CBS
(Season 6, Episode 4)
“Gibbs has a father” – Ziva and McGee
We’ve waited five long years for this episode. Wasn’t it worth the wait? Even though I was spoiled about the episode and knew exactly who The Waltons‘ Ralph Waite was going to play, I found myself reacting like a school girl while watching the episode. I was as excited and giddy as DiNozzo was to find out that Gibbs didn’t just appear out of thin air! Sadly, for overexcited DiNozzo, we know more about Gibbs than he ever will… including who taught him “the rules.”
What didn’t help my eagerness for the episode is the fact that “Heartland” was actually produced last May and that I was able to land my hand on juicy spoilers back then. The episode was much better than what I had imagined. My favorite scenes in the episode were those where DiNozzo, McGee, Abby and/or Ziva talk about who they think Gibbs is: “He didn’t just appear,” “He is the avatar of this show,” etc. I just love this group of characters interacting together. They make my week!
Since the writers have kept Gibbs’s past pretty secret until now (we knew about his wife and daughter and his many marriages but that’s about it), I decided to write down what we learned about the man this week. Because, let’s face it, we must cherish these details as it’s more than likely we will not get more dish on Gibbs for a long long while. (Feel free to complete my list as I missed 2 minutes of Jackson giving details about Gibbs because the TV station decided to air an “emergency message” that required them to turn the sound off!!!) So here we go:
A great episode with good character development, a nice case-of-the-week plot and fun lines from Gibbs’s crew. I hope it’s not the last we see of Jackson as he is an interesting character and was very well portrayed by Ralph Waite.
What did you think of the episode? Were you as giddy as I was when watching it? Let your voice be heard in comments below.
Clacked by Isabelle Carreau 
on Oct 15, 2008 @ 11:00 EST5EDT
Excellent episode. This is one series that improves every year. And Ralph Waite was completely captivating as Jackson Gibbs.
I LOVED that episode. I feel the same way about Jackson Gibbs. We need more from his character. That was really well done episode. NCIS just keeps getting better and better.
I absolutely ADORED this episode! I loved Jackson Gibbs! The heartfelt “Bye Dad” brought tears to my eyes as did seeing him with a young Shannon.
Some things missed:
-Gibbs was mad at his dad for getting on with his life after Jethro’s mom died.
-Gibbs was also mad at his dad for bringing a “date” to the funeral.
-Gibbs liked to build stuff even when he was little. He bought a “junker” and planned to restore it from the spark plugs up in the garage. There was no electricity in the garage (HAND TOOLS FOR THE BOAT!)
This was the best episode in a while. To begin with, Jackoson started hitting on Ziva, which was sweet. Then who did not love it when McGee came in to the store and said, “Gibbs…. Gibbses” That made me laugh out loud! And the whole “You make them call you ‘Boss’?” was hilarious!
The whole thing was well acted. One question though, how did Tony get the sweater?
Another thing about Gibbs – he must have worked in the store because he was very comfortable pricing stock and loading shelves. Great episode – my one can’t miss show of the week (well supernatural is a can’t miss also). It just bugs me the show gets so little respect from the media and yet has grown in popularity every year.
NCIS is such a great show.
The best part of this episode was when we found out that it was Shannon who taught him the rules.
Great episode!!!, they left me wondering about the fight… something tell me that these is not the last time we’ll see Stillwater, and that is fine with me!!! :)
Great Show! Quick Question – how come this review is not tagged to NCIS?
Loved seeing Gibbs’ background…sure does explain alot.