With NCIS: Origins committing to the present-day Gibbs (Mark Harmon) storyline, viewers will see even more of his past connections rejoining the franchise, including the most important relationship of his life. Throughout NCIS: Origins season 3, the series has been balancing a storyline of present day Gibbs digging into a mystery that ties into the storyline of the past version of himself that the series has long been about. With an attempt having been made on Gibbs’ life in the present day, NCIS’ new director Tony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly) has been one of many to check in on the former MCRT leader and offer their help.
Throughout this season of NCIS: Origins, Gibbs has had several different people from the past return to his side, including Tony and Emily Wickersham’s Ellie Bishop, but the upcoming guest stars who will be jumping in for the storyline are some of the best possible options. Bringing people from Gibbs’ past, especially those he shared strong bonds with throughout his time as the lead of the MCRT, has helped shape just how much he means to others, and how much they’re willing to help him in a time of need. One of those characters, Joe Spano’s Tobias Fornell, will mark a major reunion.
While Gibbs and Fornell’s relationship didn’t always seem like it was important to them on paper, the pair went from an adversarial, begrudging friendship to developing a genuine sense of care for one another. After years of being the most unconventional constant in one another’s lives, seeing Gibbs and Fornell together again on NCIS can’t disappoint.
Old Gibbs Is Reuniting With Old Fornell In NCIS: Origins
Fornell and Gibbs talk in front of a car in NCIS Head Of The Snake
Although the stakes surrounding Gibbs reunion with Fornell haven’t entirely been revealed yet, it’s been confirmed that NCIS: Origins season 3 will welcome Joe Spano during its December 8 episode. Spano has been part of the NCIS franchise since the very first episode of the series, and carried the character of Fornell through nearly 60 episodes across 21 seasons. His relationship with Gibbs, specifically, was something that NCIS viewers looked forward to seeing every time Fornell returned to the series. As one of the few people who could challenge him professionally while maintaining a genuine friendship, Fornell is special to Gibbs.
Fornell’s return to NCIS will take shape within the present-day timeline of NCIS: Origins, and while it’s not clear yet what brings the pair together, it’s obvious that their time will be well worth the watch. Fornell’s return carries a level of emotional significance that other characters who have visited the series don’t, especially with the pair having grown so close throughout their time together on NCIS. With a shared ex-wife being the least important prong of their relationship, Fornell and Gibbs’ relationship is one of the most important of both of their lives in personal and professional scopes.
Federal Case File · Open Since 2003 How Well Do You Know NCIS? “Rule #1: Never let suspects sit together — and never assume.”
🚨The FieldCrime scenes
🔬The LabForensics & Caf-Pow!
⚕AutopsyDucky’s domain
📋The RulesGibbs’ gospel
🛡The TeamThe MCRT
01
The show’s title is an acronym for the real-world federal agency its agents work for. What does “NCIS” actually stand for?
✓ Correct! NCIS stands for the Naval Criminal Investigative
Service — a real civilian agency of the U.S. Department of the Navy that investigates crimes
involving the Navy and Marine Corps. The show follows its fictional Major Case Response Team.
✗ Not quite! It’s the Naval Criminal Investigative
Service — a genuine federal agency under the Department of the Navy that handles crimes tied
to the Navy and Marine Corps. The other options sound official, but only one is the real deal.
02
For 19 seasons, the team was led by stoic, coffee-fueled Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Which actor played him?
✓ Correct! Mark Harmon played Gibbs, the ex-Marine sniper
and unflappable team leader, from the 2003 premiere through Season 19. Michael Weatherly played Tony
DiNozzo, Gary Cole later joined as Alden Parker, and Rocky Carroll plays Director Leon Vance.
✗ Not quite! The answer is Mark Harmon, the face of the
franchise as Gibbs for 19 seasons. Michael Weatherly played DiNozzo, Gary Cole arrived as Alden
Parker, and Rocky Carroll plays Director Vance — but Gibbs is all Harmon.
03
NCIS didn’t start on its own — the characters were introduced in a two-part backdoor pilot during an earlier military legal drama. Which show did NCIS spin off from?
✓ Correct! NCIS spun off from JAG, the long-running Navy
legal drama. Gibbs and his team debuted in the Season 8 JAG episodes “Ice Queen” and
“Meltdown” (2003) before launching their own series later that year.
✗ Not quite! The answer is JAG. Donald P. Bellisario’s
Navy courtroom drama introduced Gibbs and the team in a two-part backdoor pilot in 2003, setting the
stage for NCIS to become a massive franchise of its own.
04
Gibbs lives by a numbered list of unwritten rules. His famous Rule #9 advises agents to never go anywhere without what item?
✓ Correct! Rule #9: “Never go anywhere without a
knife.” It’s one of the most quoted of Gibbs’ rules and pays off more than once in
the field. (Rule #23, fittingly, is “Never mess with a Marine’s coffee if you want to
live.”)
✗ Not quite! The answer is a knife — Rule #9 is
“Never go anywhere without a knife.” Coffee is practically Gibbs’ lifeblood, but
the rule that’s saved his team in a pinch is the one about always carrying a blade.
05
The team’s beloved forensic specialist — a brilliant goth who runs on a giant caffeinated drink called “Caf-Pow!” — is named what?
✓ Correct! Abby Sciuto, played by Pauley Perrette, was the
heart of the lab for 15 seasons — pigtails, dog collar, and an endless thirst for Caf-Pow!.
Kasie Hines (Diona Reasonover) later took over forensic duties after Abby’s departure.
✗ Not quite! The answer is Abby Sciuto (Pauley Perrette), the
goth forensic scientist fueled by Caf-Pow!. Kasie Hines came along later as a lab specialist, Ziva
David was a field agent, and Jenny Shepard was an NCIS Director.
06
The team’s kindly, story-telling Medical Examiner is affectionately nicknamed “Ducky.” What is his actual name?
✓ Correct! “Ducky” is Dr. Donald Mallard
— Mallard, hence Ducky — played by the late David McCallum for two decades. His
apprentice and eventual successor in autopsy is Jimmy Palmer (Brian Dietzen).
✗ Not quite! The answer is Dr. Donald Mallard —
“Mallard” is the duck that earns him the nickname “Ducky.” He was played by
David McCallum. Jimmy Palmer was his assistant, and Dr. Taft was a recurring surgeon and friend of
Gibbs.
07
Fan-favorite Ziva David, played by Coté de Pablo, joined the team as a liaison and skilled operative. Before NCIS, she was an officer with which intelligence agency?
✓ Correct! Ziva David was a former officer of Mossad,
Israel’s national intelligence agency — and the daughter of its director, Eli David. Her
deadly skills and mangled American idioms made her one of the show’s most beloved characters.
✗ Not quite! The answer is Mossad, the Israeli intelligence
agency where Ziva served before joining NCIS — her father Eli David even ran it. The FBI and
CIA are frequent NCIS counterparts, but Ziva’s background is Mossad.
08
The original team’s headquarters — the bullpen, autopsy, and Abby’s lab — is located at the Navy Yard in which U.S. city?
✓ Correct! The Major Case Response Team works out of the
Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C. The franchise later spread its spinoffs across the map
— Los Angeles, New Orleans, Hawai‘i, and Sydney — but the original calls D.C.
home.
✗ Not quite! The answer is Washington, D.C., home of the
Washington Navy Yard where Gibbs’ team is based. Los Angeles and other cities anchor the
spinoffs, and Norfolk is a major naval base often referenced — but HQ is in D.C.
Case Debrief · Stand Down Your Agent Rank
🛡
/ 8
Lead investigator — or still rinsing the Caf-Pow! out of the carpet?
Why Fornell Is Gibbs’ Most Important NCIS Relationship
Joe Spano Joe Spano as Tobias Fornell in NCIS
Although there are several relationships that Gibbs develops over the course of his time on NCIS that feel inherently important to his character, his relationship with Fornell is the most important of the bunch. Fornell’s connection to Gibbs is an unusual one, built on the idea that the pair should hate one another from the jump. With Fornell coming into the picture married to Gibbs’ ex-wife, the fact that the pair have to work together makes others certain their attitudes don’t mesh well. Instead, however, Gibbs and Fornell know how to talk to one another from the jump, their professional rivalry creating a sense of mutual respect that others couldn’t grasp.
The trust between Gibbs and Fornell grew stronger throughout the show’s run, and as the pair became closer in the wake of difficult relationships and other tragedies, they each found new ways to rely on one another. From Gibbs stepping in to care for Fornell during times of tragedy to Fornell finding his way back to Gibbs after their fallout during NCIS season 15, the pair were never able to write each other off entirely. With a great rapport and a sense of respect for one another, seeing Gibbs and Fornell again on NCIS will be a tremendous moment.
Cast
Mark Harmon, Michael Weatherly, Pauley Perrette, Cote de Pablo, Sean Murray, Rocky Carroll, Brian Dietzen, Wilmer Valderrama
