The Big Picture

• NCIS pays an emotional tribute to Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard, a beloved character played by David McCallum.
• The impact of Ducky's death is felt by current and former team members, highlighting communal grief.
• The episode's final tribute sees agent Anthony DiNozzo bidding farewell, emphasizing the people we touch in life.

NCIS paid a very emotional tribute to fan favorite Dr. Donald “Ducky” Mallard, one of their longest-running characters played by late cast member David McCallum. The actor had been part of the show for 20 seasons passed away in September, last year, and was the last remaining original cast member of the original series. In the latest episode, written by cast member Brian Dietzen and executive producer Scott Williams, encapsulates the impact of Ducky’s death on current team members as well as some from the past.

The episode titled, “The Stories We Leave Behind” opens with Dr. Jimmy Palmer (Dietzen) stopping to pick up Dr. Mallard, only to discover he passed away peacefully in his sleep. “So many people I’ve talked to have felt, like, a real loss” with McCallum’s passing explained Dietzen about the cold open. Adding, “For the people that are my dad’s generation, who grew up watching him in Man From U.N.C.L.E. and The Great Escape, and then watched him in NCIS, you’re talking about 50 years of entertainment, so I felt that it was really important to allow people who loved this character, but also loved this man, to be able to share in this moment of communal grief, to have that, ‘S–t, why did this have to happen?’ moment together.”

Certainly, the impact of the cold open made one feel the grave feeling of losing an old friend, which was further intensified by a sadder version of NCIS‘ opening theme. Which Dietzen explained was the idea of editor Greg Gontz, who “pointed out that to come out of that [sad] moment with the very upbeat, energized NCIS theme felt almost disrespectful in a way,” Dietzen recalls. “So, he remembered a cue from, I want to say, 12 to 14 years ago that was our opening title sequence music but done very melodically. Our wonderful composer, Brian Kirk, then did the redo of it.”

McCallum Left Behind More Than Just the Stories

Another heartfelt tribute came in the final moments of the episode when a very special agent came in to bid farewell to his old friend. Agent Anthony DiNozzo, played by series vet Michael Weatherly, shares a moment with Jimmy just before everyone was set to leave the HQ for the funeral, and reassures him (in the most Ducky way possible) that when we die, it’s not just “stories we leave behind,” as had been said earlier but also the people whose lives we touched. Which is the most fitting tribute to the late actor whose work has touched millions of lives across the globe. The moment left fans with nostalgia mixed with sadness as they saw Tony return to give a eulogy for his old friend.

NCIS

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