Rosefern

Gerald (left) was Ducky's assistant throughout most of the first season (and appears briefly in the first two episodes of the third season), appearing in all but a few episodes until he was shot in the shoulder (ball and socket joint) by the same man who killed Kate, Ari. He was Ducky's assistant for two years at the time "Bete Noire" aired ["Bête Noire"].

We get a good picture of the kind of guy he is: basically, everything Gibbs is not. Gerald is in tune with pop culture ["Yankee White"], technologically saavy, and laid-back. Gerald also has an almost addictive attachment to his CD player, and Ducky rants about him being caught up inside his mp3 player ["One Shot, One Kill"], which may or may not be an iPod.

Gerald appears to absorb much more than one might think. Besides medical knowledge, he has absorbed so much of Ducky's stories that when the 'terrorist' asks if Ducky is "quick on his feet," Gerald makes the jump of logic to Ducky's Eton days ["Bête Noire"]. He appears to find some of Ducky's stories more interesting than others, but doesn't let Ducky know when he's bored by them ["Eye Spy"].

Ducky sees him almost as he does a son (he calls him that once) ["Bête Noire]. Gerald's opinion of him matters; once Ducky catches Gerald listening to a CD player and becomes a little insecure; he asks Gibbs, Kate, and Tony if he is boring ["Marine Down"]. He also visits Gerald right after the shooting - before he goes to the crime scene of the next episode ["The Truth is Out There"].

He also is quick, efficient, and responsible; even as Ducky finishes complaining about him and his mp3 player, Gerald appears right next to him to say that he has finished all the crime scene photos and has the body entirely ready to be moved ["One Shot, One Kill"]. When Tony and Gibbs race against the rising tide to take measurements to reproduce the crime scene in the lab, it is Gerald Gibbs calls on to take notes. Gibbs also has little problem leaving him and Tony to take care of a contaminated crime scene ["Eye Spy" and "Seadog"].

Gerald is unflappable; he is unbothered by Ducky's talking to bodies and has no phobias we have seen. He maintains his calm even when he and Ducky are taken hostage and he is shot by a man they think is a terrorist, even chatting about Abby's autopsy phobia to Wellington and Waterloo although he is the one directly threatened. Even after he's shot and during the shootout between Ari and Gibbs (he's lying on an autopsy table right in the room), he stays calm. His true feelings come out later; Kate says in the first season finale that he asks every day whether or not Ari is dead yet ["Bête Noire" and "Reveille"].

His laid-back quality is actually one that none of the others have, and goes well with his quiet confidence. He's surprised, then immensely amused by the fact that Ducky shoved a French cop off a cliff, and feels no nervousness at having to take care of a contaminated crime scene ["Seadog"]. Gibbs does not scare him. He also likes to have his fun--when he acts out Wilkes' death from air in the IV saline bag, he grins and waves and pretends to die, prompting Ducky to give him a look at remind him it is not dinner theater ["High Seas"].

His grandfather had a funeral home, and he and Gerald "bonded" over the embalming table, so he recognizes a good job when he sees it ["Marine Down"].

Both Gerald ["Engima"] and Palmer ["Twilight"] have found out the hard way that Ducky is a terrible navigator and can't read a map.

Gerald cannot drive a manual (stick shift) car ["Kill Ari, Parts I-II"].

Read two fans' comments on Gerald here; read about the technical aspects behind Gerald and Jimmy's job as autopsy technicians here.

We know nearly nothing about Morrow's personal life, but we do get to see him in action with other agency directors and with his own agents. He is calm and levelheaded, so much so it is difficult to tell when he is angry or worried. Morrow picks and choose his battles, wheeling and dealing (and winning) with the directors from the bigger agencies. He can win at the inter-agency politics game the way Gibbs cannot.

Morrow does not step into others' business, but when NCIS has a good case, he will stake his claim and hold on to it. He successfully outmaneuvers both a Secret Service director and a FBI director to keep the Air Force One investigation firmly in Gibbs' hands ["Yankee White"]; he also blackmails quite successfully the same FBI director to gain NCIS full access into the FBI terrorist database. The quiet, calm way he does it garners a compliment from Fornell to Gibbs: "I see where you cowboys get your chutzpah." ["Seadog"].

Director Morrow knows and protects his agents, believing he has the best men and women to do the job ["Yankee White"]. He pushes his agents ["Bête Noire"] but he demonstrates knowledge of even his agents' personal friendships when he asks Gibbs to deliver Chris Pacci's eulogy ["Dead Man Talking"]. He will go to the wall for them, even if he thinks their theories are a little far out (he's not a conspiracy theorist) ["Marine Down"].

Morrow sees through Gibbs like a pane glass window. The first time we see him, he has figured out that his senior agent coerced the Secret Service agent in charge (Kate) into cooperating. In that scene we get a rarely glimpse of Gibbs looking slightly sheepish, almost like a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Morrow even lectures Gibbs a little about his less-than-diplomatic tactics; when faced down by the agency directors, however, he takes full responsibility, telling them that Gibbs has been operating under his direct orders...and pointing out almost proudly how his agent succeeded and theirs didn't ["Yankee White"]. He is also close enough to Gibbs that he calls him "Jethro" ["Bête Noire"]. Ducky is the only other person who does so. Morrow also won't tell Gibbs to stay away from Ari, leaving Fornell to do it the first time and using different tactics, such as refusing Gibbs' resignation (thus forcing him to stay within NCIS and to obey orders to stay away from Ari) and pulling rank on him, the second ["Reveille" and "Twilight"]. He also knows that Gibbs has no ability to play politics and jokingly states that he'd never "shoot NCIS in the head" by making Gibbs the director ["Kill Ari, Part I"].

Morrow went on take a position (deputy director) with the Department of Homeland Security ["Kill Ari, Part I"].

Gibbs - who once told a military suspect "I don't have to 'sir' you" - calls him "sir" often; Morrow appears to have Gibbs' utmost respect.

Morrow does not wear a wedding ring. Gibbs states that Morrow's golf day is on Thursday and he has a mean handicap ["One Shot, One Kill"], but he might just have made that up, given the situation.

From Kip: Tom Morrow...the man of the future. Named after a real man DPB knows.

Perhaps one of the most intriguing characters to depart was Ari Haswari, who first appeared in "Bete Noire" ["Bête Noire"]. Although Ari appeared in only five episodes ["Bête Noire", "Reveille", "Twilight", "Kill Ari, Part I & II"], his few enigmatic appearances have inspired a large following.

What we know of his personality comes from the profile of him Kate does upon Gibbs' request, particularly as confirmed by Haswari's own actions. Haswari served as a formidable nemesis and foil to Gibbs; in many ways, Ari and Gibbs are opposites.

Gibbs is driven by loyalty and devotion and easily becomes obsessed; he spends every first season episode after Ari's first appearance hunting Ari, to the point that Kate begins to worry. What drives Ari is more difficult to pinpoint (although he implies pride). (Kate, before she met him officially, had guessed money.) ["Reveille"]. He has a cold rationality and ability to do anything to achieve his ends, including shooting Gerald and Gibbs and taking Ducky, Kate, and Gerald hostage (two times each) ["Bête Noire", "Reveille", "Kill Ari, Part I-II"],

He lives expensively, with salon-styled hair, manicured nails, and perfect teeth, and was always with beautiful women, according to an old medical colleague; Gibbs, in contrast, keeps a very utilitarian haircut and is the everyman. Ari's "intelligent, bold, willing to take big risks," according to Kate. Gibbs says that "he needs to face death to feel alive. Maybe to feel anything," and he obviously loves dangerous sports ["Reveille"], in contrast to Gibbs, who refuses to even try parachuting ["Hung Out to Dry"].

Ari was a 1994 alumnus of Edinburgh Medical College, Ducky's alma mater, and later a post-graduate research assistant at the Edinburgh Centre for Infectious Diseases ["Reveille"]. He used British syntax ["UnSEALed"], and knew a lot about British history ["Bête Noire"].

Here Ari's personal history becomes muddled, and with it comes a surprising change in personality. In the first season finale, we are told his mother was Dr. Hasmiya Haswari, and his father was Dr. Benjamin Weinstein ["Reveille"]. Both were doctors at Jerusalem Hospital and they never married; hence Ari's Israeli first name (meaning "lion" in Hebrew) and his use of his mother's Arab last name. Dr. Weinstein was a Mossad agent who appears to have "knocked up" his mother in order to get Ari with Arab blood. He then sent his son to medical school and then vetted him in the Gaza Strip--Ari worked with his mother in a Gaza Strip clinic until her death in 2000, after which he began with Mossad.

Ari was working with Hamas as an undercover agent, trying to get into Al-Qaeda. His mission in "Reveille" was a Hamas operation funded by Al-Qaeda.

Come the second season finale and third season premiere, Ari is now running the Al-Qaeda cell, and he tells Gibbs that he killed Kate because he wanted to hurt Gibbs--because Gibbs reminded him of his father, a strange sudden explosion of personal emotion and revenge in a character who had before now been cold and rational in all his actions, with a sort of "end justifies the means" approach to his missions. Now we are told his father is Mossad director David (and Ziva David is Ari's half-sister), and that he had Ari's mother killed in a strike during the second intifada ["Twilight" and "Kill Ari I-II"].

Ziva is his half-sister and his control officer, who gave him profiles on the entire NCIS team when he started his work int he U.S. Ari then tries to kill Gibbs and is shot dead by Ziva ["Kill Ari, Parts I-II"].

ALL ABOUT ARI (added by Rosefern webmistress):

Ari's first episode is titled "Bête Noire" (which isn't technically "nightmare," but hey); this one is titled "Reveille" (waking up), and the third "Twilight".
From Rudolf Martin, on his role as Ari Haswari (reprinted here with the permission of the webmistress of the now-closed rudolfmartin.net site):
- I used to get recognized a lot when I worked on 'All My Children' and people would come up to me and talk to me like I was the character [Anton Lang]. Now when I get recognized it can be from all kinds of projects. When it's from "NCIS", people quickly turn around and duck. At the airport they search me.
  'Ari' gets me in trouble whenever I fly. I guess I'm the bad guy now? I never saw 'Ari' as bad, just a little over the top and trigger happy.
- On how he got the role, and whether he gave his character his "tics":
  Hah, I'm not sure if I did, does Ari have tics? If he does, yes, I made them up. I actually got the role auditioning for another character, they called me a few months later to offer me this role. And then they just kept Ari around, he's fun.
- Of the characters the actor has played, which one he chose as...
  The most lethal? Ari on "NCIS" (Rest of questions cut.)

Rudolf Martin attended the 2006 "NCIS" FanFest and spoke about his time on "NCIS". Watch the video clips at his official fan page!

Gerald Jackson

NCIS Director Tom Morrow

Ari Haswari