(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.

(S04E17) Well now, there was a lot of junk to like in this episode. I'm not sure where to start, so let's go with guest star Corin Nemec. I'd guess most people think of Stargate when they see Corin. For me, it's always Parker Lewis Can't Lose. There are probably even some nutters out there that see him and shout Mansquito! Whatever your Corin role of choice, it was good to see him on NCIS. I thought he was very good here, really pulling off creepy serial butcher.

There wasn't a lot of mystery surrounding the whodunit this week. Most people probably fingered Grady (Nemec) from the moment he showed up at the cemetery with the flowers. While the who wasn't really a big question, the why was much more interesting, and that little twist at the end came as a bit of a surprise. When Natalie Dalton (Alexandra Lydon, 24) put on her little performance in the interrogation room, followed by Grady's confession, I bought it. I didn't suspect that she was in on it until Gibbs and Mann walked up to the van.