Past Seasons Talk: Gibbs Is Standing Right Behind Me, Isn't He?

[Xeliou66]

5 minutes ago, Ebau said:

I remember the episode where the four of them were in a gymnasium working out and Kate and McGee were sparring. Kate kicked McGee right in the balls and stood there and laughed at him whilst he writhed in agony on the floor. I always thought she was a bit of a sociopath, and, in the real world, that psycho hose beast would have been fired and prosecuted for pulling a stunt like that. 

 I remember that as well now, yeah Kate came across as a sociopath in that scene. She was somewhat nasty, and she picked on both Tony and McGee. I don’t know why McGee put up with how badly Tony and Kate, especially Tony, treated him, and it shows a lack of leadership on Gibbs’ part to do nothing aside from occasionally slapping Tony on the head. 

The fact that most of the characters come across as annoying at best or mean assholes at worst is the main reason why I’ve never gotten into this show nearly as much as I have other crime procedurals, there are a couple of other reasons as well but how unlikable so many of the main characters are is the main reason. The only characters I could stand being around in real life are Ducky and maybe McGee and Palmer. I enjoy the new episodes more than the old ones just because the characters are more likable and professional, no Tony is a big part of that. 

[ForReal]

I saw the episode where two of Gibbs' ex-wives show up. It was interesting to see the chemistry between him and the ex played by Jeri Ryan. I couldn't watch the whole episode, though, because I remembered it was the one when Diane died and I couldn't watch that again.

[StarBrand]

I remember watching season 1 and 2, and never quite got used to Caitlin Todd. Unlike with Ziva, Tony's relationship with Kate always seemed like an antagoinistic brother-sister relationship, whereas Tony and Ziva had a spark to it almost from the beginning. 

Ziva, to me, seemed the most interesting when they showed her scared, vulnerable side. In "Hiatus", she started making jokes about Gibbs, and Abby lashed out at her, saying the way Ziva was reacting to Gibb's condition, it was as if she couldn't give a shit.  And that accusation really got to her.  Yes, she's a hard-ass (and had to be, for the job), but above all, she was human.

And for the antagonistic things Tony would say/do to her, every now and then he would do something that showed he really cared about her well-being.  I remember the episode where he found out she was upset she couldn't get a ticket to go see an opera she used to see with her late sister, and Tony pumped up the sound system to play the same opera, and told her to sit there and pretend she was at the opera with her sister.  That was a really kind-hearted gesture for Tony to do....

[Linderhill]

On 12/24/2019 at 10:33 PM, Xeliou66 said:

 I remember that as well now, yeah Kate came across as a sociopath in that scene. She was somewhat nasty, and she picked on both Tony and McGee. I don’t know why McGee put up with how badly Tony and Kate, especially Tony, treated him, and it shows a lack of leadership on Gibbs’ part to do nothing aside from occasionally slapping Tony on the head. 

The fact that most of the characters come across as annoying at best or mean assholes at worst is the main reason why I’ve never gotten into this show nearly as much as I have other crime procedurals, there are a couple of other reasons as well but how unlikable so many of the main characters are is the main reason. The only characters I could stand being around in real life are Ducky and maybe McGee and Palmer. I enjoy the new episodes more than the old ones just because the characters are more likable and professional, no Tony is a big part of that. 

The main problem with Kate was a very uneven characterization.  She was supposed to be this great profiler at the Secret Service but she consistently was coming up with crappy profiles.  Of course according to TV profiling is an exact science which is complete bull.  And the profilers for the Secret Service are all agents, they are mainly civilian and are supervised by agents.  Anyway, there were occasional episodes where Kate was decent.  I do remember being super annoyed because between seasons 1 and 2 Tony became super frat boy.  In the Jag episodes and the first season he was fun and a jokester but he wasn't such a fratboy.  It was like Bellisario decided he had to ramp everything up extra notches.  Kat and Tony were best when they weren't competing against each other like in "Call to Silence" and when Tony got the plague.  

I never was too fond of Ziva.  She (along with Jenny) had an inflated sense of entitlement that very rarely stopped.  I was so happy when she was killed off I refused to watch the episodes this season that she was in.

 

[scorpio1031]

39 minutes ago, Linderhill said:

She (along with Jenny) had an inflated sense of entitlement that very rarely stopped.

That and the jealousy.  These two allegedly capable and independent women throwing little hissy fits if Tony or Gibbs talked to another woman.

[Linderhill]

Just now, scorpio1031 said:

That and the jealousy.  These two allegedly capable and independent women throwing little hissy fits if Tony or Gibbs talked to another woman.

yes! exactly!  It was hard to take either one of them seriously as a professional agent of any kind.  I know some female agents at Secret Service, FBI and NCIS and no, these two would never had made it.  Well, Ziva never would have made it to the polygraph because she wouldn't have passed the background investigation.  (and being a special pet of the director wouldn't have meant crap)

[GHScorpiosRule]

So, week SIX of working remotely, I wuz bored the other night and just clicked on Season one via Netflix.

Me: SOBBING!

This show was so, so, so, so, soooooooooo good in its first season. Even if Kate annoyed the ever lovin' frack out of me. We have a Gibbs who smiled! Said "please", smiled. Joked. Smiled.

The team dynamic was just awesome. It makes me bitter. Because I miss Tony. Up to episode 7,  "Sub Rosa" and hello, McGee! He was such a baby! Meaning, his nervousness, bumbling and stuttering.

Kate still annoys. But I'll take her over Ziva. Any day.

TOM MORROW!!!!!! Best Director EVAH.

Waiting for Mrs. Mallard to show up soon.

Did I mention that we get a Gibbs who smiles? I turn into a big pile of goo when I see it bloom in the opening credits, which is from the pilot, "Yankee White" I believe. Most of the scenes in the first season opening credits are from the pilot and "Seadog."

[Gramto6]

10 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

So, week SIX of working remotely, I wuz bored the other night and just clicked on Season one via Netflix.

Me: SOBBING!

This show was so, so, so, so, soooooooooo good in its first season. Even if Kate annoyed the ever lovin' frack out of me. We have a Gibbs who smiled! Said "please", smiled. Joked. Smiled.

The team dynamic was just awesome. It makes me bitter. Because I miss Tony. Up to episode 7,  "Sub Rosa" and hello, McGee! He was such a baby! Meaning, his nervousness, bumbling and stuttering.

Kate still annoys. But I'll take her over Ziva. Any day.

TOM MORROW!!!!!! Best Director EVAH.

Waiting for Mrs. Mallard to show up soon.

Did I mention that we get a Gibbs who smiles? I turn into a big pile of goo when I see it bloom in the opening credits, which is from the pilot, "Yankee White" I believe. Most of the scenes in the first season opening credits are from the pilot and "Seadog."

Yeah, loved the earlier episodes...but as time progressed they turned Tony into some kind of a buffoon/frat bro that was just beyond acceptable. I for one was glad to see him gone. The show evolved through writing and the cast, not sure which is the strongest but it is still going...through thick and thin, the actors change just as we as people change.  As long as I have Mark Harmon my screen, I am a happy camper!

[GHScorpiosRule]

21 hours ago, Gramto6 said:

Yeah, loved the earlier episodes...but as time progressed they turned Tony into some kind of a buffoon/frat bro that was just beyond acceptable. I for one was glad to see him gone. The show evolved through writing and the cast, not sure which is the strongest but it is still going...through thick and thin, the actors change just as we as people change.  As long as I have Mark Harmon my screen, I am a happy camper!

I know what the new non-Bellisario show runners did to Tony. I watched this show religiously until mid-season last year, and just couldn't take it anymore and dropped it. Not even my love for Mark Harmon could keep me watching.

At least Tony showed growth again when Michael Weatherly left. I'm one who wasn't happy Tony left. His departure just left a huge hole.

But all the good writers are gone. The show was sharp and compelling (for what it was), for the first few seasons. 

Maybe I'll get around to finishing last season and watching this season. Maybe. 

But I'm SO enjoying seeing Rudolf Martini. Yeah, yeah, evuhl Terrorist Ari, but Rudolf is just so pretty and I love his voice. Just saw "Bête noire" and that was such a good episode. That's how inter-agency cooperation looks like. And I don't know if any other actor would have made me smile the way Rudolf’s Ari did when Gerald was stripping the gears on Ducky's Morgan in "Reveille" when Ari returned.

That said, Kate proved over and over again, how she SUCKED at profiling and at her job. Her behavior toward Tony was just so juvenile. Tony, of course retaliated in kind.

And now I'm dreading "Dead Man Talking" because of what happens to Pacci.

Edited April 25, 2020 by GHScorpiosRule

[GHScorpiosRule]

So I'm up to Season 3 and note to self: make sure you have a drink or two or three handy while watching.

The dumbing down of Tony began as soon as the season premiere.

The Gag Factor kicks in the second "Madame Director" shows up and we get those gross Paris flashbacks.

Jenny acts more like a supervisor in the HR department than the director she is supposedly supposed to be and runs her office as if she's some corporate VP. My eyes could not roll HARD enough at her being put off because Gibbs didn't show up to receive an award to accept it from her hands personally in "Model Behavior". And the tugging and pulling at her hair, hoping he would notice she chopped off that wig. Or was the short hair the wig? I don't care. She revealed her pettiness, by abruptly ending the program and not letting Tony accept the award on Gibbs' behalf. Because you know, it's ALL.ABOUT.HER. Sure, put an incompetent field agent as the "new blood" that's needed. Bellisario made soooo many mistakes with season three.

Gibbs is still smiling. So that's a plus.

Even McGee's been dumbed down. That's a fail.

Jenny's sticking her nose in every damned thing. Doesn't have the back of her people like Morrow did.

Hah! I knew it! Retcon raises its FUGLY head in the later post-Bellisario seasons! Diane was Gibb's third wife; though of course Gibbs referred to him as his "second wife" in "Twilight"; before we learned that he had a first wife AND child in "Kill Ari, Part I". So all that Gibbs was her Shannon--folks assumed she was the first one he married after Shannon and Kelly were murdered. Nope. nope. nope. Good Riddance. Hated how they tried to make her a not so hateful. I was perfectly fine with her being a hateful piece of space.

It's so nice to have the fast forward button. I'm zipping through nicely.

[GHScorpiosRule]

PAPA GIBBS!!!!!🥰

[Linderhill]

On 4/27/2020 at 12:03 PM, GHScorpiosRule said:

Sure, put an incompetent field agent as the "new blood" that's needed. Bellisario made soooo many mistakes with season three.

and the fact that she was a foreign national SPY would never have flown.  The whole Ziva/Jenny storyline sucked so bad.  So many fans drool all over how "badass" Ziva was when she shouldn't have been there in the first place.

[GHScorpiosRule]

1 hour ago, Linderhill said:

and the fact that she was a foreign national SPY would never have flown.  The whole Ziva/Jenny storyline sucked so bad.  So many fans drool all over how "badass" Ziva was when she shouldn't have been there in the first place.

Agree 100000000%, but I was talking about Jenny as the incompetent field agent. She fucked up and didn't "handle" the Russian agent, which ended up with Decker being murdered, as well as her own ass. The wonderful Kathleen Gati played Svetlana, in "Judgment Day" Part II. 

I saw nothing that showed me that Jenny earned that appointment; she was a sucky agent and an even more suckier Director, using the agency for her personal vendetta. And insisting on acting like she was still an agent or team leader in the handful of episodes in season 3 just made me want to snatch her bald. And that RIDICULOUS pony tail in the handful of final episodes before she bit it. I don't know what it is, but I could buy Lauren Holly as a cop on Pickett Fences, but not as a spy/agent here.

Morrow referred to Jenny as NCIS needing "new blood". BLECH.

And I can't believe I didn't stop watching after season four. I'm up to season 10 now--because the Fast Forward Button comes in handy--and I just finished watching NCIS' version of It's a Wonderful Life in "Life Before His Eyes" for Gibbs.

UGH.UGH.UGH!!!!!!

First, in all the flashbacks when we learned about Shannon, she always called him Jethro. 

Yeah, yeah, when we learned that she was his love from the time he joined the Marines, she said she would call him Gibbs, but she never did. Except in "Life" when she and a new Kelly (for obvious reasons) showed up, and she called him Gibbs.

I want to rip so many people so many huge ASSHOLES it's not even funny.

And maybe I need to brush up on my history, but SECNAV is a PURELY POLITICAL appointment and yet both Ciccolella and Craven's' SECNAV acted like they were directors of a Special Black Ops. I didn't feel one bit sorry when Craven's SECNAV bit it. Purely for his line that he "owned" Tony.

I just want to 🤢 at all  the guest stars from the end of season 7 to now, who keep telling Tony and Ziva they were "made for each other" or make a good couple. Anvil, much?

And the buffoonery of Tony just makes me irritable.

Do NOT get me started on how Tony and Kate would have gotten married if she hadn't been killed by Ari. PUH-LEAZE. 

Or that retcon that Ziva was ordered to kill Ari in order to gain Gibbs' trust BULLSHIT. Her actions and phone calls with Ari in "Killing Ari" contradict that.

Bellisario may have had his warts, but I MUCH PREFER him as show runner and his staff of writers.

[Linderhill]

On 5/7/2020 at 4:12 PM, GHScorpiosRule said:

Agree 100000000%, but I was talking about Jenny as the incompetent field agent. She fucked up and didn't "handle" the Russian agent, which ended up with Decker being murdered, as well as her own ass. The wonderful Kathleen Gati played Svetlana, in "Judgment Day" Part II. 

I saw nothing that showed me that Jenny earned that appointment; she was a sucky agent and an even more suckier Director, using the agency for her personal vendetta. And insisting on acting like she was still an agent or team leader in the handful of episodes in season 3 just made me want to snatch her bald. And that RIDICULOUS pony tail in the handful of final episodes before she bit it. I don't know what it is, but I could buy Lauren Holly as a cop on Pickett Fences, but not as a spy/agent here.

Morrow referred to Jenny as NCIS needing "new blood". BLECH.

And I can't believe I didn't stop watching after season four. I'm up to season 10 now--because the Fast Forward Button comes in handy--and I just finished watching NCIS' version of It's a Wonderful Life in "Life Before His Eyes" for Gibbs.

UGH.UGH.UGH!!!!!!

First, in all the flashbacks when we learned about Shannon, she always called him Jethro. 

Yeah, yeah, when we learned that she was his love from the time he joined the Marines, she said she would call him Gibbs, but she never did. Except in "Life" when she and a new Kelly (for obvious reasons) showed up, and she called him Gibbs.

I want to rip so many people so many huge ASSHOLES it's not even funny.

And maybe I need to brush up on my history, but SECNAV is a PURELY POLITICAL appointment and yet both Ciccolella and Craven's' SECNAV acted like they were directors of a Special Black Ops. I didn't feel one bit sorry when Craven's SECNAV bit it. Purely for his line that he "owned" Tony.

I just want to 🤢 at all  the guest stars from the end of season 7 to now, who keep telling Tony and Ziva they were "made for each other" or make a good couple. Anvil, much?

And the buffoonery of Tony just makes me irritable.

Do NOT get me started on how Tony and Kate would have gotten married if she hadn't been killed by Ari. PUH-LEAZE. 

Or that retcon that Ziva was ordered to kill Ari in order to gain Gibbs' trust BULLSHIT. Her actions and phone calls with Ari in "Killing Ari" contradict that.

Bellisario may have had his warts, but I MUCH PREFER him as show runner and his staff of writers.

I fully agree with you here.  I too could buy Lauren Holly as a cop on Picket Fences and when the character first announced I was vaguely optimistic but that quickly disappeared when the character actually appeared.  

As for Tony and Ziva, I remember listening to my niece rambling on about how she wished they'd just kiss and get it over with and wondering to myself what I was missing.  There was no "chemistry" there, just antagonism.  The sense of entitlement that both Ziva and Jenny had irked me no end.  How could people not see that?

[ForReal]

I always saw Tony and Kate as sibling-like. The only time I ever saw her look at a coworker with some heat was the time she bumped up against Gibbs in the submarine doorway when the boat dipped, and who can blame her. I don't recall her looking at Tony like that. Being an only and lonely child, I could see Tony enjoying the big sister aspect of their relationship, and I figured that was why he named his fish Kate.

With Ziva, I always saw it more as a true friendship that grew into something more in the end. She saw past his buffoonery and he saw past her badassery. I didn't see chemistry, but they both went through some stuff and stood by each other and I can buy that they chose to be together in the end.

[GHScorpiosRule]

I continue to remain bitter how this show treated Jamie Bamber. They should have revealed that the "affair" was an undercover assignment or something. I mean, Jake was SO ADORBS when we first met him. Either that or....yes, just killed him off, as this show loves to do.

Because more often than not, I was totally Team!Jake! whenever Ellie whined about how he wouldn't tell her what he was working on, but refused to tell him what SHE was working on. Why bother having her married? Or bringing her husband to the show if this is what they were going to do?

And now they're playing around with Ellie and that Tonywannabe what'shisface? See? I can't even remember his name!

[ForReal]

3 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

I continue to remain bitter how this show treated Jamie Bamber. They should have revealed that the "affair" was an undercover assignment or something. I mean, Jake was SO ADORBS when we first met him. Either that or....yes, just killed him off, as this show loves to do.

Well, the actor did nothing for me, personally, but I also felt that his affair should have been a cover and that their relationship should have failed for other reasons. I mean, even Gibbs liked the man, so it felt...expedient that they offed him that way. It doesn't feel like Bishop has learned anything from her divorce, other than maybe it's better to date a coworker so you have stuff to talk about 🙄

[Gramto6]

I love, love, love Jamie Bamber! I liked him on LO:UK and here, oh yes! Battlestar Galactica too! I just hated how they got rid of the character on NCIS.

[Ebau]

On 4/23/2020 at 9:44 AM, GHScorpiosRule said:

So, week SIX of working remotely, I wuz bored the other night and just clicked on Season one via Netflix.

Me: SOBBING!

This show was so, so, so, so, soooooooooo good in its first season. Even if Kate annoyed the ever lovin' frack out of me. We have a Gibbs who smiled! Said "please", smiled. Joked. Smiled.

I agree about Gibbs offering the occasional "please" or making the odd joke in the first few seasons, but he was also a righteous pain in the ass bully during those seasons. How many scenes did we watch where he stood and screamed, "Now!" or made some other fractious demand like an overindulged, ill-mannered eight-year-old? I didn't like him as much back then; I prefer the more mellow, patient Gibbs we see today. 

[ForReal]

On 7/27/2020 at 7:07 PM, Gramto6 said:

I love, love, love Jamie Bamber! I liked him on LO:UK and here, oh yes! Battlestar Galactica too! I just hated how they got rid of the character on NCIS.

I just saw the episode where he confessed to Bishop that he was having an affair. The whole exchange was just so flat -- I was sure he was lying about the affair, it just didn't ring true. Now, after watching it again, I think that Bishop's acting was too flat, as well. At the time I thought she was portraying shock, but this time around it just seemed like weak acting. Like I said earlier, it felt like the show had just decided to get rid of him in an expedient way, which unfortunately did not enhance the show in any way.

[GHScorpiosRule]

So now I'm watching seasons 4, 5, and 9 on the various channels, just because.

Jenny was a fucking screw up as an agent, and I am still gobsmacked at how she managed to get on the fast track and became Director. On a purely shallow, shallow, shallow note, did Holly do something to her lips between 4 and 5, because dear LORD, she suddenly had Duck Lips in the season five.

Abby was still the wonderful character she was through the fifth season, I think. I'm not looking forward to her raspy voice turning into a high pitched child-like squeal.

"Requiem" still breaks my heart and I wish Maddie had returned for more guest appearances. I hate that neither the syndicated episodes on cable or even the streaming, show the audience what was in Kelly and Maddie's time capsule. I can't remember if it's shown on the DVD. I do remember you had to go to the CBS website after it aired to find out what it was.

And I never noticed it before, but when Armand Assante first appeared, there were throwaway lines to previous roles he'd played: Gotti, in that horrid tv movie; Assante himself talking about Napoleon, when he played Napoleon in a television mini-series, and there was a third, which I'm blanking on!

[laredhead]

Since this week was a rerun, I wish they had shown the episode from many years ago when Ducky hosted a Thanksgiving(?) dinner at his house, and all of the team showed up for that.  I'm in the process of rewatching the series.  I'm about halfway through Season 2, and loving it all over again.        

[HurricaneVal]

 

1 minute ago, laredhead said:

Since this week was a rerun, I wish they had shown the episode from many years ago when Ducky hosted a Thanksgiving(?) dinner at his house, and all of the team showed up for that.  I'm in the process of rewatching the series.  I'm about halfway through Season 2, and loving it all over again.

Ooops!  Too late, but on the USA network they run NCIS marathons on Tuesdays, and yesterday they ran all the Thanksgiving episodes one after the other.  I'm still working from home until after the first of the year, so I have the TV on in the background to give me some background motion and noise.  The first one I noticed I thought "Huh, that's a nice coincidence with this being Thanksgiving week and all that."  Then I noticed that the next episode was a different season, and also a Thanksgiving episode and it clicked.

Noting this did not make my short week holiday-itis any better!

[laredhead]

HurricaneVal, sorry I missed that.  I guess I'll see them all eventually as I rewatch the series.  Would have been nice to see them all at once.  Maybe they'll do Christmas

. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

So I watched season 10, which is aired on WE over the weekend and instead of going to 11, the show is circling back to season 1. Guess WE doesn't have the rights to air 11-18.

Anyhoo, watching "Seek" with the marine killed by a military contractor, and whose partner Dex, the adorable dog was a witness and partner, was frustrating.

Why?

Because show, or whoever wrote it, was part of scripting it, totally FORGOT that McGee overcame his fear of dogs and adopted "Jethro" from "Dog Tags" five years previously, to the point where we got to see him give McGee a big giant kiss.

Tony's fear? I can understand, because Show always has Tony at the losing end, except when he was caring for Mrs. Mallard's Corgis.

And of course, McGee, who up until THIS season, or was is season 9, when Show decided he too, should have daddy issues. And they cast one of my favorite actors, Jamey Sheridan, to play DICKHEAD DAD? And OF COURSE he has stage 4 cancer, so McGee HAS to forgive him and whatever.

And as much as I dislike/disliked Tiva, the show was much better with Gibbs/Ducky/Tony/McGee/Kate and Gibbs/Ducky/Tony/McGee/Ziva. I guess it comes down to cast chemistry. And I prefer those teams.

[maggiemae]

I think Ziva was fiercely independent and raised to be Mosad. And Tony was looking for a relationship like his mother and father had before she died when he was 9. But he was shipped away then to boarding school and summer camps or left alone in Maui by his suave father.

I always thought there was a spark between them...more than team members having each other backs, or brother and sister. A little jealousy and interest in each other's relationship.

Tony needed to grow up, and Ziva soften. 

 

 

[StarBrand]

I re-watched the first two seasons, and it's clear to me that the creation of Ziva was the best thing to happen to Tony's character, because from that point onward, Tony was still Tony, but we started to see the more serious, mature part of him more often.  Ziva wasn't like any woman he'd met before, and from the start, he wasn't quite sure what to make of her. She pretty much had him figured out from day one.

[chessiegal]

I'm 20 years late to the party because, having worked in federal law enforcement labs for my last 23 years before retiring, I wasn't interested in what I was sure would be not accurate depictions. However, about a year ago I decided to give this a try. I liked the writing, characters, actors, so I'm willing to suspend disbelief for the entertainment it gives me. Abby - one person lab that does every thing? Never happen. I know NCIS lab personnel, until the military decided to consolidate all their forensic labs to one location. I have found my new tv boyfriend - Michael Weatherly!

It's fine with me that WEtv only airs the first 10 seasons. I don't care for the later ones. I like Ziva, and I think she and Tony have amazing chemistry. Mark Harmon - sigh.

[StarBrand]

I"m thinking of the best NCIS episodes, specifically the first few seasons.

I was re-watching season 2's "Call Of Silence" the other day. I've seen that a dozen times, and it still hits me hard.

I also remember the episode...forget exactly which one---where the body was found in old elevator shaft, and....well, it led to a "holy shit" moment, topped off by a open question by Gibbs at the end, a little detail that was never explained.

I liked the one, where, at the end, he brings in these gangsters to show them their fearless leader was a bit of a fraud, and says that he just doesn't have enough to put this guy away, but provides enough detail to the gang members, that prompts them to do judgement on their own later.

On 6/18/2014 at 12:01 AM, itsmeyousee said:

For me it's Ari. Wasn't into his storyline and Gibbs obsession with him when i first watched it. But Ari turned out to be the best of all the Mossad storylines for me. I think because it didn't start out as personal, it became personal because of who they were Gibbs and Ari .Unlike all the other Mossad storylines are personal because of Ziva and Vance. I don't know but making it constantly personal made the world seem too small like the street you lived in. Instead  being international politics and intrigue.

Ari was a legit bad guy.  He could be personable, like he was with Ducky, and Kate, but switch to evil and ruthless at the drop of a hat.  Sometimes you get the impression that a bad guy isn't really that dangerious.  Not with Ari.  And there was this odd little thing between him and Kate-Kate even admitted that she looked back into his eyes and something she saw made her not kill him when she had the change.  That didn't turn out well for her of course.  If Sasha hadn't left the show, I think that would have been pursued a bit further.

[StarBrand]

On 6/22/2014 at 4:27 PM, Ohmo said:

Shane Brennan did several things that I don't like, but one of the best things he did was to kill Jenny off.  The character was such a flawed mess that I think it was easier to get rid of her instead of trying to reinvent her as a competent professional.

Originally, and at times after, she seemed that way.  I read that Holly decided to leave the show because (a) she was supposed to only hang around intermittingly anyway and (b) her character had nowhere to go.  I can't argue that point.

[StarBrand]

On 9/15/2014 at 12:52 PM, Betweenthisandthat said:

Honestly I think Ziva lost balance too.  They made her storyline too tragic. 

Right from the start, she joined NCIS because she wanted to get away from her famiily-she didn't like what she found out about Ari and her father.  So there was family issues, then her boyfriend got killed,  was sent on bascially a suicide mission...and they just heaped more and more on her.  But she was a breath of fresh air when she started.  Her presence started to turn Tony into a more interesting character, made him change his ways a little, although he was always, well, Tony DiNozzo. I liked early on when people would accuse her of being stone cold and didn't have feelings, and that would upset her.  And that prompted her to be vulnerable to Gibbs in a last-ditch attempt to recover his memory of his life after almost being blown up.  You always got the impression she wanted to get away from this life of espionage and live a normal life, and it just wouldn't happen for her.

[GHScorpiosRule]

35 minutes ago, StarBrand said:

I also remember the episode...forget exactly which one---where the body was found in old elevator shaft, and....well, it led to a "holy shit" moment, topped off by a open question by Gibbs at the end, a little detail that was never explained.

"Dead Man Talking" when they killed off Pacci!

[StarBrand]

On 9/7/2015 at 4:57 PM, jaytee1812 said:

I've always suspected that they decided between seasons one and two that Gibbs had a dead wife and kid. In See No Evil, the first episode of season 2, Gibbs about puts the guy through a wall for risking his wife and kid. That reaction isn't there before.

I mean, you could understand his reaction without all of that, really.  Gibbs was just pissed off the father scared the shit out of their smart, lovely girl, all for money. I would have wanted to throttle him too.  Taking Gibbs' family into account, he probably showed a bit of restraint by not killing the guy on the spot.

[StarBrand]

On 1/31/2022 at 10:56 PM, maggiemae said:

I think Ziva was fiercely independent and raised to be Mosad. And Tony was looking for a relationship like his mother and father had before she died when he was 9. But he was shipped away then to boarding school and summer camps or left alone in Maui by his suave father.

I always thought there was a spark between them...more than team members having each other backs, or brother and sister. A little jealousy and interest in each other's relationship.

Tony needed to grow up, and Ziva soften. 

Ziva prodded Tony to grow up. Encouraged him to be a better version of himself, and she expresses disappointment when he seems to be regressing (like right after Jeanne left, and she berated him a little for being interested in "girls" and not "women"). Tony gave Ziva someone to really trust completely, or at least learn to not rely on herself all the time and let friends help her when she needed it.

On 9/24/2021 at 10:10 AM, GHScorpiosRule said:

Jenny was a fucking screw up as an agent, and I am still gobsmacked at how she managed to get on the fast track and became Director.

Yeah, wasn't ever quite sold on that.  Gibbs even questions her why she'd even want to be director, because, like him, she didn't seem to have a knack for the polictics involved. The show did show you sometimes why she was a good agent though..

[StarBrand]

On 9/24/2021 at 10:10 AM, GHScorpiosRule said:

So now I'm watching seasons 4, 5, and 9 on the various channels, just because.

Jenny was a fucking screw up as an agent, and I am still gobsmacked at how she managed to get on the fast track and became Director. On a purely shallow, shallow, shallow note, did Holly do something to her lips between 4 and 5, because dear LORD, she suddenly had Duck Lips in the season five.

Abby was still the wonderful character she was through the fifth season, I think. I'm not looking forward to her raspy voice turning into a high pitched child-like squeal.

"Requiem" still breaks my heart and I wish Maddie had returned for more guest appearances. I hate that neither the syndicated episodes on cable or even the streaming, show the audience what was in Kelly and Maddie's time capsule. I can't remember if it's shown on the DVD. I do remember you had to go to the CBS website after it aired to find out what it was.

And I never noticed it before, but when Armand Assante first appeared, there were throwaway lines to previous roles he'd played: Gotti, in that horrid tv movie; Assante himself talking about Napoleon, when he played Napoleon in a television mini-series, and there was a third, which I'm blanking on!

Also, the whole Frog weapons guy storying did severe damage to a character nobody seemed to like.  It was ALWAYS about revenge, getting this guy and killing him for making her father kill himself, no matter how else she tried to spin it, and dragged Tony into it as well, causing him a broken heart in the process.  Tony made it pretty clear he would not do something like that for her ever again.

Edited September 23, 2022 by StarBrand

[truthful]

Just started a rewatch of NCIS. About a bit over halfway through season two. 

Some observations so far:

- The early episodes are very dry and boring. Quite technical with all the stuff Gibbs and DiNozzo are explaining to Kate, which I guess serves as an explanation to the viewer.

- Kate is an awful agent. Her instincts are wrong and even probie McGee is a better agent than her at the moment. I don't know how she got a job protecting the President because she sucks at that. 

-For a man who presents himself as hard nosed and strict Gibbs sure does let his team get away with a lot. He definitely should have fired Kate multiple times during season one, DiNozzo too. 

-The episodes didn't really click for me until McGee started to appear in them. He really was the missing piece of the puzzle in that team.

- DiNizzo is an interesting character. His light hearted nature provides a good counterbalance to the seriousness of Gibbs, which I believe helped the show become as successful as it is. But there are times when he is a bit too frat boyish (which probably wasn't a stretch for Michael to play), especially during season two towards Kate.

- I'll be interested to see how I react to future storylines. Especially the frog one with Tony going undercover. I remember not liking it because it had a more serious DiNozzo which I did not care for, but I suppose it was character growth for him. But thinking back I feel that i didn't like that storyline because it seperated Tony from the team. Which ruined the chemistry and dynamic of the team, and the team is what makes this show so interesting. The interaction between them. Having Tony be seperate from that because of director Shepard's own personal agenda was just wrong. Apart from character progress for Tony that storyline really had no value.

- Speaking of Jenny I swear I remember like nearly ninety percent of her conversations with Gibbs going like this.

Director Shepard: I'm the boss now, so you have to follow my orders.

Gibbs: I'm going to completely ignore your orders because I don't respect you at all.

(Then they stare at each other whilst a flashback plays of their time in Paris)

So it will be interesting to see if my rewatch matches up with my memory.

Also, there's the big Ari storyline over the first two seasons. It's ok so far. Not something I'm really excited about. 

What I liked about the Ari stuff-

-Gave Ducky something to do rather than just recite medical jargon.

-First sign of a more obsessive and darker Gibbs that we'll see more of in later seasons.

- When they found out who he was.

- When they mentioned that Ari hates being called Ari and Gibbs goes "We're calling him Ari." as a kind of psychological weapon. First time I picked up on that.

Edited October 11, 2022 by truthful
Adding some more observations.

[Mislav]

I can't stand Caged due to most of the prisoners there, mainly Angela Lopez, her character was truly disgusting and I honestly hoped someone would bash her head in by the end of the episode. I encountered plenty of people like her when I lived in the city a few years ago. Scum.

Edited June 22, 2023 by Mislav

[chicagofan]

I didn't remember that Fornell was in Yankee White. Weird though since it appears that he and Gibbs didn't know each other. Maybe it's because it was the pilot - those episodes can have continuity issues with the series going forward.

[CheshireCat]

8 hours ago, chicagofan said:

I didn't remember that Fornell was in Yankee White. Weird though since it appears that he and Gibbs didn't know each other. Maybe it's because it was the pilot - those episodes can have continuity issues with the series going forward.

Pretty sure that's the reason, too. However, you have to wonder how someone goes from "they don't know each other" to "hey, why don't we let Fornell and Gibbs share an ex-wife".

Other than that, I like the pilot. It's one of the episodes I always enjoy re-watching.