What's in a Name?
There has been much talk about the name and here is a collection of some of what has been said.
NAVAL N.C.I.S. (A.K.A. N.C.I.S.) (CBS) - The Eye
network has changed the title for its upcoming "J.A.G." spin-off yet again.
Originally "N.C.I.S.," the series has been titled "Navy C.I.S.," then "Naval
C.I.S.," then reverted back to "N.C.I.S." and now has apparently settled on
"Navy N.C.I.S."
Is this true or is your last e-mail on the subject still correct?
It is unfortunately true.
DPB has always wanted NCIS.
CBS wanted Navy CIS.
DPB said it's not Navy Criminal Investigative Service...it's Naval Criminal
Investigative Service.
CBS didn't understand the difference, but changed it to NAVAL CIS to please
DPB who wasn't pleased and continued to bug them.
CBS said, "How about JAG-NCIS"? DPB said, "No!"
CBS finally relented and said okay to NCIS.
DPB cheered. He'd won! But, wait. Bruckheimer calls CBS and says people
think he's putting on another version of CSI! (Guess there are more
dyslexics out there than we thought.)
CBS, not wanting to anger Bruckheimer or DPB, changes the name to Navy NCIS.
If you're wondering about the logic behind this, so is DPB.
It will only be NAVY NCIS for a short while and then the NAVY will be
dropped. It will never be referred to in the episodes as anything but NCIS.
By the way, at the last minute to confuse them further.
DPB said, "Hey, let's call it BRAVO ZULU."
CBS said, "Huh?"
LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - Donald Bellisario is well
aware of the rather awkward title of his new series, "Navy NCIS." He's also
fairly sure that the "Navy" part will be dropped sometime soon.
NCIS stands for Naval Criminal Investigative Service, so if the full title
of the show, an offshoot of "JAG" that CBS is premiering in the fall, were
spelled out, it would be "Navy Naval Criminal Investigative Service."
"It's only going to be called ['Navy NCIS'] for a very short period of
time," says Bellisario, the creator of "JAG" and "Magnum, P.I.," among other
series.
The NCIS is essentially the U.S. Navy's police force. Its agents -- some
military personnel, some civilians -- deal with crimes ranging from theft of
government property to murder. The show stars Mark Harmon ("Chicago Hope"),
Sasha Alexander ("Presidio Med") and Michael Weatherly ("Dark Angel") as
members of an NCIS team.
Bellisario says he understands why CBS chose to add "Navy" to the initials
of the title. "CBS thought -- and I think it's a legitimate concern -- that
they want to get 'JAG' viewers to try it out and to see what it is, because
people don't know what NCIS is," he says.
The title has gone through several permutations, including "Navy CIS" at one
time. That one may have been a little too easily confused with the two "CSI"
series already airing on CBS. So, for now at least, the network has settled
on "Navy NCIS."
"I don't know how long [the current title] will go, but we would never refer
to it in the show as anything but NCIS," Bellisario says. "It's only on the
screen that it's called 'Navy NCIS.' "
