SPOILER ALERT: The following contains spoilers for NCIS Season 23, Episode 17.
NCIS Season 23, Episode 17 is clearly establishing LL Cool J’s upcoming NCIS: New York spinoff—so much so that “Reboot” included an ad for it. But what makes this episode of the CBS show work is that it’s not solely about Sam Hanna. In fact, it gives Brian Dietzen as much of the spotlight as LL Cool J.
It’s not surprising that CBS promoted “Reboot” using Sam’s return; that was also true when he joined the cast of the canceled too soon NCIS: Hawaii. He has an incredible amount of cache with NCIS fans, and with good reason, as LL Cool J has been playing the character for over a decade. Viewers will tune in for Sam, and those that do will be satisfied, as he does play a big part in the story. Even if his reason for being there is a bit random (he’s said to simply have dropped in during an overly long flight delay).
Yet the script avoids the major pitfall of most spinoff starters, which is that the whole thing revolves around the spinoff characters, establishing their story and making them look good so that audiences get excited for that show. The main characters then end up basically being bit players on their own series. NCIS does drop some heavy hints as to how Sam is going to end up in New York, as he opens up to Alden Parker about wanting to “make a move.” But he’s not the hero of the story; instead, he enables Dr. Jimmy Palmer to be the hero. “Reboot” is really Jimmy’s episode, even if it includes Sam and revolves around Kasie Hines’ attempt to update MTAC’s technology.
It’s a reminder that NCIS has fleshed Jimmy out over the years to be more than the medical examiner. Procedurals in general tend to pigeonhole their technology or science experts into just doing that one thing. There’s a little bit of an example of this with Kasie’s friends, who are referred to as “tech trolls” and all seem to fit into the “nerdy tech expert” personality box. But in Jimmy Palmer’s case, Brian Dietzen has so much more to do. He’s climbing out of an elevator and fighting off an attacker. Sam is giving him a pep talk about his plan to climb Mount Kilimanjaro.
There is major underuse of guest stars here, perhaps owing to the fact that this is clearly part one of a two-part story. It’s always great to see Geoffrey Arend, and he’s wonderful in his role, but it pales in comparison to the work that he’s done in Hulu’s Paradise. And Ballard and Nikita alum Noah Bean is present for basically a drive-by, playing a Department of Defense rep who refers to himself in the third person. It’s hard to imagine that NCIS hired an actor of Bean’s caliber just to deliver one speech, so presumably he’ll turn up in Episode 18 (and hopefully not as another government figure who’s secretly a bad guy).
But on the whole, “Reboot” keeps viewers engaged between Sam’s presence and Jimmy’s adventure. It’s an episode where fans don’t really notice that most of the NCIS cast has the week off, because the actors who are there each have moments to shine. Plus, another reminder of how Leon Vance is irreplacable is appreciated. The true test of this story will be how the plot gets resolved in part two, but it’s a very good start.
NCIS airs Tuesdays at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on CBS. Photo Credit: Courtesy of CBS.
Article content is (c)2020-2026 Brittany Frederick and may not be excerpted or reproduced without express written permission by the author. Follow me on Twitter at @BFTVTwtr and on Instagram at @BFTVGram. For story pitches, contact me at tvbrittanyf@yahoo.com.
