‘NCIS’ season 12 spoilers: Michael Weatherly on possibility of Cote de Pablo return
Is it looking more and more possible that Cote de Pablo could return to “NCIS“? We don’t want to get hopes up completely just yet, but there have been some interesting signs as of late.
The first thing that we took as good news was the actress joining a new CBS miniseries, which we saw as proof that her relationship with the network was still strong. Then, there was that story that we posted that had several callbacks to the classic episode “Truth or Consequences” that so many Tony / Ziva fans remember.
Now, we have a new quote from Michael Weatherly that should raise eyebrows. Speaking to TV Guide, the man behind DiNozzo suggested something that we’ve been saying for almost a year now, that odds are high that these two characters will collide again at some point:
“I’m sure they will see other again … I am deeply fascinated by what kind of fireworks would result. I absolutely know that it would not be without an explosive quality.”
There are a few choice words in here that are oddly specific for a reunion that may or may not actually happen in the near future, and that actually gives us … hope? If nothing else, this is a different sort of quote than what we’ve seen from most of the cast in the past year or so.
Even if Ziva does come back, we still don’t think it will be as a regular, at least in the near future. Her new miniseries deal means that she is going to be rather busy for a little while. But a guest appearance at some point in the future? That is something we wouldn’t rule out. Previously, we wondered whether or not that would come only in a milestone episode or a finale. We’d still say to expect little, though, and be pleasantly surprised if something happens if you are a big fan of the character.
What do you think: Should Cote return this year, and in what way? Share below, and head over here for some further “NCIS” scoop! You can also sign up in the event you want some further updates on all we cover now via our official newsletter.
Photo: CBS
vania
September 6, 2014 @ 3:12 pm
would love to review Ziva in action. If a return linked to the character Tony generates controversy, why not by Gibbs, his half father, who returned from retirement for her and she regained her memory after the explosion with her; connecting Ziva and Gibbs is also a strong bond.
keilworth
August 17, 2014 @ 12:50 am
Would like to see themget together. Remember that Bishop has a husband so how can you think she wouyld cheat. Also Gibbs rule never date a team member. REmember the flack Tony took when he was sleeping with EJ? Ziva and Tiny woiuld be a good match, but not if she is back on the team. Maybe if she worked for Fornell……Hmmmmmm
Steve Blum
August 15, 2014 @ 8:41 pm
I really strongly prefer she comes back, and maybe the storyline for it would be her recent boyfriend named Steve Blum persuaded her to return. However she is really nervous so Steve being supportive offered to tag along.
Joan
August 14, 2014 @ 6:21 pm
Cote coming back to NCIS would be the absolute best news. She is perfect for Ziva’s character, plus like others have mentioned, she completes the NCIS “family”. Without her, it doesn’t even come close. When she returns, watch the ratings soar!!!!!
Benjamin Friego
August 14, 2014 @ 1:15 pm
She’s not coming back. Weatherly was just playing with us. He does not make those decisions. The decisions are made by Glasberg, Harmon and the most important person Cote de Pablo. They are emphasizing the Bishop role this year and Cote is busy filming her mini-series in September through November, then she is promoting her movie the 33. Sorry but no time.
Conan the Grammarian
August 14, 2014 @ 2:55 pm
I wouldn’t say they are emphasizing the Bishop role this year – so far we’ve heard that one story (where we meet her husband) is going to focus on her and, even then, it’s not clear how much the episode will revolve around that.
Dido Twite
August 14, 2014 @ 11:05 pm
Hopefully as little as possible. I have no interest in her husband or family.
Dido Twite
August 14, 2014 @ 11:05 pm
Hopefully as little as possible. I have no interest in her husband or family.
Dido Twite
August 14, 2014 @ 8:02 pm
What makes you think she will spend a lot of time promoting the movie? She is not the lead actress.
daylight red
August 14, 2014 @ 2:14 am
One wonders how it is that a make believe show can assume a life importance to some people. Good grief, Charlie Brown. It is MAKE BELIEVE!
liz laughlin
August 14, 2014 @ 4:11 am
So, why are you here in the conversation? We know that it’s MAKE BELIEVE. Have you ever discussed a book or a play with anyone or do you refrain because it is only make believe.
teresa
August 14, 2014 @ 1:07 am
No. Absolutely not, no way. I was tired of Ziva before Cote de Pablo chose to leave NCIS and the show does not need her to return in any capacity. Period.
Eleanor S
August 13, 2014 @ 9:14 pm
Cote de Pablo as Ziva David is definitely my cup of tea. So looking forward to her coming back.
Lee
August 14, 2014 @ 1:18 pm
Prepare to be disappointed.
Cheryl Gress
August 13, 2014 @ 8:26 pm
So wanting Cote de Pablo back as Ziva David!
LADYPiNK
August 13, 2014 @ 7:49 pm
i want ziva to come back for good !!!!!!!!!!!
JUANA
August 13, 2014 @ 7:21 pm
She should appear in a difficult situation for the team, and when she comes back, Bishop should leave and another girl be in her place. I don’t want Tony to have a girlfriend, if she is not Ziva.
keilworth
August 17, 2014 @ 12:58 am
Bishop has a husband
me
August 13, 2014 @ 7:20 pm
SHE IS PERFECT AND WE NEED HER BACK, THEY NEED HER BACKKKKKK
Delilah DiNozzo
August 13, 2014 @ 8:47 pm
Nobody’s perfect.
me
August 13, 2014 @ 7:20 pm
YESSSSSSSSSS SHE HAS TO COME BACK!! IT’S NOT THE SAME WITHOUT HER. I’D LIKE TO SEE HIM IN A DIFFICULT SITUATION AND HER COMING BACK TO HELP HIM.
Reality Bites
August 13, 2014 @ 8:41 pm
Tony would never need to be saved by Ziva. Besides, if you would go with him as a ‘lover’ why would you expect her to do it as a friend – unless it was finally a real thank you for Somalia…. and then goodbye forever.
Reality Bites
August 13, 2014 @ 8:44 pm
If she wouldn’t go with him as a lover!!!!
(Switching off predictive text :-) )
Maria
August 14, 2014 @ 10:31 am
Tony has now suddenly become a superhuman that cannot be placed in life-threatening situations where he is kidnapped and needs to be saved? Ziva has been saved multiple times by Tony such as Somalia and it somehow does not make her a lesser person. On the other hand it makes her a complex character because for all the strength that she possesses she is also vulnerable. Therefore I would have no problem with Ziva saving Tony.
Dido Twite
August 14, 2014 @ 8:04 pm
Me neither. They always had each other’s back.
Conan the Grammarian
August 18, 2014 @ 4:22 am
If he is placed in that situation just so Ziva can swoop in and save the day then, yes, I have a problem with that, just as I would have if the roles were reversed. And before you throw in Somalia, that was a different situation – Ziva was not put in harms’ way simply so Tony could be the Big Damn Hero. They didn’t even know she was there.
liz laughlin
August 14, 2014 @ 3:24 pm
Unless you are the show runner, I would say, never say never. One of the earliest TV crime dramas with a male and female partnership was the British series the Avengers. Many times she, Emma Peel, saved her Partner, John Steed. That was back in the 1960’s. For that reason, the show broke the mold. Up until then the guy was the hero while the woman had to sit and wait for him to save her.
Dido Twite
August 14, 2014 @ 8:03 pm
Tony and Ziva were partners, and had each other’s six at all times.
NotARedhead
August 14, 2014 @ 11:48 pm
Except, maybe, in Israel.
Lee
August 15, 2014 @ 7:07 am
There were plenty of instances where Ziva did not have Tony’s six, including one where she pointed a gun at him at close range (but, of course, that was foreplay so it doesn’t count).
Conan the Grammarian
August 18, 2014 @ 4:20 am
Or the time she and McGee turned off the radio when they were supposed to be providing him backup while he canvassed door to door looking for a suspected terrorist.
Or when she called him deadweight and all but refused to let him go along on the mission to talk to her “old friend”.
Or the time she disobeyed a direct order not to engage the guards in the facility they were breaking into and got Tony hit in the head with the butt of a rifle by resisting them.
Marianne Gibson
August 13, 2014 @ 5:58 pm
Ziva coming back would be phenomenal. The ratings would skyrocket and many fans would be thrilled. As a guest in the beginning perhaps, but if they want NCIS to remain around longer, Cote needs to become part of the family again. That means she becomes a regular. As for getting married, why not? Booth married Bones; Castle is marrying Beckett. Many shows had married couples working together and the dynamic was awesome. NCIS can have that too.
Lee
August 14, 2014 @ 1:21 pm
There is no evidence that the ratings would ‘skyrocket’ with Ziva’s return, they were already dropping quite dramatically when she was still there in season 10, and despite all the claims from the Ziva fans, barely dipped once she left.
Marianne Gibson
August 14, 2014 @ 3:07 pm
Lee…one question: if the ratings were dropping in season 10, explain why NCIS won the award for most watched program in the world for S10?
Lee
August 14, 2014 @ 3:41 pm
Simply because it wasn’t for just season 10; it had to have been for all the seasons put together being shown around the world – and maybe it is partly because of the sheer number of episodes being broadcast around the world.
Season 10 had the highest overall ratings – just.
Personally I think that the annual drop toward the season end, for most seasons, has more to do with peoples’ lives and that they are not watching the show live, than anything to do with individual characters or content of individual episodes.
If anyone is going to claim that Bishop drove the ratings down in season 11, then what drove them down in season 10 and season 9?
I know that a lot of people claim to love Ziva, but in the grand scheme of things there is little evidence that she is the draw for the show that some of you believe.
Dido Twite
August 14, 2014 @ 8:05 pm
It was for the calendar year 2013. In most of the world, people were watching season 10, with a few countries watching previous seasons.
NotARedhead
August 14, 2014 @ 11:52 pm
And watching the first half of Season 11 in the US.
Dido Twite
August 15, 2014 @ 9:03 pm
The US is only 1/3 of the global audience.
NotARedhead
August 16, 2014 @ 12:45 am
Doesn’t change the fact that S11 was part of the mix.
Marianne Gibson
August 14, 2014 @ 4:43 pm
Thanks ok Lee. I am going to agree to disagree. In other words, you are entitled to your opinion as I am entitled to mine. I do think a character leaving makes a difference as I have stopped watching other shows when a character left simply because the chemistry changed. We are all different here on earth and thank God for that because then this would be a boring place indeed!
liz laughlin
August 15, 2014 @ 1:59 am
That is nonsense. The last 10 episodes of season 10 averaged 19.02 million viewers. The last 10 episodes of Season 11 averaged 17.13 million. Leave the smoke filled room and go out for some fresh air, it will help you see things more clearly.
Lee
August 15, 2014 @ 7:04 am
Anyone can cherry pick from the figures: Episodes 3-12 in season 10 (with Ziva) averaged 18.9m; episodes 3-12 in season 11 (once Ziva had left) averaged 19.3m. (Ooh, look, that’s higher than the final 10 eps for season 10, too…!)
The plain facts are that whatever Ziva’s popularity, she is/was not a make or break factor for the majority of viewers; that there is zero evidence that viewing figures will go up should she return and that as of the end of season 11 there was nothing about the viewing figures for CBS to be unduly concerned about.
Yet.
I make no claims as to what will happen with viewer numbers in season 12.
liz laughlin
August 15, 2014 @ 7:11 pm
I am comparing Season 10 to Season 11. I threw in Season 9 to show trends.. You made a statement that was patently untrue, that season 11’s viewership was better than season 10’s If you graphed the data as you said then you should have absolutely not had a problem seeing the downward trend at the end of season 11
The first 14 eps averaged 19.48 million viewers, the last 10 eps averaged 17.13 viewers there was an abrupt drop from ep 14, 19.53 million to ep 15, 17.03 million and the numbers never recovered. that is very unusual for this show and the graph, if done properly, should show the drop. About 2.35 million viewers left between February 4 and February 25.
Both averages for the entire season 9 and the entire season 10 were higher than season 11 and the last ten episodes of both seasons 9 and 10 were much higher than season 11. Since you can’t see this, I question whether you have eye problems or math problems. The last 10 episodes of season 11 showed a downward. trend that did not exist in season 9 or 10. In fact I looked all the way back to season 1 and there was nothing quite like this
Listing the number of over 20 million viewership episodes should also be easy to understand–Season 9 (4 over 20 million), season 10 (8 over 20 million) season 11 (2 over 20 million.)
. I have taken an undergraduate stat class, a masters level stat class and a class on teaching probability and stat to middle schoolers. This in comparison is not hard or technical at all. As I said a fifth grader should have no problem understanding what I wrote to you. Heck, some third graders can understand it. And I DO NOT cherry pick.
Lee
August 16, 2014 @ 9:24 am
I can read and I can count, abilities that higher education seems to remove from people – I had this conversation with one particular PhD that I used to work with and he agreed with me!
I have made no statements that are patently untrue.
19.3 is higher than 18.9 and 19.02, and yes, 17.13 is lower than 19.02.
I don’t dispute that season 11 had lower viewing figures than season 10 overall, but it was not ‘significantly’ lower – because although season 11 hit some highs there were some major lows as well, and some season 11 episodes had more viewers than their season 10 counterparts.
The drop in viewers at the end of season 10 didn’t continue into season 11 – despite ‘everyone stopping watching’ after Ziva left. Season 11 dropped viewers mid-season but then remained fairly steady at that lower figure for a number of episodes. I doubt very much if CBS will cry if they maintain an audience around 17 million into season 12.
What happens to the viewing figures in season 12 remains to be seen. Unlike some, I make no predictions other than that many viewers still enjoy NCIS with or without Ziva.
Note: post edited due to browser crash before it was completed. My browser does funny things just before it crashes!
liz laughlin
August 16, 2014 @ 7:14 pm
What does your PhD have his Doctor of Philosophy in? To look at the graphs that you said you showed him and he said that there was no significant difference between season 10 and season 11, is highly suspect.
“The drop in viewers at the end of season 10 didn’t continue into season 11 – despite ‘everyone stopping watching’ after Ziva left”
Season 10 ended with a normal seasonal drop off. Episode 24 had 18.79 million viewers. Season 11 opened with a normal 20.02 million viewers in episode 1 (for the last five years Episode 1 has had 19.4 mil to 20.6 mil viewers.)
“Season 11 dropped viewers mid-season but then remained fairly steady at that lower figure for a number of episodes. I doubt very much if CBS will cry if they maintain an audience around 17 million into season 12.”
That mid season drop took place between ep 14 and ep 15. Ep. 14 had 19.53 million viewers. Ep 15 had 17.03 million viewers. That drop was 2.5 million. Season 10 had some big drops also. Ep 8 dropped from 19.76 million to 17.65 million in ep 9., 2.11 million but it recovered most of that in ep. 10. The difference with season 11 was that the 2.5 milion drop from ep 14 to ep. 15 was never recovered. Before the drop the show averaged about 19.48 million viewers but after the drop it averaged about 17.13. That gave the average for the year of:
(19.48 X 14 + 17.13 X 10) / 24 = 18.5 million
subtract that from season 10’s 19.3 million
19.3 mil – 18.5 mil = 800,000
That means on the average 800,000 fewer people watched per episode or in other words
800,000 X 24 = 1.92 million households that watched in season 10 were not watching in season 11 when there was an opportunity to watch..
And I agree with you CBS does not even miss them. However, if the downward trend present in season 11 continues, CBS needs to be concerned. I can’t tell you what will happen in season 12 either. Ep 23 in season 11 was at 15.88 mil You have to go all the way back to season 7 to see a viewership number lower than that. It will be what it will be.
cindy riley
August 13, 2014 @ 5:42 pm
fire works good choice of word i hope she decides to come back good luck on her new show
Conan the Grammarian
August 13, 2014 @ 5:05 pm
Oh, for god’s sake. He doesn’t say she is coming back. He doesn’t say they are getting together. He says that in his mind, and his only, he thinks they will see each other again. That could mean that one day they might reconnect as old friends are wont to do after years apart. This is pure speculation and trolling the Ziva/Tiva fans yet again to stir the pot.
FAN*not*FANATIC
August 13, 2014 @ 5:21 pm
Thank you for bringing some much needed sanity to the forum!
I’ve not seem the actual article myself, was the “sure” emphasized in italics or was that a piece of trolling on Carter’s part???
liz laughlin
August 14, 2014 @ 6:32 am
No, I think that was in the TV Guide article.
Conan the Grammarian
August 14, 2014 @ 3:01 pm
The “sure” was emphasized in the “article” – I hesitate to call it that as it was one paragraph in response to a reader’s question bitching about Tony getting a new love interest “so soon”. Having said that, it’s unclear whether the emphasis was Michael’s or whether it was added by the writer. He added his own comments in the answer, so it wouldn’t surprise me as he seems to be firmly in the Tiva camp.
The full article, such as it is, is here (replace the words in brackets as this site won’t let me post links):
www (dot) tvguide (dot) com/News/Mega-Buzz-True-Blood-NCIS-Vampire-Diaries-1085501 (dot) aspx
Dido Twite
August 14, 2014 @ 8:05 pm
The article was in TVGuide, one of the most respected entertainment sources in the business. Carter quoted it accurately.
Conan the Grammarian
August 14, 2014 @ 9:50 pm
I know it was in TV Guide. That’s why I provided the link. The reason I hesitate to call it an article is that it was one small paragraph in a larger article; almost a throwaway piece. It’ not like the focus of the article was on NCIS. You are right, though – I probably should have worded my second-last paragraph more along the lines of “The full article, with the paragraph in question, is here…”
And I never said he didn’t quote it accurately. My point was that I don’t know if MW emphasized the word “sure” or the author of the original article did as he added his own thoughts in the response..
queenanne
August 13, 2014 @ 3:06 pm
*GASPS*!! omg…..*faints*
Tonette
August 13, 2014 @ 2:40 pm
I think she will return with a little one in tow. Surprize instant family, conflict, romance, the only thing that scares me is the word EXPLOSIVE. If they bring her back only to kill her off….so she can then do what all the other “dead” former stars do……short visits here and there.
Delilah DiNozzo
August 13, 2014 @ 2:46 pm
Immaculate conception – Tony never slept with Ziva they only kissed.
liz laughlin
August 13, 2014 @ 9:19 pm
Tony and Ziva were together for a few days in Israel.. Tony said to Gibbs on the phone that he needed to be off the grid for a few days and he was already in Ziva’s living room.. I don’t know how you could know what they did or did not do during those days together. Let’s just say they had motive and opportunity. The rest would be up to the show runner. If Ziva showed up with a little DiNozzo, I would not be wondering how it happened.
Dido Twite
August 13, 2014 @ 10:24 pm
this is hilarious! what are you, 15?
Anna690710
August 13, 2014 @ 2:38 pm
I would love to see Cote back on NCIS! She helped to make NCIS a Number 1 show and without her NCIS is kind of boring!
The Bishop girl is cute but boring and useless! And nobody wants to watch this meaningless Tony romance with some woman who is not Ziva!
So let’s hope the NCIS people have learned their lesson and do their best to get Cote back because NCIS without Ziva wouldn’t have made it to 12 seasons and ignoring their viewers who keep telling them that Cote should get a chance to come back is not the best road to success!
Delilah DiNozzo
August 13, 2014 @ 2:59 pm
There was never a romance – one kiss in 8yrs is NOT a romance – it amounted to throwing a bone to the Tiva contingent in the time available for the shoot.
Give Tony a REAL romance with someone who he adores and who adores him back, if it comes thru a case then so be it, but it (or any other romance) should not dominate the show, as Tony would say “…it’s more of a as needs basis…”.
Conan the Grammarian
August 13, 2014 @ 5:09 pm
Agreed. When the romance does come, I hope they leave it off-screen, much as they have done with Jimmy and Breena and Tim and Delilah – occasionally included in an episode, but mostly referred to off-handedly in the course of an episode.
liz laughlin
August 13, 2014 @ 8:27 pm
Wow! You should go back and watch the show. Violating Gibbs’s rule (never date a co-worker) could have resulted in one or both of them transferred off of the team. Did you think the “kiss” was just a friendly little gesture, oh like how you would kiss your aunt? Were the tears just a sign of friendly goodbye? When Tony told her he knew that she needed a change and that he could change with her, was that just a nice gesture from one co-worker to another? When he said he wanted her to come home, just come home with him and that she could bag groceries for all he cared. That didn’t mean what I thought it meant, huh? Well, call me obtuse. Some fans cannot pick up the nuances, They need a head slap, ya think?.
FAN*not*FANATIC
August 13, 2014 @ 9:00 pm
Doesn’t really scream ROMANCE to me either to be honest, a slight fling or heavy flirtation maybe. Besides they resigned at the end of s10, so she wasn’t an agent at that point.
liz laughlin
August 14, 2014 @ 3:54 am
That is true but the person I was answering was saying that for eight seasons, there was no romance. Well, until she resigned, there was a problem for a romance. There were however hints that something was going on. There was Paris, for example.They both claimed that they let the other sleep in the bed and they slept on the couch but later it was brought out that both of them had lied.about it Re-watch the episode and see what I’m talking about. Also, this is Donald P Bellisario’s creation. He had the “will they won’t they” thing going on in JAG for 9 seasons. It wasn’t until the last episode of the final season that Captain Raab.proposed to Colonel MacKenzie.
Dido Twite
August 14, 2014 @ 8:07 pm
Michael himself said in a French interview past fall that they had a relationship.
liz laughlin
August 15, 2014 @ 12:31 am
Most of us can see what was going on between Tony and Ziva. Some fans don’t want to see it. Maybe some have a crush on Tony. Some have said that they don’t like the relationship stuff. All they want is to see the case solved. The problem is that is not what this show has been about for ten years. Bellisario said there were two things that set this show apart from the rest–the interrelationships and the humor. Now with the changes that are being made to the show, I’m afraid the haters of Bellisario’s NCIS are finally getting their way.
Lee
August 15, 2014 @ 7:41 am
As someone said elsewhere here, you confuse “relationship” with “romance”.
What set this show apart from the other similar ones was the relationships between the entire team, they were complex and realistic – with subtle hints about the nature of those relationships but nothing really overt.
Sometime after Bellisario left, the show moved away from this vision of NCIS. The characters & their inter-relationships lost complexity and we gained a heavy handed almost-romantic tease between just two characters which eclipsed the lighter interactions that had been there between them all. We also had far more ‘humor’ at the expense of characters rather than being able to laugh with them.
In season 11 we have had some of the original subtlety back.
I like relationships between people, but I don’t want soppy romantic stuff front and centre (hence I don’t watch soaps). But I couldn’t see a romantic relationship between Tony and Ziva because, although he obviously cared for her as his partner – as he does Gibbs & McGee – she never showed any affection toward Tony. Thus a witness taking time out from running away from the bad guys to tell Tony & Ziva they were made for each other is laughable. If the bulk of viewers saw the sort of relationship you believe they did there would never have been any need to script that scene – it was there to tell people something that just wasn’t being portrayed successfully.
liz laughlin
August 15, 2014 @ 6:21 pm
There are all kinds of relationships. There is mother and child, father and son, teacher and student, employer and employee, priest and parishioner. There are adversarial relationships and symbiotic relationships. Human beings are relational by nature. Some fans want to limit the relationships on NCIS to the professional. Gibbs is the boss and the the team members are his subordinates, his workers They don’t want to see any of this relationship business. Others want some relationships but not others.
Bellisario looked at all of the relationships. NCIS was not a new gig for him. He had a successful ten year run with JAG. Bellisario always had romantic relationships in JAG. The one that is most like Tony and Ziva was the one with his leading man Harmon Raab Jr (David James Elliot). and his leading lady Sarah MacKenzie (Catherine Bell.) They waltzed around this romantic relationship for 9 years. There were many romantic moments. They had a problem similar to the one that .Tony and Ziva had. He was a Naval officer and she was a Marine Corps officer in the same chain of command. They were not allowed to romantically “fraternize” and if they chose to marry, one of them had to transfer out of JAG or resign their commission. Nether one wanted to do it. Finally in the last episode of the final season he was given a command position at JAG in London and she was given a command position at San Diego JAG. In the last 7 minutes of the show, they made their decision finally.
What you see in NCIS was not something Shane Brennan cooked up or Gary Glasberg created.. They remained true to Bellisario’s style of writing.. If you never watched JAG, you should because you will better understand what Bellisario was doing in NCIS. I’m sorry but your real problem is not with whomever you think it is Your problem is with Donald P.Bellisario, the creator of NCIS.
EyesWideShut
August 15, 2014 @ 8:44 pm
The last 7 minutes of JAG was a bone throw for shippers who had been toyed with for the entire series run……and then BYE, BYE forever.
liz laughlin
August 15, 2014 @ 11:18 pm
EyesWideshut, how appropriate for you. Did you have a crush on David James Elliot?
EyesWideShut
August 16, 2014 @ 5:21 pm
Catherine Bell actually.
liz laughlin
August 18, 2014 @ 7:16 pm
I don’t remember the details but Eli had his agents spying on Ziva and there were a whole series of photos showing Ziva entering and leavingTony’s apartment at least one night a week. Ziva never explained what was going on. This was in season 4 episode 1 , Shalom
liz laughlin
August 15, 2014 @ 12:14 am
So, until they’re in the sack together, there is no romance? I hope you’re not married.
FAN*not*FANATIC
August 15, 2014 @ 1:02 am
Widowed, but thanks for your concern.
Lee
August 15, 2014 @ 7:43 am
Commiserations. It sucks being the one left behind.
Keilworth
August 17, 2014 @ 12:47 am
They were in the sack. Remember when they escorted a witness from France back to the States. Neither would admit who slept on the couch. Also at thye end of the e[pisode Tony said his favorite picture was one of the Eifell Tower that just happened to have Ziva in the foreground. I agree some people must be obt
use
Conan the Grammarian
August 13, 2014 @ 5:07 pm
“nobody wants to watch this meaningless Tony romance with some woman who is not Ziva”
Speak for yourself. I would love to see Tony in a romance with someone who respects him, supports him, challenges him without having to belittle him, and someone who will truly love him without the need to play games.
Delilah DiNozzo
August 13, 2014 @ 8:31 pm
Agree 1000%!
FAN*not*FANATIC
August 13, 2014 @ 2:22 pm
Either she comes back or she doesn’t.
True Fans will continue to watch regardless.
Who cares what anyone else thinks.
Anna690710
August 13, 2014 @ 2:40 pm
That’s nonsense!
What is a true fan? Would you watch NCIS without Gibbs, Tony or Abby? Probably not! You just mention this “true fan” stuff because Ziva is not your favorite!
FAN*not*FANATIC
August 13, 2014 @ 3:47 pm
As in fans of the show as an ensemble piece not fanatics about any single character.
And d’you *really* think there’d still be a show without GIBBS?!?!?
Dido Twite
August 14, 2014 @ 8:08 pm
most fans have a favorite. It’s normal.
Lee
August 13, 2014 @ 6:08 pm
True fans watch regardless, even if they criticise.
–
They may cease to be fans and stop watching, but they certainly aren’t arrogant enough to threaten to stop watching in the belief that what they want out of the show is more important than what anyone else wants.
Dido Twite
August 14, 2014 @ 8:07 pm
man, that’s a complicated definition. Can’t be a lot of people who pass that test.
liz laughlin
August 15, 2014 @ 4:49 am
No, if TPTB screw up the show, a true fan will stop watching. They are under no obligation to watch mind numbing drivel. If the fan is no longer enjoying the show, why keep watching.?.
Lee
August 15, 2014 @ 7:11 am
If someone stops watching for any reason then they are no longer a fan.
Especially because “screwing up the show” is in the eye of the beholder.
liz laughlin
August 15, 2014 @ 11:44 pm
So once I’m a fan and start watching a show, I must keep watching the show? Now you said the fan may not stop watching for any reason. So, if the show goes off the air the fan must purchase the DVDs so that they can keep watching. You must work for CBS in the subsidiary that makes and sells the DVDs Does this sales strategy actually work?
Lee
August 16, 2014 @ 8:01 am
Who said anything about DVD’s?
Although if a show goes off air how else are you going to watch it without buying the DVD’s? (unless you have it all on your DVR).
My simple argument is that if you don’t like something any more then you cease to be a fan of it. I’m not sure what is so difficult to understand about that. It applies in all walks of life.
It is also laughable that a staple argument of anyone who doesn’t like NCIS as it is now, is to accuse anyone who does like it of being employed by CBS. What I like about NCIS has nothing to do with either the character of Ziva or the actress Cote de Pablo. I have a mind of my own and opinions of my own – which seem to differ greatly to yours.
liz laughlin
August 16, 2014 @ 9:15 pm
I am a fan of seasons 1-10 of NCIS. Season 11 casued me to mourn the loss of what the show once was. I watched the first 2 episodes and about 4 others. I watched the one where Bishop was made a member of the team. She got two marines killed by not following Gibbs’ orders and her reward was an NCIS team hat. At that point, I’d had it. Sayonara!.
Marla
August 13, 2014 @ 2:54 pm
Oh, here we go with the true fans stuff again…..you’re fan of the show, period. Doesn’t matter what show is airing now or aired in the past.
FAN*not*FANATIC
August 13, 2014 @ 5:23 pm
Didn’t I just say that?
marysue
August 13, 2014 @ 1:43 pm
I would love to see Cote return but I think that Ziva will have undergone some changes given the way things were left off at the start of S11. The chemistry between Michael and Cote is something very unique that you don’t find very often. Glasberg has even admitted as much when toying with the idea of casting a new love interest for Tony. The inter-relationship between Ziva and Dinozzo is very complex. They truly care for each other but due to their personal hang-ups can’t get it straight. Ziva wants love from a man but has had so many relationships go haywire she is having trouble trusting anyone. Tony sees the good in her and admires her tough as nails, independent spirit although he gets upset when she says she wants to be alone or doesn’t want his protection. Her rebuff/ insults of him has been seen by many as mean treatment. I see it as someone who recognizes that something is there and she’s scared ********** to face it. Tony recognizes this and that is why he keeps persisting in pursuing her. He wants her to face her demons and then they can move forward. They have saved each other’s lives and both understand the world of police work. If Cote does come back I’m sure it will be an explosive episode(s). The question will be whether it will be a romantic explosion finally admitting their true feelings for each other or will Tony have finally moved on with a new woman and realizes he doesn’t want to get dragged back into the past? Will Ziva have had or have someone in her life as well? If she does come back, the only thing I don’t want to see is that the “TIVA” dominates the whole season. Weave it back in slowly. It will be more tantilizing for fans and keep things balanced. Michael does want Cote back and said so in an interview on the People’s Choice awards in January. He also said that everyone misses her as well. As for David McCallum being upset….well we’ll just have to see. All I know is that I would like to have been a fly on the wall when Cote was telling CBS she was leaving. That must have been quite the conversation. The only mystery to all of this hullabaloo is that Cote has remained quiet through the whole thing.
Eleanor
August 13, 2014 @ 1:41 pm
Would Love her to come back…The chemistry she brought to the show made it worth while, which was lacking this year…I have been a loyal fan from the begin, and would like this back in the show…..Thank You!
Benjamin Friego
August 13, 2014 @ 1:30 pm
Look they are trying so hard to make the new character a part of “the team” there is no way they are going to bring Ziva back for an extended visit . I just don’t see it. From the spoilers there is going to be a heavy storyline for Bishop and her husband. Don’t expect anymore than she received than a 5 minute stint in the beginning of season 11 if that at all. I highly doubt she will want to return plus she’s busy this year. Michael does not make those decisions. Mark Harmon and Glasberg make those decisions. I have read nothing positive from Mark Harmon on a return. Glasberg has made dubious comments(well if it fits into the story she could call Tony). People it’s just a ratings ploy so some fans don’t give up on NCIS.
Reality Bites
August 13, 2014 @ 1:54 pm
FANS haven’t/won’t give up on the show.
The rabid clique of Ziva fans (who cannot be classed as Tiva in any way) will continue to bitch and moan and comment on a show “they can’t bear to watch anymore” – shall will give them some cheese to go with that whine?
Maria
August 13, 2014 @ 2:38 pm
If the reason they cant bring back even for a guest spot or recurring role is because the producers are terrified of how Ziva will come and reinforce the opinion that a majority of viewers have that Bishop does not work then it is clear the character is a failure. Therefore focusing even more storylines on the character including introducing her husband will result in an even bigger failure. A character should not take that long to fit in (16 episodes and counting) and if they are sacrificing not bringing Cote back for whatever amount of time she is willing to come back for which is what lots of fans want to see then it is time to write out Bishop and try something new that might actually work.
Dido Twite
August 13, 2014 @ 10:33 pm
No question if Ziva comes back for a spot, it will become that much more obvious what a poor fit Bishop is.
Anna690710
August 13, 2014 @ 2:47 pm
They can try even harder and it won’t work!
The Bishop character is a failed character creation!
Glasberg ruined the character right from the start making her a genius who is an epic fail as a field agent and a silly person with her weird behavior!
The lesson for NCIS producers should be is that even as a successful show you cannot shove a screwed up character creation down viewers’ throats!
And in the end it will be the turn of CBS to decide if Cote comes back or not!
phil
August 13, 2014 @ 12:57 pm
how about in the final episode she happens to be a witness /bystander along with her ,3 month old baby
Reality Bites
August 13, 2014 @ 1:21 pm
That’d be Adam’s baby then – you know the guy she slept with when she took Eli’s body home, she didn’t let her supposed feelings for Tony (or his for her) stop her jumping the nearest bones then, and Tony obviously didn’t sleep with her when he found her in Israel – she’s been gone too long for it to be a ‘tiva’ baby and Adam IS Mossad…
liz laughlin
August 13, 2014 @ 9:36 pm
Tony and Ziva were alone together in her house for “a few days.” It has been over a year since he left. If my math is good and I think it is, it only takes 9 months before a baby is born. So, the baby would be about two months old by the beginning of season 12. If she conceived a baby by Adam when she took her father home to Israel, she would have been noticeably pregnant when Tony came to visit her and she wasn’t. You are right if she slept with Adam later after Tony left, then the baby could be about 2 months or younger at the beginning of season 12..
Dido Twite
August 13, 2014 @ 10:34 pm
It totally cracks me up that people actually think Tony and Ziva didn’t sleep together in Israel. You realize they’re healthy adults, right?
FAN*not*FANATIC
August 14, 2014 @ 10:47 pm
Personally, I’d like to think that, having already decided that her future lay in Israel, Ziva didn’t sleep with Tony as their parting was going to be emotional enough for them to deal with, without adding sex into the mix.
Dido Twite
August 14, 2014 @ 11:07 pm
that’s very sweet but … no. That wasn’t a first kiss.
Mighty Mouse
August 16, 2014 @ 7:31 pm
It was definitely a KISS-OFF!
liz laughlin
August 17, 2014 @ 6:43 pm
Remember the last we heard, Parsa was after Ziva. Maybe she didn’t want to go home with Tony and endanger the both of them. We didn’t know at that time that Bishop was on the case, so there was really nothing to worry about.
Donna
August 13, 2014 @ 12:51 pm
I guess I’m a little apprehensive about Michael’s statement. While I would love to see the two on screen again, I doubt that it will happen in the near future. Of course it was great for Michael’s character DiNozzo. It put him in the forefront of the show’s storyline and really let him show more sides of his character besides a comedy actor. I think it’s more Michael’s hope than fact. We have never heard from Cote. Would she go back to a show after David McCallum said he was angry and frustrated at her because after 8 years she wanted to pursue other projects. We know CBS adores her since she is playiing in the mini-series. There are some great people that left the show and chose never to return again (Jesse Stern, Sasha Alexander, Nicole Marantes). As much as Michael might want to see her return I just don’t see it happening for a few years.
Reality Bites
August 13, 2014 @ 1:24 pm
Yeah, it was really good for DiNozzo’s character to be treated like a doormat and walked all over for 8 years.
liz laughlin
August 13, 2014 @ 3:35 pm
Watch season 1 and 2. Kate put him down too. In the old days of Tony as “obnoxious boundary crosser,” Tony needed to be put down. If you watch carefully, you will see that sometimes Tony got head slaps from Gibbs for his inappropriate comments or actions. Sometimes he got the icy stare from Gibbs. Gibbs knew how to treat women. As time went on not just Abby but also Ziva got little kisses on the forehead or cheek from Gibbs. He treated them as he would a daughter. As Tony grew, he got fewer head slaps than he did in the beginning. Gibbs’s fatherly correction eventually paid off. Remember Tony lost his mother when he was 8 and his father all but deserted him. He went to boarding schools and summer camps. He only saw his father a few weeks out of the year. Fatherly discipline was lacking in his life until Gibbs.
FAN*not*FANATIC
August 13, 2014 @ 4:54 pm
Always preferred the “x-rated Peter Pan” myself :-D
Conan the Grammarian
August 13, 2014 @ 5:17 pm
Yup, treat the girls like cherished family and treat the boys like crap. That was definitely Gibbs’ modus operandi. Still is, to a certain extent.
Dido Twite
August 13, 2014 @ 10:32 pm
Makes you wonder why Tony’s been there a dozen years.
liz laughlin
August 15, 2014 @ 5:17 am
Tony was what is called a boundary crosser. He took things from Mcgee’s desk. He tried to break into Ziva’s locked desk He spied on Ziva to find out who she was dating or where she was going on vacation He ate other people’s food. Evidently most fans enjoyed his childish behavior and thought it was funny. I found it obnoxious. If you have ever known anyone like this and I do, it’s not funny at all. For all the fans who think this is uproariously funny, I shall wish for you to have a Tony in your life. I’m glad that TPTB finally let him grow up. I like the more mature Tony. He is over forty now and has finally started acting his age.
Some of you may be Tonys yourself. If you are, do your friends and family a favor and grow up. My Tony just turned fifty and we are still waiting for him to grow up. His sister calls him a donkey’s butt or something very similar to that..
Conan the Grammarian
August 15, 2014 @ 1:55 pm
I agree – I wasn’t a huge fan of Tony in “brat” mode. “My” Tony is the one who is a competent investigator, who uses humour to diffuse a situation, who isn’t always serious. The Admiral’s Daughter was a good example of the Tony I’d like see more of, as was the Tony in Honour Thy Father.
He was getting a lot better towards the end of last season, despite backsliding in Shooter. I hated the scene with him and Tim where he’s spraying Tim with the cat piss – it was a dark spot in an otherwise great episode.
It seems like some of the writers feel they have to continue to write Tony as the “idiot child” and it drives me nuts. It bugs me when they do that to Tim, as well – the line in The Admiral’s Daughter where he says to Tony “oh yeah, ‘errand boy’ makes a lot more sense” struck me as cruel and unnecessary. You can have a character use humour without it being insensitive or stupid. Some of the writers seem to get that, some don’t. I’m hoping that, in season 12, we have more of the former and less of the latter.
liz laughlin
August 16, 2014 @ 12:09 am
Well, you can’t blame McGee too much. He put up with frat boy Tony for years. I loved the episode where McGee thought he was being shot at and .he killed the off duty police officer. Ziva suggested to Gibbs that maybe McGee was lying about the shooting. Gibbs said to Ziva, ,“McGee isn’t your father, and he isn’t Ari. He doesn’t know how to lie.” I’ve always been a McGee fan. There’s not a lot of us out there.
Conan the Grammarian
August 18, 2014 @ 4:10 am
I liked that episode too – Tony believed McGee without a doubt, even when McGee doubted himself and tried, in his own way, to help McGee deal with it. People always bring up fratboy Tony in his dealings with Tim; they rarely bring up supportive Tony (which we actually got to see more of this season).
liz laughlin
August 19, 2014 @ 8:22 pm
I liked the way Tony handled Eli David’s interview/interrogation in Aliyah. That was classic.
Conan the Grammarian
August 20, 2014 @ 1:44 pm
Yes – I loved that! And the whole bit with Gibbs saying to Vance “just watch”. And the Tony/Saleem scenes in Truth or Consequences were just brilliant. I’m still peeved MW didn’t get an Emmy or People’s Choice nomination just for that.
liz laughlin
August 15, 2014 @ 11:56 pm
I think that the head slap was more appropriate for Tony than a kiss on the forehead or cheek.
Conan the Grammarian
August 18, 2014 @ 4:06 am
Agreed, although I liked the episode where he says to Tony “what were you expecting, an ‘atta-boy’?” and then strokes his hair and say “atta-boy”.
It’s not just the physical expressions, though. It’s the fact that Abby, Kate and Ziva get away with murder, whereas Tony and Tim are chatised for every little thing. The girls get praised when they do a good job; the guys (Tony especially) get told it’s part of their job and they shouldn’t expect praise.
liz laughlin
August 18, 2014 @ 6:59 pm
I don’t think that Tim gets that much chastisement. He’s a pretty sensitive guy and I see Tim as getting a lot of support from Gibbs. Abby has never received a head slap, she’s way too sensitive Ziva has received a few. Tony has received a lot because he got out of line more. I can tell you that the guys in my family got into a lot more trouble than the girls.
Dido Twite
August 13, 2014 @ 10:31 pm
He’s walked over by everyone. That’s their go to.
Reality Bites
August 13, 2014 @ 1:42 pm
“Adores her”!
CBS cast an actor to play a Jewish woman, something de Pablo has 8 years experience of, hardly adoration more like type casting.
liz laughlin
August 13, 2014 @ 8:47 pm
Oh my, so Mark Harmon was a cop in the Presidio. Now is he forever type cast . Since Cote, a Latina, did such a great job playing an Israeli, she should never play one again. Cote evidently has a good ear for language. She doesn’t speak Hebrew but a Jewish scholar commented in a article that the fans of NCIS got to hear more Hebrew in one year that most Americans hear in a lifetime. His only complaint was that she mispronounced “layla,” the Hebrew word for night. He said it sounded like the title of the old Eric Clapton song.
Reality Bites
August 13, 2014 @ 9:40 pm
To my recollection, from Emergency! (1975) to NCIS (2003-20??) Mark Harmon has played cops at least 13 times, throw in a couple of Doc’s and a handful of bad guys and yeah, typecast – pretty much!
liz laughlin
August 14, 2014 @ 4:01 am
It sounds like any role he takes is somehow type casting,
Lee
August 14, 2014 @ 1:28 pm
Harmon is pretty much cast to type. The majority of his career has been playing cops or doctors and with few exceptions he is not popular when he is cast against type – although he has done some good films against type, such as ‘The Deliberate Stranger’ and the popular ‘Summer School’, and some turkeys!
liz laughlin
August 15, 2014 @ 5:36 am
He is a steady veteran actor. The only two big screen movies I saw him in were the Presidio and Summer School. The Presidio had him in great company with Sean Connery. Summer School was okay but compared to John Hughes’ films in the same era (1980’s) it was pretty mediocre. NCIS is a perfect role for him He plays the “functional mute” quite well. I read somewhere that he went to Bellisario and asked for his role to be a little more flamboyant. He really didn’t like the role the way it was written. Bellisario turned him down but he stayed with the show anyway. I think that he’s basically a good guy.
Dido Twite
August 13, 2014 @ 10:30 pm
Gillian Anderson played Scully for 9 years, everyone said she would be typecast. She did fine. I don’t think she ever played a cop again.
MrsCarter101
August 13, 2014 @ 11:28 pm
Gillian Anderson is playing a cop/detective right now on The Fall.
Dido Twite
August 14, 2014 @ 8:10 pm
You’re right, I forgot Stella. But she’s not exactly a Scully clone since she is British. I think for a long time, she was deliberately avoiding any law enforcement roles. She has played every other type of character under the sun.
Dido Twite
August 13, 2014 @ 10:29 pm
LOL so a Mossad assassin and a witch living in 70BC are typecasting. Only if you think all jews are the same.
FAN*not*FANATIC
August 14, 2014 @ 10:37 pm
Or even a witch living in DC.(Sorry, couldn’t resist!!);-)
Dido Twite
August 14, 2014 @ 11:08 pm
now that wasn’t nice.
Sandi Brooks
August 15, 2014 @ 7:56 pm
And Mark Harmon has played a Christian man a bunch of times. Is being a female woman of a particular religion “typecasting” as in, all Jewish women are the same? Playing a female who is Jewish is no more typecasting than playing a female who is Catholic or any any other religion.
Conan the Grammarian
August 13, 2014 @ 5:15 pm
David wasn’t angry and frustrated that she chose to leave the show to pursue other projects. He was angry and frustrated that she chose to do it in such an unprofessional manner, leaving with such short notice that scripts had to be rewritten in a hurry and season-long plans had to be changed.
liz laughlin
August 16, 2014 @ 3:18 am
Her contract had run out months before. She had no contractual obligation to CBS. If they gave her the contract she asked for she would still be there. It’s likely that Cote and CBS were at an impasse in the negotiations. Each side expecting the other to cave in. Neither side caved and she walked. They never made her an offer that she couldn’t refuse. I don’t know why people expected her stay and work for CBS with no contract.or accept terms that she found unacceptable. Gary Glasberg should have had a back up plan in case she didn’t return, He did not.
Lee
August 16, 2014 @ 8:32 am
Where is the evidence for this contract impasse that you assume was the case?
How do you know that CBS didn’t make her an offer she couldn’t refuse? The fact that she did refuse doesn’t make it a bad offer.
What was this contract that “she asked for” that they wouldn’t give her?
She said that she made a personal decision to leave, not that there were negotiation issues – did she lie?
No one has yet explained to me why Glasberg should have wasted time and money on a backup plan when everyone expected her to return. The fact that she had yet to sign a contract is no indication that there were potential deal-breaking issues. Harmon seems to be the only member of the cast who wraps up negotiaions quickly.
liz laughlin
August 16, 2014 @ 9:35 pm
Whether it was a good or a bad offer is to be judged by the person to whom the offer was made. You have rules about everything. What a fan is and now Cote should have accepted the offer when she did not think that it was acceptable. Cote stayed in the negotiations for months There was never a “meeting of the minds” on her contract. I don’t know what she required in a contract. she didn’t tell me. Do you know? Common sense tells me that if one negotiates for months and then walks away, that they did not get what they wanted. Since her contract ended with the filming of season 10, she did not have a signed contract with CBS when filming of season 11 started. Cote graciously thanked everyone at CBS for eight great years. She made a personal decision. The decision was to refuse the last offer of CBS. It was her right to do so.
Rumors said she was offered $205,000 per episode and a 2 year contract.and that she wanted closer to what Michael Weatherly was making ($250,000 per episode). The guess is she wanted $225,000 per episode and a one year contract. Her old contract was for $120,000.per episode (Read the article below.) Her choice to leave was probably good for Michael Weathery. It would have been very bad for CBS to lose two cast members from NCIS. This year he was the holdout for signing a contract. I bet he got a sweet deal. Just guessing but I think he’s probably making $350,000-$400,000 per episode and they agreed to let him direct.
http://www.showbiz411.com/2013/07/17/ncis-star-wanted-pay-parity-with-other-actors-may-have-talked-herself-off-show
liz laughlin
August 23, 2014 @ 6:11 am
When you are offered a contract that pays you about 17 million per year, it’s a lot easier to sign.
Conan the Grammarian
August 18, 2014 @ 4:15 am
I agree that he should have had a backup plan.
I disagree, however, it’s all on CBS. No one knows what CBS offered or what Cote de Pablo was asking for. Cote de Pablo has said in interviews that during the 2011 contract negotiations she played hardball with CBS and won. Perhaps what she was asking for this time around was simply unacceptable to CBS. We don’t know, and likely will never know. Just as you don’t understand why people expected her to stay or accept terms she found unacceptable, I don’t understand why people expected CBS to give her whatever she wanted, no matter what it was.
liz laughlin
August 18, 2014 @ 4:13 pm
The point I was making is that it is up to the parties involved to decide what is a good deal for them. I was shocked that Cote de Pablo and Michael Weatherly were both paid less per episode than the three main actors in the Big Bang Theory. Purportedly the BBT ‘s three main actors make about $350,000 per ep, for a 30 minute ep. at that. I watch BBT from time to time but it’s not a need to watch show for me.
Cote and Michael were making $120,000 and $250,000 respectively. CBS evidently thinks that the BBT actors are worth more than the actors in their flagship drama, NCIS. Another possibility is that because they pay Mark Harmon so much, somewhere upward of $500,000 to $700,000.per ep. that there is not a lot of salary budget left for the other actors. Essentially that Mark Harmon is the show and the other actors are just part of the back drop. In that case, it was to Cote’s benefit to leave NCIS and go somewhere where she is valued as more than scenery.
Cote is 34 years old and she is very well trained. I think that she was one of the best actors on the show but if CBS essentially thinks that NCIS is a one guy show and the other actors are there to make that guy look good, then it might just turn out to be the right move for her to get away from the show and it’s paradigm.
Conan the Grammarian
August 18, 2014 @ 5:34 pm
I wasn’t directing the last paragraph specifically at you, Liz – I think you and I are both on the same page here, we’re just coming at it from different directions. :)
I wonder how much of the BBT vs. NCIS disparity is due to the fact that the NCIS cast negotiates directly with CBS, whereas the BBT group negotiates with Warner Brothers, which then sells the show to CBS.
I also wonder if Michael Weatherly’s new production company deal with CBS is a way to get around raising his salary (or at least raising it by a lot). Presumably that would come out of a totally different budget than salaries.
liz laughlin
August 19, 2014 @ 2:54 am
I’ve wondered if Cote’s contract for the Dovekeepers is with Roma Downey and Mark Burnett’s production company, leaving CBS out of the negotiations on her salary. Roma Downey sounded very pleased to have her on board. Still, even having Cote on CBS, helps CBS improve it’s image with disgruntled fans..
Conan the Grammarian
August 19, 2014 @ 1:55 pm
That is my understanding – that it’s the production company that hired her, not CBS itself, and CBS is just paying for the final product.
liz laughlin
August 19, 2014 @ 3:47 pm
Michael Weatherly said in reference to Cote leaving NCIS that it was the right move for her. CBS loses a lot of their actresses.
sadtonyfan
August 17, 2014 @ 5:07 pm
I don’t think that David McCallum was angry because CdP wanted to pursue other projects. I think that he was angry at the unprofessional and uncaring manner that she walked out 5 days before the cast was to start back. 5 or 6 episodes had been written, plans had been made. She left everyone at the show that made her career in an extremely terrible lurch.
Karen
August 13, 2014 @ 11:57 am
Let’s be honest CBS and Gary Glasberg and Michael Weatherly do not want to isolate CDP fans so they are saying “Oh yes it will happen”. Let’s remember that CDP is going to be busy with her Roma Downey/Mark Burnett mini-series and the opening of her Banderas/Binoche movie as far as this year. I have never heard Cote say a word about her return other than her political statement of a year and a half ago that they were her family and she didn’t die. I think that CBS laugh’s about it after and say let’s feed the old fans a breadcrumb. I give Cote a lot of credit for not denying it. It will be interesting though because I am sure she will do the “Dovekeepers” tour with Romney and definitely will be asked about it. I’m willing to bet she leaves it in the air. Remember Michael thinks NCIS will be on for 30 more years. It’s in his best interest to say she will return.
VBQ
August 13, 2014 @ 12:31 pm
Her miniseries won’t take long to film, and since she is not a lead actress in The 33, she probably will not have many obligations to publicize it. She will have plenty of time to come back to NCIS. It’s really amusing how you have already wishfully planned out her promotion schedule, though.
Reality Bites
August 13, 2014 @ 12:57 pm
As amusing as all the Ziva fans wishfully planning her return to the show.
As for publicity junkets, she be used for all the countries she is recognized (ie most of the world thanks totally to NCIS) – they always use the highest profile actor as they already have an ‘in’ with the public there. You’re obviously a fan of hers so you’ll see her movies/TV shows even if the reviews aren’t great……it’s Hollywood baby, it’s ALL about the Benjamin’s.
Anna690710
August 13, 2014 @ 2:52 pm
I agree, it’s ALL about the Benjamins so that’s why Ziva is still mentioned and articles about Cote create buzz for NCIS! Regarding the Benjamins Bishop needs to be removed as soon as possible because nobody buys the Bishop clothes sold by CBS!
TIVA was important for the success of the show and it’s more likely that Ziva will return than that the TIBBS fantasies of all the Ziva haters become reality!
Reality Bites
August 13, 2014 @ 3:34 pm
Why assume all Ziva “haters” are TIBBS lovers?
My dislike of the character stems from how she came to be on the team, how she treated people, her motives and, as a Tony fan, the fact that she pulled her gun on him.
Admittedly, the idea of TIBBS is a hot one, but even the most deluded will agree THAT AIN’T EVER GONNA HAPPEN, BABY……unless HBO comes up with the Benjamin’s to buy the show ;-)
Conan the Grammarian
August 13, 2014 @ 5:19 pm
Agreed, RB. I disliked Ziva a lot at the end (didn’t hate her, but it was close) but I have no great desire to see TIBBS on the show. Frankly, I have no great desire to see any romance front and centre on the show – that’s what I watch Castle for. I just want to see a show about a great team working together as a team solving crimes.
Reality Bites
August 13, 2014 @ 7:39 pm
And precisely why I DON’T watch Castle!
Conan the Grammarian
August 13, 2014 @ 8:23 pm
:) Yeah, but with Castle you know that’s what you’re going to get going in. There’s no pretense that the core of the show isn’t about the romance between them. Although I admit they’ve done a good job keeping it from overwhelming the show now that they’re together. The cases are still paramount, and the romance is very tastefully done.
liz laughlin
August 14, 2014 @ 6:44 am
“Frankly, I have no great desire to see any romance front and centre on the show – that’s what I watch Castle for. I just want to see a show about a great team working together as a team solving crimes.”
Okay, therein lies your problem. Bellisario created this show so that the relationships and the humor were integral to the show. He said that the relationships and humor were what made NCIS different from the rest of the forensic shows. You really should watch a different show that leaves out all of this distasteful relationship business. There is a whole bunch of shows that do just what you want.. Bellisario created these characters and their interrelationships on purpose. I just want TPTB to remain faithful to the paradigm that Bellisario gave them.
Conan the Grammarian
August 14, 2014 @ 2:49 pm
Integral, yes, but they weren’t front and centre. I don’t mind the “distasteful relationship stuff”. I just don’t want it to be the focus of the show, which is what was starting to happen with all the TIva crap. It became more about pushing that to the forefront to the detriment of plot and story.
One of the things I liked about the early Bellesario years was the subtlety he used. We found out about Tony’s background through little things thrown into the episodes. We knew Kate and Tony cared about each other not because they came out and said it, but because of little things in the episodes. It seemed to me, at least, that we lost a lot of that subtlety the last few seasons.
Dido Twite
August 14, 2014 @ 11:12 pm
I don’t know about losing subtlety. The actors were still able to convey a lot without saying the words. One of my favorite scenes from Season 10 was in Double Blind, after Tony confronts Ziva about Adam. In the next scene they are conveying information to Gibbs about the case. Their spoken conversation is all about the case, but all three of them are having a completely different conversation, only with their eyes. Gibbs instantly picks up that something is wrong between them, Tony is cold and detached, and Ziva is bewildered and upset. It’s fantastic. Mark Harmon is amazing in that scene. All three of them are.
liz laughlin
August 15, 2014 @ 2:35 am
If Sasha Alexander did not leave after season 2, you would have eventually seen more overt displays of affection between Kate and Tony. If you watched JAG from which this show was spun off, then you would know that this is the way that Bellisario built his character’s relationships..What you saw with Kate and Tony was the early stage of their relationship. With Tony and Ziva you had eight years of relationship development.. Bellisario finally put Sarah MacKenzie and Harmon Raab Jr. together in the last episode of the last season of JAG. For 9 years they played “will they or won’t they.”
There are a lot of similarities between JAG and NCIS. Bellisario had themes that ran through both–patriotism, the abusive or absent father, the surrogate father (Gibbs in NCIS and Admiral Chegwidden in JAG), the team as family and the leading lady with the wrong man.
It’s too bad that you hate Cote de Pablo, She is a very talented actress. She is a graduate of Carnegie Melon University School of Dramatic Arts.. Carnegie Mellon accepts less than 30 new drama students each year.and ranks up there with the drama schools of Harvard, Yale, Julliard, and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London
Conan the Grammarian
August 15, 2014 @ 1:12 pm
I don’t hate Cote de Pablo. I’ve never said I hate Cote de Pablo. I agree she’s a very good actress, and I wish her the best of luck in whatever she chooses to do in the future – and that’s the key point, whatever SHE chooses to do, not what the fans want her to do. I’ll probably even go to see The 33 when it comes out, as the story interests me.
I dislike Ziva intensely, however. And even that only started happening in the last few seasons. I didn’t like her at the beginning, having been a big Kate fan, grew to like her during the middle seasons, and then started disliking her more and more as the Rivkin arc played out. I was ambivalent about her after the return from Somalia – I don’t think she should have been let back on the team so easily, and I don’t think Tony should have welcomed her back so easily after how she treated him in Israel. The season 10 arc, however, was where she became almost totally irredeemable to me with the whole revenge vendetta thing. It has nothing to do with the actress, however; that’s how they chose to write the character.
liz laughlin
August 15, 2014 @ 10:30 pm
Thank you for that. If you recognize that the show runner, the writers and the director are controlling what is happening on the screen, you are ahead of the game. It bothers me when fans are angry with the actors because of what was scripted for them. I’m even willing to cut Emily Wickersham some slack because the character and the writing is so lame.
Dido Twite
August 15, 2014 @ 9:08 pm
I’ve acturally read (don’t have a source) that Bellisario intended to hook up Kate with Gibbs, not Tony.
Lee
August 16, 2014 @ 8:58 am
There were definite hints for that in Yankee White, although very little for it thereafter.
NotARedhead
August 14, 2014 @ 11:58 pm
But “relationship” and “romance” aren’t the same thing. I have relationships with a lot of the people I work with. Don’t have romances with any of them.
liz laughlin
August 17, 2014 @ 4:47 am
Some relationships are romantic.
VBQ
August 14, 2014 @ 11:28 pm
They have multiple actors who are higher profile. Antonio Banderas and Juliette Binoche, just for starters.
Dio Marie Villamil
August 13, 2014 @ 11:39 am
YES!!! Definitely!!! Looking forward to it :)
liz laughlin
August 13, 2014 @ 4:25 am
If TPTB want to return the show to what it was intended by Bellisario, they have to bring Ziva back. The team is family (and Gibbs is the father figure) according to Bellisario and to ignore an 8 year member of the family after she left, destroyed the family dynamic. If they bring Ziva back and we find out that Ziva was in touch with Gibbs and/or Tony all along, they could fix the family dynamic and return to the theme of the team as family that was present for 10 years. This is the main problem that I see with the show now, the missing family dynamic. I also think that the character of Ziva was one of Bellisario’s best creations and Cote was the perfect choice to play her. I hope that it’s true that they will bring her back
Maggie Hetzler
August 13, 2014 @ 4:39 am
Bellisario very much wanted married agents. He was fascinated by real life married NCIS agents. It was very obvious he expected Ziva to marry Tony. That’s why he hired hre in the first place. He was a genius at creating characters, ALL of our most beloved characters were Bellisario creations. Glasberg’s characters have been mostly hated.
Delilah DiNozzo
August 13, 2014 @ 2:43 pm
Married! That would’ve/would be the straw that broke the camels back – and killed the show stone dead.
IF the show had started with a storyline that had married agents that’d be different.
Dido Twite
August 13, 2014 @ 10:19 pm
if you say so.
Conan the Grammarian
August 13, 2014 @ 5:21 pm
No. Bellasario said in interviews he didn’t think Tony and Ziva should get together. He also never intended Ziva to be a permanent character – she was only supposed to be around for a year or so.
Dido Twite
August 13, 2014 @ 10:18 pm
and then she turned out to be great.
liz laughlin
August 14, 2014 @ 11:06 pm
So, where can I find the interview that you are referring to? Is this one of those “stinky John” stories, like when DiNozzo thinks he remembered bullying a guy named John and then meets up with John so he can apologize and it turned out that he was actually bullied by John?
marysue
August 13, 2014 @ 1:49 pm
Part of the family dynamic that I found missing this past season with Cote gone was the banter she had (as Ziva) with Dinozzo and McGee. In some episodes it was almost sibling squabbling and really hilarious. Gibbs would sometimes interject with a comment or just tell them to grab their gear ignoring it just as a parent sometimes ignores the kids when they quarrel.
Reality Bites
August 13, 2014 @ 7:27 pm
Hindsight is a wonderful gift! What if they’d gone with the other actress? Is it the character or the actress? Is it the chicken or the egg??
Dido Twite
August 13, 2014 @ 10:19 pm
it’s both.
liz laughlin
August 14, 2014 @ 11:06 pm
Nicely put.
Sandi Brooks
August 15, 2014 @ 6:39 pm
In the case of NCIS, the combo of a unique female tough but damaged character, the DiNozzo tendancy to deflect with humor and be wary of commitment, the very real chemistry between the actors and the characters all combined to make this particular pairing worth watching. Yes, they hide behind teasing and innuendo, but had mostly grown into a very different relationship when talking together in privacy. They each share with each other in a way they never really do with anyone else, and they do challenge each other. And are both better people for it than years ago.
Had a different actress been cast in the Ziva role it may never have had the chemistry Michael and Cote have together. Maybe even never been a number one show. Their friendship and ability to play off each other onscreen contributes a great deal to the way the show plays out. Now the show is lacking anyone with the comedic timing to Tony’s rantings, causing his humorous monoloques to fall flat in Season 11. Some pairings just really work well, and MIchael and Cote just have this dynamite chemistry one cannot duplicate. They could do with a few looks what other shows might need a page of dialog to convey. It’s like KIrk without Spock, or Harry without Sally. Chemistry like this will not be replicated with anyone else.
Delilah DiNozzo
August 13, 2014 @ 3:35 am
No, please NO…the show is better without the snarky, self-satisfied primping of the queen of entitlement that was Ziva “I AM MOSSAD” David.
Maggie Hetzler
August 13, 2014 @ 4:41 am
as opposed to the helpless incompetent princess Bishop who can’t cross the street without one of her babysitters holding her hand?
Delilah DiNozzo
August 13, 2014 @ 12:22 pm
Did I even mention Bishop?
Thought not.
Get off the cross honey, someone else needs the wood.
Bruschi54
August 13, 2014 @ 3:16 am
I wouldn’t mind but sounds like it would be all about the Tiva, so no thanks.
Maggie Hetzler
August 13, 2014 @ 4:41 am
well duh, Michael loves the Tiva
Bruschi54
August 13, 2014 @ 6:22 am
Not really according to a majority of his more serious interviews. What he seems to like is toying with the fans. Tiva fans are easy to get going. It’s obvious he’s still friends with Cote and I’m sure he’d like to work with her again. Tiva does not appeal to me. Not a fan of abuse. I know its old but they lost me on any type of romantic relationship with her many insults and the final straw her attack on him in Israel. Just not my thing. As a Tony fan, I just don’t see the appeal of Tiva.
VBQ
August 13, 2014 @ 12:29 pm
all of his “more serious” interviews, in fact ALL of his interviews, since Cote left, show that he loved the interaction. And he has unwaveringly said he wants her to return.
Reality Bites
August 13, 2014 @ 12:42 pm
*IF* he is really “friends” with her, he’s hardly likely to say he doesn’t want to work with her again is he?
Maria
August 13, 2014 @ 1:43 pm
From everything we know Michael is still friends with Cote. He has confirmed that he hung out with her on at least two separate occasions and he kept in touch with her while she was filming her movie. He even said in January that he misses her and hopes she comes back. I think Michael has no problem with her coming back since they get along well both on and off the set.
Dido Twite
August 14, 2014 @ 8:13 pm
He has told fans (on twitter) as well as said in several interviews, they are good friends in real life. If they are friends, I hardly think he would do something to put truly unwanted pressure on her.
Bruschi54
August 13, 2014 @ 2:46 pm
I didn’t say he didn’t like the interaction or that he didn’t want her to return. I’m saying he has said multiple times that Ziva and Tony ending up up together was a bad idea. No marriage and babies. As long as they don’t hit me over the head with Tiva, I’m fine with a limited return….which answers Matt’s question.
Conan the Grammarian
August 13, 2014 @ 5:25 pm
Just because he wants her to return doesn’t mean he wants Tiva. He’s said a few times he sees Tiva as more of a deep friendship. It could be that is the interaction he likes and wants to see again.
liz laughlin
August 15, 2014 @ 11:46 pm
It could be he wants the two million fans that were missing at the end of Season 11 to come back.
Conan the Grammarian
August 13, 2014 @ 5:24 pm
No, he doesn’t. He’s compared it to herpes and has said it would ruin the dynamic of the show.
liz laughlin
August 15, 2014 @ 4:28 am
Now where did this come from? Can you give me your source. I see so much nonsourced stuff, that it makes my head spin.
Sandra Miller
August 13, 2014 @ 2:37 am
Ziva coming back would make my LIFE
BlueBelle
August 13, 2014 @ 2:07 am
I can’t WAIT for Ziva to come back. The fireworks will be huge! Michael Weatherly is close friends with Cote in real life, so this isn’t idle speculation.
Erin
August 13, 2014 @ 2:04 am
I hope Ziva never returns. She treated Tony like he was something nasty that she stepped in on the bottom of her shoe. The show revolved around her soapish Mary Sue character and the show lost a multitude of IQ points during the ZCIS reign of Ziva. Please, just no. Let Tony have a story and skills that don’t revolve around flattering Ziva ( or anyone for the matter) for a change.
BlueBelle
August 13, 2014 @ 2:06 am
Michael Weatherly apparently disagrees with you. As for IQ points. the show has NEVER been stupider than it was in season 11. They added a genius, and the whole show turned stupid. It had nothing to do with Ziva. He spent all of season 11 on Bishop babysitting duty. He has never been more emasculated.
Conan the Grammarian
August 13, 2014 @ 5:33 pm
Uhm, no, he doesn’t. In the the Buzzfeed interview he and Sean Murray did he says that it seemed like there was a lot of Tim and Ziva ganging up on Tony the last few seasons (which Sean Murray agreed with) and also said he was glad that Tony wasn’t stuck being “the idiot child in the corner” anymore.
VBQ
August 14, 2014 @ 11:26 pm
He is still an idiot child in the corner. He was a bigger idiot than ever in season 11.
NotARedhead
August 15, 2014 @ 12:08 am
It’s funny. I watched Tony in S11 and saw a guy who had lost someone close to him and was trying anything and everything to work through that. Men’s support groups … aromatherapy … cooking … baths … reflection … cleansing. Am I the only one in the world who looked at all of that and saw a guy trying to get back to center? I never saw “idiot child in the corner” in S11. I saw “confused and scattered man looking for normal”. He finally found it in The Admiral’s Daughter, and it’s my hope that he picks up in S12 where he left off in that episode — finally back to himself again: competent, charming, smart, skilled, deceptively clever, and just a little bit goofy. And once he finds that, please … PLEASE … don’t bring Ziva back to ruin it.
liz laughlin
August 13, 2014 @ 4:10 am
Kate also put Tony in his place but Ziva did it much better. Watch season 1 and 2.
Alicia Russo
August 13, 2014 @ 4:50 am
Kate was NASTIER to Tony than Ziva ever was. Her dying words were mocking Tony.
Delilah DiNozzo
August 13, 2014 @ 12:17 pm
No she wasn’t, Kate teased Tony and he teased her back – it was siblings squabbling. There was no malice in their words. There was malice and disdain from Ziva (when she wasn’t sneering and mocking), how/why Tony even bothered to be civil to her can only be because his upbringing and people skills were so superior to hers.
Dido Twite
August 14, 2014 @ 8:16 pm
Kate snarked at Tony, called him a pig, acted disgusted by him, and belittled his skills at every opportunity.
liz laughlin
August 15, 2014 @ 4:25 am
Sasha was following a script. She was acting.
Dido Twite
August 15, 2014 @ 9:11 pm
I am blaming the writers.
liz laughlin
August 15, 2014 @ 4:24 am
Sasha Alexander and Cote were following a script. They were acting. Blame the Glasberg or the writers.
Conan the Grammarian
August 13, 2014 @ 5:31 pm
Pretty sure she didn’t know they were going to be her dying words when she was saying them…
Dido Twite
August 13, 2014 @ 10:26 pm
They were likely to be her dying words, because she was putting him down all the time.
Maggie Hetzler
August 13, 2014 @ 4:43 am
Bishop is the biggest Mary Sue in the history of the show. Tony lost his balls and his brain in season 11, after Ziva left. I would like him to get those back. Bring back Ziva.
Conan the Grammarian
August 13, 2014 @ 5:30 pm
No, that would be Ziva, who was perfect at everything, could speak multiple languages, had a tragic backstory that she overcame, had all the male (and some of the female) characters thinking she was the greatest thing since sliced bread and could just pick up skills as needed. There’s a bomb? No problem, Ziva can disarm it. Need someone to infiltrate a nightclub as a singer? No problem, Ziva can sing like a pop star. Need someone to translate a language? No problem, Ziva can speak five, no, seven, no, ten languages.
Lee
August 14, 2014 @ 1:35 pm
Not forgetting the “language of love” – which she completely forgot whenever she was dealing with Tony or talking to other people about him!
Dido Twite
August 14, 2014 @ 8:14 pm
The writers added languages wherever it was needed for the story. Lazy writing.
Conan the Grammarian
August 14, 2014 @ 9:51 pm
At last, something we agree on. :)
liz laughlin
August 13, 2014 @ 5:00 am
Cote was hired by Bellisario because of the chemistry that she had with Michael during her audition. He said, “Cote just blew me away. she blew everybody away.” He also said, “she even blew Michael away.”
Delilah DiNozzo
August 13, 2014 @ 12:07 pm
That wasn’t about chemistry. It was because she was unphased by MW adlibbing during her reading.
VBQ
August 13, 2014 @ 12:27 pm
You’re saying Bellisario went out to hire a dud? No, that’s what Glasberg did with Bishop. Bellisario saw sparks between them, and so did everyone else including Les Moonves.
FAN*not*FANATIC
August 13, 2014 @ 12:32 pm
Don’t think she meant that.
The adlibbing thing has been said many times in interviews with various people…
Maria
August 13, 2014 @ 2:44 pm
Being able to react to his adlibbing in the audition was precisely what made Bellisario, Les Moonves, and Michael Weatherly realize that Cote and Michael had great chemistry.
Part of the reason the show no longer works is because Michael is no longer able to adlib as much since Cote left because no one there is able to react as well as Cote always responded to his adlibs. His best adlibs came when he was with Cote and the show lost that when Cote left.
Conan the Grammarian
August 13, 2014 @ 5:26 pm
And you know this how? Are you on set a lot? You’ve seen interviews where someone has said this?
Dido Twite
August 14, 2014 @ 11:21 pm
The adlibbing story has been told multiple times in multiple interviews.
Conan the Grammarian
August 15, 2014 @ 1:04 pm
Yes, I know the first part is correct – I was referring to the second part of Maria’s quote where she says that “…Michael is no longer able to ad lib as much…”
Sandi Brooks
August 15, 2014 @ 7:44 pm
He can still ad lib, but comedy is as much about the “straight man” and the react shots, or how two characters time their responses to each other.. Michaels ad libs just dont play the same without another on deck who has Cotes comedic timing.
liz laughlin
August 13, 2014 @ 2:59 pm
Here’s the rest of the quote. “Michael’s funny. Michael is in some ways like his character. I mean he’s a good looking guy, the women like him and a woman kinda throws it back in his face. It surprises him and that was her character and she smartly did the same thing off camera that she’s doing on camera and the two of ’em…I never knew when he was playing Tony and when he was being Michael, when she was playing Ziva and when she was being Cote. They are very close now, very close friends.”
It was, as I said, the chemistry. Bellisario also said that the audition was the day before he was to submit his choice for the actress to play Ziva. Before Cote auditioned, he had someone else in mind.
This can be found on the voice over commentary for season 3 episode 1, “Kill Ari (Part One)” on the DVD. It was recorded sometime between the end of season 3 and the first part of season 4.
Maria
August 13, 2014 @ 3:06 pm
Cote was already offered the role even before she was able to hail a cab to go to her hotel. This is how much Bellisario, one of the best showrunners in Hollywood, wanted her to be on the show since he offered her the role immediately.
Dido Twite
August 14, 2014 @ 11:21 pm
He is renowned for creating great characters and great ensembles. Again and again, he got the chemistry right. The fact that he wanted Cote BADLY is pretty remarkable. According to Michael Weatherly, Les Moonves watched her audition and said “THAT’s her. That’s the girl.” They hired her on the spot because of the sparks she had with Weatherly.
FAN*not*FANATIC
August 13, 2014 @ 5:06 pm
I’ve got the boxsets too!
It’s that quote that is to blame for fanning the flames of Tiva!! (Sorry, it’s just not my thing).
It also has the dubious honor of creating ‘Mote’ and I’m most definitely not sorry about finding THAT incredibly distasteful.
liz laughlin
August 17, 2014 @ 4:41 am
My my, the darned old quote is responsible for fanning the flames. What was Bellisario thinking when he said it? Did he think it was his show? The nerve of the guy.
Dido Twite
August 14, 2014 @ 11:18 pm
That was the whole point. They were watching to see what she would do when Michael ad libbed. They LOVED it. However she reacted to him, everyone in the room busted out laughing. That’s what got her hired. That’s what chemistry is.
VBQ
August 13, 2014 @ 1:50 am
Best news I’ve heard today!
Marla
August 13, 2014 @ 1:47 am
Oh, it would be nice to see Ziva come back, even if it’s for guest appearances. It sure would back up Gary’s statement about there being no bad blood. I love how Michael really wants to see Cote back as well.
ruthann
August 13, 2014 @ 1:43 am
So looking forward to Cote’s return as Ziva!
Karbear
August 13, 2014 @ 1:40 am
I absolutely feel that Cote should return and have a strong feeling she will. MW sounds very sure they will have a reunion and the news of the Dovekeepers makes me think CBS bought it with Cote in mind to keep her in good graces with CBS and potentially get her back on NCIS. When she returns you can be sure viewership will rise and chances are that is what CBS is banking on.
Psp
August 13, 2014 @ 12:40 pm
I would love to see her back if not per mantle as a guest
marysue
August 13, 2014 @ 1:46 pm
I agree this is a possible strategy.
Lee
August 14, 2014 @ 1:39 pm
How can we be sure viewership will rise if Ziva were to return?
Season 10 had two dramatic drops in viewers, only hauled up by some well publicized and dramatic episodes stepping away from the “season of Tiva” and killing off two recurring characters.
If the viewers have been leaving in their droves because of Bishop, why were they leaving in their droves long before she had even been thought of?
liz laughlin
August 15, 2014 @ 12:05 am
What ever are you talking about? Where are you getting these number from? Are you pulling them out of the smoke?
Season 10 had a slight increase in viewership over season 9. These are from the Nielsen numbers from Wikipedia. They are the same as the ones on BY the Numbers. Season 9 averaged about 19.23 mil, Season 10 averaged about 19.29 mil and Season 11 about 18.5 mil.
The telling figures are that the last 10 episodes of season 9 averaged 18.53 mil, the last 10 episodes of Season 10 averaged about 19.02 Mil while the last 10 episodes of Season 11 averaged about 17.13 mil. When you look at the numbers from the end of Season 11, they are bad whether you compare to Season 9 or Season 10.
Season 9 had 4 episodes of 20 mill or higher. Season 10 had 8 episodes of 20 mil or higher. Season 11 had 2 episodes of 20 mil or higher and one of those two was the first episode (Whisky Tango Foxtrot) where viewers expected to see Ziva but only saw Tony communicating with her by instant message. In Episode 2 (Past, Present, Future) where we did see Ziva. almost 20 million viewers watched (19.98 mil).
When people say that NCIS had bad viewership numbers in season 11, this is what they are talking about. For any other show , these numbers would have been great, but not for NCIS. The big question is will the viewership continue to drop.. I for one don’t like the way they handled the departure of Ziva. When the fans were not allowed to grieve the loss of her with the team, they killed the family dynamic which was an integral part of Bellisario’s game plan. That family dynamic existed in the show for 10 seasons. TPTB tried to erase Ziva from the show and our memories. That was a huge mistake. I don’t know if this was sheer stupidity or a planned strategy.. If something works for ten years why change it?
Lee
August 15, 2014 @ 10:07 am
I’m getting the figures from the same place as you. Just interpreting them differently.
Looking at the graphs for seasons 9-11 alongside each other, season 10 is the aberation with the numbers dropping dramatically early season. All three seasons tail off toward the spring. I need to look for the figures for earlier seasons, but I see nothing in the figures for season 11 to cause anyone to panic. Yet.
Especially considering that the +7day figures have all been very good. The indications are that people have not stopped watching, just stopped watching live. But I don’t have previous season figures to compare those to, so have not used them.
Oh, and I agree that Ziva’s departure was handled badly. They should just have mentioned at the beginning of season 11 that following on from her resignation at the end of season 10 she had returned to Israel and wasn’t coming back.
People get over genuine, life-changing bereavement quicker than some Ziva fans have got over the departure of a fictional character who is still on 8 seasons of re-runs.
For many the show is just as great without her as it was with her. She isn’t the dealbreaker to them.
liz laughlin
August 15, 2014 @ 5:01 pm
How are you going to factor in the people who are not watching live? Is someone getting good statistical data on DVR use or other venues or are we just pulling numbers out of the air? I have more faith in Neilsen because they have been at this for a long time and I know how they gather data. I don’t know what their demographic breakdown or size of their statistical sample looks like but I would wager that it is fairly well done. Traditionally, 50 is the the lower limit for sample size but I’m sure they are using something in the thousands. I would also assume that Nielsen uses good statistical methods to eliminate bias in their sample. Since CBS always gives higher numbers than Nielsen, they are doing something to include viewers that are not watching live. I would really like to know how that data is gathered.
You say that you have compared season 10 to season 11 by graphing the Neilsen numbers. From what you say, you have graphed the viewership for each episode. .I can’t believe that you cannot see a definite downward trend for the last 10 episodes of season 11. It’s so clear that a fifth grader can see it with or without the graph
I’ve graphed the average total viewership for each season. I’ve found that there are three drops in live viewership. There is a drop from season three to season 4. Season 4 took two mid season hits that required Bellisario to do rewrites One was the suicide of Michael Gilden, the little person who played Abby’s boyriend. That relationship was supposed to run for the rest of the season. The second was the temporary unavailability of the actress that played the Army colonel that Gibbs had a little fling with. This generated chaos for which Mark Harmon told CBS that either CBS fire Bellisario or he would leave. Bellisario stepped down at the end of the season. The next down trend occured after Shane Brennan left to run NCIS-La. The last big down turn was after Cote left at the end of season 10.
I am a teacher with a masters degree and one of the courses I took was Statistical Measures in Education. During that course I never saw a single study that correctly applied the Scientific Method. So, you can call me a skeptic.
liz laughlin
August 16, 2014 @ 5:18 pm
I did the graphs yesterday and I see the drop you’re talking about. Season 10 season started out okay with ep 1. After that viewership was erratic. It dropped came up took a big drop and came back up and took another drop before making a steady climb to where it should be. NCIS viewership usually peaks right in the the middle of the season right around ep 12, (could be eps 11, 12, 13 or 14). That peak for ep 12 was Shiva, the highest viewership ep in the history of NCIS .After the peak, viewership dropped slowly, then at ep18 it took a big drop. I bottomed at ep 20 then it started an erratic upward journey. The good thing was that Season 10 had it’s historical high and a total of 7 eps over 20 million Also, it’s last 5 eps averaged 17.84 mil. compared to the last 10 10 eps of season 11, 17.13 mil, that ain’t so bad.
Season 11 was bad because it had only 2 eps over 20 mil.and at ep 15 it took a 2.35 million drop and stayed there for 10 episode, averaging an abysmal 17.13 million viewers. Now that is significant.
liz laughlin
August 16, 2014 @ 4:37 pm
I’m seeing a pattern to this now. By looking at your upvotes, it appears that most of the Ziva fans, not all but most, are women. Most of the “glad to see her go” people are men, not all but most. When I watched JAG, I used to think of how clever Bellisario was. The show had something for everyone. There was action for the guys–planes flying off of air craft carriers, battle scenes in Iraq or Afghanistan. He also put in a lot relationship stuff that women like and guys complain about because they think it’s like soap operas. I never saw Full Metal Jacket or Apocalypse Now. I never had any interest in that film genre but almost every guy I know has seen them. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard the quote, “I love the smell of napalm in the morning.”. NCIS was like JAG, something for everyone. But since Cote left, many of my women friends are not happy with the show without it’s leading lady. My best friend and her husband are big NCIS fans. She is very disappointed with the course the show has taken but they keep watching because he has no problem with it. Men really are from Mars (the god of war) and women from Venus (the goddess of love). Maybe TPTB want to make this a guy show and return to the days when men were heroes and women were just there for support and hero worship.
EyesWideShut
August 16, 2014 @ 5:53 pm
Presumptuous much?
Is it possible to assign a gender to sign in names?
I am female and Full Metal Jacket and Apocalypse Now are two of my favorites from the ‘war film’ genre.
Different strokes for different folks, just as how shows like NCIS and JAG etc., appeal differently to different people. Every person will read into the script and characterizations what they want to see/hear and some will succumb to an almost obsessional delusion regarding their particular favorites. To those people fan fiction often adds to their delusions. I have to wonder if these people have anything going on in their lives outside of the fantasys that seem to drive their every waking moment. It is sad and not a little worrying…
liz laughlin
August 16, 2014 @ 8:47 pm
You failed to see the word “most.” I never said all. The devil is in the detail