NCIS 1000th Episode Disrespected Gibbs' OG Team By Snubbing These Two Characters

Summary

• The 1000th episode of NCIS paid tribute to many of its most iconic characters.
• However, two major players got totally snubbed.
• While we understand the reasoning behind one character getting left out, the other is just plain disrespectful.

Way back in 2003, the hit CBS series JAG introduced its audience to Jethro Gibbs and his crack team of investigators, who focus on navy-related crimes from the forensics and investigative side.

This 'back-door pilot' led the way to NCIS, which is now in its 21st season and has inspired multiple spin-offs.

There's a lot to celebrate about this success, and recently the show paid homage to its roots with a landmark 1,000th episode. However, two major snubs ruffled the feathers of some fans, and for good reason.

All The Way Back To The Start

In episode #1000, appropriately named 'A Thousand Yards', NCIS Director Leon Vance is shot while arguing with his estranged son Jared. When the culprit is revealed to be Jared's new girlfriend, Lindsey Wexler, it doesn't take the team long to discover that she is daughter of sleeper agent Leonard Rush, whom Gibbs took down in the very first episode of the very first season.

It's not just a nod to the pilot, though. Throughout the episode we're treated to number of flashbacks to the team's greatest moments: that time DiNozzo was struck with the plague in Season 2, Ziva's rescue from captivity in Season 7, Gibbs building a treehouse with a victim's son in Season 1, and Palmer saving a jumper in Season 14.

These nods don't just go to the old guard – Callen, Sam, new kid Sydney, and many others get a little shout-out here.

That's what makes it all the more odd that two NCIS standbys were totally snubbed.

Where Was Ducky?

Donald 'Ducky' Mallard not only starred in the first episode of NCIS, he actually appeared way back when Gibbs and the team was introduced on JAG. As the oddball chief medical officer, Ducky was essential to the solving of hundreds of cases, including the Leonard Rush case in episode 1.

While we don't know the official reason for Ducky's absence in episode 1000, it may have something to do with the fact that the character got his own 'memorial' episode recently.

After the death of actor David McCallum, the NCIS team relied on Ducky's notes to crack one final case in the season 21 episode 'The Stories We Leave Behind'. The episode is also full of Ducky flashbacks from previous years, a fitting tribute to one of the show's most popular and long-lasting characters.

After having a full episode dedicated to his legacy, it's perhaps understandable – if still disappointing – that Ducky didn't receive any nods in episode #1000. However, a more puzzling snub is the exclusion of Abby Sciuto.

Where Was Abby?

Abby was a fan favorite from the get-go, a forensic scientist once described as 'the happiest Goth you'll ever meet.' Abby's affectionate personality and her tattooed look made her an icon from the time she started in the pilot episode right up to her departure in Season 15.

Like Ducky, Abby was there right from the back door JAG pilot. She also had an essential hand in solving the case in episode 1. So why wasn't she honored among all of the other NCIS co-workers?

Perhaps it has to do with actor Pauley Perrette's exit from the show, which was due in part to issues working with Mark Harmon (Gibbs). Still, Perrette didn't commit a crime or do anything to harm the show, so leaving her out of the episode's tribute seems like a low blow.

Will We See Her In The Spinoffs?

NCIS: New Orleans said goodbye in 2020, and it was recently announced that the May finale of NCIS: Los Angeles will be the last in the series. So unless she's already filmed a cameo, it's unlikely that we'll see Abby again.

There is hope, however: Paramount+ has recently announced a new spin-off, tentatively titled NCIS: Europe. In this series, OG characters Tony and Ziva are on the run from an unknown enemy, taking their preteen daughter with them. Perhaps while they're on the lamb they'll need to call in a favor from a certain perky Goth…

We'll keep our fingers crossed.