Apart from his cameo earlier this yr within the NCIS episode honoring the late David McCallum, it’s been practically a decade since Michael Weatherly starred as Tony DiNozzo on the favored CBS present. Luckily for longtime NCIS followers, there are 13 seasons value of Tony appearances that they’ll take pleasure in and simply stream with a Paramount+ subscription, with certainly one of his greatest episodes being Season 5’s “Requiem.” Nevertheless, former NCIS govt producer Shane Brennan revealed that the “Requiem” promo CBS initially minimize did not impress, a lot in order that it resulted within the TV present’s foremost staff taking on promoting the episode.
Brennan shared this info whereas speaking with Weatherly and Ziva David actress Cote de Pablo on their podcast Off Responsibility: An NCIS Rewatch, with that dialog additionally together with him sharing the backstory behind how he got here up with NCIS: Los Angeles and revealing the NCIS episode that made him notice the the present was “going to be protected.” So far as the story behind the promoting of “Requiem” goes, Brennan began off by explaining why the CBS promo was not acquired effectively thusly:
We made that episode. We might get the promos for every episode a couple of week earlier than us as a result of they’d air on the finish of of this present earlier than. And we might used to get them with about 24 hours discover they usually’d simply say, ‘Here is the promo, may you tick off tick it off?’ And so they despatched the promo by of that episode… and it is sepia. They have an quaint sepia body with lace work spherical it, and the promo was, ‘Somebody from Gibbs’ previous comes again to remind him of the daughter he is misplaced.’ And there have been violins taking part in. I checked out them and went, ‘What the… They’ve missed the mark.’
Aired as NCIS Season 5’s seventh episode, “Requiem” adopted Mark Harmon’s Leroy Jethro Gibbs reuniting with Maddie Tyler, the most effective good friend of his late daughter, in a case that results in her being kidnapped in an try and safe $4 million in stolen Iraqi help cash. Nevertheless, Tony DiNozzo was arguably the episode’s standout character, as “Requiem” truly opened in direction of the top of the story by displaying Michael Weatherly’s character diving right into a bay to free Gibbs and Maddie from a submerged automotive and after which resuscitate them. Nevertheless, somewhat than tease that massive Tony second within the “Requiem” promo, the CBS individuals as an alternative minimize collectively one thing easy, which didn’t please Shane Brennan. He continued:
So I received Roy Poole, [who] was the editor on that episode, and I mentioned to Roy, ‘Roy, cease what you are doing. We will minimize a promo.’ So we minimize the promo with simply the opening and chosen pitch fading to black, pulling up one other bit with out the rest. And simply on the finish, we mentioned, ‘Subsequent Tuesday,’ that type of factor. And I despatched it again to them, and I waited for the explosion. Like, ‘What the fuck?’ That they had a complete division to chop promos. I imply, that was their job. ‘How dare you!’ That is what I am ready for. And I get a telephone name they usually say, ‘We’re so sorry, we completely missed this chance. That is the most effective program we have ever completed, besides we’ve not completed it.’ So what the promo ended up being was simply the opening sequence the place you give the whole lot away in impact. However it’s so compelling that I knew the viewers would say, ‘I’ve received to observe that episode.’
Whereas technically true that displaying Tony’s heroic act in a promo offers away the episode’s largest second, I agree with Shane Brennan that it was the fitting determination to promote it. Like he mentioned, you present a snippet of Tony taking pictures some guys and diving into water to free the trapped Gibbs and Maddie from drowning, and a number of viewers are going to wish to study the context behind what’s taking place. And that’s not simply me speculating on what occurred again in 2007, as a result of per The Futon Critic, “Requiem” ended up drawing 18.15 million viewers. At the moment, it was NCIS’ second largest viewers ever and was finally essentially the most considered episode of the season.
Head over to Paramount+ to view “Requiem,” whether or not it’s for the primary time ever or as a rewatch, if you happen to’re so inclined after studying this text. NCIS Season 22 will resume Monday, January 27 on the 2025 TV schedule. Don’t neglect that Michael Weatherly and Cote de Pablo will even return to the NCIS-verse for his or her streaming-exclusive spinoff NCIS: Tony & Ziva.