{"id":4068,"date":"2025-12-23T14:51:47","date_gmt":"2025-12-23T14:51:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ncisnews.com\/?p=4068"},"modified":"2025-12-23T14:51:47","modified_gmt":"2025-12-23T14:51:47","slug":"3-classic-ncis-episodes-to-rewatch-before-the-ncis-origins-crossover-event","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ncisnews.com\/?p=4068","title":{"rendered":"3 Classic NCIS Episodes to Rewatch Before the NCIS: Origins Crossover Event"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The legacy of Leroy Jethro Gibbs, originally played by Mark Harmon in \u201cNCIS\u201d and now portrayed by Austin Stowell in the prequel series \u201cNCIS: Origins,\u201d continues with a crossover event that sees Harmon reprise his role. Both shows tackle the same case in different time periods \u2014 it was first opened in the \u201990s and it gets reopened in the present day timeline when Tommy \u201cPeaches\u201d Mulligan breaks out of prison despite having just three weeks left of his sentence. The \u201cNCIS: Origins\u201d Season 2 episode \u201cFunny How Time Slips Away\u201d and the \u201cNCIS\u201d Season 23 episode \u201cNow and Then\u201d both revolve around this case, which bedeviled Gibbs and fellow agent Mike Franks at the time. The gauntlet is picked up by the current \u201cNCIS\u201d team, who vow to bring in the escaped convict and figure out if he\u2019s truly guilty. In the end, only someone who was there back in the day \u2014 Vera Strickland (Roma Maffia, reprising the role after 12 years) \u2014 can guide the team in the right direction.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-4069\" src=\"https:\/\/ncisnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/FB_IMG_1766501459247-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ncisnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/FB_IMG_1766501459247-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ncisnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/FB_IMG_1766501459247-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/ncisnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/FB_IMG_1766501459247.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">It\u2019s a story that ties heavily into several previous \u201cNCIS\u201d installments. Here are three episodes you should watch before seeing the \u201cNCIS\u201d and \u201cNCIS: Origins\u201d crossover.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"mb-4 text-xl font-bold md:text-2xl\">NCIS Season 6, Episode 24 (Semper Fidelis)<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"rounded-lg\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/4Uf0lokyv1OGrsvJJ_p4LQ--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTUzOTtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/looper_828\/dd6db65af2d0656aba2bdfabf219bd6d\" alt=\"Gibbs and Tony talking in &amp;quot;NCIS&amp;quot;\" width=\"780\" height=\"438\" data-nimg=\"1\" \/><button class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" aria-label=\"View larger image\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\" data-rapid_p=\"9\" data-v9y=\"1\"><\/button><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<div>Gibbs and Tony talking in \u201cNCIS\u201d \u2013 CBS<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">You need to go back and watch \u201cSemper Fidelis\u201d because it introduces viewers to one of Gibbs\u2019 many rules in an \u201cNCIS\u201d \u2014 Rule #11, \u201cWhen the job is done, walk away.\u201d He and Tony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly) are talking after a difficult case when Gibbs tells Tony that this is how he manages to get through each trial and every single difficult day. Tony repeats that motto to himself during Season 7\u2019s \u201cObsession\u201d after having a similarly tough time. We actually see the formation of this rule in \u201cFunny How Time Slips Away,\u201d the \u201cNCIS: Origins\u201d half of the crossover.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The younger Franks (played by Kyle Schmid, who wears brown contacts to make him look more like original actor Muse Watson) tries to convince Gibbs to let go of his collection of pictures of victims, which he keeps near his tool bench and uses to motivate himself, even though they haunt him. Gibbs does so eventually \u2014 without knowing that Franks can\u2019t let go of the case they\u2019re investigating. He visits Tommy Mulligan once a year for decades, even as his temples grey and he becomes an old man, trying to figure out why he gave a false confession.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"mb-4 text-xl font-bold md:text-2xl\">NCIS Season 8, Episode 23 (Swan Song)<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"rounded-lg\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/Ms8w8czyrIEqBNwb9p97pQ--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTUzOTtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/looper_828\/133bc1b7cfe7fcab7e304bf6a3429d96\" alt=\"Mike Franks and Leroy Jethro Gibbs talking in &amp;quot;NCIS&amp;quot;\" width=\"780\" height=\"438\" data-nimg=\"1\" \/><button class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" aria-label=\"View larger image\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\" data-rapid_p=\"11\" data-v9y=\"1\"><\/button><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<div>Mike Franks and Leroy Jethro Gibbs talking in \u201cNCIS\u201d \u2013 CBS<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Mike Franks is killed off in \u201cSwan Song,\u201d and it focuses heavily on who he is and what he means to Gibbs. This makes it a definite must-watch for anyone who needs to understand how much Franks influenced Gibbs and why his death is so devastating to the \u201cNCIS\u201d canvas at large. During the episode, the crew are forced to deal with the Port-to-Port Killer, Jonas Cobb (Kerr Smith), who recently murdered a minor member of the NCIS team to gain access to the interior of their offices.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The investigation leads the team to realize one of their own might be in the crosshairs of the serial murderer, who is looking to specifically claim revenge on Gibbs and will do anything he can to reach that goal. Franks is the target, but he goes down fighting, and he leaves behind a clue for Gibbs to latch on to in order to bring his murderer to justice. If you\u2019ve ever been curious about Franks, this is a go-to episode, and it\u2019s a must-watch ahead of the crossover.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"mb-4 text-xl font-bold md:text-2xl\">NCIS Season 11, Episode 3 (Under the Radar)<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"rounded-lg\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/swxnS0Su.yFfJk5CG7O2.A--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTUzOTtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/looper_828\/74d5dd6a618a52b1e783810a0182d6ad\" alt=\"Vera talks to Gibbs in &amp;quot;NCIS&amp;quot;\" width=\"780\" height=\"438\" data-nimg=\"1\" \/><button class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" aria-label=\"View larger image\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\" data-rapid_p=\"14\" data-v9y=\"1\"><\/button><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<div>Vera talks to Gibbs in \u201cNCIS\u201d \u2013 CBS<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Roma Maffia\u2019s Vera Strickland becomes the team\u2019s go-to source while they try to solve the mystery behind Tommy Mulligan\u2019s escape from prison. She ends up being quite the helper and her ability to call things as she sees them keeps the whole team on their toes. If you want to see Vera in action before the crossover \u2014 and, technically, before her first appearance in \u201cOrigins\u201d \u2014 she shows up in \u201cUnder the Radar,\u201d a Season 11 episode of \u201cNCIS.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Vera has an entire subplot in \u201cUnder the Radar\u201d in which she\u2019s forced to work at the office before she can claim her retirement benefits. To say she\u2019s grumpy about it all is putting it mildly. While investigating a case, she ends up getting injured \u2014 and she blames Tony for her ills. Though it takes a little bit of convincing, she eventually comes around to Tony\u2019s charm \u2014 though, as with all things Vera, she does so begrudgingly.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The legacy of Leroy Jethro Gibbs, originally played by Mark Harmon in \u201cNCIS\u201d and now portrayed by Austin Stowell in the prequel series \u201cNCIS: Origins,\u201d continues with&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4069,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4068","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ncisnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4068","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ncisnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ncisnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncisnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncisnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4068"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ncisnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4068\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4070,"href":"https:\/\/ncisnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4068\/revisions\/4070"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncisnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4069"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ncisnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4068"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncisnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4068"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncisnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4068"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}