NCIS is one of the longest-running crime dramas currently on television. The premise was first introduced to television audiences in 2003 through two episodes of the television series JAG, which acted as backdoor pilots. Soon after, NCIS made its official premiere and has been on television since.
During its seventeen-year run, the societal and cultural landscapes have made many significant changes, meaning that some older storylines of earlier seasons may not have aged well. However, that doesn’t mean the show entirely hasn’t aged well. There are still aspects of the show that are considered timeless. Here are five aspects of the show that have aged perfectly and five that have not.
Not Aged Well: Anthony DiNozzo’s Early Characterization
While Anthony DiNozzo is a beloved character on the show, his characterization has not aged well, especially when looking at the early seasons. DiNozzo is initially a womanizer and, more subtlely, a misogynist. These two factors of his personality become driving points of conflict between himself and his woman coworkers such as Kate Todd, Paula Cassidy, and even Ziva David at the beginning of Ziva’s character arc.
He eventually grows past his primitive views of objectifying women and develops healthy relationships, but the fact that he started out as such a problematic character is just cringy. Character development is great, but DiNozzo could have had development that had nothing to do with objectifying women.
Aged Well: Ducky
Dr. Donald Mallard, more commonly known as Ducky, is one of the few characters who has been part of the show for all seventeen seasons. Ducky has charmed fans with his many quirks from his somewhat relevant side stories to his chatting with the victims on whom he is performing autopsies.
Ducky has gone through significant changes during NCIS‘s run, such as having a heart attack, finding his long lost brother, and retiring from his position as Medical Examiner and accepting the position as NCIS Historian within the agency. He is still the Ducky we know and love at his core, making him a character that has aged perfectly.
Not Aged Well: The Changing Cast
NCIS has seen more than its fair share of loveable characters during its seventeen season run. Fans have become attached to many characters including Ziva David, Abby Sciuto, and Clayton Reeves. In spite of fans loving these characters and many others, the show has a habit of writing them out. Some of them leave of their own volition such as Michael Weatherly, who played DiNozzo, and Pauley Perrette, who played Abby. With others, it is less clear why their characters were written out, such as Cote de Pablo, who played Ziva.
These cast members have been replaced with what fans eventually found to be equally loveable characters such as Ellie Bishop, Kasie Hines, and Nicholas Torres, but it doesn’t completely lessen the hurt of losing a favorite character.
Aged Well: The Spin-Offs
NCIS has two successful spin-offs: NCIS: Los Angeles and NCIS: New Orleans. Both of these shows are also still running, with NCIS: Los Angeles currently in its eleventh season and NCIS: New Orleans currently in its sixth. Both shows have a similar premise to the original NCIS, but take place in Los Angeles and New Orleans, as their names imply, rather than Washington D.C.
These two shows also bring on their own sets of loveable casts of characters with Chris O’Donnell leading the Los Angeles team as G. Callen, and Scott Bakula leading the New Orleans team as Dwayne Pride.
Not Aged Well: Depictions Of Mental Illness
Since it is a crime show that primarily deals with murders, NCIS depicts a variety of people as both victims and suspects with the common thread that the victim is either active Navy or Marine personnel, a veteran, or a family member of such. Some of the suspects have been depicted as having some sort of mental disorder such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
The issue with this is that most people with mental illness, including PTSD, do not murder people or go on killing sprees, causing the show to contribute to the bad reputation mental illnesses have.
Aged Well: Timothy McGee
Timothy McGee has been a character on the show since season one, starting as a recurring character, before being promoted to the main cast in season two. He is played by Sean Murray, the showrunner Donald P. Bellisario’s stepson. McGee is portrayed as geekier than his fellow agents and generally savvier with computers with the exception of people like Abby. He also is the author of the Deep Six crime novels under the pseudonym Thom E. Gemcity.
His geeky and somewhat awkward nature are part of his core personality, even though fans have also had the pleasure of seeing him grow more confident as the series progresses.
Not Aged Well: Mark Harmon
Mark Harmon plays the lead agent, Leroy Jethro Gibbs, and like Ducky, has been part of the main cast since season one. Harmon has maintained a fairly successful acting career since the 1970s.
When Pauley Perrette left NCIS in 2018, she alleged via Twitter that Harmon had physically assaulted her a number of times and at least one crew member at least once. Neither CBS nor Harmon has commented on these allegations, but in the era of the Me Too movement, people should be inclined to believe victims, rather than their privileged alleged abusers.
Aged Well: Abby Sciuto
While Mark Harmon himself, and by extension, Gibbs, has not aged well, Abby Sciuto remains immaculate. She is a goth but not in a stereotypical way. She is edgy but also one of the happiest characters in the show. She cares about each and every one of her teammates, even if her and Ziva’s friendship started out rougher than her other friendships.
She had great platonic chemistry with the agents and the NCIS directors. She is a beloved character who is missed by fans, even though Kasie Hines (played by Diona Reasonover) is also a very loveable character.
Not Aged Well: Villainizing Islam, Muslims, And Middle Eastern People
While most of the crimes that the team solves are episodic, the seasons also have overarching storylines such as when Gibbs and the team were looking to uncover the identity of Ari Haswari and later avenge Kate’s death. Many of these season storylines involve some sort of terrorism, some of which are shown as domestic, and others are shown as from international groups, particularly the Muslim and Middle Eastern communities.
These depictions perpetuate the Islamophobia that has been around since before 9/11 and has definitely increased since. Even Ziva David, who is Israeli and Jewish, was at first not entirely trusted due to her nationality.
Aged Well: The Crime Genre
NCIS is one of many crime television shows that have had successful runs. There is currently a perpetual demand for police procedurals, allowing for many different premises within that genre to develop. Some are based on films such as FX’s Fargo and others are based on real-life agencies such as NCIS or Criminal Minds, both of which are on CBS.
It would be baseless to say that the crime genre will never be out of style, but as of right now, the trend has lasted long enough that this aspect of NCIS has aged perfectly.
