‘NCIS’ Milestone: Celebrating the 1,000th Franchise Episode with Epic Callbacks and Surprises

CBS’s “NCIS” celebrated a significant milestone with its 1,000th episode across the entire franchise, including spin-offs. The special episode, titled “A Thousand Yards,” cleverly references the distance from which the sniper shot Vance at his late wife’s gravesite in the opening scene.

One of the notable nods to the very first episode of “NCIS” was McGee’s enthusiasm for the new specs of the Air Force One jet, harking back to “Yankee White,” which centered around a Marine’s mysterious death on the President’s plane.

The episode also linked to “Yankee White” through a series of explosions targeting the Morrow family crypt, Dr. Rachel Cranston (sister of the late Caitlin Todd), and former FBI agent Tobias Fornell, all significant characters from the original episode.

Adding to the episode’s depth, characters from spinoffs “NCIS: LA” and “NCIS: Hawai’i” made appearances. Kensi Blye-Deeks and Jane Tennant playfully interacted with Torres during an MTAC call. The episode cleverly included a reference to Gibbs’ rule, emphasizing the theme that “There is no such thing as coincidence.”

The plot thickened with the revelation that Vance’s son Jared had unknowingly been in contact with a woman groomed by Bandium founder Fletcher Voss (played by “Bones” veteran T.J. Thyne) to carry out the shooting.

This woman, connected to a past attempt to assassinate President George W. Bush as depicted in “Yankee White,” planned to use Air Force One in her scheme, bringing the episode full circle to its origins.

NCIS’ Director Leon Vance’s Wife Death Is Remembered
NCIS Pilot’s Air Force One Case Revisited
Vance Is Shot By A Long-Range Sniper
Former NCIS Director Tom Morrow’s Family Crypt Is Bombed
NCIS: Los Angeles’ Kensi and Hawai’i’s Tennant Make Cameos
Caitlin Todd’s History With NCIS Is Re-Examined
Ex-FBI Tobias Fornell’s NCIS Connection Is Highlighted
NCIS Remembers Tim McGee’s Author Days
NCIS Pilot’s Very First Suspect Haunts The Agency
NCIS’ 1000th Episode Pays Tribute To All Of Its Spinoffs