A huge part of every NCIS episode is getting lab results, and they need to be accurate. Gibbs and his team cannot solve crimes without those results, at least, not confidently. One thing fans notice, though, is that the results of these lab tests come back before the show ends, and always tie up a difficult case.
Michael Weatherly once mentioned that while law enforcement professionals love the show, they’re not fond of how quickly the lab results were coming back. Here is what Weatherly had to say on the matter:
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In 2013, during an interview with CBS about the different NCIS sets, Weatherly listed Abby’s Lab as one of his favorites. He said the set is fun and has a lot of good energy. “Abby’s lab is fun,” said Weatherly in his CBS interview. “[Abby’s] there, which means it’s exciting.”
And of course, we’re all well aware that Weatherly does not enjoy MTAC, claiming it’s lonely and strange. An important element in Abby’s Lab is the music! She has a varying taste.
NCIS producer Josh Rexon told CBS that he wanted to make Abby’s Lab different from the reset of the sets.
“When everybody kind of comes into her world, it was thought that rather than go with conventional score all the time, to kind of create a unique mixture of music that supports her personality and at the same time supports the wonderful energy that she brings to the show and to those scenes,” said Rexon.
Abby is this heavily tattooed, kind-heart goth girl that liked dead things as a child and bowls with nuns, so it makes sense that her lab would be pretty fun.
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The NCIS lab, now ran by Kasie Hines (Diona Reasonver) is entertaining. Many fans love the scenes in the lab, with all the high-tech equipment and computers. However, some law enforcement professionals do not think the way the lab works is realistic.
Here’s Weatherly’s thoughts from a 2012 interview with The Project, an Australian TV show.
Due to the conventions of television, we have to collapse time frames and we get our DNA evidence sparklingly fast. It just twinkles right out of that machine. So, there’s a lot of that stuff that forensically gets people miffed, in terms of the true detective work. But something I’ve heard from a lot of law enforcement and just people in general, is that that the dynamic feels real to them.
During his interview with The Project, Weatherly went on to explain why the show was so popular. He essentially said that people loved the show because there were so many types of entertainment in one. Comedy, drama, humor, and some romance in one episode.
We give away chuckles, a good scare or two. A little bit of the penny dreadful, sort of ghoulish body in the morgue with the thing. We have some good clues. A ripping good yarn. I would say that’s the weirdness of NCIS. It’s a combo platter you didn’t even think you wanted in your living room. And then we serve it to you hot and fresh every week. It is a weird show.
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— NCIS (@NCIS_CBS) February 29, 2020