NCIS - Ignition

Network: CBS
Time: Tuesday, 8:00-9:00pm
Cast: Mark Harmon, Michael Weatherly, Cote de Pablo, Sean Murray, Pauley Perrette, David McCallum, Rocky Carroll

Summary: When a Navy lieutenant is found dead in a bizarre manner, Gibbs lets McGee take lead on the case.  But when a stubborn attorney shows up, Gibbs steps up to butt heads with her.  Guest starring Rena Sofer.

Review: I truly believe NCIS is one of the few shows that is getting better and better with age.  From the very first episode of season seven, I've been hooked harder and stronger than any other season before it.

This episode was no exception.  It's been a long time since we've had a McGee-centric episode.  There was a lot of Ziva in the beginning of the season, and Gibbs in the last few episodes, and the big Tony episode has been teased for months (next week, for the 150th episode, when his dad comes to DC), but McGee has been relegated to a strong supporter character for awhile, so it was nice to see Sean Murray step into the starring role for a little while.

Another person who got a much bigger role than we've seen him in lately is Palmer.  He's been basically absent for most of this season, and he's had just tiny parts in the episodes he's been in.  But not in this one.  Palmer got to channel Ducky for awhile while performing his first solo autopsy and telling an only tangentially related story in such a perfect Ducky imitation that I couldn't stop laughing.  They really need to use Palmer more often; he's such a fun little guy.

The banter between the characters was strong in this episode too.  From the back-and-forth about all the useless things on the Internet to Tony and Ziva's good-natured complaining as McGee got geekier and geekier, the timing was spot on through the whole thing.  It's good to see that they've truly gotten rid of the awkwardness that was left over from the end of the season 6.  Yeah, there's always going to be a little sexual tension between Tony and Ziva.  Yeah, McGee and Tony are always going to be stuck in this big brother/little brother relationship.  But it's nice to see that those things are just part of the relationships between the characters, not the whole thing anymore.

The story, which focused on a man who died while flying a jet pack, was interesting, but definitely went so far into geek-ville it was difficult to understand.  And McGee, with his love of all things technology and his knowledge of all specifications, didn't help.  I had a little trouble following the complexities of the technology, and who would want to kill the guy flying it.  It sort of sorted itself out in the end, but it definitely could have been a little easier to understand through most of it.  Maybe a second watch will help me understand it better.

The other big twist in this episode was the introduction of attorney Margaret Allison Hart, played by Rena Sofer.  She comes in as the attorney of a jet pack creator, but she immediately establishes herself as someone who knows all about our favorite NCIS team, and she's looking for a fight with Gibbs.  Despite himself, he's intrigued by her and, as we know from spoilers, she'll be back.

The chemistry between Gibbs and Hart was a little weird, and I've had more than one friend tell me they didn't like her, but I'm kind of interested in any attorney that is causing Gibbs to break his personal rule about attorneys (Never involve lawyers).  And it's about time someone called Gibbs out on his unorthodox crime-solving style.  Not that it's going to change anything.  But it's nice to see someone challenge him on it.  Plus, it's been so long since Gibbs has had a relationship outside of NCIS (not counting his father), and certainly longer since it's been a possible romantic one.  So I'm eager to see how this will play out.

Favorite lines of the night:
Gibbs (to Hart): Did you used to be a redhead because I feel like I know you?

Ziva: Slow drivers.
Tony: Bad drivers.
Ziva: What is so hard?  You go as fast as possible, and when something gets in your way, you turn.

Ziva: There's nothing good on the Internet anymore.
McGee: Yeah, I think that whole Internet thing has run its course.

Rating:
[5] Excellent
[4] Good
[3] Average
[2] OK
[1] Bad

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