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[from-stone-to-hallows]

Gibbs & Jack

First and last episode comparison

“Skeleton Crew” (15x04) and “True Believer” (18x08)

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Jack caressing Gibbs’ face.

aka the moment that anyone who thought they got over Slibbs during the hiatus realized it was actually impossible to just “get over”

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“Did you love her? Would you have married her?”

*Phineas is out here asking the real questions.

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Mark Harmon as Special Agent Sunshine Simon Donovan in The West Wing (1999-2006)

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Already deviating from what we know in original canon, I see. Great, a whole other Gibbs romance, as if the other hundred failed ones weren’t enough. 🥰

(Look to my tags for my further delight.)

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Love that I came back on here to see this whole thread. I’m glad I’m not the only one having issues with it all. While we’re at it, should we discuss how they cast a younger guy as Mike Franks??? Because Mike was already older and on the verge of retirement when Gibbs started with him. The guy they cast looks far too young to be Mike.

Already deviating from what we know in original canon, I see. Great, a whole other Gibbs romance, as if the other hundred failed ones weren’t enough. 🥰

(Look to my tags for my further delight.)

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Already deviating from what we know in original canon, I see. Great, a whole other Gibbs romance, as if the other hundred failed ones weren’t enough. 🥰

(Look to my tags for my further delight.)

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No idea if any Harry Potter fans follow me anymore—my channel originally started out as a Harry Potter one (hence my name). But after 7 years, I've finally made a new one. So, for any movie Snape or Alan Rickman fans, you might be okay with this.

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DiNozzo: I wouldn't miss this for the world.

Gibbs: Here's a Polaroid.

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And now a different story from Steven Binder??? 3 slightly conflicting takes, none of which come from article sources that are ever fully trustworthy. But all equally leading to the same conclusion that we all knew from watching; Mark wasn’t there. If you go from what Mark may or may not have said, and what Steven said, then Mark wasn’t asked because they didn’t have the budget and didn’t want to overshadow the episode. And apparently Ducky dying is not a “special” enough reason to warrant an appearance from Gibbs. It’s only a friend he knew and worked with for his entire NCIS career, no biggie. It’s not like it was something truly big, like dogs or fish dying.

Before I believe this entirely, I would love to see the source of the claim. Because it can't be true, right?

Right?

The Wrap adds a different 'claim' from Brian Dietzen:

'Scheduling conflict'?? You cannot be serious.

Not sure which 'claim' is better.

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Okay, the point at the end though about how Kate’s loss was handled differently—the whole truth. Ducky/David was onscreen for two decades of this show. The majority of that full time and in several scenes every episode. Yet, despite having that much time, Ducky’s death episode was probably the most underwhelming (and extremely boring) death episode I’ve ever watched.

Kate’s will always be the most emotional. It’s crazy how old it is at this point and how much it still hurts my heart when I rewatch scenes from it. Like stated in the post above, you SEE how it affects the other characters. The characters who knew her best. You are not told, instead you witness the pain and the change of pace. You witness how hard it is for them to see her desk empty and then hand it over to someone else. You see the pain in their facial expressions. And she was literally only there with them for 2 years. Jenny Shepard too, the reactions from the team after her death always tear my heart in half, and she was there 3 years

Ducky was there for 20 years. Yet most of the people left to mourn him barely knew him, because he wasn’t the full time mortician anymore. He was just the historian/author who popped in on someone’s iPad screen for a couple minutes every once in a blue moon.

To sell the pain and loss, you’d need to see the reactions of those who knew him best. Yes, we got Jimmy who did work with him the longest, and we got a glimpse of Tony at the end—but we didn’t get Gibbs, Abby, Ziva, or any of the others who cared about him. We didn’t get them getting a call and seeing their pain as they hear the news. We didn’t get them silently mourning and crying at a funeral. We just end up confused because it’s so out of character that they all wouldn’t be there together remembering their dear friend and father/grandfather figure.

Both @justagibbsgirl and @i-run-with-scissors39 made a really good point about the Gibbs absence in the Ducky tribute episode- if we'd had a funeral scene, we would've gotten a much deeper emotional impact from a eulogy, the camera could've panned the gathered guests to show a myriad of former characters we've missed over the years, AND, they could've shown Gibbs in the back, unseen by the guests, paying silent tribute to Ducky. Brian Dietzen said Mark Harmon didn't come back because of 'scheduling conflicts', but as @i-run-with-scissors39 said, they could've filmed it separately at any time, because it would've just been him.

But none of this happened. In fact, what really happened in that episode that was memorable? Besides Tony showing up. (I'll get back to that in a minute.) McGee had 1 flashback, Vance had 1 flashback and Jimmy had 4. Jimmy also had the most screen time and was given the most emotional scenes. A lot of that is understandable- he was the only one left with the strongest connection to Ducky. But there were other people with connections to him, too. And we didn't get to see that. The only person outside of the regular cast of season 21 to show up was Tony. I mean, think about that, just for a second. No character outside of the current squad showed up. Not even Tobias! Instead, they handwaved the work/money (?) involved to make something more meaningful happen by showing flowers and Polaroids.

Even the Crime of the Day fell flat. So some girl we've never met is getting hassled by her college because her dead dad's getting slandered in the press by a senator. A senator who, I guess didn't get arrested at the end? Just stepped down from his position? Why did the senator pick that Marine anyway? (I know he served with him, but what was the point in naming that particular Marine?) And if I see one more reference to someone gifting someone a scholarship fund, I don't know if I'll be able to unroll my eyes. And yes, I know the MCSF was a big thing for David McCallum, so it made sense in this context, but the fact there's a Leroy Jethro Gibbs Scholarship Fund joke almost undermined the whole thing. (Would've been nice if they'd had a link at the end of the episode to the MCSF.)

Instead of this random girl and her dead dad, how about a cold case Ducky was working on? Maybe Jimmy sees it on Ducky's desk (or finds it in the secret spot behind a picture /eyeroll) and decides he's going to solve it. The team wants to help but are sceptical it can be done, but Jimmy's absolutely determined to do it, to the point of almost obsession. It would be his way of putting off dealing with Ducky's death while also making one last connection with him. They end up solving it because one of the flashbacks gives an indirect clue. You know, like Ducky's cryptic message to the team about where to find the nothing file behind the photo in his office. /eyeroll again

I loved the fact that Jimmy never took off his lab coat, even though he didn't do any lab work the entire episode. Him walking around the bullpen in his lab coat solving a case was just... well, I guess that's where the show is now, yeah? Sean Murray didn't want to step forward as the face of the show, so Brian Dietzen did. And you know what? Good for him. It's a hell of an arc over 20 years for him. But whether he meant to or not, he ended up making this episode about him. Every emotional thread went through Jimmy; every emotional moment was Jimmy's. When Diona Reasonover's voice cracked in the bullpen ("Any suggestions as to how to do that?"), it felt like the only real moment given to anyone other than Jimmy. Probably because 3 of the team didn't really know Ducky, so they could only experience the loss through other characters. It's why we got Knight reading Ducky's journal to bring up a Gibbs flashback, and it's why Torres did the same with McGee. It's why Parker was in charge of the flowers or something. And I try to remember they're new when I hear Knight say, "Dying quietly in your sleep isn't the worst way to go." JFC, lady.

I dunno. Kate was on for 2 years and I felt the show handled her death with so much more emotion. Her loss rippled through the team and we felt it because we saw the characters feel it. The Ducky episode was a lot of telling rather than showing, and what showing they did was through Jimmy instead of a handful of the hundreds of people whose lives Ducky touched in 20 years.

Oh, and Tony. Great to see one of the Originals, and Tony, in small doses, can bring the depth the scene needs. But being tacked onto the end of the episode made it fell exactly what it was- a surprise cameo to wow the fans rather than a true nod of respect to Ducky/David.

It should've been more. It could've been more.

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Ziva&Ducky | Good To See You (NCIS)

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Oh gosh, that last flashback really did feel like a stupid excuse for him not being there. I was internally rolling my eyes at it. You can be at peace and still show up to your oldest friends’ funeral.

Well, I did watch the Ducky tribute episode. How could I not, after the years I spent watching dear Ducky. It’s the only episode I’ve watched since Gibbs left. I enjoyed the flashbacks and pictures and references. The nod to Gibbs with whatever he had sent McGee from Alaska that was on McGee’s desk at the beginning. The nod to Abby with the black flower arrangement she sent.

The Tony scene was quite nice, it was interesting to see him again and let him and Palmer and McGee reunite.

All that being said, it felt so empty without the presence of the old team. The flashbacks and pictures can help, but they don’t do it full justice without follow through of showing that people cared enough to show up for Ducky at the end too. I know why, I know it would be almost impossible to get a lot of them back together.

At least Tony was there. But not having Gibbs? It was a crime. No matter how many flashbacks or pictures or how many times they said his name, it was so insanely empty to not have him there at all. Since they didn’t show the funeral, they probably hoped we would just assume the whole old team was there. I just, I don’t know…I know change is the essence of life and all that, but the episode felt so flat compared to the old days. Those flashbacks were honestly just painful reminders of when the team felt more like a team.

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ALL OF THIS ☝️. I can’t even begin to cover all the good points in this post. I don’t even need to, it perfectly voices some of the thoughts I’ve been having as well.

But I will say, the last point is solid. If Ducky’s funeral wasn’t a good enough reason for Gibbs to come back, there will be no other reason for him to ever show up again. Ducky knew Gibbs before any of the original season 1 team. He was the one member of the team that had worked with Gibbs the longest. Gibbs/Mark is definitely done for good with the show at this point.

NCIS S21E02- The Stories We Leave Behind

Is that too harsh? Maybe it's too harsh.

Let me preface this by saying, I can only imagine how hard it must've been to write and film this episode. It's one reason why I don't write DeathFics, and those are only fictional people. Writing the passing of a real person, a friend and a colleague? Must be one of the hardest things to do as a writer.

So maybe that's why this felt so incredibly flat. Maybe trying to find that balance between dealing with the death and moving on dulled the emotional punch of it all? Because beyond the opening and closing, this was barely more than a clip episode shows throw in the middle of a season to save money. And of those flashbacks, we could only get ones with 3 characters who are still on the show, because Knight, Parker and even Torres didn't really know him. (I'll mention the Gibbs flashback in a second.) So you had this random assortment of clips that were supposed to engender emotions, but did the opposite in a way- because they weren't immediate reactions (they were memories), it actually lessened the emotional impact. You know what flashback would've been a kick to the gut? How about someone mention Cate, and then show us the clip of Ducky and Cate together? Then you would've gotten the one-two punch of 2 beloved characters now gone. Because if you're going to show a scene between Gibbs and Ducky that no one was present to see (using Ducky's journals as your 'out'), you could've shown Cate or Jenny or Ziva.

By not showing the funeral, fans missed out on a proper send off and a true tie-in with the past. I know Brian Dietzen said they didn't want it to be crammed full of guest stars, but the only guest star we got was a 3 minute cameo by Michael Weatherly?? If they'd had a funeral, they could've filled the church with faces we remembered and given characters/actors a chance to pay their respects. Imagine the nostalgia in seeing Hollis Mann, Jordan Hampton, Gerald Jackson, Ziva David (would've made sense since they brought Tony back), Abby Sciuto (I know, there are off-screen problems w/PP), Rachel Cranston, etc. I know Jessica Walter has also passed away, but what about the rest of Ducky's detective group? What about Jack Sloane? Yes, I know these may have added more storytelling time (particularly Abby and Jack) but did we need McGee's poison ivy flashback?

Other issues:

What happens to Nicholas Mallard? You know, Ducky's half-brother.

What happens to Gibbs' house?

What was the actual proof that the senator was dirty? I mean, real forensic proof? I didn't seem to hear anything other than Parker reading off the autopsy report and the Marine. Or I guess we're just meant to think that ruined his career? Because they didn't charge him with murder or anything.

The entire story hinged on McGee remembering one of the pictures hid a safe? Like Ducky's only clue to an important case was a cryptic line in his journal? smh

This was... this was just not good. One of, if not THE most beloved character on this show and we got a clip episode.

Which brings me back to the Gibbs flashback: As soon as they showed the picture of Gibbs and Ducky on the bookshelf, I knew we weren't going to see Mark. And that disappoints me more than it should, really. After tonight, we should never, ever see Gibbs on this show again, because there will be no bigger reason for him to return than Ducky's death, and he didn't show. Any reason after tonight will be bullshit and a slap in the face to the fans who supported and fell in love with the Gibbs/Ducky friendship. I'm so bitterly disappointed.

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They could have at least said his plane was delayed from Alaska and he was meeting them at the funeral. But instead we get a manila envelope, an old Polaroid and…Dinozzo.

Also, you’d think for a tribute episode to a man as distinguished as David McCallum, they would’ve not only put out an open call to anyone who had previously worked with him, but would’ve had requests from actors wanting to be a part of it. Or maybe I’m just overly optimistic when it comes to the Duckman.

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This makes me want to cry now 😅. Good job to the 8.9% indeed.

With the Ducky tribute episode set to air Feb. 19th, let me ask:

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Well, I did watch the Ducky tribute episode. How could I not, after the years I spent watching dear Ducky. It’s the only episode I’ve watched since Gibbs left. I enjoyed the flashbacks and pictures and references. The nod to Gibbs with whatever he had sent McGee from Alaska that was on McGee’s desk at the beginning. The nod to Abby with the black flower arrangement she sent.

The Tony scene was quite nice, it was interesting to see him again and let him and Palmer and McGee reunite.

All that being said, it felt so empty without the presence of the old team. The flashbacks and pictures can help, but they don’t do it full justice without follow through of showing that people cared enough to show up for Ducky at the end too. I know why, I know it would be almost impossible to get a lot of them back together.

At least Tony was there. But not having Gibbs? It was a crime. No matter how many flashbacks or pictures or how many times they said his name, it was so insanely empty to not have him there at all. Since they didn’t show the funeral, they probably hoped we would just assume the whole old team was there. I just, I don’t know…I know change is the essence of life and all that, but the episode felt so flat compared to the old days. Those flashbacks were honestly just painful reminders of when the team felt more like a team.