thought Duane has done a better job with making himself easier to understand as Clayton.

Quinn is fine with me. I felt like her behavior was unprofessional, though. She left Bishop and was drinking? And Gibbs was OK with that? It made sense that after what happened she blamed herself and became a trainer. However, her backstory didn't add up for me because now she was as distracted as ever. I don't get it. 

2 minutes ago, MissLucas said:

*playing dumb* Poor Valderama I don't find him that annoying.

His voice is somewhat annoying - kind of monotone sometimes. But his character adds some much needed spark, even if it's fresh banter with McGee and the rest of the team. Quinn & Bishop are both boring. 

QASteph

QASteph

The new character introduction seems exhausting this season, but I think that is because they are trying to add two at once. 

Gibbs has always stretched his agents by asking them to work outside of their comfort zone (though he never ever explained that is what he was doing because that would be good management - setting goals with your subordinates and making a plan of how to help them achieve them... bah, who needs that?).  These two certainly whine about it a lot more than previous agents did though.

Quinn with her "issues" was... look.  You are a federal agent.  Suck it up and do your job.  If it rises to the level of legitimate flashbacks that would prevent you from doing your job?  Then go on disability and deal with it.  Otherwise, get on with the work.  I get that it was traumatic, but you are a LEO on a TV show.  That means you are guaranteed to lose many a work colleague.  So you have to be able to handle it some way other than breaking down into an emotional mess when faced by the entire city in which it happened years after the fact.

Torres seems to have no concept of having to put in the time doing tasks not of his choosing.  The myopia involved in "but I wanna do the shiny exciting thing why are you making me do the stuff I'm not good at waaaahhh" comes across as incredibly immature.  I know toddlers who have grasped delayed gratification better than he displayed in this episode.

Now that I have gotten my whining out of the way... I do like some of the things they bring.  Having characters who dare to disagree with Gibbs (the others do on occasion, but somehow in a more mmm, ingratiating maybe?, way) has a lot of possibility.  But it also could easily tip over into disrespect.

  • Love 1
Ohmo

Ohmo

(edited)
19 hours ago, QASteph said:

Quinn with her "issues" was... look.  You are a federal agent.  Suck it up and do your job.  If it rises to the level of legitimate flashbacks that would prevent you from doing your job?  Then go on disability and deal with it.  Otherwise, get on with the work.  I get that it was traumatic, but you are a LEO on a TV show.  That means you are guaranteed to lose many a work colleague.  So you have to be able to handle it some way other than breaking down into an emotional mess when faced by the entire city in which it happened years after the fact.

I think people might be missing a larger point by just focusing on the fact that it's Quinn with the issue.  I think it's about Gibbs.  Going back years, we saw Gibbs be totally closed off because of what happened with Shannon and Kelly.  When Kelly came to him and really told him to let it go (can't remember the title, but it was where we first met Taft who worked on Gibbs), Gibbs has really done that.  He's also told people that he did things the wrong way.  He told Tony to not settle and stay with NCIS, and I think he was helping Quinn to work through her issue so she wouldn't stay stuck and maybe end up like Gibbs once was.  I think Quinn was merely the vehicle in this instance to show the continued evolution of Gibbs.  He doesn't do it in a warm and fuzzy way (because that would not be Gibbs), but I think counseling Tony, Quinn, and others has helped lighten Gibbs and given us those fabulous smiles of his courtesy of Mark.  We've seen more of those in the past two years than I can remember seeing in the previous five or more years, and that works for me.

I will agree that it was a bit early for the "Quinn's dark past" arc to show up, but I really don't feel that she's being shoved down our throats like Ziva was.  Ziva was so perfect right out of the gate.  She came from Mossad so she "knew" about things because she came from the conflict of living in Israel.  Her sense of arrogance and smugness were off the charts.  I think Quinn is loud, which is different from arrogant.  I think people notice Quinn more because she's loud, but she's already more willing than Ziva was to take direction at the point. when she first arrived  Gibbs has also changed his approach and flat out told Quinn that it was an order that she go to Philly and that taking orders was part of the deal when she arrived.  Ziva pitched an absolute fit about being a probie (even for a little while) when she actually became an NCIS agent. Plus, from the very second Ziva arrived, the heavy flirting and dialogue suggested that Donald Bellasario (and later Shane Brennan)'s eventual aim was to "hook up" Tony and Ziva.  Jennifer has chemistry with Mark, but I don't have the sense that Gary created Quinn with the goal of a hot hookup.  I think Gary wanted a solid female agent, which is what I think Quinn is.

Speaking for myself, Quinn is a lot of what I thought Ziva should have been: confident, competent, and strong without all of the over the top anvils like I've worked with Mossad, I'm familiar with practically every language on the planet, most of my family is dead, and I can kill you fifty different ways.  To me, Quinn has already tried to make herself part of the team.  I felt Ziva often times wanted to maintain her "specialness" outside of the team.

Edited by Ohmo
  • Love 6
Raja

Raja

I think that they are preparing for the retirement of Gibbs or somehow a new SecNav makes him Director despite his lack of political skills with hopes of keeping the mothership, if you don't count JAG as the mother, alive when it happens. Quinn as the experienced agent who it seems trained all current NCIS agents now going back into the field to take over the NCIS-1 team. The hip undercover guy taking over Tony and his movie references and another foreign liaison officer for Ziva. All adds to one additional year just like the main CSI show and CSI Cyber had

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