NCIS is entering its fourteenth season this year, a remarkable achievement by itself. The fact that it remains so popular among viewers is even more amazing. With memorable stories and strong characters, NCIS has made itself an important foundation in CBS’s weekly lineup.
The status quo was shaken with the departure of series regular Michael Weatherly (now headlining the new series Bull) at the end of NCIS Season 13, which was followed by the addition of no fewer than three new cast members to fill the void.
This, of course, prompts questions, excitement, and speculation as to what NCIS has in store for us this coming season. So it back, relax, and enjoy this run-down of thirteen things we’d love to see during NCIS Season 14!
And if you need a refresher, you can always watch NCIS online before the NCIS Season 14 Episode 1 drops on Tuesday, September 20, 2016 at 8/7c on CBS.
More Friendship, Less Fighting
One of the recurring complaints among the fans during the past few seasons was the apparent disunity in the team, particularly between team leader Gibbs and right-hand-man DiNozzo. It was frustrating and annoyed the fans, so let’s have our team act more like a team and less like squabbling soap characters.
Tim McGee As Senior Field Agent
Build up McGee’s role and responsibilities as he takes over DiNozzo’s position as senior field agent and Gibbs’s second in command. He’s grown a lot as a character since his first appearance as an inexperienced rookie stationed at Norfolk in NCIS Season 1 Episode 7; give him the opportunity to show off how much he’s learned and matured.
A Happy Home Life with Delilah
And speaking of McGee, please just let him marry Delilah and be happy with her. Maybe make a McBaby or two! Given all the grief our main characters have gotten in their family lives, it would be a shocking change of pace (Jimmy Palmer aside). It’s perfectly possible to have people be happily married and still make for good television.
Don’t Forget Tony
Michael Weatherly may no longer be a member of the main cast, but Tony DiNozzo is still alive and out there in the world. He hasn’t ceased to exist, nor has he completely cut himself off from all his friends. Have him keep in contact! Send photos of little Tali for the team to coo over! Just don’t act like he is gone forever and never coming back, (or worse, that he never even existed) even if Weatherly never appears on the show in person ever again.
Don’t Forget the Returning Characters!
It’s important not to neglect the existing characters: it’s always fun to learn something new about the heroes we already know and love. I know I really enjoyed seeing young Ducky and his relationship with his much-younger half-brother Nicholas, for instance, in NCIS Season 13 Episode 11. It’s easy to take the characters for granted, but they should neither be left to stagnate nor be overtaken by a single trait that becomes a defining characteristic.
Character Growth for Jimmy Palmer
Jimmy Palmer has been a part of the show since his debut all the way back in NCIS Season 1 Episode 21. He’s had a few meaty arcs – his and his wife’s attempt to adopt a baby, for example – but, for the most part, his role has been heavily comic relief. It’s well past time that he got to be more than just a punch line. Maybe have him step up more in Autopsy, take on more responsibilities from Ducky, who isn’t getting any younger, after all.
Please, No Mary Sues
Don’t have the new character additions show up as being super awesome at everything they do (especially to the detriment of the existing characters); that just makes them annoying. Ellie Bishop was criticized by fans, especially earlier on, for seemingly showing up everyone else at their own jobs without many apparent weaknesses. Further character development fixed this greatly, but let’s avoid it altogether with the new guys.
Give the New Guys Some Character!
On a related note, make the new characters multifaceted and complex, with actual backstories and characterizations that go beyond one-sentence descriptions. With three new main cast members – Duane Henry, Wilmer Valderrama, and Jennifer Esposito – it may seem like a tall order to give each of their characters the development they deserve while also paying attention to the existing cast members and, you know, the actual cases they’re investigating, but it will definitely help in the long run.
Strong Recurring Characters
Continue to create strong recurring characters – both heroes and villains – that stick with the viewers. For instance, many people still remember Chris Pacci, a minor character who was killed way back in NCIS Season 1, to the point where he got calls-back ten-plus years later. Ned Dorneget (rest in peace!) was also surprisingly well developed. And then there’s Ari Haswari…
More Fornell!
On the same note, please give us more Fornell! Yes, he was grievously injured in NCIS Season 13 Episode 22, but he’s a stubborn old curmudgeon and one of the few friends Gibbs has outside of the team, and one of the few characters whom Gibbs treats as an equal. Plus, their old-married-couple bickering is just plain funny, and throwing Fornell’s daughter Emily into the mix makes for some downright hilarious domestic comedy.
Strong Cases
Relationships between the characters are well and good, but NCIS is also a show about crime. So it’s important to not let that aspect of the series fall short, too! Make sure the cases are interesting and strongly-written. Even after decades of mainstream crime dramas (Law & Order, CSI, NYPD Blue, and so on), audiences are still drawn to a good whodunnit.
More NCIS-verse Tie-Ins
They’ve created quite the expansive world for NCIS, and it would be good to acknowledge it now and again. Not necessarily full-blown cross-overs all the time, but even mentions of past cases or villains encountered by our heroes from the Naval Yard to the Aloha State would remind us that NCIS is far from alone in the world. It all started with JAG and now includes NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles, NCIS: New Orleans, Hawaii Five-0, and Scorpion.
Have Fun!
It’s essential that everyone remembers to have fun, rather than taking everything completely seriously. This is a TV show, after all, so relax and enjoy the ride!
