1x03 Predator

Its Kensi, Eric and Dom who get their due attention after last two episodes. Last two episodes, the stories has Scallen Partership solving the cases. Kensi and Dom just seemed running errands with Eric just doing things that are not even worth mentioning. All that is reversed, they get meatier stuff to play in this episode. 

We also have in this episode the insider life of these Agents and Operatives and their challenges of the job that they handle without any complaint except for a bit of sarcasm and small paybacks issued. For them, being an Agent or Operative is not in the least glamerous profile.

Episode	1X03 - Predator	Predator - what is it ? It is a UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) used by US Air Force and CIA. Read about UAV technology and Predator here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MQ-1_Predator http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unmanned_aerial_vehicle
Writer	Dave Kalstein	Dave Kalstein in Season One is working the capacity of the Story Editor. That would mean the entire story arc for Season One is known to him. On Individual writer level, Dave Kalstein is a Lover of Martial Arts. He is trained in Blades for Sayoc Kali. Is member of Forge Fighting. He is a violinist also and had been Hollywood Script Writer before joining Shane Brennan’s team for NCIS Los Angeles. He is NCIS LA’s master backstopper for personal stories of its characters. He is the resident expert on Kensi’s character portrayal. He calls her his alter ego. And true to that, the episode starts with teasing on Kensi’s dating life in Bull pen. And later on we have Kensi going on undercover as Razor Mantis. Dave Kalstein also focuses on Eric Beale in this episode. Other than these two highlights, we have Dom and Kensi’s partnership taking a more serious role in solving the case apart from Scallen partnership.
Director	Tony Wharmby	I liked the attention on how the characters were performing under stress. Each one of them were handling stress and yet doing their job, keeping a check on their emotions while their colleagues were being supportive of each other.
Episode Summary	A US predator control is hijacked by a hacker in a Camp Pendleton joint exercise between Marine Corps and US Air Force. Captain Marks Holden Briggs was operating the Drone and the misfire kills Marine Corp Michael Hazlett.	Didn’t like the story much, but nevertheless it exposed the UAV technology’s usage by US military as possible to be taken hostage by computer hackers and what a haywire mess it can be. The investigation leads from one angle to another angle and ultimately we have the story together. A military Drone(predator-UAV) is hijacked by AJ Concept Solutions owned by Arthur Jansen with the help of his extremist Muslim employee Yusuf Kaleem who sends the vehicle to Jansen’s hide-out location. They were helped by a young hacker Joel Hardy who hacked into US military system and got it for Jansen. However, as he was reckless enough to post the video online, he is killed by Jansen’s brother-in-law Hamzi Khan. The motive is avenging Rifka Khan’s death, who is Rebecca Jansen; sister of Jansen who was married to Hamzi Khan and died in Afghanistan Drone strike. She was a teacher and died along with her 8 students. Jansen and Hamzi Khan plan to strike a High school in LA. However NCIS LA’s timely detection and through Eric Beale’s hacking skills are able to ask Captain Marks Holden Briggs to take control of the missile (when controlling the Drone fails) to evade the disaster. As that effort ensues, Sam, Callen and Kensi find the yacht from where Janse and Hamzi Khan are controlling the rogue Drone. They take control of the laptop aiding Briggs to control the rogue Drone and have the missile dropped into ocean. The whole story is about racing against time.
NCIS Personnel Highlights	Its Kensi, Eric and Dom who get their due attention after last two episodes.	Last two episodes, the stories has Scallen Partership solving the cases. Kensi and Dom just seemed running errands with Eric just doing things that are not even worth mentioning. All that is reversed, they get meatier stuff to play in this episode. We also have in this episode the insider life of these Agents and Operatives and their challenges of the job that they handle without any complaint except for a bit of sarcasm and small paybacks issued.
Ops Manager	Hetty Lange	Hetty shows her yet another facet - the feminine side and also that can be deadly side. She supports Kensi’s woes with Dating, that it is not her that is bored and that it is indeed those men who cannot handle independent women who just want to have fun and not be emotionally supportive in motherly fashion to these men. She advises Kensi on the art of seduction as she got it first hand when she was working in Hollywood. She is confused between George Hamilton and Frank Sinatra, as to who might have given her the advice of “What men really love is a woman hard to get.” The episode starts with her distributing Sexual Harassment Guidelines to her Agents and yet it is Hetty herself who asks Kensi to use her assets (bosom) to catch the hacker and it is Hetty who calls Kensi a “Tootsie” warning her not to damage her crocodile stilettoes that she was wearing for her undercover work. And other than this Hetty appeared pretty much stressed with damage about the wardrobe, the backstopping arrangement she had to take care of her for Kensi, the Information Intel arrangement she had to provide for Sam and Callen by leveraging her vast network of contacts at right places and finally being teased by Sam and Callen over Nepal thing. She seemed to be running out of peace and poised frame of mind for herself throughout the episode. These are the lines I liked from Hetty in the episode - George Hamilton once said to me, “What men really love is a woman hard to get.” or Was it Frank Sinatra ?! - She is upset that she forgot who it was. When Sam’s shirt is damaged with blood; “Can we bill em ?” “Idiot Hackers” to Eric , “These are crocodile stilettos. You Scruff them tear them and I will end you, Tootsie” to Kensi. Here is Idiot Hackers Video. The George Hamilton and Tootsie video can be watched in my post on Hetty Videos. It can found on the characters Menu. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlkHHOJ64SU
Bull Pen Partnership -1	Callen/Sam	Bromance but Sam cannot take Callen’s tease in this episode. Its like Callen is getting on Sam’s nerves and Sam is just about to burst. We get to know that Sam knows Arabic. Hetty gets a bargain deal for Scallen by leveraging her score with an FBI/DOD/CIA-agent who tells Scallen that Drone exercises at Pendleton were being breached. Later they keep teasing her to tell Nepal story. Scallen share the solving of the case along with the others, Kensi, Dom, Nate and Eric, who all work in individual capacity to race against time to get back the Drone.
Bull Pen Partnership -2	Kensi/Dom	Its Dave Kalstein and so it beyond doubt that we get a peep into Kensi’s emotions. The episode starts with discussion on her dating life where Kensi declares that she is just first time dater as she is interesting only on the 1st and can never be fun for the second one. See here watch this video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaJnLfptw_M For the case, Kensi is posing as Razor Mantis; the Guest Lecturer to catch the Hacker. RM is an Ex-DOD Hacker and doing lectures instead of jail teaching the subject Perils of Cyber Crime. She paints her lips in red lipstick and looks all seductive, independent and hot to handle to get to the hacker as quick as possible. And all this backstopping is created by her boss Hetty. Its a funny scene when Kensi prides on herself that she has an IT background in IPSEC Architecture (and yet Jordana Lewis Jaffe made the mistake of forgetting all that for Kensi in Big Brother). She thinks she is quite smart, but Nate cautions her that the hackers have invented all that. Its another funny scene when Hetty calls her Tootsie about warning her to keep the crocodile stilettoes safe when throughout the day, Hetty has been supporting Kensi for her independent ways. Look on Kensi’s face is cute to watch. Kensi is tired of all the comments on her that she has to deal with while on the job and while playing her undercover character. Towards the end of the episode when Callen teases her, she is frustrated and says, “Hop on Kensi Abuse Train while there is room onboard.” Dom witnesses death on the job and he is affected that Joel Hardy the hacker got killed and he couldn't do anything. Kensi and Nate ask him not to feel responsible for it. Nate even offers a counselling talk to get him out of his guilt, but stress of the mission remaining unaccomplished makes Dom focus on work at hand and instead work on Captain Briggs to help them out to get back the control on the rogue Drone. Dom’s state of mind can be understood by us as this is his first job and he is just getting exposed to everything.
Ops Room Partnership	Eric - Tech Operator Nate - Psychologist	We have a lot of attention on Eric Beale and his work in this episode. Even he is also stressed out in this episode working on the mission objective, so much that even Nate psychoanalyzes him and Eric doesn’t even realize that. We are informed that Eric is a surfer and uses a lot of surfer lingo that others cannot much understand. He dresses in beach-casuals. But that is just him and his looks. But his work shows him as him being the best at his work. He is a Hacker himself and he works against the rogue hackers in his job. He helps Kensi get on with guest lecturing the superior hackers, and he also hacks into Joel Hardy’s laptop to know whereabouts of the rogue Drone. He explains two NCIS technologies that they use vastly - The FacialRecognition software search and the Kaleidoscope Search which is a visual search that scans live feeds from traffic cams through inputting of search parameters. Nate psychoanyalizes that Eric is a person who would keep pressing the elevator button just so that it would come down faster. It is the moment when Nate observes Eric being totally edgy with impatience at the kaleidoscope search not giving him fast results. And finally we have Nate, who gives his psychoanalytical profiling inputs over Briggs, Kaleem, Joel Hardy to reach to Jansen as being the culprit. He also tries to take care of nervous edginess of all his colleagues by talking to them. He does with Kensi, Dom and Eric, tries to do it with Sam and fails.
Others/GK	The Thing	The Thing is introduced through Joel Hardy character when he says “I got a Thing”. And Dave Kalstein took it to even Season 5. :)

	Crew for The Predator
Writers	Dave Kalstein
Writer's Assistant	Gregory Weidman
Directors	Tony Wharmby
First Asst Director	Eric Pot
Second Asst Director	Ellie Smith
Story Editor	Dave Kalstein
Executive Story Editor	Speed Weed
Consultant	Tim Clemente
Co-Producer	Rick Tunell
Producer	David Bellisario
Consulting Producer :	Matt Pyken, Gil Grant
Supervising Producer :	Lindsay Sturman
Co-Executive Producer :	John Peter Kousakis
Executive Producer :	R Scott Jemmill
Assistants to Executive Producer :	Erin Boradhurst, Chad Mazero and Dana Scanlon
Production Designer:	Thomas Fichter
Director of Photography :	Victor Hammer
Editing :	Roy C Poole
Music :	James S Levine
Unit Production Manager :	Rick Tunell
Casting :	Suzanne Bluestein. CSA and Jason Kennedy CSA
Casting Associates :	Anthony J Kraus and Meredith Forney
Costume Designer:	Darry Levine
Art Director :	Mathew Jacobs
Set Decorator :	Peter Gurski
Property Master :	Steven B Melton
Make-up Artist :	Trefor Proud
Hair Stylist :	Brooks Stenstrom
Production Coordinator :	Russell Dague
Assistant Prod Coordinator :	Laura Starks
Production Accountant :	Mathew Klipper
1st Assistant Accountant :	Dana Micahaelsen
Location Manager :	Tony Salome
Stunt Coordinator :	R A Rondell
Special Effects Supervisor :	Don Frazee
Production Sounds Mixer :	Mark Weingarten
Construction Coordinator:	Mike Brooks
Transportation Coordinator :	Dave Bassett
Script Supervisor :	Diana Valentine
Script Coordinator :	Jimmy Donchey
A Camera Operator :	Russell McEllhatton
B Camera Operator :	Fred Iannone
Post Production Supervisor :	Christopher J Molnar
Assistant Editor :	Eric J Lucas
Post Production Coordinator	Chris Tracy
Music Editor	Mark Wiki
Theme by :	James S Levine
Multi Media Coordination :	Justin Maradiegue
Specialized Imagery, Software and Promotional Consideration :	Lockheed Martin Corporation and Pictometry International Corporation
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1x02 The Only Easy Day

An enjoyable episode. Sam is emotionally involved in the case being the Navy Seal. Its Dom 1st day on the field. And Kensi is surprisingly allowing Dom to drive. Case is primarily investigated by Scallen with Nate getting important piece of info for the case when with Rose and Kensi-Dom just run surveillance and errands for Callen. Otherwise, equal focus on all characters as far as their personal characters are evolved.

Episode	1X02 - The Only Easy Day	The Only Easy Day - what is it ? This is the Navy SEAL’s Motto - The only easy day was yesterday. The story touches Sam closely as he is a NAVY SEAL. He keeps fighting for the three 3 Navy Seals involved in the case as if he was fighting for his own honor. Like the sacred wow he took, never leave a man behind, Sam does his best to save them from the trouble they are in.
Writer	R Scott Gemmill	He is one of master backstopper for NCIS and Navy work as he has worked on JAG, through which NCIS spin off came and which now gives us NCIS LA. He gives us action packed procedural drama involving Navy professions in the crime dramas. In this story, Gemmill takes close to Sam to find out who he is actually.He was and is a Navy Seal. He takes care of the Seals as his own. And inspite of Sam being the most important subject of the story, Gemmill does not lose focus on any of his character. He covers Callen’s coveting to become Sam’s brethren like his Seals, Kensi and Dom’s training, Nate and his growing interests and finally starting to develop Hetty’s character.
Director	Terence O Hara	Though the story has Scallen investigating the case, Gemmill's story makes O Hara focus on all of his characters. We can immediately sense how Linda Hunt transitioned from introductory 1x01 episode into much more confident and authoritative manager than the last one. In the last episode, Callen overpowers every other character, but in this episode, inspite of the case being emotional for Sam, the focus on other characters is not lost by the director.
Episode Summary	A video footage from a double Homicide case is forwarded by Vance to NCIS LA team. He wants the team to investigate who were the three unidentified men were who were using Navy sign language.	Sam recognizes one of the Unidentified man as Holgate whom he trained when he was a Navy Seal. He was last working with him in Bosnia. The investigation leads them to finding out the 4 member Seal team of Holgate, Jackson, Ramirez and Raspin. Ramirez, who is now a Cop is shot dead in a grocery story, apparently by a drug dealer. In order to provide for his widow, his friend Jackson wants to steal money from the same drug dealer and give it to Ramirez’s widow. However, he is shot and therefore cannot make it and two days later dies. Holgate and Raspin realize that Jackson is not to be found, so search for him, take the money and lay low, until NCIS team shows up at Holgate’s workplace. The investigation leads the team to apprehend Raspin for questioning, who reveals that the LAPD Dirty Cop in undercover of the drug dealer shot another man who the LAPD identified as undercover Cop. That puts the team in spot as now they know the dirty cop is targeting Holgate and Raspin for the money. The team successfully completes the mission.
NCIS Personnel Highlights	Linda Hunt becomes a series regular as Hetty Lange and Dom is being actively trained and is now taken onto the field.	A balanced approach to shedding light on all characters. All the 7 characters are equally shown with their skill-sets, their apprehensions and their strengths. The episode is enjoyable to watch and its fun to see all characters get undivided attention. Nate gets interested in Rose at the Coronary Office.
Ops Manager	Hetty Lange Director Vance	Director Vance gets the case, and that is informed by Eric in passing reference. Hetty Lange-Linda Hunt in this episode look comfortable now the character -actor are series regular. Hetty is shown teasing Nate, Sam and Dom. She is shown listening to Bach and she also knows boxing and is able to give a suggestion to Dom. She tells Sam that she may chastize, criticize, scold everyone, but she never mocks anyone and especially him. Through her comment, she advises that Sam should not wallow that his brethren failed him at keeping their Seal traits of Nobility, Honor and Betrayal and instead rise above it all and protect and finish his job as he can. Instead of taking his frustration out by punching the boxing sandbag, he should instead focus on solving the case. And yes, there it is. She has become a Series Regular and the writers are showing her as Knowing All. Hetty knows Everything. And Callen calls Hetty a little Ninja.
Bull Pen Partnership -1	Callen/Sam	Bromance :) They have a lovely banter. We will enjoy watching all their scenes together. Every moment of it. Sam calls Callen a Lonely Wolf. Callen tells Sam that 50% of the time doesn’t listen to Sam and other half he just disagrees. When Sam says he will drop as his partner and take Dom instead, Callen says, that its quite the opposite. The fact that he is so different from Sam is what makes their team great at what they do. By the end of the episode, Callen in his own sweet-aloof manner, offers Sam a beer and asks him not to be hard on his brethren and if doesn’t think that they too act like Seals - never leaving each other and taking care of each other. Sam gives a smile and takes the beer. Sam reveals himself as Navy Seal in the episode and before that he is training Dom, very hard for his job on the field. Nate explains him as Being a SEAL is a big part of Sam.
Bull Pen Partnership -2	Kensi/Dom	Kensi not driving - What a surprise. When did that change ? She is letting Dom drive. But then watching Kensi was fun. She reveals to us what it was like being fresh on the job and trained being a girl, with having to wear bikins, carry guns in thongs and having to pee in bags when in stake out surveillance mission. It doesn’t seem a glamorous job to her at all. Shows herself as the Bad Ass Blye that she is by scratching that car. Dom is trained by Sam and he really wants to impress Sam. Callen, Hetty and Kensi are all supportive of him by sharing his feelings and anecdotes.
Ops Room Partnership	Eric - Tech Operator Nate - Psychologist	Barrett Foa is still our Guest Actor. And so we do not see a lot of Eric. But he is our Intel guy. Nate is good at understanding the facial expressions and seems the team started relying on him too much. And we have Nate interested in Rose working at the Coronary.
Others/GK	Pilates, Ninja, Lone Wolf and Garden Gnome.	Pilates is a system of exercises that promote the strengthening of the body, often using specialized equipment. Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/pilates#ixzz2mvO4NU00 Gemmill throws in three words in the episode which became writers favourite words for the series throughout. Ninja, Lone Wolf and Garden Gnome. Callen calls Hetty a little Ninja, Sam calls Callen a Lone Wolf and Rose mentions a Garden Gnome, which is fondly used for Hetty or a Surveillance Camera and together fondly names as Hetty Cam by Eric Beale in 5x02 Episode.

	Crew for The Only Easy Day
Writers	R Scott Gemmill
Writer's Assistant	Gregory Weidman
Directors	Terence O Hara
First Asst Director	Eric Pot
Second Asst Director	Ellie Smith
Story Editor	Dave Kalstein
Executive Story Editor	Speed Weed
Consultant	Tim Clemente
Co-Producer	Rick Tunell
Producer	David Bellisario
Consulting Producer :	Matt Pyken, Gil Grant
Supervising Producer :	Lindsay Sturman
Co-Executive Producer :	John Peter Kousakis
Executive Producer :	R Scott Jemmill
Assistants to Executive Producer :	Erin Boradhurst, Chad Mazero and Dana Scanlon
Production Designer:	Thomas Fichter
Director of Photography :	Victor Hammer
Editing :	Lee Haxall ACE
Music :	James S Levine
Unit Production Manager :	Rick Tunell
Casting :	Suzanne Bluestein. CSA and Jason Kennedy CSA
Casting Associates :	Anthony J Kraus and Meredith Forney
Costume Designer:	Darry Levine
Art Director :	Mathew Jacobs
Set Decorator :	Peter Gurski
Property Master :	Steven B Melton
Make-up Artist :	Trefor Proud
Hair Stylist :	Brooks Stenstrom
Production Coordinator :	Russell Dague
Assistant Prod Coordinator :	Laura Starks
Production Accountant :	Mathew Klipper
1st Assistant Accountant :	Dana Micahaelsen
Location Manager :	Tony Salome
Stunt Coordinator :	R A Rondell
Special Effects Supervisor :	Don Frazee
Production Sounds Mixer :	Mark Weingarten
Construction Coordinator:	Mike Brooks
Transportation Coordinator :	Dave Bassett
Script Supervisor :	Diana Valentine
Script Coordinator :	Jimmy Donchey
A Camera Operator :	Russell McEllhatton
B Camera Operator :	Fred Iannone
Post Production Supervisor :	Christopher J Molnar
Assistant Editor :	Eric J Lucas
Post Production Coordinator	Chris Tracy
Music Editor	Mark Wiki
Theme by :	James S Levine
Multi Media Coordination :	Justin Maradiegue
Specialized Imagery, Software and Promotional Consideration :	Lockheed Martin Corporation and Pictometry International Corporation
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