What I’m Watching: NCIS

NCIS: Season 7, Episode 10 “Faith” (B+)

A holiday episode about a character’s relationship with his family is exactly the kind of thing that sets this show apart from other procedurals. We’re already familiar with Gibbs’ father, and seeing him stop by to spend the holidays with his son is a nice treat. His far-too-brief interaction with Ducky was an especially fun surprise, even if the good doctor was actually doing research on the elder Gibbs’ mental condition. In this installment, the senior Gibbs didn’t play an active part in the case, but that thread was equally intriguing. Seeing Corey Reynolds, more commonly known as Sergeant Gabriel on “The Closer,” as a Muslim chaplain is an unexpected pleasure, and he does a terrific job of getting the team to contemplate their perspectives. This episode does an impressive job of tackling faith and the way it’s treated by the navy. In typical “NCIS” fashion, the most enjoyable part is the dynamic between the main characters. McGee meeting and trying but failing horribly to impress Abby’s tech friend was quite hilarious. Ziva and Tony’s back-and-forth continues to be the best reason to watch this show. We haven’t seen them in action together in a major way for a while, and their incredible brawl in the bar was the highlight of the episode. Tony’s inability to actually contribute to the fight was quite funny, and their end-of-episode delivery of Tony’s gift was a fitting holiday touch for a fun holiday episode.