Intelligence: “Delta Force” (Episode 1.08)

Those of us who have stuck with Intelligence this long deserve some sort of prize, don’t you think? We are loyal and committed. And CBS is helping our dedication by airing a new episode of the show every Monday night. Intelligence was one of the few series that ran new episodes opposite the Olympics. Given the show’s ratings, it’s kind of fascinating that the network hasn’t pulled the drama from its line-up. But being the number one network does have its perks. Perhaps CBS can afford to air a show whose ratings fall short of expectations. And, as it did with Hostages, the network is showing respect for its viewers by not pulling the series from the schedule mid-run.

So we keep watching, hoping the show will improve. Albert Einstein is credited with saying doing the same thing expecting different results is the definition of insanity. So maybe we’re all just crazy for Josh Holloway.

The episode found Gabriel coming face to face with his old Delta Force (hence the episode’s title) buddy Norris (guest star Matt Gerald), who is now in Bolivia killing presidential candidates. This allowed the show to flashback to Gabriel’s time in Afghanistan where it is once again reinforced that Gabriel is a good guy with a conscience—but we knew that already.

The episode also gave Michael Rady’s Chris Jameson more to do and took him out of CyberCom and into the action. Of course, he was almost immediately shot, which sidelined him, but at least he got out of the office.

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Gabriel and Riley are dispatched to Bolivia to protect Bolivian presidential candidate Javier Leon (guest star Yancy Arias). The minute the Bolivian’s leader’s wife Marcela (guest star Iris Almario) came on the screen, I knew she really was the one trying to kill her husband. That’s probably due to bad direction—the camera lingered on Marcela far too long and Almario had a perpetual guilty look on her face. But again, if I can figure out the killer in the first 15 minutes of the episode, that doesn’t make Gabriel and his crew look too smart. The show continues to make Gabriel do dumb things, like cut his communication line, to shoddily advance the plot.

The series remains almost interminably boring. Even when Gabriel is coming face to face with his former friend turned paid assassin with his gun drawn, there’s a serious lack of dramatic tension.

And the show continues to be confused about what to do about the Riley/Gabriel relationship. Their flirtatious banter was kept to a minimum but, throughout the episode, she pressed him to talk about what happened between him and Norris. And, let’s be honest, nagging a man to discuss his feelings is totally a girlfriend thing to do.

But still we continue to watch. Maybe CBS will take us all out for dinner as a thank you after the show is over.

Other thoughts on “Delta Force”:
—Could “Bolivia” have looked more fake?
—Poor Marg Helgenberger got more lines and intrigue in the opening credits narration than she received in this entire episode.
—When Gabriel makes a quip remark to Norris, he replies “That’s not funny, man.” At least someone is calling out Gabriel on his inappropriate attempts at humor.
—Once again, Gabriel does a lousy job at protecting his big secret.