NCIS: Difference between revisions

'''Gibbs:''' That's probably why we get along so well. }}

** In the season eight double episode "Enemies Foreign/Domestic" Tony makes a reference to ''[[The West Wing (TV)|The West Wing]]'' by calling McGee "McBartlet". Both Mark Harmon and Michael O'Neill (who guest stars in these episodes) played secret service agents on the show.

** In the Episode 'Light Sleeper' while on stake out Tony is reading an entertainment magazine

{{quote| '''Tony:''' Damn, I can't believe this... Mick and Jessica broke up, I'm always the last to know.}}

* [[Author Appeal]]: Ever since Shane jumped on as Producer, there's been a lot more Abby fanservice and a lot less Abby/McGee. [[Your Mileage May Vary|YMMV]], [[Running the Asylum|but]] [[Fan Girl|some fans]] do not approve.

* [[Awesomeness By Analysis]]:

*** Though really, the bad guy was just taking the genius kid at her word. According to her, there was less than 1 chance in 40 that Ziva could hit him.

*** Except Ziva {{spoiler|lied to the girl that she hasn't shot anyone ever. 97.6% is the difference between a [[Naive Newcomer]] and a cold-hearted professional assassin.}}

*** Messing with his coffee, although his reaction to this is fairly minor in comparison to the others.

** In "Lost and Found", we learn through her conversation with McGee that Abby's two biggest pet peeves are people who claim to be vegetarians but still eat chicken, and poorly handled evidence.

*** It's mutual, too.

** In "Seadog", Ducky goes ballistic on a local LEO who contaminates a crime scene so he can get in good with the news reporter on the scene.

* [[Bilingual Bonus]]: Ziva is Hebrew, even though it's sorta mangled. Also, Abby and Gibbs using sign language. Gratuitous second-year undergrad level Russian for a lot of characters. Passable French and some level of Arabic.

** Averted hard in the episode "Primitus Victor". "Victor" isn't Latin for "victim;" it's Latin for "victor".

* [[Black Comedy]]: ...including having the team cracking jokes while examining a body.

** Palmer has been called out when making jokes around the autopsy table several times, though, usually because they're not very funny.

** Season 5 ended with the entire cast getting reassigned. Less fatal than the other situation, but the same effect of being able to write any character they want out.

** Season 6 ended with {{spoiler|Ziva captive in Somalia. On a list of places a Jewish woman would not want to be a prisoner, that's pretty high up there.}}

*** {{spoiler|[[Word of God]] confirms Ducky lives in an interview with Gary Glasberg.}}

* [[Bottle Episode]]: "Trojan Horse" takes place largely in NCIS HQ, aside from a few location shots of Paris and a hospice.

* [[Brain Bleach]]: Episode 4x5, "Dead and Unburied" Tony wonders if a victim of a murder who apparently had three fiancees was special [[Bigger Is Better in Bed|Down There]], unfortunately for him the instruments were in a state of extreme decay. Tony asks Ducky if there is a psychological way to Unsee something.

* [[Brains and Bondage]]: Abby.

* [[Bulletproof Vest]]: Used and subverted in the same episode. Former Presidential-detail Secret Service agent Kate jumps in front of a bullet for Gibbs... who was ''also'' wearing a vest at the time. Moments later when the team is joking about it, {{spoiler|Ari snipes her in the head}}.

* [[Bunny Ears Lawyer|Bunny Ears Lawyers]]: All of Team Gibbs! You have Abby the [[Perky Goth]] [[The Lab Rat|Lab Rat]]; Gibbs the regularly-does-stuff-that-would-get-a-real-agent-fired-if-not-arrested guy; Tony, the sexual harassment [[Karma Houdini]]; Ziva the weapons nut ([[Drives Like Crazy|including any motor vehicle]]), and Ducky, who uses any excuse to wax poetic about his past and tells amusing but irrelevant anecdotes to his corpses... as he's dissecting them. This even freaks ''Gibbs'' out. And, of course, "Elf Lord" McGee. At this point they're in flipping bunny ''suits.''

* [[Death Faked for You]]: Variation in the Season 9 Finale: {{spoiler|Gibbs and the NCIS team has Jonathan Cole brought into NCIS, while also faking his escape from prison as well, in order to recruit him to act as a double agent for them in tracking down Dearing, and in exchange, they might give him a lighter sentence.}}

* [[Death in The Clouds]]: The pilot episode, "Yankee White", and "Jet Lag".

** Tony in Season 4.

** Trent Kort, the CIA agent who also infiltrated René Benoît's arms-dealing enterprise.

*** It is, however, very likely that Gibbs was making the entire thing up to bug Director Shepard.

** "Reveille" features a terrorist who rides a [[Cool Bike|Ducati 749]]. However, the sound dubbed over is from an inline-4 motorcycle. Ducati almost exclusively uses v-twins, which give a very different sound.

* [[Directed By Cast Member]]: Michael Weatherly directed season eight episode "One Last Score".

* [[Distaff Counterpart]]: The CGIS team leader in "Jurisdiction" acts so much like Gibbs that it's essentially [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshaded]] by the ''entire'' NCIS staff. Tony even asks Gibbs whether he had any long-lost sisters or not.

** Quite obvious in season 8 episode 5, "Dead Air" in which the resident [[Badass Israeli]] [[Action Girl]] {{spoiler|jumps on an oblivious Tony to save him from a bomb blast.}}

* [[The Don]]: René Benoît.

** Abby [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHGNdhft_GI uses this] for a bit of fun with Gibbs:

{{quote| '''Abby''': Thank you, sir.<br />

''Franks reaches around to slap the back of Gibbs' head, but stops.''<br />

'''Franks''': If you weren't just in a coma. }}

*** Occasionally they dope-slap themselves in Gibbs' presence just to save him the trouble, usually preceded by a "This one's on me, boss."

** In one episode, the team had to attend a mandatory [[Sensitivity Training]] seminar. Tony casually asked if it would be okay to receive such a slap from a coworker, and received the predictable reply that it was workplace harassment. Cue a round of shifty looks from the entire team and a hasty backpedal from Tony when the presenter asked if such a thing had actually happened.

** One episode was kicked off by someone being sent a pair of human eyes.

** In "Forced Entry" {{spoiler|the guy who put together the fake online chats}} was found with his throat slashed and his eyes gouged out.

** In "Engaged, Part II" a thirteen year-old girl is blinded after terrorists throw hot grease into her face.

 

*** [[Team Dad]]: Gibbs

** In the first two seasons, Kate was [[The Lancer]] and Tony was [[The Big Guy]]. Ducky and Palmer are [[The Medic]] and The [[Tagalong Kid]] respectively for both arrangements.

* [[Fridge Horror]]: Of the in-universe type. The team finds the corpse of a cannibal serial killer (identified due to the fact that he still had a victim's toe in his stomach) where he fell into an abandoned chimney. Fornell had been chasing this guy for years, but eventually they realize his wife was the killer, and hadn't stopped at her husband's death.

{{quote| '''Fornell:''' Just think...if he hadn't fallen down that chimney, she would have just kept killing for who knows how long.<br />

** Some specific instances: The fourth season's slow leadup to the finale/premiere. Also, as early as season one, {{spoiler|Gibbs had a vision of Kate being shot by Ari. Cue the season two finale...}}

** The season two finale is crammed full of these.

** Also, the season 3 episode Frame Up where Tony was pointed out as the killer through the evidence collected, no matter what Abby did. {{spoiler|She did clear Tony in the end, it turned out to be her lab partner Chip, who wanted revenge on Tony for costing him his job.}}

* [[Freaky Fashion, Mild Mind]]: Abby.

** Gibbs and Ducky

** Gibbs and Fornell. They also share a common ex-wife.

** In chapter 4x03, "Singled Out", it looks like [[Castle|Detective Kevin Ryan]] was a bartender in a bar where fast dates are held. {{spoiler|He's also a robber, and the man who kidnapped the [[Victim of the Week]].}}

* [[Hidden Depths]]: McGee's writing career and, far more importantly, Tony's growing maturity. Unfortunately, Tony seems to have been getting more and more [[Flanderization|Flanderized]] and less mature in the most recent seasons, although this may just be [[Obfuscating Stupidity]].

'''Tony''': There we go. That wasn't so tough, was it? Now how about a little hug? Big buddy hug. Come on.<br />

[''Abby immediately hugs Ziva, Ziva slowly reciprocates'']<br />

[''Abby and Ziva punch him in the chest at the same time'']<br />

'''Tony''': OOF! Now we feel better. }}

** {{spoiler|Kate Todd}}. And [[Killed Mid-Sentence|mid-sentence]], talking sarcastically about never expecting to live to see something, to boot.

** The murderer [[Karmic Death|suffers the exact same fate]] not 2 episodes later, at the hands of {{spoiler|his own sister, no less.}}

** {{spoiler|Mike Franks}}. Like {{spoiler|Jenny Shepard before him}}, it was a choice between going down swinging or letting disease do it and preferring the former.

** Also recurring characters {{spoiler|Paula Cassidy (season four) and Agent Lee (season six).}}

* [[Punny Name]]: Donald Mallard - a mallard is a duck...in other words, [[Donald Duck]]. Lampshaded time and again in the series as the explanation for his nickname, Ducky.

** The first NCIS Director in the series, from the JAG pilot to the start of season 3, was named Thomas Morrow. Or rather, "Tom Morrow"... tomorrow.

* [[Rare Guns]]: In one season eight episode a Webley Revolver is the murder weapon.

* [[Real Life Relative]]: Sean Murray, who plays Timothy McGee, is Donald P. Belissario's (one of NCIS' creators and producers) step-son. Troian Belissario, Donald P. Belissario's daughter and Sean's step-sister, plays Sarah McGee, Timothy's sister.

** Tony ships [[Portmanteau Couple Name|Bibbs]] - Gibbs/Abigail Borin. [[Right Behind Me|Borin doesn't agree]].

* [[Shirtless Scene]]: McGee's gotten two or three, and DiNozzo's gotten several. Strangely, Gibbs is absent from this unless you count the very-soapy shower scene in "SWAK", which is one for the entire Kate-era team.

** Several to other [[Donald P Bellisario]] shows:

*** Tony uses the alias [[Airwolf|"Stringfellow Hawke"]] at one point; also, Caitlin Todd's first name is the same as an ''Airwolf'' character.

** Gibbs shares a middle name (Jethro) with Admiral Chegwidden from ''NCIS''' parent series, ''[[JAG (TV)|JAG]]''.

** The first episode is one big shout-out to ''[[Air Force One]]'', right down to reusing the sets and Gibbs specifically mentioning the movie by name and [[Genre Savvy|reasoning that not only would the weapons be stored in the same place as they were in the movie, but that the terrorists would infiltrate by a similar manner]].

** Actually, ''far'' too many to list, as Tony is almost guaranteed to make at least one TV or movie reference ''every episode''.

*** Normally, the team is not familiar with most of Tony's movie references. However, when he [[Speed (Film)|loops a video feed to save a room of hostages]], everyone calls him out afterwards when he tries to take credit, knowing which movie he stole the tactic from.

** Ziva's orange cap; {{spoiler|it's a reminder of the victim from "Dead Man Walking"}}.

** {{spoiler|Kate's desk}}, for about three episodes.

* [[Trojan Horse]]: [[Exactly What It Says On the Tin|"Trojan]] [[Captain Obvious|Horse."]]

* [[Troubled Backstory Flashback]]

** McGee and Abby. When McGee has an onscreen girlfriend {{spoiler|and before she turns out to be an assassin,}} Abby is noticeably torn between wanting him to be happy and just wanting him.

* [[The Uriah Gambit]]: {{spoiler|Vance is revealed to have been originally recruited to NIS in 1991 almost specifically for his expendibility. Obviously, it didn't go as planned.}}

* [[Villainous Breakdown]]: [[Deadpan Snarker|Kyle]] [[Magnificent Bastard|Boone]], [[Serial Killer|serial]] [[Complete Monster|killer]], in the episode 'Mind Games'. {{spoiler|He has two actually. He has the first, a minor one, when Gibbs "shoots" him with an unloaded gun instead of actually killing him in cold blood. The second is his real breakdown. It happens when he uses one last psychological attack to rattle Gibbs and put a stay of his execution. It has to do with an agent working under Gibbs (Cassidy) who Boone has his lawyer/protege abduct, torture, and kill. The breakdown at the end of the exchange:}}

{{quote| [[spoiler: '''Boone''': Hey, do you think she screamed, when he cut out her tongue, Jethro?<br />

'''Boone''': *insert breakdown and screaming here*]] }}

* [[Vomiting Cop]]: An amnesiac Gibbs, being brought up to speed on recent history, succumbs to this trope when his old mentor tells him about 9/11.

** S2 Ep15, "Caught On Tape", has a Type 1. Kate names the dog of the killer, Tony, even though it's a girl. This leads to a humorous scene where Tony is listening in on Kate and Abby talking about whether Tony likes them, how cute Tony is, and how they could share Tony.

** S5 Ep13, "Dog Tags" has another Type 1. A military police German Shepard that Abby has to examine for evidence, who she names Jethro.

'''Gibbs''': Yeah, three years ago. But now you're making it right...and me proud. You've been doing a hell of a job, [[First-Name Basis|Anthony]]. }}

** On a related note, [[Meaningful Name|Anthony means "worthy of praise."]]

** Tony fears vampires.

** Abby fears going to Autopsy (but gets over it soon after).

* [[Write Who You Know]]: McGee's based a series of thriller novels he's written on his coworkers and miscellaneous civilians. He is a best-selling author, under the [[Pen Name]] of "[[Significant Anagram|Thom E. Gemcity]]". Despite his picture being on the back cover, he's almost never recognized. This causes problems when a [[Loony Fan]] starts killing people based on actions taken by their fictional selves in McGee's next book (the killer {{spoiler|1=had been reading McGee's typewriter ribbons to get a sneak peek}}). In that episode, McGee finally admits that he bases the characters in his books off the NCIS team (after the content of his latest book had been revealed, [[Running Gag|he'd made it a point to deny the similarities]]).

** This gets lampshaded in the episode "Friends and Lovers", when the team has to investigate a high-class nightclub. Rather than make up a celebrity to get into the place, they simply send in McGee using his "Gemcity" identity, complete with a trio of female admirers (Ziva, Abby, and Michelle Lee).

* [[You Get Me Coffee]]: Regularly.

** Played with in the "[[Doppelg Ã]]¤nger" episode when the McGee analogue fetches coffee for Gibbs ''and'' his counterpart.

** {{spoiler|Variation: You killed my daughter. [[Prepare to Die]]. -- Gibbs' former mother-in-law to the Navy captain who was the main connection to the drug dealers that killed her daughter and granddaughter (the closest she could get to the actual murderers) -- ''as he's on his knees about to propose to her''. Gibbs later reveals to her that he avenged his family and "illegally" arrests her in her lawyer's presence to negate the charges.}}

** {{spoiler|Another variation: You (tangentially) killed my son: A young Navy recruit was arrested by Gibbs after he and a friend played a prank. The recruit's dad, a technological firm CEO, had them transferred to another ship which was blown up by a terrorist who found a flaw in the ship's design. Years later the guy blames Gibbs for his son's transfer, and he knows at least two deadly flaws in the fleet.}}

* [[You Need to Get Laid]]: Gibbs' team tries to find him the perfect woman in the ninth season episode "Safe Harbor" so he will stop making them work nights and weekends.

** Gibbs told Tony he'd made a mistake in blowing off his ex-fiancee for Christmas brunch in the ninth season episode "Newborn King."