Archive for Cast News
NCIS Season 8 : It looks David McCallum is about to receive the highest of honors from NCIS: An origin episode for his character Ducky!
Sources confirm to me exclusively that ex-Shield cop Catherine Dent is joining the CBS smash for at least two episodes as Whitney Sharp, a former NCIS agent who shares a past with Ducky.
Dent’s character is described as an educated, bright, and extremely capable federal agent who had an eye for talent and a tongue for persuasion back in the day.
Both of Dent’s episodes will air during November sweeps.
‘NCIS‘ First Look: See Who Will Help Gibbs Battle the Cartel
When CBS’ top-rated ‘NCIS‘ kicks off its eighth season on Tuesday, September 21, tensions will remain high as the closing moments of the May finale play out.
The good news, Rocky Carroll (who plays Director Vance) tells Fancast, is that unlike in some memorable past season openers, everyone on the team “is still alive and well.”
That said, he teases, “We’ve got a few old scores to settle.”
Among those stubborn foes is the Reynosa cartel, which still looms as a significant threat to Gibbs (Mark Harmon) and his team. When last we tuned in, cartel kingpin (queenpin?) Paloma had just entered the store where Jackson Gibbs (Ralph Waite), Jethro’s pop, works.
In the aftermath of that showdown Gibbs gets a visit from his mentor, Mike Franks (played by returning guest star/’Prison Break’ alum Muse Watson).
The reason for Franks’ arrival on the scene? To offer Gibbs a much-needed assist in his campaign to neutralize the Reynosa threat once and for all.
Watson/Mike Franks isn’t the only encore to watch for this season. As previously reported by Fancast, both Robert Wagner (as DiNozzo’s dad) and Michael Nouri (as Eli David) are also due to return.
As previously announced, Robert Wagner will guest star on
the 150th episode of NCIS in the critical role of Tony’s dad.
But he isn’t the only big name coming to TV’s top-rated show for that special edition. Penny Johnson Jerald will reprise her role as tate Department Official Joanne Torrence on the January 12 installment of the drama, titled “Flesh and Bone.”
The actress is best known for her role as Sherry Palmer on multiple seasons of 24.
During this landmark episode, the NCIS team investigates attempted assassination of a foreign prince. Without giving too much away, we can confirm that Tony’s father is linked to the case.
Says Rocky Carroll (Director Vance): “You find out that there’s a strained relationship between the two.”
.TV’s top-rated show will ring in the holidays with a guest star-filled episode on December 15.
Ralph Waite will return on that date as Gibbs’s father, while TV Guide Magazine reports a
pair of other semi-big names have signed on for roles on the NCIS installment titled “Faith.”
Corey Reynolds (The Closer’s Sgt. David Gabriel, pictured) will play a naval chaplain that assists the team with its investigation.
Meanwhile, Joe Regalbuto (best known as Frank Fontana on Murphy Brown) will play a reverend whose son turns up dead.
On other casting news, Robert Wagner will show up as Tony’s father on NCIS‘ 150th episode.
Check out the first photo of Ray Mabus, the current 75th United States Secretary of the Navy, guest starring on NCIS Season 7 episode 9 “Child’s Play” airing Tuesday, Nov 24 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.
Episode Synopsis: NCIS Season 7 episode 9 “Child’s Play” – A dead Marine’s day job at a government think tank leads Gibbs and the team into the life of a 12-year-old prodigy who may be the killer’s next target, on NCIS, Tuesday, Nov 24 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBSTelevision Network . Lisa Sheridan (“Invasion”) guest stars as Facilities Coordinator Krista Dalton. Francis Capra (“Veronica Mars”) guests as Gang Member Eddie Castillo.
Also watch any NCIS Episodes you may have missed here.
Cheers to NCIS for putting Robert Patrick back on duty. The kick-ass character actor, last seen as Col. Tom Ryan on CBS’ prematurely cancelled The Unit, reenlisted on the network as Col. Merton Bell, a former tank commander who now runs a powerful private-military contracting firm with business in Iraq and Afghanistan—and a penchant for breaking the law. With his buzzcut and gruff demeanor, Patrick makes the perfect paramilitary man, just as he was the ultimate killing machine, T-1000, in Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Though Patrick’s character was led away in handcuffs at episode’s end for his overzealous pursuit of Gibbs’ mentor’s Iraqi daughter-in-law, we hope this isn’t the last time Col. Bell toils on NCIS.
Were you happy to see Patrick put back into service?
Rena Sofer has nabbed a potentially recurring role on NCIS.
The beautiful actress – who has appeared on 24, Heroes and Two and a Half Men, among other shows – will play an attorney on TV’s top-rated show.
No word yet on when she’ll premiere or how many episodes she’ll appear on.
Any NCIS viewer knows that the chemistry between Tony and Ziva is palpable. But does that mean the NCIS special agents played by Michael Weatherly and Cote de Pablo will the current will-they-or-won’t-they tension to another level?
It’s certainly possible, but don’t hold your breath, says Weatherly. “Look at it from a practical angle,” Weatherly told Entertainment Weekly. “It’s Kryptonite! She’s an assassin! That’s like marrying a hooker. You gotta be real comfortable with the fact she’s gonna hook! Seriously, I don’t see how, domestically, (a relationship) would work.”
Still, he adds, “But that’s me. Tony DiNozzo is completely unaware.”
So far this season, NCIS fans have seen Ziva give Tony a peck on the cheek in the season premiere, when Tony and the team rescued Ziva in North Africa. Whether things progress remains to be seen, Weatherly says whatever is going to happen between these combative personalities will not be at all cheesy.
“If I sense a beat coming up where I have to do something that feels forced and inauthentic,” he teases, “Which I think would involve holding hands with Ziva, I will assume it’s because some greater hand is at work that involves a terrible ending.”
In this exclusive Q&A, NCIS executive producer Shane Brennan tells tvguidemagazine.com about his plans for this season. Come back tomorrow to read his thoughts on NCIS: Los Angeles. And be sure to pick up the new issue of TV Guide Magazine, on newsstands Oct. 1, with NCIS: LA stars Chris O’Donnell and LL Cool J on the cover!
TV GUIDE: With NCIS, everyone has been focused for a while on what would happen with Tony and Ziva, which has yet to be completely resolved. But is there any other character you have a special arc planned for on season 7?
SHANE BRENNAN: Abby has a very special arc. And McGee has a very special arc. The Tony/Ziva thing we’ll be resolving that in a way that the audience… [pause]… the vast bulk of the audience will find very satisfying. And with Gibbs, what can you say? The boat’s gone from the basement. What the hell is Gibbs gonna put in there? He’s on a particular journey as well. I will say that the basement will feature in a number of episodes, and it is very, very empty, and Gibbs is very, very aware how empty it is. I’ll just say the boat returns.
So, the boat gets used…
The boat returns. I didn’t say “used”… The boat returns in a most unexpected way.
You mean it returns to the show, or actually returns to the basement?
You’ll have to wait and see. It’s a very cool episode. It’ll be in the [November] sweep. What does a man build in his basement now? We could probably run a competition. Because we’ve been thinking of all of the possibilities. It’s been a long time. We see him with a tape measure at one point. What’s he got in mind?
At the end of last season, Gibbs was getting revelations about the death of Ziva’s brother all that time ago, leaving the audience to wonder who was telling the truth in all that and what it meant. Is that something you’re going to continue to play with?
Not for long. There’ll be answers to those questions. Just as in life, you have episodes in life where things are very important to you, and they may be for years, but eventually that journey ends and another one starts. And we’re at one of those points in NCIS, where things that have been happening for three or four years reach a conclusion, and there’s a new beginning. And that happens four episodes in. Now, that’s kind of tantalizing, isn’t it?
“A new beginning”—could you be more specific?
Not really. I could, but… it’s been building. And the fans are not gonna be disappointed. No one’s gonna leave. No one’s gonna die. NO ONE’S GONNA DIE!… And then the show will settle back into its very comfortable self. I like to take them out on the roller coaster, and ease them back in… and then pound them again.
Looking at fan posts online, you can see that half the people wish Tony and Ziva would get together, and the other half say that would absolutely be the worst thing ever. Based on what you know, do you think fans have been satisfied with how that wrapped up? Or maybe not wrapped up.
Yeah, I was gonna say, what makes you think it’s wrapped up? [Yes, it's] half and half, and in the middle is the tightrope that we have to walk. We have to try to at some point play a little to one side, and make those people happy, and then play to the other side and make those people happy. At the same time, you need to try to move forward, because the worst thing you could do is not let the characters grow. And relationships change constantly. I’ve been married 30 years, so my relationship with my wife is constantly changing. If it wasn’t, we would have been divorced 20 years ago. Your instincts change in the way that life changes. So in many respects, that’s what Tony and Ziva are faced with now: How do they move forward after what’s happened? And which direction is forward?
Are you swayed by fan reaction?
I wouldn’t say I’m swayed, but I’m always open to listening to the audience, because they have so much invested in the show that I’d be a fool not to. And what that can do is, it can spark a thought which you may have never had. You may not do what they want, but it may give you an idea to do something you wouldn’t have done. I’m a great believer in having some sort of interface with the audience. Back in the old days you’d get a letter and think “Ooh, I’ve got a letter from a fan! What did she say?” Now, you get 5000 a day, and you’ve got to be careful you don’t just cherry-pick those that support what you want to do. I spend a bit of time trolling everything, trying to get a feeling for [fan opinions]. And it’s not about trying to please everyone, because you can’t, because you crash and burn. But it helps you find stories that may excite people, something a bit different.
