You may not have noticed but our very special show will reach a milestone of ten years next year having first aired 23 September 2003 in the US. Back then I wonder how many thought this show would become an instant hit, perhaps not instant, but it was bound to catch on.
Coming from the pen of Donald P Bellisario (always wanted to say that) it would be watchable, irrespective of whether it would attract the necessary audience to keep it going. He has after all been the mastermind behind many TV shows, which everyone knows by now; but if you don't, the better known ones include Magnum PI (Tony's favourite) Airwolf (with Tony's favourite name of Stringfellow Hawke, which he called himself in Dead Man Talking.) Quantum Leap and JAG.
NCIS followed hot on the heels of JAG and the introductory episodes of NCIS were part of JAG, which could be called its parent show (or as some like to joke, grandparent.) NCIS is of course a real agency having its roots in NIS (Navy Investigative Service) becoming NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigative Service) as we know it today.
On NCIS Donald Bellisario commented, "If you want to look at it in the Law and Order mode, NCIS is law, JAG is order. NCIS is about military investigative officers operating in a protective way. JAG is about investigative officers operating in a reactive way." Also the show when it began was called NAVY NCIS which Bellisario wanted to keep to maintain the distinction and so viewers would knwo instantly what the show entailed, but the network, CBS wanted 'Navy' dropped from the title.
Many stories in NCIS are based on real life events and have been declassified lately. Infact Mark Harmon has a real life NCIS agent to ensure the stories and his character are also portrayed as true to life. Not sure about the headslapping though, ha. "It is an extremely dangerous job - it is not extremely well paying for the danger. I am proud to be representing these people. It is a job and I couldn't do for real." Commented Mark. "It takes a very rare individual."
The highlights of the show are not only the stories, the jokes, the heartaches, but also the actors themselves who keep the lines coming and their characters whole and fun loving, at times, as well as emotionally charged; not to mention the writers who keep the scripts finely tuned. As Mark said, "the scripts either move you and and you get through them or you stop at page 20 and say, 'No thanks. I'd rather not be a part of this.' But this was a real page turner and I was excited about closing the last page of the script." He also added, "I had to kiss a lot of frogs to get here - this is one of those lucky groupings of actors. It is a terrifically talented ensemble and they make it look easy."
Mark: "the White shadow' sometimes it is just in a name. Leroy Jethro Gibbs was Donald Bellisario's dad's best friend growing up in Pennsylvania. I read that name and it stopped me."
Michael Weatherly spoke of how "really great is the way NCIS operatives have to work in the field by the seat of their pants. They're trying to figure stuff out in a country where they don't speak the language, they don't know what the behaviour is...but they have a mission and an ethical code that they adhere to as much as they can." Surely they need to know some languages and something of the country they're in or life would get very messy and difficult if they don't observe certain protocols or customs of that country. Which humorously enough brings me to Ziva, who started out as a foreign national in a foreign country and the strife she got into with the language! Thus her 'Ziva-isms.'
Ziva in Hiatus Part 1: "Ducky drip it."
Ducky: "Do you mean drop it or zip it?"
Ziva: "Ah, American idioms drive me up the hall."
Ducky: "Well - actually never mind." Or as Tony would tell her, 'you're in America now, assimilate already.'
Cote de Pablo was brought onto the show after Sasha Alexander left after two seasons, as Donald Bellisario wanted "an European or Australian girl who is very comfortable with her femininity". Cote is Chilean American and was happy in NY, but within the space of a fortnight she was on her way to LA. "I had one little bag and moved into a one bed apartment and my life became NCIS." She found the early years to be hard but fun and challenging too. "It was like a boot camp as I'd never really been in front of a camera for 15 hours a day and as a lead. You embrace it." As did we with her endearing character, warts 'n'all. Nah she don't got no warts, just her little idiosyncrasies, which make her Ziva. Like "18 ways to kill with a paperclip."
Abby Sciuto (Pauley Perrette) everyone's enamoured with the feisty, fun loving forensic Goth. Pauley has Abby's larger than life happy persona and attitude. She feels everyone on the show is a real family. "We've been through so much together, we've kept each other together and on our feet through so much trauma over the last few years and really happy times too. It's almost amazing like this full circle thing that we get to do this together!"
Abby's tattoos are real and she has about 13 or 14 but she's given more on the show. The one on Pauley's neck isn't real, as you will have noticed from photos, it's a vinyl transfer and she doesn't like it, describing it as "old chewing gum." Or something you'd stick behind you ear; under Tony's desk.
Creator Donald Bellisario told her that, "when he created Magnum PI, he wanted to introduce a Vietnam Vet who defied the negative stereotype. So with Abby he wanted to take an alternative style person with tattoos and make her someone who is happy, totally put together and successful. All the script said about her was black hair, caffeinated and smart - she looks weird. She thinks she looks pretty and never calls herself anything other than happy and I fight for that."
No show would have been complete without Timothy McGee (Sean Murray) sweet geek extraordinaire. Computer whizz and the show's resident Probie when the show was in its early seasons. MIT grad as well as Johns Hopkins and forever the butt of Tony's teasing and jokes. Not forgetting nicknames: "McGeek, McGoo, McProbie, McNerd, McFlowerpower. In a conversation between Vance and Gibbs about the best model NCIS agent in season 6 Collateral Damage, led to Vance saying McGee was his model agent, whereas Gibbs prefers Tony's traits as an agent.
Sean said, "The only thing I ask writers is to evolve my role to avoid the routine...in the beginning he mumbled. He couldn't manage to express himself clearly and he couldn't manage to do anything else but read what was written on the computer...today he manages to conduct an interrogation, thanks to Gibbs who believed in him." He says in real life, he's rather discreet like McGee is and his friends are reserved too, so meeting Michael/Tony must have been enlightening, to say the least ha. McGee, "deep down he can be frank without being aggressive." Someone we'd all like to meet.
Dr Donald 'Ducky' Mallard ME, who has something to say about everything, he's very opinionated in a nice way and that's why at times, you see the characters run away. David McCallum said, "at my age doing a part like this is like having having eaten the most wonderful chocolate cake all my life and now I am eating the cream. I feel incredibly lucky and delighted to be with all these people."
Brian Dietzen was brought onto the show as Ducky's assistant, Jimmy Palmer and has made it to the opening credits as series regular in the tenth season. He also exhibits many of Ducky's character traits, such as having plenty of stories and anecdotes to tell, as well as getting lost a lot in Washington traffic and streets. Though Ducky doesn't do that. One other thing Ducky doesn't do much of is actually date. Let's face it, Palmer has seen more female action in Autopsy and around the NCIS building, no doubt.
He's giving Tony a run for his money. But not so as he met Breena and got engaged. One of the first NCIS characters to do so, aside from Gibbs, don't mention his 4 wives, or divorce. Okay it's safe to mention wife number 1, Shannon as she was his soulmate. The others just didn't compare or rate a mention.
Brian was only meant to be in one episode, which became 9 years. "They liked the chemistry between David McCallum and myself...I became friends with everyone so...8 years later I'm still showing up for work." And for the show he calls it, "a really big testament to hard work paying off...everyone has a really great time on our set...working extremely hard and being sure to enjoy it while we can. These things don't happen twice in a lifetime."
As for being similar to Palmer, Brian states they have the same pants size and that's where any similarity ends.
Those in charge. NCIS has had three Directors, Tom Morrow (Alan Dale) in season 1 replaced by Jenny Sheppard (Lauren Holly) (an old flame of Gibbs) after Morrow went over to Homeland Security. Jenny was killed in a shoot out at the end of season 5 and went out in style, it could be said. Though she was dying anyway. Jenny was replaced by Leon Vance, (Rocky Carroll) a man with many secrets and ghosts. Gibbs has had a friction between the latter two; a tentative peace/truce with Vance, they do really trust each other but don't see eye to eye. Must be something in the air seeing as Rocky was also on Chicago Hope with Mark.
Mark said he "worked with Lauren Holly briefly on Chicago Hope. She came at the end of that run. We sparred when we first met each other...but I like her a lot. I like her more now in this role. [Jenny]" Lauren commented, "he had big input into me coming onto the show. I was wary of coming back into that [hour] drama world, and to join a show that's already on - you never know the temperament of the set. You better love working there, because I can't tell you how depressing it can get if you don't."
Rocky recalled the final episode of season 5 when "Vance breaks up the team and I'm standing at my desk with the other cast members standing there so I can give them their assignments...Vance usually has a toothpick in his mouth. They all decided that on my closeup, they were all going to have toothpicks in their mouths. SO when their backs were to the camera and where you couldn't see them, each one of them very calmly grabs a toothpick in the middle of the scene...everybody's there because they deserve to be there."
Couldn't talk about the show without mentioning movies. Each one brings something to the episode but most especially to Tony's character. A movie or TV show will sometimes make or break a case for him and he gets riled over it by the others. As in Corporeal Punishment episode when Ziva and McGee think he's going to mention The Fugitive again and tell each other not to remind him, but he does it anyway. That's the endearing nature of the show and just a small part of its success.
Ooh written too much, so I penned an unofficial book to one of my most very special and favourite shows, in celebration of 10 seasons. Ten years next year!
My NCIS An Unofficial and Unauthorized Guide to NCIS - The TV Show which you may or may not find interesting, appealing.
It's available here: http://www.lulu.com/shop/mila-hasan/my-ncis-an-unofficial-and-unauthorized-guide-to-ncis-the-tv-show/paperback/product-20366043.html
as well as at amazon.
Happy watching, reading and all the rest!
No comments:
Post a Comment