TV Reaction: NCIS' 'South by Southwest'
Feb. 24th, 2009 10:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mrwubblesOh dear, I may have to steal a cookie from my "Bounce" review after all...
Consistency is key to any show. NCIS was one of them. Was. And on first glance "South by Southwest" would have dispelled that warm, fuzzy glow many of us were enjoying from the past episodes. But hang on, let's have another look…
Okay, it's back to the 'DiNozzo' comedy prop again: our boy seems to have growing pains and his character development chart has more ups and downs than the EKG of a weak-hearted bloke watching porn.
(Okay, it should now become obvious here I was watching Top Gear while typing this and currently channeling Jeezer Clarkson. –lol-)
Abby seemed a bit subdued which was good because the past few episodes, I was driven to subtracting cookies due to her enthusiasm. The mystery wasn't solid enough to be well…mysterious, but it didn't play out like the audience was stupid either.
Despite what the trailer showed, Arizona didn't happen until the last Act and frankly, the Magnificent Seven/Eric Close/Michael Biehn fan in me was disappointed. But we did get a nice chunk of Gibbs and DiNozzo moment out camping. Did anyone wished Gibbs would read our boy a bedtime story though? -lol-
There's a lot of things that should make me hate this episode and I think a lot of you won't begrudge me complaining. But actually, the episode wasn't so bad.
We still get a bit of team camaraderie from the gang even if in bits. We get Tony covering for McGee. Ziva and McGee about his hedge fund. Gibbs with Abby. Ducky with Abby. Even that teeny tiny comment from Gibbs about any inheritance I thought was cute.
And while we didn't get a group hug—figuratively or literally—from this episode, the team still felt good to be around, ribbing and all. And I don't know if anyone noticed, but that comment Tony made about the $30,000 he borrowed from not his father, but his uncle? It sent up red flags for me and frankly, that was enough of a balm for me for an otherwise stinging conclusion to DiNozzo's London subplot/punchline.
Many things that should make me give this a one cookie rating:
1. Tony as the punchline/punching bag: Okay, Tony fan or not, really, the writers need to decide where our boy is progressing. We had key episodes that showed the somber potential in him and while I'm not asking him to become as gloomy and abysmal as Eeyore, I did want him to be a bit more Special Agent than Special A(beep)
2. Get your horses—Never mind: Seriously, after booming ads about our NCIS going out West, you save it for the last 12 minutes? Where's the horse jokes? The real campfire? Not even a marshmallow? -lol-
3. Business card: Uh…check the back. Seriously, why didn't he? The writer's ploy to elevate Gibbs at Tony's expense with the business card and cellphone fell flat. Flatter than flat.
4. Tony as the punchline/punching bag: Horrid enough to mention it twice because really, props like Fratboy!Tony are starting to get stale…
Why it would still get three cookies rating:
1. Abbylite: It's the reduced calorie Sciutto! A little lip wobble and a bit sadder Abby, I appreciated her quirkiness more when she was toned down.
2. Oh, the hugging: All right, there was no physically hugging per say but we got nuggets of virtual hugging or the wee comfort moments. It seems with the Abby-centric is where we get all the comforting scenes, even a Gibbs and Abby scene. Oh, the ship fodder for all you out there…-lol-
3. Horse…meet DiNozzo: OMG, it's cliché, it's hokey but DiNozzo the city slicker versus his horse? I can't help but want more.
4. The Sheriff in Town: Laaaaaance! It's Lance! I love his stint, so glad he wasn't killed off, loved DiNozzo's impersonation, loved the interaction he had with Tony as a more mellow, gruffer Gibbs. One cookie was literally because of him.
5. Cookie crumbs: Surprisingly, there's a bit of backstory on Tony, a lot more than you think: Uncle Clive lending Tony money during college not Papa DiNozzo for one was a big question mark for me and yes, fanfic ideas are spinning.
6. McGee: gone is the McPMS and back to a kinder, gentler, little brother McGee. Okay, I wasn't too crazy about his hedge fund reason but I can live with it.
7. Helicopter showdown: Gibbs' shot was cool, but what I really liked was how DiNozzo came in as backup. His shooting at the copter (judging the metallic pings and gunman's reaction, Tony came amazingly close) was a great compliment to Gibbs' unflinching facedown. These two really do work great together.
Sadly, I do have to go back and deduct a cookie from my "Bounce" review for an inconsistent Tony but this episode overall, while with faults, did balance out with some very nice pluses. Makes me hopeful that the next few episodes will be good, if not better.
I'm happy. Not 25 million pounds happy, but content enough to give this episode three cookies.
No milk though. I was thirsty.
Consistency is key to any show. NCIS was one of them. Was. And on first glance "South by Southwest" would have dispelled that warm, fuzzy glow many of us were enjoying from the past episodes. But hang on, let's have another look…
Okay, it's back to the 'DiNozzo' comedy prop again: our boy seems to have growing pains and his character development chart has more ups and downs than the EKG of a weak-hearted bloke watching porn.
(Okay, it should now become obvious here I was watching Top Gear while typing this and currently channeling Jeezer Clarkson. –lol-)
Abby seemed a bit subdued which was good because the past few episodes, I was driven to subtracting cookies due to her enthusiasm. The mystery wasn't solid enough to be well…mysterious, but it didn't play out like the audience was stupid either.
Despite what the trailer showed, Arizona didn't happen until the last Act and frankly, the Magnificent Seven/Eric Close/Michael Biehn fan in me was disappointed. But we did get a nice chunk of Gibbs and DiNozzo moment out camping. Did anyone wished Gibbs would read our boy a bedtime story though? -lol-
There's a lot of things that should make me hate this episode and I think a lot of you won't begrudge me complaining. But actually, the episode wasn't so bad.
We still get a bit of team camaraderie from the gang even if in bits. We get Tony covering for McGee. Ziva and McGee about his hedge fund. Gibbs with Abby. Ducky with Abby. Even that teeny tiny comment from Gibbs about any inheritance I thought was cute.
And while we didn't get a group hug—figuratively or literally—from this episode, the team still felt good to be around, ribbing and all. And I don't know if anyone noticed, but that comment Tony made about the $30,000 he borrowed from not his father, but his uncle? It sent up red flags for me and frankly, that was enough of a balm for me for an otherwise stinging conclusion to DiNozzo's London subplot/punchline.
Many things that should make me give this a one cookie rating:
1. Tony as the punchline/punching bag: Okay, Tony fan or not, really, the writers need to decide where our boy is progressing. We had key episodes that showed the somber potential in him and while I'm not asking him to become as gloomy and abysmal as Eeyore, I did want him to be a bit more Special Agent than Special A(beep)
2. Get your horses—Never mind: Seriously, after booming ads about our NCIS going out West, you save it for the last 12 minutes? Where's the horse jokes? The real campfire? Not even a marshmallow? -lol-
3. Business card: Uh…check the back. Seriously, why didn't he? The writer's ploy to elevate Gibbs at Tony's expense with the business card and cellphone fell flat. Flatter than flat.
4. Tony as the punchline/punching bag: Horrid enough to mention it twice because really, props like Fratboy!Tony are starting to get stale…
Why it would still get three cookies rating:
1. Abbylite: It's the reduced calorie Sciutto! A little lip wobble and a bit sadder Abby, I appreciated her quirkiness more when she was toned down.
2. Oh, the hugging: All right, there was no physically hugging per say but we got nuggets of virtual hugging or the wee comfort moments. It seems with the Abby-centric is where we get all the comforting scenes, even a Gibbs and Abby scene. Oh, the ship fodder for all you out there…-lol-
3. Horse…meet DiNozzo: OMG, it's cliché, it's hokey but DiNozzo the city slicker versus his horse? I can't help but want more.
4. The Sheriff in Town: Laaaaaance! It's Lance! I love his stint, so glad he wasn't killed off, loved DiNozzo's impersonation, loved the interaction he had with Tony as a more mellow, gruffer Gibbs. One cookie was literally because of him.
5. Cookie crumbs: Surprisingly, there's a bit of backstory on Tony, a lot more than you think: Uncle Clive lending Tony money during college not Papa DiNozzo for one was a big question mark for me and yes, fanfic ideas are spinning.
6. McGee: gone is the McPMS and back to a kinder, gentler, little brother McGee. Okay, I wasn't too crazy about his hedge fund reason but I can live with it.
7. Helicopter showdown: Gibbs' shot was cool, but what I really liked was how DiNozzo came in as backup. His shooting at the copter (judging the metallic pings and gunman's reaction, Tony came amazingly close) was a great compliment to Gibbs' unflinching facedown. These two really do work great together.
Sadly, I do have to go back and deduct a cookie from my "Bounce" review for an inconsistent Tony but this episode overall, while with faults, did balance out with some very nice pluses. Makes me hopeful that the next few episodes will be good, if not better.
I'm happy. Not 25 million pounds happy, but content enough to give this episode three cookies.
No milk though. I was thirsty.
