While NCIS Season 21 ended up being significantly shorter than usual as a result of production being delayed due to the actors and writers strikes, the show hit two major milestones across those 10 episodes. Along with the NCIS franchise’s 1,000th episode airing during that time, the second Season 21 episode, titled “The Stories We Leave Behind,” paid tribute to the late David McCallum, who had played Ducky Mallard ever since the NCIS backdoor pilot from JAG. Now, as Season 22 continues airing on the 2025 TV schedule, Jimmy Palmer actor Brian Dietzen, who co-wrote this episode, has talked with CinemaBlend about the fan reactions after it aired.
During my recent conversation with Dietzen alongside actress Elle Graper, who recently reprised Jimmy Palmer’s daughter Victoria on NCIS, the actor shared with me how he received a lot of kind words for the episode that opened with Jimmy discovering that Ducky had passed away. He started off by saying:
The reception was universally very positive… You always feel like something you write has some level of import for yourself, and hopefully for the fans, and people say, ‘Oh, that was, that was nice.’ You hope for a good reception. But it felt like the stakes were a lot higher on this one. I co-wrote that with Scott Williams, and it wasn't just Scott Williams, right? Because we had all of these other writers who had worked on all of these scenes that we had in there as well, and our whole staff that came and gave their two cents on, like, ‘Here's the best scene that you should do for this or that.’ It really was such a group effort that it felt like, ‘Boy, we can't let this down because David has meant so much to us as a friend and as a colleague.’
Although David McCallum stopped making regular appearances on NCIS starting in Season 15, he would still pop in from time to time until his last appearance in the Season 20 finale, and he remained credited as a series regular. “The Stories We Leave Behind,” which you can watch now with a Paramount+ subscription, saw the team coming together to solve the last case Ducky had been working on before he died. As Brian Dietzen noted, in addition to the material he wrote with Scott Williams, there were also clips interspersed throughout the episode of other important Ducky moments from years past. The actor continued:
And by proxy, of course, Ducky has meant so much to the show, but it really was about David. It was about trying to pay respects to his work on this show and his huge, huge part in making this the success that it is. I felt so blessed to be able to have him as an on-screen and off-screen mentor in my life. And he was a good friend.
David McCallum died on September 25, 2023, just six days after he told 90 years old. “The Stories We Leave Behind” aired five months later and Brian Dietzen also told me during our conversation that going into Season 21, he had no intention of writing any episodes, having previously done so with Season 19’s “The Helpers” and Season 20’s “Old Wounds.” But following McCallum’s passing, the powers-that-be felt that it was important his voice be heard, and this decision paid off. As Dietzen recalled:
So to be asked by our producers, ‘Hey, can you co-write on this one? Because we want your voice.’ I was beyond honored, and I got a wonderful note from Amy Reisenbach after she watched the first cut. She just said, ‘You did him proud, and I was like, ‘Ok, I think we're heading in the right direction.’ And by the time it aired, I was happy by the reception, and that people really loved it.
It’s good to hear that fans and CBS higher-ups alike approved of how Dietzen honored David McCallum and his character in “The Stories We Leave Behind.” The episode concluded with a surprise appearance from Michael Weatherly, who reprised Tony DiNozzo for the first time since exiting NCIS in the Season 13 finale. Since Weatherly had also appeared alongside McCallum, Mark Harmon and Pauley Perrette in the JAG episodes “Ice Queen” and “Meltdown,” it was fitting that one of the original guard was there for this sendoff.
Although Ducky Mallard is long since gone from the NCIS-verse, his memory lives on. The office he used while working as the NCIS historian has been converted into the hangout spot officially known as the Dr. Donald Mallard Memorial Multi-Purpose Room, nicknamed Ducky’s. As for Brian Dietzen, you can continue seeing him play Jimmy Palmer on NCIS Monday nights at 9 pm ET, and he also informed me why fans should be excited about the upcoming spinoff NCIS: Tony & Ziva.
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