NCIS star talks Mark Harmon's absence from 1000th episode

Fans hoped and waited, but it didn't happen. The 1,000th episode of NCIS was a massive event, and one that saw the procedural drama bring back characters and references from the show's past. It seemed like the perfect time to bring back Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon), but alas, he was nowhere to be found.

Rocky Carroll, who has spent a decade and half playing Leon Vance, addressed this unsurprising outcome in a recent interview with People Magazine. The actor acknowledged the power that Gibbs has over viewers, but made an excellent point regarding the franchise and its ability to evolve over time.

Rocky Carroll says NCIS isn't reliant on "stars"

In Carroll's estimation, NCIS would not be what it is today if it was solely reliant on characters like Gibbs to keep fans interested. It's a show about the team, the ensemble, rather than the individual. He's right:

"It has to be about NCIS. If it becomes about any one person in particular, we probably would've been off the air 15 years ago."

Carroll asserted that the show's longevity has allowed it to cycle through different characters, and keep fans on their toes. Nobody sticks around for too long, and when a certain arc looks as though its getting stagnant, it gets tweaked or thrown out for something new. The characters aren't trapped at a "certain year or a certain timeframe or at a certain age," according to the actor.

Carroll praised the show's adaptability

Carroll also asserted that themes like aging and transitioning to different periods of life are worked into the story, allowing the viewers to feel like they are growing with the characters. The members of the NCIS team are allowed to fall out of love with the job, and perhaps even pursue a different lifestyle past a certain point. That's what happened with Gibbs.

"We evolved over these 20-something years. We're not playing the characters with the same mindset and sensibility they had 20 years ago. They're older."

It would have been exciting to see Gibbs return for a cameo, but to bring him back just for the sake of bringing him back would have undone the very quality that Carroll says in inherent to the show. NCIS works because it tries to be honest about its characters. Plus, we have a Gibbs prequel around the corner. We can let him sit out plays in the present day.