Plot
Ducky andProduction
"Detour" was written by Steven D. Binder and directed by Mario Van Peebles. Executive producer Gary Glasberg asked Binder to "think of an episode about what happens when ucky and Palmerleave the crime scene with the body and all the little details of what happens in their van." According to Binder, "The core of this episode came from a simple question: what happens on a typical day when Ducky and Jimmy Palmer drive off from a crime scene?". The tour back to the NCIS base has never been shown before, but "this time we do – though the drive home isn’t exactly typical", Binder continues. As with every episode, it has its "own unique challenges". Ducky and Palmer's escape, with only "their expertise…and a dead body" was this episode's challenge. Although the episode included scenes from a forest, the episode wasn't shot in a forest. Instead, "the fake forest" was built by the production design team. "Stage 5 actually looked more like a real forest than the real forest we used for a few establishing shots", according to Binder.Reception
"Detour" was seen by 20.69 million live viewers following its broadcast on February 26, 2013, with a 3.4/10 share among adults aged 18 to 49. A rating point represents one percent of the total number of television sets in American households, and a share means the percentage of television sets in use tuned to the program. In total viewers, "Detour" easily won ''NCIS'' and CBS the night. The spin-off '' NCIS: Los Angeles'' drew second and was seen by 17.02 million viewers. Compared to the last episode "Hereafter", "Detour" was down in both viewers and adults 18–49. Douglas Wolfe from ''TV Fanatic'' gave the episode 4.0/5 and stated that "This week's Ducky and Palmer Show was a welcome change from the usual ''NCIS'' storyline. I expected to be bored with this plot, but found myself intrigued instead. The most compelling scene of the episode was Jimmy Palmer's adamant refusal to leave Ducky to the mercy of their kidnappers."References
{{NCIS episodes 2013 American television episodes NCIS (season 10) episodes