Television was different in 2004. Procedurals were just starting to find their footing in a post-9/11 world, and NCIS was still the scrappy spin-off of JAG that nobody expected to become a global juggernaut. Then came NCIS The Good Samaritan. If you grew up watching Gibbs and his team, you probably remember the vibe of those early episodes. They were grittier. A bit more cynical. This specific episode, the fourteenth of the debut season, remains a fascinating time capsule of what the show used to be before it became a polished, comfortable machine.
The plot kicks off with a dead lieutenant. Standard stuff for a military drama, right? But the setup for NCIS The Good Samaritan is actually pretty dark. A naval officer is found tied up and shot in the back of the head on a lonely road in Virginia. He was supposedly stopping to help a stranded motorist. It’s the classic "no good deed goes unpunished" trope dialed up to eleven.
What Actually Happened in the Episode
Most people remember the twist, but the buildup is where the character work happens. We get a young, energetic Tony DiNozzo—back when his "frat boy" energy was at its peak—and a version of Gibbs that felt much more like a shadow operative than a father figure. The investigation leads the team to a series of murders that look like the work of a serial killer.
The victim was Lieutenant Commander Sherm. He was a dentist. Not exactly the kind of guy you'd expect to have enemies, which makes the execution-style killing even weirder. When the team finds a second body, a civilian named Steven Reitman, the "Good Samaritan" theory starts to look like a pattern. Both men were shot with the same weapon. Both were found in similar positions.
Honestly, the pacing of this episode is wild. It moves from a standard "whodunnit" into a psychological profile of a killer who preys on empathy. Gibbs, as usual, smells something fishy. He doesn't buy the random serial killer narrative. He thinks it’s personal. And he’s right. It turns out the "Good Samaritan" wasn't a stranger at all. The killer was actually the first victim's wife, Laura Sherm, played by Stacy Edwards.
She wasn't just a grieving widow. She was a cold-blooded strategist. She killed her husband for the insurance money and then killed a random civilian to make it look like a serial killer was on the loose. It’s a trope we’ve seen a thousand times since, but for 2004 network TV, it was a solid "gotcha" moment.
Why the "Good Samaritan" Concept Hits Different Now
Looking back at NCIS The Good Samaritan, you realize how much the show relied on the "unreliable victim" trope. In the early 2000s, the idea that a suburban wife would execute her husband and then murder a complete stranger just to cover her tracks was peak drama. Today, we've had decades of Gone Girl and true crime podcasts that have desensitized us to the "deadly spouse" narrative.
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But back then? It was a shocker.
There's also the technical side. You've got Abby Sciuto in her early Goth-phase glory, using forensic techniques that, frankly, look like magic tricks now. The "science" in NCIS The Good Samaritan involves some pretty basic ballistics and DNA work that was cutting-edge for the time. If you rewatch it today, the tech looks prehistoric. They're using monitors that weigh fifty pounds and flip phones that barely have reception.
The Gibbs Factor
Mark Harmon’s performance in this episode is a masterclass in the "silent but deadly" lead. He doesn't need to yell. He just looks at people. In NCIS The Good Samaritan, he plays Laura Sherm like a fiddle. He knows she did it almost immediately, but he has to prove it. The scene where he finally catches her in a lie about her husband’s habits is classic NCIS.
It also highlights the dynamic between Gibbs and Ducky. David McCallum’s Ducky was the heart of the show, and his psychological profiling in this episode provided the roadmap Gibbs needed. They weren't just looking for a shooter; they were looking for a motive. Ducky’s insight into the "pathological lack of empathy" required to kill a random bystander just for a cover story is what ultimately pins Laura down.
A Legacy of Darker Themes
One thing fans often forget about the first season is how much more "adult" it felt. NCIS The Good Samaritan deals with some pretty heavy themes regarding infidelity and greed within the military community. It wasn't always the "team as a family" show. It was a show about people with messy lives doing a difficult job.
The episode was written by Jack Bernstein and directed by James Whitmore Jr. These guys knew how to build tension. They utilized the isolation of the Virginia backroads to create a sense of dread. Even though the episode title suggests a helpful stranger, the reality is a nightmare scenario for anyone who has ever considered stopping to help someone on the side of the road.
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Small Details You Might Have Missed
If you go back and watch, pay attention to the dialogue between Tony and Kate Todd. Their banter in NCIS The Good Samaritan is a great example of the chemistry that built the show's foundation. Sasha Alexander’s Kate was the perfect foil for Tony’s nonsense. In this episode, they’re still figuring each other out. There’s a level of professional respect masked by constant bickering that later seasons tried to replicate but never quite captured in the same way.
Also, look at the "interrogation" scenes. Early NCIS used much tighter shots and harsher lighting. It felt less like a TV set and more like an actual government building. The aesthetic of the episode is very "industrial blue," which was the trend for procedurals at the time (think CSI or Cold Case).
The Reality of the "Good Samaritan" Defense
In the context of the show, the killer tries to use the "Good Samaritan" trope as a shield. In the real world, "Good Samaritan" laws are actually designed to protect people who give reasonable assistance to those who are, or who they believe to be, injured, ill, in peril, or otherwise incapacitated.
The irony in the episode is that the killer uses the expectation of help as a weapon. It subverts a positive social contract. That’s probably why this episode stuck with people. It taps into a primal fear: that our best instincts can be used against us.
How This Episode Influenced the Series
NCIS The Good Samaritan set a template for the "domestic thriller" episodes that would pop up every season. It proved the show could handle stories that weren't just about terrorism or international espionage. It could be about the darkness living in the house next door.
Without the success of these early, character-driven mysteries, NCIS might have just been another military procedural that faded away after three seasons. Instead, it leaned into the personalities of its cast. We see Gibbs’ intuition, Tony’s observational skills, and Abby’s brilliance all working in sync.
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Is It Worth a Rewatch?
Honestly, yeah. Even with the dated tech and the 4:3 aspect ratio (if you’re watching the original broadcasts), the writing holds up. It’s a lean, 42-minute story that doesn't waste much time. There are no "B-plots" about someone’s dating life or a wacky hobby. It’s just the case.
If you're a completionist or someone who only started watching in the later years (the Bishop or Knight eras), going back to NCIS The Good Samaritan is a bit of a shock to the system. It’s less "cozy" and more "crime drama."
Actionable Takeaways for the NCIS Fan
If you're looking to dive back into the early days of the show or just want to understand the lore better, here’s how to approach it:
- Watch for the "Gibbs Rules": While the rules weren't as codified in Season 1 as they became later, you can see the seeds of his philosophy being planted in his interactions with the suspect.
- Observe the Forensic Evolution: Contrast Abby’s work in this episode with her work in Season 15. It’s a great way to see how television’s portrayal of forensic science changed as real-world technology advanced.
- Analyze the Dialogue: Notice how much more cynical the humor was. The show hadn't yet leaned into the "lovable family" vibe. It was sharper and sometimes a bit meaner, which gave it a different kind of edge.
- Check the Guest Cast: NCIS has always been great at casting its villains. Stacy Edwards as Laura Sherm is a perfect example of the "wolf in sheep's clothing" archetype that the show would return to many times.
The episode serves as a reminder that the most dangerous threats in the NCIS universe aren't always foreign agents or shadowy organizations. Sometimes, the most dangerous person is the one sitting across from you at the dinner table, planning how to turn a tragedy into a payday. NCIS The Good Samaritan remains a standout example of why this show captured the public's imagination and never let go. It proved that in the world of NCIS, the truth is rarely as simple as a kind gesture on a dark road.
To truly appreciate the arc of the series, watch this episode back-to-back with a later season "spouse-killer" episode like "Check" (Season 12). The contrast in how the team handles the emotional weight of the betrayal shows exactly how much the characters—and the writers—matured over the decades. It’s not just about solving the crime; it’s about the toll the crime takes on those left behind.