NCIS, "Truth or Consquences": The chair

Every now and then, I'll mention that "NCIS" is the show I watch the most while blogging about the least. Belatedly watching the season premiere tonight (one of the advantages of having seen so much in advance is that I can catch up on the DVR backlog), it occurred to me that that's kind of silly. "NCIS" isn't deep enough to get the kind of weekly scrutiny I give to "Mad Men," or even "House" (the other procedural in my regular viewing rotation), but there ought to be things worth discussing on at least an irregular basis, right? And since I don't watch the Tuesday reality shows on NBC, ABC and Fox, nor the two CW soaps, I'll have a bit of time on my hands that evening this fall. So a few thoughts on the season premiere coming up just as soon as I get you to be my home theater guy...

The thing that always impresses me about "NCIS" is how easily it shifts from the goofy banter to the deadly serious - a knack that former showrunner Donald Bellisaario developed on the likes of "Magnum, PI" - without the intrigue undercutting the jokes, or vice versa. And no character typifies that more than DiNozzo. He can be tied to a chair, under threat of torture or death, still making stupid jokes and random movie references, and the danger feels as real as the jokes do. Whenever I talk with Michael Weatherly at one of CBS' press tour parties, he makes like he's just a guy who picks up a paycheck for being handsome, but what he does - being a light comedian who can be credible when things get dark - takes skill. I don't know that he was this good when the series started (though as I recall, he was the one part of "Dark Angel" that I liked before I kicked that show to the curb), but he's clearly learned from Mark Harmon, who's skilled in both areas.

Nice to see Tony and McGee pull off the rescue mission, and to see Gibbs show off his famous sniper skills in the process. A strong episode, and a reminder of why this is one of the most popular shows on TV.

Even though I virtually never post about it, I know from the "NCIS: LA" discussion that the original has fans here, so what did everybody else think?