Postings have been light this week, as I've been rotting my brain in front of the television, watching all the season finales. I've suffered through Nick Stokes being buried alive on "CSI" and Lily Rush facing death at the hands of a serial killer on "Cold Case." I've agonized over Jack Bauer's supposed "death" at the conclusion of "24," Season Four and the uncertain fate of the plane crash survivors on "Lost."
But nothing was more upsetting than the season ender of "NCIS." Kate Todd--a cherished main character!--went down. And I do mean--down. In the last few seconds of the show, she was picked off by a rooftop sniper (a recurring villain), right through the forehead. I'll omit the gory details, but the carnage certainly precludes any miraculous resusitation next season. So that's the end of lovely Kate, former Secret Service agent to the U.S. president, NCIS agent extraordinaire.
The "NCIS" ensemble cast is without peer. Vivid characters, sparkling dialogue, lots of crisp humor to lighten the tension. Pete and I are huge fans of this show. We sat in stunned silence after the show ended, dumbly staring at burger and car commercials. Finally, Pete had one comment. "Oh, maaaaaaan!"
That prompted me into an outraged "How can they kill Kate?" We talked this tragedy over in dejected tones for awhile, then dragged ourselves unhappily off to bed. Wednesday morning, over coffee, we did a post mortem on the show and talked as if we were discussing a death in the family.
"Gibbs is going to be on a mission find that S.O.B." (Mark Harmon's character is her boss.)
"Tony will be broken-hearted." (Her love/hate partner in crime-solving. Their adversarial buddy relationship, sparked with great chemistry and dry wit, was priceless.)
"Who's going to tell Abby?" (Her Goth gal-pal from the forensic lab.)
It's a rule every great writer knows: When the writing is good, the characters are real. NCIS has the best of both. Kate is irreplaceable, but let's see how the rest of the cast carries on next year. Meanwhile, the TV season is over for the summer, and I have a stack of books on my night stand awaiting my attention.
Kate's gone, but life must go on.
