S15.E16: Handle with Care

[MyAimIsTrue]

Quote

Gibbs and the team work to clear the name of retired Marine Sergeant John Ross when cyanide is found in one of the hundreds of care packages he sends to active-duty Marines.

[MDL]

Not sure where this fits, but shouldn't the date stamp for the thread be "2018.03.06"?

[morriss]

Drew Carey was really good playing the part of John Ross.

[basiltherat]

Phew!  I was SO glad that Drew wasn't the bad guy!  He was really very good.

[stonehaven]

Enjoyed this one..especially for Drew..but am noticing no interaction between Gibbs and Abby.

[Bobbin]

Ross's estranged daughter's name is Molly? Cool. That was also Adrian Monk's late wife Trudy's daughter's name. [Tears of joy]

Good ep. Carey is a good actor in serious roles. So is Chevy Chase. But what happened to "breaking" the sleazy radio guy?

[buckboard]

1 hour ago, stonehaven said:

Enjoyed this one..especially for Drew..but am noticing no interaction between Gibbs and Abby.

There has been no interaction between Gibbs and Abby all season!

[Starscream]

4 hours ago, basiltherat said:

Phew!  I was SO glad that Drew wasn't the bad guy!  He was really very good.

I was kind of hoping he would be the bad guy going in, but thought there's no way CBS would agree to doing that with the host of The Price is Right.  I thought it was still good though. 

Why doesn't Jake Busey get more work?  Like his dad, he stands out in anything he's in, but the things I remember him for are all like 20 years old.  Maybe he's one-note and type-cast, but still, he's good at it!

[Katy M]

It probably didn't help that I missed the first 15 minutes, but I wasn't crazy about this episode.  I did think Drew did a great job.  And, I liked the angle with the radio guy, or whatever.  And, it was great seeing Ducky.  But, I don't care about Jack, so I can't care about her back story.  I didn't care about the IRS subplot.  And, no if the IRS owes you more money, they didn't screw up, you likely did.  They didn't fill out your forms. And, I didn't even know who the killers were. But, again, that's my fault, because I missed the first quarter.  I'm not sure I have it in me to go back and watch the whole thing, though.

[Packerbrewerbadger]

Torres always having a problem , ie IRS, is getting old and annoying.  ( possibly because he never thinks it’s his fault).

anyone catch Abbey’s throwback to old episodes?

Edited March 7, 2018 by Packerbrewerbadger

[Trey]

1 hour ago, Katy M said:

And, I didn't even know who the killers were. But, again, that's my fault, because I missed the first quarter. 

The killers were the victim's brother and wife who were having an affair.  They took advantage of John Ross's organization that sent  'care' packages to send poisoned cookies to the victim.  John Ross's problems and shockjock dude were just side dressing.

[Mrs. Stanwyck]

Quote

But what happened to "breaking" the sleazy radio guy?

There was a line at the end that he had lost a lot of sponsors .

 

Do people not get sued for slander any more?  I know people post things on the internet and there doesn't seem to be much you can do, but the radio host worked for a company that I would think could be held liable and he admitted he just made stuff up.

[basiltherat]

Every time I heard Drew's character being referred to as "John Ross" I thought of John Ross, J. R. and Suellen's kid from Dallas.

[enoughcats]

19 minutes ago, basiltherat said:

Every time I heard Drew's character being referred to as "John Ross" I thought of John Ross, J. R. and Suellen's kid from Dallas.

From our love of history, the name John Ross reminds us of the long time chief of the Cherokee Nation who was only part Cherokee, but who lead that nation for four + decades in the `1800s. John Ross

[GalvDuck]

1 hour ago, basiltherat said:

Every time I heard Drew's character being referred to as "John Ross" I thought of John Ross, J. R. and Suellen's kid from Dallas.

I think of John and Ethel Ross, the jerks who abused Anna (Patty) Duke.  

Was I the only one who briefly thought the team was going to find out John Ross's daughter's mom and stepdad were his victims as well?  He mentioned they were both deceased and that the mom had died of a heart attack, but I thought it could have been a cover story.  Of course, they weren't his victims in the end because he wasn't the killer.  

[MDL]

I liked the episode. Drew was great as John Ross (also was glad that he wasn't the bad guy.)

Although some viewers don't like "Jack", I'm glad to get some more backstory on her. That said, there are still some gaps. Were the patches that she had in that metal box the shoulder patches of the 9 (?) who died?

[TheGreenWave]

I thought it was nice that his daughter ended up being the postal worker that he would chat with, and would have preferred the episode end with a longer scene between them (it was so short - like what did he say in those 5 seconds??  "Hey, hello.  I know I'm here after the office has closed and that could be considered stalkerish.  But, I'm your bio dad and here's a picture of me and your mom."  Ugh) rather the one with Jack and her patches.  I get that they were trying to give Jack more back story...BUT who keeps something that important to them in the glove box of their car??

[threebluestars]

Drew Carey is a Marine Corps veteran, so it was cool seeing him play one - that younger pic of him in BDUs they used was a real military photo of his.

I like the idea of Jack, but I haven't warmed up to Maria Bello's performance for some reason - I used to love her on ER, so I'm not sure what's missing here for me.

The lack of Abby and Gibbs is REALLY OBVIOUS showrunners, so because of that I have to assume she's leaving the show because of a real life issue between her and Mark Harmon.

[Katy M]

10 minutes ago, TheGreenWave said:

I thought it was nice that his daughter ended up being the postal worker that he would chat with, and would have preferred the episode end with a longer scene between them (it was so short - like what did he say in those 5 seconds??  "Hey, hello.  I know I'm here after the office has closed and that could be considered stalkerish.  But, I'm your bio dad and here's a picture of me and your mom."  Ugh) rather the one with Jack and her patches.  I get that they were trying to give Jack more back story...BUT who keeps something that important to them in the glove box of their car??

I know.  The postal worker thought he had a crush on her.  So, him showing up just as she's locking up would have thrown red flags.  And, then how weird to find out someone you thought had a crush on you was your dad.  It would feel icky. 

[Trey]

51 minutes ago, TheGreenWave said:

I thought it was nice that his daughter ended up being the postal worker that he would chat with,

Thanks for posting that - dh and I thought it was her but weren't sure.  Yes, I wish we had a longer scene with them too.

[TheGreenWave]

23 minutes ago, Trey said:

Thanks for posting that - dh and I thought it was her but weren't sure.  Yes, I wish we had a longer scene with them too.

You're welcome!  When we got the glimpse of her locking the door I thought - oh, that's a nice surprise to have had him try to reach out to her in some way before introducing himself.

[HurricaneVal]

1 hour ago, Katy M said:

The postal worker thought he had a crush on her.  So, him showing up just as she's locking up would have thrown red flags.  And, then how weird to find out someone you thought had a crush on you was your dad.  It would feel icky. 

Yeah, if I were that postal worker, and this guy who I thought was flirty with me accosted me after work, in the dark, I would have freaked out and probably pepper sprayed him and run away.  Glad it didn't happen, but in the real world, that's what would have happened.

 

I think Drew Carey is very underappreciated as a serious actor.  He's impressed me in everything I've seen him in.  His sitcom, The Drew Carey Show, also had its serious moments and had some depth to it.   I really like it when he shows up in a guest starring role.  He's so manic on The Price is Right though, so I can see how casting directors might be reluctant to put him in serious roles.

 

Tom Arnold is also another actor who is underappreciated.  His involvement with Rosanne Barr early in his career gave him a bad reputation in the industry, mostly because everyone had the impression that he had that job only because he was her "kept man."  Of course, his drug and alcohol problems also contributed to that bad reputation, but lots of actors have those yet get continuous work.  His turn as the best friend/partner agent in True Lies really opened my eyes.

 

Both of these actors are of a similar "type" and I see them in some similar guest star roles.  All in all, I prefer Drew Carey.

[eel2178]

7 hours ago, Packerbrewerbadger said:

Torres always having a problem , ie IRS, is getting old and annoying.  ( possibly because he never thinks it’s his fault).

Last night's episode gave me the feeling he is now the new DiNozzo.

[enoughcats]

2 hours ago, HurricaneVal said:

Yeah, if I were that postal worker, and this guy who I thought was flirty with me accosted me after work, in the dark, I would have freaked out and probably pepper sprayed him and run away.  Glad it didn't happen, but in the real world, that's what would have happened.

 

Yes, exactly.  Especially at dusk.  
The writers really dropped the potential for gentle nuances on the end of that arc. 

[MyAimIsTrue]

21 hours ago, TheGreenWave said:

I thought it was nice that his daughter ended up being the postal worker that he would chat with, and would have preferred the episode end with a longer scene between them (it was so short - like what did he say in those 5 seconds?? 

I wanted more as well and with the daughter's reaction left open to interpretation I hope it was one of happiness.

[basiltherat]

Funny how we care MORE about John and his daughter than Jack . . . 

[JessDVD]

Yeah, I couldn't possibly care less about Jack's trauma past its ability to get John Ross to open up. I hope they bring him and the daughter back.

I was 0 for 3 on this one as far as IDing the dead guy's brother and the wife as perp (I was predicting the loud guy at the wake) and getting that the PO girl was the daughter. I'll try again next week.

[Katy M]

I actually thought about something I liked from this episode.  Ducky asked if he could take one of each color of the lollipops.  I'm not sure if the did that to thwart Jack's psychoanalysis of him, or he did it because he is just such a complex person.  But, either way, I love it.

[enoughcats]

5 hours ago, Katy M said:

I actually thought about something I liked from this episode.  Ducky asked if he could take one of each color of the lollipops.  I'm not sure if the did that to thwart Jack's psychoanalysis of him, or he did it because he is just such a complex person.  But, either way, I love it.

Bottom of the barrel scrapings 2.0.

Are we sure that they weren't Tootsie Roll pops?  Or would Jack assign some meanting to Ducky's calling Tootsie Rolls lollipops?  
And did Ducky take one of each just to mess with Jack's mind, still using that more recently acquired education of his?

[Pyanfar]

Am I the only one who thinks "Jack" plays better off Vance than Gibbs?

[MyAimIsTrue]

10 hours ago, Pyanfar said:

Am I the only one who thinks "Jack" plays better off Vance than Gibbs?

No, I think they do as well.  In fact I feel the characters have excellent chemistry and Jack could be a good romantic foil for Vance.

[betsyboo]

Buddy TV:

How 'NCIS' Handled PTSD Perfectly in 'Handle with Care'

[Clanstarling]

On 3/6/2018 at 10:46 PM, Starscream said:

Why doesn't Jake Busey get more work?  Like his dad, he stands out in anything he's in, but the things I remember him for are all like 20 years old.  Maybe he's one-note and type-cast, but still, he's good at it!

I thought he looked familiar!

On 3/7/2018 at 9:00 AM, GalvDuck said:

Was I the only one who briefly thought the team was going to find out John Ross's daughter's mom and stepdad were his victims as well?  He mentioned they were both deceased and that the mom had died of a heart attack, but I thought it could have been a cover story.  Of course, they weren't his victims in the end because he wasn't the killer.  

Nope, not the only one. I did too.

On 3/7/2018 at 9:00 AM, MDL said:

Although some viewers don't like "Jack", I'm glad to get some more backstory on her. That said, there are still some gaps. Were the patches that she had in that metal box the shoulder patches of the 9 (?) who died?

I like Jack too, my main problem was that she's generally utilized for things the team already does well. In this case, I think they used her well in this episode. I only saw 3 patches, but it was dark, and I don't remember the size of her team. My take (or imaginary spin) on it is that these were the patches "given" to her by her captors, each time they killed one of them because she wouldn't talk. That seemed to be the underlying story about her guilt, but I could be way off base.

On 3/7/2018 at 9:41 AM, TheGreenWave said:

Ugh) rather the one with Jack and her patches.  I get that they were trying to give Jack more back story...BUT who keeps something that important to them in the glove box of their car??

Until recently, they were in a wall in Afghanistan. I don't know why she has them in the glove box, but didn't she take them out of a drawer and then put them into her glove box? Maybe she was on the verge of showing them to the Drew Carey character.

Edited March 13, 2018 by Clanstarling

[Ishtalady]

6 hours ago, Clanstarling said:

I only saw 3 patches, but it was dark, and I don't remember the size of her team. My take (or imaginary spin) on it is that these were the patches "given" to her by her captors, each time they killed one of them because she wouldn't talk. That seemed to be the underlying story about her guilt, but I could be way off base.

 

When she told Vance she was responsible for their deaths I was trying to figure out how.  Maybe she "broke" under torture and gave up their location and the enemy killed them?  I wish they would just put the whole story out there. Vance knows and I think Gibbs knows, or has a good idea 

[roamyn]

On 3/7/2018 at 12:52 PM, threebluestars said:

Drew Carey is a Marine Corps veteran, so it was cool seeing him play one - that younger pic of him in BDUs they used was a real military photo of his.

I like the idea of Jack, but I haven't warmed up to Maria Bello's performance for some reason - I used to love her on ER, so I'm not sure what's missing here for me.

The lack of Abby and Gibbs is REALLY OBVIOUS showrunners, so because of that I have to assume she's leaving the show because of a real life issue between her and Mark Harmon.

He served in the same unit as a former co-worker’s husband, and M said he was very quiet & shy then.  They had no idea he was such a cut up.

[sinycalone]

The John Ross story was well written -- and acted.  Like many of you, I would have loved seeing/hearing the actual conversation between him and his daughter...not just watched from a distance.

[catsitter]

I don't want to spoil later episodes for people who haven't seen them, but having seen season 17 before this one, I was struck by the fact that

Spoiler

Jack talks quite a bit about John Ross having an adult daughter who knows nothing about him, but she (Jack) has no reaction to this that would give us a clue about her own story. Guess the writers hadn't come up with it yet!