Television Critique 2016 - 05/17/2016: NCIS Season 13 - Tony Dinozzo Says Goodbye
Continuing with the critiques I started in 2015, here is the next in series - a TV Show review.
Prologue: Go here.
Stars: 5 / 5
Recommendation: Absolutely if you are a fan of Armed Forces and solving crimes. This is a packaged deal that gives you best of both worlds.
NCIS is an American TV Crime series based off of a fictional team of special agents working for Naval Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) investigating crimes involving U.S. Navy and Marine Corps from Washington, D.C. location. The show originally introduced as a 2-part episode (Ice Queen and Meltdown) in the then popular series JAG (Judge Adovate General. More on the show here - on Season 8 in Apr of 2003.) Then the spin-off as a series of its own aired first on CBS in September of 2003. The show went on to become a hit series, currently ranking as the second longest longest-running scripted, non-animated U.S. primetime TV series currently airing, surpassed only by Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999-present) per Wiki. It also has created two spin-offs: NCIS - Los Angeles and NCIS - New Orleans with two new teams of their own although cross-over episodes have certainly been shown.
I am not sure if it was a popular show when it aired in 2003, but the first time I saw the show was sometime in 2008 - their reruns actually. It’s surprising that I missed watching NCIS since I used to follow JAG so diligently back then. Anyways, although it did not capture me immediately, on and off I had watched a few episodes of the reruns of Season 1 and Season 2. And had actually stopped watching it after I saw an episode titled "Twilight" where one of the lead agent Caitlin Todd (portrayed by Sasha Alexander) is shot and killed ending her role with the series abruptly. The way she was killed caused a twist in my heart that I couldn’t shake it off nor the creeping crawlers behind my back. One minute she was standing between Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs (portrayed by Mark Harmon) and Special Agent Anthony Dinozzo (portrayed by Michael Weatherly) and next minute she is shot in the head with a sniper rifle held by Ari Haswari (portrayed by Rudolf Martin) - a rogue Mossad agent. That moment struck me how short a life can be, just a flame of the candle. It disturbed me a lot to continue the series.
However a few months later I saw the newer episodes of Season 3 which is when I fell in love completely with the series and its characters - especially with Tony Dinozzo and Ziva David (portrayed by Cote de Pablo.) The chemistry between Tony and Ziva was the key attraction apart from the other casts as well. A few of them are:
Pauley Perrette as Abby Sciuto; a forensic specialist assigned to NCIS.
David McCallum as Donald "Ducky" Mallard; NCIS' Chief Medical Examiner.
Lauren Holly as Jenny Shepard; the Director of NCIS (seasons 3-5; guest seasons 8, 9, 12).
Rocky Carroll as Leon Vance; the Director of NCIS (seasons 6-; recurring: season 5)
Brian Dietzen as Jimmy Palmer; NCIS' Assistant Medical Examiner (seasons 10-; recurring: seasons 1-5; also starring: seasons 6-9).
Emily Wickersham as Eleanor Bishop; an NCIS Special Agent and a former NSA Analyst (seasons 11-).
It has been a constant on my DVR list to be recorded and watched - some episodes more than once. Again in Season 10, two episodes Shabbat Shalom and Shiva, tore my heart apart for Ziva, Tony and everyone. The loss Ziva faces is shown so effectively that it hurts your heart and brings tears to your eyes. I was expecting that the character Ziva would exit the show soon, however I was content to see her continue on the series. And was secretly hoping for Tony and Ziva's chemistry to go further than what was shown. But Ziva does resign NCIS after the episode "Past, Present, and Future" in Season 12 . Removal of her role left me with apprehension if I should continue to watch the show or not. However the show survived and still stayed on top - both on TV as well as on my list. And I continued watching because of Tony and Gibbs mostly. Lives of the characters Gibbs, Tony and Ziva was what attracted me so much to the show not discounting others though.
Just as the series was settling in with new cast members and getting over the hole created by Ziva, another shocking news is thrust into the eyes of the viewers. At the end of Season 13, we see Tony Dinozzo leaving NCIS thus ending the stint of Michael Weatherly who was one of the longest member on the show. The other two roles that were constant were of Gibbs (portrayed by Mark Harmon) and Special Agent Timothy McGee (portrayed by Sean Murray.) Tony has been in every episode and every case. So someone to come in and fill-in his shoes will not be an easy job for the show makers as well as the NCIS team on the show. It was really sad to see this character gone.
Click to viewLosing Ziva was a huge hole, but losing Tony would be a huge black hole for NCIS series. I am curious to see how they will shape Season 14 and who will fill the shoes of Tony. I would have loved to see Tony and Ziva get united - which they get - in more ways than what was shown. But, it is a fitting ending considering what had gone through for Ziva. And it still remains for me the most sweetest ending for any role in any show as such I have seen. Even though it left me with chills and goosebumps, haunting in mind even now.
I will reserve my judgment on whether I would continue watching it or give it quits until Season 14 starts airing. Till then I will enjoy the reruns of my favorite episodes of my favorite serial as much as I can. If you havent yet watched the show, I would say this is one show you don’t want to miss. Give it a try and hopefully you will love it as much as I love.
Spoiler Alerts:
1) Michael Weatherly will be starring as Dr. Jason Bull in the new TV series Bull based off of the early days of talk show host Phil McGraw AKA Dr. Phil. The series is set to premiere September 20, 2016. Looking forward to see the new face of Tony Dinozzo ahem…Michael Weatherly.