The Fate of NCIS

I can remember sitting in my living room as a ten year old, thrilled to hear the theme song to JAG emanate from my TV. I was a die-hard fan of Harmon Rabb Jr. and Sarah McKenzie who kicked ass, took names and dragged their audience through the ups and downs of a complicated ten year relationship.

It was the tension between Harm and Mac that kept JAG alive and made the show the most popular military themed program since M*A*S*H*

So when JAG ended in 2005 I was beyond sad, but the way that the show ended was (in my opinion) perfect. The audience finally got to see Harm and Mac become a couple and share their wedding news with their best friends/coworkers.

The love story in JAG was handled great (although there could have been more Harm/Mac moments) and it now contrasts starkly with how how NCIS' love story was handled. JAG went off the air and NCIS (same creator) came on the scene. It was pretty much an instant hit and it provided audiences with more suspenseful romantic moments between it's characters, Tony DiNozzo and Ziva David.

Tony's first partner was Kate, and although there was a snarky-ness between them, they seemed to have more of a brother/sister relationship. But as soon as Ziva arrived, she and Tony had a spark that even NCIS noobs could recognize. They were electric and the possibilities between them were endless.

But the writers of NCIS really screwed the pooch by letting that spark cool. There were ample opportunities to amp up and back off of their relationship to keep it going longer. There was an epic love story simmering right before the writer's eyes, and although they gave us some good Tony/Ziva moments, they didn't do nearly as much with that relationship as they could have.

Of course, many people realize that once the main relationship of a show is solidified, it can lead to the show's demise due to disinterest since the conflict has been resolved….but there are thousands of ways they could have explored their relationship without bringing them together just yet. And in the end, they owe it to their fans to bring that love story to fruition.

The premise of NCIS is good…it provides longevity with each new case the team gets…but it lacks that crucial dimension of love that makes good T.V. shows great. Look at JAG, the X-Files, Smallville, Grey's Anatomy, The Good Wife, Castle, Psych…there is not shortage of shows that had that love element and were able to pull it off, bringing the anticipated couple together! 

According to a TV Guide interview, Cote de Pablo's exit episode was the most anticipated episode of NCIS and it was because of Tiva!! Even Cote wants them to be together for crap's sake. In a two year old interview, de Pablo said the following,  "As far as the 'Tiva' fans, they'll get a resolution they've awaited for years," she says. "There is a level of confession. And if it takes a big change like this to stir things up, it's all for the better. I'm a fan of the show!"

The only thing is…her final episode didn't give fans a resolution, it just left them with a hole in their heart. Cote played Ziva for eight seasons, and now the fans are left without the Tony/Ziva love story/happy ending that we've longed for.

The evolution of their love story is the equivalent of dangling a three tiered cake in front of a starving human, only to light it on fire at the very last minute. I want my cake dammit! 

It is my prediction that without the Tiva love interest present, the show will continue to explore the characters and have week to week cases to solve, only to pitter out after the remaining actors throw in the towel or the ratings dip. This is what…the twelfth year? 

JAG lasted 10 seasons and it was better to have the love story resolved than to have further episodes without those characters to anchor the show. I think it's safe to say that the majority of viewers miss Cote de Pablo's character, and that her exit will be the string that slowly unravels the show. A show can only last on a case-to-case theme for so long without something bigger to anchor it.