# "NCIS" season premiere tonight **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 23, 2008, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ncis-season-premiere-tonight/464861 "2008-09-23T16:58:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ncis-season-premiere-tonight/464861/1 "2008-09-23T16:58:58Z")
There are only two scripted shows I watch any more, and this is the only one I watch regularly. (The other scripted show is “Cold Case,” which, since the stories are more self-contained, doesn’t need the week-in-week-out commitment – and when the story is too oogy or heartbreaking, I’ll just turn it off.) When last we saw our plucky band of quirky NCIS characters, said plucky band was being totally dismantled. Surely they jest! Come back Ziva! and Tony! and McGee! The [cast list](http://www.cbs.com/primetime/ncis/bio/) at the CBS website shows no new characters, and still lists all the usual suspects – so how quickly will the team be reassembled – or is this all some ploy to have everyone be undercover doing highly implausible things of a top-secret nature? Any guesses up front? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ncis-season-premiere-tonight/464861/2 "2008-09-23T17:11:20Z")
It was pushed as a CSI clone, but it has it’s own brand of quirky and (since I work in a job a little like that) realistic humor. I like it. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ncis-season-premiere-tonight/464861/3 "2008-09-23T17:25:45Z")
I’m thinking that they’re back together for good on the first week of November sweeps. In between now and then, they’ll run into each other, call for expertise, whatever (e.g., Tony’s ship will be going near Israel, where _surprise_ he’ll need Ziva to help investigate a crime. McGee and Abby will need to work together in some way to hack through a computer. All of their replacements will either suck, die, be traitors, or fail to learn Gibbs’s rules, so he will need to slip information to Ducky to get the analysis he needs) So yes. There’s my bet. November 4 everything will be reset. ---
**Author:** ![howye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9adbd/32.png) [@howye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/howye)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ncis-season-premiere-tonight/464861/4 "2008-09-23T17:26:23Z")
The new director was shown to be up to something “bad”, shredding a file of some sort at the end of the season finale. So, it is not a stretch to guess that he broke the team up to keep them from finding out what is going on, and that the team will be back together after figuring it out. This will happen by Halloween. While I like the show, they pulled the same sort of stunt with Gibbs retiring. Because I actually believed they were going to have the most interesting character walk away. 😉 As a side note - I have a theory that Michael Weatherly and Alton Brown are related. Watch a lot of NCIS and Good Eats and it becomes obvious. ---
**Author:** ![Kiros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/439d5e/32.png) [@Kiros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiros)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ncis-season-premiere-tonight/464861/5 "2008-09-23T23:38:10Z")
A lot more excited for this show coming back tonight than I thought I’d be. There ain’t a ton of stuff out there to my tastes right now… but this show is one of the most consistently “worth watching” week in and week out. It’s never going to be great art, but it’s always going to be great entertainment. It helps, of course, that Ziva might be the hottest woman on TV right now, and that Gibbs might STILL be the best looking guy. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ncis-season-premiere-tonight/464861/6 "2008-09-24T01:37:20Z")
Missed the opening due to a bit of stupidity on my part–should have made my nieces choose between more Wii and a story, not promised both as long as the story was a quick one. But I made it downstairs in time for all the stuff after the credits. I kinda wish they’d made this episode a two hour one, or a two parter, didn’t like the ending, but would have been unsatisfied with the way things appeared up until two minutes before the end, also. * * * Grr. I’m reluctant to be the first viewer to post unboxed spoilers, and am reluctant to post anything truly worthy of a spoiler box anyway, and find myself stuck in the awkward position of therefore being unable to talk about the episode in a meaningful way. But I still don’t trust Vance. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ncis-season-premiere-tonight/464861/7 "2008-09-24T01:37:58Z")
Well, it’s aired on the east coast. That didn’t take long! Good show – and a very nice “stay tuned” bit at the very end. I’m looking forward to seeing how the overall story arc works out this season. (And is that Michael Nouri of _Flashdance_ playing Ziva’s father?) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ncis-season-premiere-tonight/464861/8 "2008-09-24T04:06:45Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > Good show – and a very nice “stay tuned” bit at the very end. I’m looking forward to seeing how the overall story arc works out this season. I missed the Big Clue. Well, I saw it and heard it and I thought ‘Hm. That’s odd.’ But it didn’t register as it should have. I’m not sure how I feel about the ending. If it went the other way I’d have thought it was another quick wrap-up, which wouldn’t have been particularly satisfying. OTOH, the way it ended seemed a little bit contrived. But back on the other hand, the other way would have seemed a bit contrived too for obvious reasons. So yeah, I’m looking forward to the next arc. ---
**Author:** ![5-HT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/f19dbf/32.png) [@5-HT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5-HT)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ncis-season-premiere-tonight/464861/9 "2008-09-24T04:14:39Z")
I thought the big twist at the end was pretty obvious, but otherwise it was good. I thought it was funny how the replacement team was just uglier versions of the regular team. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ncis-season-premiere-tonight/464861/10 "2008-09-24T04:16:59Z")
It was my first thought. But I expected them to be _more_ obvious. I think that’s why I missed it. ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ncis-season-premiere-tonight/464861/11 "2008-09-24T13:31:08Z")
> [@5-HT](#): > > I thought the big twist at the end was pretty obvious, but otherwise it was good. I thought it was funny how the replacement team was just uglier versions of the regular team. I was amused by just how incompetent the B team was. I liked the fact that this episode occurred 126 days after the team was split up, and Ziva’s situation was interesting (I’d like to know more about what was going on in Tony’s head, to say nothing of what is going on on Tony’s ship). But I had issues with the ending. Well, not really the ending, but they didn’t develop two of the B team people enough for them to make sense as the villian. And then the “bad guy” ended up conveniently dead . . . and then we twist again. Will be interesting to see what happens next. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ncis-season-premiere-tonight/464861/12 "2008-09-24T13:39:10Z")
**Johnny LA** – you’re objecting to _contrived_? :eek: This is NCIS, after all, where the plot is just something to riff character shenanigans off! Damn, I love this show. **Eureka** – what’s the significance of 126 days? ---
**Author:** ![Tequila\_Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/41988e/32.png) [@Tequila\_Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tequila_Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ncis-season-premiere-tonight/464861/13 "2008-09-24T14:40:49Z")
I love this show too. I can’t wait to see more of Tony, slowly losing it while on ship. ---
**Author:** ![Elenfair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cc9497/32.png) [@Elenfair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elenfair)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ncis-season-premiere-tonight/464861/14 "2008-09-24T15:31:39Z")
> [@Eureka](#): > > But I still don’t trust Vance. … and you shouldn’t. Ratings came back high and strong for the season premiere, glee and happiness all around. Here’s to a strong new season with lots of excitement up ahead. Good to see the team back, good to see Ziva singing and de Pablo showcasing that particular talent of hers. **Dr. Deth** NCIS is not a CSI clone, nor is it marketed that way. Its fan base, while it does intersect with CSI’s, is quite different. NCIS is a JAG spinoff. If you look carefully at the way it is structured, the way it’s edited and the way it is written, it’s about as far from CSI as a procedural can be, other than the crime scene investigation component. It has every possible Bellisario signature mark on it, though. Fair winds and following seas… Your friendly television & film scribe ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ncis-season-premiere-tonight/464861/15 "2008-09-24T15:47:26Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > [ **Eureka** – what’s the significance of 126 days? Nothing specific to 126 as opposed to 125 or 127, I just like the fact that this episode occurred more or less the same amount of time after the season finale in the show and in reality. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ncis-season-premiere-tonight/464861/16 "2008-09-24T16:03:28Z")
Ah, yes – that is cool. Esp. thinking about Tony slowly going nuts on a ship for that whole time. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ncis-season-premiere-tonight/464861/17 "2008-09-24T16:17:06Z")
> [@Eureka](#): > > Missed the opening due to a bit of stupidity on my part–should have made my nieces choose between more Wii and a story, not promised both as long as the story was a quick one. But I made it downstairs in time for all the stuff after the credits. . Did you catch Zeva doing her torch song?:eek:😉 ---
**Author:** ![Survey1215](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecb155/32.png) [@Survey1215](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Survey1215)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ncis-season-premiere-tonight/464861/18 "2008-09-24T19:28:33Z")
Thank the lord the show is back. We taped the final four episodes last spring and didn’t watch them til last week so we were up to date on the goings-on and excited about the premiere. My wife rolled her eyes at the Ziva opening since I think she is dreeeeeeeeeeeamy. Of course she slides right off the stool every time Mr. Harmon or Mr. Weatherly are shown so its no biggie. Damn I need a refresher course in spoiler boxes I have two questions about the episode. ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ncis-season-premiere-tonight/464861/19 "2008-09-24T19:45:34Z")
Spoiler boxes: [spoiler]stuff [/spoiler] (minus the spaces before spoiler) gets you stuff But if you want my opinion, just post your questions without the spoiler boxes. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ncis-season-premiere-tonight/464861/20 "2008-09-24T19:55:48Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Did you catch Zeva doing her torch song?:eek:😉 My local station was running a crawl (Amber alert for a missing child) across the bottom of the screen throughout Zeva’s song. Which was particularly annoying when she was slinking away from the camera. 😉 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ncis-season-premiere-tonight/464861.md?page=2)