{"id":2205,"date":"2025-03-20T13:03:37","date_gmt":"2025-03-20T13:03:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ncisnews.com\/?p=2205"},"modified":"2025-03-20T13:03:37","modified_gmt":"2025-03-20T13:03:37","slug":"why-mark-harmons-gibbs-didnt-appear-in-ncis-season-21s-ducky-tribute-episode","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ncisnews.com\/?p=2205","title":{"rendered":"Why Mark Harmon\u2019s Gibbs Didn\u2019t Appear In NCIS Season 21\u2019s Ducky Tribute Episode"},"content":{"rendered":"
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David McCallum, star of \u201cThe Man from UNCLE\u201d and \u201cNCIS,\u201d died in 2023 at age 90. Because his long-standing role as the CBS procedural\u2019s first and longest-serving chief medical examiner Dr. Donald \u201cDucky\u201d Mallard deserved a worthy goodbye, \u201cNCIS\u201d devoted the entire season 21 episode \u201cThe Stories We Leave Behind\u201d to McCallum\u2019s character, with people closest to Ducky gathering to remember their dear friend and mentor. Still, the deep roster of characters and references in the episode has one glaring omission. Ducky\u2019s arguably oldest friend, Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon), doesn\u2019t appear in person to pay his respects.<\/p>\n

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According to \u201cNCIS\u201d co-showrunner Steven D. Binder, a key reason for omitting Gibbs from the episode was that after\u00a0Harmon left \u201cNCIS\u201d in 2021, bringing him back for just a quick cameo\u00a0would be a disservice to the fan-favorite character. Speaking to TV Line, Binder elaborated on this line of thinking:<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course the door is always open [for Harmon]. When we bring him back, we\u2019re not going to bring him back for two minutes. It\u2019s got to be something special.\u201d<\/p>\n

The tribute episode still features a major cameo, courtesy of Michael Weatherly<\/h3>\n

What the Ducky tribute episode lacks in Mark Harmon, it makes up with another unexpected return. The end of \u201cThe Stories We Leave Behind\u201d\u00a0features a huge surprise when Michael Weatherly\u2019s Tony DiNozzo \u2014 last seen in \u201cNCIS\u201d season 13 \u2014 turns up to deliver some touching final words about the dearly departed Dr. Mallard, even throwing in a surprisingly entertaining Ducky imitation for good measure. This, according to Steven D. Binder, made a considerable amount of sense. As the showrunner told TV Line, DiNozzo was a natural choice when they tried to figure out who\u2019d be the best returning character to interact with Ducky\u2019s prot\u00e9g\u00e9 Jimmy Palmer (Brian Dietzen, who also wrote the episode), who discovers\u00a0Ducky\u2019s body and shoulders many of the episode\u2019s most mournful moments:<\/p>\n

\u201cWe gave a lot of thought to who Ducky is connected to most, which on one level would be Gibbs. But it was Jimmy who was there, so it was [about] who Jimmy would connect with, and also bring some levity \u2026 and that was Michael Weatherly. It\u2019s really a no-brainer.\u201d<\/p>\n

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As for Leroy Jethro Gibbs, he might not appear in person but the former Major Case Response Team lead still makes his presence known. After the opening credits, the camera takes care to show Timothy McGee (Sean Murray) opening a letter from Gibbs that contains a heartwarming Polaroid image of the pair and Ducky. Evidently, Gibbs remains firmly in the loop even after retiring to the relative backwoods of\u00a0Naktok Bay, Alaska.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n