NCIS - random coments on 07.01 - no-fic
Don't know if I'll do this every week, but these are just a few of my ramblings on the season premiere.
Warning.
I don't particularly like Ziva, and I loathe the thought of TIVA.
If you're a fan of a Tony/Ziva pairing, then please, step away from this review, or enter at your own risk.
0701 - Truth or consequences
So what did I know before watching the ep? I knew that we’d get whumped!Tony tied to a chair - the same chair Ziva had been in. I knew we’d get Tony & McGee interacting and interviewing a potential Ziva replacement (and boy was I hoping that they’d find one and forget all about her)
And I knew that everybody was promoting this as being “OMG, you cannot possibly miss this!!!”
I was *hoping* that this would not be a TIVA hearts and flowers forever episode, and that if Ziva *had* to be brought back, that it wouldn’t be a case of everybody worshiping at her feet and Tony apologizing for being so uncouth as to you know, shoot her boyfriend. Did I get lucky? Let’s watch and see.
‘Previously on NCIS’
Ziva sees the aftermath of the apartment fight, Ziva assaults Tony and pulls a gun on him, Ziva tells Gibbs to choose between them and gets left behind (yay!), Tony tells the team (and Jimmy, yay!) that Ziva’s not coming back, Ziva is interrogated.
(sidebar - given that Ziva sees torture as a valid method of interrogation, I wonder if she’ll feel quite the same way having been on the receiving end?)
Teaser. Back where we left off, but OMG, it’s Tony in the chair, WTF???? (and looking deliciously scruffy if I might just dip in the shallow end of the pool for a moment!”
Now I can understand them wanting to promote the hell out of the show, but a big reveal like that should really have been kept hidden, IMO.
Opening credits. I have to say that I’m a little bit disappointed that they’re pretty much exactly the same as last year. I know it’s probably a budgetary issue, but I remember being a kid and the new season of say Magnum P.I. would air, and I’d be scanning the credits to see what clips they’d use and whether my old favourites would be there or gone, and what ones they’d tease us with from the new season. And in the days before VCR’s and DVD box sets, sometimes it was the only chance you’d get to see a clip or scene more than once.
But I digress.
Back to the show.
Truth serum? As if Tony ever needed an excuse to run off at the mouth. Bad guy had better be careful exactly what he asks, otherwise Tony could start running through his entire dating history and they’ll be begging for him to stop!
May
So, by May, Tony is fully healed and ready for action? Oh come on. I know it’s been a long four months, but are we supposed to have forgotten that his arm was broken?
June
“If I had a thing I would show it off all the time”
“There are rules against that DiNozzo”
Oh come on, how do they expect me to keep my mind out of the gutter with comments like that!
Claire “It was difficult for the other person to control their emotions in the workplace” So one of the parties left.
Hmm, I wonder what other person we know wasn’t able to control their emotions in the field and they weren’t even in a relationship with the other party. Is this TPTB’s subtle way of hinting that TIVA is dead in the water (oh do let it be so!)
“Strike one” Aww, I liked her. :-(
“Ziva David is dead” Yayyy!!!!! If I were the unspoiled type, this is when I’d be doing a happy dance around the room. Only of course to come to a crashing disappointment when it was revealed to not be true.
“You are feeling…an impulse to talk without censor” (snicker) He doesn’t need a truth drug for *that*!!!
July
“Hitting a lot of dead ends”
“We’ve been one short”
Oh come on. Tony and Gibbs were doing fine as a two-man team in Yankee White. Tony, Kate and Gibbs managed fine for a whole season before McGee joined. I would have never thought Gibbs one to make excuses for his shortcomings. Okay, I get it, it’s all so that Ziva can be welcomed back with open arms, puke.
So it’s July and it’s two months since they left Ziva behind. Which means that Tony was tackling big guys who were high on meth, when he was only a week or so past having his arm broken?
Unless.
This is all Tony’s story while under the influence of a truth drug. The drug loosens the tongue, but who’s to say that what’s being said is accurate. I suppose the ‘May’ scene could be just Tony’s version of what happened. In reality maybe it was McGee who tackled the guy while Tony had to hang back due to his injury, but he’s telling it his way, so he’s the (almost) hero.
Which basically means that anything Tony says to the interrogator has to be taken with a hell of a large pinch of salt.
Chick in the ‘observation room’ with Tony. Do not want.
So once again Tony is being kept out of the loop. I suppose at least this time he knows there’s a loop he’s not allowed in.
Typical. Two options for the replacement post, naturally it’s the one I don’t like that they pick.
I wonder, if when Ziva was sent back to Israel last season whether they had any contact with her then? I don’t remember it being brought up. So why should now be different?
Eeeep!!! McGee! That I did *not* see coming!
(but on the plus side, yay that it wasn’t just Tony ‘dashing to the rescue’)
August
“Oh that’s it, I’m done” Don’t let the door hit you on the way out hon.
Heather Kincaid. Meh, could go either way.
I do love the way Tony and Gibbs are in sync during the interrogation!
“After that business as usual lost all meaning” Again, I call fake. Yes, I agree that Tony would be upset by Ziva’s death. Even her apparent death. But again, this is all for Saleem’s benefit. And it’s all Tony’s POV.
I suppose it’s somewhat better that this wasn’t just a Tony rides to the rescue mission. NCIS is involved in tracking terrorists, and they’ve worked outside of the USA before.
And I don’t get it that they’re so quick to believe the ship was lost. Hello, this is a ship running supplies to a terrorist camp. Best way to stop it being tracked, tell people it’s sunk. Then fit it out with a new name and new papers.
Hah, I love that Tony is still his usual mouthy self, even when a prisoner.
“You awake McGee?” and see? Tony may be affected by the drug, but he’s still in control. Which means that everything he’s telling Saleem is part of the story, the distraction. Nothing he says can be taken at face value unless it’s backed up.
Tony’s reaction to seeing Ziva. Not exactly “OMG, I thought you were dead!”
Ziva “Out of everyone in the world who could have found me, it had to be you”
Tony “You’re welcome” Yeah, knew he wasn’t going to get a thank you.
Tony “So, are you glad to see me?”
Ziva “You should not have come” Yeah, I’ve been saying that all along.
Ziva “Why are you here?”
Tony “Couldn’t live without you I guess” (somebody pass me the sick bucket, so I can puke and then throw it at the TIVA’s who are probably rolling around in ecstasy because they think they’re getting their happy little ship)
Ziva “I did not ask for anyone to put themselves in harms way for me” Oh cry me a river. Ziva honey, it is not all about you. NCIS may have gone after Saleem out of revenge, but guess what honey, Vance would never have okayed the mission if he hadn’t thought it was a valid one and well within the remit of NCIS. Saving Ziva is just going to be an unfortunate side-effect. Collateral damage if you like.
Ziva “*you* have an escape plan?” Yet again Ziva is underestimating Tony.
Okay, I have…mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, this *was* Tony’s and MW’s episode. He was in pretty near every scene and he made it his own. Kudos to the man and the character.
On the other hand, Ziva is alive and back, if not exactly undamaged. Four months in the hands of the terrorists…I only wish they’d give her four months in therapy to recover or find some other excuse to keep her away, because personally I think the team would work just fine without her.
I know that I shall be supremely pissed if next weeks ep sees her back on the team without any sort of repercussions and/or follow up from what happened between her and Tony over Rivkin. Maybe we’re supposed to feel “Oh poor Ziva, she’s been captured and tortured and had a horrible time, lets just forget about all the crap she’s pulled” Maybe we’re supposed to expect Tony to let bygones be bygones and act like nothing has happened. Personally I shall feel somewhat cheated if we don’t get some sort of on-screen acknowledgment from Ziva that her behaviour, both professionally and personally was completely out of line.
But then, this is the character who followed Tony into the men’s room, got in his face and completely overstepped his boundaries, and then had the nerve to insist that *he* apologize to her for an offhand remark.
I’d like to think that TPTB have learned their lesson, but I’m not exactly holding my breath.
That said, up to the point where Ziva reappeared on screen, it was a pretty damn good episode. Hopefully the rest of the season won’t be as big a let down as the last act.
Warning.
I don't particularly like Ziva, and I loathe the thought of TIVA.
If you're a fan of a Tony/Ziva pairing, then please, step away from this review, or enter at your own risk.
0701 - Truth or consequences
So what did I know before watching the ep? I knew that we’d get whumped!Tony tied to a chair - the same chair Ziva had been in. I knew we’d get Tony & McGee interacting and interviewing a potential Ziva replacement (and boy was I hoping that they’d find one and forget all about her)
And I knew that everybody was promoting this as being “OMG, you cannot possibly miss this!!!”
I was *hoping* that this would not be a TIVA hearts and flowers forever episode, and that if Ziva *had* to be brought back, that it wouldn’t be a case of everybody worshiping at her feet and Tony apologizing for being so uncouth as to you know, shoot her boyfriend. Did I get lucky? Let’s watch and see.
‘Previously on NCIS’
Ziva sees the aftermath of the apartment fight, Ziva assaults Tony and pulls a gun on him, Ziva tells Gibbs to choose between them and gets left behind (yay!), Tony tells the team (and Jimmy, yay!) that Ziva’s not coming back, Ziva is interrogated.
(sidebar - given that Ziva sees torture as a valid method of interrogation, I wonder if she’ll feel quite the same way having been on the receiving end?)
Teaser. Back where we left off, but OMG, it’s Tony in the chair, WTF???? (and looking deliciously scruffy if I might just dip in the shallow end of the pool for a moment!”
Now I can understand them wanting to promote the hell out of the show, but a big reveal like that should really have been kept hidden, IMO.
Opening credits. I have to say that I’m a little bit disappointed that they’re pretty much exactly the same as last year. I know it’s probably a budgetary issue, but I remember being a kid and the new season of say Magnum P.I. would air, and I’d be scanning the credits to see what clips they’d use and whether my old favourites would be there or gone, and what ones they’d tease us with from the new season. And in the days before VCR’s and DVD box sets, sometimes it was the only chance you’d get to see a clip or scene more than once.
But I digress.
Back to the show.
Truth serum? As if Tony ever needed an excuse to run off at the mouth. Bad guy had better be careful exactly what he asks, otherwise Tony could start running through his entire dating history and they’ll be begging for him to stop!
May
So, by May, Tony is fully healed and ready for action? Oh come on. I know it’s been a long four months, but are we supposed to have forgotten that his arm was broken?
June
“If I had a thing I would show it off all the time”
“There are rules against that DiNozzo”
Oh come on, how do they expect me to keep my mind out of the gutter with comments like that!
Claire “It was difficult for the other person to control their emotions in the workplace” So one of the parties left.
Hmm, I wonder what other person we know wasn’t able to control their emotions in the field and they weren’t even in a relationship with the other party. Is this TPTB’s subtle way of hinting that TIVA is dead in the water (oh do let it be so!)
“Strike one” Aww, I liked her. :-(
“Ziva David is dead” Yayyy!!!!! If I were the unspoiled type, this is when I’d be doing a happy dance around the room. Only of course to come to a crashing disappointment when it was revealed to not be true.
“You are feeling…an impulse to talk without censor” (snicker) He doesn’t need a truth drug for *that*!!!
July
“Hitting a lot of dead ends”
“We’ve been one short”
Oh come on. Tony and Gibbs were doing fine as a two-man team in Yankee White. Tony, Kate and Gibbs managed fine for a whole season before McGee joined. I would have never thought Gibbs one to make excuses for his shortcomings. Okay, I get it, it’s all so that Ziva can be welcomed back with open arms, puke.
So it’s July and it’s two months since they left Ziva behind. Which means that Tony was tackling big guys who were high on meth, when he was only a week or so past having his arm broken?
Unless.
This is all Tony’s story while under the influence of a truth drug. The drug loosens the tongue, but who’s to say that what’s being said is accurate. I suppose the ‘May’ scene could be just Tony’s version of what happened. In reality maybe it was McGee who tackled the guy while Tony had to hang back due to his injury, but he’s telling it his way, so he’s the (almost) hero.
Which basically means that anything Tony says to the interrogator has to be taken with a hell of a large pinch of salt.
Chick in the ‘observation room’ with Tony. Do not want.
So once again Tony is being kept out of the loop. I suppose at least this time he knows there’s a loop he’s not allowed in.
Typical. Two options for the replacement post, naturally it’s the one I don’t like that they pick.
I wonder, if when Ziva was sent back to Israel last season whether they had any contact with her then? I don’t remember it being brought up. So why should now be different?
Eeeep!!! McGee! That I did *not* see coming!
(but on the plus side, yay that it wasn’t just Tony ‘dashing to the rescue’)
August
“Oh that’s it, I’m done” Don’t let the door hit you on the way out hon.
Heather Kincaid. Meh, could go either way.
I do love the way Tony and Gibbs are in sync during the interrogation!
“After that business as usual lost all meaning” Again, I call fake. Yes, I agree that Tony would be upset by Ziva’s death. Even her apparent death. But again, this is all for Saleem’s benefit. And it’s all Tony’s POV.
I suppose it’s somewhat better that this wasn’t just a Tony rides to the rescue mission. NCIS is involved in tracking terrorists, and they’ve worked outside of the USA before.
And I don’t get it that they’re so quick to believe the ship was lost. Hello, this is a ship running supplies to a terrorist camp. Best way to stop it being tracked, tell people it’s sunk. Then fit it out with a new name and new papers.
Hah, I love that Tony is still his usual mouthy self, even when a prisoner.
“You awake McGee?” and see? Tony may be affected by the drug, but he’s still in control. Which means that everything he’s telling Saleem is part of the story, the distraction. Nothing he says can be taken at face value unless it’s backed up.
Tony’s reaction to seeing Ziva. Not exactly “OMG, I thought you were dead!”
Ziva “Out of everyone in the world who could have found me, it had to be you”
Tony “You’re welcome” Yeah, knew he wasn’t going to get a thank you.
Tony “So, are you glad to see me?”
Ziva “You should not have come” Yeah, I’ve been saying that all along.
Ziva “Why are you here?”
Tony “Couldn’t live without you I guess” (somebody pass me the sick bucket, so I can puke and then throw it at the TIVA’s who are probably rolling around in ecstasy because they think they’re getting their happy little ship)
Ziva “I did not ask for anyone to put themselves in harms way for me” Oh cry me a river. Ziva honey, it is not all about you. NCIS may have gone after Saleem out of revenge, but guess what honey, Vance would never have okayed the mission if he hadn’t thought it was a valid one and well within the remit of NCIS. Saving Ziva is just going to be an unfortunate side-effect. Collateral damage if you like.
Ziva “*you* have an escape plan?” Yet again Ziva is underestimating Tony.
Okay, I have…mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, this *was* Tony’s and MW’s episode. He was in pretty near every scene and he made it his own. Kudos to the man and the character.
On the other hand, Ziva is alive and back, if not exactly undamaged. Four months in the hands of the terrorists…I only wish they’d give her four months in therapy to recover or find some other excuse to keep her away, because personally I think the team would work just fine without her.
I know that I shall be supremely pissed if next weeks ep sees her back on the team without any sort of repercussions and/or follow up from what happened between her and Tony over Rivkin. Maybe we’re supposed to feel “Oh poor Ziva, she’s been captured and tortured and had a horrible time, lets just forget about all the crap she’s pulled” Maybe we’re supposed to expect Tony to let bygones be bygones and act like nothing has happened. Personally I shall feel somewhat cheated if we don’t get some sort of on-screen acknowledgment from Ziva that her behaviour, both professionally and personally was completely out of line.
But then, this is the character who followed Tony into the men’s room, got in his face and completely overstepped his boundaries, and then had the nerve to insist that *he* apologize to her for an offhand remark.
I’d like to think that TPTB have learned their lesson, but I’m not exactly holding my breath.
That said, up to the point where Ziva reappeared on screen, it was a pretty damn good episode. Hopefully the rest of the season won’t be as big a let down as the last act.