I hate it when Gibbs uses the head slap on women - I think it's only Ziva he's done it to and it always made me wince. There's a short hand in a guy hitting a guy on the back of the head that reads as humour but it doesn't work when a guy hits a woman. It just reads wrong. Also, I don't actually like Gibbs slapping anyone but Tony now - it was okay occasionally with Tim but he had the aura of the whipped puppy about him when it happened, which made it less fun. When Gibbs does it to Tony, it seems like it's a combo of fun and discipline - and MW is the only one who gives it the right reaction. The others don't seem to know how to play it right. They seem to have veered away from Gibbs just slapping anyone in sight now which is a relief. It's much funnier used sparingly and just for a Gibbs/DiNozzo moment. It should never have gone beyond that. It was ALWAYS grounded in their relationship, not in the relationship with any of the others. It's like Abby gets her Gibbs-kiss and her caf-pow - it'd be weird if Gibbs started doing that to McGee or Ducky - these things should be kept specific to the relationship, or they cease to have any meaning.
It was like they veered from having Gibbs slap everyone, to Gibbs slap no one - which didn't work either, the head slap is essential to the Gibbs/Tony dynamic.
I have to disagree on the Tim front though. I've aways viewed Gibbs giving him a headslap as very inclusive. It was always a 'wake up, you're not at school anymore, you're playing for keeps' sort of thing. It did leave a bit of a whipped puppy look on his face - the same one that occurs when he headslaps himself, but that's been fading and he's been taking the headslaps a lot better in the last few seasons - a bit of character developement that makes sence to me.
I also find it very funny when Tony and Tim are bickering like brothers and Gibbs comes along and headslaps them both back into work mode (it also gives my muse some very kinky threesome ideas, but we won't go there).
