2.04 - Lt. Jane DoeThis is a featured page

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 Episode #: 04 Air Date: October 19, 2004 Next Episode ►
Lt. Jane Doe
Synopsis:
A body of a woman in a Navy uniform is found by two sailors. Ducky links the murder to an unsolved case 10 years ago, and starts behaving strangely. A serial murderer leaves a note on the body, promising to return.

Episode Recap:
In the squad room Kate chastises Tony for not returning the extra $1.85 when he got his change back at a drive-thru. NCIS is called in to investigate the body of a Lt. Two seaman off the George Washington discovered the body of the woman. The two seaman flag down Petty Officer Cluxton. McGee and Cluxton worked together at Norfolk.

Ducky is called to the crime scene to look at the body. He is supposed to be going to London for The Society of Medical Examiner's conference. After seeing the body Ducky is shaken. Ducky orders Abby to run the finger prints and semen samples ASAP.

Ducky goes to Norfolk to pick up sperm samples from an old case. He brings back the sample to compare to the sample found inside Jane Doe (Ducky tells the team that she is not really a Navy Lt.) Ducky had a case ten years previous with another women killed who had been dressed up to look like a Navy Lt with a trident carved in her neck. Ducky has been carrying the ashes of the dead Jane Doe for ten years. She is the only Jane Doe he never identified.

Abby matches the two semen samples to one person. Tony experiences bad luck after not returning the money and Cluxton finds a note from the killer left at the crime scene that says I'm back (This note is similar to the one found by the first victim ten years prior).

Gibbs interrogates Chief P.O. Ian Goetz who found the first victim but he has an alibi named William McDougal. Meanwhile McGee uncovers a suspect: Harlon Wilson. Tony and McGee investigate and discover that Harlon is dead. McGee still hangs on to the idea that he committed the crime and takes Harlon's brush to Abby.

Tony and Kate identify the second victim as Mariela Santos at a local gay bar.

In the lab Abby analyzes the note that Cluxton brought, and questions McGee about their relationship at Norfolk.

Tony and Kate search Santos' apartment. They find that it has been cleaned.

Abby matches Wilson's sperm to both victims. The only problem is Wilson was dead before the second victim was killed. Harlon's sperm was inserted in the second victim by Cluxton. The second victim was her lover, and she had access to the evidence locker. She knew about the case because her father had investigated it ten years ago.

Ducky gives his Jane Doe a final resting place in a cemetery.

New Character Development / Insights:
  • This is a case that takes a high emotional toll on Ducky (he withholds evidence from Gibbs and snaps at Abby). The original case has haunted him for the last 10 years and he has been unable to forget the Jane Doe he could not identify. As a result the new victim is one of the very few that has ever talked to him. She said "Tell my family what happened to me, please." He feels he failed the first victim and can not bear the idea of it happening again.
  • Gibbs relentlessly pursues justice for victims, however, in this case we are shown how he is unwilling to destroy innocent lives in that process. For him this does not fall into "the ends justify the means" category. He turns off the tapes and has a private interview with the suspect instead of exposing him. Gibbs of course finds an alternative means of exonerating him.

Funny Moments:
  • When Gibbs catches McGee fixing Abby's hotbox. Poor Special Agent Goodwrench.
  • Gibbs enters autopsy loudly saying "Dr. Mallard." Palmer, the only one present, responds with "Jimmy Palmer" and then gets a little embarrassed.
  • When Cluxton thanks Abby for letting her observe Abby responds with a special Abby look, “Anytime. Well …not anytime…sometime... maybe.”
  • Karma. The $1.85. Tony spilling coffee on him. (Kate - "What are the odds of that happening twice in one day?") And the greasy skillet at the suspects place.
  • The look on the team's face when Ducky admitted to Gibbs he held out on him and walked away. Gibbs only response was a big sigh and chasing affter his friend.
  • The look on Gibbs face when Ducky starts with his Mona Lisa story when he tries to explain why this one is so personal.
Trivia:
  • This is one of the only episodes of NCIS in which you can hear the voice on the other end of Gibbs' telephone call - in this case the call being from Dispatch informing him of a body.
  • For anyone counting the longest Tony has been without sex is 11 days 6 hours.
  • Kate speaks Latin, studied 4 years. McGee does not.
  • A body that talks to Ducky.
  • The latest Jane Doe is described as having been raped and murdered. Yet the only indication of any sexual activity is the presence of sperm. An autopsy would have shown that there was no forced sex, so the insertion of sperm should have been obvious - or at least suggested consensual sex, unless the object used to insert the semen was large enough to cause trauma.
  • This is the first episode featuring the poof noise/grey freeze frame.
Recurring Cast:
    Guest Starring:
        • Brian Dietzen (Jimmy Palmer)
        • Chris Heuisler (Navy Seaman Joe Wilkins)
        • Don Jeffcoat (Navy Seaman Tom Jennings)
        • Kent Faulcon (Cmdr. Reynolds)
        • Amy Sloan (P.O. Cynthia Cluxton)
        • David Marciano (Bartender)
        • Ben Reed (Chief P.O. Ian Goetz)
        • Jack Kehler (Middle-Aged Man)
        • Julia Rose (Female Bartender)
        • Mariela Santos (Jane Doe)
        Written By: Directed By:
        • Craig Van Sickle
        • Steven Long Mitchell
        • Dan Lerner




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        48thk NCIS team rules time and space 0 Dec 16 2008, 8:14 PM EST by 48thk
        Thread started: Dec 16 2008, 8:14 PM EST  Watch
        Is there a discussion anywhere, or clues in the episodes, on ways the team transcends time and space? Do they have a secret transporter network borrowed from Star Trek? For example, in this episode, Lt. Jane Doe, the team arrives in Norfolk a "few hours" before Ducky's plane is to leave for London. The impression is that he expects to be back in time to catch the plane. Norfolk NAS is approximately 200 miles from the Navy Yard, so 3 hours or more one way. They arrive in the truck, with the implication they drove it (...doubt if it was slung under a helicopter).

        Later in the investigation, Tony is sent to canvass the bars near the main gate, No mention of distance. After he arrives back and reports, he and Kate are sent back to canvass more bars. So say 7 hours travel time each round trip.

        Episodes are set in many other cities and remote locations. Many have similar "distance problems" from the Navy Yard. In real life, would a local team be dispatched first, to save time, and headquarters personnel brought in as needed?

        Is this just part of our willing suspension of disbelief? Or as my Daddy used to say "don't question the tale"?
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