The Feb. 8 episode of NCIS finds Gibbs’ team undergoing mandatory psych evaluations. It’s Sweeps fun, yes, and a nod to shows like M*A*S*H, but also something we can all admit is probably long overdue. The episode was written by exec producer Gary Glasberg, who tells EW each character will get his or her time with Dr. Rachel Cranston (Wendy Makkena), and we’ll see flashbacks to key moments from every season of the eight-year-old show. The episode will also feature one never-before-seen scene from the series that CBS is dubbing the ”NCIS lost scene.” To get fans talking, the network has just launched the #NCISLostScene campaign. Starting today, a new piece of that lost scene will be revealed in a photo puzzle (pictured) at www.cbs.com/ncis daily, along with a clue for fans to guess what it is. When you take the conversation to Twitter, use the hashtag #NCISLostScene.
We were able to get two clues out of Glasberg:
• The inclusion of the lost scene was a cast member’s idea. “[He or she] remembered a scene that we had done that never made it into the show. A few people here who’ve been with the show since day one had a very vague memory of it. And then it took us a while to go back into dailies — these things are literally kept in storage facilities in vaults — and find this footage. Once we all looked at it, we were thrilled. It was exciting to find something that fit the story so well and helped the episode.” So we’re talking about something from an earlier season…
• Asked to describe the mood of the scene, Glasberg says, “That’s interesting. There’s some humor to it, and there’s also a tremendous amount of emotional resonance. I think it’s one of those NCIS moments that will just be satisfying for people on a lot of levels. It’s not a broad comedic moment in any way, that’s for sure. In dealing with an episode where people are sort of analyzing themselves and looking inward, it’s a moment that will provide some insight for people into some stuff from the past.”
So, what are you hoping the scene is? And after the reveal of the first puzzle piece — the upper left-hand corner of the photo above — what’s your initial guess?
Bonus scoop: Who knows if this relates at all to the lost scene, but we can tell you that you are not crazy if you watched the promo for the episode and thought Dr. Cranston resembles Caitlin (Sasha Alexander), the member of Gibbs’ team who took a bullet to the forehead in the season 2 finale (earning her a spot in our countdown of TV’s 20 most shocking deaths). “I hope that people pick up on stuff like that all through the episode,” Glasberg says. “There’s lots of little things layered throughout this episode for people to get excited about and pick up on. In sort of classic NCIS fashion, there are comments, lines of dialogues, and things that not only inform the present story that we’re dealing with, but also some stuff to come, and offer commentary on stuff that’s happened previously as well.”
