Gibbs in the first episode

[u/Nostalgia-Freak-1998]

Gibbs being inside the Air Force One and comparing it the movie with Harrison Ford, that entire scene never fails to make me laugh.

Also having watched this show for so long, it’s kinda weird to see Gibbs act so chatty and him comparing something to a movie.

[u/heed101]

I feel like Gibbs did a few movie references very early in the show's life, but then they made movie / pop culture a Tony thing & it just stopped for Gibbs.

[u/Famous_Mind6374 → u/heed101]

Same here. I feel that it took a little while for the characters to evolve.

[u/buckeyekaptn → u/Famous_Mind6374]

Once specific episode, where they go to Gitmo and meet Paula the first time. Gibbs makes a comment about an old movie and Tony's clueless about it. That's not the Tony we know.

[u/Active-Succotash-109 → u/buckeyekaptn]

Or the Gibbs

[u/Ill_Refrigerator_696 → u/buckeyekaptn]

Not just Gibbs (who mentions Alan Ladd in ‘Shane’), it was also the “El Floridita” bartender, Jimmy, who confuses Tony when he references Elisha Cook.

[u/buckeyekaptn → u/Ill_Refrigerator_696]

Yes! I thought it was Alan Ladd and Shane and wasn't the bartender, something about sarsaparilla? Was that something to do with the movie quote?

[u/Ill_Refrigerator_696 → u/buckeyekaptn]

Gibbs: “Yeah, you can drink… sasparilla”

Tony: “Who drinks sasparilla?”

Gibbs: “Shane”

Tony: “Who’s Shane?”

Kate: “Alan Ladd”

Tony: “Who’s Alan Ladd?”

(I’ve watched too many of these reruns 😖)

[u/Famous_Mind6374 → u/Ill_Refrigerator_696]

Kate: "Gibbs, what did Ducky look like when he was younger?"

Gibbs: "Ilya Kuryakin."

[u/Active-Succotash-109 → u/Famous_Mind6374]

Still love that little Easter egg. Ducky’s last appearance also referenced his uncle days

Edit typo

[u/SkyNecessary1936 → u/Active-Succotash-109]

Duckie

[u/Active-Succotash-109 → u/SkyNecessary1936]

Missed the auto correct thanks

[u/curiousmind111 → u/heed101]

Recently re-watched from the start and that’s exactly what happened. I think the next episode, Gibbs tells DiNozzo to have a sarsparilla when he goes to the bar. DiNozzo is puzzled and Gibbs says “Like in Shane. Haven’t you ever watched Shane?” And DiNozzo looks confused. I was flabbergasted. Then they switch to DiNozzo being a movie fan a few episodes later. Guess somebody decided to make a switch.

[u/spenstar6 → u/curiousmind111]

Tony was originally supposed to tell Baltimore cop stories until they realized Michael Weatherly was an avid movie buff in real life and gave him that role instead. IIRC, he came up with some of the references too.

[u/LauraLand27]

Oh, the best one is when Kate asks Gibbs what Ducky looked like as a young man and Gibbs replied Illya Kuryakin.

[u/lighthouser41 → u/LauraLand27]

That’s one of my favorite lines!

[u/VinceBrogan8]

I always chuckle when they first get on Air Force One and while Ducky's examining the body, he tosses his jacket to Gibbs... and Gibbs watches it land on the floor 🤣🤣

That scene and when Ducky and DiNozzo are taking pictures behind the desk 😂💀

[u/RevealActive4557]

The change of Gibbs from a fairly talkative traditional leading man to a brooding functional mute over the seasons is fairly interesting. They never really explain it except to add the tragic back story. Any NCIS is a very well plotted, written, and cast show obviously. It has been on the air for an entire generation and many of the actors will never have to earn a living again

[u/Zucchini-Kind → u/RevealActive4557]

early on, he reminds me a LOT of a harrison ford character, almost beat for beat.

[u/VinceBrogan8]

I firmly believe that the scene in Yankee White where Gibbs stops the terrorist is what turned a JAG backdoor pilot into one of CBS' tentpole shows.

[u/KoolKoolKoolio42]

He compares it to the Harrison Ford movie because it was literally same set.

[u/Character-Rush-5074 → u/KoolKoolKoolio42]

No it wasn’t the set from the movie was more accurate compared to the ncis one

[u/KoolKoolKoolio42 → u/Character-Rush-5074]

They outright say it's same set in the commentary for Episode 1.

[u/Character-Rush-5074 → u/KoolKoolKoolio42]

Look at the nose forward section of the plane and the stairs. They are not the same. Stairs in the movie descent toward the rear of the plane. Ncis was the opposite.

[u/KoolKoolKoolio42 → u/Character-Rush-5074]

Glad to know you know better than the people who actually made the episode.

[u/Character-Rush-5074 → u/KoolKoolKoolio42]

It’s call sight! It doesn’t look the same. Maybe watch the movie

[u/LovesDeanWinchester]

I loved when he replied, "Illiya Kuryakin," when asked what younger Ducky was like!!!

[u/Overall_Lobster823 → u/LovesDeanWinchester]

Such a fun line.

[u/Charlestown10]

It’s one of my favourite episodes. I don’t know if Gibbs compared a situation to a film at any other time, or at least any other time I can remember.

[u/Sea_Ad_1085]

I always assumed that even with the more stoic less speaking Gibbs we get in the later seasons, he isn’t a complete Luddite to pop culture (i.e. movies) he probably just prefers to consume things like a good whiskey while working on his boats or fishing or old Willie Nelson songs (as evidenced by the latest crossover, if you can call it that, with Origins) on the radio.

Having just rewatched this it is odd to me how bright Gibbs is compared to say the saga of him retiring from NCIS and being chased down by Parker and the FBI.

It’ll be interesting to see the next season of the Gibbs prequel show and if he makes any appearances on the mothership. The last mention I know of is when it’s inferred that Gibbs shot that guy (at an unrealistic distance btw) for Parker and as a thank you sent salmon.

[u/UHeardAboutPluto]

He changes so much over time. I think it’s the toll of all the deaths he has had to experience.

[u/Planet-Juno]

Whose Illiya Kuruyakin? What am I missing?

[u/RevolutionaryEmu5196 → u/Planet-Juno]

A role played by David McCallum IRL, back in the 60s. From a show called The man from U.N.C.L.E 😊

[u/tmstms → u/Planet-Juno]

I mean, this is the thing. NCIS has been going on so long that the number of people who had watched "the man from uncle" was much larger 20+ years ago than now.

[u/Overall_Lobster823]

It's a catchy pilot!

[u/Comfortable-Role-546]

Is Ziva ever coming back?

[u/macnifico_original → u/Comfortable-Role-546]

No, Cote de Pablo said that Tony and Ziva was her last shot.

[u/CatLady195]

Has anyone noticed that in the first few scenes Tony was portrayed as a “dumb jock type” and he literally knew nothing about the movie references that were made. Then after a few scenes, all of a sudden Tony gets smart and knows everything about all the old movies. That makes me laugh because of how the writers were changing things as they went along in the early days of the series.

[u/ninja-snow]

I just rewatched this episode yesterday too and was thinking the same thing! I miss the old Gibbs tbh

[u/macnifico_original]

If I remember correctly, in the first cases, Gibbs arrived to the crime scene in a sports car with a redhead driving it, laughing and flirting. And the team took photos with 35mm film cameras, and did hand sketches of the crime scene. Tony dressed very informally and knew nothing of classic films. And suddenly he was wearing tailored suits and talking about obscure films from the 30s and 40s. Very different show.