Origins Premiere & The Original NCIS Pilot In 2003

Warning! Spoilers ahead for the NCIS: Origins pilot.

While NCIS: Origins is a great show on its own, its premiere had striking similarities to the original NCIS pilot over 20 years ago. NCIS: Origins is the latest spinoff from the NCIS franchise, and it will follow Gibbs at the start of his career with NIS before the organization became NCIS. The NCIS: Origins premiere had a significantly darker tone than any episode of NCIS, but it also included several callbacks to the pilot episode that started it all.

NCIS: Origins features Austin Stowell as the young Gibbs, but it will also show Mark Harmon returning to the classic role as he offers a closer insight into Stowell’s Gibbs. Besides the reappearance of Mark Harmon’s Gibbs, NCIS: Origins has also taken inspiration from other classic aspects of NCIS episodes. As a result, the NCIS spinoff has revealed that some things never change.

8 FBI Comes In To Fight Over Jurisdiction With NIS/NCIS

NCIS Rarely Gets Along With The FBI

Both the NCIS pilot and the NCIS: Origins premiere showed tension between the FBI and NCIS. As the FBI is a higher-ranking organization, they declared jurisdiction and priority and attempted to take over the case in both episodes. In the NCIS pilot, the stakes were higher as the death in question was of a commander in the US Navy who had just had lunch with the president shortly before he died. Fortunately, NCIS was able to claim jurisdiction because the death was connected to military personnel. The characters in NCIS: Origins were not as lucky.

In NCIS: Origins episode 1, “Enter Sandman,” the team began their investigation as usual before they were rudely and unceremoniously interrupted by the FBI. Even when they had a suspect in custody, they had to dig through records and conduct research to try and find a military connection to the victim or suspect in question. In the end, they succeeded in retaining and charging the suspect, but not without several FBI distractions along the way.

7 NCIS: Origins & NCIS First Cases End With A ZNN Broadcast

ZNN Is A Common Thread Among NCIS Spinoffs

ZNN, an NCIS news broadcasting channel, appeared in both series’ premieres. Several NCIS spinoffs use ZNN in their episodes, so it made sense to have it appear in the first episode of NCIS: Origins as well. The use of the fake news channel also acts as a common thread among all NCIS spinoffs. ZNN even acts as an inside joke since it is so similar to the American news channel, CNN.

The use of ZNN is one of the most noticeable similarities between the NCIS pilot and the NCIS: Origins premiere. The channel is important in the NCIS universe because it reveals how the information that NCIS sees firsthand appears to the public. Certain details are always kept out.

6 Gibbs’ Independence

Gibbs Has Always Wanted Things Done His Own Way

NCIS: Origins has shown that Gibbs’ independence started at an early stage in his career. Throughout the premiere, his boss, Mike Franks (Kyle Schmid), had to constantly remind Gibbs to share his findings and theories with the group. Gibbs is still new to the job, so he likely just needs to warm up to how things work at NIS and will begin to share things more freely as time goes on. However, his desire for independence did not stop there.

Gibbs also started a conflict with Lala Dominguez (Mariel Molino) when he wanted things done his way. It took Franks yelling at him to stand down for him to back down. As Gibbs is still a subordinate in NCIS: Origins, he must follow the orders that he is given. However, there is almost nothing stopping him in NCIS. The NCIS pilot also showed Gibbs’ independence and desire to do things his way. But with no direct supervisor, at least not one like Franks, he is free to conduct his work the way he wants.

5 NIS/NCIS Is A Fringe Agency In Both NCIS: Origins & NCIS

The Agency Is Small But Mighty

Beyond having to often fight for jurisdiction over cases, NCIS also has to fight for recognition. The agency is a very real organization, it is just not as well known. This is the sentiment that both series’ premieres revealed. In the NCIS pilot, when Gibbs and Tony (Michael Weatherly) try to board the plane that has the dead Navy commander, the security guard almost does not let them in as he does not recognize their badge. Luckily, Ducky saves the day and the security guard lets them all in, but for a moment, there could have been a bureaucratic nightmare.

NCIS: Origins
season 1 takes place in 1991 and the NIS agency will officially become NCIS in 1992.

By the time the NCIS pilot occurs, the organization has existed for several years and the guard’s ignorance could be explained by his inexperience. However, in NCIS: Origins, NCIS has only existed for a short time, making it hard to get other agencies to give them the respect they deserve. Part of this is the reason why Lala was removed from the scene of the crime when she was investigating the dead body in NCIS: Origins. It is a joke in both premieres that NIS/NCIS is a low-tier agency.

4 Gibbs’ Leadership

Gibbs Is Heavily Inspired By Mike Franks

Both the premieres of NCIS and NCIS: Origins showed a certain kind of leadership, but through different characters. In the NCIS pilot, Gibbs is a strong, loyal, and considerate leader. He might do things unconventionally at times, like when he threatened and accused Caitlin Todd (Sasha Alexander) for being involved in the murders, but overall, he is a good and professional leader.

In the spinoff, Gibbs is a timid shell of the person he later becomes, but his leadership style in
NCIS
is clearly inspired by Mike Frank’s.

These same qualities are seen in Mike Franks in NCIS: Origins. In the spinoff, Gibbs is a timid shell of the person he later becomes, but his leadership style in NCIS is clearly inspired by Mike Frank’s. Franks is also strong and considerate. He is a skilled interrogator, and he works hard at his job. However, he also dabbles in working off the books, as the NCIS: Origins premiere revealed his personal interests sometimes overlap with his professional ones.

3 Bureaucracy In The Background

Bureaucracy Is The Leading Obstacle In NCIS

Another common thread in all NCIS spinoffs is the mundane bureaucratic obstacles that lurk in the background of each episode. The premieres of NCIS and NCIS: Origins were no different. In the NCIS pilot, “Yankee White,” Tobias Fornell (Joe Spano) is seen making a phone call with Todd’s supervisor, Secret Service Agent William Baer, to negotiate a deal that the FBI and Secret Service will be in charge of the murder investigation, instead of NCIS. This occurs in the background, while the NCIS team is working hard on uncovering the killer.

The first episode of NCIS: Origins also features some bureaucratic obstacles. The Special Agent in Charge, Cliff Walker, who is played by Patrick Fischler, has to deal with several angry agencies and organizations as he tries to maintain NIS jurisdiction over the case. While most of his conversations happen off-screen, there is a very real threat in the background of the episode that NIS will lose the case because of administrative decisions.

2 Mark Harmon’s Wisdom

Gibbs Has Always Had Strong Insight

The premieres of both NCIS and its Gibbs spinoff highlight the wisdom that Mark Harmon’s Gibbs possesses. The NCIS: Origins premiere started off solemn, with Gibbs sharing his thoughts on grief. As NCIS: Origins focuses on Gibbs’ life shortly after the loss of his first wife and daughter, Harmon’s wisdom comes as a touching tribute to Gibbs’ biggest losses. Harmon’s narration is a powerful addition to the spinoff, as he can give additional insight into young Gibbs’ state of mind and set the tone for the spinoff.

NCIS
season 1, episode 1 introduced the first three Gibbs rules: never let suspects stay together; always wear gloves at a crime scene; don’t believe what you’re told, double check.

The NCIS pilot also highlighted Gibbs’ knowledge when it first introduced Gibbs’ NCIS rules. Throughout the episode, Gibbs tells Todd a series of rules he has created, which set up a huge aspect of Gibbs’ character in later seasons. After the third rule, Todd jokes, “Should I write these rules in my PalmPilot?” The tone in NCIS episode 1 is comedic and very different from that in NCIS: Origins, but Gibbs’ wisdom is present in both. Mark Harmon’s Gibbs has gained a significant amount of experience, which led him to the creation of his rules and his insights on grief.

1 Romantic Tension

Both Premieres Hinted At Romantic Relationships

The final similarity between both series’ premieres is the romantic tension that is present in both. Gibbs and Todd’s interactions in the NCIS pilot are highly charged with romantic and sexual tension. This is heightened in the middle of the episode when Todd gets sick, and it is revealed that she was in a relationship with one of the murder victims. She asks if Gibbs will criticize her for being in a relationship with a colleague, to which Gibbs replies, “No,” and the two stare at each other for a moment too long.

A more muted tension exists in the NCIS: Origins premiere between Lala and Gibbs. However, the interest is one-sided at the moment. As Gibbs is still grieving the loss of his family, he does not have the emotional capacity to think of anyone else. But, the conversation between Lala and Vera Strickland (Diany Rodriguez) has hinted at a future connection between Gibbs and Lala. Their conversation together also revealed that Lala cares for Gibbs and does not want to see him get hurt, as she still thinks he is not ready for the job since he failed his psych evaluation.