NCIS – I fake mind read too

Tonight’s episode of NCIS contained two dead giveaways that made it clear things were not as they seemed with the assassination of Secretary of the Navy Clayton Jarvis (Matt Craven): a) It happened even though Gibbs was right there, and b) Gibbs didn’t manage to apprehend the shooter before he made it out of the room.

Okay, so Gibbs isn’t Superman, but he and Tony weren’t really selling good personal security detail walking behind Jarvis and his old buddy Philip Wickes (William Russ). But then I suppose it doesn’t much matter when you’ve prearranged for Samwise Gamgee (Sean Astin) to take the would be fatal shot. Or when Alan Matthews is the guy you’re looking to dupe. Interesting how he never so much as raised his voice after discovering that he’d been lied to and manipulated.

Tonight’s case-of-the-week was intriguing for a while, that is until it wandered off into blackmail territory. And I was kind of disappointed that, in the end, it was all about stealing some off-book government funds that otherwise sit unnoticed and earn interest. Isn’t that what it always comes down to? How is that an original conceit for our viewing pleasure?

In another season, Amanda Baylor (Lauren Hodges) would have turned into a worthy foe for McGee, one he’d eventually vanquish but only after she took him to the brink. Oh sure, they’d parry back and forth, but ultimately McGee and NCIS would prevail, and they’d arrest her with scowls on their faces. The fact that this time all it took was a quick IP capture and GPS search and there was Amanda alone and dirty in the back of a van, says a lot about where the show’s gotten to in its ninth season. Gone is much of the innovation and creativity; in its place are a lot of cut and dry scenarios that can be wrapped up with so much ease. It’s not meant to be like this.

Some things of note:

• How much time does the Secretary of the Navy have on his hands that he can afford to be part of an operation to smoke out a blackmailer by faking his own death? Shouldn’t he be focusing on, you know, the Navy?
• Tony totally has a game show host quality, but I’m not sure how that serves him in law enforcement. Still, it’s always fun to see Tony get a bit paranoid.

Here’s a though to leave you with: it’s been quite a few weeks since we last saw Mr. Palmer. What gives? On another show, with, shall we say, a somewhat more critical series character, I’d be suggesting that we were witnessing money saving tactics: cut out the expensive actor for a few episodes and save a bundle of cash. But Brian Dietzen? I assume he’s not exactly breaking the show’s bank, so where’s he been? I can’t be alone in missing Jimmy, right? Dorneget (Matt L. Jones) was fun for a while … but when are we going to get our Jimmy Palmer back?

Clacked by Aryeh S.
on Mar 21, 2012 @ 00:46 EST5EDT