TVSquad

(S07E07) People who don't watch NCIS usually think the show is all about the military, all about forensics, all about criminal procedures, etc. Well, an episode like this is a perfect example of how character-driven the show actually is. Leon Vance has not been as interesting as the director of NCIS as Jenny Shepherd was, but the look into his back-story we saw with this episode may be a game changer. For one thing, he has some wife.

But as much as the Vance story and his weird connection to Kai drove the show, it may be the sad sack McGee subplot that resonates. Poor probie. Tough luck, McGeek ... or McDigit, as Tony dubbed him. The redhead was a looker. Tony and Ziva were impressed. Oh well ... more after the jump.

(S07E05) Happy Halloween from your friends at NCIS! There was definitely some creepy stuff going on with this case, and for the first time in weeks, the concentration of the show was strictly on the mystery. No Ziva flashbacks, no Gibbs questions about Mossad, no Vance at all. It was just about how a Marine recently back from Afghanistan wound up dead in his car on the night before Halloween.

(S07E04) First of all, let's get this out of the way quickly. This might be the best episode of the season. It was all character with just enough action to keep those who love gunfire happy. But most importantly, it cemented Ziva's place in the world of NCIS (the show and the organization). For that reason alone, this was four stars all the way.

Mad Men is the kind of show where allusions are made and words have meanings that are not always readily apparent. It's a great show to watch, sometimes difficult to comprehend. NCIS doesn't pretend to be poetic. It presents compelling, dynamic situations in which characters face tough decisions and loyalty is tested and burnished over time. And the words matter here, too.

Tonight the word was mishpocheh. It's Yiddish for family. Ziva used it in one scene referring to her mission on the freighter (the dead Marine was not mishpocheh), but it mattered more in a later scene with Gibbs. More on the complexities of the episode after the jump.

(S07E02) After last week's action packed NCIS, you might think that tonight's episode would be more sedate. Not really. There was a gruesome murder scene at the open, and plenty of mystery involving a cop who was out for revenge, but all that was a backdrop for something far more interesting. Ziva's return to the fold. More after the jump.

Next Wednesday, CBS will be announcing its schedule for the new season, and while rumors have swirled that Cold Case or Without A Trace might be on the chopping block -- despite good ratings -- one sure thing seems to be the spinoff from NCIS.

Well, now that I've seen the two-part NCIS episode that served as a pilot for the show, I'm hoping that CBS gives this new series a thumbs-down. I don't expect that to happen, but if it were my decision, I wouldn't dump a solid series with a loyal viewership like Cold Case or Without A Trace, for the hope of LL Cool J and Chris O'Donnell's overly fussy, overly procedural NCIS derivative step-child.

You know how ticked you were at the end of the NCIS season finale when acting director Leon Vance became the permanent replacement for the recently deceased director, Jenny Shepard? Well, prepare to be ticked off once again. The actor cast as Vance, TV veteran Rocky Carroll, has been named an NCIS regular. That means if you were hoping that in the season premiere Vance was going to be kicked to the curb and Jethro put in charge, forget it.