NCIS (TV series) Totally Explained

Everything about Ncis Tv Series totally explained

NCIS is an American police procedural television series revolving around a fictional team of special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service of the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps. The concept and characters were initially introduced in a two-part episode of the CBS series JAG (episodes 8.20 and 8.21). The show premiered on September 23, 2003 on CBS. Its executive producer was Donald Bellisario. NCIS is scheduled to return for a sixth season in the 2008-2009 season.

Overview

NCIS is a television show that follows a fictional team of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service Major Case Response Team (MCRT) special agents, headquartered at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C.. It is described by the actors and producers (on special features on DVD releases in the USA) as being distinguished by its comedy elements, ensemble acting and character-driven plots.
   As NCIS is a federal law enforcement agency with jurisdiction on crimes involving persons and property associated with the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps, the team is frequently assigned to high-profile cases such as the death of the President's nuclear missile aide, a bomb situation on a U.S. Navy warship, the death of a celebrity on a reality show set on a USMC base, terrorist threats, and kidnappings.
   In a number of episodes on NCIS, Mark Harmon's character, Gibbs is seen wearing an old shirt with NIS written on it. This isn't a mistake, as Navy veterans will often point out. Prior to it becoming NCIS, it was the Naval Investigative Service (NIS). This also effectively plays into the idea that Gibbs has been with NCIS for quite some time longer than the others.
   The ensemble acting approach means that the 'stars' include relatively minor characters and even extends to some recurring characters. There are 7 permanent characters credited at the beginning of season 5. Guest stars usually appear in only one episode.
   USA Network began showing re-runs of NCIS on Wednesday, January 2, 2008, using the slogan, "The Show With More Initials than Any Other Drama on Television." It is on TV on CBS every Tuesday night at 8:00 p.m Eastern and Pacific Time.

Cast

Name	Portrayed by	Occupation	Character Status
Leroy Jethro Gibbs	Mark Harmon	Special Agent // Major Case Response Team Supervisor, NCIS	Regular (2003 - Present)
Tony DiNozzo	Michael Weatherly	Special Agent // Major Case Response Team Senior Field Agent, NCIS Transferred to the USS Ronald Reagan in Season 5 ("Judgment Day")	Regular (2003 - Present)
Timothy McGee	Sean Murray	Special Agent // Major Case Response Team Junior Field Agent, NCIS Transferred to the Cybercrime Commission in Season 5 ("Judgment Day")	Regular (2004 - Present)
Ziva David	Cote de Pablo	Mossad Liaison Officer, NCIS Liaison position was terminated in Season 5 ("Judgment Day")	Regular (2005 - Present)
Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard	David McCallum	Chief Medical Examiner, NCIS	Regular (2003 - Present)
Abby Sciuto	Pauley Perrette	Forensic Specialist, NCIS	Regular (2003 - Present)
Leon Vance	Rocky Carroll	Director, NCIS Deputy Director, NCIS	Recurring (2008 - Present)
Ron Sacks	Don Franklin	Special Agent, FBI	Recurring (2005 - Present)
Jimmy Palmer	Brian Dietzen	Assistant Medical Examiner, NCIS	Recurring (2004 - Present)
Tobias Fornell	Joe Spano	Senior Special Agent, FBI	Recurring (2003 - Present)
Jenny Shepard	Lauren Holly	Former Director, NCIS Killed during a gun fight. Season 5 ("Judgment Day")	Former regular (2005 - 2008) †
Caitlin "Kate" Todd	Sasha Alexander	Special Agent, NCIS Killed by Ari Haswari in Season 2 ("Twilight")	Former regular (2003 - 2005) †
Dr. Jeanne Benoit	Scottie Thompson	Doctor, Monroe University Hospital	Former recurring (2006 - 2008)
Paula Cassidy	Jessica Steen	NCIS Special Agent, NCIS Killed in Season 4 ("Grace Period") by a suicide bomber	Former recurring (2003 - 2007) †
Hollis Mann	Susanna Thompson	Lt. Colonel, US Army, CID retired	Former recurring (2006 - 2007)
Cassie Yates	Tamara Taylor	NCIS Special Agent, NCIS	Former recurring (2003 - 2006)
Thomas Morrow	Alan Dale	Former Director, NCIS Deputy Director, DHS	Former recurring (2003 - 2005)
Gerald Jackson	Pancho Demmings	Assistant Medical Examiner, NCIS	Former recurring (2003 - 2005)

† - Indicates Character is Deceased.

Naming the show

Prior to the launch of the first season, advertisements on CBS identified the show as "Naval CIS." By the time of the launch of the first episode, NCIS was airing under the name Navy NCIS, the name it held for the entire first season. Since the "N" in NCIS stands for "Naval,” the name Navy NCIS was technically redundant (an example of RAS syndrome). The decision to use this name was reportedly made by CBS, over the objections of Bellisario, in order to:

Attract new viewers (particularly those of JAG), who might not know the NCIS abbreviation.
Disambiguate between NCIS and the similarly-themed and similarly-spelled CBS series and its spinoffs. (The original title, for instance, was often misquoted as Navy CSI.”)

After its successful first season, the name of the series was shortened to NCIS.

Episodes

See List of NCIS episodes.

Filming location

NCIS is set in Washington DC area but is really filmed in Santa Clarita, CA

The sound stages are in Santa Clarita, California

The series is shot throughout southern California

U.S. television ratings

Seasonal rankings (based on average total viewers per episode) of NCIS on CBS. Note: Each U.S. network television season starts in late September and ends in late May, which coincides with the completion of May sweeps. September 23, 2003September 28, 2004September 20, 2005September 19, 2006September 25, 2007FOX's mega-hit American Idol.

Changes

It was reported in May 2007 that NCIS creator and producer Donald Bellisario would be stepping down from the show. It turns out, due to a disagreement with series star Mark Harmon, that Bellisario's duties as "show runner" would be taken over by longtime show collaborators, including co-executive producer Charles Floyd Johnson and series writer Shane Brennan, with Bellisario retaining his title as Executive Producer.

DVD releases

May 25, 2004	2003–2004	#26	11.84
May 24, 2005	2004–2005	#22	13.63
May 16, 2006	2005–2006	#16	15.3
May 22, 2007	2006–2007	#18	14.5
May 20, 2008	2007–2008	#10	14.1

DVD Name	Region 1	Region 2	Region 4
Season 1	June 6 2006	July 24 2006	August 10 2006
Season 2	November 14 2006	October 16 2006	October 12 2006
Season 3	April 24 2007	June 25 2007	March 15 2007
Season 4	October 23 2007	May 19 2008	July 10 2008
Season 5	August 26 2008	TBA	TBA

The first season DVD release omits the two-part introductory episode that aired as part of the eighth season of JAG.

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