The NCIS pilot episode “Yankee White” is turning 21 years old, and there are some harsh realities when watching it today. While the official NCIS pilot happened in season 8 of JAG, the 1990s legal procedural, NCIS season 1, episode 1, “Yankee White” was the proper opening to the Navy-focused police show. While some parts of it didn’t age well, the NCIS pilot is still one of the best episodes of NCIS. It encapsulates Mark Harmon’s brand of justice as Leroy Jethro Gibbs while introducing the Major Case Response Team (MCRT) and how they operate.
