Perhaps the first and most important question NCIS: Origins had to answer, for new fans and long-time NCIS fans alike was: is it necessary? Followed, of course by, is it worth watching? Is there actually a story worth telling here? This is, after all, a character we already know, one we have known for almost two decades. Could Gibbs still have something to say that would require us to tune in week after week? The answer is a very clear yes, and surprisingly, this isn’t just about Gibbs either.
Instead, there is a very rich cast of characters surrounding Austin Stowell’s younger Leroy Jethro Gibbs, all with their own stories to tell. There’s Mariel Molino’s Lala Dominguez, who we see in the trailer tell Gibbs she isn’t on her team, he’s on hers – the most intriguing character on the show by far, not just because of her relationship with Gibbs, but because she is a woman on this NIS team in the 90s trying to get ahead and looking in front of her and seeing a white man.
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Then there’s Kyle Schmid’s Mike Franks, a character we already know from NCIS – Gibbs’s mentor and friend – who we now get to meet at the beginning of their relationship, Caleb Foote as Randy Randolf, who gets to bring a little bit of levity to the show, Tyla Abercrumbie’s Mary Jo Hayes, the one civilian bossing these military people around and Diany Rodriguez as Vera Strickland, who we see has a nice dynamic with Lala Dominguez, one we hope we get to really explore as the show goes on – particularly because it’s rare to see two Latina women in shows like this one.
But if NCIS: Origins was going to work, two things had to work. First, of course, the cast chemistry, which is superb from the beginning, with every person slotting into their place perfectly, and Stowell and Molino, in particular, seeming like they’ve been doing this forever. In fact, if we didn’t know the future, we might be shipping these two. Considering we do …we might still be shipping them. Stranger things have happened on NCIS, and this is Gibbs we are talking about, after all.
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The second, and perhaps most crucial one is Stowell as Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Stepping into Mark Harmon’s shoes is a tall order, made perhaps even taller by the fact that NCIS: Origins features Harmon’s voice – and though only for a moment, face – but Stowell does a more than adequate job. At times, it almost feels like this is who Gibbs was, all these years ago. This is the only person he could have been.
Of course, the truth is, there is so much more story to tell. That is the point of NCIS: Origins. That is why we’re tuning in. If there’s any message the show clearly transmits early on, it’s this one. There is a story to tell here. This isn’t just about nostalgia, or about a name. It isn’t even just about Gibbs, though of course, it is in many ways about him. Instead, the rest of this NCIS: Origins story we will just have to discover together.
NCIS: Origins premieres on Monday, October 14th at 9/8c on CBS.
Thanks for the nice review! 🙂