Mark Harmon as Gibbs was the soul of the NCIS franchise. When he finally called it quits after nearly 20 years, I have to admit I wasn’t sure how much longer the show could go on. I mean, there has to be a reason for this kind of longevity. All of the spin-offs have now come and gone. NCIS: Hawaii has now ended. NCIS: New Orleans shuttered it’s doors three years ago now after a mere seven years. The longest-running of the spin-offs was L.A., but even they have gone now after only 10 years. I say “only” 10 years. For most shows a 10-year run is rarefied air. So how about 21 years? Only Dick Wolf’s Law & Order franchise has accomplished more. Yes, Harmon might have been the franchise’s soul. But Gary Cole came in and has taken up that slack far better than anyone could have imagined. Now CBS is releasing NCIS The Complete 21st Season on DVD, and that short run of episodes puts the franchise passed the 1000 episode mark. It’s an unbelievable run, and it doesn’t look like it’s close to ending now.
Season 21 was up against some tough odds. Just as the industry was truly recovered from the COVID halts in production, both the writers and the actors went on strike last summer. For a few months it didn’t look like either group or the studios they were up against were very interested in settling. It’s a bit mind-boggling to me. They suffered a somewhat self-inflicted wound and shut down productions once again over the strike. It hurt the current summer film season, and television shows didn’t return to the airwaves until February. Like most network shows NCIS ended up with a short 10-episode season. But the delay cost them much more than another dozen episodes and months of dead air. This blow will be another test to the fortitude of the franchise.
If Gibbs was the show’s soul, David McCallum was the show’s heart. McCallum played Dr. “Ducky” Mallard, the team’s medical examiner. He was the last remaining actor/character from the show’s very first season. The aged actor had been cutting down his time on the show as he entered his late 80’s. While remaining on the show’s credits, he had pretty much dropped down to a recurring character as a way to lighten his load enough for the actor to continue in the role. McCallum died before production could start back up. If things had started on time, we would in all likelihood have had at least another couple of episodes to say goodbye. So the strike deprived us of a couple more hours of Ducky, and that’s a shame. His presence will be missed, but I will say they gave him a nice sendoff on NCIS.
The first episode couldn’t deal with McCallum or Ducky. We had a cliffhanger to resolve. Torres (Valderrama) had been undercover in a prison where he solved last year’s big case. But while undercover he discovered that a man who had destroyed his own family when he was a kid was still alive. Now that guy has turned up dead, and all signs point to Torres, including a video where he promises to whack the dude and eventually a confession. When the FBI comes looking, the team does their best, but those are pretty tough odds to overcome. Of course, the good guys win, and all is brought to a satisfying conclusion. I suspect that conclusion was originally intended to take more than a single episode, but that just wasn’t possible now because of the strikes. So if it feels a little rushed, considering the many complications, it’s because it likely was.
The second episode of the season had more important things to do. We have to say goodbye to Ducky, and it’s a wonderfully written episode, and I’m sure the emotional beats weren’t too hard for the cast to deliver. A woman shows up for Dr. Mallard. This is as Jimmy (Dietzen) was checking on Ducky’s cat and found him in his bed. Ducky had contacted her just before he died and told her he had evidence to clear her father who had been sent to prison for murder. So now the team has to figure out what Ducky might have found and solve the case for their fallen comrade as much as for justice. The episode includes some nice flashbacks to some Ducky moments and also bringing with them many other characters/actors that have been gone from the show including a real visit from Tony. There’s some bittersweet stuff here, and I can’t say enough about how well they handled this unexpected tragedy. This is the highlight of the season for me, and I suspect it’s not an episode fans will want to miss.
Someone tries to kill Vance (Carroll) this season, and while he’s out, McGee (Murray) gets to be the “acting” director. What a long way the McGee character has come. He started as the “probie” that Tony loved to torment and turned into such a seasoned agent and asset to the franchise.
There’s also a UFO episode, but of course, they’re called UAP’s now (Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon). The government has been releasing some interesting information and video of late, and it’s put a little pep into the whole arena. This one even has the agents starting to question if we’re alone.
The 1000th episode is called 1000 Yards, and it’s the episode where someone takes a shot at Director Vance. It includes cameos by several L.A. and Hawaii characters/actors. Again there are also flashbacks that allow other cameos, as well. Another favorite of mine has Parker (Cole) pretending to be a heart surgeon when a huge cartel drug lord is in the country to have secret heart surgery. It’s another great example of how well Gary Cole has stepped into this series. You can’t argue about how big Gibbs was for the show, but I don’t think we missed a beat here. Parker and Torres are developing some nice chemistry on the show, as well, and that really comes out this year.
Agent Knight (Law) appears to be leaving the show, at least the season indicates that is happening. It leads to some emotional stuff with Law and Dietzen. Kasie (Reasonover) is still growing on me, but I’m a little disappointed that the bad blood over Pauley Perrette’s departure on the show has led to her character getting a rather obvious snub, with the two episodes featuring most key cast members over time. I thought it a somewhat reminded me of Harvard on Christmas Day. No class.
So you get all 10 episodes on three discs with a few extras thrown in there. You get the usual season rundown, a look at the Ducky tribute episode, a feature on Daniela Ruah directing a couple of the franchise episodes this season, and a look at the season’s stunts.
There are big changes coming. The franchise is continuing its run of spin-offs, but this time they are taking a different approach. After a few years on Bull, Michael Weatherly is returning as the beloved Tony DiNozzo, along with Cote de Pablo as Ziva. They will headline a new series where the characters are on the run against some real bad guys. There is also going to be a prequel that takes us back to the young agent days of Gibbs. Mark Harmon will return in a narrator role. Very much like the Young Sheldon series, it will give us a look at how Gibbs became Gibbs. This was a short year, but hardly disappointing. I look forward to seeing the show return with a full complement of episodes in the coming fall. When they arrive on disc next year, I expect to be right here talking about Season 22. “Goodbye for now.”
