Man down!
NCIS blasts back onto free-TV screens with a familiar face joining the team as Agent Gibbs lies full of gunshot holes.
Unless you’ve Googled the fate of Agent Leroy Gibbs (Mark Harmon), the return of action series NCIS (2003- current) has been long overdue for SABC2 fans. The season 12 cliffhanger left Gibbs’s future hanging in the balance after he was gunned down and rumours of Mark quitting didn’t make it easier. “But all is well,” assures the actor, whose character has led the team of investigators since day 1. “Something that I’ve learnt over the years is that people [the media] will talk when they need to sell stories. I have never spoken about contract renewals during the season, regardless of what show I was on.”
And while seasons 14 and 15 have already aired in the US, Mark is coy on a season 16 renewal. “You never know in this industry. At the moment, we are having fun, we have an incredibly strong line-up and the stories are still engaging, so let’s see where we end up.” For now though, Gibbs just needs to make it through episode 1, but help is at hand…
NO LAUGHING MATTER
Just because NCIS is dramatic doesn’t mean that they don’t need a laugh or two. Cue Gibbs’s surgeon Dr Cyril Taft (Jon Cryer, aka Alan Harper on comedy series Two & A Half Men (2003-2015). “A lot of people probably didn’t recognise me,” says the comedy star. “I’ve spread out a bit [in my midsection] and there is a little less [hair] on top, but I’m still funny, okay? You will laugh!” For the three- episode arc, Jon admits that he had to do a lot of research to make his doctor character believable. “They gave me a couple of YouTube links to watch but the best work was binging on [medical sitcom] Scrubs (2001-2010). Apparently that’s the most realistic hospital show and I think that I’ve got enough medical knowledge to apply a band-aid now.”
NO EASING UP
Lead star Mark credits the writing and production team for the way they handled the terror theme specifically in season 13. “They have taken a subject that influences our decisions on a daily basis and used it to inspire courage and bravery and the will to fight back,” says the 66-year- old, joking that he’s glad his stuntwork has been cut down a little this time round. “I am getting a little long in the tooth, so it helped with all of these action storylines that there are a bunch of youngsters on the team running around. I was sitting on the sidelines laughing to myself, ‘Well that’s okay – you run and tumble and bruise yourself. I’m just going to lie here for a couple of episodes in my comfortable hospital bed while all the explosions are going off’.”
Fans of the drama storylines will be “in for a treat too”, adds Mark. “We’ve got these incredible on-set experts who have been in real wars, who’ve worked in real spy worlds who have made sure that when we’re going undercover, it’s the real deal. This is the most realistic season we’ve done so far!” But it’s not all good news for fans…