'Grey's' Isn't Going Anywhere
'Red Widow' Gets The Axe
Review: NCIS - Jet Lag
by Allison Waldman, posted Jan 27th 2010 12:45AM
(S07E13) So there they were in Paris -- Tony and Ziva. The situation was ripe for romance, right? Was NCIS finally going to "go there" and let fans have a Moonlighting moment for their favorite characters? Not so fast. Before you could say Champs Elysees, the two were boarding a jet at Charles de Gaulle airport to complete an assignment that turned into murder in the air. Fortunately, the mystery on the airliner trumped the one on the ground and made for a good episode.
It seemed way too coincidental that Gibbs and McGee were investigating a dead Marine who just happened to be a part time hit man and his next target was Tony and Ziva's charge, the Pollyanna whistleblower do-gooder who was a hopeless romantic. Too bad she was not going to get a happy ending. But suppose the cleaning lady hadn't found the dead Marine's body? See, there would have been no connection and that was too contrived for me.
The mystery on the plane was a lot better. The reference to Murder on the Orient Express was apt, although there were too few suspects. Neeley was too obvious, so was the guy with the earphones who looked vaguely like a terrorist. I suspected the little woman with the knitting needles because if Ziva could be a killer, why not her? And -- by the way -- do airlines allow knitting needles on planes these days? No liquids allowed, but knitting needles are okay?
With Ziva and Tony watching everything, it seemed like Nora was safe, so the bit with a pillow laced with peanut dust causing an allergic reaction was very smart. I didn't suspect the flight attendant, because the idea of her doing hits on the side was a stretch. Apparently the airlines don't pay very well.
On the D.C. front, Gibbs had a good encounter with Holly Snow, the madame who was implicated in the killings. I liked the way Gibbs put the screws to her in his steely way that let her know he would lock her up and throw away the key. He might have felt different if she was a redhead.
But the most interesting part of the show wasn't the peanut allergy or the stewardess killer or even the kitty litter to cover the smell of the body. It was Rule #12 -- never date a co-worker. Have Tony and Ziva respected the rule, or have they crossed the line? They weren't saying, were they?
Tony lied to McGee about using the couch, and Ziva lied to Nora about Tony using the bed, so what actually were the sleeping arrangements in the Paris hotel room?
Other points of interest
-- "There's something on the wing. Classic Shatner on The Twilight Zone." Tony couldn't resist.
-- The male flight attendant looked a little like Leonard Nimoy. Meaning Tony was on a Star Trek jag, Shatner and Nimoy references in the same show.
-- The dead Marine got to hear all about the Phantom of the Opera from Ducky. And Jethro got an invitation to go to the theater ... I think.
-- Another nice bit from Ducky was his filling in for Tony with the pop references at the crime scene, i.e. Janet Leigh in Psycho getting killed in the shower.
[Watch clips and episodes of NCIS at SlashControl.]
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