122 Fun Facts About NCIS

What is Gibbs most often seen building by hand in the basement of his house?

Wooden boats: Gibbs is often seen working on one in his basement, and how a finished boat ever left the room was a running mystery until season 19 revealed that he had knocked out a wall.

Which fictional energy drink fills Abby Sciuto's giant cup?

Caf-Pow is the high-caffeine drink Gibbs brings Abby when he comes to her lab for results; when the caffeine threatens her sleep she switches to its tamer twin, No-Caf-Pow.

Which actor played Dr. Donald 'Ducky' Mallard, the anecdote-prone doctor and old friend of Gibbs?

David McCallum played Ducky for 20 years until his death in 2023 at 90; the show then let Ducky die peacefully in his sleep in a tribute episode, 'The Stories We Leave Behind'.

Which of these phrases is one of Gibbs's well-known rules?

'Never say you're sorry' is Rule 6, and it continues 'it's a sign of weakness'; a colleague points out that Gibbs borrowed the line from John Wayne in She Wore a Yellow Ribbon.

Which Hollywood veteran played Anthony DiNozzo Sr., Tony's father, in a recurring guest role?

Robert Wagner first turned up as DiNozzo Sr. in 2010, a casting joke with history: Michael Weatherly had played the young Wagner in a 2004 TV film about Natalie Wood.

Who was Gibbs's boss, the NCIS Director, for the show's first two seasons?

Tom Morrow leaves for the Department of Homeland Security at the start of season three, handing NCIS to Jenny Shepard; he returns years later in that job and is shot dead in season 13.

How does Gibbs usually rebuke an agent, most often Tony DiNozzo, for a wisecrack or a blunder?

A slap on the head: the 'headslap' began in season one with a playful smack to the back of DiNozzo's head, and he went on to collect more of them than anyone else on the team.

Which of Ziva David's verbal habits became a running gag on NCIS?

Mangling American idioms: Ziva is a gifted linguist who speaks many languages, yet everyday American sayings keep tripping her up, a joke the writers ran for years.

What is a common nickname given to Timothy McGee by his colleagues, particularly Tony DiNozzo?

Probie, short for probationary agent, sticks to McGee long after his probation ends; Gibbs gets the same treatment from his old boss Mike Franks, who still calls him 'Probie' decades on.

What does Tony DiNozzo constantly quote and reference while working a case?

Classic movies: Tony's film references are so relentless that Ziva predicts his dying words will be 'I've seen this film'.

What does the acronym NCIS stand for?

Naval Criminal Investigative Service: the show first aired as 'Navy NCIS', reportedly so viewers would grasp the initials and not confuse it with CSI, and dropped the redundant 'Navy' after season one.

Which rapper and actor played Sam Hanna, Callen's partner, on NCIS: Los Angeles?

LL Cool J played Sam Hanna in all 14 seasons, then carried the character over to NCIS: Hawaiʻi as a guest when his own show ended in 2023.

Which First Lady made a guest appearance as herself on NCIS?

Michelle Obama played herself in a 2016 episode, receiving Gibbs at the White House in a scene made to support Joining Forces, her initiative for military families.

Abby Sciuto and Gibbs sometimes talk to each other across her lab using what?

Sign language: Abby's parents were deaf, so American Sign Language was her first language, and she and Gibbs sometimes sign to each other across the lab.

Who played Dwayne Pride, the lead agent of the franchise's Louisiana-set spin-off?

Scott Bakula first played Pride in a two-part NCIS episode in 2014 that tested the idea, then led all seven seasons of the series it launched.

Which is one of Leroy Jethro Gibbs' numbered rules?

'Never go anywhere without a knife' is Rule 9, first heard in season one; Gibbs took the idea of numbered rules from his first wife Shannon, who told him she lived by a code of her own.

What is the full name of the NCIS character known to everyone as "Ducky"?

Donald Horatio Mallard is the full name, and 'Ducky' is a pun on the surname, a mallard being a wild duck.

Which FBI agent is Gibbs's long-running friend and sparring partner, and married Gibbs's ex-wife Diane?

Tobias Fornell married Gibbs's ex-wife Diane despite Gibbs's warning that she would leave him and empty his accounts; she did, and the two men stayed friends across the series.

Under what pen name did Timothy McGee publish his "Deep Six" series of novels?

Thom E. Gemcity is an anagram of Timothy McGee; his bestselling Deep Six novels star an agent called L.J. Tibbs alongside other thinly disguised versions of his own colleagues.

Gibbs's wife Shannon and daughter Kelly were murdered while he was deployed during which operation?

Desert Storm: Gibbs was still overseas when Shannon and Kelly were killed, and he later tracked down and shot the man responsible himself.

What is the name of the daughter Tony DiNozzo left NCIS to raise at the end of season 13?

Tali shares her name with Ziva's younger sister, who was killed in a suicide bombing as a teenager; Tony learns he has a daughter only when Ziva is believed dead, and quits to raise her.

When Leon Vance first appeared in season five, what post did he hold under Jenny Shepard?

Vance debuts as Assistant Director in the season 5 episode 'Internal Affairs' and is named Director after Jenny Shepard is killed in the season finale 'Judgment Day'.

In NCIS, Jimmy Palmer started as Ducky Mallard's assistant and eventually took over which role from him?

Chief Medical Examiner: Palmer, played by Brian Dietzen, assisted Ducky from season 1 and took over the post in season 16 when Ducky stepped back to become NCIS historian.

Before joining Gibbs's NCIS team in season 11, Eleanor 'Ellie' Bishop was an analyst at which intelligence agency?

NSA analyst Ellie Bishop is called in during season 11's 'Gut Check' because she had predicted the very security breach under investigation two years earlier; she is then loaned to Gibbs's team.

What military branch did Leroy Jethro Gibbs serve in before joining NCIS?

U.S. Marine Corps: Gibbs was a Scout Sniper who rose to gunnery sergeant, and he left the Corps after his wife and daughter were murdered to join NIS under Mike Franks.

What did Abby Sciuto leave NCIS in 2018 to do?

Start a charity: Abby resigns after an MI6 colleague dies shielding her from a hired gunman, escorts his body home to England and sets out to found the charity he had wanted in his mother's honour.

From which country did Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard originate?

Scotland: after Eton and medical school in Edinburgh, Ducky served as a British Army doctor and was posted to Vietnam on exchange with American forces.

Which university did Timothy McGee attend, specializing in computer forensics?

Massachusetts Institute of Technology: McGee took a master's in computer forensics there, then started as a junior agent at the Norfolk field office before Gibbs brought him onto the team.

Which two JAG episodes served as the backdoor pilot for NCIS?

'Ice Queen' and 'Meltdown' aired in April 2003: Gibbs's team investigates a Navy lawyer's murder and arrests the parent show's own hero, Harm Rabb, who is cleared at trial.

Which NCIS unit does Gibbs run?

Major Case Response Team: when Gibbs stayed behind in Alaska in season 19, McGee turned down the top job and the squad passed to newcomer Alden Parker.

Where is the fictional NCIS headquarters based in the series?

The show places NCIS headquarters at the Washington Navy Yard; the real agency was based there too until it moved to Marine Corps Base Quantico in 2011.

What was the title of the two-part season-six episode that launched NCIS: Los Angeles?

"Legend" sent Gibbs and McGee to Los Angeles to work a case with the Office of Special Projects, and ended with the unit's lead agent gunned down in a drive-by shooting.

In 2011, an online Harris Poll voted NCIS what?

America's favorite television show: NCIS climbed from fourth place in the 2009 poll to knock CSI off the top in 2011, and by 2012-13 it was the most-watched series in the country.

NCIS surpassed which western's record as CBS's longest-running scripted primetime series?

Gunsmoke ran for 20 seasons from 1955 to 1975; NCIS passed that mark with its 21st season in 2024, though it was then still well short of Gunsmoke's 600-plus episodes.

The most-watched NCIS episode, from January 2013, takes its title from which Jewish mourning custom?

Shiva is the week of mourning that follows a Jewish funeral, here Ziva's for her murdered father Eli; the episode drew more than 22 million viewers, a record for the series.

What do the NCIS crew call the black-and-white clips that open each segment of an episode?

Phoofs: each two-second clip jumps ahead to show the final moment of the act it opens, so viewers see how a scene will end before it begins; the device dates from season two.

Which publisher released the poorly reviewed 2011 NCIS video game for PC, Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii?

Ubisoft published NCIS (2011) for PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii; reviews were dismal, yet a Nintendo 3DS version followed in 2012.

According to a 2016 New York Times report, NCIS is most popular in which kind of place?

Rural areas: the Times mapped Facebook likes for 50 shows in 2016 and found NCIS strongest in the countryside, alongside Duck Dynasty, while Modern Family was its model city show.

Why did NCIS briefly suspend production in January 2025?

Southern California wildfires: though set on the East Coast, NCIS films in the Los Angeles area, so the January 2025 fires shut it down for days along with Grey's Anatomy and Hacks.

Who plays the young Leroy Jethro Gibbs in the prequel NCIS: Origins?

Austin Stowell, cast in March 2024, inherited a role that Mark Harmon's son Sean had played in flashbacks on the original show; Sean is now one of the prequel's executive producers.

What role does Mark Harmon take in NCIS: Origins?

Series narrator: Harmon voices the older Gibbs looking back on his first cases, in a prequel whose idea came from his son Sean, who had played the young Gibbs in flashbacks.

Which actor plays Gibbs's mentor Mike Franks in NCIS: Origins?

Kyle Schmid plays Franks in his prime; on the original series Muse Watson's older Franks was stabbed to death in season 8, yet kept turning up as a vision whenever Gibbs needed advice.

What does Tony DiNozzo mockingly call Ducky's assistant Jimmy Palmer?

Autopsy Gremlin is Tony's running nickname for Palmer, who still backs him up whenever Tony is left in charge of the team.

NCIS: Sydney pairs NCIS agents with officers from which Australian agency?

Australian Federal Police: the series opens with a US sailor dying of radiation poisoning at a Sydney Harbour ceremony, which throws NCIS agents and AFP officers together into one joint task force.

Why did NCIS: Sydney end up airing on CBS rather than staying streaming-only?

The 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA walkouts — the Hollywood strikes — left CBS short of new scripted shows, so it added the Australian series to its fall 2023 broadcast schedule.

Where does Abby Sciuto sleep when she is at home?

In a coffin: Abby keeps one as her bed, and McGee once spent the night in it believing her story that it was a box sofa.

In which city are Tony and Ziva living when NCIS: Tony & Ziva begins?

Paris: Ziva flew there to rejoin Tony and their daughter after her season 17 return, and the 2025 spin-off finds the three settled in the city, raising her together though no longer a couple.

What title does Tony DiNozzo jokingly give himself when making introductions?

Very Special Agent is Tony's own embellishment; the real Senior Field Agent turned down a team of his own in Rota, Spain, in season four to stay with Gibbs.

On what platform did NCIS: Tony & Ziva premiere in September 2025?

Paramount+ premiered NCIS: Tony & Ziva on September 4, 2025, bringing the pair back as leads, then cancelled it that December after a single ten-episode season.

Who played Jane Tennant, the NCIS franchise's first female lead, in NCIS: Hawaiʻi?

Vanessa Lachey led the show as Jane Tennant from 2021 until CBS cancelled it in April 2024, so late that the third-season finale had been written with a tease for a fourth.

Which NCIS: Los Angeles character did Daniela Ruah play?

Daniela Ruah played Special Agent Kensi Blye across all 14 seasons of NCIS: Los Angeles, partnered with Eric Christian Olsen's Marty Deeks, whom Kensi eventually marries.

Who played G. Callen, the lead agent of NCIS: Los Angeles, for all 14 seasons?

Chris O'Donnell spent the 1990s as Batman's sidekick Robin in two films before leading a team of his own as Callen from 2009 to 2023.

With which other CBS crime drama did NCIS: Los Angeles stage a two-part crossover in 2012?

Hawaii Five-0: in 'Touch of Death', Callen and Sam fly to the islands, then bring two Five-0 detectives back to Los Angeles to stop a smallpox outbreak.

Which actress played operations manager Hetty Lange on NCIS: Los Angeles?

Linda Hunt, Hetty from the 2009 premiere, won her Oscar for playing a man, the photographer Billy Kwan, in The Year of Living Dangerously.

What is Callen's rarely used first name on NCIS: Los Angeles?

Grisha: Callen, raised in foster care and known for years only by the initial G, eventually learned the Russian first name given to him by his father, Nikita Reznikov.

On NCIS: Los Angeles, Marty Deeks joined the team as a liaison from which agency?

Deeks, introduced late in season 1, served as the LAPD's liaison to NCIS and stayed a police detective until his liaison post was cut in season 12, pushing him to train as an NCIS agent.

On NCIS: Los Angeles, Sam Hanna is a former member of which military unit?

SEAL Team Six: Sam Hanna is a former Navy SEAL whose wife Michelle, herself a former CIA agent, is abducted and killed late in season eight.

Which actress played intelligence analyst Nell Jones on NCIS: Los Angeles?

Renée Felice Smith joined in season two as Nell Jones, left as a regular after season 12, and came back for one last appearance in the 2023 series finale.

What is Special Agent Dwayne Pride's nickname?

'King' is what his team calls Pride, and Gibbs uses it too from their days as young agents; Scott Bakula played him across all seven seasons of NCIS: New Orleans.

Which NCIS franchise show was the first to end, concluding in May 2021?

New Orleans bowed out in May 2021 after seven seasons; CBS launched NCIS: Hawaiʻi that September, and Los Angeles lasted two more years.

Who played medical examiner Loretta Wade in Dwayne Pride's spin-off?

CCH Pounder played Loretta Wade in every season of the show; on screen the coroner takes in two brothers, Danny and C.J., and raises them as her own.

In which Pennsylvania town did Gibbs grow up, per the episode "Heartland"?

Stillwater: a case takes Gibbs's team to his hometown, where they meet Jackson, the father he had not contacted in years, and the two make peace before he leaves.

Which veteran actor played Gibbs's father Jackson on the original NCIS?

Ralph Waite, the father on The Waltons, played Jackson Gibbs from 2008; when Waite died in 2014 the show had Jackson die too and dedicated the season 11 finale to him.

What do Gibbs's four wives share?

Red hair: Gibbs married four times and every wife was a redhead; so was Jenny Shepard, and a never-named redhead kept turning up at his side in the early seasons.

Who murdered Gibbs's wife Shannon and daughter Kelly?

Pedro Hernandez, a Mexican drug dealer, killed them after Shannon witnessed him murder a Marine; Gibbs later tracked him to Mexico and shot him.

Which Star Trek: Voyager actress played Rebecca Chase, one of Gibbs's ex-wives?

Jeri Ryan, Voyager's Seven of Nine, played Rebecca Chase, introduced in season 12; her marriage to Gibbs ended after she cheated on him.

Why was Gibbs suspended from NCIS in season 18?

Assaulting a dog killer: Gibbs attacked a man who had been shooting dogs that lost him money, told his team to tell the truth about it, and was suspended indefinitely; he took a rescued dog, Lucy, home.

Where did Gibbs first meet his future wife Shannon on the day he left his hometown?

A train platform: waiting for the same train, Shannon told Gibbs that everyone needs rules to live by, the seed of the numbered rules he later drilled into his agents.

In the NCIS season 3 finale "Hiatus", what does a bomb blast leave Gibbs with when he wakes from his coma?

Amnesia: Gibbs wakes with the last 15 years erased, so his old mentor Mike Franks is brought in to jog his memory; by the end he quits NCIS and heads for Mexico.

Which future Scandal star played Gibbs's first wife Shannon in flashbacks?

Darby Stanchfield, later a Scandal regular, first played Shannon in the season 3 finale, when a comatose Gibbs relives the murder of his wife and daughter in flashbacks.

In which 2021 episode does Gibbs leave NCIS after finding peace in Alaska?

"Great Wide Open" sends Gibbs and McGee to Alaska on one last case; when it closes, Gibbs tells McGee he is staying, at peace for the first time since he lost his wife and daughter.

Which show convinced Bellisario that Mark Harmon could play Gibbs?

The West Wing changed Bellisario's mind: he doubted Harmon suited the flinty Gibbs until he watched a tape of his Emmy-nominated 2002 arc as agent Simon Donovan.

Which actress played Dr. Samantha Ryan, Gibbs's season-nine love interest?

Jamie Lee Curtis played Dr. Samantha Ryan, a Defense Department psychologist, in five 2012 episodes, a reunion with Harmon, who had played her fiancé in Freaky Friday (2003).

For which university did Mark Harmon start at quarterback in 1972 and 1973?

Harmon started at quarterback for UCLA in 1972 and 1973; his first start was a 20–17 upset of two-time defending national champion Nebraska.

In January 1986, People magazine gave Mark Harmon what title?

Sexiest Man Alive: People gave Harmon the title weeks before he left St. Elsewhere, which wrote out his surgeon Bobby Caldwell by having him test HIV-positive.

Mark Harmon's father Tom Harmon won which famous award?

The Heisman Trophy went to Tom Harmon in 1940 as Michigan's star halfback; after bailing out of his fighter in the war he kept the silk parachute, which became Elyse Knox's wedding dress.

Which actress did Mark Harmon marry in 1987?

Pam Dawber, Mindy of Mork & Mindy, married Harmon in March 1987; in 2021 she joined him on NCIS as investigative journalist Marcie Warren.

Which real-life serial killer did Mark Harmon portray in the 1986 TV film The Deliberate Stranger?

Ted Bundy: Harmon played the killer in a two-night NBC miniseries in May 1986, while the real Bundy still sat on Florida's death row; he was not executed until 1989.

Ziva's father, Eli David, held which powerful post in Israel?

Director of Mossad: Eli David ran Israel's spy agency until he was shot dead in season 10, in the same attack that killed Director Vance's wife Jackie.

Which terrorist, Ziva's half-brother, killed Kate Todd in the NCIS season-two finale?

Ari Haswari, a terrorist and Ziva's half-brother, shot Kate Todd in the season-two finale; Ziva then killed Ari in the season-three premiere 'Kill Ari'.

Why do Tony and McGee always try to take the wheel when partnered with Ziva?

She drives dangerously fast: it was her mother who taught Ziva to drive, and her partners would rather grab the keys than ride with her.

In which country was Ziva captured by terrorists and presumed dead before her rescue?

Somalia: held by Saleem Ulman's cell after the season 6 finale, Ziva was rescued by Gibbs, Tony and McGee in 'Truth or Consequences'; she then joined NCIS as an agent and became a U.S. citizen.

Cote de Pablo was born in which country?

Chile: Cote de Pablo was born in Santiago and moved to Miami at 10 when her mother landed a job at a Spanish-language TV network; she later studied theatre at Carnegie Mellon.

For which police department did Tony DiNozzo work immediately before joining NCIS in 2001?

Baltimore: after stints in Peoria and Philadelphia, DiNozzo was a Baltimore homicide detective until he found his partner Danny Price was dirty and joined Gibbs in 2001.

Which disease nearly killed Tony DiNozzo in season two?

Pneumonic plague: in 'SWAK' (season 2) a woman mailed genetically altered Yersinia pestis to NCIS in revenge over a neglected case, and Tony opened the envelope.

When Leon Vance broke up Gibbs's team at the end of season five, where was Tony sent?

An aircraft carrier: Vance made Tony agent afloat on the USS Ronald Reagan, moved McGee to cybercrime and sent Ziva back to Israel; Gibbs had his team back early in season 6.

Before NCIS, Michael Weatherly played Logan Cale on which sci-fi series?

Dark Angel (2000–02) cast Weatherly as Logan Cale opposite Jessica Alba; the co-stars began dating during filming and he proposed on her 20th birthday, though they split in 2003.

After leaving NCIS in 2016, Michael Weatherly starred for six seasons in which CBS legal drama?

Bull cast Weatherly as trial consultant Dr. Jason Bull, a character loosely based on talk-show host Dr. Phil McGraw's own days as a trial consultant; McGraw co-created the series.

Who plays McGee's sister Sarah on NCIS?

Troian Bellisario, later of Pretty Little Liars, played Sarah McGee; she is Donald Bellisario's daughter and Sean Murray's stepsister, as Bellisario married Murray's mother in 1998.

Timothy McGee's father, seen in the NCIS episode "Squall", holds which Navy rank?

Admiral John McGee, played by Jamey Sheridan, appears in 'Squall'; when Tim's twins arrive years later, he names his son Johnny after his father.

From which university did McGee earn his bachelor's degree in biomedical engineering?

Johns Hopkins gave McGee his biomedical engineering degree; his GPA was 3.9 rather than perfect because he failed a fencing class in his sophomore year.

What is the name of McGee's wife, a Department of Defense analyst?

Delilah Fielding, played by Margo Harshman, was left paralysed by an attack on a black-tie gala in season 11; she and McGee married in season 14's 'Something Blue' and later had twins.

Sean Murray played Thackery Binx in which 1993 Disney film?

Hocus Pocus (1993) put Sean Murray on screen as Thackery Binx, the boy cursed to live as a black cat, but Binx's voice, as boy and cat, was supplied by Jason Marsden.

What is Abby Sciuto's unusual middle name?

Beethoven: Abigail Beethoven Sciuto grew up unaware that she was adopted, and only as an adult learned she had a biological brother, Kyle.

What animal is Bert, Abby's stuffed toy that breaks wind when squeezed?

A hippo: Bert farts when squeezed, and when a puzzled Tony hears it, Abby assures him the toy is supposed to make that noise.

Which field did Pauley Perrette study at Valdosta State and John Jay College before acting?

Criminal justice: Perrette studied it at Valdosta State and went on to John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, a real-life grounding for the forensic scientist she went on to play.

On which sitcom did Pauley Perrette play a waitress at Cafe Nervosa?

Frasier: Perrette waited tables at Cafe Nervosa in 1997's 'Three Dates and a Break Up', where Frasier collects three women's numbers in one night and lines up a date for each day of a long weekend.

For which agency did Kate Todd work before Gibbs recruited her in "Yankee White"?

Secret Service: Kate was on the presidential protective detail aboard Air Force One in 'Yankee White' and resigned after admitting a relationship that broke its fraternization rule; Gibbs hired her.

Kate Todd was created to replace which agent from the NCIS backdoor pilot?

Vivian Blackadder, played by Robyn Lively, was dropped after the backdoor pilot because Bellisario found the actress too soft for the part, so the series began with Kate in her place.

What is the title of the NCIS season-two finale in which Kate Todd is killed?

"Twilight" ends with Kate taking a bullet in her vest for Gibbs, getting up to joke about it, and falling to a single sniper shot in mid-sentence.

After NCIS, Sasha Alexander starred as a medical examiner on which TNT series?

Rizzoli & Isles: Alexander, who had asked out of her NCIS contract because the workload was too punishing, returned in 2010 for seven seasons as Dr. Maura Isles opposite Angie Harmon.

Jimmy Palmer was named after a pitcher from which baseball team?

Baltimore Orioles: Palmer tells a colleague he was named after their Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer, then admits he has never really liked baseball.

How did Jimmy Palmer's wife die, as NCIS viewers learn in season 18?

COVID-19: Palmer's wife, a mortician he had married in season 9, died during the pandemic, and season 18 shows Gibbs helping him through the loss.

Ellie Bishop is a self-described "country girl" from which state?

Oklahoma: Bishop grew up there with three older brothers, and when her marriage fell apart in season 13 she went home to her family, with Gibbs following to check on her.

How did Ellie Bishop leave NCIS in the season 18 finale?

Confessing to a leak: Bishop owned up to an old leak of classified files and quit, a disgrace she had staged as cover for an undercover mission; Emily Wickersham, hired in 2013 for three episodes, had stayed eight years.

Before joining Gibbs's team, what was Nick Torres's NCIS job?

Deep-cover operative: Torres had vanished in Argentina months earlier and resurfaced when his sister's search for him blew his cover; after helping Gibbs protect her, he was kept on.

Wilmer Valderrama, who plays Nick Torres, is best known for which sitcom role?

Fez in That '70s Show made Valderrama famous: the name is just 'FES', foreign exchange student, because his friends can't pronounce his real one, and his home country is never revealed.

Jessica Knight was the sole survivor of an explosion that killed her teammates on which unit?

A REACT team: in season 18 Knight talks a hostage-taker down, then a bomb kills the rest of her unit; the case shows her team was the target all along, and she later takes Bishop's place.

Katrina Law, who plays Jessica Knight, played Nyssa al Ghul on which superhero series?

Arrow: Law recurred as Nyssa al Ghul, then joined NCIS for only the last two episodes of season 18, on a deal that could make Knight a regular; the next season it did.

Which agency fired Alden Parker before he took over Gibbs's team?

FBI: sent to arrest Gibbs in Alaska, Parker let him go and was fired by the Bureau; Vance then offered him Gibbs's job, which McGee had already turned down.

Gary Cole, who plays Alden Parker, played Bill Lumbergh in which 1999 comedy?

Office Space cast Cole as micromanaging boss Bill Lumbergh; the film earned little in cinemas in 1999, then found its audience on video and became a cult favourite.

Jack Sloane, the team's psychologist, was a prisoner of war in which country?

Afghanistan: Sloane was captured and tortured there during her Army service; in season 18 she returned to rescue a group of kidnapped girls and chose to stay, which is how she left the show.

Maria Bello, who played Jack Sloane, earlier played Anna Del Amico on which medical drama?

ER: Bello played pediatrician Dr. Anna Del Amico in 1997–98, then left television for films such as Coyote Ugly; her character was said to have gone home to Philadelphia.

Ducky originally hired Kasie Hines to help him with what?

A book about past cases: Kasie was Ducky's graduate assistant while he took time away from NCIS to write it; she soon moved into the forensics lab herself and became a regular.

Which longtime CIA antagonist did Gibbs's team gun down in the NCIS season 13 finale?

Trent Kort, the rogue CIA officer behind the bombing of the farmhouse where Ziva was living, was cornered in the season 13 finale and shot by the team when he tried to shoot MI6's Clayton Reeves.

What was Alex Quinn's job before she joined Gibbs's team?

Training new agents: Quinn was an instructor at the federal academy, FLETC, and first turned up to shadow Gibbs's team and work out what kind of agent he wanted, then took the job herself.

David McCallum first found fame as secret agent Illya Kuryakin on which 1960s series?

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. gave McCallum just two lines in its pilot, as a minor character, but Illya Kuryakin became a teen idol who drew more fan mail than any actor in MGM's history.

Rocky Carroll, Lauren Holly and Jayne Brook all reunited with Harmon on NCIS after which series?

Chicago Hope: Harmon played Dr. Jack McNeil on the CBS hospital drama from 1996 to 2000; co-stars Carroll and Holly later outranked him as NCIS Directors Vance and Shepard, and Brook guest-starred in 2007.

Besides NCIS, which of these series did Donald P. Bellisario create?

Quantum Leap (1989–93) follows Sam Beckett as he leaps from life to life trying to get home; its final caption told viewers he never did, and misspelled his name as 'Becket'.

Which infamous figure did Bellisario say he nearly fought while both were serving in the Marines?

Lee Harvey Oswald: Bellisario said the sight of a fellow Marine reading Pravda at a supply shed offended him, and decades later he wrote a two-part TV drama about Oswald to rebut the film JFK.

Lauren Holly, NCIS's Director Jenny Shepard, played Mary Swanson in which 1994 comedy?

Dumb and Dumber (1994) cast Holly as Mary Swanson opposite Jim Carrey, whom she briefly married; she also played Bruce Lee's wife Linda in Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story.

Which actor auditioned for young Gibbs in NCIS: Origins shortly before winning the lead in Suits LA?

Stephen Amell said he read for young Gibbs only days before his Suits LA audition; that second reading won him the role of Ted Black, while the Gibbs part went to someone else.