What I’m Watching: NCIS: Los Angeles

NCIS: Los Angeles: Season 1, Episode 17 “Full Throttle” (B+)

This feels like something out of “The Fast and the Furious.” That’s not a bad thing however, especially when it gives us the wonderful Dichen Lachman, most recently seen as Sierra in “Dollhouse.” Her appearance was so exciting, though it was quite obvious from the start, to me at least, that she wasn’t just an insurance agent since Ms. Lachman is a mistress of duplicity and more than capable of playing a double role. The incorporation of all of the driving references in this episode was fun, starting with the disagreement about which freeways are most efficient. Sam’s refusal to partner up with Callen because of the route he knew they’d be taking was hilarious, and Callen subsequently asking Kensi if she wanted to stop for donuts to make Sam jealous was quite amusing. Hetty enrolling Callen in a comedy traffic school was brilliant, and I especially enjoyed Hetty trying to test him but giving him all of the wrong answers. During the pursuit, Callen’s remark that “clearly this guy hasn’t read the California driving manual” was great. Sam had a few fantastic one-liners too, including “maybe I should drop off some of the dead weight” referring to his less-than-helpful partner. Callen’s assertion that “we’re better” elicited a terrific response from Sam: “we?” After a recent episode and now this one, I’m convinced that this show is recycling music from “24” or another similar show, which is fine but just a little strange. The parting shot in this episode was spectacular: a delighted Hetty zooming across the screen on Eric’s new toy.