It seemed like a long summer without our NCIS team being led by Mark Harmon, who plays NCIS agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Indeed, it was a long summer of simmering tensions around the world. Last week’s show left us wondering about the future for the main NCIS. What a difference a week can make.

This week Gibbs and his team of special agents were back to normal. Well maybe not Tony. David joked they were all back on their meds. Tony acted super mellow and was much more relaxed than usual, causing McGee and Bishop to wonder if maybe he was in love. This episode tackled the difficult subject of Americans going over to the dark side. The plot and acting had everything we enjoy in an episode, beginning with Navy SEALS rescuing an American orphanage worker from terrorists. The writing was excellent and realistic.

FBI Agent Tobias Fornell returned with all the understated grief you would expect of him after his late ex-wife Diane was killed last week in the company of Gibbs, her other ex-husband. If you’re not very familiar with this series, you may be confused by that sentence. Gibbs and Fornell became friends after their mutual divorces from Diane. Tonight we learned Tobias and Diane planned to remarry. Too bad the writers ended their rekindled relationship. There are too many of the show’s cast without mates. It was a touching moment when Leon Vance invited Fornell to talk if he needed a listening ear as the two men had much in common. Radical terrorists murdered both of their loved ones, leaving children without a mother. We both noticed Tony and McGee interview of a young twenty-two-year-old dog groomer lacked appropriate follow-up. She said she’d broken up with their suspect because she didn’t approve of the suspect’s “radical” friends. Tony terminated the interview without identifying those friends. Even the rookie Bishop would have recognized them as possible suspects.

NCIS New Orleans aired a new episode entitled, “The Abyss.” It was excellent with CGIS agent Abigail Borin bringing her savvy and “old school” investigative techniques to the show. In “The Abyss” an Admiral’s daughter is suspected of killing her research team so the Coast Guard is brought in to help solve the case. It was interesting to learn more about Agent LaSalle’s missing brother. We are pleased to announce that this spin-off has been renewed for Season 2.

We’d like to know what you think.

Be Blessed, Diane and David Munson