3.21-Hiatus Part 1 - May 9, 2006

[ML Fan]

Have you seen "Hiatus Part 1?" Tell us what you thought.
There are spoilers posted on NCIS Special Ops, if you're interested.

[ML Fan]

Possible Spoiler Space





Info from NCIS CBS Yahoo and mchnelson.
McCallum Thinks the 'NCIS' Finale is Just 'Ducky'

Published: 5/6/06

It's Wednesday, May 3, and David McCallum, who plays pathologist Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard on "NCIS" (short for Naval Criminal Investigative Service), is on his way to work.
"We have today to shoot," he says, "and then Thursday. We shoot the last scene of the last episode and then I go back to New York the next day."

After closing out its second season last May with the surprise murder of NCIS Special Agent Caitlin "Kate" Todd (Sasha Alexander), the hit
CBS drama is looking to end its third season with an equally big
bang -- and at least as big a secret.

"Much more so than last season," McCallum says. "They e-mailed the
cast one version, which is not the final version. But I think I'm
going to survive -- but somebody isn't. It's a spooky thing. Somebody will not be with NCIS.

"When Kate was shot in the head -- I find it very emotionally
disturbing when fellow actors get shot. It's very traumatic. But we
shall see what we shall see."

The two-part season finale, "Hiatus," written by series executive
producer Don Bellisario ("JAG," "Quantum Leap," "Magnum, p.i."), airs on successive Tuesdays, May 9 and 16.

In the episode, a terrorist explosion lands the NCIS squad's leader, Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon), in the hospital.
Agent Tony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly) steps up into the role of
senior agent, irritating some of his co-workers, who are also trying to cope with their feelings about Gibbs' injuries.

Meanwhile, as Gibbs lies in his hospital bed, he's flooded with
memories about his past, including a secret that's no secret to
Mossad Liaison Officer Ziva David (Cote de Pablo), who joined the
NCIS team at the beginning of the season.

"We're all in peril," McCallum says. "I felt bad for poor old Mark as
an actor, because it meant he had to lie in bed all week."

As for who will leave NCIS at the end of the season, McCallum
says, "There was a poll taken this year in some newspaper, and I know I was 15 percent. Anyway, here we go, I'll learn Thursday what it's all about."

"NCIS" has improved its performance this season, which is unusual for a show in its third year, and that includes pulling in a more attractive demographic.

"We have a very loyal base," McCallum says. "My son, he's with an advertising agency. They buy into 'NCIS.' He tells me what they're talking about around the offices of the advertisers, and 'NCIS' is a hot show, because the demographics are increasing.

"At one point, we had the group from 'JAG,' which was more to the upper end of the scale, and then he said that all of a sudden, in the second year or the third, we took a big jump into the 18-34
demographic."

For McCallum, who first gained fame in America playing stylish spy
Illya Kuryakin on "The Man From UNCLE" in the mid-'60s, "NCIS" has given him a whole new generation of fans.

"The other day in New York," he says, "I was walking along, and this kid, who came up to my waist, said, 'Oh, my God, aren't you Ducky?'
Then I said, 'Yes, you have made my week.' It was so cool."

Asked if Ducky minds Tony taking Gibbs' place, McCallum says, "Well, with Gibbs in a hospital, it's automatic. We all step up one, except me. I don't think I do. I just keep chopping them up and figuring how they died."
Copyright © 2005 Tribune Media Services, Inc.

[ML Fan]

I liked Ton'y's line about "I have a better chance of hooking up with Jessica Alba" as the writers seem to like incorporating celebrities/pop culture and the cast's personal lives and that the flashbacks were actually used in a more useful manner they have been usually.

[shywriter]

Well, gee, I'd love to play, especially as I rushed home from work to be here in time-- only to watch the friggin' local affiliate play REPEATEDLY the same 3 radar shots of severe weather in the area...

... they actually played 6 minutes of the show so far, from 28 after the hour to 34 after. I know. I watched. Gnashing my teeth.

We're now back to repeating the same radar shots (has anyone heard of ICONS IN THE CORNER???)

(This, we believe, is another post-Katrina phenomenon: this spring, public schools actually closed on the first day heavy thunderstorms were predicted; university classes were cancelled. As storms in spring are a nearly daily occurance here, we can safely say this is over-kill, especially as they are now saying all tonado warnings are cancelled, there's only a thunderstorm warning, and then they go on to talk about a state OUTSIDE the viewing area where they're headed!)

At any rate, while you are all enjoying Tony I am hearing a a quaky- voiced TV announcer trying to fill 60 minutes. Tony's 60 minutes. MY 60 minutes.

Grrr.



(Thank you for your understanding. Sorry to have gone on so long, but it wasn't as if I had anything to watch on TV!!!)

[dutch]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tony: I've got a better chance of hooking up with Jessica Alba than these guys do of infiltrating sealift. (I nearly died when Michael said that!)

Me too, great writing. Wonder who's idea it was to use that line.

[ML Fan]

The writers during each of the three seasons seem to like using celebrity names and popular culture references and Jessica does seem to be the "It" girl of the moment and the writers also seem to like incorporating the cast's personal lives, ie, Mark Harmon played football in college and in an episode there was a scene where he threw a football back to a child.

[Tweed Pants]

Oh my gosh, i haven't even finished watching the ep and i'm laughing my ass off. Getting Aloma to play the nurse, hilarious, the Jessica Alba line, well ain't that just a kick in the nuts.

[AngelZ]

I thought it was a great start to the finale, but overall the ep seemed a bit disjointed. There were lots of great bits, but I think the ep suffered from trying to do too much. Maybe the problem is that its a movie-length topic which they are trying to stuff into 2 43 minute eps?

[ML Fan]

"Hiatus Part 1" will be reairing this week, check your local listings.