Today, we look at some of the Easter Eggs in NCIS‘s recent tribute to David McCallum, who played Dr. Donald “Ducky” Mallard on the series for 20 seasons before passing away last year at the age of 90.
In Pop Culture Easter Eggs, I share with you pop culture “easter eggs.” An easter egg is a joke/visual gag/homage/in-joke that is hidden in works that you are meant to find (just like an easter egg). They range from the not-so-obscure to the really obscure. So come check ’em all out and enjoy!
This week, NCIS paid tribute to the late David McCallum with an episode co-written by longtime cast member of the series, Brian Dietzen (Dr. Jimmy Palmer, who was generally paired with Ducky over the years). Executive Producer Scott Williams co-wrote the episode with Dietzen.
The episode was filled with clips from past episodes, but there were also some interesting Easter Eggs, and I thought I’d mention the ones I found (including one that is a huge stretch), and I figure you could let me know if you saw one that I missed!
Note that most of the time, things that COULD have been Easter Eggs were followed directly by clips referencing them, so I don’t really count them as Easter Eggs. I also don’t think an envelope from Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon) really counts as an Easter Egg (there is another bit from a former cast member that I think DOES count, though).
The episode opened up with a big one, as Jimmy arrives as Ducky’s house, only to discover that the good doctor has passed away in his sleep. We learn that Ducky has a dog named Solo…
This, of course, was a reference to McCallum’s other most famous role, that of Illya Kuryakin on The Man From U.N.C.L.E., where he was partners with Napoleon Solo (Robert Vaughn).
At Ducky’s house, we saw a picture of his mother….
This is an actual promotional photo from 1972 of the actor, Nina Foch, who DID play Ducky’s mother in a couple of early episodes of the series.
Also in his home is a bookcase, including a book by Edgar Allan Poe…
McCallum starred in The Haunting of Morella, a film based on Edgar Allan Poe’s Morella…
Now, do I think that that was probably not REALLY an Easter Egg, and just a coincidence from a set dressing? Probably, but it COULD be an Easter Egg!
What was DEFINITELY an Easter Egg was this vehicle with The Great Escape on it, of course a nod to McCallum’s famous role in the film, The Great Escape…
I think the wreath of black roses, courtesy of Pauley Perrette longtime NCIS character, Abby Sciuto, counts as an Easter Egg, since they didn’t outright SAY it was from her (it’s just a very OBVIOUS Easter Egg)…
Finally, an interesting one that Dietzen himself pointed out, so I’m counting it. In all of the flashbacks in the episode, none of them had Michael Weatherley’s Anthony DiNozzo in them. This was a clever nod by Dietzen that he was going to show up in PERSON to give Jimmy a bowtie to wear in honor of Ducky (who famously wore bowties)…
Let me know if you saw more Easter Eggs in the episode, and I’ll add to the list!
If anyone else has suggestions for a future Pop Culture Easter Eggs, feel free to drop me a line at brian@popculturereferences.com.
