We are very interested in hearing your reaction to tonight’s episode of NCIS. Long time fans will recognize that both Kate (Secret Service) and Ziva (Mossad) had worked with Gibbs and his team before Gibbs recruited (or stole) them away from their agencies. As we watched tonight, we kept wondering how NSA analyst Ellie Bishop would fit in as the new female star on the team. Well, the scene at the end, where Gibbs finds Bishop’s former NCIS application, provides the answer.

David chuckled over this episode. Want to know why? Because he was a college student working for the FBI in Chicago, and his job as an investigative assistant caused him to meet weekly with the Naval Investigative Service (before the name change). One day during his weekly meeting of exchanging investigative leads, the boss of the team recruited him to join what is now NCIS. When David protested that he was still working toward his degree, the boss just shrugged and said, “That’s why they have night classes. You can start with us in two weeks.” Same agency, different boss. Some things never change.

Yet some differences between then and now are stark. David always wore a suit and tie (even as an investigative assistant). Ellie Bishop (played by Emily Wickersham) trotted around with jeans that had holes in the knees. She ate Cocoa Puffs on the job. While the plot line for a show introducing analyst Bishop was clever, the presentation was herky-jerky. Last week we applauded the good investigative work. Tonight, the case was solved by McGee, Abby and Ellie all using gadgets, abstract hypothesis, and analytical logic (which wasn’t always logical).

As the lawyer in the family, Diane is certain Ellie Bishop’s pretending to be a lawyer, even though she didn’t say she was a lawyer, could bring trouble if Rudolph Stalin is ever brought to trial. But he’ll never see the inside of a courtroom after her stunt, sanctioned by Gibbs. And Rudolph’s admissions did lead to the shooter of “Flynn.” In the final analysis, Gibbs saved the show by being Gibbs, using his “gut” and a great technique at the end, by bugging the bugger. What do y’all think of Emily/Ellie becoming part of the team? We think she has a long way to go to be a competent NCIS agent. She’ll be in “probie” status for eons. Even McGee, with all of his techno skills, had better instincts in the beginning. Just sayin’….

Be Blessed, Diane and David Munson