Tribes

Season 5, Episode 11, Aired

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8.6
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After a young Muslim Marine is murdered near his Mosque, Ducky refuses to perform autopsy due to his religious beliefs, so the NCIS team tries to talk to the father of the deceased, and they send McGee to plant a bug in the Mosque, only to discover that the FBI already planted their bug.moreless
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Fan Episode Reviews (20)

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  • A Muslim American soldier is murdered and the team investigates.

    9.0
    "Superb"
    By desetiprsten, Jul 28, 2010
    I'm disappointed by some of the anti-Muslim reviews, especially since this episode is meant to educate the viewers. David clearly stated the city she was from and how possible it is to have Muslim friends back home. Also, I totally understand why Ducky gave special treatment to the family. I don't necessarily agree/disagree with his actions, but it's a very complicated matter and, to me, seemed like a very realistic reaction. Yes, they could've brought someone else in, making it even more realistic, but people have to remember that this is a television show. There is a point for every major action.moreless

  • Too politically correct and unbelievable.

    5.0
    "Mediocre"
    By chipee, May 22, 2010
    I give the episode low marks because of its infernal political correctness, one reason for it probably having to do with foreign syndication.

    The worst exchange was when Ducky was talking about the war on terrorism problems. Speaking to Palmer he takes up a moral equivalence line, as though one side is as bad as the other. He says "religion has been the basis of conflicts for generations," and worst: we'll continue these problems "till we learn to respect one another," as though the West shares the blame for all of this. ... ... .... To hit all bases, it was precious that the other two Muslim Marines killed by the recruiter were one a Sunni Muslim and the other a Shiite Muslim... .... No comment needed on Ziva's poor 12-year-old Arab best friend killed by an Israeli rocket on his hotel! Boy!

    There were many unbelievable scenes in the episode:
    (1) OK, Ducky might refuse to do an autopsy, but let them find another Medical Examiner to do it. Instead several people risk their careers (and go through the expense and time) by doing a CAT scan and MRI instead.
    (2) the episode is about terrorist recruiters killing those soldiers they fail to recruit in a mosque. Has that ever happened? I doubt it. Such recruiters, I am sure, are trained to feel out the subject first, to see how likely they will join the terrorists before they make an outright unambiguous terrorist proposal. (3) poor everything when the ex-prisoner convert to Islam said his old "slave name" was so and so. A lot of black Americans do convert in prison and take Muslim names over their "slave names." But white Muslim converts don't refer to slave names. It is particularly funny since the Muslims are more associated with the slave trade than just about any other group.
    (4) I agree with Gibbs (and the other team members) not apprehending the Muslim cleric for killing the murderer of his son. Logical and understandable. We could have avoided a lot of grief if Abby and the others followed this example in reference to the angst at the end of season #7 regarding Gibbs' similar action.moreless

  • Being muslim doesnt mean you are a terrorist, but it shows that among you there is differences you must respect.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By HaninAbualrub, May 22, 2010
    Very good episode, at least it was logical when showing that humans have another kind of judgment when they are Muslims, which I consider it as inhuman.
    Gibbs reaction is what any decent man will do and feel after facing the tragedy of losing one's son.
    As for terrorists we saw through so many episodes when Zifa referred to Palestinians as killers and tony agrees with her, and the world knows that the killers are the Israelis so either show the 2 faces or stop producing these shows.
    One day the world will see the true face of terrorism coming from whom we think them descent.moreless

  • A dead Muslim marine brings Gibb's team in search of his killer.

    3.0
    "Bad"
    By thanatos1804, May 22, 2010
    Words cannot describe just how bad this episode is my opinion. It's chief insult to myself was it's "Sesame Street" moralistic line of "not all Muslims are terrorists - and vice versa" which was laid on so thick you couldn't see anything that was really thought provoking. Ducky's deference to Muslim faith, while somewhat in character, seemed entirely artificial. I'm also uncertain that Muslim's have such serious strictures against autopsies. Ziva's proclamations of Arab childhood friends was even worse. The devil is in the details as they said and Ziva's lines were so incorrect in the details that my father and I actually winced whenever she opened her mouth. As an Israeli I can attest that most of her lines of religious and national tolerance were seriously incorrect. Someone on the writing staff did not do there homework properly! If Ziva grew up near Arabs and had an Arab best friend as a child, then there are only so many places IN Israel where she could get friendly with an Israeli-Arab (like Jerusalem, Haifa and near Jaffa). Most other places are generally homogeneous from a demographic point of view. Also, the supposed friend was killed by Israel in a military attack. This makes no sense whatsoever since Israel attacks Palestinian towns outside that which is considered its sovereign territory and not its own towns that happen to have Arabs living in them. This episode was absolutely abominable in that respect and I for one want the person who wrote to get fired before he can damage this series any further!moreless

  • It wasn't that great, honestly, but still worthwhile.

    8.5
    "Great"
    By amazing_race, Feb 14, 2010
    In a fairly average episode of NCIS, this one starts off with a Muslim Marine being killed outside his mosque, and it seemed quite interesting at first.

    The case dragged on and became rather dull at a few points, but there were some interesting concepts to it, which was the good part, such as Ducky refusing to do the autopsy.

    I felt that the episode also lacked humour, so that was the second flaw in this one, in my opinion.

    I do think that the end was very good and they ended it on a great note, as they usually do.

    If you aren't a major fan of the show, I wouldn't recommend this one to you. There are plenty of much better episodes, although it is still decent, and somewhat interesting.moreless
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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • TRIVIA (5)

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    • GOOF: In one shot with the camera behind Ziva and Abdul's father, we see Ducky and Palmer insert Abdul Baskr into the MRI. In the same shot we see the machine sliding Abdul in and then stop along with his face pointing to the ceiling, as well as nothing being shown on the computers. In the next shot, we get a close up of the monitor with all four of them looking at the screen showing Abdul moving into the MRI once more, as well as his face is now pointing right.

    • TRIVIA: The body on the bed in the last scene bears a great resemblance to the deceased German actor Klaus Kinski.

    • GOOF: James Parks is credited as Brian Sikes in this episode but when Tony explains the case to Gibbs he calls the person who dealt with the poison as Brian when on the big plasma is clearly seen Sikes, Ryan.

    • TRIVIA: The background music Abby was listening to when she found out the information on the poison was The Last Firstborn, by Celldweller.

    • TRIVIA: The episode opens with a previously started Muslim prayer. The part shown is the last half, third or quarter of the prayer. In the show the Imam (leader of the prayer) first proclaims "Allah is great" (a takbir), then the first chapter (sura) of the Koran is recited. After that, three more takbirs and he finishes off with "Peace and Allah's mercy be upon you" (a tasleem).

  • QUOTES (11)

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    • Ziva: (interrupting Tony by placing her finger on his lips) Don't speak! Tony: Bullets Over Broadway, Woody Allen. Ziva: Very good! You get a B in my class. Tony: I can teach your class.

    • (Tony pulls out of Ziva's drawer a book titled "Movies for the Moron") Tony: Hahaha! Ziva: (grabs the book from Tony) I have killed for less. Tony: You cheated. Ziva: Did not! Tony: Yes, you did. That is a book of movies. I bet you never saw all those movies. You just read the book! Ziva: I like books. Tony: I like movies. Ziva: Do not quote books, I will not quote movies. Tony: What if it's a book that's been made into a movie?

    • Ziva: (referring to the Film Studies class she is taking) I am taking it because it is the best way to pick up American colloquialism, like bug off!

    • McGee: Baghdad is safer than this neighborhood.

    • Abby: It takes a lot of TLC to keep my children [the equipment] happy, and fully functioning in the lab of Abby, or, 'Labby,' as I like to call it. (whispers to the mass spectrometer) You're my favorite! Gibbs: Labby?

    • Gibbs: You are still a pain in the ass. Langer: You know I learned from the best.

    • Tony: (about Agent Langer as he walks away) What an ass! Ziva: (admiringly) Yes, indeed!

    • McGee: I'll flip you for it. Ziva: If I flip you, you will get hurt! Tony: (whispering to McGee) You can take her, Probie, do it!

    • Tony: Nobody likes a know-it-all. McGee: Gibbs does.

    • Tony: (pointing at McGee's enormous coffee mug) Good morning, Probie Pan. Where did you pick that up? Neverland?

    • (On the phone with McGee) Tony: Go Magoo!

  • NOTES (3)

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    • Original International Airdates: Denmark: March 4, 2008 on TV3 Germany: May 11, 2008 on SAT 1 The Netherlands: May 21, 2008 on Veronica Sweden: May 25, 2008 on TV3 Australia: June 3, 2008 on TEN United Kingdom: July 27, 2008 on FX UK New Zealand: August 24, 2008 on TV3 Italy: November 2, 2008 on RAI 2 Spain: November 28, 2008 on La Sexta Hungary: March 9, 2009 on TV2 Slovakia: September 10, 2009 on Markiza Finland: November 10, 2009 on Nelonen Czech Republic: March 15, 2010 on TV Nova

    • This was the last episode completed before the WGA strike that started on November 5, 2007.

    • CBS scheduled to air this episode on December 18, 2007, but a day before the episode aired, they replaced it with a repeat episode.

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