Whistfulness

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Caption: Mark Harmon as Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs and Muse Watson as Mike Franks in the 200th episode of "NCIS" titled, "Life Before His Eyes." (CBS/Richard Foreman)

"Life Before Your Eyes" - an excuse to bring Mike Frank back for the producers' version of It's a Wonderful Life. A long-running series will do a flashback episode, sometimes out of laziness, but this is the 200th episode. Will this one advance the audience's understanding of Gibbs's life and character? Should Leroy Jethro Gibbs have any regrets?

Yes, I am still watching NCIS. This may turn out to be one of the season's better episodes. I guess they were able to get Sasha Alexander to appear in the episode and work around the constraints of the business on story-telling. It seems like that refilmed the scene in which her character leaves the show, plus did some new ones? Or did they just manipulate pre-existing footage?

What about Gibbs's mother? What accent is she supposed to have?

The episode does raise the question about the justice of a revenge killing, when the state is unable to do anything. And did Gibbs have the authority to prohibit his wife from testifying against a drug lord, thereby putting her life at risk? Did his wife have the authority to make that decision? Or did "justice" require that she do it?


Brian Dietzen, David McCallum, Pauley Perrette, Mark Harmon, Sean Murray, Cote de Pablo, and Michael Weatherly attend CBS' "NCIS" celebration of their 200th episode on January 3, 2012 in Valencia, California. (Mark Davis/Getty Images)

Members of the cast and crew attend CBS' "NCIS" celebration of their 200th episode on January 3, 2012 in Valencia, California. (CBS/Michael Yarish)