Last nights episode of NCIS (No Good Deed) left me speechless. Basically the team investigates the dead of a Marine found on the side of the road who was shot with an FN 7 pistol that gets traced back to ATF. The F Troop sends an agent (DiNozzo’s girlfriend) who explains with all the pain she can muster that the gun was from a case they were making in Arizona against straw buyers and drug cartel figures.
Imagine my surprise when Jethro Gibbs mentions the magic words “Operation Fast and Furious.” But I composed myself knowing that it was just a passing reference and nothing more would be said…
And then they pulled out the baseball bats.
Dear God in heaven. The Director of NCIS came out swinging. He basically gave the 30 second/ elevator version of the scandal and the ATF agent admitted it was a huge fuck up with still 1,700 weapons sold to bad guys not recovered…other than the ones that kept appearing at crime scenes such as the one that killed the Marine.
Some things were left out: The death of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry, the death U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Jaime Zapata and the deaths of over 200 Mexican citizens due to the failed operation. Still, it was a level of screenwriting brutality against a government law enforcement agency by a Main Stream media fictional show that was just amazing.
I don’t think the producers of NCIS are going to get any favors in the future from The F Troop. I wonder who wrote the script for this episode, Sharyl Attkinsson?
Pauley Perrette has an undergrad degree and half of her master’s degree credits in criminal science / forensics. Which is just an awesome bit of trivia.
Oh, I’ve fallen WAYYY behind in my watching, I’ll need to track this one down.
Also I call NCIS “The Abby Show”.
She is the the #1 ranked Most Liked character on TV. Hell, the whole show is truly #1 but they hate it.
[…] The cluster was mentioned in an episode of NCIS. […]
Ok, time to start buying NCIS dvd’s again. I need to catch up on the last couple seasons.
I miss Cote de Pablo.
I hope they get another Emmy nomination, a Win would be even better.
The show’s too popular in “flyover country,” it’s one of those those that runs forever, always pulls in above-average-but-not-astronomical ratings, and completely baffles the professional critics. See also “Stargate SG-1” (11 years), “King of the Hill” (13 years), “The Red Green Show” (15 years), and “Grand Ol’ Opry” (90 years — NINE ZERO!).
“JAG” also ran forever, with the same sort of treatment. Strong audience numbers but zero love from the critical class.
I’m not a big fan of either, I’ve always liked whatever episodes I’ve happened to catch, but never bothered to follow it regularly. Mind you, Abby is the living embodiment of my teenaged gothic/rock-a-billy dream girl and Ziva was totally fuel for my matzo fever… Huh, maybe I should see if I can get this on Netflix.
I’ll be in my bunk.
I have an uncle who did VFX on Jag.
Here is an interestng article
http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/03/the-plight-of-em-ncis-em-tvs-biggest-drama-gets-no-respect/284175/
Not only did they trash ATF on NCIS, but they trashed the REMF’s of DOD for hiding a screwed up operation in the NCIS New Orleans episode that followed. It was a great night of TV!
Maybe they’re trying to make up for this travesty: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8qgehH3kEQ
“That punk pulled an FN 7 on me. Do you know what that is? It’s an armor-piercing gun made in France. It shoots right through your hard armor plates, and it costs more than you make in a month.”
[…] Gun Free ZoneImagine my surprise when Jethro Gibbs mentions the magic words “Operation Fast and Furious.” But I composed myself knowing that it was just a passing reference and nothing more would be said…And then they pulled out the baseball bats.Read the whole thing. I'm going to have to see if I can find that episode somewhere. It's titled "No Good Deed"…Hat tip to SaysUncle […]