Favourite Season One Episodes
In many fandoms there are one or two 'set' episodes, which will appear on virtually eveyone's favourites list. And I was wondering whether this is true in NCIS. Given the vast number of different pairings in NCIS (and the way the pairing interact, etc. does tend to be one reason a particular episode is a fandom favourite) I'm not certain whether there would be, across NCIS in general.
That notwithstanding, I thought that I'd see and do a season at a time. So behind the cut are my top three Season One favourites and a poll.
There are so many good episodes in this season, indeed I don't think there is one that I'd call a 'bad' episode. All of them have something special in them for Gibbs/Ducky in particular, looks, touches, exchanges, Gibbs's fond exasperation when he's trying to get information and Ducky is waffling away, etc. and other things in general. They are all a good balance of team work, good character interaction, humour, solid cases, interesting baddies, character growth, the way we learn more about the characters and the little things that are hinted, and so many other things. Ducky's stories are always a source of pleasure and fun, but I do find myself wondering just how many of them actually do have endings, or whether he relies on Gibbs to interrupt him, so that he doesn't have to make endings up.
However, with some difficultly I have picked top three. Actually, choosing Yankee White and Bête Noire were easy, it was picking the third the was more difficult. Two other close contenders were The Curse and My Other Left Foot, as both contained some wonderful Gibbs/Ducky moments.
Yankee White. For me, despite the double JAG episode, in which the NCIS team were introduced, this is really the opener. I love the various interactions between Gibbs and Ducky in this one, e.g at the airport, in fact the whole airport scene in great fun; on the plane when Gibbs is pretending to be Ducky's assistant and Ducky takes great advantage of it; in Autopsy when Ducky is trying to convince Gibbs to go home, and finally just switches the light off whilst Gibbs sleeps on one of his spare tables. The whole DiNozzo in the body bag getting dumped out of the car by the FBI, is so funny, and Kate's whole first meeting with NCIS and her reactions are really good. And Tom Morrow is a great NCIS Director in his support of his team and the way he handles the other Agency Directors.
Bête Noire. Because it's the most Ducky centric episode in Season One. Also, the story line is quite powerful on a number of levels, and it's interesting finding out the various bête noires of the team. I really like the conversation Abby has with herself, and how the team pulls together and works together. And Gibbs clear self-loathing at the end, when he realises that he'd been trapped into going for a body shot is quite chilling. We also get to hear just how good a shot Gibbs is, so much so he even impresses Ari - which is interesting. I find Ari's take on Ducky, the fact that he'd kill Ari if he could without hesitation, but that he'd regret doing so, a frightening correct one. We also see how Ducky 'knows' the type of person Ari is, far better than Kate does, by the way he tries to stop Kate from being foolish. An we see his own dedication to his friends and colleagues, the fact that he'd rather Ari shot him than Gerald. The concern for all team members by all team members showed just what a close knit group of people they are.
Enigma A very Gibbs centric episode, showing just how far he is prepared to go for people he respects and cares about. The whole 'dead man' interaction was really well done, I feel. Some good humour with the umbrella scene and the team scene when they end up running from the shack because Gibbs has seen a bomb and the way Kate and DiNozzo kept going on about his eyesight and then wham! Also more evidence of how well Ducky knows him, when he is able to tell Kate and DiNozzo that it isn't that Gibbs doesn't trust them, he just isn't prepared to risk their lives or careers.
Poll Favourite Season One Episode
That notwithstanding, I thought that I'd see and do a season at a time. So behind the cut are my top three Season One favourites and a poll.
There are so many good episodes in this season, indeed I don't think there is one that I'd call a 'bad' episode. All of them have something special in them for Gibbs/Ducky in particular, looks, touches, exchanges, Gibbs's fond exasperation when he's trying to get information and Ducky is waffling away, etc. and other things in general. They are all a good balance of team work, good character interaction, humour, solid cases, interesting baddies, character growth, the way we learn more about the characters and the little things that are hinted, and so many other things. Ducky's stories are always a source of pleasure and fun, but I do find myself wondering just how many of them actually do have endings, or whether he relies on Gibbs to interrupt him, so that he doesn't have to make endings up.
However, with some difficultly I have picked top three. Actually, choosing Yankee White and Bête Noire were easy, it was picking the third the was more difficult. Two other close contenders were The Curse and My Other Left Foot, as both contained some wonderful Gibbs/Ducky moments.
Yankee White. For me, despite the double JAG episode, in which the NCIS team were introduced, this is really the opener. I love the various interactions between Gibbs and Ducky in this one, e.g at the airport, in fact the whole airport scene in great fun; on the plane when Gibbs is pretending to be Ducky's assistant and Ducky takes great advantage of it; in Autopsy when Ducky is trying to convince Gibbs to go home, and finally just switches the light off whilst Gibbs sleeps on one of his spare tables. The whole DiNozzo in the body bag getting dumped out of the car by the FBI, is so funny, and Kate's whole first meeting with NCIS and her reactions are really good. And Tom Morrow is a great NCIS Director in his support of his team and the way he handles the other Agency Directors.
Bête Noire. Because it's the most Ducky centric episode in Season One. Also, the story line is quite powerful on a number of levels, and it's interesting finding out the various bête noires of the team. I really like the conversation Abby has with herself, and how the team pulls together and works together. And Gibbs clear self-loathing at the end, when he realises that he'd been trapped into going for a body shot is quite chilling. We also get to hear just how good a shot Gibbs is, so much so he even impresses Ari - which is interesting. I find Ari's take on Ducky, the fact that he'd kill Ari if he could without hesitation, but that he'd regret doing so, a frightening correct one. We also see how Ducky 'knows' the type of person Ari is, far better than Kate does, by the way he tries to stop Kate from being foolish. An we see his own dedication to his friends and colleagues, the fact that he'd rather Ari shot him than Gerald. The concern for all team members by all team members showed just what a close knit group of people they are.
Enigma A very Gibbs centric episode, showing just how far he is prepared to go for people he respects and cares about. The whole 'dead man' interaction was really well done, I feel. Some good humour with the umbrella scene and the team scene when they end up running from the shack because Gibbs has seen a bomb and the way Kate and DiNozzo kept going on about his eyesight and then wham! Also more evidence of how well Ducky knows him, when he is able to tell Kate and DiNozzo that it isn't that Gibbs doesn't trust them, he just isn't prepared to risk their lives or careers.
Poll Favourite Season One Episode