NCIS

Cover Story

Season 4, Episode 20, Aired 4/10/07

Episode Summary

McGee is under high pressure during the murder investigation of a Petty Officer based on the character for his latest book, with very little information to go on.

9.2

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Cast & Crew

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Michael Weatherly

Special Agent Tony DiNozzo
Pauley Perrette

Forensics Specialist Abby Sciuto
Lauren Holly

Director Jenny Shepard

Fan Episode Reviews (22)

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Not sure where this episode fit in "The Season Of Secrets".

9.4

"Superb"

By NavyResGirl, Sep 16, 2010 Report Abuse

Just finished 2nd viewing (on Innertube) and have my regular notes:

1. Abby bartending skills. Cool, Pauley was able to ues her own skills as a bartender.

2. Ziva: "You look like you've seen a goat" - now that was funny. Might have to use that myself.

3. Perhaps it was the camera angle but this was the 1st time that we got a good look at Ducky's liver temp instrument - no blood on it when he pulled it out. Wouldn't there be some?

4. Another appearance of the orange watch cap.

5. Ducky, Abby and Palmer were assigned a security detail. Nice that Gibbs remembered to include Palmer.

6. Gibbs. Man was he ticked off at McGee. I've seen him angry at team members before but this was the worst (best).

7. Lisa is broken hearted over a love that could never be and keeps a momento from him (Roy). 8. Poor McGee. Even though there was no mention of his friend from "Grace Period", he's now had two newlywed men friends killed.

9. Publishers Assistant Todd running and screeching - that was hysterical.

10. Loved the PFOOF that included (almost) everyone - Gibbs, McGee, DiNozzo, David, and Scuito. 11. The team sliding their "campfire" chairs out of the way to let Gibbs pass and then slid them back together again.

12. Now for a question: Why didn't the security detail assigned to protect Abby know she wasn't at her apartment and was instead staying at the empty convent??? Was the 1st shift just sitting outside her empty apartment all evening?

Although this was a good episode, there was just something about it that doesn't rate a perfect score.moreless

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4 0
Cover story is my favorite episode of season four!

10

"Perfect"

By emeraldmile, Sep 16, 2010 Report Abuse

Cover story is my favorite episode of season four! It was great to have an episode focusing on McGee's character. The last scene when Abby tells McGee "McGregor and Amy can't get married, they are too different" was priceless. Loved McGee's and Gibb's faces after Abby spoke. The scene was full of angst and funny. I loved it. Tony threatening McGee about writing third book was also humorous. The episode reinforced how close the team has become. It is always good to see the team bond. I like the relationship between Tony and McGee. They can be supportive and critical of each other. They have a great dynamic in Cover Story.

You have to watch this episode. It's a must see episode!moreless

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5 0
An obsessed fan has found a way to McGee's unpublished book and is now killing off people from the book. Spoiler-ish.

9.1

"Superb"

By I_LOVE_NCIS, Jul 12, 2010 Report Abuse

An obsessed fan has found a way to McGee's unpublished book and is now killing off people from the book. McGee soon realizes that this is happening and tells the team, who now has to look into his rough "rough" draft and figure who is going to be killed next, where and any other details. There wasn't any mention of what happened in the episode before this, but Tony was being kind of hostile and mean like he was in Kill Ari. Soon, the team finds out that the killer is going to go after the character Amy, who is, in real life, Abby.moreless

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2 0
Wow, incredible storyline!

10

"Perfect"

By amazing_race, Jan 27, 2010 Report Abuse

They don't get much better than this episode, in my opinion (except perhaps the previous one and a select few others) but this episode was extremely well planned and thoroughly suspenseful and entertaining.

I loved 'Thom E. Gemcity's' book becoming more significant in the storyline of NCIS, and they really utilised that to success in this episode.

The episode is not the best in terms of humour, but it is quite suspenseful, and the ending is terrific!

I also thought that this episode was just as good as 'Twisted Sister', with both episodes centred around Timothy McGee.

Overall, this episode is just so creative and it is a prime example of the great writing that goes on at NCIS! I highly recommend this episode.moreless

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1 0
McGee's got fans - unfortunately, some of them are rabid.

9.5

"Superb"

By whiteraven2005, Jan 20, 2010 Report Abuse

McGee will have to stop basing characters on real life people. Very cool episode.

It was bound to be trouble that McGee's been basing all his characters so strongly on real people. Liked Tony and Ziva dissecting their characters. Very cool how McGee had to play into the delusion, talking about McGregor marrying Amy. McGee's books really are interesting, even if they are written melodramatically. He is obviously taking effort to create believable characters, which is so much easier when they're real people.

So the bowling nuns are real and Abby's sleeping outfit was scarier than the psycho. And she sleeps with Bert, the farting hippo he's so cute.

Great episode. McGee has definitely become an interesting character.moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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Trivia
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- TRIVIA: The photo of the woman in Bikini in the house where DiNozzo is admiring Ferris Bueller's Day Off poster is also used as the one in the Medical examiners poster in season six episode "Agent Afloat" where DiNozzo has a "hunch" about why the ME would prefer talking to Ziva. Edit
- GOOF: When McGee realizes that the killer had access to the carbon ribbon tapes from his typewriter and he places the tapes of Ziva's desk; you can see that they only really contain jargon letters which quickly give the impression of what McGee has written. In Actuality, the carbon ribbon tape includes phrases like, "GLmglSHo5xHJTEOWThyCORT..." Edit
- TRIVIA: McGee's typewriter is an antique manual which used a multi-use cloth carbon ribbon. This ribbon ran back and forth until no longer producing a sufficiently black image. The single use carbon film ribbon shown in this episode and capable of clear impressions of the typed words was only available with more modern, electric typewriters, such as the IBM Selectric. Edit
Notes
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- Donald P. Bellisario; the creator of NCIS is featured in the portrait to the left of Tom E. Gemcity in the Publishers office. Edit
- Original International Airdates: Denmark: April 24, 2007 on TV3 Australia: July 3, 2007 on TEN United Kingdom: August 21, 2007 on FX UK Spain: August 23, 2007 on La Sexta The Netherlands: October 17, 2007 on Veronica Germany: October 21, 2007 on SAT 1 Italy: November 4, 2007 on RAI 2 Brazil: January 11, 2008 on AXN Hungary: October 13, 2008 on TV2 Finland: February 17, 2009 on Nelonen Slovakia: June 22, 2009 on Markiza Czech Republic: November 23, 2009 on TV Nova Edit
- Lauren Holly (NCIS Director Jenny Shepard) does not appear in this episode, although she is credited in the opening credits. Edit
Quotes
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- Landon: You set a wedding date yet? Tony: The guest list is full. Edit
- Ziva: Maybe we should spitball ideas and see what sticks. (McGee and Tony stare.) What? Did I get it wrong? Tony: No, you got that one right. Edit
- Gibbs: Nice of you to join us, DiNozzo. Tony: I thought I was gaining ground. He had a very unorthodox running style. Edit
Allusions
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- When criticizing McGee's choice of jazz, Tony says, "...Coltrane is jazz." John Coltrane is a legend in the world of Jazz. He was an innovative saxophone player c. 1940-60. Edit
- When the team witnesses Abby's bartending skills, Tony says, "Coyote Ugly, Piper Perabo..." Coyote Ugly was a movie released in 2000 about a bar in New York City in which the ladies who tend bar use a similar technique. Piper Perabo is the name of the actress who played Violet Sanford, the lead character in the movie. Edit