Summary
Leroy Jethro Gibbs' team was different in JAG than whenNCISpremiered, but why? One of the most overlooked aspects of the hit CBS crime show is the fact that it was actually a spinoff ofJAG. Premiering in 2003, NCIS was created by Don McGill and Donald Bellisario around the time when police procedurals were gaining popularity with shows likeCSIandLaw & Order. More than two decades later,NCISremains one of the most popular shows on TV, only bested by CBS’Trackerin terms of ratings during the shortened 2023-2024 TV season.
Despite the changing entertainment landscape, the project is showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon.None of the originalNCIScast is still with the show, but somehow, it has found a way to thrive. Still, there’s so much fascination about the show’s earliest years, especially in light ofOff Duty: An NCIS Rewatchpodcast, which has brought back several cast members to talk about the beginnings of the narrative. That said, not much has been said about howNCISwas launched with a special two-episode backdoor pilot inJAG, which featured a slightly different team for Gibbs.
New NCIS Gibbs Prequel BTS Image Officially Fixes Its First Major Mark Harmon Mistake
As filming starts, a new NCIS: Origins BTS image confirms that it has officially fixed its first mistake about Mark Harmon’s Leroy Jethro Gibbs.
Gibbs' Original NCIS Team In JAG Explained
DINozzo Was Joined By Two Other MCRT Special Agents
In the spring of 2003, ahead ofNCIS' premiere in the fall, Donald Bellisario tested the waters about the new show by bringing in Mark Harmon’s famed naval investigator to mingle with his"uniformed lawyers.“Appearing inJAGseason 8 episodes 20 and 21, “Ice Queen” and “Meltdown,“Gibbs and the MCRT were called to the scene after a young Boy Scout found a dead body, who happened to be a Naval officer formerly associated with the Judge Advocate General or JAG office.
Instead of the originalNCISteam of Michael Weatherly’s Anthony DiNozzo, Sasha Alexander’s Kate Todd, David McCallum’s Ducky Mallard, and Pauley Perrette’s Abby Sciuto,JAG’s version of the squad featured a couple of different agents. Since Todd didn’t join MCRT until “Yankee White,” Gibbs and DiNozzo responded to the scene withRobyn Lively’s Vivian Blackadder. Subsequently,Thomas Anthony Jones also debuted as another member of the group named Don Dobbs. Aside from theirJAGcase, this version of MCRT was also working on stopping a terrorist attack.
Why Blackadder And Dobbs Didn’t Return In NCIS
Blackadder Was Replaced By Sasha Alexander’s Kate Todd
Now that all10 seasons ofJAGare available to streamon Amazon Prime Video (Paramount+ only has a handful of episodes), there may be questions about the change in Gibbs' team and why there wasn’t a clear explanation about it. Despite the brief gap between its backdoor pilot andNCIS' premiere, MCRT underwent retooling during the break. Aside from Harmon, Weatherly, McCallum, and Perrette were all brought back to reprise their roles full-time, as well as, Alan Dale as NCIS Director Tom Morrow. However, Lively and Jones were never seen or even mentioned again as Blackadder and Dobbs.
Reportedly, the reason why Lively wasn’t retained as Blackadder was because Bellisario thought that the character was way too soft to be part of the ensemble.
Reportedly, the reason why Lively wasn’t retained as Blackadder was because Bellisario thought that the character was way too soft to be part of the ensemble. Eventually, she was replaced by Alexander’s Todd, who was still quite feminine but didn’t pull punches when dealing with her male-dominated team. In terms of narrative, there’s no official explanation for Blackadder’s absence inNCIS, but considering how she almost jeopardized MCRT’s terrorist case, it isn’t difficult to imagine that Gibbs would have fired her. Unfortunately, nothing has been revealed about why Jones wasn’t brought back as Dobbs.
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Can Gibbs' Original NCIS JAG Team Still Return In The CBS Franchise?
Blackadder And Dobbs' NCIS Debut Can Answer Lingering Mysteries About Them
JAG’s arrival on streaming could result in a resurgence in popularity, as seen withSuits' Netflix domination after it landed on the platform. With that comes the possibility that either Dobbs or Blackadder find their way back to MCRT viaNCISseason 22. For what it’s worth,JAGcharacters have appeared in the long-running franchise before. Lieutenant Commander Faith Coleman had multiple appearances during the earliest years ofNCIS, while Navy Captain Harmon Rabb Jr., while Lieutenant Colonel Sarah “Mac” MacKenzie returned for a three-episode arc onNCIS: L.A.
It would be a trip down memory lane to see Gibbs' old agents back in the bullpen, even though he’s no longer there. Perhaps they’re recruited for a case that they worked before, which would be similar toNCIS' 1000th episoderevisiting its very first case with Todd. If not in the main series, Gibbs' prequelNCIS: Originscould eventually revisit his old team once the spinoff reaches the point in the timeline where he was already spearheading MCRT.
JAG
Cast
JAG is a drama series centered around Harmon “Harm” Rabb Jr., a former pilot turned lawyer for the military’s Judge Advocate General division. Released in late 1995, the show follows him and Lt. Col. Sarah Mackenzie as they prosecute and defend military-related cases while uncovering the truth.
NCIS
NCIS is a television series that follows a team of special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. Premiering in 2003, the show explores various cases involving Navy and Marine Corps personnel, ranging from murder and espionage to terrorism and stolen submarines.
