Actor David McCallum Dead at 90—U.N.C.L.E.’s Illya and NCIS’s Ducky Has Crossed the Pond

Twenty years ago this week, Donald Bellisario’s and Don McGill’s genius ensemble called “NCIS” premiered on CBS, a shot-in-the-dark gamble of a series based on a complex character of a determined yet troubled Marine, Leroy Jethro Gibbs with Mark Harmon as lead. McCallum was also included on the two-part story on Bellisario’s “JAG,” where the character originated.(Photo permission, CBS Press Express)

Harmon, still a young unknown, had come to their attention thanks to his four-episode role as Allison Janney’s love interest in “The West Wing.” To make “NCIS” come alive, with gravitas, Bellisario knew he could count on David McCallum to be the perfect counterpart to Gibbs, as medical examiner Dr. Donald “Ducky” Mallard.

Who better than the man who embodied cool under pressure, having played Ilya Kuryakin from 1964–1968 on “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” His repertoire had included Shakespeare, and theatre productions of “The Lion in Winter” and “Julius Caesar.” The Glasgow, Scotland, native won the hearts of Americans in the 1960s with his cool, suave portrayal of Illya Kuryakin, secret agent, in the proverbial black turtleneck cast opposite the ultracool Robert Vaughn.

McCallum had a wonderful means of expressing himself with any dialogue he was given and for exactly the past 20 years, he “was” Ducky to this generation of Americans who adored his brilliant memory, tolerated his penchant for telling a three-minute answer in eight minutes (on the show) and his dapper portrayal of a man whose heart was always with the U.S. Marine, both throughout the show and beyond.

In many episodes of “NCIS” over the years, Ducky’s character provided closure when homeless Marines were killed in assuring that they received full military honors when appropriate. There were several occasions that showed Ducky attending the Marine Military Ball, which was a fund raiser for their scholarship fund.

Far more than a character actor, McCallum was a music professional, having studied oboe at the Royal Academy of Music. Sort of keeping it all in the family, given that his father was first violinist for the London Philharmonic and his mother a cellist.

Even beyond that, the music continues. His family with two women includes four sons and a daughter. With first wife, Jill Ireland, are sons Paul, Jason (d. 1989), and Valentine. With wife Katherine Carpenter are son Peter and daughter Sophie.

Son Val is a guitarist and singer-songwriter who is a veteran of many tours. He also has been a studio musician with Jackson Browne, Sheryl Crow, Lucinda Williams, Bonnie Raitt, and Loretta Lynn. Val noted that “My grandfather actually played on The Beatles’ track A Day in the Life”; “He’s also credited by Jimmy Page for suggesting using a violin bow on the strings of his electric guitar.”

Son Paul is a popular and respected guitarist, songwriter, and performer in Los Angeles, who favors jazz, blues, and some of his own compositions, which you can find on “Jazz Dogs” by the Paul McCallum Trio. Fellow musicians include Tom Buckner, Granville “Danny” Young, and Rod Harbour as well as Dave Smith and Doemenic Genova.

Son Peter told Sky News, “He always put family before self. He looked forward to any chance to connect with his grandchildren and had a unique bond with each of them.”

For 459 episodes McCallum sustained record-setting times for “NCIS,” a season beyond Harmon, albeit not in each episode of Season 19, for CBS and for all of us who know much of the dialogue from any number of these episodes.

More than a TV show, more than a standard entertaining procedural with strong plots thanks to brilliant show runners who assured the characters stayed true to Bellisario’s and McGill’s visions, “NCIS” was a part of family life for many on Tuesday nights (later on the show shifted to Mondays) and was the foundation by which audiences would later come to know and enjoy “NCIS: LA,” “NCIS: New Orleans,” and most recently “NCIS: Hawaii,” which has to be some kind of record for launching multimillion-dollar enterprises for one network. (Photo below by Michael Yarish)

Michael Weatherly shared on Twitter, “David McCallum made every moment count, in life and on set. Let’s raise a jug and celebrate a funny fantastic authentic man. I’ve only got 3 autographs. Connery, Tony Bennett and McCallum. … No one did it better. We were lucky to have him bring us Ducky. Let’s send all the love in the world to his beautiful family. Rest In Peace David.”

Brian Dietzen, who played Ducky’s mentoree, Jimmy Palmer, shared today on Twitter, “Such a kind soul and a terrific talent. You are missed beyond words, my friend. My heart just breaks today. Thank you for everything. Sending all my love to the McCallum family.” (Photo by Cliff Lipson, 2011, courtesy of CBS)

To anyone expecting a quote from Mark Harmon, they’ll have to wait until morning for the press outlets as neither Harmon, nor Gibbs, are on social media, but you already knew that.

As the character of Ducky was seen to deem, in his discussion with Gibbs about the fate of his massive personal fortune, it was to be given to the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation, and in April 2015, the U.S. Marine Corps invited him to be the official starter for the Marine Corps Historic Half race. It is poignant and caring that the McCallum family “asks that donations be made to the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation at http://www.mcsf.org — just as Ducky would have appreciated.

David penned his first novel “Once a Crooked Man” in 2016 and “recorded four albums for Capitol Records comprised of instrumental versions of hits at the time.” If that’s not enough, McCallum was a prolific actor and voice character for various movies, video games, and TV series. He was born September 19, 1933 in Glasgow, Scotland; the premiere of “NCIS” was September 23, 2003, which they are rerunning tonight on CBS—the episode is “Yankee White” and features Sasha Alexander at FBI Agent Caitlin Todd. And, he died September 25, 2023 in New York City at the age of 90. Wouldn’t you know it?

Today, by long-ago plan, CBS had declared this day and evening “NCIS Day” in honor of the 20th anniversary of the show’s debut. They are airing 3 episodes of the show tonight beginning at 7pm CST, “Yankee White,” “SWAK,” and “All Hands.” Longtime fans of “NCIS” already know what those episodes are all about.

Everything seems to have come full circle then, and right on time for airtime tonight.

Thank you and good night, David. God bless you.

ABC is Oblivious to Potential of “The Company You Keep”

For some unknown reasons, Vicki Dummer, the whiz-bang exec at ABC programming land, and her team in charge of current series programming has “opted not to renew for a second season” of their new drama “The Company You Keep,” as reported in Deadline Season.

Given its entry at 10pm EST Sunday nights, it was up against the final season of the beloved NBC series “The Blacklist,” so it was barely given a flying chance of survival from the onset. The cast of “The Company” is solid: Milo Ventimiglia has the lead, William Fichtner, Catherine Haena Kim, Polly Draper, and Tim Chiou. However, the competition is really tough: "The Blacklist" has (said in William Shatner voice ala Denny Crane: "James Spader." so there's that.

But they're concluding the series run after 10 years, and at the exact right time. Spader himself knew when to close the doors: I think if the show went beyond this year, it would turn into a very different show, and I think the thing that has been nice about this show was that we've never really had a clear paradigm for the show. Tonally the show shifts a lot from episode to episode, and I think even the show has taken strange turns, and I suspect that the show, if it went much further, would just become something that would be less recognizable to me." Ah, if only the "NCIS" folks were self-aware of where they are.

WILLIAM FICHTNER, SARAH WAYNE CALLIES, POLLY DRAPER, MILO VENTIMIGLIA, FELISHA TERRELL, CATHERINE HAENA KIM, TIM CHIOU, FREDA FOH SHEN, JAMES SAITO166161_PR_Comp_V4 THE COMPANY YOU KEEP – ABC’s “The Company You Keep” stars William Fichtner as Leo, Sarah Wayne Callies as Birdie, Polly Draper as Fran, Milo Ventimiglia as Charlie, Felisha Terrell as Daphne, Catherine Haena Kim as Emma, Tim Chiou as David Hill, Freda Foh Shen as Grace Hill, and James Saito as Joe Hill. [Photo: ABC/Brian Bowen Smith]

The plot is fresh, albeit as an American adaptation of an already hit show (“My Fellow Citizens”) on South Korean television. You have an Italian American family with a skill for working as a family on high-level con jobs while running the neighborhood favorite bar. No staffing issues required for the job to hire out, just immediate family, down to the youngest teen. Young adult male falls for a model-lovely young female CIA agent, from “an Asian American political dynasty.”

The plots are fresh, the writing is solid, and the pace is strong. Scene to scene, you don’t flip the channel during commercials as you might miss something when you return late. The acting is strong from all cast members, major to minor. Action sequences abound at breathtaking pace, and then you relax at the corner bar; no. the bar owned by the Nicoletti family really is called “The Corner Bar” in the show. Kudos go to Ben Younger, who serves as director and executive producer for the 20th Television show.

Writer and Executive Producer Julia Cohen brings together a great cast, solid sets, and just the right blend of scripts, serving as showrunner, to keep audiences coming back each week. Co-showrunner and co-Executive Producer is Phil Klemmer ("DC's Legends of Tomorrow" for seven seasons). This is Cohen’s largest task to date, but she earned her stripes after years as co-executive producer for a season of “Quantico” and “A Million Little Things” for three seasons. Given the nature of shows being posted and pulled as quickly from prime time slots as a teenage fisherman learning to cast with rod and reel, having one season of a solid show should indicate potential. And the fact that you can stream the show on Hulu is an added bonus for those with busy schedules. It has all the right elements but is just waiting until "The Blacklist" concludes its tenth and final season this month.

Yes, there’s Amazon and Sony Pictures and other independent venues out working for viewing time. I have to confess to waiting for another season of “Leverage: Redemption” to appear on Freevee television. The successful reboot of the old TNT original “Leverage” is actually stronger than the first, thanks to Dean Devlin’s fresh take on the show he created. Again, plots were fresh, bright and the actors were dynamic in their approach to what could have been predictable dialogue. There was a family atmosphere there as well. Waiting for hopefully more shows with "the hitter, the hacker, the grifter, and the thief," and if you want to know what that means, just visit Freevee.

Another Freevee original is the Canadian “Pretty Hard Cases” that pairs two previously unknown actresses as an unlucky pair of detectives and it works. The show has humor, brains, and they get it all done neatly, thanks to strong writing by Tassie Cameron and Sherry White, and two actresses, Meredith MacNeill and Adrienne C. Moore, who bring the energy to each episode. Still waiting on more shows to drop, if they're in production yet. That happens with non-prime-time network shows where they don't tell you on every media outlet they own what's going on behind the scenes.

It is that same fresh-show quality that “The Company You Keep” has, in a dramatic procedural where audiences meet, learn, know, and grow along with the show. Donald Bellisario was a genius at developing these shows that featured humor along with detective work, action sequences, some aspect of military life, and yes, family. Bellisario brought us “JAG,” “NCIS,” “Quantum Leap” and then spinoffs happened. Some were good; others, without Bellisario involved, were and are dreadful.

The starpower that Milo Ventimiglia brings to any show shouldn’t be in question. After all, his was the character you recall best from “This is Us,” the NBC staple that gave them a ratings win for the slot each week from 2016-2022 and won four Primetime Emmys among their awards. No one should be comparing Milo’s acting to “Gilmore Girls” any longer, which they could have done had they only known that show and missed out on “This is Us.”

It's doubtful that anyone watching “The Company You Keep” thinks of “Team Jess” once during the show. Actors can morph into anyone you need them to, and Ventimiglia and Kim do a great job in carrying the load.

Kim already had experience as a fed—she played Special Agent Emily Ryder on a season of “FBI” shows. A strong supporting cast is the great addition to the mix and this show has something special that doesn’t bore you to death the way so many other series can. No one is tired of their role or has been permanently cast into predictability. It's another trip back to childhood to see recurring guest Geoff Stults (remember the hearthrob with the almost twin lookalike brother in "Seventh Heaven" who wound up with the sisters?).

You’d think that summer would be a great time to re-introduce the show and meanwhile order some more episodes for fall. Everyone is about “American Idol”-ed, “The Voice”-ed and “America’s Got Talent”-ed out at this point and Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon are sitting there with fresh programming just waiting to be enjoyed. Come on ABC, think about it.

If not, CBS you are overdue for fresh shows. Look at the mess they made of “NCIS,” keeping the original (now sleep-inducing) show for the 21st year, cancelling the still interesting one (“NCIS: “LA”), and renewing the banal “NCIS-Hawaii” for reasons known only to them.

However, they hold the distinction of “America’s Most-Watched Network in Primetime” for 15 years now, so they know something NBC doesn’t. Hmm, could be the next home for “The Company You Keep”?

Is that your final answer for “The Company You Keep,” ABC? Change your mind and perhaps be pleasantly surprised. It would also be good news for Ventimiglia, who together with his company, DiVide Pictures and Russ Cundiff and Deanna Harris are co-producers. That was very "Jess" of him to be smart enough to invest in his own work from the beginning.

There’s more than one story of a show being tanked and saved to come back for another try, only to gain a Top 10 ratings spot and foothold for years and massive dollars in syndication: “Friends,” “Seinfeld,” and “The Big Bang Theory.”

Who knows? It could happen.

[photos Friends and Seinfeld: NBC Universal; NCIS: Paramount Press]

Mercury’s in Retrograde, My Internet’s on the Fritz, and My Altice SIM Card is Getting Dusty

Oh, that darned Mercury in Retrograde again…despite my highly charged beautiful purple amethyst proudly displaced on my desk (a gift from a gifted friend who shared these beautiful rocks with all of us), it was insufficient protection against the failure of all electronic devices in my home to declare war on me simultaneously, and my otherwise calm psyche this evening. If this happens to post online consider it nothing short of a miracle.

I was minding my business this freezing Veteran’s Day evening, having loaded up Barney into the warm car and trekked out in search of dinner for his family and mine (that’s code for pizza) and I ordered two different types of “hot ‘n fresh” pizzas at Little Caesar’s window. I asked the clerk whether they were both hot and fresh and she told me honestly that one was, and the other not so much. “Okay,” I said, “I’ll wait for two fresh ones.” She said, “If you’ll just pull around front and wait for 10-12 minutes and then come inside you can have them then.”

Hmm…the point of the drive-thru was to wait in a heated car. Getting out. Okay, I’m not too old or too grumpy to disallow the possibility of freezing, only to be rewarded by pizza. I did, however, ask her for a favor (though). I said, “Could you please divide both pizzas in half and place two different halves in one box so both boxes would be the same?” Without even a second to consider it, she said, “No, we can’t do that.” “Okay,” I said and Barney and I drove around to wait our 10-12 minutes and play 3 or 4 games of Word Chums while we waited. Going inside a very nice young man, Chris, agreed to do what I’d asked before about the splitting of the pizzas, no fuss, no muss. “Yay” I thought, and then “She” saw him doing my bidding.

“She” cast eyes of disapproval toward him and my two pizzas so I boldly said loud enough for her to hear, “Yes, he knows your policy is not to do that, the dividing them into two identical pizzas but he took pity on me and made this customer very happy.” “She” didn’t look up but as she stared anywhere but at me, I could see she was disappointed at being thwarted. I mean, when you make the doggie tradeoff in 30°F weather, do you really want the hot pizza box opened in the cold weather and the swap made there? Why no, no you don’t.

I managed to exit worried that Chris was going to get “what-for” from her over making an exception for someone who qualifies for senior pricing even if I don’t feel as though I deserve it (yet). The pizza caper behind me, I sat down to enjoy an episode of “JAG” as I knew that WGN would have a Veteran’s Day marathon as USA Network had one with “NCIS” earlier today during lunch (and the new programming on USA, by the way? A bunch of smut. Weird smut. Take it from a person who qualifies for senior pricing to tell you…pass on by. Nothing to see there. Apparently, anyone can pitch a show and the weirder it is, the more they want to pay for it. Sigh. Missing “La Femme Nikita” and “Suits” on USA already…but I digress).

Two bites of pizza in and my TV picture begins to “pixilate.” I learned that term from Suddenlink, many years ago when describing to them what happened to most all my NBC related stations’ programming. The big transponder doohickey that’s uplinked to the gizmo that travels to the fiber optic doodad…well, none of that word salad is right but let’s just say that the photographs break up into little pixels and the dialogue on TV sounds a whole like Chris Matthews reading the teleprompter every day. “Blap. Boop. Barrrp. Blep.” I don’t listen to Chris Matthews, but I know what he sounds like.

My key episode of “JAG” was slowly disintegrating in front of my eyes, sigh. Then, my internet went “out” on my computer…all three screens had the famous dinosaur pic on the google home page and the time out error and the “we can’t reach the server” message and I had planned on sending something I had edited earlier in the evening to a client…and it was a rush job due tomorrow…and I’d waited long to get our dinner simply to finish it. Dang.

I did a reboot or two of my computer. Same problem. I called my VIP phone number of Suddenlink and happened to remember my password (always a thrill not to have to look something up!) and while I’m doing this a phone call on my internet-based home line reads “Cablevision” calling and I answer, “Hello?” three times until I decide no one is there. Aw dang, do I need to block one more call today? Already blocked four of those pests before…

Well, I’m on my cell phone and have a 30-minute wait for a technician on Suddenlink…no, I’m not kidding. Yes, it was 34 minutes that I waited before “James” got on the line. Now, I have to give it to James. He’s not in the Suddenlink Tyler HQ but he’s in Florida, and it’s warm there. We try rebooting, unhooking, disconnecting, rebooting, unhooking, disconnecting and then we try my reacquainting my laptop with the good ol’ ethernet connection cable but nothing doing. Still got a pixilated Catherine Bell and David James Elliot and John M. Jackson as Admiral Chegwidden (be still my heart). And my pizza was getting cold.

I discussed with James, while we waited the 5 minutes between rebooting the TIVO and the router, his interest in playing the blues as he’s a guitarist. I told him I had the “Intermittent Connection and Pixilated Picture Blues” and he laughed. I was serious. I had work to do tonight!! Most of you who work 8 to 5 jobs have no concept of the wonky donkey hours I have been known to keep here at Headquarters, depending on the various time zones of the folks I work with. But, call whenever you want, I’ll answer the phone.

After more than one hour with James on the case, he reluctantly assigned me to a technician, but being a Suddenlink pro at this I said, “Now you’re going to tell me that the fastest you can get someone here is Friday, but that’s not going to work so I need for you to look again”…he came up with Wednesday am. Meanwhile the next JAG episode is on.

I get a wild hair to hook up an old router to see if a slower connection speed (the NOT-5g speed) might not be more stable. Nope, nope, and nope. And then I’m in the middle of rehooking up all the equipment and the “landline” phone rings again and it’s Cablevision on the phone and I answer and the man said, “This is Altice Mobile calling for Dawn Vakefield”…I said, “Yes, I’m Dawn Wakefield,” with an emphasis on the W, and I note that it’s 9:28 pm and curious as to why he’s calling so late in Veteran’s Day, grateful anyone at Altice even gives a flying fig about me at all, no matter what the time of day.

He said his name, Jake, and I know good and well it’s not Jake. It’s probably Edgar, but he wishes he’d been named Jake, and not that there are not a lot of great Edgars and all but…Just Jake and I don’t hit it off right away. He said he can’t hear me well. There was static on the line. I said, “Yes, that’s a problem I’m having with Suddenlink right now.” “I’m not with Suddenlink, I’m with Altice Mobile and I can’t help you with your Suddenlink problem.” I said, “I get that but if you want to talk to me you’re going to have to call me on my cell phone as that is the only device not on Altice or Suddenlink right now.” Then, you’d have died laughing had you heard the way in which I tried to give him my 10-digit phone number as alternate to call me back on, and the “static” kept parsing our sentences and even words and then even numbers. What was the area code again?

“979” I said. He said, “I got ’79.’”

“No,” I said, “979” and he said, “97…?” and I said “979” as fast as you could sing along to 867-5309 if you know the song “Jenny” by Tommy Tutone. (If you don’t, call me and I’ll sing it to you. Anyway.)

I then took the next 3 digits and we did those fast, too. And then to cap it off, I’m dying laughing as I try to rush the last 4 digits as well…Jake Edgar is laughing, too. He doesn’t play the guitar or care about the blues I am certain, but I didn’t even care enough about Jake to ask because when he called me back on my cell, I said, “I’m just in the middle of trying to reconnect my router and my TIVO box to see if my cable is fixed yet.”

He said, “I’m sorry I can’t help you with that, I’m with Altice Mobile.” I said, “Actually, I understand that, even though technically you’re all part of Altice now, out of the big New York City conglomerate but I’m not asking you to help me reconnect my TV, just give me a minute to finish recalling where the yellow cables go in and then undo the correct power source and then reinstall the power line.” Jake Edgar was a tad huffy as he said, “It is not productive use of my time to wait on the phone until you reconnect your cable system when I’m supposed to help you on your Altice mobile phone problem. I can call you back.” I said, “Jake, call me back in 5 minutes” and hung up before he could.

I then correctly reconnected the yellow cable line from TIVO box to router and you’d have thought I held a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, when I completed all three tasks without having any extra parts left over.

Anyway, Jake called back and I said, “Look, let’s start over. I wanted to reconnect the cable in the event you asked me to access my Altice mobile account online which I couldn’t, thanks to Suddenlink and by the way, you couldn’t understand me on my home phone you called because it’s a home phone on the Suddenlink $10/month bundle package for old people for life and it’s driven by the cable system which was going in and out constantly.” He said, “oh.” And I thought that was his wisest sentence to date.

I said, “Now I am going to tell you why you are calling me.” He said, “okay.” I said, “SEVEN days ago, I called Altice Mobile for the 7th time in 4 weeks hoping to know when my cell phone service would have my number “Ported over” from AT&T the way your reps promised me it would be “soon.” Now, here’s the deal Jake, 5 weeks ago your Suddenlink rep, Christy, told me that I was paying too much to AT&T for my cell phone for unlimited talk and text and with a quick, easy process I could go to save $600/year “for life” for exactly the same service and I could bring my same number.

Christy, I thought then, should have been the President of Suddenlink that night when we were working on my Suddenlink account. I had made my usual “Let’s talk about this latest bill” phone call to them when they thought I’d won the jackpot and decided to raise my monthly bill by 70% and Christy managed to keep my business with Suddenlink so I could start my 23rd year of being held hostage, err, I mean, being their customer.

All y’all Verizon people…it’s better in big cities but in Mayberry, Verizon, aka Frontier Communications is not the way to roll. Neither are T-Mobile, Sprint or Cricket, not all the places I find myself using the phone across the wide USA. I need these Suddenlink people and I thought AT&T could do no wrong. Well, forget that.

All it took was a phone call to AT&T, keep my account active, Christy had advised, and then request them to “unlock” my phone. I did. I got my account number and my Secret Squirrel Pin number and those were what I had to give Christy to get the move started. She created an Altice account for me and I didn’t write down the number but she said, she’d send my new SIM card out right away. A few days went by and no SIM card. Hmm.

Then I saw a message on my home phone (powered by Suddenlink); we’re talking still early October. A person named Yolanda was kind enough to call me and ask if I were expecting anything from Altice Mobile, and if so, her phone number was XYZ and to give her a call. I was thrilled she could find me because land lines are rarely in the book…and my land line is really a Suddenlink fiber optic internet-powered thingy but no matter, she found me. Turns out she lives 3 miles away in a nearby neighborhood…I know two folks who live on that block…but there was no way it should have gone to her and she had not recently changed over to Altice Mobile. Hmm…a mystery. I should have looked for Mercury back then.'

So, I insert the SIM card and the number that came up was “NOT” my regular number. I also could not receive any phone calls, messages, or text messages at my “old” number with the new SIM card in. Had to replace AT&T SIM card and I was getting reallllllllly good at popping those little teeny micro cards in and out of the SIM card slot. I’m thinking I am doing a Post-Doc in Electrical Engineering to switch out these cards. I live in an alternate reality sometimes, so just humor me. It’s warm there and they know me. I’m good.

So, Christy said, “It can take a few days so hang in there.” Two weeks later, I have people texting me saying, “I called you and left you a voice mail at your new number. Did you get it?” Um, what new number and what voice mail? Turns out when I texted them on old AT&T SIM card but they see an entirely different number on their screen…I sent an e-mail to 12 colleagues to let them know to call me on my old number and no matter what they see on the screen when I reach them, it’s really “good ol’ me.” Finally I couldn’t take it anymore and last week I went up to the Suddenlink office after Melinda, on instant chat at the Altice Mobile site, said I really needed to go into the store and they’d have it all fixed up for me.

Entering the office, I saw a lady who’d worked there since it was Community Cablevision 40 years ago. I didn’t get to see her. In fact, I had a full 30-minute wait and my back had been realllly bothering me that morning. Another lady behind me came in wearing socks and Adidas sandals because her back was hurting her, and so we practiced alternating sitting 5 minutes at a time in the one chair available there, and we saved one another’s place in line each time. We bonded over back pain. It’s Mayberry and everyone just shares, frankly, and we all work together to help one another through whatever. It’s just what we do here.

Finally reaching the rep at one desk, I turn around to hear a tiny lady about 50 years old, wearing British Carnaby Street hat and perky little outfit 20 years too young for her. She was loud and insisting someone had been taken in line ahead of her. She was so disagreeable that I thought I was going to have to go back there and perform a citizen’s arrest, complete with adrenaline, as she was really getting ugly with the service reps. One rep came over and confronted her, only to have her say, loudly, “You’re messing with me today and God is my number one!” I turned to look back at my rep, who looked back at me and I said, “I’m not sure God is here right now at Suddenlink but if He were, I’m not altogether convinced that he’d want to claim that one.” The rep she was regaling against said quietly…”he’s my number one, too.” Boom.

Then five minutes later, another woman went off on another rep, loudly, and I wondered which local pharmacy had run short on their recipes for peace and quiet…when both of these women seem to have run out of theirs…because surely they were in need of some calming influence (had they run out of hooch? I wondered). I was much taller than the little loudmouth ladies, so I was prepared to go all NCIS over them, should someone need a special agent, haha, but the supervisor managed to politely handle them and invited one of them to leave, which she did.

Lord, have mercy. What are people coming to when they explode on people who are actually trying to help them? Egad. Well, after Sharon, my counter rep and I spent 20 minutes on ‘chat’ with the Altice Mobile reps, she said that I’d have to now create an account, which we did together, so Christy had not created the full account info for me, aha, and that Sharon had heard that a colleague that worked with her had waited 10 days for AT&T to port the number over to Altice. Ruh-ro. I was in for a long, hard winter, I feared.

Last Saturday, the one 9 days ago, I got a text from Top Client asking me did I still have two phone numbers and which should he call me on. Sigh. It would be one of two almost identical texts from two Top Clients with the question “How much longer do we see the ‘wrong’ number when you text us back?” Heck if I know. So, I signed into my Altice Mobile account, and did the chat portal for the 7th time in 2 weeks. My rep, Chantel, and I decided she would escalate my claim and I’d hear back from “Engineering” within 48 hours. Oh good! Last Monday came and went and no call from Engineering, Escalation, or even Escalators…nothing.

So, tonight, amidst my literal entanglement of cables, cords, power wires, and a portable speaker I never use on this TV (don’t want to hurt Barney’s supersensitive ears by playing my music on TV too loud to suit him) and well…Jake Edgar got a bit of my wrath at that point. I did point out to Jake Edgar that my 48-hour escalation had taken an additional 168 hours to be fully escalated to crisis stage.

So, Jake Edgar wrapped up by saying, “I’m so very sorry this happened to you. It will be a very quick fix to get that portal thing done and I promise you they will call you immediately when it’s done.” I think it was the quiver in my voice that caused him to apologize for my inconvenience I’d experienced these past 6 months. I guess the extra $79 for another useless month of AT&T and an extra $20 two weeks ago to start off my lifetime of savings with Altice Mobile, so far has cost me $100 but to save $600 a year on cell service seems worth it. AT&T wants to make it hard for me to save money but I’m scary stubborn and determined to save so I can buy more dog treats for Barney (wait, who typed that? Who wrote that? Barneyyyyy!) I’m determined to save and that’s the end of that sentence.

Now, here we are at 1:37 am, and I’ve had functioning e-mail now for about 24 minutes…the TV pic is not pixilated any more and though "JAG" ended, Gibbs is back. And more importantly, I’ve been able to send 3 work projects without the “Lost internet connection” symbol popping up. Whew! Goodbye Ethernet cable, goodbye slow router, goodbye waiting forever to see a web site populate my screen.

Now, oopsie, there’s a little pixilation now and then on a channel here and there but I’m up to 95% consistent speed and considering it’s 35°F right now and no rain, we’re good. The internet cable from the pole to the houses are swinging in the wind no doubt…and I’m going to make sure that technician comes out on Wednesday to triple-check all my connections. After all I pay that extra $6.99/month for the privilege when it used to just be $4.99/month. Ah, the price of technology and its maintenance.

Oops, the screen is pixilating a little, and the internet connection is blinking a little as the wind roars like a train engine coming round the bend out there. While I can, I’m going to get a little rest until some phone rings telling me I’m now with Altice Mobile. It won't be a call from Christy. I texted her today (on her personal cell number she gave me so I wouldn't be bounced around 100 reps?) and she told me that she had moved to another city and quit her job at Suddenlink (who sold the Altice mobile product to me) because her uncle had died. Sigh. I expressed my condolences and...well, you just knew that was going to happen, didn't you?

E-mail me if you need me until I get the other communication devices in and out of the Mercury in Retrograde in Scorpio Repair Shop. That's where I believe we'll all be for the next 8 days.

Pauley Perrette’s exit as “Abby Sciuto” from “NCIS” is well timed

Devotees of “NCIS” know well that the No. 1 most popular procedural in America and beyond was created in the mind and from the heart of Donald Bellisario, a gifted writer and showrunner whose tendency toward perfectionism and temperament as Pater Familias caused more than occasional chaos and frustration in producing new dialogue for the actors to learn with 15 minutes until shooting. Or, so goes the legend and myth around his eventual exit after four seasons.

Bellisario, despite being the heart and soul of “Magnum, P.I.” (with co-creator Glen A. Larson), “Airwolf,” “Quantum Leap,” “JAG” and “found himself on the outside looking in" one day after four seasons, with his brainchild being entrusted to different talented personnel. After Bellisario left, Shane Brennan took over in Season Five, moving on to his own show with “NCIS: LA” and scoring a hit there. I still miss Bellisario's brilliant sense of humor and creativity. (Note: All photos by Cliff Lipson/CBS, courtesy of CBS)

It was Don's voice that was the "whoof" that you would hear at the beginning of the shows of the first season at least, indicating the scene changes. Bellisario actually placed his own photo on the "Most Wanted" wall of the NCIS squad room as one of the top enemies to search for, and he was also noted for his occasional on-camera appearances walking through. Remember the episode, "Call of Silence," which won an Emmy for actor Charles Durning? Don walked right past "Kate" before the "big dance" scene to his own amusement.

After all it was Bellisario's own father, Albert Jethro Bellisario, who became the A. J. of JAG Admiral Albert Jethro Chegwidden, and then using his father's and grandfather's names for Leroy Jethro Gibbs is oh-so-Bellisario. So much time has passed that it's relevant to remember who it was who created all this wonderment in his very creative mind.

Gary Glasberg then assumed leadership of “NCIS” and in his tenure before his untimely death at age 50 (in 2016) found a way to steer the show, despite the exit of both Cote de Pablo as “Ziva” and Michael Weatherly as “Anthony DiNozzo, Jr.” When Cote left, I remember well all the interviews that Pauley Perrette gave where she referenced “The Core Four” as having been integral to the show.

"The Core Four," of course, are Mark Harmon, David McCallum, Michael Weatherly, and Pauley Perrette. In the interim, the show stayed strong, and viewers welcomed, ultimately, Emily Wickersham as “Ellie Bishop,” who was clearly not intended as a replacement for NCIS Special Agent Ziva David, but the comparisons and emotional flailing about of some fans for a season or two eventually showed that Bishop could have a place in Gibbs’ heart, so why not give her a second chance.

That’s the key. The fans of “NCIS” have been loyal to this show for, now, 15 seasons, and CBS has inked the lifeline for Season 16, assessing a “let’s see how it goes” attitude for the one-year commitment. Fans read assorted blog posts, comment frequently on, and care deeply about the future of “NCIS.”

When Michael Weatherly first showed signs of looking around to his future, it came as an appearance as a smooth-talking felon on an episode of “Major Crimes,” a cable-TV favorite. His role was too much like the personality of wiseacre DiNozzo for comfort, so no one raved about it.

Then CBS decided to explore the fans’ loyalty to their individual characters, and they went musical. Yes, they did. Perrette and Weatherly each released a song, courtesy of the CBS Press Team, showing Perrette’s versatility as songwriter and singer, and Weatherly’s love of music going far beyond his performance of filing a report “reggae style” curbside to then NCIS Director Jenny Shepherd via earpiece. Neither found fame or further acclaim from the singing stint, but it could be that it was a programmatic attempt to keep fans aware that Michael is not “Tony,” and Pauley is not “Abby,” and that these are simply extremely talented actors portraying perfectly the characters who say the dialog written by people you never see and will never meet.

The secret to these beloved characters has always stemmed from the creative mind of Don Bellisario, and Brennan and Glasberg followed the path of the characters to play out the roles. Brennan was in for a year, one and done, onto his own show, “NCIS: LA,” which continues to be fresh, funny, and a same-but-different family feel that holds its own just as much as the original. Pauley Perrette and Mark Harmon as well as Chris O’Donnell, crossed over between the two shows, playing their same characters.

A failed pilot, “NCIS: Red” showed no ratings magic and the cast was as generic as “CSI: Kalamazoo,” or “Law and Order: Ice Cream Truck”…same base franchise name, no real variation. Then came “NCIS: New Orleans,” with Mark Harmon and Gary Glasberg taking a chance on developing a third show that would “stick” at least into five seasons to guarantee syndication. But then Glasberg died unexpectedly in 2016 at the young age of 50.

After the shows produced by Glasberg that were already in the can were released, CBS execs announced that “NCIS” would be run by veteran writers and executive producers George Schenck and Frank Cardea, who should be “any fan’s first choice” if Exec. Producer, Chas. Floyd Johnson didn’t want the job. Speaking personally, Johnson worked with Bellisario on so many shows, if anyone knew the hearts of these characters, it would be him. Yet, Schenck and Cardea wrote some of the strongest storylines and scripts over the course of the show, that they’re the “right” choice for the job.

And yet, the dimensionality of the show was up for grabs the season after “Bishop” came in. Weatherly likely saw the writing on the wall that if ever he were going to be known as anyone but DiNozzo, it better be “now.” When he left, it was to the guaranteed hit slot between two “NCIS” shows, and in a project that showed him looking and acting nothing like DiNozzo as the ersatz creation of former jury consultant Dr. Philip McGraw, aka “Dr. Phil.”

America loved Weatherly and it is through “Bull,” that his fans actually focus on his real name. They ‘know’ a real Dr. Phil, aka “Dr. Jason Bull,” so now the fans see Michael and know “Weatherly.” Smart move.

Cote de Pablo had likely left for the same reason so people would forever not be calling her Ziva. Wonder how well that has worked for her. An initial CBS project was a nice one-shot but not a series. She will return to the screen no doubt, but maybe film vs. TV. And so, what about Pauley?

After Cardea and Schenck blew up Ziva’s home (maybe Ziva, maybe not Ziva) and Tony went off to raise Tali in unidentified job, fans still tuned in to see the (now) core 2.5: Harmon, Perrette, and somewhat less of Ducky (McCallum). David McCallum continues to bring dignity and grace to whatever role he’s given fans over 50+ years, and he is a stellar actor. He was not pegged as Illya Kuryakin when he became Dr. Donald Mallard. Everyone has had plenty of time to watch Brian Dietzen grow and stretch perfectly in the role of Dr. Jimmy Palmer to be accepting of McCallum’s absences this season and potential retirement next season.

But in Season 14, if Pauley Perrette was ever going to feel her role diminished, it was proven so with the addition of three new NCIS agents (presumably to take the place of one Tony DiNozzo) in Alex Quinn (Jennifer Esposito), Nick Torres (Wilbur Valderrama), and MI6 agent Clayton Reeves (Duane Henry). That season was mostly a friendly clusterstorm of “remember how much you love ‘NCIS’…well hang in there with us while we figure it out.”

Esposito left and Maria Bello was brought in as a new character, Jacqueline (Jack) Sloane, who Gibbs can resonate with. FBI agent Tobias Fornell was weaved in and out of a few episodes and now that you’ve been reading for three paragraphs, where the heck was Abby Sciuto? Right? Entirely forgotten, dismissed, and irrelevant as the unnecessary but necessary forensic scientist in a role that anyone could play.

Abby had had no real major storylines in months and months, at least in my perception. And Perrette may have, wisely, seen that being a “favorite beloved character” all the time meant being forgotten. Her early announcement that Season 15 would be her last gave Schenck and Cardea plenty of time to give her a two-part season finale exit.

But, on Tuesday night, had I had an object in my hand to throw at the TV set, I would have tossed it that direction, given what the writers did to Abby’s character as the episode closed out. The “plan” and plot and dialogue was absolutely off-base, misguided and beneath the intelligence of the character Bellisario created.

Thanks to media access, I had seen a photo of the “Two Steps Back” (Part II after this week’s “One Step Forward”) finale. Abby’s not going to die. That much I know. Even so, the entire premise of the week’s cliffhanger is off target. Remember the show again. The show revolves around the true-life need for assistance to our nation’s veterans in multiple ways, which continues to not be met commensurate with need. The softer side and more back story to introduce viewers to more of Clayton Reeves’ nature set the predicate for Abby’s choosing him to go to the dinner she’d “won” mysteriously at the descriptively noted “Igloo” restaurant supposedly booked months in advance.

No one, not one person, questioned the way the pop-up came onto Abby’s screen, telling her she was the winner of this dinner for two? Abby is supposed to be a forensic scientist with particularly special computer hacking/restoring/repairing/recovering skills and she didn’t question a pop-up? Nope. The entire show drifts along leading viewers to wonder who she’d be taking as her escort. Remember they had her prior love interest as Bert, the very nice park ranger? No one had seen or heard about Bert since no one had seen or heard about Abby much. And, so…here we are after leaving Igloo, the one place she was easily going to be predictably found.

And this well dressed robber with carefully coiffed hair has a gun at both Reeves and Abby; Reeves sort-of steps in front of her to protect her, yet he moves away from shielding her to allow her to both interact with the robber and be in his perfect shot sight. An MI6 agent doing that? No, just no. C’mon George and Frank, you know better! Then, it’s not clear that the robber is homeless. But Abby talks to him about wanting and offering to get him help. Several seasons ago, Abby had interactions with a young homeless woman whom she was able to help, but “this” wasn’t “that.”

Fade to black. Commercials. Return to preview next week’s season finale. Gibbs whispers: “I know I let you down, Abbs. I said that I would always keep you safe.” Concerned looks on faces. Gurney with Abby entering hospital “She’s coding,” an offscreen voice says. Now, Frank and George…seriously? That’s the best you can do? Even caused E! Online to write the headline “Will Pauley Perrette’s Abby Die in Her Final NCIS Episode?”

Now, next Tuesday more will be revealed, and here’s a picture proving that Abby is alive. (Note: Photo by Patrick McElhenney/CBS, courtesy of CBS)

But if the premise for Abby’s leaving the only people she has as true family (Gibbs, McGee, and Ducky) is even the least bit hokey, the fans will likely let the showrunners hear about it. But, they didn’t have to shoot Abby to prepare viewers for her exit. Everyone knows she’s leaving. Imagine if she could have just grown up and moved on to a career position of her dreams somewhere so compelling that she would willingly leave her safe family behind?

Instead viewers are going to have to endure the return of some previous season miscreant who is “targeting ‘NCIS’ personnel” as the reason for this, the first hit of the planned shootings, trying to ruin Gibbs’ happy days, one team member at a time.

Col. Merton Bell is gone. La Grenouille is also, Ziva took out Ari Haswari, Trent Kort is gone, the entire gamut of people who had it out for Gibbs (hurt his family, hurt him) are seemingly gone, or are they? It’s not Benham Parsa. Harper Dearing (Richard Schiff) is dead, and the Phantom Eight went up with the almost-loss of McGee still inside the building, trying to back up the computer before running for his life. Sergei Mishnev was killed by Fornell. But, wait, is Alejandro Rivera (Marco Sanchez) dead or just in prison? The remaining member of the Reynosa cartel had threatened Abby once before. Could be he’s out of jail for good behavior and is ready to try to take revenge, again, against Gibbs for the death of his father, Pedro Hernandez and his sister, Paloma Reynosa. Five days will provide the answer, and you can count on the fact that he’s going down.

Pauley Perrette definitely picked the right time to leave. She’s not typecast forever as the loveable forensic scientist. As to her “real reasons for leaving,” they should be hers to keep. She left with grace and only pleasant things to say about her experiences that propelled her to a position of worldwide fame and acclaim. Life’s been tough on her, as well, during the fame, so there’s nothing wrong with wanting a “normal” life outside the world of flashing light bulbs of surreality.

Her plans aren’t a case to be explored ala “NCIS” style. An in-depth CBS “Sunday Morning” interview didn’t get one new iota of information out of her except she loves being with her chihuahuas and vague projections for the road ahead. Pauley has been a lovable, bright spot on Tuesday nights for 15 years, and she deserves to do whatever she wants to do.

Next season won’t be the last one for “NCIS”—as long as the scripts continue to bear quality. The Bello-Gibbs matchup is good for another season. Won’t miss Jon Cryer (the original “Ducky”) one little bit, seriously. Done and done. There have been hints and myths that Gibbs will leave the heart of the action and take on another more supervisory role, but most of all that is likely the fodder of the myriad of bogus online blogs masquerading as legit news sources. They’re filled with misspellings and incorrect facts, so forget them.

What does need to happen, imho, is for viewers to stop having to spend time on the backstories of Reeves, Torres, and Sloane, as most really, really don’t care. Great acting on the parts of the actors—nothing to criticize but gone are the days of the compelling backstories. Come up with some intricate multi-episode stories as you have been doing. Then, include Gibbs saying, “Grab your gear,” focus on the heart and soul of the primary characters, and let Abby be forever a fond memory and quirky character.

The character, Kasie, portrayed by Diona Reasonover, was introduced a few weeks back probably as a possible replacement. She will be fine and she won’t “name” her equipment (ala Major Mass Spec), but she’ll get the data to the team.

“NCIS” can endure as long as Mark Harmon wants to be there. His is the pivotal character around which the show was built. Without him, there’s no show. Farewell Pauley, and thanks for 352 episodes of fun.

The "real" Pauley, as beautifully captured for CBS "Watch" magazine by photographer Cliff Lipson, shows the lovely actress beneath the character. Pauley Perrette is wisely moving on, and she’ll find success in whatever she does in the future. Viewers have had 15 enjoyable seasons of a quality show, and this is in substantive measure to "The Core Four," who were there at the start. Ooh-rah, Abbs. And then there were two.

Nikki Pederson propels children to national visibility in movies and television

It was during the premiere of CBS’ inaugural broadcast of “Thursday Night Football,” on Sept. 11, 2014, that a handsome young man stood, adding raw vegetables into a home blender, waiting and waiting for a few ounces to emerge. Looking at the national TV commercial spot for V-8 Juice, anyone from Bryan-College Station had to be screaming out loud, “That’s Michael Lane, our Michael Lane!” As Variety reported, CBS and the NFL Network “combined to draw 20.8 million viewers.”

Last year, Lane was featured in a national commercial for Kay Jewelers, and he also managed to propose to his future wife, Caritia. When Michael and Caritia married last night in Huntington Beach, CA, Nikki Pederson was there celebrating with the happy couple, as she had been instrumental in Michael’s training and acting career in California. It was as if Michael’s baton had been passed to her by MA Sterling, artistic director of Brazos Valley TROUPE, to have Nikki take Michael to that all-too-famous but very hard to reach, “next level.”

Last week the Wareing family, formerly of College Station, were in Toronto, Canada, for TIFF 2014, the annual opening event where Garrett Wareing is featured in his first film, “Boychoir,” directed by Francois Girard. The film focuses on Garrett as “Stet,” an 11-year-old child who is angry at the world after his single mom dies. The reviews for the film have been nothing but sterling.[Editor's note: Eventually this film was purchased by Hallmark for broadcast on their TV network but has not aired as of 2017.] This exceptionally talented, charming and brilliant young man credits Nikki in his IMDB biography in a manner that demands a direct quote:

After a meeting with famed talent scout Nikki Pederson of Nikki Pederson Talent, Garrett accepted an offer to enroll in IMTA 2013 where he earned numerous awards, including 2013 Pre-Teen Male Model of the Year, as well as garnering the attention of a significant number of agents in Hollywood. Nikki has been instrumental in the guidance of Garrett's career and has made a profound impact on his life.

Garrett is the central character to the film starring (both) Oscar and Emmy winners Dustin Hoffman and Kathy Bates. This is the same Dustin Hoffman who was a Kennedy Center Honoree in 2012 and has Oscars for “Rain Man” and “Kramer vs. Kramer.” Of course, Kathy just picked up another) Emmy a few weeks ago for “Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie and her Oscar was for “Misery.”

Everyone remembers Bates’s most fun role in “Primary Colors,” for which she won a Screen Actors Guild Award. And any Baby Boomer worth his or her salt knows Dustin Hoffman’s breakout role in “The Graduate” (Plastics, my boy, plastics!”). Also in the film of which Garrett is a vital part is Josh Lucas, whose movies include “A Beautiful Mind,” “Sweet Home Alabama,” “The Lincoln Lawyer,” to name a few.

And these brilliant and talented people are there in the “ultimate classroom.” Also in this film are Kevin McHale, Eddie Izzard, and River Alexander. Garrett was chosen for his role out of thousands considered. Thousands. From College Station to Hollywood in less than two years, thanks to Nikki Pederson and her ability to spot talent, train talent, and then make sure they find the very best, most highly reputable management.

In a related story, the wonderful relationship between Nikki Pederson and the entire Wareing family (parents Rooter and Ginny, and their children, Garrett, Mackenzie, and Mason) is detailed. What’s relevant is that three members of the Wareing family were selected for “Boy Choir,” as Garrett’s beautiful and talented actress sister, Mackenzie, plays Stephanie On Sat., Sept. 13, flipping over to the Disney Channel to catch another episode of “Austin & Ally,” you’re watching Raini Rodriguez, costarring as Trish De la Rosa, and you have a “V-8” moment.

That’s another Nikki Pederson Talent Alum! When Nikki took Raini out to Hollywood to compete in the IMTA national acting competition, the adorable young lady blossoming in talent impressed talent manager Susan Osser, who signed Raini and has done a superb job in booking her for movies. It started with “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” with Kevin James; Disney’s “Prom” and now Raini is filming the “Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2” sequel. That’s Nikki Pederson’s alumnus.

Just two days earlier, while watching a MOFY Marathon on USA Network, you’d have seen Bryan’s Rico Rodriguez, who plays Manny Delgado, son to supermodel/actress Sofia Vergara and distinguished actor Ed O’Neill’s Jay Pritchett. Just last month Rico was on hand for his fifth Emmy Awards ceremony where he was part of the ensemble stagebound to receive their fifth Emmy for “Best Comedy Series.”

Rico, in addition to being Raini’s younger brother, owes his opportunity to what happened when Raini and her whole family went into Osser’s office for a meeting, but it all started with Nikki. One of his first television roles was on NCIS, in the season 6, episode 19, “Hide and Seek” playing Travis Buckley. Rico was 10 years old at the time, and NCIS was then as it is now, television’s Number One Scripted Drama. Two young children in the same family, making their way in Hollywood, part one. Another favorite episode of “NCIS” is from season 8, titled “Freedom,” where the corpse of a U.S. Marine reservist is discovered in his backyard by dogwalkers, and one look at the opening sequence and you yell out, “That’s Matthew Florida!” as you see his character, Kyle Severin, onscreen. “He is one of Nikki’s kids,” you think. Florida also played Ford Decker on “Days of Our Lives,” he’s the voice of Arrow in Tom Clancy’s “HAWX 2” video game and he’s currently voicing “Raif” in the animation comedy “Oishi High School Battle” and has an increasingly strong resume, with lots more to come.

Disney star Tiffany Thornton is another Nikki Pederson talent alumnus and she recently came to Nikki’s new acting studio in downtown Bryan to inspire and talk with her current students about the process and the training of what it takes to make it to Hollywood. Recent Texas Aggie graduate (and newlywed) Michael Green got his SAG card as he was booked for a national television commercial for K-Mart, directed by Spike Lee. Three guesses where Green found his training? That’s right.

Many students also benefit from the outstanding California-based training from another of Nikki’s trusted colleagues, Patrick Baca. Nikki insists on bringing in only the most outstanding, trustworthy team members to work with her young trainees.

So, with that predicate, who exactly is this woman who has made all these dreams come true for young people from Bryan-College Station happen? She’s Nikki Pederson of Nikki Pederson Talent, and she’s a businesswoman who is committed to children reaching their goals, if they have the skills, talent and qualifications to make it, and if they are willing to do the work to get there.

When you first meet the College Station native Nikki Pederson, you are taken aback somewhat at the aura of a woman that simply glows when she speaks of “her children.” For the past 15 years, Nikki has parlayed an innate ability to coach, train, demand and expect young aspiring actors, models, and singers into a bevy of results.

She is not, let it be understood, a person who will accept any child for a fee, who trains the wannabe’s and the never-gonna-make-it’s brought to her by anxious stage parents who think their child is “gonna be a star.” She will not shine you on, because she won’t take you unless you have what it takes, but she can deliver the message gently with kid gloves.

One personal story from Nikki’s childhood is sufficient to tell you where, how and why she does what she does, in 70-hour weeks where shadowing her for even a day is exhausting. When Nikki was a young girl growing up in College Station, her dream was to be in front of audiences, doing something that would bring them joy in entertainment. Blessed with model-like good looks at an early age, Nikki lacked only the confidence to shoot for the stars. Her father, Russ Coleman, was an accomplished singer and had entertained audiences, but singing was not what Nikki wanted to do.

When Nikki shared her dreams, in a quiet voice, with her mother, she didn’t get the encouraging answer she was seeking. Instead she got a variation on the “cold, cruel world” speech of walking uphill to school in the snow, both ways, hard-knocks life of Hollywood and was essentially encouraged to get that notion out of her head, promptly. Young Nikki was crushed. As she grew up and finished high school the young beauty had a bevy of friends, was pursued by the neatest guys in class for dates, and yet, her secret dream didn’t die. It just stayed buried deep inside her, but life and circumstances combined to bring that dream back into the forefront of her mind.

Nikki began working with IMTA, the International Modeling and Talent Association, and she would take on young students in her Woodlands, Texas studio and train them in sessions such as “Kids on Camera,” where budding actors had actual on-camera experience and the chance to rehearse, train and review their progress.

Through the years of “paying her dues,” Nikki had a chance to see the best and the worst in talent scouts, modeling executives, agents and artist representatives. In that time Nikki was encouraged to branch out on her own, but she didn’t quite feel ready to take the plunge and be her own talent scout and skip the middle part of IMTA, a group for which she still maintains the highest regard today. It was through IMTA that she met and was mentored by Al Onorato, a man of whom she states, “has the highest integrity” of anyone she’s ever met, noting “I’ve been blessed by our friendship and I cherish the opportunities I have to talk to him about everything.”

Pederson’s model training included head shots with professional photographers of top Hollywood studio pedigree and her public speaking programs gave her pupils excellent exit skills, if their goals were only to be able to speak confidently in public. Students (like Garrett, Mackenzie and Mason Wareing, to name three) would commute from College Station to the Woodlands to study with Nikki and her team.

As she’d spend substantial time away from her home in the Woodlands to work with students in Bryan-College Station from time to time, Nikki built a family of believers in a dynamic group of local women known in the community for their good works simply as “The Princesses.” The queen, of course, is Cherry Ruffino, an effervescent do-gooder and real estate mastermind. Then you have academic dean and singing sensation, Karan Chavis, who spends her barely existent spare time working with Nikki’s students who want to sing as part of their full-talent package. [Editor's note: One of Karan's students was Courtnie Ramirez, who would become a finalist in the 2016 season of NBC's "The Voice," yet another example of how Nikki Pederson and Karan Chavis know talent and help foster it whenever they can.]

Mary Mike Hatcher, hometown beauty and longtime radio talent cum national sales manager for Bryan Broadcasting, is another of the shining stars in the group, and often the chief ringleader for all kinds of fun as the ladies frequent local charity functions en masse and collectively support so many good causes that they comprise a “special interest group” of their own accord. The lovely and charming Sharon Merrill completes the royal entourage and keeps them flowing on a smooth course. Someone has to!

These five women together have believed in one another, from the day they each met. They’ve had each other’s backs if one finds a setback in their paths, and when you just can’t find one good thing about your day, a princess will step in and fix that for you. And when life was at an important crossroads for Nikki, you know now who to thank for seeing that she not only reached her own dreams of starting her own talent agency but who were the first in line to congratulate her. An important quote comes to mind:

“Family isn’t always blood. It’s the people in your life who want you in theirs; the ones who accept you for who you are. The ones who would do anything to see you smile and who love you, no matter what.”

Ultimately, late last year with the gentle encouragement (or all-out strategic movement) of “The Princesses,” Nikki relocated her headquarters to the Bryan-College Station area of Texas, where she’s established a tremendous and beautiful studio in the heart of historic downtown Bryan.

And with that as a predicate, Nikki Pederson today is still in the background of the world behind the scenes, making big things happen. It’s never about Nikki. It’s always about “her kids.” God did not bless her with one or two children. Instead, she says, “He made my dreams come true by allowing me to be a part of the lives of these very special young people who are following their dreams. If I can just make a contribution to them by believing in them and working for them, that’s why I’m here.”

So don’t look for Nikki on her own IMDB page. Instead, you can find her on Facebook for yourself and see many of her alumni and current students there. And when you see them on a giant IMAX screen, in a Broadway play or on your television each week, she is there. Her children rush to thank her for believing in them, for “being there” for her, and in being an integral part of her family, as all of the parents adopt her as part of their extended family. And to think it all started because one talented, beautiful little girl had to reach deep down inside herself, with faith, and do what everyone else said wasn’t going to happen. Robin Williams said it best, “No matter what people tell you, words and ideas can change the world.” They do, every day, in Bryan-College Station, Texas, thanks to Nikki Pederson.

CBS gives green light to ‘NCIS: New Orleans’ series in Fall 2014 lineup ~ Let the Good Times Roll!

After the ratings success of the successful two-part new “NCIS” pilot, “Crescent City” debuted earlier this spring, the good news is in. In breaking news, May 9, 2014, TV Line’s Michael Ausiello shared the story that “NCIS: New Orleans” had been added to the CBS Fall schedule. This is the best news of the season for fans of the original “NCIS” and the spinoff, “NCIS: LA”, as there will be a third reason to smile (and tune in) each week. Show runner Gary Glasberg and “NCIS” star Mark Harmon will serve as Executive Producers of the spinoff. 

                                          Photo by Skip Bolen/CBS, used with permission. Read more of the story right here.

USA Network hosts TIVA and Chris Cross Marathons

Tired of watching "The Masters" yet? TIVA has got it going on, on USA Network today and tonight, and then tomorrow is the Chris Cross Marathon. Something for everyone. NCIS viewers just love the "Tiva" dynamic with the team of Tony DiNozzo (T) and Ziva David (iva), portrayed by Michael Weatherly and Cote de Pablo. That's going on Saturday, Apr. 12, 2014 and on Sunday, catch the Chris Cross Marathon. Chris O'Donnell from "NCIS: LA" and Christopher Meloni from "Law and Order SVU" will be in back-to-back marathons on Sunday, Apr. 13, 2014. See which episodes here.

Photo by Jason Merritt, Getty Images, used with permission.

Ralph Waite tribute marathon airs today at 4:00 p.m. (EST) on USA Network

Since "NCIS" reruns are only on Wednesday's on USA Network, this afternoon---TODAY-- starting at 3:00 p.m. CST, there's a Ralph Waite Marathon on NCIS--all 8 episodes back to back. Click here for the full story.

Here are the episodes you'll see:
Heartland (2008), Season 6, Episode 4, directed by Tony Wharmby
Silent Night (2008), Season 6, Episode 11, directed by Tony Wharmby
Faith (2009), Season 7, Episode 10, directed by Arvin Brown
Rule Fifty-One (2010), Season 7, Episode 24, directed by Dennis Smith
Spider and the Fly (2010), Season 8, Episode 1, directed by Dennis Smith
Life Before His Eyes (2012), Season 9, Episode 14, directed by Tony Wharmby
The Namesake (2012), Season 10, Episode 5, directed by Arvin Brown
Better Angels (2013), Season 11, Episode 7, directed by Tony Wharmby

Set your DVR's!

Ralph Waite, actor and television father favorite, dead at 85

America loved actor Ralph Waite on "NCIS" as Jackson Gibbs. But so did so many around the world, including Annie Booker, a dear lady in Australia who made this lovely photo collage tribute. 

On Feb. 13, 2014, television audiences lost another iconic and beloved actor. The New York Times reported that Ralph Waite passed away at age 85. Whether you live in New York, Houston, or in Los Angeles, for so many, learning this news evoked an instant reaction similar to the loss of one of your own family members.

Television is a unique communications medium that allows viewers to share a part of an ongoing (often) fictional world where life is pleasant, simple, joyful, or you’re placed into an environment that shields you from long-term pain because a resolution can be reached in as little as an hour or even half hour. The dynamic of the television father and the actors who portray them is serious business.

From TV shows that included father in the title, “Father Knows Best,” “Bachelor Father” “The Courtship of Eddie’s Father,” to shows that revolved around families, featuring a very strong father figure, such as “The Waltons,” “The Andy Griffith Show,” “Leave it To Beaver,” and even “NCIS” with Mark Harmon playing a father who’d lost a child and adopted the co-workers around him as his ersatz family. Fathers lead. Fathers guide. Fathers issue accolades and discipline with almost even frequency. At least that is how it is on television.

Real life isn’t like that. Maybe your own father wasn’t like the other dads you saw on television. Maybe your dad was so memorable that you might write a book about him. Somewhere in between is the fascination of people searching for fathers to identify with, either as they have one or perhaps as they want to be like one they’ve seen at a distance, every week, on your little television.

Ralph Waite was one of those fathers that people admired and thought to be “the best.” The New York Times reported that

In 2004, a TV Guide poll of readers ranked him (Waite) No. 3 on its list of the “50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time,” behind Bill Cosby’s Dr. Cliff Huxtable (No. 1) on “The Cosby Show” and Lorne Greene’s Ben Cartwright on “Bonanza.”

Interestingly, in 2004, one primary role had defined Waite as a father. As the New York Times noted, it was only because of Waite’s role as John Walton that he was considered a “Greatest TV Dad.” Viewers had nine years and 196 episodes of “The Waltons” to admire and regard Waite’s character John Walton, and yet Waite was more popular in his early career as a stage actor. The medium’s often the thing, as far as making a household name out of a truly great actor.

Waite was such a popular actor that from 2009-2013 Waite appeared as Hank Booth, the grandfather of FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth on three episodes of the ABC-TV procedural, “Bones,” as Seeley’s grandfather whom Hank raised as his own. Also in that same time span, Ralph made 94 appearances as “Father Matt,” a priest, on the NBC daytime soap opera, “Days of Our Lives.”

But wait, there’s more. From 2008-2013 in perhaps his most endearing role, Ralph made 8 appearances as Jackson Gibbs, on TV’s current number one scripted drama. Jackson is father to NCIS Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Undoubtedly this role is one of the most important of his career, possibly even more so than playing the family patriarch on “The Waltons." On the tote board, that’s three fathers in three shows on three different networks. That has to be an acting record somewhere.

NCIS 9.14 "Life Before His Eyes" 20-second promo (CBS)

NCIS 200th Episode - GIBBS' LIFE FLASHES BEFORE HIS EYES WHEN A PATRON PULLS A GUN DURING A ROUTINE VISIT TO HIS LOCAL DINER, ON THE 200TH EPISODE OF "NCIS," TUESDAY, FEB. 7

In further support of his acting ability, many times you might describe the personal Waite as a simple country man, who saw a lot of hard labor in his life, and he surely must be the perfect father, right? Real-world Waite achieved three marriages in his lifetime and his B.A. degree from Bucknell led to “almost three years of divinity school at Yale. Biographical sources report that Waite’s early youth included time “as a social worker, religious editor for publisher Harper & Row, and Presbyterian minister,” more insight into the collected countenance which Waite brought to his roles, whether portraying a minister or father.

The character of Jackson Gibbs has been and is so important to helping define the character of NCIS Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs. The very thin line between recurring television characters and the actors who portray them was described well many years by the late Sonny Bono, U.S. Congressman, singer/songwriter, and record producer, when he said “Television is a distancing phenomenon. You see us in your home each week; we are a part of your family. You feel like you know us as well as you know members of your own family.” And, Sonny was right.

Poignantly, upon the death of actor-singer-U.S. Congressman Bono, minister-actor-social advocate Waite ran for the seat as a candidate but lost to Sonny’s widow Mary Bono Mack, who served as Congresswoman for 14 years. When you choose to be in the public eye, you may aim for acting at first, but so very often the path to the goal includes rich and relevant side roads you have to traverse before you achieve your dream. Just as importantly the dream of “getting it right” as a father may not come in real life, but it can come across on screen, to the delight of millions of people watching each time. That’s surreal, but true enough.

Particularly through the eyes of Ralph Waite as Jackson Gibbs, the episodes that featured all the rich dialog between Jackson and Jethro spelled out the intense father-son dynamic that came from the mind of “NCIS” creator Donald Bellisario, whose own father, by the way, was named Albert Jethro Bellisario.

Jackson’s character has continued to be expertly extended by show runner and frequent writer, Gary Glasberg. One can only wonder what’s next for “NCIS” without Jackson. Of all of Waite’s appearances on “NCIS,” the 200th episode, “Life Before His Eyes” (Season 9, Episode 14) is perhaps the most important and poignant one to watch for the insight it produces as the backstory develops between Jethro and Jackson. Both silver-haired, blue-eyed strong men, Harmon and Waite, look at one another and say more with looks than with words.

Even beyond the United States, fans of “NCIS” around the world were impacted by the news of Waite’s passing. Jackson Gibbs was gone. In fact, Annie Booker, from Adelaide, South Australia was so moved she created the photo collage shown in this story, in tribute to Waite’s role as Jackson Gibbs. The actor whose real life was never as smooth or joyful as the world he created for all of us, who believed we truly “knew him” from watching him through a digital electronic gateway, has died. The talent of Ralph Waite will be remembered for years to come. The characters he created for us, through the benefit of syndicated television shows, will live on for much longer than that. And you just can’t ask for more than that from any professional. And as the curtain goes down, what’s in order is a final standing ovation for a truly gifted actor, Ralph Waite, with thanks.