Safe Harbor

Season 9, Episode 5, Aired
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While investigating the murder of a coast guard officer aboard an abandoned cargo vessel, the NCIS team finds a Lebanese family seeking refuge in the US. Meanwhile, Tony and McGee attempt to find the perfect woman for Gibbs.

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Fan Episode Reviews (9)

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  • Liked this episode.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By MissJess, 15 hours ago
    It was interesting to see Ziva talking to the mother. And the bit with Ziva and Gibbs was so sweet. "You're never alone when you have kids. Night kid" :)

  • Safe Harbor

    6.0
    "Fair"
    By thefanof, Feb 08, 2012
    NCIS tried to do a Flashpoint style episode here with a crisis at the end, and a talk needed to get the guy to not utilize the bomb. I'm fine with that, I like this show, and I like that show, but this was just not a particularly strong show. Didn't care about the woman for Gibbs, or even the case tonight. Mediocre at best is what "Safe Harbor" was.

  • This mediocre by-the-book episode is another sign that my favorite show is imploding. Of the five episodes so far shown of season #9, the only one I liked was ep. #4 "Enemy on the Hill."moreless

    5.0
    "Mediocre"
    By chipee, Nov 25, 2011
    About "Safe harbor," nice touches were (1) the presence of CGIS Special Agent Abigail Borin (though she wasn't given much to do), (2) the search for a woman for Gibbs, but nothing much came of it; and (3) Gibbs' telling Ziva he wasn't lonely because he had a family in the NCIS team and kissed Ziva's forehead as his "kid".I didn't like these tired by-the-numbers things, which are repeated in too many episodes, and give new meaning to the word "procedural:"(1) I like the characters of Abby and Ducky, but I am getting tired of their making bizarre forensic discoveries that solve the cases in practically every episode. Why not a simple killing that needs no scientist to understand? Here, Abby smells ancient gun powder.(2) We get another spectacular/monstrous or high-level threat or breach. Here, they are planning to blow up half of Norfolk Harbor (in a really convoluted plan). We need more simple personal crimes.(3) Of the four suspects, it always ends up being the most unlikely one as the culprit. Always red herrings.(4) In too many to count episodes, the team saves the day by conveniently descending on the culprits at the last second before they can do their dastardly deed, like shooting someone. Here, the culprit is about to put two wires together to blow up the harbor. And why not kill him when they get the chance; instead they rely on the mother convincing the guy to relent!But the worst part of the ep was the maudlin, politically correct dialogue between Ziva and Mariam, every word accompanied by ponderous loud music (if you could call it that) -- conversations about mothers' duty, family, freedom, maternal instinct, proud parents, murdered cherished relatives, etc. I wouldn't have been surprised if Mariam had adopted Ziva at the end.As mentioned in another review, it is so unbelievable that that family of 4 could alone navigate that huge ship through the Mediterranean Sea and the Strait of Gibraltar, and across the Atlantic Ocean to Norfolk Harbor.Finally, I was turned off the way they handled the interaction between Gibbs, Vance and the Secretary of the Navy. I had trouble following the dialogue between them, and felt Gibbs was too insubordinate to the SecNav.The funniest line in the episode was when the snarly "lady" lawyer referred to the SecNav as Vance's subordinate.moreless

  • Not one of the better episodes.

    4.0
    "Poor"
    By oregonview, Nov 25, 2011
    The premise of this episode was a Lebanese Muslim family that was seeking refugee asylum in the USA because of persecution in Lebanon. This is a politically correct distortion of the reality in Lebanon, where Muslims are in the majority, Hezbollah is in control, and Christians are the ones in most danger. It follows the politically correct episode a few seasons ago in which Ducky refused to perform a standard autopsy on a Muslim out of respect for the religious beliefs of the family (so he performed a "virtual" autopsy).
    The episode ends (SPOILER ALERT) with the bad guy turning out to be, predictably, the youngest son who had appeared to be the most reasonable one in the family. And (SPOILER ALERT) the CSI agents stand there, guns in hand pointed at the youngest son, with the son having two lead wires one inch apart. If the son touches the wires together, the ship, several other ships in the harbor, and hundreds/thousands of innocents would be killed. But the agents stand there while Mom talks calmly to the boy. There's no way the agents could have stopped him if he had decided to touch the wires together. They should have shot him but Mom talks the kid out of killing thousands and everyone lives happily ever after. I'm a big fan, but this this was one of the worst episodes ever for NCIS.


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  • Perhaps not quite as great as last week's, but this episode was still promising signs for NCIS, after the abysmal first and third episodes of this seasonl.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By amazing_race, Nov 23, 2011
    This episode features a reather enjoyable case. It is very interesting and the team has many angles to work in order to determine which family member is the killer. I loved the fact that they found the stowawy family on the boat and especially Ziva's conversations with the mother were very interesting and rather insightful.
    I'd have to deduct marks for the side-storyline with DiNozzo and McGee searching for a woman for Gibbs. It was rather pointless and I didn't find any of that to be funny.
    So regarding today's episode, case wise, it was very, very good, but comedy-wise, definitely not good enough. They must come up with something a bit more funny that this. I was not impressed with that aspect of the episode.
    On another note, I rather enjoyed seeing CGIS Special Agent Abigail Borin tossed back into the fray. She is a character that I have really enjoyed during her annual visits to the NCIS team. She was great, but not quite as good as her other episodes.
    All up, great case, terrible side-story. I gave 10.0/10.0 for the case, but if I were scoring the comedy, it would be about 3 or 4.
    On a conclusding note, I also really hate this new SecNav. He is so incredibly boring. I enjoyed that lawyer mistaking him to be Vance's assistant!moreless
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  • QUOTES (4)

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    • Ziva: Are you lonely, Gibbs?
      Gibbs: You're never alone when you have kids. (kisses her on the forehead) Night, kid.

    • Farid Bawali: I realize Muslim refugees do not get a great deal of sympathy in your country.
      Gibbs: That's not true. We take everybody. We just have rules about how they get here.

    • Tony: Ducky, what do you think? Gibbs and Borin? Date mate material?
      Ducky: Well, given their combined work ethics, they'd probably never see each other. Which could be a recipe for the world's shortest courtship, or extreme longevity.
      Tony: So nobody's with me on team Bibbs?
      Agent Borin: No.
      Tony: We can change the name.

    • Tony: I think Gibbs and Borin would make a great couple. Just think of all the fun they'd have giving each other head slaps.
      Ziva: Well, head slaps are not very romantic, Tony.
      Tony: They can be. In the right context.

  • NOTES (1)

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    • Original International Air Dates:
      Canada: October 18, 2011 on Global
      Australia: October 25, 2011 on Channel Ten
      Sweden: November 14, 2011 on TV3
      Finland: January 31, 2012 on Nelonen
      United Kingdom: February 10, 2012 on FX/FX HD
      Germany: February 19, 2012 on Sat.1

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