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Post by jessielee on Jun 17, 2020 17:22:04 GMT
Mark Harmon & 'NCIS' Bosses: Gibbs Isn't Just a 'Cowboy' in Season 18
The Season 18 headline: "Gibbs unchained!"
Yes, NCIS big boss Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon) will be bolder than ever when the military crime drama returns for its announced fall premiere. Not that the ex–Marine sniper has ever been afraid to let loose on lawbreakers. He's fearless in raids. His restrained but pointed interrogations are legendary for eliciting confessions. Even his own Naval Criminal Investigative Service special agents tread lightly around him—especially when disobeying a dictum in his famous "rule book."
The difference now is that the man who once ordered his team "Hug on your own time!" is getting in touch with those pesky things called feelings, which can be mighty motivators. "He's still the cowboy we all know and love…but he's no longer only the cowboy," says executive producer Frank Cardea.
How did we arrive at this Gibbs? For a start, the stoic leader took an unexpected, arduous emotional journey in Season 17. His heart was cracked open by two important relationships: His presumed-dead daughter figure, former agent Ziva David (Cote de Pablo), made a surprise return, and he became a buddy to kid next door Phineas (Jack Fisher). The two storylines collided tragically when the boy's mom turned out to be a terrorist Gibbs had to shoot dead to save Ziva. "Those things tend to make people take stock of their lives," says executive producer Steven D. Binder.
On top of that, in the April 14 hour that served as the season ender (COVID-19 precautions shut down production before the final few episodes could be shot), Gibbs' encounter with a World War II vet led him to talk, for the first time, about his own combat experiences ("[Kuwait] took something from me") to techy agent Timothy McGee (Sean Murray). Notes Harmon: "Sometimes someone else opening up about their experience makes it OK for that person to address their feelings. Once Gibbs gets to the truth, he doesn't quit."
The actor traces his bottled-up character's un-bottling back to the end of Season 16, when he divulged his deepest secret—that he'd killed the man responsible for murdering his wife and child—to his team and later to a therapist. With Dr. Grace Confalone (Laura San Giacomo), "Gibbs went into personal detail, and I'm not sure he's done that before. His team only knows part of the story," Harmon says. "Still, for Gibbs, that's big progress."
What with an evolving core character and—let's face it—an evolving world, NCIS's producers are feeling the pressure to deliver big in the upcoming premiere, which CBS is hopeful will be ready to air as usual. "There's been a lot of discussion. We want to get this right," Cardea says.
No decision yet on what that opener will bring, but one firm goal going forward is to wrap up a mystery left dangling since Season 16. This unsolved crime seemed to crop up in a November episode when Gibbs disappeared for a few days after getting a text. According to Cardea, Gibbs' explanations for his absence weren't quite accurate: "Let's just say he didn't walk out in the middle of a case because it was sturgeon season or because Emily Fornell [the daughter of his good friend] left rehab. We are looking forward to paying this storyline off."
Also, episodes on hold will resurface. One examines animal cruelty, and the milestone 400th reveals how Gibbs first came into the NCIS world and how he met its historian, longtime ally Donald "Ducky" Mallard (David McCallum).
As for the Gibbs of today, "as he grows more thoughtful about his choices and actions, that is going to make him more aware of his vulnerabilities," Cardea says. "How he chooses to react to his new understanding of his weaknesses is another matter entirely."
Gibbs unleashed, remember? After all, he may soften up, but he'll never go soft on crime.
www.tvinsider.com/937755/ncis-season-18-mark-harmon-preview/
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Post by terrij58 on Jun 17, 2020 19:02:07 GMT
The episode for the 400th milestone is the one I really am looking forward to. I have often wondered just how Gibbs and Ducky met and became such good friends.
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Post by kate06460 on Jun 18, 2020 16:00:20 GMT
You see I always thought he started changing during season three and afterwards.
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Post by verdun on Jun 18, 2020 17:42:10 GMT
I presume episode 400 will contain flashbacks. Any info on who will play both Gibbs and Ducky? I guess the guy who played young Ducky previously might take that role and Harmon's son has played a young Gibbs, but I don't know if either of them will show up. Anybody know?
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Post by llyan on Sept 10, 2020 12:09:02 GMT
Inside Scoop on What's Ahead for 'NCIS,' 'Supernatural' & 'Outlander'
TV Insider Staff
YESTERDAY, 4:00 PM
Wondering what's ahead for a few top (and fan-favorite) dramas? We have you covered below.
NCIS
One reason to love the crime-solvers of CBS's NCIS: The team feels like a family. So it's fitting that for the 400th episode, coming this fall, the military drama will see a real-life father-and-son reunion. TV Guide Magazine can exclusively reveal that Mark Harmon, who plays flinty big boss Leroy Jethro Gibbs, welcomes back his son Sean, again stepping into the shoes of Gibbs' younger self. The acting gene is strong: Sean's mom is Harmon's wife of 33 years, Pam Dawber (Mork & Mindy).
The junior Harmon, 32, has tackled the role in six previous episodes. The first was in 2008 when he appeared in flashbacks after a crime led the NCIS team to Gibbs' hometown of Stillwater, Pennsylvania. Most recently he was seen in 2012 for another landmark, the 200th installment, which was devoted to Gibbs' past, exploring his memories and major crossroads. Sean also had a 2015 guest spot on NCIS: Los Angeles as a young man caught up in the white supremacist movement.
Sean Harmon
(Courtney Prather)
This time, as TV Guide Magazine has reported, we'll learn how Gibbs came into the NCIS world and met medical examiner and now historian Donald "Ducky" Mallard (David McCallum). "The goal for this episode," exec producer Frank Cardea told us in June, "was to write a love letter to the longtime fans."
—Kate Hahn
www.tvinsider.com/947451/ncis-episode-400-outlander-season-6-supernatural-final-episodes/
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Post by llyan on Sept 16, 2020 11:47:33 GMT
This was a weird interview. I get the feeling that they were interviewing him about something else and tried to jury rig an NCIS interview article out of it. Eh, for what it's worth, here you are.
'NCIS' Wilmer Valderrama Teases Torres' Family & Past in Season 18
Meredith JacobsYESTERDAY, 4:45 PM
NCIS has started work on Season 18, and series star Wilmer Valderrama is happy to be back.
The CBS procedural was among the first major network shows to return to set, and Valderrama knows that means they're "part of a learning curve." (For example, as he shared on social media prior to filming beginning, they had a virtual table read for the premiere.) There are safety protocols in effect due to the coronavirus pandemic, and he's hoping that other shows can follow their example.
Here, Valderrama discusses getting back to work on Season 18, what's to come for his character Special Agent Nick Torres, and his partnership with the National Kidney Foundation for the "Are You the 33%?" campaign.
You've started work on NCIS Season 18. Is there anything you can tease?
Wilmer Valderrama: That was a really sobering conversation, right? You're going to expose yourself, and you're going to go be part of a learning curve. ... I know our studio has checked as many boxes as possible, and there are creative protocols and guidelines. It's going to be a little bit of a song and dance, a lot of the stuff we've never done before. It's going to be a test for efficiency. It's going to be a test against creativity and being able to adapt to this new environment and new guidelines of how you do what you love. But it's super necessary.
I think we're excited to be at the forefront for that, and hopefully, we get enough things right that most productions can return to work and we can continue to bring more shows to your living room. But I'm happy to be able to return to work and so far, it looks like new episodes of NCIS will be back mid-November.
How would you describe Torres and Bishop's relationship at the beginning of Season 18?
It's interesting because there's so many things Season 18 has to talk about, a lot to reflect in this moment. Our national community has been fighting for justice and things that really are important. NCIS is going to be very thoughtful and very responsible in how we portray certain stories and as we return to television. The exploration of relationships within the characters and all that stuff, it's something that's always a mystery. I certainly don't think that we will do something the show has seen before, and we're definitely trying to work on doing something different.
I don't know what's in store for any of the other characters, but for my character specifically, we're going to be finding out so much more about his past this season. This season is going to really focus a lot on where he really came from, what was his upbringing and his family, so we're going to get learn a little bit more about his family since Torres has been such a mystery to the audience for the last four years. It's going to be fun to peel some of the layers off and really give the audience a little bit more justification of why he is the way he is. That excites me because as an actor, that's what you want. You want to play those layers. You want to play the peeling of those layers and become more vulnerable because that's what brings you closer to the other characters.
What do you think is keeping Torres with this team? He's come a long way from the guy we first met undercover.
Yes, for sure. I think he saw a lot of himself in Gibbs [played by Mark Harmon] and that's one thing that we've created by design. Having him be a lone wolf for eight years of undercover work and then having him join a team that relies on one another and trusting one another — trusting is a thing that he's never done. He's never trusted anyone with his job. He just does all of the above to get the job done by himself. So, when he became a part of this team, he realized he had a lot more things in common with Gibbs than he expected.
Wilmer Valderrama Mark Harmon NCIS Season 16 Nick Torres Leroy Jethro Gibbs
(Monty Brinton/CBS)
And in the last season, you saw a lot of them come together as the veteran wolf coming in with the young wolf and you're going to see that play out a lot this season, how Gibbs is going to seem a little bit and feel a little bit responsible for the restructuring of Torres' morality. He's going to be a major influence in how he evolves as a leader, and that's what's going to be really fun to watch is just seeing Torres boycott that, "I'm only here part-time," but really, internally, he knows he's learned to make them the family he never really had.
You're losing Jack (Maria Bello) this season. However that happens, how do you think Torres will deal with that and how might his reaction be different when it comes to saying goodbye to a team member from a few years ago?
I don't know much about that storyline, to be honest. I haven't really been in the conversations specifically with the departure of that character. I don't know much about what they have planned for that or can even confirm what it's going to be even be because we're been pretty focused on protocols and just going back to work and right now we're trying to get through some of the episodes we couldn't get to last season because we shut down [with] four episodes left. It's a little bit of a mystery to me. We're figuring it out as we go.
I will tell you that if that event really does happen, it's going to be interesting for Torres because he's learned to lean on them for different things, and he's learned a lot from them. I think you're going to see a more vulnerable Torres, and he's not going to like it, and therefore, he may have some triggers. When vulnerability kicks in, he might become a little bit more dangerous and a little bit more short-tempered because he might just be a little bit angry at himself for even going there. That complexity you're going to see play out for sure.
NCIS is 18 seasons in, and it still has quite the fan base. How are you hoping to use that as you work with the National Kidney Foundation to reach the American adults at risk for kidney disease?
We artists sometimes don't realize how much responsibility we have with our fan base or the fans of our shows. In general, once you dive in a little closer, you realize you have a lot more in common with your audience than you think. Specifically when it comes to organizations like the National Kidney Foundation, what I'm so proud about it, it really talks to and directly targets a demographic that's very dear to my heart. All minorities and a lot of communities of color across the United States have been the most vulnerable in a lot of these historical moments we live in, and when you talk about kidney disease, it's one more element you definitely want to make sure you are up to date on because it really could affect a lot of stuff in your life.
NCIS Season 17 Gibbs Team Torres Bishop McGee
(Cory Osborne/CBS)
In this moment of COVID we live in, I think about, if ever the case you get COVID, you want to make sure everything's working according to how it's supposed to be and at full capacity so you're able to really make it to the other side. ... You talk about millions of adults in the U.S. who are walking around with kidney disease right now and don't even know they have it. The partnership was great because it helped to reach that 33% who are at risk for kidney disease. We're celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month, so it was critical for me to raise visibility for Hispanics or Latinos who are 1.3 times more likely than others to develop kidney failure. That was a passion of mine because my father and friends and family members are in that category of high risk.
Diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, or just a family history of kidney disease are all the high-risk factors. This "Are You the 33%" campaign was important. The idea was to drive people to take a simple one-minute quiz at MinuteForYourKidneys.org. ... If you are [at high risk], thankfully we've created a road map for what's the next step. Obviously visit your doctor and ask the hard questions. ... Kidney disease has no symptoms, so you don't even know you have it until it's just too late.
NCIS, Season 18, TBA, CBS
www.tvinsider.com/949232/ncis-season-18-wilmer-valderrama-nick-torres-preview/
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Post by kaschu32 on Sept 17, 2020 2:44:00 GMT
So are we going to revisit Torres Sister and Niece?
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Post by llyan on Oct 17, 2020 22:41:45 GMT
'NCIS' Episode 400 Digs Into Ducky & Gibbs' BackstoryKate Hahn
OCTOBER 13, 10:20 AM
There's nothing quite like steely NCIS boss Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon) in crusader mode. He's a man on a mission in the military procedural's opening five episodes, a storyline starting in late 2019 that explains the lingering mystery of where Gibbs went back in Season 17 when he got a text and suddenly excused himself from a case. He told colleagues he was going fishing — but returned a few days later with a black eye!
Turns out he and buddy/ex–FBI agent Tobias Fornell (Joe Spano) were pursuing the Canadian dealers who sold counterfeit opioids to Fornell's daughter, Emily (Juliette Angelo), leading her to overdose and nearly die in the Season 16 finale. "They bring different energies to this chase," says NCIS executive producer Steven Binder. "Gibbs has a bug up his butt about breaking the law and causing all sorts of chaos in communities with the drug situation. Fornell's daughter has been hurt by this epidemic, so he's a little more fiery."
Each episode also checks in on the NCIS team as they continue working despite Gibbs' distraction. (The opening moments of the premiere find them in an extremely screwed-up situation!) One case involves treasure hunters, another a surprise for Special Agent Tim McGee (Sean Murray) and wife Delilah (Margo Harshman) while on their first vacay since having twins.
In the fifth episode, the Gibbs-Fornell quest bursts into the bullpen. "Gibbs is working on the side on this thing until it comes to the forefront. Then he can't hide it anymore," Binder reveals.
If that's not exciting enough: Episode 2 also happens to be the long-awaited 400th. It's packed with cool backstory, flashing back to 1980 and the first meeting of young Gibbs, played by Mark's son Sean, and medical examiner turned historian Ducky (David McCallum/Adam Campbell). Says executive producer Frank Cardea, "Ducky's been Gibbs' confidant for 17 [seasons]. We'll have a better understanding why."
www.tvinsider.com/951500/ncis-season-18-episode-400-gibbs-ducky-flashback/
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Post by llyan on Oct 21, 2020 21:40:03 GMT
'NCIS' Episode 400 Digs Into Ducky & Gibbs' Backstory
Kate Hahn
OCTOBER 13, 10:20 AM
One is a former Marine from small-town Pennsylvania who is a man of few words and many rules. The other is a charming, loquacious Brit, intuitive about what people need to hear and overgenerous with information they don’t (like how Zulus ward off evil and what makes barbershop music unique). So how on earth did NCIS boss Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon) and medical examiner-turned-historian Donald “Ducky” Mallard (David McCallum) end up friends? NCIS‘s landmark 400th episode — airing November 24, a week after the Season 18 premiere — takes us back.
The 400th delivers everything we love about TV’s No. 1 entertainment series, which averaged 15.3 million viewers last season: bumpy, relatable work relationships, long and tangled character histories, surprising stories with flashes of humor and engrossing (sometimes gross) cases — including the one that crops up in the episode’s two time periods, late 2019, when Gibbs and Ducky reflect on their meeting, and 1980, when it happened.
It’s worth noting that this is no ordinary friendship. Not only have the men solved countless cases together, but they’ve helped each other survive kidnappings, the tragic deaths of colleagues, and even the plague.
“There’s a strong connection between them on an intellectual level. In the NCIS family, Gibbs is the father figure to the sometimes unruly team; Ducky is a wise uncle whom he can turn to for advice,” McCallum says. In Harmon’s view, Ducky acts as “a peer and a friend” to Gibbs.
We’ve seen flashbacks to the men’s younger selves before, but this is the first time we’ll see them together. The same guest actors return — Mark’s son Sean Harmon as Gibbs, Adam Campbell (Great News) as Ducky. McCallum recalls his counterpart asking for one word to describe the character: “I told him ‘enthusiasm — about everything. He’s positive and likes to solve problems, which is why he’s a pathologist.'”
The Ducky of 1980 has sworn off medicine, disenchanted. While serving in the Royal Army Medical Corps in Afghanistan, he volunteered to work in a refugee camp but found himself repeatedly treating a torture victim — one he eventually killed as an act of mercy. (See: Season 6’s “Broken Bird.”) Gibbs, only a few years into his stint with the Marines, is trying to decide whether to cement his relationship with girlfriend Shannon (Darby Stanchfield). Fans know she does become Mrs. Gibbs — and that he loses both the love of his life and their daughter in 1991, when a drug dealer assassinates them. But at this time, explains executive producer Frank Cardea, Gibbs and Ducky “are at crossroads in their lives. They [will] help each other find their life paths.”
Adds executive producer Steven D. Binder “Gibbs is someone who has trouble with relationships and is not the most social of people. That’s where Ducky comes into play. We get into a lot of Gibbs’ psychology.” The fateful first encounter, in Washington, D.C., sounds like a meet-cute from a rom-com. “In England, they drive on the other side of the road. That confuses Ducky when he’s in America,” says Binder, who wrote the episode. Still, despite their vehicular incompatibility, “They like and are curious about each other.”
Soon enough, the men are working together to catch a thief — unsuccessfully, it later turns out. Gibbs isn’t an agent yet but gets involved via the NIS, the precursor to NCIS. Get ready for the ’80s version of familiar sets. You’ll see the origin of those glaring orange walls in the squad room, plus an “iconic piece of wardrobe,” per Cardea. Even better, you’ll see other characters! “Some will be very in-your-face and easy to identify. Some will be quick, so you’ve got to watch closely,” Binder says. “We wanted to gather as much of the show’s history as we could and put it in one episode and celebrate it.”
 In the present-day story, Gibbs is not celebrating the fact that he and Ducky never got their man. “It’s always stuck in his craw,” Binder says. “He gets a chance to rectify it, maybe, if it ends well. That’s the plan.”
But his pal questions his methods. “Ducky is concerned about Gibbs’ obsession with one aspect of the case,” says McCallum. “When Gibbs gets a bee in his bonnet, he sometimes cuts people out. He can do things which aren’t logical and are sometimes unethical.”
Personal choices from the past also resurface, bringing Gibbs pain. “He’ll be asked, ‘Is it better to have loved and lost or never loved at all?'” Binder says. Fans won’t forget his answer in that moment — much like Harmon’s unforgettable moment meeting McCallum. It was for the 2003 JAG episode “Ice Queen,” which served as a back-door pilot for NCIS. “I can’t imagine I’m shaking the hand of Illya Kuryakin,” a starstruck Harmon said to the Man From U.N.C.L.E. legend. “To which David replied, ‘Good God, man, that was 40 years ago!'” Or, in NCIS terms, only about 1,000 more episodes. It could happen!
NCIS, Episode 400, Tuesday, November 24, 8/7c, CBS
www.tvinsider.com/953313/ncis-episode-400-mark-harmon-david-mccallum-preview/
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Post by jessielee on Dec 19, 2020 16:04:07 GMT
'NCIS' in 2021: McGee & Delilah's Vacation, Gibbs & Fornell's Crusade NCIS left off with a bit of a cliffhanger in its fall finale, and it looks like the CBS procedural is not only going to resolve it, but also reveal exactly what's going on in the March 2020 timeline when it returns.
The first two episodes of 2021, "Sunburn" and "Head of the Snake," air back-to-back January 19 and see Margo Harshman return as Special Agent McGee's (Sean Murray) wife Delilah and Special Agent Gibbs (Mark Harmon) looking for the MIA Fornell (Joe Spano). Did his old friend's investigation lead him into some trouble, hence why he disappeared from his undercover gig at the burger joint? He had found the alias of the kingpin of the counterfeit opioid ring they've been tracking, last Gibbs heard from him.
The first hour sees McGee and Delilah's vacation in the Bahamas interrupted when the team's case (the investigation of a dead escape room manager) is connected to the island. Plus, Gibbs finds blood as he searches for Fornell. It's directed by series star Rocky Carroll (NCIS director Leon Vance), and the photos below offer a behind-the-scenes look.
Then in the second hour, Gibbs and Fornell's mission "comes to a climax," the logline teases. "Gibbs and Vance finally let the team in on a case that has dangerous implications," and photos reveal the other agents will get involved.
And yes, the photos from this episode also reveal that Fornell is alive, but it also looks like Gibbs and Special Agent Torres (Wilmer Valderrama) are at the same airport as the premiere's opening scene (which took place in March 2020). Gibbs is wearing the same clothes and hat he was when he shot McGee(!) in the arm and leg. We'll finally find out exactly what's going on there.
Episode 4 Sunburn
Episode 5 Head of the Snake
www.tvinsider.com/gallery/ncis-season-18-2021-return-sunburn-head-of-the-snake/
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Post by terrij58 on Dec 19, 2020 19:42:09 GMT
Glad Rocky is directing. He is good.
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Post by llyan on Jan 16, 2021 0:42:16 GMT
'NCIS': Sean Murray on McGee & Delilah Rekindling Their 'Exciting' Love & That Airport Scene
Meredith Jacobs
6 HOURS AGO Special Agent McGee (Sean Murray) and his wife, Department of Defense's Delilah (Margo Harshman), are finally going on a Bahamian vacation on NCIS. (The episode was delayed due to production shutting down early on Season 17.) But alas, as has happened in the past, work (the murder of an escape-room manager with ties to the island) comes calling in "Sunburn."
Then, in the second of back-to-back episodes airing when the CBS procedural returns on January 19, "Head of the Snake," the team is let in on Gibbs' (Mark Harmon) and Fornell's (Joe Spano) mission to take down the drug ring responsible for the latter's daughter overdosing.
Here, Murray previews the couple's vacation and the fallout of that premiere opening scene that saw Gibbs shoot McGee.
Why do McGee and Delilah need this vacation now?
Sean Murray: We knew we were going to do more stories with McGee and Delilah. They've been married several years, have kids together, and as many of us know, sometimes there's a lull in the marriage and the excitement goes away. You make a conscious decision with your partner to say, "Let's get some time just for us and reconnect."
So as McGee's trying to get some R&R with his wife, a case happens back home that links to something in the Bahamas, and McGee and Delilah get to team up and go down this road trying to help solve this case while they're on vacation and in the process rekindle that exciting, young love.
They work so well together on cases.
Yeah. I love Margo Harshman. She's fantastic. I've always loved the dynamic because it doesn't exist outside of their relationship. There's a certain way McGee is at work, and the way he approaches work, so I always enjoy when we see him on the domestic side.
The Delilah character has definitely developed more and more over the years, and Margo is, I think, the most recurring character we've had with the exception of Joe Spano, [who] was in the pilot. We've been able to have a lot of fun with McGee and Delilah's relationship without it being comical.
It's so sweet.
It is very sweet. There's a lot of heart to it. McGee is very sensitive and he wears his emotions on his sleeve. He's usually trying to keep that in check at work, but he's a little more free when he's with his wife. You see a little more unfiltered McGee.
There's no other couple that can argue in binary.
I wish I could remember which writer came up with that. I remember reading that for the first time and just adoring it.
The team finds out what Gibbs and Fornell have been up to. It's not the first time they've been in the dark. How will reactions differ from Season 12's "Patience"?
We've learned as a team that Gibbs can disappear and leave no trace of what he's up to. In the past, it was like, "Where's Boss? We don't know what's going on." Now, we know something's going on. We don't know quite what it is. We'll try to figure [that] out.
One of my favorite things ever is the culmination of that airport sequence that happens; we saw a version of it in the teaser for the [premiere]. When I read that scene, I immediately called my showrunner to say, "Am I reading this correctly?" [Laughs] We haven't seen anything like this previously. The Gibbs and McGee relationship is a long and complicated one, and obviously is much more complicated by the events that occur in that second episode and we definitely get into that.
McGee was witness to Tony [Michael Weatherly] and Ziva's [Cote de Pablo] will they-won't they, so what are his thoughts watching Bishop [Emily Wickersham] and Torres [Wilmer Valderrama]?
[Laughs] McGee views the stuff that takes place in the workplace with a little bit of a smirk, and lets things lay where they may. As long as everyone's operating together and the team is in good shape, then we're good.
NCIS, Tuesdays, 8/7c, CBS
www.tvinsider.com/982392/ncis-season-18-sean-murray-mcgee-delilah-gibbs-preview/
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Post by llyan on Jan 20, 2021 16:25:26 GMT
'NCIS': Sean Murray Promises 'Realistic' Fallout of That McGee & Gibbs Shocker
Meredith Jacobs
YESTERDAY, 10:00 PM
[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Episodes 4, "Sunburn," and 5, "Head of the Snake," of NCIS.]
No, your eyes weren't deceiving you in the opener of the NCIS Season 18 premiere: Gibbs (Mark Harmon) really does shoot his agent and close friend McGee (Sean Murray) not once but twice as the CBS procedural catches up to March 2020 (its present-day).
But it's to save his life, "Head of the Snake," the second of January 19's episodes, reveals. The team is read in to Gibbs and Fornell's (Joe Spano) operation to take down Merriweather. Fornell is undercover and so close to getting to the head of the drug ring responsible for his daughter's overdose when it all goes sideways. Bishop (Emily Wickersham) is kidnapped, and thinking he has to stop a plane about to take off with her on it, McGee (posing as Fornell ostensibly for a meet with Merriweather) approaches it on the runway.
But what he doesn't know — because his comms are out — is the plane is wired with explosives (and Bishop isn't on the plane). When warning shots don't stop him, Gibbs must hit his agent: first in the arm, then, when he gets back up, the leg. He's in the hospital and not out of the woods at episode's end.
"We'll see the aftermath of that shooting," Murray tells TV Insider, promising, "[McGee] doesn't die."
Instead, there's a rough road to recovery ahead. "A lot of it is not necessarily just physical but emotional," the actor says. "Just wrestling with and coming to terms with — even in the situation of it being done to save your life — the fact that somebody so close to you, that's like a father figure to you, more so than even your real father was, shoots you."
Bishop notes McGee is one of Gibbs' best friends, but she is worried about what she perceives as a lack of a reaction from her boss in the episode. "That's Gibbs. Nothing phases him," Torres (Wilmer Valderrama) suggests. "Maybe something should," Bishop suggests.
It does, Murray confirms, and we'll see both Gibbs and McGee wrestling with the fallout of that shooting. "It's not like McGee just throws on a Band-Aid and says, 'We're good, Boss,'" he says. "We very realistically explore some of the emotions and thoughts of the aftermath of what that really would be in dealing with that. Just the shock of what it is and the reality of, how do we face this and move past this?"
"You can have all the logical reasons for why what happened had to happen, but you still have human characters that have to work that through," Murray continues. McGee's wife Delilah (Margo Harshman), whom we'll see more of as he recovers, even checks with Gibbs that he had no other choice when he fired those shots.
"The Gibbs and McGee relationship is a long and complicated one, and obviously is much more complicated by [these] events," Murray says. "We definitely get into how that changes the relationship between them and working through that and the evolution [of that relationship] over the years." McGee has worked on Gibbs' team since Season 1 (and officially joined it in Season 2).
If you think both could use someone to talk to after this and it's a good thing there's an in-house psychiatrist, Jack Sloane (Maria Bello), you'd be right. "There is a little bit" of McGee talking to her about what happened, Murray shares but notes she's in the middle given her (will they/won't they) relationship with Gibbs.
Bello is leaving soon (after joining the show in Season 15), and while Murray couldn't share any details about Jack's exit, he has nothing but praise for her portrayer. "Maria's one of the most adventurous, bold actors I've ever worked with. I really hope to work with her elsewhere," he says. "We were sad to see Sloane leave."
What he can tease is the Merriweather case isn't completely wrapped up just yet. The head of the drug ring is arrested (as is his daughter) but the agents can only speculate about who hired him to turn to terrorism.
And we may hear more about McGee as an author after it comes up in the first hour when a case disrupts his and Delilah's vacation. (Thom E. Gemcity has fans in the Bahamas.) "We may explore that actually," Murray reveals. "That's something we've been talking about." We'll have to wait and see if any of his new teammates end up in the pages with L.J. Tibbs.
NCIS, Tuesdays, 8/7c, CBS
www.tvinsider.com/985171/ncis-season-18-episode-5-gibbs-shoots-mcgee-hospital/
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Post by nas on Jan 20, 2021 21:42:54 GMT
pardon me for asking a stupid question, but why the hell would Gibbs shoot McGee - twice! - and put him in the hospital to the point he’s so critical that he’s “not out of the woods” at episode’s end?!
isn’t that a bit radical!?
so, to keep McGee from getting blown up, he shoots him instead?! WTF!!
Gibbs had “no other choice”! SERIOUSLY?!
what are the writers thinking when they write drek like that? 😡
nas
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Post by llyan on Jan 20, 2021 22:23:29 GMT
pardon me for asking a stupid question, but why the hell would Gibbs shoot McGee - twice! - and put him in the hospital to the point he’s so critical that he’s “not out of the woods” at episode’s end?!
isn’t that a bit radical!?
so, to keep McGee from getting blown up, he shoots him instead?! WTF!!
Gibbs had “no other choice”! SERIOUSLY?!
what are the writers thinking when they write drek like that? 😡
nas
I'm going to guess that you didn't watch the episode. Yes, it was radical but Gibbs really had no other way to stop McGee from approaching a plane that was wired to blow. In the full context of the episode, it makes sense.
- Gibbs was in a control tower a significant distance away, so he couldn't shout a warning.
- Bishop had been kidnapped by the bad guys (McGee thought she was in the plane, which is why he kept going even after being shot.)
- Torres was in Baltimore with Fornell picking up other bad guys.
- McGee's comms were out so he couldn't hear Gibbs or Vance trying to get him to stand down.
- Gibbs fired a warning shot and McGee kept going.
- Gibbs shot McGee in the arm and McGee kept going.
- Gibbs shot McGee in the leg and moments later the plane blew up. Had Tim been any closer, he would have been killed.
It was still a terrible decision for Gibbs to have to make though. |
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