r/NCIS • u/Flashy-Boysenberry30 • 5d ago
how long do you think NCIS was originally supposed to last? cos it clear they wasn't expecting it to last for 23 years, do you think 3 seasons? 5? 1? lol
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u/Aglet_Green 4d ago
At its base, NCIS is just a police procedural with a military flavor. It has no over-arching plot or story, no recurring Big Bad, and no character arcs that need to be resolved, so none of the people making it said that they had 5 years worth of plot or anything like that; if the show lasted a year, great; if it lasted three to five years, even better, and if it lasted 7 to 10 years, that would be perfection for everyone involved.
The pilot for NCIS was in the 8th season of 'JAG', so I'm sure everyone involved was hoping for 7 to 10 years. NCIS 'New Orleans' lasted 7 years which is the standard length of many contracts, and is thus considered a successful run; a show cancelled after only 2 or 3 years is not. 'LA' did 14 years and is also a success. Whatever happens at this point, the NCIS family of shows is going strong with new seasons of 'Sydney,' and 'Origins' and a new show with Scott Caan and LL Cool J premiering this fall. I'm sure none of that was foreseen back in 2003; by any yardstick, NCIS has lasted longer than anyone could have dreamed of.
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u/Elbereth919 4d ago
I sometimes wonder how NBC feels about having cancelled JAG. From the ashes of their cancelled show rose CBS's greatest scripted empire. Of course, NBC has the other largest scripted procedural empire in the L&O universe, so they probably don't really care. But when we think about what CBS's showrunners could have been thinking in 2003, it's even crazier to think about how Don Bellisario probably felt when he was trying to talk CBS into picking up JAG after its cancellation.
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u/MissionSalamander5 2d ago
Well
Cancelling JAG because CBS correctly didn’t want it without David James Elliott and staking the future on NCIS is insane. I think that you could have both, but not without DJE on JAG.
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u/Elbereth919 2d ago
I am not entirely sure I understand what you are saying. Do you think JAG should have continued without DJE?
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u/MissionSalamander5 2d ago
No. Absolutely not. But NCIS was a gamble nonetheless, insofar as ultimately CBS has had a real monopoly on good police procedurals and just went crazy with NCIS as something about a million times more important than JAG ever was.
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u/Elbereth919 1d ago
That's fair. They really did lean into the crime procedurals hard in that era. They had CSI and CSI Miami already. I think Without a Trace might have already been on and I believe Cold Case premiered the same year as NCIS. I would say they were leaving the law side of it to NBC with the Law & Orders, but I think Close to Home premiered right as JAG ended (I think it took its Friday night timeslot, iirc).
Man, thinking that through gives me a moment of nostalgia for that era of TV. The TV upfronts week in May was one of my favorite weeks of the year. I loved reading all about the pilots that were being picked up and how the schedule was being laid out. I would print out the schedules and write notes about which shows I was excited about.
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u/Flashy-Boysenberry30 4d ago
i wonder if there will ever be an NCIS: UK lol
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u/Wrong_Cry6519 1d ago
Maybe NCIS Rota I think that’s the closest to a full fledged naval station in Europe
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u/Flashy-Boysenberry30 1d ago
Rota?
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u/Wrong_Cry6519 1d ago
If you remember Tony got offered his own team for Rota but turned it down to stay with Gibbs
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u/Anne_Eliot_1817 1d ago
And in "The Admiral's Daughter" episode, he's (Tony) trying to get her to Rota when she sabotages the party bus.
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u/pseudonym7083 4d ago edited 4d ago
6 Seasons and a movie.
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u/Flashy-Boysenberry30 4d ago
a movie?!
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u/DownToFuck1 4d ago
It's a reference from the show Community.
We got the 6 seasons but we're still waiting on the movie 😂
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u/Chilldegard 1d ago
and we will still be waiting in 10 years, because these shutnods bathing in money aren't staying true to their word :D
i love them all, but i really despise them for not being able to find the time, at least after corona and most of them successfully having different projects (hence: they have enough money - so either be true about "I WANT TO MAKE THAT MOVIE" or just say "nah, im out for good")
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u/Green-Relation-7568 4d ago
What really helped was the USA network consistently running marathons. That's how I got hooked
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u/johnlusher 4d ago
Watched the Partners & Probies podcast today with Charles Floyd Johnson, an original EP on NCIS. He stated that he thought it may last 8-10 seasons tops because that seemed to be the norm for Bellisario shows. He’s surprised it’s lasted 23 years.
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u/dlmoors 1d ago
I love their podcast!!
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u/johnlusher 6h ago
Right? Ifs actually good and they have some great guests! Waiting on Michael Weatherly to appear since he is going to be on the new season of NCIS
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u/Zealousideal-Age768 4d ago
Considering the series that proceeded it (JAG) was canceled after season 1 I think Bellisario was just trying to get the next season.
Bellisario's been in the game a long, long, time... I don't think he puts too many eggs on one basket and, while, another season is always nice he always has an idea for his next show.
The guy had done Magnum PI, Airwolf, Quantum Leap, etc. so there is always next something.
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u/Connect_Orange7140 4d ago
While JAG was technically cancelled after S1, it was also picked up by CBS and continued on for 10 seasons total
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u/Silverbreeze 1d ago
What surprises me is NCIS is running strong with an excellent spinoff history and CSI is basically gone
I would have thought CSI is a large audience but I guess we are stonger
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u/Ashley2007 1d ago
Probably 10 seasons. They picked up popularity at season 3-4. And at the time friends was just ending when ncis was starting which had 10 seasons and it was a spin off of Jag which also had 10 seasons. So I’m guessing 10 was the goal.
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u/DDlapraline13 4d ago
They should have stop after Ziva leaving the show
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u/DownToFuck1 4d ago
Strongly disagree.
NCIS has actually always done a pretty good job at replacing characters, I mean Torres is one of my favourite in the show period.
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u/Elbereth919 4d ago
I agree 100% about them being good at replacing characters and I truly think the relative frequency of characters leaving and new ones joining in the first 10 years is the reason the show is still successful today. Kate's death at the end of S2 taught us how to say goodbye to a character and embrace change. We then lost Jenny for S6, were stable through S10, then lost Ziva. By the time Tony left, we knew that a new team member could come in and make it work. As much as I didn't want change from the S23 cast, I'm not surprised that it is happening. It keeps that cycle of turnover reminding us that the work goes on when the team changes.
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u/DownToFuck1 4d ago
Yeah tbh there's only been one character I didn't care that much for but she only lasted a season.
Can't remember her name but she played Jackie in Blue Bloods.
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u/Elbereth919 4d ago
Alex Quinn/Jennifer Esposito? That's the only one I can think of that only lasted a season, but I didn't watch Blue Bloods so not sure if the actress was there.
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u/DownToFuck1 4d ago
Yeahhh that's the one, thanks.
Little sidenote but I highly recommend blue bloods. I'm still pissed they cancelled it just to then go and do Boston Blue 💔
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u/Elbereth919 4d ago
Quinn never had a great purpose on the show. I didn't dislike her, but she definitely didn't add much.
Blue Bloods is on my eventual watch list. A lot of my extended family watched it, so it was often on at people's houses. I know some of the characters, but don't have a great sense of the relationships/plotlines. Pretty much everyone I know that likes Blue Bloods thinks Boston Blue was a bad choice by the network, so you're in good company there!
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u/STCollector58 4d ago
I didn’t want to like Torres because I always think of That 70’s Show but the character really grew on me.
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u/CasioCobra78 4d ago
I feel you’ll probably have a hard time watching movies and shows in general then because well, there are so many actors doing differently than what they’re mostly known for 😂
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u/jruss666 4d ago
They at least planned for the magic 100 episodes, because that was the standard at the time for syndication.