Christopher Lloyd channeled something in this show that I have never seen from him before. Although there were elements of his light-hearted Doc Brown character in this NCIS performance, he did an amazing job capturing that seething, burning desire that a loyal serviceman would have to be buried with the people that he considers family. It was inspiring to watch him slowly shift away from the cantankerous, mischievous gentleman that we are introduced to at the beginning of the show, to a broken, deeply scarred veteran. As Lloyd's character is slowly backed into a corner, his mask drops away and we see the full extent of his pain. I choked up several times. The entire NCIS production team deserves credit especially the editing team. Lloyd was fantastic, but the editing team took his performance of raw and desperate pain to a whole new level. The camera cutaways from Lloyd during his finest moment were extremely well timed. These cutaways didn't just capture the transformation of Lloyd's character, they captured the transformations of the entire NCIS team. The camera crew started with Gibbs, the only other fire in the room who truly knew the pain of war. The camera crew then gradually panned outward to encircle the rest of the team. The camera crew and the editing crew brilliantly outlined those invisible bonds that hold a team of stalwart soldiers together... Hugs among colleagues that are buried deep inside the soul and that can only be understood with a brief glance or a nod. Mark Harmon's performance in this episode was also sensational...one of tears that refused to boil, but that were simmering nonetheless.
I agree with many of the other reviewers here. This is one of the best episodes to date...certainly in the top 5. Lloyd should be nominated for an Emmy but the cinematography team and the editing team should be standing right next to Lloyd when the awards are handed out.
Review of The Arizona
