NCIS P2P Theory
Okay, even though I'm, at best, a casual viewer of NCIS these days - the Weatherly directed ep (which I, unlike most everyone else online, did not think was the best thing since sliced bread) was the last one I watched in its entirety without fast-forwarding through much of it or just not paying attention, and that makes it only the second or third
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Before I comment on them, let me just say that you are not the only on-line person who thought MW's directing was wonderful. I didn't and with the exception of one person who commented on my review of the episode no one else liked it too - and that included at least one hard core DiNozzo fan.
I didn't actually dislike it - there was a lot of potential in there, but he focused too much on his own character and tried to be too smart by half. What I've discovered is that if an actor is directing a show he's on, it is always better if he minimizes his character's role - the episode of Supernatural that Jensen Ackles directed is a perfect example of that: Dean was barely in it as it focused entirely on Bobby, and it was a fantastic ep because Ackles wasn't playing Dean as fanfic!awesome!cool ... which is unfortunately what Weatherly did with DiNozzo.
I dislike EJ thoroughly, but oddly enough I don't think she's a baddie
I don't think so either; I just think she's not as competent as she thinks she is and, as a result, things are going to blow up in her face. But that might just be me wanting her gone now.
for once I'm going against Gibbs and his gut
I think that's a mistake since the show utterly refuses to show him as wrong. Ever. Even when he couldn't possibly be more wrong. While I definitely would like to see him be utterly wrong, I don't want it to be with EJ whom I loath.
More and more, though, I'm realizing just how much I don't like modern NCIS. God help me, I miss season 4 and that ridiculous Frog storyline. :(
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I, and others, thought it was very poorly directed, all the whizzing cameras, etc. But yes, it also had far too much Tony in it - I know a lot of Tony-fen were surprised by how much he was in it and it was, IMO, a big mistake.
It is a mistake to show that Gibbs is never wrong. This is the prime opportunity to make him thus, but I doubt they'll go that route.
I miss the old-school, S1&2 were for me the best seasons. I'd love them to go back to that style, i.e. when we didn't have to search around to find the naval connection and they spent time on ships and subs and there was little focus on the personal angst. Having said that I've preferred this season to some.
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Its a recent invention, I think. Season 6 and on. Prior to that, he occasionally did make mistakes - the whole of Kill Ari was centered around him screwing up, after all. Modern NCIS, though, has turned the characters in caricatures in that regard - Gibbs is never wrong (even when he is), Tony is never right (except when dramatically appropriate), and so on.
I miss the old-school, S1&2 were for me the best seasons.
Interesting. Season 2 is actually pretty low on the list for me, above season 6 but below most of the rest. To me, season 3 was the best, mostly because season 2 really turned me off of Kate - her interactions with Tony seemed more below the belt than necessary, and for a former USSS agent, she lost her gun a lot - and season 3 intro'ed Ziva, who quickly became my favorite character. Ridiculous Frog plot aside, I also really liked season 4 because of the character dynamics - I was really able to believe they were all friends at that point, something that's difficult to do from s6 and on when their interactions are sometimes really freaking mean. This is actually the first season that I haven't bothered watching all the way through or even live because I've become so disgruntled with how the show's progressed - for example, Tony used to be one of my favorite characters and now I can barely stand him.
Different strokes, I guess.
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Really? Golly, that's interesting. For me S3 always has been my least favourite. It was when everything changed - and I'm not just talking characters. I wasn't a huge Kate fan, I liked her, but I wasn't a huge fan. I admit I didn't take to Ziva or Jenny straight away, but that wouldn't have mattered had not everything else changed. The types of case, the dynamics, the feel, everything. S1 and S2, to me, showed they were all close friends and cared a great deal. Tony has never been my favourite character. I did dislike him in the early days, but now like him, but of the main characters he is my least favourite.
For me the seasons, in order are: 2, 1, 5, (8) 6, 4, 7, 3. Eight still has to have its final place, depending on what they pull out of the bag in the final two eps.
Oh, indeed, very much so.
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Well, remember, season 2 wasn't my favorite at all. I'm very much a Ziva fan, and I really liked her in the beginning, when she was wild and aggressive and able to go toe to toe with Tony without kicking him below the belt (ala Kate, although the ending of "Boxed In" still pissed me off at all of the characters.) And I initially liked Jenny - it wasn't until season 4 when she started to go off the deep end, and then 5 when she was insane.
of the main characters he is my least favourite.
That's how I am now which is freaky. Up until ... hmm ... season 6, Tony was probably tied with Ziva as my favorite character, but the way he was written through most of s6, and then in s7 (excepting the awesome 7x01), and then into early s8, he just nose-dived for me to the point that I grit my teeth when he comes on and its a bullpen scene.
For me the seasons, in order are: 3, 4, 5, 1, 2, 7, 6. Can't classify 8 because I've really not been watching it much or frankly enjoying what I have watched. If it goes anywhere, it'd go near the end. So far, it hasn't made me angry like season 6 did but I truly haven't seen a single ep this year that I think "I must watch that one again!"
Alas. :(
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It must be quite hard (maybe not quite the word) to go from a character being your favourite to being your least favourite. Although you're not alone in that. There are other Tony fen who say they can barely stand to watch him now, people who ranked him as their favourite or second favourite before.
We have S5 in the same place *g*
It's a great shame that you haven't seen an ep this year that's made you want to watch it again. A good friend of mine finally stopped watching this season. She liked the first few eps, but then it fell apart for her.
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Oh, it is. It really hampers any enjoyment I get out of the show, especially when I read Weatherly's interviews and realize that his take on Tony is frankly 180° from mine. When the actor wants to go left (and the showrunners are okay with that) and I want them to go right ... well, that's a recipe for me changing the channel completely IMO.
A good friend of mine finally stopped watching this season. She liked the first few eps, but then it fell apart for her.
Interestingly enough, it was the first few eps of this season that set the tone of "I'm going to hate this season, aren't I?" For example, I utterly hated "Spider and the Fly" - turned it off pretty early on, actually - and it took weeks for me to get around to watching the whole thing in its entirety. I thought the Mossad episodes frankly stunk, and so on. I know I said last year that I was checking out entirely of the show, but (like a crackhead), I just had to come back a little bit this year. I'm going to be like your friend next year though as its clear the direction that the show is going in is not where I want it to go...
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I can understand that fully. I've had it happen to me.
I know MW loves playing Tony the way he does and found it very hard to play him in S4, so I guess there won't be any change. And I personally wouldn't want a total change, because he wouldn't be Tony, but where can be go as he is?
Interestingly enough, it was the first few eps of this season that set the tone of "I'm going to hate this season, aren't I?"
Now that is very interesting. I was not looking forward to 'Spider And The Fly' but really enjoyed it. I'm sorry to hear the show has gone so totally in a direction you don't want it to go and you are going to walk away from it.
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Which says it all, because I thought Tony was awesome in season 4. Funny but not ridiculous. Competent at the same time. Caring about his teammates. Conflicted. Etc. Its when he goes into total goofball mode that I want to smack him upside the head with a shovel ... yet inexplicably, MW seems to like playing him that way.
I was not looking forward to 'Spider And The Fly' but really enjoyed it.
The minute they had Ziva enter the bullpen and then set the foundations for the Ray subplot, I threw up my hands in abject disgust. And then, they didn't even bother having Ziva look askance at Gibbs for setting up one sibling to murder the other one. Not to mention, once again, Gibbs got off scot-free, without having to face a single repercussion for his actions.
Ah well. There comes a time when all things end, right? :(
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Interestingly I had no problems at all with the way Gibbs dealt with matters in 'Spider and the Fly', they didn't seem problematic to me - after all the guy had gone to kill Gibbs, et al. I do have problems with some of the things he does, but in this case, I didn't.
Sadly, I think they do :-(
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Its less that Gibbs did what he did - I'll be the first to say he was justified in taking out their dad, even if it technically wasn't the "right" thing to do - and more that Ziva didn't even blink an eye that Gibbs just set up a sibling to kill the other ... exactly like she was basically set up to kill Ari. It should have given her at least a moment of pause, you know? Ari said that Gibbs reminded him of Eli, and in this action, he should have reminded Ziva of Eli as well.
Plus? I'm really kind of tired that Gibbs never faces blowback from his less than legal actions. The mother-in-law episode totally frosted me because it painted him as a major hypocrite - evidently, you can get away with murder if you're related to Gibbs in some fashion. So yeah, I wanted to see the whole thing blow up in Gibbs' face. I wanted to see him spend all season trying to earn his team's respect back instead of them just drinking the kool-aid and pretending that he's not a hypocrite.
Alas. That's just too much to ask for. :(
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You are right about Ziva, I hadn't noticed that, but yes, she should have shown some reaction to it.
Oh, I agree, Gibbs should face some kind of blowback for what he does. There are times I believe he's justified in what he does, even if his methods are a tad dubious, but other times he should pay the price. Which is one reason I would actually like to see him wrong over the P2P killer this time, just to show he can be - even though that does mean making EJ right *wry grin*
Alas, I fear you are correct :-(
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