Chinatown

Season 1, Episode 16, Aired
EDIT

Episode Summary

When a lieutenant commander's death appears to be a suicide, the team is ordered to investigate to determine if the top-secret project he was working on has been compromised. Nate is assigned to partner with Kensi during this operation.
6.8
out of 10
EPISODE RATING: Fair
171 votes
  • Your Rating: 10
    "Perfect"
  • Your Rating: 9.5
    "Superb"
  • Your Rating: 9
    "Superb"
  • Your Rating: 8.5
    "Great"
  • Your Rating: 8
    "Great"
  • Your Rating: 7.5
    "Good"
  • Your Rating: 7
    "Good"
  • Your Rating: 6.5
    "Fair"
  • Your Rating: 6
    "Fair"
  • Your Rating: 5.5
    "Mediocre"
  • Your Rating: 5
    "Mediocre"
  • Your Rating: 4.5
    "Poor"
  • Your Rating: 4
    "Poor"
  • Your Rating: 3.5
    "Bad"
  • Your Rating: 3
    "Bad"
  • Your Rating: 2.5
    "Terrible"
  • Your Rating: 2
    "Terrible"
  • Your Rating: 1.5
    "Abysmal"
  • Your Rating: 1
    "Abysmal"
Rate It

Watch Online

Amazon
Buy
iTunes
Buy
VUDU
Buy/Rent

Cast & Crew

See All EDIT

Fan Episode Reviews (4)

See All

  • Chinatown

    6.5
    "Fair"
    By thefanof, Oct 20, 2010 Report Abuse
    Sometimes this show is really good, and sometimes it's just average. Tonight was one of those nights. Sometimes the plots just really never get off and you just feel that what is going on could be a condensed into a three minute video on YouTube.

    The action scenes are always fun though, and I think the producers know that as they have been beefing the percentage of them up in recent episodes. But eventually that will not be enough. The show needs to have good characters and action, like Burn Notice does. NCIS: LA and NCIS' characters are like Verizon and AT&T, when you compare there's no comparison.moreless

    DO YOU AGREE?

    5 2

  • A good, but inconsistent episode.

    7.0
    "Good"
    By bearcatjb, May 18, 2010 Report Abuse
    I really don't know what to make of this episode. By the end it really had me intrigued and entertained. Yet much of the way through, I was feeling disappointed and unhappy with the storyline.

    Initially it felt as if this episode was suffering from the short-coming of the earlier episodes, that the producers were making "The Callen and Hanna Show", rather than an NCIS series, where each team member's major role was to support Callen and Hanna in their efforts.

    Then suddenly, Blye was allowed to come into her own by the end, this was fantastic.

    Though the treatment of the Operational Psychologist Nate Getz character was inconsistent. At times he was the consummate professional, yet at others he was simply comic-relief comic-relief, so badly done that it made me cringe. I guess the writers were trying to show the different sides of his character, but it just didn't work. (The original NCIS has humour in it, but does it without making any of the characters appear foolish.)

    In the end, Getz came across as a far cry from the Getz of the Legends episodes, the Getz who dared to confront Gibbs and tell him how wrong he was about the sorely missed Special Agent Lara Macy.

    As I've mentioned before, in the Legend episodes, he came across as the type of team member Gibbs was missing in his own group, ever since Kate was dispensed with, someone who can read people, someone astute, confident and able to provide insight on people, behaviours and personalities, and then able to deduce somewhat accurately how they would behave in a given situation. I saw him as a cross between Lightman from Lie to Me and Jane from The Mentalist. This type of character isn't shouldn't be- comic-relief of the kind where he comes across as foolish, or naive, or just plain silly.

    Now for the missing Dom issues: This has gone on long enough.

    In every NCIS episode where a regular team member has gone missing, the rest of the team has worked above and beyond the possible to get them back by the end of the episode. Here everyone seems to be dragging their heels.

    Even in the NCIS LA episode where Abby appeared, only to go missing, the cavalry in the form of Gibbs' team (also with no real lead to go on) were said to be on the flight out, ready to get into the fray.

    Where is Dom's cavalry?moreless

    DO YOU AGREE?

    3 1

  • When a Lieutenant Commander and the new XO of a top secret sub mission commits suicide the team must figure out if the mission has been compromised. Through a series of actions they turn up a lot more than they ever thought possible from a suicide.moreless

    7.5
    "Good"
    By jyarter, May 18, 2010 Report Abuse
    A very questionable episode in both the plot line and some of the acting as well. In most cases it's either the acting or the script. In this its a little bit of both.

    I do like where the story gets to and the plot itself is fairly clever. The pieces don't seem to quite fit in places and the acting is a little stilted at times. The ending is a great example. The story looks like it's ending on a positive warm and fuzzy tone and then, bang, it gets weirdly awkward. You just feel like time after time the story gets derailed either by a humorous moment or an awkward one.

    In this episode it's mostly Nate played by Peter Cambor that brings the awkward moments. The funny scenes were more strange than funny and the acting by the whole cast seemed a little wooden in those scenes.

    I did like the idea of the episode. A sleeper agent actually born and raised in the US. Born to spy on his native land by his parents and other people in the community with ties to a foreign power. With a lot of the press today the idea does not seem so far fetched at all.

    I'm not sure what it is about this series. It started out pretty well, but has turned into one mediocre episode after another. It's a shame really. Well they'll have a few years to work it out as the show was renewed quite a while ago and probably will be on for a number of years. It does make you appreciate the original even more though. Thanks for reading...moreless

    DO YOU AGREE?

    1 0

  • I'm not convinced by this one.

    8.0
    "Great"
    By amazing_race, May 18, 2010 Report Abuse
    This wasn't the cream of the crop in NCIS: Los Angeles episodes, by any means. In fact, I thought it wasn't that great, atll.

    The storyline was quite good, and thre were several interesting moments. I particularly enjoyed the first half of the episode, but I was a little apprehensive about the second half.

    If this is any indication, I actually fell asleep for about 5 or 10 minutes of this episode. (But I was pretty tired!!!)

    Regardless, I think that teh show is headed off in the right direction. Not with this episode, but the three or four before this one have been absolutely breathtaking!

    I wouldn't recommend this one too highly, but still, if you like this show, give it a try!moreless

    DO YOU AGREE?

    1 0
 

Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

See All

  • Trivia

    ADD TRIVIA
    • Goof: In the scene where they are showing the mug shot of Robert Tang, there are two pictures in the mug shot. In the frontal view, he has an injury on his right cheek, but in the side view, the same injury is shown on his left cheek! Edit
    • "Hiragana" is a type of Japanese letters. It is unlikely that a Chinese gang would name themselfs after a Japanese term. Edit

  • Notes

    ADD NOTES
    • Music: Walking in L.A. by Missing Persons Edit
    • International Air Dates:
      Canada: March 2, 2010 on Global
      United Kingdom: April 26, 2010 on Sky1/Sky1 HD
      Sweden: June 1, 2010 on TV3
      Norway: June 21, 2010 on TV3
      Germany: October 23, 2010 on SAT 1
      Finland: December 1, 2010 on Nelonen
      Czech Republic: February 18, 2011 on AXN
      Slovakia: September 22, 2011 on Markiza Edit

  • Quotes

    ADD QUOTES
    • Callen: Kensi, check out the home...and bring Nate. Nate: You're actually letting me out again? Callen: On a short leash. Kensi: And a muzzle. Sam: (to Kensi) Clean up after him. Nate: (to Eric) You want a piece of this too? Eric: Um-uh...Don't let him hump your leg. Edit
    • Sam: What are the chances this isn't a suicide? Eric: I'd say about zero percent. Callen: What do you know that we don't? Eric: Mmm.. The words to every TV theme song. Edit
    • Kensi: Relationship gone sour? Nate: Well, It's been known to happen. Of course, you have to be in a relationship first. Kensi: Was that aimed at me? Nate: I'm just bustin' your …… chops, chops. Like partners do. Kensi: Your not my partner. Nate: Right Kensi: Don't make me get the muzzle. Edit

  • Allusions

Show Forums

See All
Last Activity
Replies

Watch NCIS: Los Angeles Full Episodes

See All

Related Shows

Season 1 Episodes

See All
Ep 24
Callen, G
Ep 23
Burned
Ep 22
Hunted
Ep 21
Found
Ep 20
Fame
Ep 19
Hand-to-Hand
Ep 18
Blood Brothers
Ep 17
Full Throttle
Ep 16
Chinatown
Ep 15
The Bank Job
Ep 14
LD50
Ep 13
Missing
Ep 12
Past Lives
Ep 11
Breach
Ep 10
Brimstone
Ep 9
Random on Purpose
Ep 8
Ambush
Ep 7
Pushback
Ep 6
Keepin' it Real
Ep 5
Killshot
Ep 4
Search and Destroy
Ep 3
Predator
Ep 2
The Only Easy Day
Ep 1
Identity

Contributors

Become a contributor
More
Less

TV Listings

Full Listings
BROWSE | Shows | Videos | News | Listings | Forums | People | Photos | TV.com Blog

CBS Entertainment | About TV.com | About CBS Interactive | Jobs | Advertise

© 2012 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy | Ad Choice | Terms of Use