Rocky Carroll Previews Vance’s NCIS Return, His Sobering Discovery and a New Bond With Gibbs
This Tuesday on NCIS (CBS, 8/7c), director Leon Vance risks setbacks both professional and personal as he readies to return to duty in the wake of wife Jackie’s shocking death.
But is it all too much, too soon?
“Vance has been ‘out to sea’ a bit, emotionally and in other ways,” Rocky Carroll tells TVLine. “Here’s a man who at NCIS represented the ‘nuclear family,’ and all of a sudden an avalanche of things happened. Now he has the responsibility of trying to keep things together for the sake of two young children, and at the same time try to investigate this murder.”
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Though Carroll says Vance is “champing at the bit” to get back to work, he receives a tenuous welcome upon resurfacing at NCIS HQ, “because the feeling is that he’s probably not emotionally ready to be there. Vance is going to put up a good front and say, ‘No, I’m fine. I can handle this,’ but it’ll be very clear that he’s far from being his old self.”
Not helping with the widower’s composure is what Carroll describes as a “multidimensional series of discoveries” Vance makes while going through Jackie’s things. “He learns his wife’s true feelings and true assessment of what Vance does for a living, what the pitfalls of being the wife of an NCIS director are, what she felt she needed to do in order to live,” the actor shares. “You see where Jackie had to take matters into her own hands.”
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Putting Vance through this crucible, Carroll feels, is the writers’ way of taking the great love that NCIS fans oft profess for TV’s most watched drama and saying, “Let’s put it to the test.”
“When you love somebody and they go through a real adversity, you don’t back away from that relationship,” he notes. “You don’t say, ‘When you’re better, call me.’ The opposite happens. Your bond strengthens, and you become even more vested.”
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Speaking of stronger bonds, Carroll says you can probably expect more scenes like the one between Vance and Gibbs in the episode “Shiva,” where the NCIS director opened up to acknowledge the new, deeper understanding he has of his No. 1’s own personal tragedies.
“In one fell swoop, they’ve created this incredible parallel of lives between Ziva, Vance and Gibbs — all through death,” Carroll says, alluding to Eli David (who was killed with Jackie in Mossad boss Ilan Bodnar’s assault on the Vance home). “Now that Vance has lost his wife, he begins to see Gibbs in a different light.”
Want more scoop on NCIS, or for any other show? Email mattmtvguy@gmail.com and your question may be answered via Matt’s Inside Line.
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Sorry, this site sucks, and I am out of here. The number one show on TV, can’t even get people to talk, but a show that has less than 3 or 4 million viewers get’s tons of comments. I Know this site hates CBS shows, what ever it’s your loss. Can you imagine this site if you actually appreciated all fans Again your loss……………
Can you imagine if you were ACTUALLY respectful to this site and its owner? And yea this site TOTALLY hates CBS thats why they’re promoting them and stuff. Yea thats totally it -_-
Comments like this is why we can’t have nice things…
I love CBS’s stuff and watch it, all the time. I, also, love this website, and read it all the time. I never picked up a distain for CBS shows by the writers. Of course, I just scan the stories to read about the shows I watch. I, also, tell my husband about the pilots in the making, i.e. SHIELD, which has him chomping at the bit. Hoping CBS buys the pilot, folks!
This is me. :) This is the only site I read concerning TV etc. And I also fill the husband in on upcoming shows he might like. It is because of this site the man is totally hooked on Justified and goes into some sort of mourning when it is between seasons. :)
The best thing about TVLine is that is it informative, fun, full of humor but not gossip.
Well done you! :)
I see by the timestamp that you gave readers a full 18 minutes to flood this story with comments. That’s rational.
The #1 show can’t get anybody to talk on this site because this site has pandered to teh tiver faction for so long no one else can be bothered to visit. Anything said against the princess results in a dogpile of crazy from her entitled minions. Why give TV Line the hits when all they do is stir the pot? It takes so little to incite them as it is. I can’t wait for her to leave. NCIS can be so much better without her.
Don’t let the doot hit you in the azz on the way out…..
Really looking forward to seeing this episode tomorrow night! I know Rocky is gonna rock as Vance, watching Vance and Gibbs bond over shared experiences. This season has really been one of the best seasons in a long time! Thank you, Matt, Michael & team for bringing us wonderful NCIS scoops. :-)
Oh good grief, now we have three characters united in grief! What happened to solving crime? I don’t want them to have these tragedies in common, I want them to figure out who murdered the petty officer found in Rock Creek Park.
This show has devolved so much into a nighttime soap opera. Sad, sad, sad…
Going into the tenth season of a show, it’s natural to reveal a little more about the main characters to the audience. I can’t imagine ten seasons, twenty four episodes per season, of “dead body…solve the crime…roll the credits.” That would be so mind-numbingly dull.
The show has ALWAYS been character-driven, much like the show it was spun-off, JAG. The character’s personal lives are just as important as the crimes they solve, giving the viewers a chance to see who they are and why they do what they do. It’s been that way since the beginning, and I think it’s one of the main reasons the show is as popular as it is.
I can’t agree with this. We see precious little of their personal lives. Virtually everything revolves around the characters at work. It’s a rarity when we see any of them at home. So, while I don’t agree with Lyn and welcome the chance to see a more personal side to Vance and all of the characters, I think it’s going too far in the other direction to say their personal lives have always been as important as the crimes they solve. I think it’s clear that crime-solving has always been the front-and-center element of NCIS.
We’ve learned about their childhoods, met their families, scrutinized their romantic relationships, been in Gibbs’ basement, Ducky’s home and more important we’ve seen them operate as a family, not just a crime-fighting squad. Their extremely personal interactions have influenced how they work. This is what I’m referring to.
I like Vance but I admit to not being fully invested in him. His story doesn’t interest me a ton even though I do like him – probably because of how good RC is. I’m guessing Jackie was contemplating filing for divorce. I hope it is truly something big but not outlandish. NCIS has a history of teasing big stuff that turns out to be nothing. What happened in Shiva was the biggest thing this show has managed to do in years, keep it up.
I really like that RC mentioned the bond between Vance, Gibbs and Ziva. I hope that gets explored and not forgotten. I don’t want Vance’s story and Ziva’s story to be separated, it should be intertwined through the rest of the season and beyond
Well, if she was going to file for divorce, it would have been to shake him up, get his attention, and change a few things (or some big things). I’m sure she would not have gone through with it. She was too good of a manager.
Vance / Rocky Carroll is terrible!
Trying for gravitas, but just looks cheesy.
Please write him out
Don’t know if Rocky Carroll is coming back to NCIS next season depending on his contract. He and Mark Harmon had some great times during their days on Chicago Hope (also on CBS). Still missed the medical drama a long time ago. Does anyone remember Chicago Hope?
I do. I really liked that show. They’ve had one or two Chicago Hope alum on NCIS, haven’t they? Lauren Holly, Stacey Edwards… who am I forgetting?
I’m not a Vance fan. Seems he’s always having a trauma. How about a new director.
Don’t care. Wish he would’ve died instead of his wife.
Bring on the Tiva.
Better yet Ziva would’ve died. She lied yet again, costing the life of an innocent. Ziva leaves damage wherever she goes. I’m so not happy to read about this arc and the inevitable Ziva sob story sure to ruin the season finale. Tony, poor man, better flee for his life before she manages to get him killed or permanently injured.
Can’t wait for this weeks ep!!!! Hope we see great scenes between Vance and Ziva!!
Very interested to see Vance back.. Although I’m expecting the show to destroy the foundation they built on Jackie’s character, I’m hoping they don’t do it too awfully.
& I’ll agree with the poster who doesn’t want ziva & Vance storylines intertwined. I’m still hoping ziva finally faces recriminations for her misdeeds at least as far as Jackie’s death goes. Heaven only knows she’s never had to face the music before.
Thanks for the interview – really excited for the new episode tonight!
Vance and Jackie were the only normal family in the show and now that has been destroyed. I love that all of Rocky Carroll-centric episodes are full of tension and drama, but there are plenty of other ways the writers could have shown drama in the family – i.e., an illness or contemplating divorce. Or, there could have been a misstep by Vance in his job, or new tension between him his boss. I think the only one reported as not signing a contract yet was Cote. So hopefully Rocky Carroll is back next year.
Nice to see the Ziva haters have arrived… Seriously, go away, your childish rants and stompng of your little feet are so annoying. (P.S., hate to break it to you, but, this is a scripted show–it’s not real–either that or just shut it.) The same ones are becoming so preditable with their whining–what are you 12?
Heh, they would have an excuse if they were just some 12 years old.. Instead they’re mostly bitter middle aged women, apparently with nothing better to do than spit poison on Ziva and Cote, heavily insulting her and everything she says and do, always searching for evidence that she is in fact hated by all her cast members (cause if they hate her, then their beloved actors must hate her too of course, uh), criticizing her look, body, voice, everything.. Textbook behavior for women jealous of other younger/prettier/succesful women, seems to me lol.
Hmmm typical comment from an insecure small p—-s guy, calling us bitter middle aged women. Or maybe you re one of those 12 year olds.
There is no call for any of you to turn to name calling. It’s wrong on many, many levels.
This is a public forum and I, along with others, expressed our opinion. You, my friends, live in need of a good lesson on civility and communication.
BTW, three stars in recent weeks have expressed negative feelings for the Tiva pairing, plus RC just said in another interview out today that Tiva isn’t happening, that it would destroy the show.
I wonder why the stars feel so free to publicly dispute the romance? I think the romance is going to fail.
Btw, I never once said anything about the very pretty actress who plays Ziva. I just said I don’t like the character anymore. She chose to,shoot Ari rather than stop him when she could’ve prevented the death of several, including Kate Todd. That’s why she was there. Since then, she has either lied or misled her coworkers and others leading to death and destruction.
Tying her story to Vance’s is boring. And the Mossad storyline has been brought up over and over again. Research would show that Hollywood typically tends to have a very liberal attitude of support for Israel, which is leading us to believe that the US Navy and Marines are constantly engaged in activities with this nation. A reliance on this storyline misrepresents what our military does and how our government works. Of all the overblown storylines that NCIS does, this one is the worst.
mmh sorry to disappoint you if I’m a 25 year old female then. And look, really, I. Don’t. Care. if you don’t like Ziva or Tiva etc. The problem is that every. single. time. we have some news on NCIS, no matter if it’s a Rocky Carrol’s interview and Ziva was fleetingly mentioned 1 time along with Gibbs and no one said a damn thing about Tiva, you Haters inevitably show you and spit hate on Ziva/Tiva, with the same, stale, old arguments we all read 452656 times. Newsflash: you can bark at the moon all you want, it will never stops people from shipping whoever they want or stops TPTB from going after Tiva, if that’s what they want. You’re just sucking out all the fun of being in this fandom.
Newsflash Gaara –
The sucking all the fun out of this fandom started when the tiva shippers couldn’t stand to have other fans around who had a different viewpoint or shipped a different pairing than they did. That version of hate has been going on for far longer yet it’s mostly the tiva shippers who spread the hate (against real people & not a fictional character) & then go play nice nice with TPTB on twitter. (actually it’s also quite funny to then watch the hate they spill onto the cast when they comment about being against tiva but they are all very careful not to hashtag the show or reference the cast twitter accounts at that point in time.
And the problem is that I specifically said that I was unhappy with Ziva because she is part of this story arc. I feel that Vance’s loss is now going to be used to form a new tie with Ziva. They never had any relationship before other than she was a political thorn in his side thanks to the problematic relationship between Vance and Eli David. Then the sweet little misunderstood girl forgot to mention that her daddy was a killer and people got killed.
This is poor storytelling. I’m troubled that there is never any responsibility taken on Ziva’s part for her mistakes. Instead she gets to become best buds with the widowr who wouldn’t be facing the issue if Ziva had just SPOKEN UP like she promised to do at the very beginning of the episode.
Somewhere along the way this kick*ss character was sent off the rails and a very vocal group of fans refuses to see that there is a problem with it.
LOL “it’s mostly the tiva shippers who spread the hate (against real people & not a fictional character)”… Please, tell me more about how Cote “sexually assaulted” her male co-workers on the set, how she is a “b*tch in heat” around them (and even worse name-calling), how she should be kicked back in Cile, how Shane Brennan is a “homophobe” because he didn’t made enough Tibbs scenes, how Chris Willman got hate after every Tiva-positive article or recap (makes you wonder why he don’t write them anymore huh?) … And add to them all the times Gary Glasberg and Chris Waild get hate on twitter after they say or write something about Tiva.
— Stop right there, let me tell you that whenever Tiva fans behave like whiny children and spread hate too I despise them just as much – hell, even more since we’re supposed to have the same point of view. And when someone – Tiva or not Tiva – do something that put shame on all our fandom and they justify themselves saying “but they started it first!”… well, it just makes me want to give them their pacifiers and sippy cups, and lock them up inside the nearest kindergarten.
Hey, Tory, which actors specifically have spoken out against the relationship?
I know Michael Weatherly has said before that he wouldn’t want it to happen. Who else? Thanks.
Rocky Carroll has come out several times against it just this month, as well as Pauley Perrette. She said,she was against any romance, including between Tony/Ziva and Abby/McGee during her live tweets earlier this month. Brian Dietzen also came out against Tiva, I think on his Twitter account when he was asked by a fan.
Watch RC’s recent interview on Huffington Post wherein he comments that the romance is bad for the show, as well as the interview he gave to Hypable.com that was posted today.
As far as I can tell, the only member of the cast who has publicly been in favor of Tiva has been CdP. It’s certainly a win for her as an actress as it garners her a lot of attention. I can’t blame her there. She’s got to look out for herself and try to develop a career beyond NCIS.
Hope this helps….. I just found it very intriguing that the actors are commenting so publicly and I. Scha short amount of time.
BD twitter:
@JTRules1 @SV_Knight @abbyandgibbs14 I’m not into romantic pairings of the characters. It would too quickly paint them into a corner
5:09pm – 7 Feb 13
I dont understand how they-them who hate Ziva- can even say she has never faced the music owing to her actions or whatever. She had to KILL her brother! The fact that he was a murderous terrorist or whatever doesnt remove the familial bond forged over years and then her father died in her arms. And her lovers have all betrayed her in one way or another. She has suffered. ALOT. And looked damn good doing it.
AHEM – canon rewrite here:
First off, we were told that Ari hated his father because he killed Ari’s mother (who was not Jewish). Never anywhere was it mentioned that Ari grew up to know & form a relationship with his half siblings
Then we’re told that ziva only killed Ari to save Gibbs. & the wobbly chin comes out as ziva mourns killing her much loved brother to save someone she didn’t know at all. This being after ziva admitted to being her brother’s handler and had been trying to keep him safe.
Fast forward again to where were suddenly told that ziva was assigned the mission of killing Ari as a way to get close to & win the trust of Gibbs.
None of this is ever explained but yet we’re supposed to believe that the poor darling has suffered greatly because of her familial bonds & all the losses.
Bull!
*groan* All of this was explained at the end of Reunion, 7×02. Eli wanted someone to kill Ari and gain Gibbs’ trust (“Two birds, one bullet” as Vance said). Ziva volunteered for the mission “because I hoped my father was wrong about Ari. And I did not want someone else blindly following orders. I volunteered to protect him.” “When I told you Ari was innocent, I believed it. But, yes. I would’ve lied to you. He was my brother. And you were nothing … But I was wrong about Ari. And you. When I pulled the trigger to save your life, I was not following orders.” There. Of course you’re free to have your double standards and don’t believe her cause her name is Ziva, just don’t be surprised if TBPT and the rest of the world consider it a closed argument since September 2009.
And FYI we saw Ziva worried about her brother on “Kill Ari pt 1” (“I don’t want to lose you too”), then Ziva, Ari and Tali’s photo when they were children (in Ziva’s old apartment and in Eli’s office), then the flashback of young Ziva, Eli and supposedly Rivka, Ari and Tali during “Shiva”… So yea, something tells me they were close.
Good point Gaara. About what Ziva said to Gibbs. I was still ambivalent about her character at the time…kinda liked her, but was totally baffled as to why all the stuff happened during S6 to make her so unlikable. I remember watching this part….Gibbs’ obvious reservations as well as those of Vance. I was left with a bad taste by her comments because it was a poor explanation at the time and seemed to be so much more a manipulation of Gibbs. I remember that it was during the new season when she made little effort to truly apologize to Tony that I became more and more disenchanted with her character. While season 6 made me angry with Ziva, it was season 7 that I became totally disenchanted with her.
At this point I think the writers have messed up her character to such a degree that many people aren’t sure what to think about her.
As far as this episode goes, I am disappointed that Vance can’t grieve and be the focus of the episode without her being added in. Her character has been shoehorned into everything this season to the degree that if Gibbs were to have a dream about Shannon, he’d turn to Ziva for dream interpretation. What happened to the friendship between Gibbs and Ducky or Gibbs and Tony or Tony and Abby. Suddenly every character has a limited range of allowable interactions. We no longer get a real look at the characters because their relationships are limited. Ziva talks to everyone, Gibbs and Vance talk, Tim and Abby talk, and Ducky and Jimmy talk. Depth of know legend comes from a variety of resources, to a limited few.
Someone else on this board said that this is a character driven show. Truthfully I think it’s a crime show with colorful characters, all of whom need to stop being so much of the focus. I remember when a throwaway comment was our insight to the characters. Less in-depth insight and more crime fighting please.
explained? I’m sorry but did they ever say WHY it was so important to gain Gibbs’s trust? Don’t think so…
& Ari was her HALF brother – not full brother. It’s more loopholes & unexplained scenes in which shane brennan had ziva play the daddy card.
*SIGH* same old stuff again. To the Ziva haters–have a problem? Go after the writers, they are the ones who are writing the scripts, writing scripts for A.C.T.O.R.S.–not real people. Reading all of the nasty comments just shows that people need to stop and do a reality check. Don’t like her character? Don’t like the way the show is going? Tough–go write your own script exactly the way you want it and try and sell it to CBS–don’t expect it to be bought–your personal game change would probably ruin the show. I have watched NCIS since it was a pilot on JAG–I enjoy the characters (ALL of them) and used to enjoy interacting with the other fans–that is until all the whiny fangirls came on talking about “poor Tony” and “mean old Ziva”–here’s a thought call 1-800-GETALIFE and get one.
Not everyone here is writing mean mean things, just discussing for clarification. But if you feel the need to chew me or someone else out for not being the same kind of fan as you are, perhaps,you should call 1-800-IGOTTAPROBLEM
Oh-oh, hit a nerve? To my knowledge, I didn’t mention anyone by name, but made general comments reflecting my frustrations with the constant whining that goes on. Yet, here you are jumping in to respond–so I believe the one with the biggest problem might be you. Your welcome…
I still don’t trust Vance.. but lets hope he does mellow out a bit and start earning the right of Director..he is way in over his head..
and to those that hate MY Ziva, get over it.. Ziva and our TIVA are here to stay now!!! And we LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!
If she is YOUR Ziva, you might want to put a leash on her. She keeps crapping on MY show. Better yet, take her home. You can have her. Maybe Brennan will put her on his new train wreck and take her minions with him.
Does everyone know that Gibbs killed the people who killed his family? I thought only Abby knew.
I think Ducky knows and Vance, as well as every enemy the man has.
I totally agree with your comments from 11:20 this morning, Tory. It was the crimes that made the show interesting. Every once in a while, we would get info on one of the characters.
I miss horribly the interactions between Gibbs and DiNozzo. Even the interactions between McGeek and DiNozzo. Now Ziva has to be in on every conversation.
Thx….. I appreciate it. :)
All this stuff about Ziva being killed is rubbish. The Ratings for “Shiva” prove that is going to be unlikely. Cote de Pablo is thinking about lying on some beech when the series is over even as I’m writing this,
It’s just a story for goodness sake! Get over it, enjoy and leave personalities alone! Some people need to get a life outside of “TV Land” !!!!!
Man, some of you have some real anger issues. I have seen several people make the same comment over and over again just on this one page. Yes, we know you hate Ziva and Tiva and anything related to that. That is your right and that is your opinion. But, must you continue to beat the same dead horse? Every single one of these message boards I have been on have the same comments over and over! You people complain about Ziva when she isn’t even the focus of the episode. If you want to complain, start writing hate mail to Gary Glasberg and the creators of the show. They are the only ones with the power to fix it. Constantly bashing a character and an actress is not going to solve your problem. I, for one, have full faith in these amazing writers that they can balance some romance in the middle of this crime drama. Am I a Tiva fan? Yes. Am I going to stop watching if they don’t get together? No. At the end of the day I realize that it isn’t real. My life will continue to move forward even if two fictional characters don’t get together on a television program. And it will move forward if they do. It doesn’t change my life on a personal level at all! I love all the characters. They all add something to the show. Gary Glasberg has stated that he will continue to explore the Tiva story line through the rest of this season. It doesn’t matter what Pauley or Rocky or Brian think or say. GG is the executive producer and head writer. He can pretty much do whatever he wants. When a show continues to get ratings in the 20 millions, I don’t think it is in danger of failing anytime soon. How much longer do you think the show is going to go on? I can’t imagine more than a few years. Mark Harmon’s contract is for two more years-the standard contract for NCIS actors. The actors have made their money and would probably like to enjoy their lives instead of working for 14 hours a day, 5 days a week for 10 months out of the year. They would probably also like to explore other options in their careers. I don’t think that TIVA will destroy the show for the few years it has to remain on the air. And remember, all good things must come to end. And yes, NCIS will eventually end like all other tv shows. It’s televison and the characters aren’t real, although I think some of you have forgotten that. Gary Glasberg has also said he would like to explore the idea of Ziva having a family and he would not be opposed to a pregnant Ziva if he can make it work with his story line. If that happens to be with Tony, so be it. Shows like Castle and Bones have brought the main characters together and have done this successfully. GG would not make it the TIVA show. He has stated that if they did get together it would not be the main focus of the episodes. I for one do not understand why you would continue to watch a show that incites some much rage and hatred in you. I have faithfully watched other shows and then when a character or a story line starts to bother me, I stop watching. I don’t go on fan pages and message boards and continue to complain about the same thing-TPTB aren’t reading your comments and changing their minds because you whine through the whole message board! Get over it, stop taking it so personally and enjoy the show for what it is-entertainment. And if you can’t enjoy it, change the channel and leave us in peace. On another note, what are people implying by saying that Ari was only Ziva’s half brother? I have a half sister that lived with me my entire childhood-she wasn’t just my half sister, she was and still is my sister. So, I’m not sure where you’re are going with that one. If you are implying that the bond is not as strong etc…you would be wrong.