NCIS Season Finale Tribute
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Ralph Waite
leighbrent1832 — 11 years ago(May 13, 2014 11:03 PM)
Since I was a fan of both his Waltons and NCIS characters AND had met him once upon a time, I was pleased with the Season Finale Tribute. Here is EW's write up:
It started with a phone call. Mark Harmon received a call that his co-worker and friend, Ralph Waite, had passed away. The news hadnt broken yet. Mark came upstairs to see me in my office. We sat down and reflected on Ralphs extraordinary career. From Cool Hand Luke to The Waltons, Ralph Waite defined and earned the title character actor. We considered adding a simple In Memoriam card to the end of the next episode that was about to air. It didnt feel like enough of a gesture. We contemplated re-running Better Angels, his last wonderful storyline with us. It felt redundant. Ralph deserved more. He would have wanted us to stretch, to push the story envelope, to leave people feeling the loss of Jackson Gibbs, not just reflecting on it.
Theres no doubt season eleven has been a season of surprises; Zivas departure, Bishops arrival, the launch of NCIS: New Orleans. The writers and producers of NCIS talked extensively and decided it might be time for a change. We didnt need to do another cliffhanger. We didnt need to leave the audience guessing who might survive a bomb blast or a political kidnapping. We had something very real happen to us off-screen. We lost someone we truly cared about. And now it was time to let Leroy Jethro Gibbs say goodbye to his father, too.
I knew instantly who would help me write this emotional farewell. It had to be Gina Monreal. She and Ralph connected on Better Angels. He got a kick out of her and vice versa. Not to mention, he truly respected Ginas talent on the page. Tony Wharmby was already set to direct the episode so that basically reassembled the team. We started talking about how best to handle Jacksons death. As always, we knew we had to come up with a parallel crime story (its what we do), but the drive of Honor Thy Father would undoubtedly be Gibbs mourning the loss of his dad. This needed to be a finale with real emotional resonance. A finale with heart and soul and warmth and pathos. And, of course, a few classic NCIS twists and turns along the way for good measure.
Every character has their moment to say goodbye. Tremendous thought went into the funeral scene. We knew we wanted to see some of Jacksons old WWII buddies paying their respects. We knew we had to get Billy Dee Williams who plays Jacksons buddy L.J. to help us, as well. We knew we wanted Jackson to have a military funeral. It needed to be a fitting goodbye fo5b4r a decorated veteran. From day one, Gina knew the music she wanted over the final montage. It had to be Warren Zevons Keep Me In Your Heart. Im a huge Warren Zevon fan. I wasnt about to argue that. Trust me, youll needs the tissue box. Its not easy to get through the funeral sequence without tearing up a little.
Is there some NCIS suspense? Of course. Do we get some classic Abby, McGee, and Tony? Absolutely. But this season finale is about Gibbs. We get to see a personal side of him few have witnessed. We get to feel his pain and his anguish and his sadness. And we get to see his pride. The pride Gibbs had in his father, regardless of their differences. -
guitarrgirl — 11 years ago(June 12, 2014 04:55 AM)
Thank you for posting. I just finished the season finale episode and was shocked that Ralph Wait actually died. I don't get TV reception so, I'm a bit sheltered.
That last scene? all of a sudden Gibbs makes sense! Thank you CBS and NCIS team for showing such a fitting tribute to a great, and well missed actor and for not smacking us in the face with the usual (and clich) cliffhanger. Those dual, or parallel story lines are extremely annoying, but I'll forgive it this time.
So sad, but a great show. -
kaoskode@swbell.net — 11 years ago(June 16, 2014 07:25 PM)
I really liked him in every role I seen him in.
He will be missed. -
kaoskode@swbell.net — 11 years ago(June 16, 2014 07:26 PM)
I really liked him in every role I've seen him in.
He will be missed. -
thefifthkid — 11 years ago(July 07, 2014 12:45 PM)
It was very well written, acted111c, directed and just everything was great. A fitting tribute to a wonderful man. It also showed some more of the past events that contributed to Leroy Jethro Gibbs character. Thank you to all concerned for the extra effort put in to making this episode. He deserved it. We will miss you Jackson Gibbs.