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Original Air Date: Nov 22, 2011

Maria – Sr. Reviewer
maria@thetwocentscorp.com

Two cops check up on an illegally parked car. There’s a guy inside, very drunk. One of the officers tries to get him out of the car whilst the other checks the scene. Whilst one cop is struggling with the drunken man, the other notices a piece of jacket material sticking out of the trunk of the car. She opens it to find a dead body. It’s only then revealed that the drunken man is actually Anthony DiNozzo senior.

The victim is a Navy Lieutenant Dean Massey. The cause of death was blunt force trauma, and a sliver of glass was found in the wound. Abby later finds traces of red wine on Massey’s clothes. DiNozzo senior claims complete amnesia about the event, even though he can usually hold his liquor. He was in town on a business deal with Massey. He was supposed to meet his son for lunch, but he never called to say where. DiNozzo senior is a cad, but could he really be a killer?

DiNozzo Junior bribes the agent babysitting his dad, Probationary Agent Ned Dorneget, to let him talk to him. Ned eventually relents, and we learn that the car DiNozzo sr. was found in is actually a rental. DiNozzo is not as rich as he makes out, but he hoped that his deal with Massey would make him rich enough to retire and set his son up for life too.

Dorneget isn’t the only new character introduced, even if he has apparently been at NCIS for a few months. Rachel Luttrell (from Stargate Atlantis fame) has a small part as Navy Lieutenant Commander Stephanie Mosner, a JAG Agent. Always nice to hear from JAG. Especially since the deceased was involved in another case, which resulted in the death of a radio officer.

The evidence against DiNozzo senior is pretty strong though. Massey had found a loophole, so he didn’t have to pay DiNozzo. Morgan Hunt is the lawyer for the company, but he explicitly states that Massey found the loophole. Hunt claims he wanted to pay DiNozzo a little something, but Massey was reluctant. Video footage of the meeting has DiNozzo senior threatening to kill Massey. Not helpful.

They still can’t charge or release DiNozzo senior, and Gibbs is reluctant to hand the case over to FBI. That means DiNozzo senior would have to spend the night in a detention centre until the case is solved either way. DiNozzo senior is far too charming for that. He manages to talk his way into having an ankle bracelet to trace his location, and he’s staying at Gibbs’ place. For a place where the front door is always unlocked, it still makes a damn good prison.

Gibbs and McGee interrogate Navy Lieutenant Gregory Dennis about the death of the radio officer. If Dennis was responsible and Massey was about to reveal that, it would give Dennis motive for murder. Dennis claims to be driving elsewhere at the time of Massey’s death. Traffic cameras corroborate this. Massey’s ex-wife also has no financial motive, as his estate goes to the various factions and areas of the Military and not her.

Oh wow! Please forgive me if my brain goes all fuzzy here. Abby is, erm, she’s seductively talking about the Rolls Royce, luring McGee into it as they both feel the softness of the interior, the comfort, the smell of the leather. Is it me, or is it hot in here? I find it a little difficult to concentrate on the case following such mental imagery, but I shall try.

McGee now knows that the rental car went further than DiNozzo senior is telling them, but because he never switched on the GPS it will be hard proving where he went. Tony badgers McGee into giving him information. A little homoerotic wrestling allows DiNozzo to get the bolo for Massey’s Porsche out from McGee’s hands.

Over at Gibbs place and Senior is starting to doubt his innocence. Gibbs gives DiNozzo senior a well-needed lesson in parenting. I think a lot of Senior’s attitude is that he’s given up on himself, doubts that he could change. Gibbs never gives up. He has Ducky run a full tox panel on Senior the next day.

Ziva and McGee receive the location for Massey’s Porsche. It never left the development. Things are looking bad for Senior. They get worse when Ziva finds the bottle of wine used to bludgeon Massey with. DiNozzo junior has never seen the bottle, but he’s still able to guess. It’s the family wine, a vintage Bordeaux. That explains why it has his fingerprints on it. Senior has motive, opportunity and owns the murder weapon. It really isn’t looking good!

DiNozzo Junior never gives up though. His dad finally tells him which pub and restaurant he planned on taking him to after closing the deal. Agent DiNozzo checks out the pub, and is told a story by the bartender. The bartender admits that Senior went there whenever he was in town and could usually hold his liquor. This time, he had to be escorted out by a pretty lady. Abby has the reason why. There were traces of a date-rape drug in Senior’s system! Also, his fingerprints are only on the barrel of the wine bottle, and not on the neck. He didn’t wield the bottle as a weapon, so who did?

Security footage from the bar shows the mystery woman as Linda Idleton. We’ve seen her before, when NCIS was talking to Morgan Hunt at his workplace. Massey wanted a new lawyer and Hunt couldn’t accept losing such a rich client, so he got his girlfriend to drug and drive DiNozzo senior someplace and then Hunt killed Massey and planted him in the trunk of the Rolls Royce. He may have even gotten away with it, if it wasn’t for the fact he tried to frame the father of an NCIS Agent.

The episode ends with Tony walking into Gibbs’ apartment, complaining that his father has skipped town on him again. Tony admits how hard it is for him to admit he loves his father, even though it’s true. He’s grateful his father is still around, even if he never sticks around. DiNozzo Senior has stuck around though. He’s kind of broke, but he’s staying at Gibbs’ for the time being, at least until Thanksgiving is over. Aww, I do like to see a happy family.

I loved this episode. It was great to see Tony’s father again. I was a little thrown by the new Probie, but I do like Agent Ned Dorneget. I hope they use him again. I also enjoyed seeing Rachel Luttrell on my screen again, so I hope they bring back the JAG Agent too. I also liked the plot. Usually, it’s Tony who has to be cleared of murder. Nice to see it runs in the family. Speaking of family, it was also nice to see Senior finally understand the meaning. I loved the ending!

What are your thoughts on Anthony DiNozzo Senior? Do you think NCIS need another Probie, and could Agent Ned Dorneget be that man, or was he just a pitch hitter since Tony was supposed to sit this one out? Do you think NCIS should leave the family stuff alone, or do you enjoy seeing that aspect of the NCIS Agents’ lives? Please, feel free to leave a comment with your TwoCents about this episode.