Tonight, on NCIS, Brian Dietzen gets a chance to show off his acting chops tonight as “autopsy gremlin,” Jimmy Palmer, displays that he is less “gremlin” and more “white knight.”
When Gibbs (Mark Harmon) and company arrive at a crime scene, Ducky (David McCallum) dispatches Palmer to get the gurney. Spotting a potential jumper on the ledge of a tall building, Palmer throws caution to the wind and sprints up to help.
While the others investigate, and try to pinpoint what seems to be slightly “off” about the evidence, Palmer’s inner hero drives him to save a total stranger.
Jimmy climbs out onto the ledge to help the potential jumper/victim/suspect/bystander (?) before considering his own safety.
In this one gesture, Dietzen has the chance to display many of the qualities we have come to love in his character… kindness, empathy, abounding optimism and inner strength that sometimes get overshadowed by the humor, but always are prevalent.
The key to NCIS’s success has been that the series always has been able to portray the good in people and their willingness to come together with friends, family and total strangers in times of crises and confusion.
Like his colleagues who have had ample opportunity reinforce our belief in others, tonight, it is Jimmy’s turn to shine once more…to reaffirm that, as long as we have each other, there is nothing that we cannot overcome. Innate goodness is the lethal weapon against the darkness.
And to me, that is what NCIS always delivers.
NCIS also stars Pauley Perrette, Sean Murray, Wilmer Valderrama, Jennifer Esposito, Emily Wickersham, Duane Henry and Rocky Carroll.
Guest stars are Spencer Treat Clark, Josh Coxx, Carol Locatell, Adam Croasdell, Presilah Nunez, Jonathan Medina, Joe Alvarez and Matt Jayson. Tonight’s episode was written by Scott Williams and directed by Terrence O’Hara.
NCIS airs tonight at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on CBS in the U.S. and on Global in Canada.
