(S04E21) This week the NCIS team managed to put the viewer in the same position as Jenny. Unfortunately, that's not a good thing. When she opened up that cargo container and realized that she had been taken for a ride, I was right there with her, because the viewers had been on a ride of their own.

Now, I get how the formula works. NCIS is a mostly stand alone show, with serial elements. And I'm perfectly fine with that. I've been waiting anxiously for the last half of the season to get some answers about Tony/Jeanne and Le Grenouille, and that's fine. I enjoy the stand alone episodes while we wait. This week though, I would describe as a stand alone serial episode. What I mean is that while they were playing with the ongoing storylines, in the end it amounted to nothing. With the possible exception of knowing that Tony had dinner with Jeanne's mother, this episode could be left off the DVD and the story wouldn't miss a beat.

(S01E07) Well folks, this episode of Robin Hood may well have been called "Brothers In Arms" in tribute to the Dire Straits album (I've noticed the thread of song names for episodes in this series), but there was nothing mainstream of boring about this sixth part of thirteen.

Sure, we still had some of the corny dialogue and somewhat ham acting from Keith Allan (the Sheriff), not to mention the big stiff ironing board that is Guy of Gisborne -- but this episode will really stand out as a turning point in the show, mostly on account of the dramatic plot twist at the end.

So, allow me to spoil everything for you after the jump.