What I’m Watching: NCIS: Los Angeles

NCIS: Los Angeles: Season 1, Episode 15 “The Bank Job” (B+)

This is one case where the “24 hours earlier” device works alright with pulling the rug out from under its audience by revealing that all was definitely not as it seemed. The fact that the whole thing was staged was sort of cool, and definitely helpful because it enabled them to track the bank employee tangled up in the case and reveal the bank manager’s complicity. While it’s interesting to learn a bit about Kensi’s background and her relationship with her father, what’s considerably more intriguing and entertaining is the way the rest of the team interacts when the notion of keeping precious and prized possessions safe comes up. Everyone fishing through Kensi’s box produced several enjoyable scenes, and I loved Kensi’s comment to Nate: “you need to get out of the office more often.” I was surprised and amused to learn that among Sam’s beloved holdings is the entire run of the Silver Surfer comic book series. The relationship between Callen and Sam is certainly unique, and it’s very funny. Callen pressing Sam with “that’s your ‘I’m hiding something’ laugh” was just one memorable instance, as was his extremely casual first comment after being shot at: “you really have tickets to the Lakers game tomorrow night?” Their conversation with Mike Renko about something with a horse which wasn’t technically illegal but still disturbing was a perfect aside that serves to catch viewers off guard for just a second without devoting too much time to it. The scene near the end of the episode with Ketty holding a gun much bigger than her and Nate having to ensure that it’s not loaded was a hoot, and a great way to send off a particularly fun episode.