Richard Foreman

Gibbs (Mark Harmon) finds himself talking to his late friend Mike Franks (Muse Watson) on Tuesday's "NCIS," the series' 200th episode.

PASADENA, Calif. -- CBS's "NCIS" remains the No. 1 scripted drama this season and next week it hits the 200-episode mark, quite an achievement for a series that didn't become an indisputable hit until about five years into its current nine-season run.

Generally, TV shows are either successful out of the gate or grow into hits over the course of a season or two. Five years to become a hit? That's not the norm.

At a CBS press conference last month, "NCIS" star Mark Harmon attributed the show's ratings improvement so late in life to multiple factors.

'NCIS'

When: 8 p.m. Tuesday, CBS.

"From the very beginning, we were a show that wasn't good enough to get all that noticed and wasn't bad enough to get canceled," he said. "And we had a lot of time just to get to know each other and just to do this show and just to work on the foundation of what this show started as. And we've had changes along the way that have, in my opinion, greatly influenced us."

He points to the additions of cast members Sean Murray (in season one), Carnegie Mellon University alum Cote de Pablo (in season three) and Rocky Carroll (in season six) as significant in the life of the show and audience appreciation of it.

Actress Pauley Perrette said another factor in the show's longevity is the cast's attitude toward "NCIS."

"Part of what keeps it so alive and so fresh all the time is that we all love our show. That's such a big deal," she said. "When I tell [fans] we're having so much fun, they're, like, 'No. Everyone can tell.' That's huge because just bringing a sense of not only gratefulness, but joy to your workplace every single day [is important and] it's not just us; it's also our crew. We have the best crew on the planet who have been together so long. Everybody is excited when we come back from hiatus. We're excited when we start our first day of the season. It's like the first day of school. We're excited to see new scripts. And part of that is not only do we love each other, but we're all huge fans of our own show."

CBS Entertainment president Nina Tassler credits the show's success to the "NCIS" writers.

"We've added new cast members over the years, and that brings a tremendous amount of vitality," she said. "The writing staff is constantly challenging themselves, challenging the cast. They have really achieved a great balance in tone, style. So having a show that is mature and continues to build audience, even in its later years, I think it's a testament again to the writing of the show. They give the fans what they want."

The series' 200th episode (8 p.m. Tuesday, KDKA-TV) also will seek to treat longtime fans with past guest stars returning as Gibbs (Mr. Harmon) sees his life flash before his eyes when a gunman shows up at a diner while Gibbs has his morning coffee.

"There's a certain element to the season that's been about decisions that our characters have faced and decisions moving forward and decisions looking back," said "NCIS" executive producer Gary Glasberg. "As far back as last summer, I sort of had a sense of what I wanted the episode to be. And it starts with a pivotal moment for Gibbs that he faces. ... It literally looks back at key moments throughout nine years of 'NCIS' where decisions have had to be made and, had people gone one direction instead of another, how the world would have ended up. And it brings back familiar faces, old faces, faces fans don't think that they'd see again."

After the press conference, Mr. Glasberg, who wrote Tuesday's episode, said Lauren Holly, who played NCIS director Jenny Shepard for several years, won't be back. But he wouldn't answer a direct question about the possible return of actress Sasha Alexander, whose Caitlin Todd was gunned down at the end of the show's second season. (IMDB.com suggests she provides her voice, but she's not listed in credits CBS provides for the episode.)

"There are surprises to be had," he said. "There are all kinds of tricks up our sleeve for this episode."

A version of this story first appeared in Tuned In Journal blog at post-gazette.com/tv. TV writer Rob Owen: rowen@post-gazette.com or 412-263-2582. Follow RobOwenTV on Twitter or Facebook.

First published on February 2, 2012 at 12:00 am

Link:
Longevity is one of the keys to 'NCIS' success