The screen is so big and bright and beautiful...

[rebecca_in_blue]

I just called my poor 81-year-old grandma at midnight and woke her up because I accidentally dialed her instead of my brother. (He's #3 on my speeddial, she's #2.) D'oh!

I somehow let myself get talked into spending the night at my mom's house, something I haven't done since 2008. I came over this evening to watch To Kill a Mockingbird with Adam (he'd rented it from Netflix; excellent young actress performance) and ended up helping set up their Christmas village and tree. I was not a fan. Now I'm typing this up on their computer, which is so damn swanky I'm tempted to steal it every time I come over here, before going to bed. I took a sleeping pill before I left my apartment, and that damn thing works fast.

I'm off tomorrow/today, and we're celebrating Sara's birthday and maybe going used car shopping. I'm also determined to start looking for a new job.

Of course, before I left my apartment, I watched tonight's new NCIS episode and typed up my notes on it. Here they are:

Episode 8x10 False Witness

Writer: Steven D. Binder (Worst Nightmare)

- Ugh, that kitschy Christmas song in the opening scene! I was already sick of Christmas and Christmas music going into this episode.

+ Ooh, that bright blue shirt Ziva wore in the first half of this episode. She's worn some yummy outfits so far this season. Thank you, wardrobe department!

+ McGee and Ziva's conversation about his dream was so cute. It did feel a little weird to see Ziva all giggly and smiling, though.

+ The team sending a get-well card to Vance was a nice touch. He must still be in the hospital recovering from the explosion in Enemies Domestic (a bit odd, since he hardly seemed hurt at all in that episode).

+/- I really didn't like how Ziva seemed so reluctant to say anything nice about Tony when Walsh asked her about him. I hate it when the writers make Ziva mean and/or Tony stupid. I did like her smile when Walsh asked if Tony was single, though.

+ McGee trying to come up with a wisecrack about turkeys when Tony didn't make one. I liked how his unusually serious mood had the rest of the team wondering.

+ Gibbs's face when Walsh asked Tony to accompany her back to her office.

+ Tony going over possible reasons for Jerry's disappearance in the bullpen. One thing I really liked about this episode was that it showcased what a great investigator Tony can be. I wish the writers could consistenly combine his serious, competent side and his funny, joker side, rather than see-sawing from one to the other.

+ Ducky is getting a FaceBook page! I loved this scene so much, especially Palmer's face when Ducky listed "hymenoptology" as one of his interests, and Gibbs's confusion when they talked about FaceBook.

+ Palmer's "gobble-gobble."

+ Abby dancing her lab. It's during scenes like this when my mind just boggles that Pauley Perrette is in her 40s! She has the body of a 20-year-old!

+ That long, sexy coat Ziva wore when she and Gibbs went to the turkey range. Damn, I love her coats! I love her! Will you marry me, Cote de Pablo?

- Gibbs assuming that Ziva would be eating on turkey on Christmas Day. UGH! Damn you, Gibbs! Damn you, Binder! Lately the writers seem to have completely forgotten that Ziva is Jewish, which annoys me to no end. Even worse, she answered him with, "Not this year," when she could've reminded him that she doesn't celebrate Christmas. And did you notice how Ziva wasn't wearing her usual Star of David necklace in this episode? The whole thing really rubbed me the wrong way.

+ Jerry saying that Ziva had "the eyes of a killer." Loved it!

+ Jerry insisting that Walsh was in on the threats to his life was a nice little twist.

+ Tony and McGee squabbling in the bullpen made me laugh.

- Jerry shrinking Abby and telling her that McGee was staring at her butt. Ugh, what a pompous jerk. I'm surprised Abby didn't haul back and slap him.

- Jerry shrinking Gibbs at his house. I'm really surprised Gibbs didn't head-smack him.

- Gail is getting very over-bearing and bossy and reminding me more and more of last season's Mallison Heartless, who (needless to say) I was very happy to see the last of. Weren't we all?

+/- The techno Christmas carol playing in Abby's lab (I think it was "Good King Wenceslas"). More crappy Christmas music -- ugh. Abby's t-shirt of a skull wearing a Santa hat was cool, though.

+ "Dr. Mallard has received several e-mails from various, uh, lady friends." - "Some of them are quite provocative." I died laughing! Apparently God isn't the only one who loves Ducky!

+ Ziva and McGee putting their heads together to try to figure out what was up with Tony. I liked how concerned they were for him. And then, of course, there was the utter adorableness of this shot...


Awww!

- Tony bombarding Smitty in interrogation. This was when his super-seriousness started to wear on my nerves.

+ Nice to see Ducky in the bullpen.

- The conversation between Ziva and Tony in observation really rubbed me the wrong way. Having Tony talk about Brenda Bittner again (from Obsession) didn't bother me, but it did feel unrealistic that he would be so quick to tell Ziva what was bothering him. And I hated her line, "You are the class clown. That is why we love you." Tony can be funny, but he's so much more than just a clown. For Ziva to imply that he's nothing more than that was just insulting, and it implied that the team wouldn't love him any more if he changed. The whole scene was way too Tiva for my taste. Ugh!

+ The showdown between Hayes and Matthew in the alley was pretty good.

+/- Aww, Jerry made Palmer cry! That jerk! And yet, it was kinda funny.

+ The final scene made me laugh, especially how Ziva jumped and whipped out her gun, and how calm Tony was before and after his joke went off. It was a funny, light-hearted note to end the episode on.

NB: False Witness was the last episode of 2010. The first was Ignition.