NCIS: Origins is part of the NCIS universe that focuses on the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), so it can be confusing that Gibbs works for an organization called NIS in the prequel series. Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Austin Stowell) and Mike Franks (Kyle Schmid) are reviving the iconic NCIS characters for the prequel story, which begins in 1991. Technically, Gibbs and Franks still work for NIS, but it is an extension of the federal NCIS agency after an earlier structuring of the current organization.
The spinoff represents how much NCIS has changed over the past 20 years. The NCIS: Origins characters use pre-computer technology, highlighting Franks’ team operating in a bygone era. Supporting characters like Special Agent Lala Dominguez (Mariel Molino) and NCIS franchise alum Vera Stickland (Diany Rodriguez) are confined to CD players, corded phones, and bulletin boards, emphasizing the divide between Mike Franks’ team in the NCIS: Origins story and Gibbs’ Major Case Response Team (MCRT). Still, perhaps the most apparent difference between the teams is the acronym that ties them together.
NCIS Was Originally Called NIS
In The TV Series, NIS Becomes NCIS
The Naval Investigation Service (NIS) has been redesigned into the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) in NCIS lore. The original NCIS series reveals that Gibbs becomes an NIS agent in 1991 and is with the agency until 2021, and sometime in the 1990s, he was part of its restructuring. The key takeaway is that the agency is restructuring just as Gibbs joins it, defining his NCIS career.
The agency undergoes more iterations than the one represented in NCIS, but the TV show generally reflects the trend.
The agency undergoes more iterations than the one represented in NCIS, but the TV show generally reflects the trend the organization followed through the 1980s and 1990s. Choosing to hone in on the one adjustment from NIS to NCIS was easier to condense for television, and it gets the point across. Moreover, the switch from NIS to NCIS in the NCIS story reflects the language people used for the organization at the time while condensing real-world events without much consequence. The show can reflect the re-designation of the agency to NCIS in NCIS: Origins since it happened right after Gibbs joined the team.
NIS’ Name-Change Is Inspired By Real-World Events (But With Some Inconsistencies)
In The Real World, NCIS Has More Variations
In the real world, NCIS undergoes more iterations than the adjustment from NIS to NCIS. The organization was established as the Naval Investigative Service (NIS) after World War II by the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI). During its earliest days, the main concerns of the NIS were sabotage and espionage cases. The organization was first re-designated in 1985, becoming the Naval Security and Investigative Command (NSIC). At this time, the agency’s mission broadened to include managing a more extensive national security program. Still, the organization would undergo a few more changes before it became NCIS.
In 1988, NSIC was re-designated as the Naval Investigative Service Command (NISC). During this time, some confusion existed over the agency’s name. The organization was still called NIS in the late ’80s and early ’90s more broadly, but the “command” aspect was added to refer to NIS headquarters. The subtle variation between what NIS was called in 1991 and what it was officially named could explain the inconsistency in NCIS: Origins. The organization was restructured again in 1991-1992 after the Tailhook scandal, forming the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) that exists today and is represented by Mark Harmon’s Gibbs.
When Does NIS Become NCIS (Both In The Show & In Real-World)
NCIS Becomes Official In 1991
In the real world, NCIS reached its current format in the early 1990s. The agency was undergoing its final re-designation at the same time the NCIS: Origins story takes place, so, in some ways, the prequel represents the changes within NCIS during that era. Since NCIS’s redesignation was complete in 1992, around the same time NCIS: Origins takes place, NCIS can create a narrative around the conflict, including how the shift affects Gibbs’ NCIS career. While there is more behind the scenes than is explained in NCIS, it’s good that the franchise chose to represent the shift in the agency.
The changes to the name of NCIS in the early ’90s reflect shifts the agency is making more broadly. NCIS was restructured due to improper investigative techniques and chain-of-command issues. The general change of NCIS in the early 1990s was that it became a more civilian agency, meaning it was made up of more people who weren’t officially members of the Armed Services. As such, Stowell’s Gibbs is positioned in the agency during a shift in tone from military to civilian affairs, symbolically reflecting the transition that Gibbs made in NCIS: Origins.