What I’m Watching: NCIS (150th Episode)

NCIS: Season 7, Episode 12 “Flesh and Bone” (B+)

This is the first time that we’ve gotten a chance to see where Tony came from, and having Robert Wagner play his father is a great choice. The fact that he also goes by Tony and is just as charismatic is almost as entertaining as seeing how flustered and uncomfortable Tony gets when he’s around. The elder DiNozzo doesn’t interact much with McGee or Ducky too much, but he certainly does hit on the ladies in a far more overt way than Tony ever did. Abby’s fascination with him, and her assertion that he is so much like Tony that he might not have had a mother and simply have been cloned, was particularly interesting and amusing. The best part of having the old man around is to see how it brings out Gibbs’ father figure role for Tony, both in terms of how Gibbs lectures Tony Sr. about being in touch with his son and seeing how Tony looks up to Gibbs compared to how he looks at his father. Tony’s sacrifice of his precious spring break money to save his father considerable embarrassment was a very nice gesture, and proves that, no matter how unserious and goofy Tony likes to pretend he is, he’s still a great guy. Gibbs nailed it with that exact point made to Tony Sr. The specific case of this week was also pretty interesting, though it certainly came second to the family reunion. Seeing the obnoxious prince get on Ziva’s nerves was fun, and having Tony Sr. mixed up in everything made it even more enjoyable.