NCIS – “My water just broke” … cliche or comical?

While it may not have been a novelty, I kind of enjoyed how NCIS turned tonight’s episode into almost a Christmas special. While the procedural will obviously never have the flexibility to go as far as a comedy might, what with family dinners and mall Santa mishaps, there was a definite holiday feel to the episode. I enjoyed it.

The case was also enjoyable, the ludicrous nature of the whole “why” aside. Stalking a pregnant Marine because her unborn child might be a boy, in which case it would be the sole heir to a portion of land in Afghanistan that the Department of Defense wanted for a roadway … right. I think the story could have worked without such a farcical premise, but there you go.

I liked Marine Lieutenant Emma Reynolds (Erin Cottrell), despite the fact that our introduction to her included her challenging Gibbs by saying, “If you are who you say, you’ll figure it out.” Just because he succeeded in locating her (was there ever any doubt?) doesn’t mean that the challenge wasn’t dumb. But how great was their first face-to-face introduction, in the fitting room at the clothing store, Emma holding a giant sword? Awesome!

And here’s where we get to the question I posited above. Gibbs’ car breaking down was predictable, although it was interesting how it just happened to occur right next to a closed, yet operational, gas station (before we saw the lights I figured for it to be happening along a deserted road, as snow piled up outside the car windows). But be that as it may, when Emma walked out of the restroom and announced, “My water just broke,” I couldn’t help but laugh. Given the circumstances, and the fact that it was likely to be Gibbs who delivered her baby, I found the entire situation comical. My wife, on the other hand, rolled her eyes at how cliche the set-up was. So, what did you think? Clever or formulaic?

What was cheesy was the shootout, set to strains of “Silent Night.” It’s one thing to infuse an episode with the holiday spirit; it’s a whole nother to concoct a scene with the complete tonal disparity of guns blazing and soulful holiday music. That didn’t work for me.

But all in all this episode was a good one, which I haven’t been able to say very often this season. Some other great moments:

• Navy Captain Jake Marsden (Marc Aden Gray) walking through the “premiere suite” as he did a security sweep. That’s the premiere suite in what kind of a hotel? Motel 6?
• Palmer is awesome, and while Breena’s (Michelle Pierce) father, Ed Slater (Larry Miller), was really irritating, I still enjoyed all the time we got to focus on Jimmy. I even experienced something for the first time in I can’t even recall how long: I actually enjoyed something that took place in Abby’s lab. I loved that she put Ed and Palmer in a timeout by locking them in the back part of her lab! Nice!
• Tony going to see Gibbs at the end of the episode. First of all, the pink tricycle was priceless. But so was Gibbs’ advice to Tony: “Don’t be like me; learn from it.” Perfect timing, too. Every time we see Tony Senior (last episode) I begin to wonder if Tony’s ever had a positive male influence in his life. Of course I know the answer to that, but it’s still nice to be reminded of it in a practical sense.

Good episode!

Clacked by Aryeh S.
on Dec 13, 2011 @ 23:10 EST5EDT