Found (4 May 2010)

Shady jihadist movement Talib al Jihadi (TAJ) demands by video from a Rabat cyber-café supporter Ala ad Din's release or they'll execute NCIS rookie Dominic 'Dom' Vail. Hatty calls markers ... See full summary »

Director:

James Whitmore Jr.

Writers:

Shane Brennan (creator), R. Scott Gemmill

Stars:

Chris O'Donnell, Peter Cambor, Daniela Ruah

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Chris O'Donnell	...	G. Callen
Peter Cambor	...	Nate Getz
Daniela Ruah	...	Kensi Blye
Barrett Foa	...	Eric Beale
Linda Hunt	...	Henrietta 'Hetty' Lange
LL Cool J	...	Sam Hanna
Adam Jamal Craig	...	Dominic Vail
Daniel Hugh Kelly	...	Man
Carlo Rota	...	Kalil Abramson
Ronald Auguste	...	Mowahd Dusa
Ben Youcef	...	Yari
Aliah Whitmore	...	Ameenah Shah
Abdoulaye NGom	...	Iza (as Abdoulaye N'Gom)
Mo Darwiche	...	Jihadist
Tom Winter	...	Agent Nassir

Storyline

Shady jihadist movement Talib al Jihadi (TAJ) demands by video from a Rabat cyber-café supporter Ala ad Din's release or they'll execute NCIS rookie Dominic 'Dom' Vail. Hatty calls markers for full resources and arranges Callen and Sam to meet a mystery man, who must help them find out which agency secretly holds Ala, probably an alias. The only lead is to an Etipian youth center. Yari is caught but manages to dump his laptop in the pool, and Hetty forces Beale to rush repairs. Fake torture and other methods lead to real estate tycoon Kalil Abramson, who finances TAJ in various countries. Dom fails to escape but convinces young Sudenese Jihadist Mowahd 'Moe' Dusa to help him.

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Plot Keywords:

handcuffs | kidnapping | torture

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 May 2010 (USA)

Filming Locations:

111 S. Grand Avenue, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Shane Brennan Productions, CBS Television Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

First/final appearance of Adam Jamal Craig as a guest star. He was a series regular in all his previous appearances.

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Goofs

The air vent that Dom and Sam hid behind during the shoot-out on the roof was made from metal no thicker than the metal used to make a soda can. It wouldn't stop a BB, let alone a bullet from an AK-47.

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Quotes

Special Agent G. Callen: You think somebody's trying to get to us?
Special Agent Sam Hanna: If they have Dom, they already have.

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Connections

References Flipper (1964)

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Soundtracks

"I Grieve"
(uncredited)
Performed by Peter Gabriel

User Reviews

Misconcieved

So... the sequel to the Best Episode So Far, #1.13 - Missing, has finally arrived. Hopes are high - not a single episode since Missing has come even close to equal, let alone surpass, it.

The driving concept behind this episode is a compelling one: different intelligence agencies compete for funding with little regard on the fate of the "rank-and-file". The whole US intelligence community was examined in an article in late 2010 by The Washington Post and was found mostly to be a huge black hole that sucks devastating amounts of money with not enough justification. This would have been a great subject to explore.

What NCIS: Los Angeles offers us is a quick reference to the pissing contest between the agencies and gives us instead a standard investigation episode, which just happens to include a hostage situation. Not to mention the series shameless attempts to appeal to the lowest common denominator: When a suspect tosses a laptop into a swimming pool, who dives in after it? Is it G? Is it Sam? No, of course it's Kensi, because then we get a nice shot of *wet* cleavage. Not that there is anything wrong with that, as the famous line goes, but the writers could have been more subtle...

A man's life is in danger yet the investigation lacks any real sense of urgency. The pace is sluggish and even music is way off from creating the necessary sense of race against time. And the requisite "extreme situations demand extreme measures" discussion? As faulty as 24 became after the first two excellent seasons, at least they took the matter seriously, with consequences. Here, it's just briefly touched upon. Also, Jack Bauer never had the time for this kind of a drag. Plus, when Jack interrogates a suspect, they better talk - G would most likely get laughed at and mocked: "Make me talk? You? The Boy Wonder?"

There are redeeming features. It's always nice to see Carlo Rota, who, funnily enough, portrayed Morris O'Brien in 24, but as a whole, this episode is not different enough from any other to live up to the standards set by its excellent predecessor. Even the climax is predictable, by the numbers, every single element seen before elsewhere, done better. Sadly, a 6/10, the usual for most NCIS: Los Angeles episodes.