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NCIS MODERATORS' BLOG 112
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SUSPICION
24th August 2010
In this season 4 episode written by Shane Brennan, the team go to a small town to investigate the murder of a Marine intelligence officer. Matters are complicated when it turns out the body has been autopsied by the local coroner and the crime scene cleared.
This is good NCIS, but not great. The plot is good. There are a few good scenes and lines. On the whole, however, like many Shane Brennan scripts, it is a little unbalanced. A good writer, Shane sometimes does not seem to be able to get the balance between drama and humor quite right for me. He always leans too heavily to drama, without the right amount of humor to leaven it.
Having said that, the stand out scene, humor-wise has to be Tony and McGee performing "Dueling Banjos" much to be bemusement and confusion of Ziva. Though I did read somewhere that this scene was improvised by Michael and Sean, not scripted.
The interaction between Ziva and Gibbs is good. Gibbs is wonderfully sarcastic over Ziva's harping on about Tony. His method of ending the conversation by reversing the car sharply and nearly throwing Ziva through the windscreen is typical Gibbs. It becomes apparent during the conversation that Gibbs is beginning to suspect that Tony is on an undercover op.
We learn that Gibbs takes his own coffee with him on overnight investigations. This is a man with a serious caffeine addiction!
"Suspicion" had a few good lines.
McGee: Their name tags both say Barrett.
Ziva: Brothers.
McGee: Cousins.
Tony: Boondocks.
Gibbs: What do you need, Duck?
Ducky: Just the body.
Ziva: We're being watched.
Gibbs: That kind of town.
Hardy: NCIS? Is that like the FBI?
Gibbs: Navy and Marine version.
Gibbs: Ah. You two got married and didn't tell me.
Gibbs: Give me some good news, Abby.
Abby: I'm not pregnant.
Gibbs: Too much information.
Gibbs: Take your pants off or I will have Officer David do it for you.
Ziva: For an intelligence officer you are not very intelligent.
LAST UPDATE ON 25th August 2010, 6.41AM AEST
SUBMITTED BY MargyW
HAS ABBY MADE BEING A GOTH SOCIALLY ACCEPTABLE?
23rd August 2010
The short answer to the above question is yes. The character of Abby has demystified, if you like, a social phenomenon that puzzled many people. In general, if human beings don't understand something, they come to fear it and then hate it.
Abby has made what a Goth is understandable to people who previously would cross the road to avoid one of those "weird kids in the black makeup" as I have heard them called.
Australia has always been more accepting than a lot of other places of personal diversity. We very much value the individual, so Goths were almost always tolerated and accepted, but now I have noticed our society is catering to the inner Goth in us all.
Last spring one of our largest department store chains, Myers, had a clothing style available they called "Urban Gothic". The pieces were very much along the lines of what Abby wears, rather than the long sweeping velvet gowns that most people associate with female Goth dress. For Americans, Myer would fit somewhere above Wal-mart but below Neiman Marcus.
And it's not just Myers. Target had a range of women's underwear with various skull & crossbones patterns on them. And the hot item this winter for your well dressed women in Melbourne is a woolen scarf with a skull pattern!
Abby has not only made Goth socially acceptable in Australia, she's made it a little bit daring. I would say most women have something that gets in touch with their inner Goth in their wardrobe.
Abby has also affected Goth girls themselves. I have noticed that the long Morticia Addams style locks have been replaced with two bouncy pigtails on many of the girls.
The most telling thing on the subject, for me, is something I witnessed about 18 months ago. There was a Goth girl (with pigtails) and a male Goth friends standing outside of our local McDonalds. Out of the shop next door a little girl of about 5 came out with her father. She saw the girl and let out a squeal of "Abby!" and tried to run for a hug. I had to smile at the father apologizing to the Goth girl for his daughter's behavior and trying to explain to the little girl that it wasn't Abby.
LAST UPDATE ON 24th August 2010, 6.39AM AEST
SUBMITTED BY MargyW
GIBBS AND MARGARET ALLISON HART REVISITED
19th August 2010
I got such a great response to my blog on this relationship, I felt it was worthwhile taking another look at it.
The general consensus is that there is no sexual/romantic tension between Gibbs and Hart. Most respondents dislike and distrust the character of Margaret Allison Hart intensely. The thing that annoyed most people was that a character who, as a lawyer has to be reasonably intelligent and well educated, could actually be so stupid and naive. She had to know that Col Bell wanted information on Gibbs for nefarious purposes. Yet she assisted him. Further thought on the subject has brought me to the conclusion she did what Bell wanted for one reason. She was his lover. Think back to "Rule Fifty One". She identified Merton Bell's body in autopsy by the tattoos on his torso! How many lawyers are that intimately acquainted with their client's bodies?
Many people are hoping that "Rule Fifty One" saw the last of Margaret Allison Hart. I don't think a character has polarized fan opinion so much since Hollis Mann. Several people going so far as requesting that Margaret Allison Hart's last resting place should be the shark's stomach that I suggested for Hollis Mann. Problem is, being a lawyer, the sharks would take one look at Miss Hart and vamoose!
The oddness of the Gibbs/Hart dynamic is part of what set people's teeth on edge. I think sueKay81 summed it up best: "I think that they're rather puzzled by each other. Gibbs prides himself on reading people, and I think Hart does too. Their problem is that they can't read each other, so they don't really know what to make of each other."
Thank you to everyone who took part in the original discussions.
LAST UPDATE ON 20th August 2010, 6.34AM AEST
SUBMITTED BY MargyW
GIBBS AND DAVENPORT
18th August 2010
Season 6 appears to have been the season for enigmatic relationships. I have previously mentioned Vance and Eli David, today I want to take a look at Gibbs and SecNav Phillip Davenport.
At the end of season 5 we are aware that there is something unusual in Gibbs' relationship with the SecNav. Gibbs has his number in his cell phone and calls him after Jenny's death. Gibbs is a senior agent, but only an agent when all is said and done. Why has SecNav given Gibbs his direct phone number?
Yet, when they meet in season 6's "Cloak", Davenport acts as if he doesn't know Gibbs. When Gibbs produces a lighter and lights Davenport's cigar, Davenport comments, "It's Gibbs, isn't it?"
Then the episode "Semper Fidelis" adds whole new levels to the mystery surrounding this relationship. Phillip Davenport is comfortable in Gibbs' basement, drinking bourbon and chatting! He is concerned about the relationship between Gibbs and Vance and feels the need to smooth things over and explain things to Gibbs! To say this is extremely unusual behavior for a man as powerful as Phillip Davenport is putting it mildly. The usual thing would be to summon Gibbs and Vance to his office and read them the riot act. But Davenport doesn't seem to want to do this to Gibbs. He appears to have a great deal of respect for Gibbs, maybe even admiration. More so than he does for Leon Vance. He was quite content to chew out Vance in front of Gibbs in "Cloak".
Davenport also knows a lot about Gibbs' past. He knows Gibbs is an only child. About Ari being killed in Gibbs' basement. Yet Gibbs is not surprised at Davenport having this knowledge. He is also pleased that Gibbs didn't read the fake file on Vance. Very concerned that if Gibbs had read it he may have formed the wrong impression of Vance. Both these things speak to me of the two men having a history that we are not, as yet, aware of.
I hope that season 8 will see the return of Phillip Davenport and the opportunity to learn more about the relationship between him and Gibbs.
LAST UPDATE ON 19th August 2010, 6.37AM AEST
SUBMITTED BY MargyW
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| Started By | Thread Subject | Replies | Last Post | ||
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| MargyW | Has Abby Made Being Goth Socially Acceptable? | 9 | Aug 25 2010, 12:13 PM EDT by ui_hawks | ||
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Thread started: Aug 23 2010, 4:40 PM EDT
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My blog entry for today:
http://www.ncisfanwiki.com/page/NCIS+MODERATORS%27+BLOG+112 I would love to hear your opinions on the subject.
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| MargyW | Suspicion - Blog Entry | 3 | Aug 24 2010, 7:17 PM EDT by gottahavemyncis | ||
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Thread started: Aug 24 2010, 4:43 PM EDT
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My blog entry for today:
http://www.ncisfanwiki.com/page/NCIS+MODERATORS%27+BLOG+112 Any feedback/discussion would be great.
Do you find this valuable?
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Season 4
Suspicion
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| MargyW | Gibbs and Davenport | 8 | Aug 21 2010, 7:13 PM EDT by gottahavemyncis | ||
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Thread started: Aug 18 2010, 4:40 PM EDT
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My blog entry for today:
http://www.ncisfanwiki.com/page/NCIS+MODERATORS%27+BLOG+112 Any feedback/discussion would be great.
Do you find this valuable?
Keyword tags:
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