Kate Todd’s Original Gibbs Team Predecessor Actor Returns To NCIS After 22 Years

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Be warned, this article contains spoilers for NCIS: Origins season 2, episode 6, “Happy Birthday.” After 22 years, CBS has brought back an original actress who played a detective on Leroy Jethro Gibbs’ team to the show NCIS. Given how popular the NCIS franchise has become, it’s easy to forget that it originally began as a spin-off of the legal drama JAG. Like most shows in the NCIS universe, the original series was introduced through a backdoor pilot. This pilot featured Mark Harmon and his team solving a case that also included characters from JAG, effectively launching the series.

In the beginning, NCIS intentionally highlighted its connection to JAG through guest appearances, reminding viewers of their shared universe. As JAG neared the end of its ten-season run, these crossovers happened less often, and people started to forget just how much JAG influenced NCIS. JAG essentially paved the way for NCIS, even introducing some of the characters who would become key members of Gibbs’ team. Interestingly, the NCIS concept itself started as a two-part episode on JAG, and not all of those initial characters made the transition to the new series.

NCIS: Origins Season 2, Episode 7 Marks The Return Of Robyn Lively To The Franchise

The original Major Crimes Response Team (MCRT) featured in JAG looked a little different than the team that launched with NCIS. While Michael Weatherly (as Anthony DiNozzo), David McCallum (as Ducky Mallard), and Pauley Perrette (as Abby Sciuto) were part of the team from the beginning, Sasha Alexander’s Kate Todd didn’t join until later. In JAG, the role of the fourth team member was played by Robyn Lively as Vivian Blackadder.

When NCIS first started, the team didn’t include any female detectives, so Gibbs hired Todd after she left the Secret Service following a presidential assassination attempt on Air Force One. Over twenty years later, Sasha Lively returns to the NCIS universe in season 2, episode 6 of NCIS: Origins, titled “Happy Birthday.” But this time, she’s playing a completely new character with no connection to her previous role or the show JAG.

This episode of NCIS: Origins focuses on Bernard Randolf, showing his past and how he became the optimistic member of Mike Franks’ team. It essentially tells the story of his beginnings, including introducing his mother, Maxine. The episode also highlights the show’s excellent casting choices – the actors playing young Bernard and his mother share a striking resemblance.

Why Lively’s Vivian Blackadder Was Cut From NCIS

NCIS successfully continued the feel of the original JAG team after it began as a spin-off. However, some cast changes were made to improve the new show. Although never officially stated, Special Agent Blackadder’s handling of a major terrorist case could have been a believable reason for her departure. Reportedly, creator Donald Bellisario felt she didn’t quite fit the dynamic of the team.

Interestingly, David Lively wasn’t the only actor from the show JAG who didn’t continue on to NCIS. Thomas Anthony Jones, who played Don Dobbs on Gibbs’ team, was also cut before the show officially premiered in fall 2023. Hopefully, NCIS will find a way to include him in the future, just like they did with Lively. It would be great to see Don Dobbs return after so many years.

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2025-11-19 16:08