NCIS season 5 thread (1 Viewer)

We finally got caught up on last season and saw this and then the season opener. I was completely surprised that the whole Tony-Jeanne plot thread was an operation. During the season I had been wondering a little how Tony could be spending so much time with her and doing things when he might otherwise be working. It makes sense now that he was doing it for the Director.

Neil

Hey Neil,

Gina and I actually speculated about it as the credits were rolling during the season finale -- "what if she's a mission?" And we worked through the whole, "his phone, badge, gun" left in the car thing too. But the ending surprised us. We firgured it was going to be continued. They faked us out with the last picture flash after the break.

-Joe

I figure we might as well split off these 2 posts from last season's NCIS thread and start up a thread for season 5 since they deal with the wrap-up of the cliff-hanger from last season.

Thanks Patrick. Didn't even think of that.

I don''t know if I am imagining it but it seems that the 2nd ep starts a change in the show and its tone and pace slightly? Guess I will have to give it a few more eps to see whether Donald P Bellsarios forcing out of the show he created changes the tone of the show when its left to others. Hmm.

I missed the premiere, but caught the 2nd episode of the season. It will be interesting to see where this show goes this season.

I would agree that it felt a bit different than before, but I think it's just a couple episodes.

BTW...

Why, oh why, did they have the "has McGee lost his virginity" thread in last night's episode???

It was already established in an earlier season that he and Abby had "potentially" hooked up (we know he spent the night over at her place...or vice versa).

Even mature adults sometimes have good-natured ribbings of friends that spiral into the geek/virginity realm

Also, it's McGee, chances are he brought it on himself

Call me an NCIS fan-boy, but even bad episodes of NCIS (not that this was a bad ep at all) are still way better than some of the popular shows (like CSI).

This was a good episode all around, as it's always fun to see Gibbs getting harassed about "the ex-wives."

Ended with a really touching moment. Not many shows can make you actually care for characters like NCIS can. Poor Gibbs...

Gotta love Jenny.

"You can cut the charm, commander. Higher ranking, richer and definitely better-looking men have tried that on me and didn't get very far. Now I can't speak for you, but I did not get where I am because of my looks - so get your eyes off of me and put some on that ship."



Regards,

Joe

Another great NCIS episode. The stuff with Gibbs' past is good stuff.

A very good episode I thought. Only thing lacking was the cheesy, crappy effects at the end.

NO kidding. I saw the car effect and I was like "They couldn't push an old junker in the water?"

Also, the resolve that Gibbs miraculosly comes back to life was a bit thin. But, I didn't want to lose him.

There were probably environmental issues. Plus, they'd probably have to pull it back out. The CGI was probably cheaper with less hassle. At least it was not as bad as the end of Air Force One. Worst should-have-been-at-least-decent CGI ever.

Ken I'm always glad to find another who agrees with me about Air Force One. Still, for this day and age the CGI on TV lately has been pretty bad. I'm sure it has a lot to do with budgets and schedules (and maybe the writers' strike), but a practical effect seems feasible (unlike crashing Air Force One) and I'm surprised they went the CGI route.

Oh, come now. The writers' strike is turning into the global warming of the TV biz, it gets blamed for everything, no matter how far fetched. This episode would have been shot months ago and gone into post-production weeks ago. The strike started this past Monday. How the hell could that have affected the CGI?

You can't do film FX on a TV budget, or a TV schedule. Chances are they planned to do the car bit as a practical effect and then late in the process found out they couldn't for some reason - environmental impact, as suggested above, seems likely. At that point some kind of CGI would have been the only option and they did the best job they could with the time and money available.

Anyway, great episode, very affecting. And another great take-no-crap turn by Jenny.

Regards,

Joe

Well, it has been documented in various trade magazines and popular media for some time that the threat of the strike has been having quite an impact on all aspects of the industry including production schedules. Studios have been trying to cram in as much as possible. I'm not saying its the case here, but I don't think it is as far fetched as you do.

I also have a hard time buying the environmental impact angle (not that I would say it isn't possible). I mean... hey wouldn't just leave the car in the water. Did I still like the episode? Yes, I pretty much love this show, but when my wife starts laughing at the effects there is a problem. It takes you out of the story and the moment.

And I am not expecting "film quality" effects on tv budgets and schedules, but it is amazing what many of the small fx and production houses can do. For that matter, it is amazing what many of the students I have had in class can do.

Jenny was good in this episode. When she first came on the show, I did not like the addition, but it has been great in the long run and I have noticed recently that she's not bad to look at either.

The not-so-special effect didn't mar my viewing enjoyment too much. Yes, a bit noticeable, but I was more concerned that DiNozzo's "kissing" the boss would be in vain. The opening shot of Tony running and gunning was excellent.

I watched the ep in HD and I honestly didn't even notice anything.

I too enjoyed the opening scene with Tony running and dropping the two thugs. The "don't make me kiss you, Boss" line was great.

I don't think there is a show currently on TV that has characters to which I am more attached than NCIS...

I absolutely agree with that. The characters and their interplay is what makes this show great and one of our favorites.