"Pauley Perrette (born March 27, 1969)[2] is an American writer,[3] singer, civil rights advocate and former actress.[4] She is best known for playing Abby Sciuto in the television series NCIS from 2003 to 2018....
Early life
Perrette was born in New Orleans and raised throughout the southern United States.[4] On The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, she told host Craig Ferguson that she had lived in Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, New York, New Jersey, and California.[5] In a 2011 interview with the Associated Press, Perrette confessed her early ambitions were to work with animals, be in a rock and roll band, or be an FBI agent.[6]
Perrette attended Valdosta State University in Valdosta, Georgia, where she studied criminal justice,[7] and later moved to New York City to study at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. In New York, she held a variety of jobs: "Not only was I bartending in the club kids scene, with a bra and combat boots and a white Mohawk, but I also wore a sandwich board on roller skates passing out flyers for Taco Bell in the Diamond District." Perrette also worked as a cook on a Manhattan dinner cruise boat.[6]
Career
Perrette at the NOH8 Campaign in 2009
Perrette has worked in television and film, mostly doing commercials, voice-overs, music videos and short films. She worked as a bartender in New York City.[4] While working odd jobs in New York, she was introduced by a friend to an advertising agency director. This prompted her move to Los Angeles, where she had a variety of bit parts and made several guest appearances.[6] She appeared as a waitress at Cafe Nervosa in the sitcom Frasier during season four (in the episode "Three Dates and a Break Up"), and she guest-starred in season one of 24. She has made appearances in several films, including The Ring and Almost Famous.
In 2001, as a recurring character introduced in season two of Special Unit 2, she played Alice Cramer, the Unit's public relations person. She landed her most prominent role, that of Abby Sciuto, an eccentric forensic scientist, in NCIS, a television series based on the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. Perrette's initial appearances as the character were in two episodes of JAG aired in spring 2003; these served as a backdoor pilot and introduced the characters. She has since appeared as Abby in two 2009 episodes of NCIS: Los Angeles, as well as in two episodes of NCIS: New Orleans in 2014 and 2016.
The character Abby Sciuto was created by Donald P. Bellisario, who "wanted to create ... a character who was seemingly an 'alternafreak', while portraying her as perhaps the smartest, most capable person on television. Not a junkie, killer, loser, or television stereotype." Perrette added some of her own "contributions" to the character, and also conferred with friend Clint Catalyst, the "author of Cottonmouth Kisses [who is] often brought in as a guest on TV shows when they are doing pieces on goth or alternative culture." Perrette explained that "Clint and I and our 3,000 closest friends all play together ... We've never sat around and labeled each other. Sure, there are nights when a certain event leans more towards one style than the other, but it's not like some turf war with gang colors." Like her character, Perrette has often been asked if she is goth or punk, to which her response is "Who cares?". Consequently, she told her employers that her character is not the type to seek out a label; Abby "wouldn't call herself anything but Abby ... What she represents is a smart, capable chick that cannot be reduced to a stereotype."[8] On October 4, 2017, TV Guide reported that Perrette would be leaving the series at the end of the 15th season; she made her final appearance in the episode "Two Steps Back".[9]
In addition to acting, Perrette is a poet,[10] author (her short story "Cheers..." appears in the anthology Pills, Thrills, Chills, and Heartache: Adventures in the First Person), photographer, and spoken-word artist, a lover of music of all kinds, and a passionate advocate for civil rights. In 2007, she began production on a documentary about U.S. civil rights attorney and author Mark Lane.[4][11] Entitled Citizen Lane, it was completed in 2013.[citation needed]
In a 2005 interview with Craig Ferguson, then host of The Late Late Show, Perrette said she has had a lifelong crime obsession. She was an undergrad student in sociology, psychology, and criminal science. She started her master's degree in criminal science before her career in the entertainment industry.[5]
In the January/February 2010 Performer Q Score, Perrette tied in the top three alongside Tom Hanks and Morgan Freeman. She was also the only woman to make the top 10.[12] Perrette began appearing in television commercials for Expedia.com in late 2010. She made a guest appearance as a judge on season four, episode six of RuPaul's Drag Race.
As of winter 2018, her Q Score was 44, giving her the highest score of all current female television actors.[13]
Perrette played the lead role as Jackie in the CBS sitcom Broke, which aired in 2020.[14] In May 2020, it was announced that Broke would be cancelled after one season. Perrette was quoted as saying that the sitcom changed her life.[15] On July 7, 2020, Perrette announced her retirement from acting.[16]
Music
Perrette recorded her song "Fear" (co-written with Tom Polce) under the name "Stop Making Friends". The song was recorded for NCIS: The Official TV Soundtrack which was released on February 10, 2009. "Fear" was featured in the NCIS episode "Aliyah" (season 6 episode 25), according to the soundtrack's website.[17]
Prior to this, Perrette was the lead singer in the Los Angeles-based, all-female band Lo-Ball, using the stage name "Pauley P."[18] The song "Can't Get Me Down" by Lo-Ball is heard in the movie Legally Blonde. Perrette appeared in "The Unnamed Feeling" video for heavy metal band Metallica from their album St. Anger. In 2011, Perrette was the featured vocalist on a song called "Fire in Your Eyes" by B. Taylor, a Las Vegas-based hip-hop artist.[19] She also sang on the 2011 single "Attention Please" by DMC.
Personal life
Perrette in October 2009
Perrette was married to Canadian actor and musician Coyote Shivers in 2000; the couple separated four years later, with their divorce becoming final in 2006. She was granted restraining orders against him, alleging that he subjected her to physical, emotional, and sexual abuse during and after their marriage.[20]
Perrette toured the real NCIS offices on September 30, 2005, accompanied by an Entertainment Tonight camera crew. During the tour, NCIS Regional Forensic Lab director Dawn Sorenson (Abby's real-life counterpart) told Perrette, "You make us all look good, so we're grateful."[21]
Perrette worked with America's Most Wanted in February 2004 to present the city of Prattville, Alabama, with a check for $10,000, which will be used to supplement the reward offer for information leading to the arrest of the person who killed Shannon Paulk.[22] Paulk was from Prattville, Alabama, near where Perrette had once lived as a child. Perrette also donated $10,000 to Detroit law enforcement officials in 2007 to be used as a reward for information regarding the disappearance/murder of Raven Jeffries,[23] a seven-year-old Detroit girl. (Perrette's then-partner was from Detroit.)[24] The story originally aired on America's Most Wanted on September 8, 2007, on Fox. She also asked them for help in finding the person(s) who killed her friend, Lisa Williamson, who was murdered in 2007 after her Detroit home was set on fire. In 2009, Perrette worked with America's Most Wanted on the case of Tammy Vincent.[25]
Perrette supports many charitable organizations, including animal rescue organizations, the American Red Cross, civil rights organizations, and LGBT rights organizations. Perrette opposed the California ballot initiative Proposition 8 in 2008, writing a public letter in fall of that year urging votes against the measure.[26] She is a member of the Hollywood United Methodist Church.[27]
She dated cameraman Michael Bosman for four years before their engagement; however, the two did not marry, saying they would wait until everyone can get married in the United States. They instead filed for all the legal protections that are available to same-sex couples. Bosman did not propose until the legalization of same-sex marriage in California in June 2008. The couple campaigned very publicly against Prop. 8.[28] Perrette and Bosman split, and in December 2011 she announced her engagement to former British Royal Marine Thomas Arklie.[29] She had again announced that the couple would not marry until Proposition 8 is invalidated.[30]
Perrette, who is a natural blonde, was hospitalized in 2014 after "a severe allergic reaction to her [character's] trademark ink-black [hair] color." She told CBS News in Los Angeles that her face had swollen to twice its size and warned that "anyone out there [who] dyes their hair, particularly black, you need to be aware of the symptoms."[31]
On November 12, 2015, Perrette was assaulted by a homeless man outside her Hollywood Hills home.[32] Los Angeles Police arrested David Merck, 45, and charged him with suspicion of making criminal threats and felony assault.[32] Perrette later told Entertainment Tonight that she does not blame her attacker nor does she hold ill will against him.[32]
Perrette co-owns Donna Bell's Bake Shop, named for her mother, in Manhattan, New York City.[1]
On June 7, 2019, Perrette said she left NCIS due to an on-set dog biting incident and alleged multiple physical assaults. She also stated that she was "terrified" of her former co-star Mark Harmon.[33]
Filmography
Film
Year Title Role Notes
1997 The Price of Kissing Renee
1998 Hand on the Pump Hi-Girl
Hoofboy Short film
2000 Civility Carolyn
Almost Famous Alice Wisdom
2001 My First Mister Bebe
2002 The Ring Beth
Red Skies Patty Peirson
Hungry Hearts Cokie Conner
2003 Ash Tuesday Gina Mascara
Brother Bear Female Lover Bear Voice role
2004 Cut and Run Jolene
A Moment of Grace Dr. Grace Peters
2005 Potheads: The Movie LuLu
2008 The Singularity Is Near Ramona
2010 Satan Hates You Marie Flowers
2011 Pride Angela Short Film
2012 I Am Bad Mom [34]
Superman vs. The Elite Lois Lane Voice; straight-to-video
2013 Citizen Lane Self Documentary on Mark Lane; also director, writer, executive producer
2015 Scooby-Doo! and Kiss: Rock and Roll Mystery Delilah Domino / The Crimson Witch Voice; straight-to-video
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1994 Magical Make-Over Shannon ABC Afterschool Specials
1996–97 Murder One Gwen Main role (season 2)
1996 Frasier Waitress 2 episodes (credited as: Pauley P.)
1997 Early Edition Theresa Laparco Episode: "Mob Wife" (credited as: Pauley P.)
1998
That's Life Lisa Main role
The Naked Truth Ilana Episode: "The Seer and the Sucker"
The Drew Carey Show Darcy 4 episodes
1999 Batman Beyond Cop (voice) Episode: "Golem"
Jesse Gwen 3 episodes
Veronica's Closet Nicole Episode: "Veronica's Little Ruse"
Batman Beyond: The Movie Police officer Voice role
1999–2000 Time of Your Life Cecilia Wiznarksi Main role
2001 Smash Charley Unknown episodes
Dead Last Erica Episode: "Death Is in the Air"
Philly Angela Episode: "Light My Fire"
Dawson's Creek Rachel Weir, Ph.D. 2 episodes
The American Shame N/A Associate producer
2001–02 Special Unit 2 Alice Cramer Recurring role; 4 episodes
2002 24 Tanya Episodes (season 1): "3:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m.", "4:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m."
Haunted Nadine Episode: "Fidelity"
2003 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Candeece Episode: "Lady Heather's Box"
JAG Abby Sciuto Episodes: "Ice Queen", "Meltdown"
2003–18 NCIS Main role (seasons 1–15); 352 episodes
2009 NCIS: Los Angeles Episodes: "Random on Purpose", "Killshot"
2014, 2016 NCIS: New Orleans Episodes: "Carrier", "Sister City (Part II)"
2017 When We Rise Robin Episode: "Night IV: Part VI and VII"
2020 Broke Jackie Main role; 13 episodes
Video games
Year Title Role Notes
1997 Blade Runner Lucy Devlin
Awards and nominations
Year Association Category Work Result Ref.
2014 People's Choice Awards Favorite Dramatic TV Actress NCIS Nominated [35]
2016 People's Choice Awards Favorite Crime Drama TV Actress NCIS Nominated [36]
BTVA Special/DVD Voice Acting Awards Best Female Vocal Performance in a TV Special/Direct-to-DVD Title or Theatrical Short Scooby-Doo! And Kiss: Rock and Roll Mystery Nominated [37]
2017 People's Choice Awards Favorite Crime Drama TV Actress NCIS Nominated" (wikipedia.org)
"Abigail "Abby" Sciuto /ˈʃuːtoʊ/ is a fictional character from the NCIS television series on CBS Television, and is portrayed by Pauley Perrette. In a season 10 episode entitled "Hit and Run", a young Abby was played by Brighton Sharbino in flashbacks. Like Jethro Gibbs, Anthony DiNozzo, and Dr. Donald Mallard, Abby was introduced in the episodes "Ice Queen" and "Meltdown" of the television show JAG (which together served as the backdoor pilot for NCIS), and, up until May 2018, appeared in every episode of NCIS, in addition to being featured on the show's spin-offs, NCIS: Los Angeles (two episodes) and NCIS: New Orleans (two episodes). The role made Perrette one of 2011's most popular actresses on U.S. primetime television,[3] according to Q Score.
Abigail is a forensic scientist at the Naval Criminal Investigative Service headquarters at the Washington Navy Yard, with expertise in ballistics, digital forensics, and DNA analysis. In the first episode of the seventh season, "Truth or Consequences", DiNozzo, while under the influence of a truth serum, describes her as "a paradox wrapped in an oxymoron smothered in contradictions in terms. Sleeps in a coffin. Really, the happiest Goth you'll ever meet."[4] Her gothic style of dress and her interest in death and the supernatural contrast with her generally hyperactive demeanor and enthusiasm about her work.[5][unreliable source?]
On October 4, 2017, Perrette announced that she would be departing the show at the conclusion of season 15. CBS aired her final episode on May 8, 2018....
Concept and casting
Prior to taking up a career in acting, Pauley Perrette had studied at John Jay School of Criminal Science in New York, having previously aspired "to work with animals, be in a rock 'n' roll band, or be an FBI agent."[6] She eventually began acting, later saying, "There's no drug that I ever did that worked as well as being an actor. What you're looking for with substance abuse is escape. But with acting, you can escape into 1,000 different things without almost killing yourself doing it. Acting is a total drug!"[6]
Perrette was cast for the role of Abby Sciuto in 2003. On the subject of her character's creation and its purpose, she said "[NCIS creator] Don Bellisario told me that when he created Magnum, P.I. he wanted to introduce a Vietnam vet who defied the negative stereotype. So with Abby, he wanted to take an alternative-style person with tattoos and make her someone who is happy, totally put together and successful. All the script said about her was: black hair, caffeinated and smart...She's completely unaware that anybody thinks she looks weird. She thinks she looks pretty and never calls herself anything other than happy. And I fight for that."[7]
Child actress Brighton Sharbino was cast to portray 10-year-old Abby for the season 10 episode "Hit and Run", which featured several flashbacks to a young Abby. Sharbino, who strongly resembled Perrette, reportedly spent time with the latter "in part to pick up on the NCIS vet's mannerisms and such."[1]
Characterization
Abby has a gothic style of dress,[1] including black dresses and T-shirts, miniskirts, and goth jewelry, including anklets and toe rings. She wears pigtailed dyed hair (due to Perrette's hair being dyed as she is a natural blonde[7]) and has at least nine tattoos on her neck, arms, back, ankle, and other places.[7] Her neck choker appears to be one of her favorite pieces of jewelry. While some of the tattoos are Perrette's and real, others are makeup, such as the large cross on her back applied on occasions when Perrette shows her bare back on camera.[8] The spider web on her neck is not real, either, as producer Bellisario wanted the character to have a tattoo that would be visible (almost) all the time. However, Perrette has expressed dislike for the spider tattoo, saying, "It only takes a few minutes to do, but it feels like old chewing gum,"[7] and wishes for an episode where Abby gets it removed.[8] Abby also has a stuffed hippo named "Bert" that makes flatulent/farting noises when squeezed, which has been used for comic effect when Abby is upset.[5] She decorates some of the areas in her lab with toys such as 'Bleeding Edge Goth' dolls and 'Teddy Scares'. The Teddy Scare 'Rita Mortis' can be seen sitting next to her computer monitor. Abby's biggest pet peeve, as revealed in season five's "Lost and Found" by Timothy McGee, is people who claim to be vegetarians, but still eat chicken; her second-biggest pet peeve is people who mishandle evidence.[9]
Pauley Perrette commented, "Don (Bellisario) wanted to do Abby as an alternative-lifestyle person, but not as a junkie or a thief. She might be the smartest person on television."[10] When asked about her depiction of a goth character, she responded that Abby "wouldn't call herself anything but Abby...What she represents is a smart, capable chick that cannot be reduced to a stereotype."[11]
Abby drives a candy-apple red 1930/31 Ford Model A coupe bearing a Washington, DC, personalized vanity plate "4NS CHIK" which is prominently featured in season five's "Dog Tags".[12] She previously drove a hearse (mentioned in "Hiatus, Part I"), which ran poorly and had bald tires.
Abby's signature "Caf-Pow"
Like Gibbs, Abby enjoys caffeine,[7] primarily in the form of large cups of a fictional drink called "Caf-Pow". At times, when she is worried about the caffeine interfering with her sleep, she drinks "No-Caf-Pow" instead. (According to Perrette, the cups were originally filled with Hawaiian Punch, but when she stopped eating and drinking refined sugar, unsweetened cranberry juice was used in its place.)[13] When changing the artwork in her lab during "Hung Out to Dry", she states that she has a "Chagall feeling", a reference to Marc Chagall, a Jewish Belarusian artist whose main works came from fantasy and dreams. Her favorite term for something out of the ordinary is "hinky". It is also shown that she enjoys attending concerts, but her failure to wear earplugs at one of them left her with temporary hearing loss the next day, forcing her to ask DiNozzo for help analyzing some audio evidence.[14]
Abby has shown a tendency to become very agitated, to the point of near-panic, if any of the team is seriously hurt. When Gibbs was admitted to the hospital, Abby ended up on the verge of a nervous breakdown, pacing back and forth while delivering a rambling, disjointed stream-of-consciousness plea that explained (among other things) how close Gibbs and she were, the reason she was arriving after visiting hours, how she felt about Gibbs being injured, and how important it was to her that Gibbs not die from his injuries.
Abby developed a fondness for Butch, a Navy sniffer dog, in the season five episode "Dog Tags". She renamed it "Jethro" in honor of Gibbs, because it was "handsome and quiet" like him. The dog was framed for the murder of a petty officer, as the dog was found at the murder victim's house, but Abby proved Jethro's innocence. Afterwards, Abby forced McGee to adopt the dog, much to his dismay (as Jethro had attacked him earlier in the episode). Abby would have preferred to adopt Jethro herself, but her landlord did not allow tenants to have pets.
Backstory
Sciuto is portrayed as having a happy, normal childhood. Her younger brother, Luca, was first mentioned by name in the season-nine episode "Enemy on the Hill".[15] He appears in season 10 in a flashback.[16] Luca was portrayed by Tyler Ritter in Season 13 NCIS: New Orleans crossover episodes "Sister City (Part I)" and "Sister City (Part II)". She also mentioned that she has a niece[17] and that her grandmother was an Olympic swimmer who won a silver medal.[18] She has mentioned several uncles, including one named Teddy who owned a bar,[19] one named Horace whom she referred to as Horace "the Haggler" during an episode, and one named Larry who apparently wore knee-high socks and fanny packs. Both her parents are deceased, although when they passed is never mentioned.
"Bert", Abby's stuffed hippo that often provides a running gag by farting when squeezed
Abby is a hearing child adopted by deaf parents[20] and likes her music loud. In the episode "Seadog", Gibbs tells Tony that Abby knows how to use sign language because both of her parents were deaf. Abby has stated that she dreams of visiting the Galápagos Islands, Dollywood, and Israel before she dies.[21] Abby graduated with full honors from Louisiana State University with a triple major in sociology, criminology, and psychology. She earned her master's degree from Georgia State University in criminology and forensic science. Sciuto's interest in forensics came from living near a wrecking yard and being intrigued by the cause and effect of the wrecks.[21][22] The season nine episode "Enemy on the Hill" revealed that Abby has another brother, Kyle (played by Daniel Louis Rivas), who is her biological brother, as it is revealed that Abby is in fact adopted.[23]
She appears well-versed in her field of study;[5] she is rarely stumped by the puzzles that Gibbs' team presents to her. Abby has been shown to have skills in traditional forensics, computer forensics, and hacking. She has implied that she has a PhD in chemistry.[24] It has been shown that she does all the work on the evidence herself. In season three, when she was given an assistant, Charles "Chip" Sterling, she revolted, but eventually learned to put up with him. However, their working partnership did not last long, as Abby later discovered Sterling had framed DiNozzo for murder. Exposed, Chip threatened her with a knife; she promptly subdued him, hog-tied him with duct tape, and insisted on being allowed to work alone from then on, something to which then-Director Jenny Shepard agreed.
It has also been mentioned numerous times that she is a devout Roman Catholic and is on a bowling team with several nuns.
In the 2009 NCIS: Los Angeles episode "Random On Purpose", Abby is described as being in her late 20s, suggesting she was born in the early 1980s. (Actress Perrette was born in 1969, and was 40 when this episode first aired.) However, in a flashback in the 2013 NCIS episode "Hit and Run", Abby is shown to be 10 years old in the early 1980s, implying that she was born in the early 1970s.
Resignation
In the Season 15 episodes "One Step Forward" and "Two Steps Back," MI6 agent Clayton Reeves dies protecting Abby from a hitman hired to kill her. Abby is severely wounded in the attempt, but recovers and tricks the man who wanted her dead into confessing. She resigns from NCIS to accompany Reeves' body back to England and start a charity in honor of Reeves and his mother to help the homeless.
Relationships
Abby gets along well with all the rest of the team.[5] She is very fond of Ducky, who uses her full name, Abigail. She is called Abby or Abs by almost everyone else, except Director Leon Vance, who calls her Ms. Sciuto. Abby is fiercely loyal to the team, and considers them family, which is shown by her distress when one or more of them is in serious danger. Likewise, the team are generally fond of her and describe her as "the favorite".
Before her death in the line of duty, Special Agent Caitlin Todd was a close friend of Abby's. They often hung out after work, and Abby is one of the few to know what Kate's tattoo actually is.
She is friendly with Medical Assistant Jimmy Palmer. She has helped him with an autopsy and Rolfed him when he injured himself in the morgue in "Life Before His Eyes". In "Newborn King", Palmer brings his future father-in-law, Ed Slater, to NCIS. Later in the episode, McGee visits Abby to see she has locked the two in the back room. Jimmy states if Slater had not made a comment about Abby's tattoo, then they would not be in time out, implying he took Abby's side. Jimmy also chose Abby to be his "best woman" at his wedding in "The Missionary Position".[25]
In the episode "Crescent City", she is shown to have a relationship with Senior Special Agent Dwayne Cassius Pride, who runs the New Orleans NCIS office.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs
Gibbs is depicted as having a close (father/daughter-like) relationship with Abby, who is initially one of only two characters (the other one being Ducky) to have no fear of him. Gibbs is often seen giving Abby kisses on the cheek, and hugging her, especially when she does good work on her cases. He often brings her a fresh Caf-Pow when he arrives at the lab for information on a case, whether or not she has called him down to tell him about it. Gibbs generally tolerates Abby's goth dress style, knowing that she does a great job in her work, but often has to ask her to get to the point when she starts rambling. Abby sometimes turns to Gibbs when she needs to talk about something personal that is bothering her and he helps by listening to her. Both Gibbs and Abby are proficient with American Sign Language, as Abby grew up with deaf parents. On several occasions, Abby has been described as "the favorite", a fact that does not escape the rest of the team, but they do not begrudge her for it.
Gibbs is also very protective of Abby, especially when she is in very serious danger. For example, in the episode "Bloodbath", she was threatened by a hit man hired by a defendant in a case in which she was testifying, which was also complicated by an ex-boyfriend, Mikel Mawher[26] (guest star, Vincent Young), against whom she had a restraining order, but who then called her in violation of the order. When Gibbs found out about this, he pointedly told Mikel, "The only reason you're still able to walk is because I never heard about you until today!"[27]
Sometimes, that protectiveness extends from the rest of the team, as well. For example, in the episode "Spider and the Fly", Alejandro Rivera came to NCIS and began to threaten Abby for not sending in a report about the murder of Pedro Hernandez, Rivera's father, whom Gibbs had killed 20 years previously in revenge for Hernandez killing Gibbs' first wife, Shannon, and young daughter, Kelly. The entire team, including Ducky and Vance, ordered him to leave her alone and to not harass her, or to be escorted forcibly from NCIS Headquarters. Rivera eventually left of his own accord, but was later arrested for attempting to kill Gibbs and his father at a safehouse, and accidentally killing his sister, Paloma.
Gibbs' concern for Abby's safety is such that he will even drop his trademark cup of coffee if she is in serious danger. Twice this occurred: in the episode "Kill Ari" when Ari shot at her while she was in her lab, the other time was in the episode "Driven" when she was trapped inside an experimental Humvee, which had been rigged to fill with exhaust fumes and suffocate its occupants.
Ziva David
Abby was at first cold to Ziva David when the latter first arrived at NCIS as she, like the rest of the team, was still grieving over Kate Todd's death and the fact that Ziva was Ari Haswari's half-sister. Abby would scribble over pictures of Ziva and frequently mispronounce her surname to annoy her. Later, upset by Ziva's calm response to Gibbs being injured in a bombing, Abby slapped her.
Abby eventually came around, and Ziva and she became good friends. This was solidified in the episode "Capitol Offense" when Ziva, in gratitude for Abby allowing her to stay at her place (Ziva's home was being fumigated for termites), bought her a "chocoholic's choice" cupcake. The cupcake soon vanished, and Abby brought out all her forensic know-how to find it. Ultimately, McGee was found to have taken the cupcake, angering Abby and the others. At first, Ziva flinched whenever Abby would hug her given that she did not know why Abby did so, but eventually she came to accept Abby's hugs without any trouble.
In the season-seven finale, Abby was shown to be present at Ziva's citizenship ceremony, along with Ducky, McGee, and Jimmy Palmer.
Later in the episode "Gone", the two bonded more when Ziva took in a teenaged girl who witnessed her father's murder and best friend's kidnapping as they both tried to help the girl feel at ease throughout the ongoing investigation.
After Ziva's father was gunned down in "Shabbat Shalom", Abby was shown baking cookies in an attempt to help her feel better.
Tony DiNozzo
Abby's relationship with Tony is a friendly one, with the two making friendly, nonhostile jibes at each other, and squabbling about various topics, such as movies and personal possessions. Abby is perhaps the only member of the NCIS cast who displays a love and knowledge of movies that even comes close to matching Tony's. In "Twilight", after Tony narrowly avoids being part of an explosion on his first day back from sick leave after getting pneumonic plague, she runs at him and hugs him so hard he nearly falls over. In the episode, "Frame-Up", she almost single-handedly unravels the forensic evidence used to frame Tony of murder to clear his name, then subdues the killer – her assistant Chip Sterling – when he threatens her with a knife.[5] The explosion of Tony's car in "Bury Your Dead" causes her to become increasingly obsessed with her work, to prevent thoughts of his possible death. In "Reunion", after Tony, McGee, and Gibbs rescue Ziva from Somalia, Abby starts with a rant criticizing Ziva for her continuing mistrust of Tony, which, in trademarked Abby fashion, ends with her saying how worried she was about Ziva, and hugging her. This then sparks a confrontation between Tony and Ziva that causes their relationship to be restored to normal. Tony would sometimes join Abby in her lab and act like Gibbs when he was absent. When Abby was in a coma, Tony was shown to be very worried about her, to the point he did not call McGee by any last name joke.
Timothy McGee
She had a relationship with McGee which she stated that she would like to keep casual during season one. Although the relationship ended late in the same season, they both have exhibited jealousy when someone of the opposite sex pays attention to the other.[5] Some erotic teasing and tension continues between the two for the next several seasons, implied through such facts as McGee's apparent ability to describe the inside of Abby's bedroom in his novel. After finding out Abby sleeps in a coffin, he said, "You told me it was a box sofa," indicating he has at least stayed over. The implications went farther when he added, "I can't believe I slept in a coffin," and she impishly replied, "Not just slept." In the episode "Bloodbath" when Abby's life is threatened and the team sends her home with McGee, Abby is revealed at one point to have kept a toothbrush at McGee's apartment.
Their flirtation became less prominent in later seasons, and TV Guide Senior Critic Matt Roush suggested this was due to the producers' apprehension about using romance within the series to an excess.[28] He reasoned, "pairing up all four members of Gibbs' team romantically might seem like overkill, and the Tony-Ziva dynamic (even if not exactly acted upon) is so integral to the show's core that I'm not surprised they've kept McGee and Abby on more of a loving-sibling level."[28] He further opined that he "wouldn't expect it to change".[28]
Donald "Ducky" Mallard
Abby is called Abigail by Ducky, who addresses her by her full first name often. Though in the episode "Faking It", he thanked her and called her by using the name "Abby" instead of "Abigail". Abby used to have a fear of autopsy tables, which she shares with Ducky in episode 16 of season one, "Bête Noire" when Ducky and Kate are held hostage.
Appearance on NCIS: Los Angeles
In the NCIS: Los Angeles episode "Random on Purpose", Abby, having been previously seen on video conference or talking to someone from her lab in Washington, DC, arrived in Los Angeles to meet the Office of Special Projects (OSP) team as she informed them she was investigating a serial killer called the Phantom who had murdered 15 people all over the country and had also left no DNA or even physical evidence at the scenes.
Having already formed a strong friendship with Eric Beale, Abby developed friendships with the OSP team, including G. Callen (Chris O'Donnell), Sam Hanna (LL Cool J), and most notably the operations manager Hetty Lange (Linda Hunt), who commented that Abby is "the first NCIS employee [she] has ever met with a sense of style".[29] Kensi Blye, another NCIS Special Agent, who is an expert in forensics, praised Abby for her high levels of thinking, stating that she lived up to the hype.
Abby was later kidnapped by the Phantom, later revealed to be a law firm receptionist named Tom Smith, who sought to kill her to keep his identity a secret, as he hoped to go around killing more people, having developed something of a taste for it. Although Vance mentioned that Gibbs and the NCIS Major Case Response Team were en route to Los Angeles to rescue her, Abby was saved due to the efforts of the OSP team and was later seen telling Gibbs and McGee on a video-conferencing link that she was okay.
To date, Abby has not returned to Los Angeles nor has she reappeared in any video-conference calls which strongly suggests that her appearances in season one were just one-offs.
Reception
During the first season of NCIS, Ross Warneke from The Age wrote of the character, "Her role is pivotal in the show because, as with so many crime series these days, the forensics laboratory is the scene of much of the action. Perrette's only shortcoming is her diction. Am I the only one who has difficulty understanding her?"[30] In January 2005, Bill Keveney from USA Today compared the characters on NCIS to those on Magnum, P.I. and commented, "the tattooed Abby, the presumed slacker who is anything but, is Bellisario's not-what-she-appears-to-be tribute to Magnum, a functioning, well-balanced Vietnam vet who contrasted many depictions of the era."[10] The New York Times writer Bill Carter described Abby as "television's only regular goth personality" in October of the same year.[31]
Later in the show's run, reception continued to be mostly positive, with some critics regarding her as "easily the most outgoing and affectionate member of the group".[32] In 2009, David Martingale of Star-Telegram wrote, "Abby Sciuto, a forensics scientist who, with her caffeine-fueled high energy and kooky Goth/cheerleader wardrobe, is one of a kind".[33] June Thomas from Slate Magazine noted in November 2011 that, "Abby may look like a freak, but she's a church-going patriot."[34] She has been described as "spacy"[35] and "a witty, lovable personality with forensic skills that are even greater than her charm."[5]
C. Coville from Cracked criticized the choice to describe Abby's age as "late twenties" in her 2009 guest appearance on NCIS: Los Angeles, finding it unbelievable for someone who "has still somehow picked up a PhD in chemistry, bachelor's degrees in sociology, criminology, and psychology, and good knowledge of hacking and computer forensic science".[36]
In March 2011, AOL named Abby as number 95 on a list of the 100 Most Memorable Female TV Characters.[37] In April 2013, a study by E-Poll Market Research listed Pauley Perrette and Cote de Pablo, who portrays Ziva David, among the top 10 most appealing celebrities in America.[38] Perrette and de Pablo were ranked as numbers 5 and 3 respectively." (wikipedia.org)
"NCIS is an American police procedural television series, revolving around a fictional team of special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service combining elements of the military drama and police procedural genres. The concept and characters were initially introduced in two episodes of the CBS series JAG (season eight episodes 20 and 21: "Ice Queen" and "Meltdown"). The show, a spin-off from JAG, premiered on September 23, 2003, on CBS. To date it has entered into the eighteenth full season and has gone into broadcast syndication on the USA Network. Donald P. Bellisario and Don McGill are co-creators and executive producers of the premiere member of the NCIS franchise. As of 2021, it is the second-longest-running scripted, non-animated U.S. primetime TV series currently airing, surpassed only by Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999–present), and is the 7th-longest-running scripted U.S. primetime TV series overall.
The series originally had the partly redundant title Navy NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service; this was later shortened to NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service and then to NCIS. In season six, a two-part episode led to a spin-off series, NCIS: Los Angeles. A two-part episode during the eleventh season led to a second spin-off series, NCIS: New Orleans. While initially slow in the ratings, barely cracking the Top 30 in the first two seasons, the third season showed progress, consistently ranking in the top 20, and by its sixth season, it became a top five hit, having remained there since. In 2011, NCIS was voted America's favorite television show in an online Harris Poll. The series finished its tenth season as the most-watched television series in the U.S. during the 2012–13 network television season. NCIS was renewed for an eighteenth season on May 3, 2020,[1] which premiered on November 17, 2020.[2] On April 15, 2021, NCIS was renewed for a nineteenth season....
Premise
NCIS follows a fictional team of Naval Criminal Investigative Service Major Case Response Team (MCRT) special agents based at the Washington, D.C. field office in Washington Navy Yard.[4] In real life, the field office is based at the nearby Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling,[5] while the Navy Yard is home to the museum and several military commands within the Department of the Navy. It is described by the actors and producers (on special features on DVD releases in the United States) as being distinguished by its comedic elements, ensemble acting, and character-driven plots. The NCIS is the primary law enforcement and counterintelligence arm of the United States Department of the Navy, which includes the United States Marine Corps. NCIS investigates all major criminal offenses (felonies)—for example, crimes punishable under the Uniform Code of Military Justice by confinement of more than one year—within the Department of the Navy.[6]
Cast and characters
Main articles: List of NCIS cast members and List of NCIS characters
Mark Harmon stars as Leroy Jethro Gibbs
(from left) Duane Henry, Brian Dietzen, Sean Murray; (right) Wilmer Valderrama
Mark Harmon as Leroy Jethro Gibbs
Sasha Alexander as Caitlin Todd (main role: seasons 1–2; guest: seasons 3, 8–9, and 12)
Michael Weatherly as Anthony DiNozzo (main: seasons 1–13)
Pauley Perrette as Abby Sciuto (main: seasons 1–15)
David McCallum as Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard
Sean Murray as Timothy McGee (recurring role: season 1, main: season 2–present)
Cote de Pablo as Ziva David (main: seasons 3–11; guest: season 3, 16; recurring: season 17)
Lauren Holly as Jenny Shepard (main: seasons 3–5; guest: seasons 9, 12; recurring: season 3)
Rocky Carroll as Leon Vance (recurring: season 5; main: season 6–present)
Brian Dietzen as Dr. Jimmy Palmer (recurring: seasons 1–9, main: season 10–present)
Emily Wickersham as Eleanor Bishop (guest: season 11; main: season 11–present)
Wilmer Valderrama as Nicholas Torres (season 14–present)
Jennifer Esposito as Alexandra Quinn (season 14)
Duane Henry as Clayton Reeves (guest: season 13; main: seasons 14–15)
Maria Bello as Dr. Jacqueline Sloane (main: seasons 15–18)
Diona Reasonover as Kasie Hines (recurring: season 15; main: season 16–present)
Katrina Law as Jessica Knight (guest: season 18; main: season 19)
Production
The filming crew in 2009.
Name
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 redundant. The decision to use this name was reportedly made by CBS, over the objections of Bellisario,[7] to:
Attract new viewers (particularly those of JAG), who might not know the NCIS abbreviation
Distinguish between NCIS and the similarly themed and similarly spelled CBS series CSI and its spinoffs. (The original title, for instance, was often misquoted and parodied as "Navy CSI", something the show itself referenced in the first episode.)[8]
Development
In 2011, NCIS was voted America's favorite television show in an online Harris Poll.[9] NCIS finished its tenth season as the most-watched television series in the U.S. during the 2012–13 network television season.[10] Diona Reasonover joined the main cast in season sixteen,[11] following the departures of Duane Henry and Pauley Perrette.[12] NCIS was renewed for a seventeenth season on April 11, 2019,[13] which premiered on September 24, 2019,[14] and for an eighteenth season in May 2020. The season premiered on November 17, 2020.[15]
Flair
From the season two episode "Lt. Jane Doe" onwards, the series began showing two-second-long black-and-white clips. These clips (called "phoofs")[16] are shown at the beginning of every segment depicting the last two seconds of that segment, a segment being the five or six portions of the show meant to be separated by commercials. In the season three premiere, "Kill Ari (Part I)", a freeze-frame shot was also used with the very end of most episodes turned into a freeze frame, as well.
Crew changes
It was reported in May 2007, that Donald P. Bellisario would be stepping down from the show.[17] Due to a disagreement with series star Mark Harmon, Bellisario's duties as showrunner/head writer were to be given to long-time show collaborators, including co-executive producer Chas. Floyd Johnson and Shane Brennan, with Bellisario retaining his title as executive producer.[18] In fall 2009,[clarification needed] Gary Glasberg joined the crew and became the new "day-to-day" runner of NCIS, as Shane Brennan had to focus on his new show, the spin-off NCIS: Los Angeles.[19] On September 28, 2016, Glasberg died in his sleep at the age of 50.[20][21]
Episodes
Main article: List of NCIS episodes
NCIS was renewed for an eighteenth season on May 3, 2020,[22][23] which premiered on November 17, 2020.[24] As of April 27, 2021, 410 episodes of NCIS have aired.
Season Episodes Originally aired Rank Rating
First aired Last aired
Intro 2 April 22, 2003 April 29, 2003 N/A N/A
1 23 September 23, 2003 May 25, 2004 23 7.8
2 23 September 28, 2004 May 24, 2005 22 8.8
3 24 September 20, 2005 May 16, 2006 12 9.8
4 24 September 19, 2006 May 22, 2007 15 9.0
5 19 September 25, 2007 May 20, 2008 11 9.2
6 25 September 23, 2008 May 19, 2009 5 10.9
7 24 September 22, 2009 May 25, 2010 4 11.5
8 24 September 21, 2010 May 17, 2011 5 11.8
9 24 September 20, 2011 May 15, 2012 2 12.3
10 24 September 25, 2012 May 14, 2013 1 13.5
11 24 September 24, 2013 May 13, 2014 1 12.6
12 24 September 23, 2014 May 12, 2015 2 11.6
13 24 September 22, 2015 May 17, 2016 1 12.8
14 24 September 20, 2016 May 16, 2017 2 11.4
15 24 September 26, 2017 May 22, 2018 2 10.3
16 24 September 25, 2018 May 21, 2019 3 9.6
17 20 September 24, 2019 April 14, 2020 N/A N/A
18 16[25] November 17, 2020 May 25, 2021[26] TBA 10.3
Backdoor pilots
JAG
Two episodes of JAG season 8, "Ice Queen" and "Meltdown", serve as the backdoor pilot of NCIS itself.
These JAG episodes introduced the characters of Jethro Gibbs, Anthony DiNozzo, Vivian Blackadder, Abby Sciuto, and Donald "Ducky" Mallard.
Patrick Labyorteaux appears on NCIS reprising his JAG role as Lt. Bud Roberts in the first-season episode "Hung Out to Dry", and in the fourteenth-season episode "Rogue" and the season fifteen episode "Dark Secrets"; Alicia Coppola returned as Lt. Cmdr. Faith Coleman in "UnSEALed", "Call of Silence", and "Hometown Hero", while Adam Baldwin returned as Cmdr. Michael Rainer in "A Weak Link", and John M. Jackson appeared as retired Rear Admiral A. J. Chegwidden in the season ten episode "Damned If You Do".
NCIS: Los Angeles
The two-part NCIS episode "Legend" serves as the backdoor pilot of NCIS: Los Angeles.
"Legend" introduces Chris O'Donnell as G. Callen, LL Cool J as Sam Hanna, Daniela Ruah as Kensi Blye, and Barrett Foa as Eric Beale.
Rocky Carroll recurs on NCIS: Los Angeles as his NCIS character Director Leon Vance, while Pauley Perrette has appeared twice as Abby, and Michael Weatherly has appeared once as Anthony DiNozzo. NCIS guest stars reprising roles between series include David Dayan Fisher as CIA Officer Trent Kort, in the season finale of NCIS: Los Angeles; Kelly Hu as Lee Wuan Kai in NCIS: Los Angeles and later in an episode of NCIS.
John M. Jackson has appeared on NCIS: Los Angeles as his JAG character Admiral A. J. Chegwidden, while this series has also crossed over with Hawaii Five-0 and Scorpion.
NCIS: New Orleans
The two-part NCIS episode "Crescent City" serves as the backdoor pilot of NCIS: New Orleans.
"Crescent City" introduces Scott Bakula as Dwayne Pride, Lucas Black as Christopher LaSalle, Zoe McLellan as Meredith Brody, and CCH Pounder as Loretta Wade.
Rocky Carroll recurs as Director Leon Vance, while NCIS series regulars Mark Harmon, Michael Weatherly, Pauley Perrette, Sean Murray, Emily Wickersham, Wilmer Valderrama, David McCallum and Brian Dietzen have all appeared as their NCIS characters. NCIS recurring cast members Meredith Eaton, Joe Spano, Diane Neal, and Leslie Hope have all guest-starred on NCIS: New Orleans.
Release
Broadcast
NCIS airs on Network Ten and TV Hits (formerly TV1)[27] in Australia,[28][29][30][31][32][33][34] Global (syndicated on Showcase and Lifetime) in Canada, TV3 and The Box in New Zealand, Seriale+ (premieres), TVN (free-TV premieres), TVN7 (reruns), AXN (reruns), (India) Fox Crime, Star World India (Pakistan) ARY Digital, ARY Zindagi and TV Puls (reruns) in Poland, CBS Justice, Universal UK, Channel Five, Five USA and FOX in the United Kingdom, M6 in France, and RTÉ2 on Wednesdays at 11pm in Ireland, Rai 2 and Fox Crime in Italy.
Home media
Main article: List of NCIS home video releases
The first 11 seasons of NCIS have been released in Regions 1, 2, and 4. In Germany (Region 2), seasons 1–4 and 5–8 were released in two separate sets for each season. The first-season DVD omits the two introductory episodes from season eight of JAG, though they are featured on the JAG season eight DVD.
Other releases
In 2010, CBS Interactive and GameHouse released a mobile video game, NCIS: The Game for iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, and BREW/J2ME. The game features five different cases written by the show's writers.[35]
On November 1, 2011, Ubisoft released a video game adaption of NCIS for the PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii. A Nintendo 3DS version was released on March 6, 2012. The video game was deemed as a mockery of the show by reviewers and players alike, and received a 2/10 rating on GameSpot.[36]
There is also a Facebook and mobile game called NCIS: Hidden Crimes.[37][38]
TV movies
In the UK, certain NCIS multi-part episodes were edited together to make a combined feature and shown on Channel 5, 5USA, CBS Action and Fox UK. These include:
Title Episodes edited together Air date Runtime Source
The NCIS Movie: Enemies "Enemies Foreign" / "Enemies Domestic" May 20, 2013 1 hr, 20 mins [39][40]
The NCIS Movie: Judgement Day "Judgment Day (Part I)" / "Judgment Day (Part II)" June 10, 2013 1 hr, 40 mins [41]
The NCIS Movie: Legend
(Legend Compilation) "Legend (Part I)" / "Legend (Part II)" June 10, 2013 1 hr, 45 mins [42][43]
The NCIS Movie: Kill Ari "Kill Ari (Part I)" / "Kill Ari (Part II)" August 22, 2013 2 hrs [44][45]
The NCIS Movie: War on Terror "Engaged (Part I)" / "Engaged (Part II)" February 1, 2014 1 hr, 20 mins [46]
The NCIS Movie: Payback "Borderland" / "Patriot Down" / "Rule Fifty-One" March 1, 2014 2 hrs, 35 mins [47]
The NCIS Movie: Shell Shock "Shell Shock (Part I)" / "Shell Shock (Part II)" April 11, 2014 1 hr, 30 mins [48]
Death Wish (Part I & II) "Shabbat Shalom" / "Shiva" April 16, 2014 (1)
April 18, 2014 (2) 1 hr, 40 mins [49][50]
The NCIS Movie:
Race Against Terror: Hiatus "Hiatus (Part I)" / "Hiatus (Part II)"
August 20, 2016
September 17, 2016
1 hr, 50 mins [51][52]
Soundtrack
Main article: NCIS (soundtrack)
CBS Records released the show's first soundtrack on February 10, 2009.[53] The Official TV Soundtrack is a two-disc, 22-track set that includes brand new songs from top artists featured prominently in upcoming episodes of the series, as well as the show's original theme by Numeriklab[54] (available commercially for the first time) and a remix of the theme by Ministry. The set also includes songs performed by series regulars Pauley Perrette and Coté de Pablo.
A sequel to the soundtrack was released on November 3, 2009. NCIS: The Official TV Soundtrack; Vol. 2 is a single-disc, 12-track set that covers songs (many previously unreleased) featured throughout the seventh season of the show, including one recording titled "Bitter and Blue" by Weatherly, as well as two songs used in previous seasons.
Reception
In 2016, The New York Times reported that NCIS "is most popular in rural areas", especially in rural Maine and Pennsylvania.[55]
Broadcast ratings
Seasonal rankings (based on average total viewers per episode) of NCIS.
Note: Each U.S. network television season starts in late September and ends in late May, which coincides with the completion of May sweeps.
Broadcast ratings Season Episodes Timeslot (EST) Original airing Live television ratings
Season premiere Season finale TV season Viewers
(in millions) Rank
(viewers) Key demographics
(18–49)
1 23 Tuesday 8:00 PM September 23, 2003 May 25, 2004 2003–04 11.84[56] 26th N/A
2 23 September 28, 2004 May 24, 2005 2004–05 13.57[57] 22nd N/A
3 24 September 20, 2005 May 16, 2006 2005–06 15.27[58] 16th N/A
4 24 September 19, 2006 May 22, 2007 2006–07 14.54[59] 20th N/A
5 19 September 25, 2007 May 20, 2008 2007–08 14.41[60] 14th N/A
6 25 September 23, 2008 May 19, 2009 2008–09 17.77[61] 5th N/A
7 24 September 22, 2009 May 25, 2010 2009–10 19.33[62] 4th 4.1[62]
8 24 September 21, 2010 May 17, 2011 2010–11 19.46[63] 5th 4.1[64]
9 24 September 20, 2011 May 15, 2012 2011–12 19.49[65] 3rd 4.0[66]
10 24 September 25, 2012 May 14, 2013 2012–13 21.34[10] 1st 4.0[10]
11 24 September 24, 2013 May 13, 2014 2013–14 19.77[67] 3rd 3.3[68]
12 24 September 23, 2014 May 12, 2015 2014–15 18.25[69] 3rd 2.4[70]
13 24 September 22, 2015 May 17, 2016 2015–16 16.61[71] 3rd 2.2[72]
14 24 September 20, 2016 May 16, 2017 2016–17 14.63[73] 3rd 2.5[74]
15 24 September 26, 2017 May 22, 2018 2017–18 17.02[75] 5th 2.2[76]
16 24 September 25, 2018 May 21, 2019 2018–19 15.57[77] 3rd 1.9[77]
17 20 September 24, 2019 April 14, 2020 2019–20 15.33[78] 2nd 1.7[79]
18 16 November 17, 2020 May 25, 2021 2020–21 TBA TBA TBA
Ever since season 7, NCIS has been the most watched scripted show on American television, but it was only in the 2012–13 season that it ranked number 1 as the most watched program of the past year, surpassing both American Idol and NBC Sunday Night Football that had ranked above it the past three seasons.
On January 15, 2013, NCIS surpassed its previous series high in viewers, with the season ten episode "Shiva" attracting 22.86 million viewers.[80]
Franchise
Main article: NCIS (franchise)
NCIS has produced two spin-offs: NCIS: Los Angeles (2009–) and NCIS: New Orleans (2014–2021).
NCIS: Los Angeles
Main article: NCIS: Los Angeles
In November 2008, it was reported that a first spin-off series set in Los Angeles would be introduced with a two-part backdoor pilot during the sixth season of NCIS. The episode title "Legend (Part I)" and "Legend (Part II)", airing on April 28, 2009, and May 5, 2009.[81][82][83] On May 2009, CBS picked up an NCIS spin-off series with the title NCIS: Los Angeles.[84]
The series stars Chris O'Donnell as Special Agent G. Callen,[85] LL Cool J as Special Agent Sam Hanna,[85][86] Louise Lombard as Special Agent Lara Macy, Peter Cambor as Operational Psychologist Nate Getz, and Daniela Ruah as Special Agent Kensi Blye.[87][88] Following the official pick-up by CBS, it was confirmed that Lombard had not been to continue her role as Special Agent Lara Macy.[89] Linda Hunt and Adam Jamal Craig were added the cast as OSP Manager Henrietta Lange and Special Agent Dom Vail respectively.[90] Craig, would not be returning for second season and was replaced by Eric Christian Olsen as Marty Deeks promoted to series regular.[91]
Characters from NCIS have appeared in the spin-off. Rocky Carroll portrayed as Leon Vance in a recurring role,[92][93][94] and Pauley Perrette portrayed as Abby Sciuto with guest appearance in the season 1 episodes "Killshot", and "Random on Purpose".[93][94][95]
NCIS: Los Angeles was created by Shane Brennan. In April 2011, NCIS creator Donald Bellisario sued CBS over NCIS: Los Angeles because of his contract which gave him "first opportunity" to develop a spin-off or sequel;[96] the lawsuit was dismissed by a judge in June 2012. However, discussions continued between CBS and Bellisario, and in January 2013 the dispute was settled outside of court a week before it was set to go to trial; the terms of the agreement were not disclosed but were described as being amicable.[97][98][99]
NCIS: New Orleans
Main article: NCIS: New Orleans
In September 2013, reported that a second spin-off series set in New Orleans would be introduced with a two-part backdoor pilot during the eleventh season of NCIS. The episode title "Crescent City (Part I)" and "Crescent City (Part II)". The episodes were filmed in February 2014, and aired on March 25, 2014, and April 1, 2014. NCIS star Mark Harmon and showrunner Gary Glasberg are the executive producers of the series.[100] Glasberg discussed the idea of the episode with Harmon, who said "That's more than a sweeps episode"[101] (meaning an episode with provocative subject manner and top appeal for television ratings). The premise for the episodes are, according to Glasberg, "all about this tiny little NCIS office that's down [in New Orleans], and the kind of cases that they come across".[102] On May 2014, CBS picked up an NCIS second spin-off series with the title NCIS: New Orleans.[103]
The series stars Scott Bakula as Special Agent Dwayne Cassius Pride, Lucas Black as Special Agent Christopher LaSalle, Zoe McLellan as Special Agent Meredith "Merri" Brody, Rob Kerkovich as Sebastian Lund, and CCH Pounder as Dr. Loretta Wade.[104][105][106][107] Daryl "Chill" Mitchell, Shalita Grant and Vanessa Ferlito joined the main cast later, portrayed as computer specialist Patton Plame, Special Agent Sonja Percy, and Special Agent Tammy Gregorio, respectively.[108][109]
NCIS and NCIS: New Orleans have had two crossovers.
"Sister City": Abby's brother is suspected of poisoning the passengers and crew of a private plane flying from New Orleans to Washington, D.C.
"Pandora's Box: A theoretical terror playbook is stolen and put up for auction on the black market when Abby's homeland security think tank is compromised.
NCIS: Hawai'i
Main article: NCIS: Hawai'i
On February 16, 2021, it is reported that a potential spin-off set in Hawaii is in the works from NCIS: New Orleans executive producers Christopher Silber and Jan Nash.[110] On April 23, 2021, it was announced that CBS had given the production a straight-to-series order to the spin-off, and reportedly intended to include the franchise's first female lead character.[111]
Awards and nominations
Main article: List of awards and nominations received by NCIS
NCIS has received many awards and nominations since it premiered on September 23, 2003, including the ALMA Awards, ASCAP Awards, BMI Film & TV Awards, Emmy Awards, and People's Choice Awards." (wikipedia.org)
""Ice Queen" and "Meltdown" is the two-part backdoor pilot for the American crime drama NCIS. The episodes aired as the twentieth and twenty-first episodes of the eighth season of the American legal drama JAG. Both episodes were written by Donald P. Bellisario and Don McGill. "Ice Queen" was directed by Bellisario and aired on CBS on April 22, 2003. "Meltdown" was directed by Scott Brazil and aired on April 29, 2003.
Mark Harmon, Michael Weatherly, Robyn Lively, Pauley Perrette, Alan Dale, Zoe McLellan, Faran Tahir, and David McCallum guest-starred in both episodes as Leroy Jethro Gibbs, Anthony DiNozzo, Vivian Blackadder, Abby Sciuto, Thomas Morrow, Jennifer Coates, Amad Bin Atwa, and Donald Mallard, respectively. Harmon, Weatherly, Perrette, Dale, and McCallum all went on to play the same characters in NCIS. Alicia Coppola, who guest-starred in "Meltdown" as Faith Coleman, also reprised her role in NCIS.
"Ice Queen" follows the NCIS team, led by Special Agent Gibbs, as they investigate the murder of Lieutenant Loren Singer and ultimately arrest Commander Harmon Rabb as their prime suspect. "Meltdown" shows Rabb's trial and the continued investigation by the NCIS team to find the real culprit. The subplot for both episodes involves the NCIS also working to prevent terrorist attacks. "Ice Queen" was watched live by 13.8 million viewers, while "Meltdown" was watched by 13.6 million viewers....
Plot
"Ice Queen"
While chasing after a stray arrow into the forest, a young Boy Scout finds the arrow has landed in a corpse. NCIS agents Leroy Jethro Gibbs, Vivian Blackadder, and Anthony DiNozzo arrive on the scene and meet up with NCIS Medical Examiner Dr. Donald Mallard who informs them that the corpse is that of a pregnant Navy Lieutenant. DiNozzo determine she is a JAG, while Gibbs determines that she washed up from the nearby river.
At the JAG headquarters, Admiral A. J. Chegwidden informs his team that the NCIS has found the body of a Navy Lieutenant, who is believed to be five months pregnant. The team is unable to get in contact with Lieutenant Loren Singer, who is almost nine months pregnant, so they are told that the NCIS plans to use DNA to confirm if the body is Singer's. Commander Harmon Rabb leaves the room causing Chegwidden to wonder aloud if there is something going on between Rabb and Singer.
NCIS Director Thomas Morrow and his team go to the MTAC, where they watch as other NCIS agents successfully capture Amad Bid Atwa. Meanwhile, Dr. Mallard determines that the body is Singer's and was dumped in the river at the top of the falls after being hit with a metal object.
At JAG headquarters, Chegwidden tells his team what the NCIS has found. Chegwidden privately asks Rabb how he is involved with the murder and thinks that Rabb might know who the father of Singer's baby is. Gibbs and Blackadder question everyone except for Rabb, who calls his half-brother Sergei Zhukov to tell him about Singer's death.
DiNozzo finds Singer's car and determines which bridge Singer was thrown off of and gives the evidence he collected to Forensic Scientist Abby Sciuto, who finds Rabb's fingerprint in the car. Dr. Mallard determines that Singer has been dead for three months, Sciuto learns that she called Zhukov before she died, and Special Agent Don Dobbs finds a Navy Commander's hat near the crime scene. Gibbs interrogates and arrests Rabb, as he believes that Zhukov is the father of Singer's baby and that Rabb killed Singer to cover for his half-brother.
"Meltdown"
Rabb meets with Lieutenant Commander Faith Coleman, who has been assigned as his legal counsel, while Gibbs meets with Major Jack McBurney, who will be arguing against Rabb. Morrow tells Gibbs that he needs him to interrogate Bin Atwa as soon as possible. Sciuto, Dr. Mallard, and Gibbs all testify and Gibbs admits that he no longer believes Rabb killed Singer.
Gibbs, Coleman, and McBurney meet with Sciuto, who tells them that the hat Dobbs found belongs to Rabb. Gibbs interrogates Bin Atwa and uses information Blackadder received from the FBI to get him to reveal information about the location of terrorist Hussan Mohammed. Meanwhile, Abby determines that the hat was planted at the scene recently.
With Gibbs busy on the Bin Atwa case, DiNozzo and Blackadder continue the case without him and learn that Singer regularly met with a man for dinner. Using information from restaurant employees and the JAG security logs, they determine that the man was Commander Ted Lindsey, who Rabb recalls stole his hat. While DiNozzo interrogates him, Lindsey claims that it was an accident and Singer fell off the bridge, but DiNozzo tells him that Singer was thrown off the bridge.
DiNozzo and Blackadder meet up with Gibbs and tell him that Lindsey admitted to everything. They then go with Gibbs to capture Mohammed. They are successful, but Mohammed saw Blackadder and nearly killed Gibbs with a grenade.
Production
Development
In January 2003, it was announced that a JAG spin-off centering on the Naval Criminal Investigative Service was in development. It was also revealed that the spin-off would be introduced in an episode of JAG and would contain a new cast.[1] JAG creator Donald P. Bellisario had been considering a series about the Naval Criminal Investigative Service for a few years before pitching it to the CBS Television president at the time, Les Moonves, in 2002.[2] Bellisario pitched the series to Moonves as "JAG meets CSI" with a gruff NCIS agent and his squad.[3] In May 2003, CBS picked up NCIS, which premiered with "Yankee White" in September 2003.[3][4]
Casting
In March 2003, Mark Harmon was cast in the lead role as Leroy Jethro Gibbs.[5] Bellisario was initially hesitant about the casting, but changed his mind after seeing Harmon as Secret Service Agent Simon Donovan on The West Wing.[3] Later that month, Michael Weatherly was cast as Anthony DiNozzo.[6] Pauley Perrette and David McCallum were later cast as Abby Sciuto and Donald Mallard, respectively.[3] Robyn Lively was cast as Vivian Blackadder the day before the episodes began filming. Lively was not retained when NCIS premiered due to the producers feeling that she was too soft for the type of role and would be replaced by Sasha Alexander, who played a new character, Caitlin Todd.[7] "Meltdown" also introduced two new JAG characters.[2]
Reception
Viewing figures
"Ice Queen" was watched live in the United States by 13.8 million viewers, making it the third most watched show of the night in terms of number of viewers. It was the third most watched show of the night in terms of 18–49 rating, with a 9.3, and in terms of ratings share, with a 15. It was behind American Idol and Judging Amy in all three categories.[8] "Meltdown" was watched live in the United States by 13.6 million viewers, making it the second most watched show of the night in terms of number of viewers, behind only American Idol. It was the third most watched show of the night in terms of 18–49 rating, with a 9.1, and in terms of ratings share, with a 14, behind American Idol and Judging Amy in both categories.[9]
Critical response
Greg Braxton of the Los Angeles Times said "The episodes ... are lighter in tone, sprinkled with black humor and a grisly quality that recalls CSI."" (wikipedia.org)
"The heartwarming story of how NCIS star Pauley Perrette and her two best friends created a Southern-style bake shop in Manhattan—a celebration of love and friendship with gorgeous photographs and delicious recipes.
Nestled in the heart of midtown New York is a little shop with a big story. An all-natural bake shop that specializes in Southern baked goods, Donna Bell’s is owned by Pauley Perrette, the actress who plays Abby Sciuto on CBS’s NCIS, and her two best friends, Darren Greenblatt and Matthew Sandusky. It was named in honor of Pauley’s late mother, who is the beloved inspiration for everything they bake.
It all started in 1993, when Pauley met Darren in New York City’s Hell’s Kitchen, just blocks away from where the shop is currently located. The two became inseparable friends and Pauley’s Southern mom would welcome Darren to their home with mouthwatering treats. Darren loved this food and soon left his successful career in fashion to open a food truck that sold Southern desserts at the Jersey Shore. Eventually he wanted to expand and turned to Pauley and their friend Matthew—who worked in the Los Angeles food industry—for help. Soon Matthew was on his way to New York to open Donna Bell’s Bake Shop with Pauley and Darren.
With recipes for favorites like buttermilk biscuits, chocolate chip-almond scones, and peach streusel muffins; personal photographs from Pauley, Darren, Matthew, and Donna Bell herself; this is the story how one fantastic bake shop brings warmth and happiness—one treat at a time—to the urban jungle that is New York City....
Pauley Perrette
Pauley Perrette is one of the top Q-rated actors in television and film and is on her twelfth season playing Abby on the #1 TV show NCIS. She is also a producer, director, philanthropist, activist, songwriter, singer, and writer. She is a lifelong civil rights advocate and has been awarded many prestigious humanitarian awards for her efforts. Pauley was raised all over the south but considers Alabama her home town. She studied Sociology, Psychology, and Criminal Science, graduating cum laude. Later, in NYC, she tended bar, modeled, did commercials, voice-overs, music videos and short film work. She later moved to Los Angeles, and has since worked steadily in film and television while continuing her work as a social activist.
Darren Greenblatt
Darren Greenblatt has been a creative entrepreneur in the fashion industry for over twenty years. He graduated from New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology and was awarded the prestigious Critic’s Choice Award. After working with Betsy Johnson and Christian Francis Roth, he started his own design companies, K-Bel-Waer, Girl’sRule, Planet Yum Thing and Stanton Maxwell. Darren's exquisite talent for design and entrepreneurial spirit, coupled with being a lifelong foodie, was the spark that started Donna Bell's Bake Shop.
Matthew Sandusky
Matthew Sandusky was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is co-owner and head baker for Donna Bell’s Bake Shop. While getting his Dean’s List degree in Political Science, Matthew was working in and running food establishments for many years. This experience, coupled with his natural talent for creation and his reputation as a master baker and cook led to his expertise in the day to day operations, recipe development and menu creation that helped Donna Bell’s flourish and expand....
Publisher: Simon & Schuster (April 14, 2015)
Length: 192 pages
ISBN13: 9781476771120" (simonandschuster.com)
"Book signing is the affixing of a signature to the title page or flyleaf of a book by its author. Book signings are events, usually at a bookstore or library, where an author sits and signs books for a period....
Book signing
Book signing is popular because an author's signature increases the value of books for collectors. The author may add a short message to the reader, called a dedication, to each book, which may be personalized with the recipient's name upon request. A simple author's signature without a dedication is typically more valuable to collectors (exceptions include inscriptions to persons of note, e.g., from Hemingway to Fitzgerald, or to persons of significance in the author's life).[citation needed]
Sometimes an author will sign additional copies for future sale. An additional advantage to authors for doing this is that once a book has been signed, it cannot be returned to the publisher for a refund.[citation needed]
Many authors today spend a great deal of time signing their books, and sign many thousands of copies.[citation needed] For example, John Green signed all 150,000 copies of the first printing of his 2012 novel The Fault in Our Stars.[1]
The growing popularity of ebooks and ereading devices has inspired the development of software - such as Authorgraph (formerly known as Kindlegraph and renamed to reflect its expansion to include all ereading platforms)[2] and Autography (for iOS devices) - that allows authors to digitally personalize ebooks, by including autographs, dedications, and photographs, and to provide such personalization remotely as well as at in-person book signings. Such software benefits authors, "who are not obliged to go on long distance promotional tours in order to autograph e-books for their fans",[3] as well as those readers who are unwilling or unable to brave crowds and longs lines at onsite book signings.[4] Before such applications were introduced, efforts to bridge the digital divide for those who read ebooks included having authors sign the backs of their fan's ereading devices[5] or sign ebooks via direct stylus input (e.g., on a Sony Reader Touch or Palm eReader).[6]
Book signings
Book signings provide more than just a chance to obtain signatures. Authors and bookstores are benefited by the fact that many copies of the book being promoted are sold at these events. Signings also increase public goodwill and allow authors to connect with their fans. For fans, signings provide a chance to see and meet a favorite author and ask them questions.[citation needed]
The development of social media platforms allows modern day authors to conduct virtual book signings. For example, The GoodEReader and Autography jointly hosted an ebook signing with author HP Mallory, during which Mallory greeted fans via Spreecast, a social connectivity platform that allows users to have up to four guests on video chat at one time, to conduct Q&A sessions with even more participants, and to maintain a channel on the site, thereby recording and storing the Spreecast and assigning the recordings a URL for sharing at other outlets.[7]
Many authors use the book signing platform LiveSigning to host large-scale, streaming video book signings with their fans. Donald Trump hosted a book signing on this platform during his presidential campaign in December 2015. Book signings on LiveSigning typically consist of the author signing books, answering questions from fans, and making phone calls to some fans. After the event, the signed books are mailed to everyone who purchased a signed copy." (wikipedia.org)
"Amoeba Music is an American independent music store chain with locations in Berkeley, San Francisco, and Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1990 in Berkeley, California and remains in operation, having survived the decline of CD sales in the 2000s....
History
Amoeba Music was founded by former employees of nearby Rasputin Records, and opened on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley in 1990. Cofounders include but are not limited to Marc Weinstein, Dave Prinz, Yvonne Prinz, and Kent Randolph.[2]
Inside of Amoeba Music in San Francisco in 2011
A second location in San Francisco opened on November 15, 1997 in the Haight-Ashbury district, near Golden Gate Park. It was located in the former 24,000-square-foot (2,200 m2) Park Bowl bowling alley.[1] It regularly stocks upwards of 100,000 CDs, vinyl records, and audio cassettes, both new and used.[citation needed]
The Los Angeles location opened on November 17, 2001 on Sunset Boulevard (at Cahuenga Boulevard) in Hollywood. At the time of its opening, the store planned to stock as many as 250,000 titles, which would have placed it among the largest independent music stores in the world.[citation needed] According to Los Angeles Times writer Michael Hiltzik, the location "instantly became a Hollywood landmark."[3]
In 2015, Amoeba sold the Sunset Boulevard property to a holding company but continued to lease the space. In 2018, it was announced that the owners would demolish the site and replace it with a contemporary glass-and-steel tower with residential units and commercial space, and Amoeba would be moving.[4][5][6] On April 27, 2020, Amoeba announced that due to the the Sunset Boulevard location would be closing permanently ahead of schedule, but would be relocating to a new location on Hollywood Boulevard.[7] The new location opened on April 1, 2021.[8]
Amoeba's world music department was headed by Robert Leaver,[9] co-founder of the Round World Music record shop and label in San Francisco. He also worked as a buyer of international records for Amoeba's Berkeley location.[10]
The stores also trade in movies, though secondarily to their music business. Each location has a smaller collection of movies on DVD, VHS, Laserdisc and Blu-ray. In addition, each store maintains a selection of music-related posters and artwork for purchase, as well as Amoeba-branded merchandise. The Hollywood location had an entire second floor dedicated to DVD and Blu-ray at its original location. In addition, Amoeba Music frequently holds free shows during store hours with locally and nationally known artists from a wide variety of genres.
Primarily operating on re-selling used goods, Amoeba has survived the decline of CD sales since the early 2000s with its trade-in program and the advent of the vinyl revival.[1] Along with the statewide stay-at-home order issued by California governor Gavin Newsom in many non-essential stores were told to close to prevent Amoeba subsequently started a fundraising campaign on GoFundMe to pay the bills as most of their income is derived from in-store purchases.[11]
YouTube channel
Amoeba's YouTube channel was created on January 27, 2006 and is home to interviews, recordings of live performances at Amoeba locations, and the Webby Award-winning series “What’s In My Bag?” with various “featuring artists and tastemakers sharing what they found shopping at Amoeba.”[12]
Popular culture
The Hollywood store was included as a playable venue in the 2008 music game Guitar Hero World Tour.[1] Paul McCartney recorded his EP Amoeba's Secret at an unannounced live performance at the Hollywood location on 27 June 2007.
Gallery
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Amoeba Music.
Hollywood store, mural off Sunset Boulevard
Berkeley store
San Francisco store
San Francisco store, inside" (wikipedia.org)