NCIS
Recaps

NCIS tried something in last night's episode, "Power Down," that might sound hokey if you're just reading it here, or have never seen the show. But the entertaining characters, sharp dialogue and lightning-quick plot development somehow make it work.

A city-wide blackout.

It was a new wrinkle that made the episode from beginning to end, and instead of coming off like a lame stunt because the writers ran out of ideas, the power outage was the opposite, seamlessly integrated into the case and the agents trying to crack it.

After D.C. was plunged into darkness for a matter of days, Gibbs and his crew attempted to investigate an apparent cyber-attack-turned-murder without the usual bells and whistles.

Older viewers, especially those with law enforcement backgrounds, may remember these days well. But for a younger audience, it begged the question: How do forensic experts, medical examiners and investigators do their jobs in this situation?

Literally working in the dark, the gang scrambled to cope with their lack of technology. Except for Gibbs, a man of few words, and certainly one unmoved by his agents' plight. There's nothing he can't handle, old school style, as he later proved.

McGee was a fish out of water without his computer - but he came through.

McGee, the ultimate computer geek, suffered paper cuts (and obligatory ribbing from Tony) sifting through files by hand. Tony made references to old cop shows. Abby proved her resourcefulness (despite a lack of Caf-Pow) and Ducky ... well, Ducky had power.

The basement had generators. Bodies, after all. Could get ugly.

One of the funnier moments of the night came when he revealed he let the staff "use 107" as a fridge with the power out upstairs. Gibbs, in typical fashion, stared in disbelief.

As they investigated the breakin at a local Internet provider, Gibbs (Polaroid in hand) figured out one of the servers had been switched out, and the case was not as it seemed.

A Naval officer who was killed on site at first seemed to be complicit in the breakin and the subsequent security breach. But it turned out she was working undercover throughout.

She made sure her death would be investigated and the true perpetrators outed. While the final 15 minutes unfolded almost too quickly, it was a terrific hour of television.

Even makes us wish they'd keep the power out one more week.

For a quote-unquote procedural military crime drama, NCIS has some pretty awesome characters. This was our lasting impression from last night's terrific episode, "Endgame."

Case in point: Leon Vance.

The NCIS director may not strike you as particularly interesting at first glance, but the back story and family components we were introduced to last night left us wanting more.

Vance and his weird connection to North Korean sniper Kai, who killed his partner in 1992, fueled the episode, which ended with the two facing off, guns drawn, at his house.

Despite dreaming of taking her out for 17 years, he couldn't do it following Gibbs' revelation that Kai was merely out to punish the North Koreans who made her what she is.

Kai was basically on a suicide mission, and after killing two men in the U.S. responsible for her assassin training (thus sparking the NCIS investigation), she came to Vance.

She needed closure based on their connection, and Vance's effort to avenge his partner. But it was his wife Jackie who unexpectedly iced her during the dramatic standoff.

Jackie was awesome, and not just because of that shot. The way she refused to back down from the threat posed by Kai throughout the episode told us a lot about Vance.

Rocky Carroll was terrific last night as NCIS director Leon Vance.

Sean Murray also shined last night as "Probie" Tim McGee, whose burgeoning romance with coffee shop girl Amanda served as both a sweet sub plot, and later, a surprising twist.

There couldn't have been a viewer out there who wasn't happy for cute-but-awkward Tim for getting this adorable redhead, and if you saw her as a spy coming, we're impressed.

Everyone was happy for McGee, especially Abby (who even managed to sneak in her own feelings for an NCIS: Los Angeles guy, plugging the upcoming Pauley Perrette crossover).

Even Tony and Ziva were thrilled for Tim ... or as thrilled as Tony can be without sounding jealous, annoying and condescending. But that's just Tony being Tony, and we love him.

But despite being smitten, Tim was sharp enough to pick up on something suspicious. Amanda visited him at work at night to say hi. But he never actually said he worked at NCIS.

McGee was getting played. When he brought this up, Amanda revealed herself to be a South African assassin working to hunt down Kai on behalf of the North Korean government.

Of course, Kai gunned her down, and spared a shocked McGee, as soon as you could say "What the ..." Poor Probie. Things were going so well for him. Great setup by the writers.

One last highlight: Tony and Ziva in the bathroom, Take II. Smart-aleck DiNozzo was in rare form last night, even for him, and his restroom razzing of her was the coup de gras.

Last night's cleverly-titled and well-directed episode of NCIS featured the return of Mike Franks, Gibbs' former mentor and a borderline outlaw with problems with his in-laws.

We also saw the return of Gibbs' boat, upon which two dead ex-military men were found, gunned down by Franks on the beach he lives on down in Mexico. Or so he claimed.

At first, the agents assumed the men were hunting Franks, but it turns out they were paid by a prominent Iraqi family and sought his daughter-in-law and granddaughter.

How did they find him, and what lengths did Franks go to lying to protect them and why? For all the details, check out TV Fanatic's episode recap of "Outlaws and In-Laws."

Some of the highlights from this installment of NCIS:

• Abby wondering how Gibbs got the boat out of his basement, then nostalgically fretting over taking it apart to search for evidence when Gibbs himself didn't care.
• Gibbs being tagged with the show's familiar "probie" nickname by his one-time boss Mike Franks, a complete loose cannon played to perfection by Muse Watson.
• Abby and Ducky holding an "intervention" for Gibbs, who they felt was being played by Franks, but who was one step ahead (as usual) even as he played along.
• The surprise twist regarding who shot the men and Gibbs' discussion with Franks about how he figured it out were great - well-timed and wonderfully revealed.
• Ziva and Franks' daughter-in-law bonding over missing their homelands.
• DiNozzo's ribbing of Ziva, who was studying for her citizenship test.

Gibbs' boat makes a surprise reappearance in D.C.

Some NCIS quotes from last night's episode ...

Ziva: We have come to sit on the baby. | permalink

Ziva: And what do you know about the American Dream?
Tony: I'm a white male between the ages of 18 and 49 with a gun. I AM the American Dream. | permalink

McGee: Are you studying to be a naturalized U.S. citizen?
Ziva: I have to. To become an agent.
Tony: Who says we want you? | permalink

What is perhaps most exceptional about NCIS is that it can consistently feature such sharp dialogue, fast-paced action and intricate scripts in episodes that could be pure filler.

Last week, Ziva's relationships with her family were explored, as was the back story of the plot that brought her to Africa last season. This week? She's just Agent David.

Agent David who gets teased relentlessly by smart-ass Tony, of course. Surprising for characters on a procedural crime drama, the Tony-Diva dynamic is a treat to watch.

As for last night's case, it was vintage NCIS. Dead marine, multiple suspects, Gibbs putting all the pieces together just as the team was about to arrest the wrong person.

A three-tour vet turned up dead on Halloween and the agents were convinced that his practical joking ways got the best of him. Except Tony, who thought his wife did it.

For a time, it looked like both theories would be proven right, but in a surprise twist, the team's prime suspect was being set up by someone they almost overlooked.

For all the details, check out our episode recap of "Code of Conduct."

Some NCIS quotes from last night's episode of TV's #1 show ...

Ziva: For my sanity, can you not call me Probie?
Tony: But I say it with love. | permalink

Rachel: When do I get my inheritance?
Gibbs: When you're 25?
Tony: That will go a long way in the prison gift shop. | permalink

Gibbs: Man up, Marine! | permalink

Gibbs: No costume this year?
Abby: After last year's Jonas Brothers debacle, Vance banned costumes. McGee? Skinny jeans? Didn't work. | permalink

Ducky: Interesting date for such a ghoulish demise.
Palmer: Yeah, it's a really cool way to go! [silence] Cool, as in the temperature. Liquid nitrogen. Forget it. | permalink

For the past two episodes NCIS, while always superb, has felt like it's delaying the inevitable. Ziva was there, yet only in body, not in spirit. Her mind was somewhere else.

This disconnect was even more pronounced by the fact that she was applying for a position as an NCIS agent, but stuck at a desk. She's at NCIS HQ, but she is not one of them.

That all changed last night.

The 20,000-ton elephant in the room - the cargo ship that brought Ziva to (and went down off) the Horn of Africa, was recovered, as was a dead marine who was on board.

How was Ziva connected to the marine's death? What really happened on board the ill-fated vessel? How will her Mossad team leader's arrival impact the investigation?

Will the real story help her earn the trust NCIS needs - or doom her application?

Find out in our full episode recap of "Good Cop, Bad Cop."

Here are some of our favorite NCIS quotes from last night ...

Tony: What's with the sushi bar?
Ducky: Staff Sargeant Cryer's body was not alone on its considerable time adrift.
Tony: Yum.
Ducky: That's probably what they said when they were feeding on his flesh. | permalink

Tony: Why do you find it so hard to believe that I could hack that sucker out?
Ziva: You cannot even work your email properly! You always reply to "ALL" - it drives me absolutely nuts! You know, when it comes to computers, you are almost as incompetent as Gibbs... (She freezes)
Tony: Ha! You thought Gibbs was behind you! You know why? Because sneaky people expect sneakiness - it's a vicious circle. | permalink

Tony: It's like Alien. The Ridley Scott classic, the creepy one.
McGee: As opposed to the non-creepy ones? | permalink

Ziva: I never intended to live through it.
Gibbs: You didn't. That part of you died out there. | permalink

Vance: Bad cop?
Gibbs: You've been playing good cop all this time? | permalink

Gibbs: You're superstitious?
Vance: I'm a little stitious. | permalink

On last night's NCIS, the team was forced to reopen the case of a dead Navy officer because a political blogger who accused them of a cover up turned up dead himself.

The Navy officer, suspected of insider trading, was thought to have been killed in a car accident and the case was closed by NCIS. But the blogger alleged wrongdoing.

The officer's death had no discernible link to the blogger's murder - until they exhumed the body and found there was no body. Was the blogger trying to frame NCIS?

Click here for our full episode recap of "Inside Man."

Here are some of our favorite NCIS quotes from last night ...

McGee: I can take care of the video surveillance, it's the K-9 patrol I'm worried about.
Tony: Chillax, bro. All these budget cuts and economic problems, they can't afford dogs. Trust me. | permalink

Tony: [to McGee] That's like a yoga position. Upside down manatee. | permalink

Ziva: Burns pushed for the Arnett case to remain open by saying WE made a mistake. He knew we would eventually be forced to exhume Arnett's body to prove his death was accidental.
McGee: And when it was found missing his blog would explode. | permalink

McGee: You know how many connections I've found between Arnett and Sutton? Zero. I have checked everything. Emails, phone records ... is that pastrami?
Tony: [nodding, eating] Mmm.
McGee: Can I have a bite?
Tony: [shakes head] Mmm. | permalink

Ducky: If the cases are connected, does that infer that Arnett was also murdered?
Gibbs: And we've got our hands full. | permalink

Tony: [to Ben Franklin] A penny saved is a penny earned. | permalink

Tuesday night's NCIS, which picked up right after last week's gripping season premiere, found the team hunting for clues as to who committed a grisly triple homicide.

It turns out three marines nabbed a plane scheduled for decommissioning and were going to sell it, then were offed. But by whom? A Baltimore cop who held a grudge?

Not so much, it turned out. But who killed them then?

Meanwhile, Ziva is back in Washington - but did she pass her psych evaluations - and more importantly her Gibbs evaluations - to get herself back on the NCIS team?

Click here for our full episode recap of "Reunion."

Here are some of our favorite NCIS quotes from last night ...

Gibbs: One body isn't enough for you, tough guy? Because if it isn't, I've got three more right here! | permalink

Tony: How long have you been standing there?
Ziva: Long enough to see that you are well-hydrated after your time in the desert. | permalink

Tony: This kind of stuff is illegal in most states. In certain parts of Europe it's ... this is bad behavior. | permalink

McGee: What are you doing? I'm not the sidekick.
Tony: I'm the boss when Gibbs isn't here.
Gibbs: Gibbs is here. | permalink

Ziva: Hello, Abby.
Abby: WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU? How could you have doubted Tony, after everything you've been through together? You really think Tony killed Rivkin because he was jealous?! You weren't thinking. That's right, you weren't thinking. Although I supposed I can understand your initial reaction. You were at an emotional time for you, when people act rashly. But to tell Gibbs that you didn't trust Tony?! Which again, I can understand, I mean, he did just shoot your boyfriend... in your living room... to death. Alright, I'll give you that. | permalink

Last night's season premiere of NCIS brought agents DiNozzo and McGee to the Horn of Africa in search of one of two things: their vanished colleague Niva David, or if they could not find her, vengeance against the people who presumably killed her.

The episode, which picked up three months after last season's finale, opened with DiNozzo being interrogated in Somalia by a terrorist mastermind, Salim Ulman.

How did he get there and did he escape? Is Niva alive? Via alternating flashbacks and present action sequences, we learn the answers in "Truth of Consequences."

Click here for our full season premiere recap!

Here are some of our favorite NCIS quotes from last night ...

Gibbs: Is that it?
Tony: Yeah. What else is there?
Gibbs: Well, maybe we send a couple of agents. You know, put some eyes on the target. Change the circumstances.
Tony: And you can sell that to Vance?
Gibbs: Oh yeah. | permalink

Ziva: These people are killers, Tony.
Tony: That's why we have to stay alive long enough to not get dead.
Ziva: That would involve getting rescued.
Tony: Yes it would. | permalink

Abby: It's weird Ziva hasn't contacted me. I mean it would be one thing if she simply hadn't picked up the phone and called me, but I've tried to contact her several different ways.
McGee: Psychics, crystals or telepathy? | permalink

Tony: Our team leader is the fearless special agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Former gunnery Sergeant, marine sniper, coffee aficionado, and functional mute. | permalink

Salim: [re: truth serum] It will not take long for it to start working.
Tony: You're gonna be dead soon, you know. | permalink

Ducky: We do not guess, Timothy. Nor do we assume, presume, guess-ture or prognosticate. | permalink

Salim: DiNozzo. It's an Italian name.
Tony: An educated man.
Salim: I got my B.S. from Yale University.
Tony: [scoffs] I got my B.S. in the streets ... Yale. You guys got a lousy football team. | permalink