Welcome back Probationary Agent Ned Dorneget (Matt L. Jones)! It was great to see Dorneget return to NCIS tonight, and in such a prominent role … somebody bugged his tooth! Although, I don’t care if he is a floater; there’s no way anyway would perceive Dorneget as being well positioned enough to inadvertently gather intel.
Anyway, we’ve had opportunity before to weigh the merits of a non-murder opening scene against a tradition NCIS open. In this instance I have to give points to a very creative entree into the story: the awkward setting of a dentist’s office. Nice!
Tonight was Richard Schiff’s big moment to shine, and I have to say that I was rather disappointed in what we got. Harper Dearing is two dimensional and somewhat of a cardboard cutout (read: flimsy and easily blown over in the wind, not “cookie cutter”). We didn’t see much of him, and certainly phone calls and video conferences aren’t the same as in-person encounters, but tonight’s episode didn’t showcase Dearing particularly well. He’s the guy whose picture Gibbs slapped up on the “Most Wanted” wall? By extension, then, at least we can take solace in the fact that the Top 10 Most Wanted aren’t particularly nefarious.
Don’t you agree? Dearing popped up on MTAC when the dentist was sitting in interrogation; he slipped past security and got on base; he left a model of Gibbs’ ship in the bushes. See me shake in my boots! Even his kidnapping of Vance isn’t particularly impressive (or interesting). What else you got?
Long story short, this four-parter has thus far been a whole lot of useless twists and turns. Is the resolution of the case going to matter? The only thing that could save it is if, in fact, it does have something to do with Gibbs, and if that something has reverberations and ramifications going forward. Otherwise this has been a whole lot of nothing.
Some moments worth noting:
One more episode before they close out this season. It’s been a mixed bag for me … the cases continue to get weaker and weaker — which is reasonable if you consider that they’ve done more than 200 episodes over nine years — while character development can be hit or miss. I’ve really enjoyed Palmer’s story this season, but Gibbs and his lady friend have been horrifying. I think there’s still a lot of life left in the series, but its imperative that something be done to breathe some new life into it. Nothing will stop it from pulling in big audiences, but that doesn’t mean there’s no room for improvement.
Clacked by Aryeh S.
on May 08, 2012 @ 23:58 EST5EDT
The ‘cliff-hanger’ of Vance’s kidnapping reminded me of the season 10 finale of ER when Pratt and Chen’s car was in the Chicago river and sinking — no real tension because I didn’t care if they died or not, just as I don’t really care if they can save Vance or not.
Agree about the mehness of Gibbs and his new woman (I wish they wouldn’t take time away from the other characters to spend on their dysfunctional back and forth) and the underwhelmingness of Dearing. Poor Richard Schiff; between this and his role on NCIS, he’s had no meat to act.