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Post by jessielee on Sept 25, 2018 20:37:57 GMT
Why We Still Love NCIS After 15 YearsBy Heather Donahoe Fifteen years, 17 million weekly viewers, a quirky and beloved cast, plus hundreds of crimes solved—it all adds up to one of TV’s most-watched prime-time dramas. And when CBS’ NCIS kicks off its 16th season September 25, fans will be eager to see what Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, played by screen veteran Mark Harmon, and his team of investigators have in store.
Whether they’re unraveling a bizarre murder or exposing a terrorist plot, the no-nonsense Gibbs and his NCIS crew (that’s Naval Criminal Investigative Service) get the job done every week.
Since NCIS premiered in 2003—as a spinoff of CBS’ JAG—fans have returned faithfully each week for a satisfying dose of mystery, humor and what is perhaps the show’s most attractive attribute: resolution. Nearly every crime is solved before the closing credits roll.Brian Dietzen, who has played NCIS’ Dr. Jimmy Palmer since 2004, credits the show’s writers and his fellow castmates with creating a program fans can’t wait to watch.
“We’ve had so many wonderful storytellers in front of and behind the camera, shaping these characters over the past decade and a half,” Dietzen says. “The work has paid off. The characters have formed a family that millions can relate to.”
And those fans take to social media enthusiastically, in Facebook groups with names like NCISfanatics and NCIS Fans Forever, to post photos, opinions on the latest episodes and theories about where the show is going. And plenty of NCIS lovers even step out in character-inspired costumes at conventions and fan meet-up events, proving it’s a show that prompts a response.
“NCIS has found the magic formula,” says Michael Storey, TV columnist at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. “You aren’t going to be blindsided, overwhelmed with blood and gore or asked to unravel a convoluted plot. You have your dead body, the investigation, the suspects and the ace NCIS team cracking the case.”
For regular viewers like Teresa Rapozo, 63, of Tacoma, Washington, who has been watching since the first episode, it’s the well-developed ensemble of characters and the show’s trademark witty dialogue that hooked her from the beginning.
“I think that people enjoy the way we have gotten to know them over the years, how each season we learn a bit more about them,” she says. “They are whole, fleshed out characters. They may be dysfunctional, but what family isn’t?”Dietzen says he feels grateful when fans like Rapozo take notice of the show’s carefully crafted nuances. NCIS’ enthralling missions and mysteries, coupled with that dynamic cast, is the television equivalent of comfort food, says Storey. “Fans come back to NCIS each season because they are emotionally invested in these characters and have genuinely welcomed them into their living rooms each week,” says Storey. He sees Harmon’s portrayal of Gibbs as an anchor for the team’s weekly chaos, likening him to the “stoic, steadfast heroic characters in the old Westerns.”
And while Harmon may be the show’s principal player, even he recognizes everything people love about NCIS—from the suspense to the comedy—is a team effort.
“I don’t care who’s No. 1 on the call sheet or how big my trailer is,” Harmon has said. “I care about the work. I don’t care who gets the laughs. I just care that the laugh comes.”Storey agrees part of NCIS’ ability to engage fans hinges largely on the collective strength of its cast.
Longtime NCIS fan Beatrix Bernhof, 56, of Clarksville, Tennessee, is particularly fond of watching Harmon’s portrayal of Gibbs interacting with his team.
“He’s a great leader who expects his staff to follow his standards and suck it up if necessary,” says Bernhof, who often watches the show with her husband, a retired Marine. “The characters are very relatable. They have a sense of honor, dignity and justice without losing their humanity in applying the rules.”
NCIS creators may be tight-lipped about the show’s direction in the coming season, but executive producer Frank Cardea does promise “a surprising twist that nobody sees coming.”
That sort of uncertainty doesn’t bother Rapozo, who admits she has no idea where things are headed for Gibbs and the gang.
“I just know it will continue to be an incredible ride,” she says.
DID YOU KNOW? If you binge-watched all 354 episodes of NCIS consecutively without stopping, it would take a little longer than two weeks.
parade.com/698979/heatherdonahoe/why-we-still-love-ncis-after-15-years/
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Post by llyan on Oct 16, 2018 16:00:17 GMT
TV TODAY Diona Reasonover on Being the Newest Cast Member on NCIS, Advice From Pauley Perrette and More OCTOBER 16, 2018 – 10:06 AM – 0 COMMENTS PAULETTE COHN
Diona Reasonover has very big shoes to fill in her new role as forensic scientist Kasie Hines, who has taken over the NCIS lab from Abby Scuitto (Pauley Perrette). Abby famously wore oversize boots, which were sizes larger than Perrette’s actual foot size and took some getting used to.
But Reasonover won’t be following in Abby’s footsteps, she will be making her own way, and that is advice she got directly from her predecessor on her first day on the job.
“Pauley was so warm,” Reasonover says of the episode on which she guest starred and worked with Perrette. “She gave me this huge hug. She could see that I was nervous and she told me, ‘Just be yourself,’ and it was so comforting. It was so nice because it was like, ‘Oh, yeah, they like me. That’s why I was cast. They like me.'”
So while we can say for sure that Kasie is not going to be sleeping in a coffin, getting Goth tattoos or weaering dog collars, she will be trying something that Abby didn’t: Field work.
“One of the fun things that we’re going to get to see is we’re going to get to see Kasie trying out being a field agent for a little bit,” Reasonover tells Parade.com in this exclusive interview. “We just filmed that episode and oh my gosh, it’s so much fun. Kasie is so out of her depth, literally. When you see the episode you’re going to know exactly what I’m talking about.”
Reasonover initially played research assistant to Ducky (David McCallum), who was writing a book detailing his experiences as a medical examiner, and when he returned to Washington, D.C. to work on an NCIS case, she accompanied him. So truth be told, Kasie doesn’t have quite the hands-on experience that Abby had.
“I think it’s definitely still a learning process for her because she hasn’t had in-lab experience, but in terms of the research she’s done, I think it’s clear that she has studied a lot,” Reasonover says. “But because she doesn’t have that in-lab experience, you’re going to get to watch her. I think that’s part of where her nervousness comes from.”
When you first started as a guest star, did you have a clue it could turn into a series regular role?
I was really nervous walking into such an established show with such a knockout, all-star cast, and everybody was so nice. It was incredible. Everyone was so kind, and I certainly hoped. I was like, “It would be fun to stay here.” It’s like when you go to a really nice party at someone’s house and you’re like, “I wish this was my house.”
Looking at your background, I don’t see that you studied science at all like Pauley did. So is this all Greek to you talking about mass spectrometers and all that stuff?
Girl, it’s beyond Greek. Here’s what I’ll say, I did not study science at all. Your girl is an actor. I studied theate, so I can pretend really good, but I’m really lucky because my sister is actually a doctor and my best friend was a forensic pathologist for a little bit. So, I have them on speed dial. I’m like, “What does this mean?”
Right, because you need to say it with conviction.
Exactly. Exactly. You have to know what you’re saying; it has to make sense. I actually treat this the same way I do Shakespeare. I’m classically trained and with Shakespeare it doesn’t always make sense the first time you read it, and you kind of scan it and you break down the sentences. I do the same thing with these scripts. Truly.
So Kasie is very quirky. What do you like about her?
I love how gung-ho she is. She is all in. When somebody tells her to do something, she dives in headfirst. I think that’s a really great quality. I really admire people who want to be better, who want to be good people. She wants to be good at her job.
Do you think she’ll calm down at all? She seems really nervous now.
I don’t know. Poor Kasie. I think the other side of that coin of wanting to be good is really caring about what people think about you, and I don’t know if she’s ever going to stop doing that. I mean, she is attuned to how people feel about her, and that’s got its plusses and minuses. I don’t know. I think it’s funny that she’s such a little ball of nerves.
So how are the fans reacting? When Emily Wickersham first joined the show, the fans gave her a hard time initially. So I was wondering, are they doing the same to you and have you talked about it at all?
The fans actually seem really open and really generous. I was personally really nervous because when someone has been on your TV screen for 15 years, they really become part of your family, you know? You invite them into your home every week and you fall in love with that person. I think Pauley did an amazing job of being so generous with her personality and her spirit and really allowing the audience to fall in love with her.
So, I was worried that people would see me as trying to outdo her or something, but she was so generous, and the fans have been so generous, too, because they’ve been, “Nobody can ever replace Pauley,” which I totally agree with, but “we think you’re doing a pretty good job.” I’m like, “Oh, thank you.”
The majority of your credits are comedy. So how is the transition to NCIS, which has its funny moments but it’s basically a drama?
It’s been actually a cool transition. Like I said, I’m classically trained, so I actually started off pretty much doing Shakespeare, Ibsen and Chekov. Those shows were, basically, a character goes on stage and wails for two and a half hours. This is getting to combine my two worlds. I didn’t start comedy until really 2011 and I simply started doing improv and sketch because I was tired of going on stage and pretending to cry for two and a half hours. My tear ducts were all dried up. I was like, “Oh, my gosh, I can’t deal with this anymore.” Now I’m lucky because I get to have those serious moments and I get to have those really funny Kasie-is-nervous-and is-spilling-coffe-all-over-the-place moments. It’s great.
You’re an alumna of the CBS Diversity Showcase. Exactly what is that and then how it has helped your career?
Showcase is about a four-month program where you go in and every day you put up 25 to 35 new sketches, and just to put that into context for people, SNL does like six to eight sketches every week live on TV and we’re doing 30 a day.
So that program taught me how to cold read, which is going in and performing a sketch sometimes having only read it once or reading it for the first time in front of an audience.
It taught me how to make a fast choice, which is really great for auditioning for guest star roles because sometimes some of those guest star roles might only have three lines. You only have three sentences to impress the directors and the producers. Showcase really taught me how to do that.
It also taught me, and I think most importantly, the best thing I can always bring to a role is myself. I’ve had classes with people who have tried to change me, or who said, I need to straighten my hair, or my glasses are too much, or I’m too goofy, or I don’t look like a leading lady, and really the truth is those people are wrong because when somebody wants you they want you. They want what you bring to a role, so trying to make yourself less of you is really doing a disservice to everyone involved.
Did it also make it easier to get auditions for CBS shows?
Well, it’s not necessarily easier. You’re still competing with the same group of hustling actors. It did give me some great relationships with some people that work for CBS, like Dorey Poder, Tiffany Anoa’i-Smith and Whitney Davis. I got a chance to get to know them and work with them. That was great.
But when I had this audition, I still had to go in with every other actor and give my best. I did not get any breaks or any favoritism, I don’t think.
I didn’t think it would be favoritism, I just thought it might open some doors. That it would be easier to get through some doors than it was before.
You know what it did get me? I got VIP tickets to take my mom to The Talk. It was really cool. She was really happy. Dove was giving away dry shampoo that day and her and my aunt, I’m not kidding, they’re such hoarders, they each took ten vials of dry shampoo. Then they were trying to give it away at my wedding because they couldn’t take it home with them on the plane. They were like, “Anybody want some dry shampoo? We’re going to toss the bouquet and also toss some dry shampoo if anybody wants some.” I was like, “Stop.”
That’s a funny story. Is it going to embarrass them if we use it?
No. Please use it. Embarrass her. She’s the one that did it.
NCIS airs Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.
parade.com/709167/paulettecohn/diona-reasonover-on-being-the-newest-cast-member-on-ncis-advice-from-pauley-perrette-and-more/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
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Post by llyan on May 14, 2019 2:30:44 GMT
TV TODAY First Look at Tuesday Night's NCIS as Gibbs Has a Nervous Breakdown of the Gibbs' Variety
Paulette Cohn
Mark Harmon as NCIS Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, Laura San Giacomo as Doctor Grace Confalone (Photo: Cliff Lipson/CBS) It’s no secret to viewers that Special Agent Leroy Gibbs (Mark Harmon) killed the man — Pedro Hernandez (Thomas Rosales Jr.) — who killed his wife and daughter, but up until now, his team — McGee (Sean Murray), Bishop (Emily Wickersham), and Torres (Wilmer Valderrama) — wasn’t aware of the drastic action he had taken years back.
But last week, on the “…and Executioner” episode, a group of judges who practice vigilante justice– headed by Judge Deakin (Mike Farrell) — put Gibbs on trial for the murder and sentenced him to death. Even as his team worked to save Gibbs’ life, he didn’t reveal the reason he was being targeted.
But finally, after Deakin said, “They don’t know what you did, do they? And you’re too ashamed to tell them the truth,” Gibbs came clean. He revealed the truth to his stunned team while in the elevator, and this week, there are repercussions. When the NCIS team investigates the murder of a marine sergeant in the States who was hailed as a war hero for his efforts overseas, Gibbs turns to Doctor Grace Confalone (Laura San Giacomo) for advice after he uncharacteristically unravels and abandons his team at a crime scene investigation.
For a first look, watch the video:
“What took you so long? Where you been?,” Gibbs asks when Grace joins him at a dive bar.
“Well for one thing, my Uber driver could barely find this establishment,” Grace retorts. “Not to mention, I was midsession with another patient when you called. I had to leave her on the verge of a breakthrough. What’s the big emergency?”
That’s when Gibbs reveals he had broken Rule 4: The best way to keep a secret is to keep it to yourself.
NCIS airs Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.
parade.com/881321/paulettecohn/first-look-at-tuesday-nights-ncis-as-gibbs-has-a-nervous-breakdown-of-the-gibbs-variety/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
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Post by nas on May 14, 2019 18:54:55 GMT
oh, I can tell I’m just gonna love this one!
when the almighty, all-important, (all-demanding) LJG calls, you drop everything - including another patient! seriously?!?
um, remind me not to call Dr. Grace when I’m in need of a shrink...
nas
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Post by terrij58 on May 15, 2019 0:49:05 GMT
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Post by Llyan (Admin) on May 15, 2019 2:34:10 GMT
So she left Jack to go to”Popeye”. I miss “Dr Kate’s Sister”.
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Post by kate06460 on May 16, 2019 14:48:30 GMT
um its not that unheard of...I believe my therapist on more than one occassion has had to cancel on me for another patient when she is on call.
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Post by Llyan (Admin) on May 16, 2019 16:02:26 GMT
Dropping the line “about to have a breakthrough” would have helped. Should have had her say her previous session was “almost finished” instead. Walking out on Jack because Gibbs called was poor form even if Jack told her it was okay. It sent a message that the other person was more important. Gibbs has been a royal mess for decades (and likely will be for the rest of his life) and despite Grace heading to that bar lickety split isn’t going to change that.
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Post by nas on May 16, 2019 18:30:44 GMT
not the same thing, kate... cancelling and rescheduling is quite different than getting up and leaving mid-session with a patient...
like NewBe said, LJG has been a mess forever, and his little “crisis” could surely have waited... but the writers continue to write him as if the world revolves around him, and that everyone worships the ground he walks on because he is, after all, the Almighty Gibbs...
rather annoying, imo...
nas
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Post by kate06460 on May 16, 2019 23:41:51 GMT
I am going to have to disagree you but you continue...LOL..you know everything..
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Post by nas on May 17, 2019 0:32:29 GMT
gee, kate, I didn’t mean to offend you...
au contraire, I really don’t know everything... but what I do know is that I am verrry opinionated... (it’s Maxine’s fault; she’s my role model... 😉 )
nas
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Post by kate06460 on May 17, 2019 13:44:49 GMT
gee, kate, I didn’t mean to offend you...
au contraire, I really don’t know everything... but what I do know is that I am verrry opinionated... (it’s Maxine’s fault; she’s my role model... 😉 )
nas
NO worries...I should have known better to post when I have headache. I think I need to ask my therapist about the leaving one client for another. I actually thought that what dr. Kate's Sister did the first time we were introduced to her was very inappropriate and very unprofessional. I have also had therapists who are really bad and If had my way would have their license and practice pulled.
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