Michael Weatherly is set to direct the March 1 episode of NCIS.

"One Last Score" marks the 179th episode of the hit procedural, now in its eighth year on CBS, but the very first that a member of the NCIS cast has stepped in to direct.

"Believe me, I knocked on the door a long time," Weatherly says. "Mark Harmon always says nobody here wants anybody else's job. Here I am, trying to do somebody else's job."

As a first-time director, Weatherly says his biggest challenge came as an actor. "By the end of this episode, I felt DiNozzo had significantly altered," he tells TV Guide.

"He awakens from a four-year sleep. I was glad to see him back! In this episode and the next, he's in a Sean Connery place - pretty deadly serious with a twinkle in his eye."

That may be provided by former Brothers & Sisters star Sarah Jane Morris.

The actress debuts as a new NCIS agent and a potential love interest for Tony that week. Will she, and Michael's directorial role, show us a different side to DiNozzo - who briefly morphed into a straight-laced go-getter last fall in "False Witness"?

"As the director, I had certain powers," he says, "and I hope the audience is pleased."

We have a hunch they will be.

Steve Marsi is the Managing Editor of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Google+ or email him here.