NCIS (TV Series) Dead Man Talking (2004) User Reviews

Decent episode, despite most reviewers thinking it's the worst thing ever.

[LegendaryFang56 · 7/10 · 22 January 2022]

Yet another episode, another episode where there was a crucial aspect, it being obvious, and I didn't even consider it. I'm super surprised that particular topic was "tackled" in an episode that premiered in 2004: and the other topic in the previous episode. But it wasn't necessarily tackled, which is why I used quotation marks. Plenty of people would consider it super problematic, and that makes sense.

In my review for the previous episode, I theorized that Pacci's cold case could have something to do with the terrorist. We know now that it didn't. I wasn't expecting it to, anyway. But the end of the season is closing in. Something is bound to happen soon regarding that.

• Another episode, another McGee appearance, showing up again. That makes me think/gives me the impression that the showrunner(s)/producer(s) were planning to make him a Season Regular from the beginning. I wasn't 100% sure before. I guess the fact that Donald P. Bellisario and Sean Murray are related was a factor. It would've been cool if David Ramsey's NCIS Agent Richard Owens from the fifth episode also became a Season Regular.

• The two cuts/transitions were pretty nice: the flashback of Pacci's camera falling, then cutting to it being held, along with Tony, throwing the paper wrap into the garbage can, then cutting to Ducky throwing something into a garbage can.

• I liked the assumption by the building manager that Gibbs and Tony were together. Honestly, that would be cool to see at some point: as in, both of them having to go undercover or something like that, pretending to be a couple, including getting real into character. That would be super entertaining. I'm 99% it'll never happen/has never happened throughout the entire show, but it would be cool if it did.

• I'm pretty sure there was a previous instance or instances in this season where Tony wasn't that knowledgeable regarding films. Well, he somewhat was, I guess. But now, he's churning out references left and right, while McGee is the clueless one. I found that super interesting. Character growth, people! I mean, I'm like McGee in this context/Tony in the past, but we love to see it!

Overall, there isn't much to say for this episode's review. I thought this episode was pretty decent. It was better than the previous episode, for sure.

One of the better episodes of NCIS I've watched so far.

[paikia · 9/10 · 13 February 2018]

The episode starts pretty dramatically, as it turns out the murder victim is someone all the main characters know and respect. While the obvious drama does get its place during the episode, there's still plenty of room left for the investigation itself, which follows a rather winding road and quite a few surprises, including a connection to an old NCIS case, which had been considered mostly solved up until now.

In light of some other reviewers bringing up claims as if this episode is offensive or stereotypical in nature, I must point out that while being a liberal, open-minded person, I don't share that view at all. As far as I was concerned, there was no shaming or discriminating of any kind - just a good, interesting plot unfolding.

Gems here, gems to come

[akicork · 9/10 · 15 June 2020]

An earlier reviewer has given a good rating, but includes comments that I cannot support. He implicitly describes himself as a "mainstream American". His review points up the exact problems I have with people who consider themselves "mainstream American". His first point of failure is his remark that Ducky might be "British or Canadian". This illustrates acutely the ignorance of a large proportion of people who consider themselves "mainstream American". The staggering inability of an American to distinguish Canadians from Britons aside, the real gap of ignorance here is that there are more British accents than Dick van Dyke's. And that a similar variation exists in Canadian in (OMG!) by extension American accents and dialects. It seems unlikely that this reviewer is able to assess what a star they are dealing with. Let me widen his knowledge. David McCallum was born in Glasgow (that's in Scotland, a northern part of the United Kingdom) - my mother and my aunt used to push him in his pram in Byres Road. He is the son of two notable musicians, Dorothy Dorman, the cellist, and David McCallum Sr, one of the greatest British violinists of the mid-twentieth-century. At Sir Thomas Beecham's request, David McCallum Sr stood in successfully for Beecham as conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra on their first American Tour. He was one of the ensemble created to back the Beatles' "A Day in the Life", and kept on performing until his death in 1972. One of his greatest gifts to the world might be said to show Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin how to play a guitar with a violin bow. As for David Junior, he really hit the public consciousness as Ilya Kuryakin in "The Man from Uncle", with Robert Vaughn as his co-star Napoleon Solo. A solid career followed, marked by roles in major television productions such as Colditz, The Invisible Man, and Sapphire and Steel. And now we have this icon of world drama as our Ducky. Ain't we lucky? As for the question of European actors, Suzana Drobnjakovic (Sasha Alexander) may have been born in Los Angeles but her roots are Serbian. She is Italian by marriage. Her languages are English, Serbian and Italian. Her husband Eduardo Ponti is the son of the director Carlo Ponti and Sophia Loren, who's sister Maria was married to Romano Mussolini, the youngest son of Benito Mussolini, the Italian dictator during the Second World War. (Il Duce). On her loss from the script, which I take as as a loss of a real friend, the character having become such over the previous two years, she was replaced by the brilliant Chilean actress and singer María José de Pablo Fernández (Cote de Pablo). Why complain? It could be said that all citizens of the US who have arrived since 1492 (maybe 1776 when some of them declared independence from Britain) are incomers who have taken land to which they previously had no right. Many of these have gone on to develop wealth (agriculturally, by mineral extraction, oil, gold, steel, or whatever, or by subsequent industrial development) from that land, some more successfully than others, some by the use (I use the word deliberately) of slaves, some not. I include those who arrived with no assets of their own, seeking employment from previous immigrants who had already made their way and benefitted from that progress. The more I think about it, the more I feel that *all* the people of the US should question the ethical roots of "their" property. No one has anything to fear. The spirit on which the US is based is one of welcome. The song of Columbia is one of shelter and comfort: "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Stringfellow

[bevo-13678 · 10/10 · 14 June 2020]

It was a shame that Pacci was killed. He seemed like a nice guy

Loved it

[Gmalkin · 4 January 2020]

Helps set the stage for the running rivalry/jokes between DiNozzo and McGee - it even gets Todd in on the action.

All of these rants from people claiming it's 'transphobic'....just oy vey. That the suspect turned out to be trans is called a 'plot twist'. The suspect being killed had *nothing* to do with being trans. The suspect gutted Pocci, not because of being trans, but because he had swallowed the incriminating SD card. The suspect was not treated as being 'evil' or whatever because of being trans, but because of the gutting of an NCIS agent.

Above average for the season

[eporter-129-715172 · 8/10 · 16 April 2021]

This has one of the better plots from the season. I didn't expect the twist that Amanda was Voss, probably because she was played by an attractive woman.

As for the episode being transphobic, DiNozzo reacts exactly as you'd expect a guy like him to react. It's kind of interesting to watch TV this old where Bush was President, computers have CRT monitors, smartphones don't exist, and a trans female character is referred to by male pronouns.

Yelling "Stop Him!" was odd to me mostly because nobody else in the restaurant would have thought she was a he.

Interesting episode but extremely transphobic

[emmaf-72869 · 6/10 · 11 March 2021]

The episode was really interesting and had a great storyline. We got to see the team's reactions to the death of one of their own, and the subsequent solving of Pacci's cold case was fascinating. I found it a really interesting and entertaining episode overall.

With that being said, it's definitely not one of my favourite episodes by any means because of the transphobia within. The characters repeatedly misgendered the transgender individual and used her deadname, and Abby is shown stating that she finds gender reassignment surgery even more than hinky - implying that she doesn't approve/thinks it's weird/etc.

Overall, it's a good episode if you can stomach the transphobia, but there is a lot of that and it's frankly disgusting to watch. I love these characters but I definitely don't love their choices here.

Good episode of the show with an interesting twist but the transphobic nature just brings it down

[kaitlyngarner · 6/10 · 11 April 2020]

I love this show. It's a great watch and this episode is really really good. The twist near the end with the killer hiding from the agency because they've gone through 3 years of gender transition.

My issue with the episode is that they treat this in a similar way to Ace Ventura Pet Detective. They treat it like a huge joke and constantly refer to the killer as a man even after she's shot through the head. As a trans woman, I hate to see this sort of thing in what was otherwise a really good episode.

This is why I'm giving it a 6. I personally would have given it a 9-10 if the gender transition was treated as something valid and not made a joke or something that just parrots a rhetoric about trans people made by people that have obviously never met or befriended anyone that is trans.

I say again, I love this show. I just wish this 1 thing was handled better as it did affect the overall enjoyment of the episode

Mediocre episode ruined by transphobia

[jellojelly · 1/10 · 6 September 2015]

I've been re-watching NCIS, and I had blissfully forgotten this shitstain of an episode, so the twist actually caught me by surprise. Spoilers here: The twist is that The Bad Guy, a former male naval officer, is a woman. She presents as a woman, lives 24/7 as a woman, is portrayed by a female actress, and everyone, including the main characters, accepts her as a woman - until they find out from her fingerprints that she used to live as a man. After that discovery, they constantly refer to her with male pronouns, to the point of causing confusion in public when Tony shouts "stop him!" at a crowd, and the crowd piles on McGee because The Baddie is really obviously female.

The main characters basically act like trans people don't exist, and that the only reason a person would transition is to conceal their true identity. Even though it's clear that Amanda (the baddie) has put a great deal of time and effort into her appearance (her makeup is skillfully applied; her clothes are flattering; she likely had upper body and/or facial surgery) and is even scheduled to get GCS soon, her identity as a woman is completely ignored. It's not even brought up as an explanation of why she stole funds from the government and faked her own death! They dropped the plot rather than show respect to a trans person.

So if you're feeling nostalgic for first-season NCIS, do yourself a favor and skip this episode. It's embarrassing, cringeworthy, and deserves to be left in the past.

Trans phobic

[itsmezoeygirl · 22 September 2018]

Y the hell is this ok. the most tans phobic bigotry i have every seen on a tv show this episode need to be pulled.

Love NCIS but

[ryangalaxysmile · 7/10 · 16 November 2022]

I loved this show so I decided to re-watch it with my Grandpa every so often since he liked it and hadn't been able to keep up. Since I'm trans he pointed out the trans woman character excitedly but it was sad the trans woman was referred to as a male constantly after they found out she used to be a man. Many looked it over because they do not understand why people were claiming it was transphobic. It is not that the trans character was the one guilty, it is that they started referring to her as a "he" after they realized she wasn't born female. That's why many in reviews were upset in the reviews, especially a bit stood off by the sudden change just based off the character's non related gender info?

A solid episode

[harrykivi · 7/10 · 20 August 2023]

"Dead Man Talking" is one of the better episodes of this season. Some people have found it transphobic and I understand the complaints. There are some flaws in this episode, but overall I think the story is pretty good.

Let's start with the good.

. The production values of the episode are great as usual. It's well-directed, the music fits the scenery and the acting is good.

. The mystery is engaging for the most part, the story is easy to follow and I did like how the conclusion was handled (Gibbs shoots the killer without a blink of an eye)

But...

. The humor, which is no doubt subjective, does not always work. I did feel that Dinozzo got to much unneccesary rap for kissing a man, who wanted to become a woman. The story does not reach for the emotional heights, because the audience barely knew the victim. It would have been better if Chris Pacci's character got more build up before his demise. Also, I don't think the ending twist is that surprising.

Overall, a solid episode.

7/10 HK.

Good plot but definitely transphobic

[kywallace-99629 · 3/10 · 21 August 2020]

I love this show, but on a rewatch, I couldn't believe how much I'd forgotten of the early seasons. There's a fair bit of sexism going around in season 1 (which is dealt with well going forwards though) but I don't know how I never clocked this episode before.

Does it have a brilliant plot line? Yes. Is it great acting and emotionally interesting? Yes. Is it also blatantly transphobic? Yes, it is.

Personally, I thought the plot twist of the killer being transgender was great; unexpected and realistic. What I hated about this was the constant misgendering of said transgender character, the extreme negative reactions of other characters, and the constant mockery of the entire situation. The death of the killer, Voss, was no issue, but the entire concept of being transgender was not talked about at all, playing it off as simply a way to escape jail, and then mocked ceaselessly.

Not gonna put me off the series as a whole (it does get better on this front, promise!) But disappointed in this one

biased, discriminatory, rude

[monikadeinbeck · 1/10 · 8 August 2015]

As a trans-woman I cannot overlook how trans-people are depicted here. We learn that Lt. Cmd Voss lives as a woman for three years, takes hormones (we see her in a bra and taking pills) and plans a sex reassignment surgery. No motive is presented for her faked death but the desire to start a new life. No one would undergo such efforts nor pass the necessary psychological tests without really being a woman. Despite that, the whole team speaks of her as "he" and makes a mock of her and of DiNozzo being attracted by her. To me and I believe every trans-person this is deeply offensive. I cannot understand an author who in 2005 writes such insensitive and discriminatory bullshit.

So much lost potential in this episode. And come on Kate and Abby, you should know better.

[anindita1899 · 4/10 · 12 March 2020]

Okay, I love NCIS and I am on the 3rd rewatch of the entire early seasons. Yes, Tony grows on you over the seasons and his character matures a lot, but in the early seasons his actions are almost unbearable, especially his tendency of being a creepy voyeur and his treatment of his female colleagues and interviewees always borders on sexual harassment. I usually ignore his mannerisms considering it was shot in early 2000s. However, I still can't get over this episode and it's blatant homophobia and transphobia by almost all cast members. I loved the story overall, it was emotional, thrilling and dramatic. However, the ending where the characters like Kate, McGee and even Abby acted somewhere between shocked, disgusted and horrified at the Lt. Voss's transition into Amanda was very badly written. Tony's reaction makes sense because he's written like a traditional jock kind of teenage-minded man who can be highly inappropriate but means well. It's in keeping with his character. Gibbs is also kinda okay because he is much older and of a different generation and he doesn't really make any pointed comments on this topic. Gibbs and McGee's reactions are more like most people who do not understand queerness but find it inappropriate to joke about it. However, the reactions of Kate and Abby where they refuse to consider Amanda a woman, won't use female pronouns, act horrified at the thought of gender transition and won't stop joking about "Tony dating/kissing a man" is not at all in keeping with their characters as good, liberal and mature women. Of course, they should still have made fun of Tony for his transphobia and homophobia but it could have been done without throwing shades at the character's sexual identity or at least trying to be more understanding to the reasons behind it. There was so many things they could have dealt sympathetically with here-homophobia and transphobia in US military or how the issues faced by a queer person can sometimes push them over the edge. Instead they killed off the character without any proper explanation and made her into a total joke.

Predictable plot with horrible transphobic rhetoric

[perrycatherine-71653 · 1/10 · 7 September 2020]

Especially when Kate and Gibbs refuse to respect pronouns. Kate goes on at the end about Dinozzo "tonguing a guy" when if he did tongue a guy why would that be wrong? Also she isn't even a guy!

Extremely Transphobic

[alabamapeach · 1/10 · 7 March 2017]

I started watching NCIS in season 6, caught up and now I'm wrapping around to the beginning. DiNozzo's blatant sexism is on full display here, along with everyone's tolerance of it.

But what really drags everything in the episode down is the extreme transphobia written in. The plot point of Lt. Voss faking her death to both get away with fraud and make a clean break of a gender transition is fine, and could be interesting. What's completely reprehensible is the team refusing to respect a clear, obvious transition including misgendering Lt Voss/Amanda Reed, acting disgusted by her transition, and acting like it didn't happen in any way until a quick (mocking) reference to GRS at the end.

Yes, as other reviewers have mentioned, this was written over 10 years ago. That doesn't mean we can't decide now that it represents hate and a profound disrespect.

Also, if Tony was as good as he thinks he is, he would have been able to cover after he got that phone call.

Sexism and Transphobia

[annb-4 · 2/10 · 5 October 2015]

I've been watching NCIS and its gender attitudes with mild disbelief: it's hard to believe they think the sexism and sexual harassment portrayed as "good fun" is tolerable after, among other things, the Tailhook scandal. Then we get this episode, with its unquestioned, ignorant, and nasty transphobia. Times haven't changed that much: this was unacceptable in 2004, even if more people are more aware of its offensiveness now.

Are there some interesting characters in the show? Sure. Is the sexist horny-toad a tolerable character? Nope.

So: ugh.

Transphobic

[jessicarutholin · 1/10 · 30 August 2021]

The title of my review says it all, but I have to use more words in order to be able to post it.

Stopped here ...

[motleybits · 1/10 · 26 December 2015]

I'd been surprisingly addict to this show from the first, although the constant theme of turning a blind eye to sexual discrimination in the workplace (Tony gets to do whatever he likes) is mildly sickening.

Then they get to this episode, where we again cast a transwoman as the evil, moral-less character--so bad that she'd disembowel an agent in an elevator. Of course, anyone who would do something so horrific MUST be a transperson, right? I deleted NCIS from my Netflix list after seeing this episode.

As another reviewer said, once they figured out their perp was a transperson, they immediately forgot about any evidence, any deductions, and any proper use of pronouns. It was all a big joke after that about Tony kissing "him". And, of course, the awful evil transperson had to be shot between the eyes in front of a crowd of witnesses--and I don't think the writers did that as a payoff for her crime, because apparently all transpeople must die immediately.

It's cheap stereotype that's been done to excess, and helps persecute actual living people who mean no one any harm. I'm surprised none of the actors had a problem with acting through that episode.

Worst episode so far - extremely transphobic

[leclercqls · 3/10 · 31 December 2020]

In this episode they both misgender and dead-name a transgender woman, referring to her as a man several times. There is also a part where their lead "scientist" implies gender reassignment surgery is "wrong".

Horribly transphobic.

[simacca · 1/10 · 2 March 2021]

I don't think this should of even been acceptable for 2004!! Just goes to show how transphobic the script writers were back then. Disgusting imo.

Transphobic

[cole-10363 · 1/10 · 25 January 2018]

A few previously transphobic jokes in the series, but this whole episode left trans people at the butt of a joke. For a TV show written in 2004 this is ridiculous.

Horribly transphobic

[juliafarrell-95892 · 2/10 · 25 October 2021]

Would've been a good episode with a good twist minus the fact that the blatant transphobic made it almost unbearable to watch. This episode came out in 2004 they knew better than to call her a guy and a him and make jokes about kissing a guy when she's not a guy anymore. Completely inappropriate unwatchable and blatantly transphobic.

Discrimination is never funny

[kficano · 1/10 · 2 December 2022]

I would have known this episode was cruel & discriminatory, even as a child. Come on. Even British shows from earlier years showed more sensitivity: Prime Suspect, Touch of Frost, Morse. DiNozzo character is just not funny at all in any episode. He's the kind of guy that makes women cringe. So far I would have given the series a 6 because I was pulled in as the episodes followed in sequence on a streaming platform. And this episode was okay, started out well: the death of the colleague a a riveting tart to the story, the money, mystery whether suspect is dead, and then it just veers off for what.