With a narrative involving a rock-ridden corpse that ends with a surprise party for Dr. Donald Mallard (David McCallum), the only episode of “NCIS” that Billy Miller ever appeared in has garnered a mixed reaction from those who’ve watched it. In a review on TV Fanatic, Paul Dailly wrote, “‘NCIS’ Season 20 Episode 3 was a diamond in the rough because it utilized everyone and was a captivating subject matter.” He added, “‘Unearth’ highlighted what NCIS can do with better cases.”
Some fans also made it known how they felt about the entry, like u/Beebo_the_God_of_War, who wrote in a post on Reddit, “I enjoyed this one. It was a great character exploration of Torres. And it was fun to celebrate Ducky’s birthday.”
One individual praised Miller’s performance but did admit the entry wasn’t perfect. “Nothing wrong with the episode here, and glad to see Billy Miller pop on primetime as a villain, but there was also nothing overly exciting about this,” user bobcobb301 wrote in a review on IMDb.
But others felt the entry was an example of the show’s decline and were dissatisfied with the quality. In a Reddit thread about “Unearth,” u/Agile_Opportunity_41 posted, “The writing this year is just not nearly as good as past years IMO.”
On the episode’s IMDb page, user jeffreycrippen-28446 wrote a review, saying, “This series was my favorite show for 18 years. Now I can barely get through an entire episode.” While “Unearth” may not be the most hated or beloved chapter from the “NCIS” universe, it is impressive that fans are still digging up discussions about a military procedural that started in 2003.
