Fandom Spotlight Day 10: NCIS

For the month of April, I’m breaking out of my usual “format” and showcasing one of my favorite fandoms a day, so I will have shiny things to make me smile every day of my birthday month. When I sat down to write the list of my top 30 fandoms, I found the task terribly hard. How do I choose just 30? My apologies to all my beloved fandoms left off the list. I’m using random.org to determine what fandom gets what day.

Favorite Quote: McGee: That character was not based on you.
Palmer: His name was Pimmy Jalmer, McGee!
McGee: Well, he’s French Polynesian.

Favorite Episode: “Baltimore”

Favorite Moment: There are sooooo many, so I’m going to have to go with a lighthearted one: Tony singing while undercover

How I Got Into It: I started watching it somewhere around mid-Season 3 (I think?) when it was airing then quickly realized I wanted to do this properly and started from the beginning using repeats to quickly catch up. I was not a JAG fan, mostly because it was military and Oliver North was in a few episodes. But after stumbling upon some episodes, I decided to give NCIS a chance and really came to love it.

Fangirl Intensity (scale of 1 to 10 with 10=full-out obsessed): 6

How I Fangirl: I own every season on DVD. I’ve written lots of fanfic (including one novella-length story) and I’m on several mailing lists specific to NCIS. I have the NCIS board game, which I won online in a promotion. I got a special photo from the cast for their recent anniversary episode in another fan promotion.

Weirdest Merch I Own: technically, I bought it and it’s on backorder… but it’s a mini keychain version of Abby’s farting hippo.

Favorite Fandom Creation: Xanthe’s fanfiction, much of which has pretty much become headcanon for me. I especially love “Andy,” “The First Collar,” “Hiding In Plain Sight,” “Soul Deep,” “Ten Years On,” “Two Masters,” and “Two Wolves.” Whenever I go on a vacation, I read or reread one of the longer stories. I have a few of my favorites as zines and I reread those a lot too.

Why I’m Glad I Fangirl It: Largely, my love for the show is Abby and Gibbs/DiNozzo. But I have mad love for McGee and Ducky and of the entire team as a whole. NCIS was the only TV crime show I’d follow for years (then came Castle and Bones, but I’m behind with both of them). And I happily jumped into liking NCIS: LA as well. I really enjoy the characters more than the crime aspects, but I like the way the formulas play out on this show–fun and serious without being insulting or cheesy. But I mostly just love Abby and the Gibbs/DiNozzo dynamic. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know them all and exploring them through reading & writing fics.