NCIS' assistant medical examiner Jimmy Palmer can't stay lovably dim forever, right?
"I wanted the character to grow a little bit and learn a bit from what he's been doing the last seven years in autopsy," Brian Dietzen tells TVGuide.com of his character's growth this season. "Jimmy's always kind of been the bumbling guy who's a half a beat behind. We don't want to lose any of that, but ... if this guy hasn't learned a thing since the first season, he'd get canned pretty quickly."
Fall TV: Get scoop on all your 最喜爱的 returning shows
Jimmy will start on that path in Tuesday's episode, when a handful of interns are called into help with a kidnapping investigation. Unfortunately for Jimmy, he feels a little left out when his boss, Ducky (David McCallum), takes an interest in of one of the interns, Sarah Knox (guest 星, 星级 Elizabeth Wright Shapiro).
"Jimmy feels 更多 than a little bit threatened 由 this gal coming into autopsy," Dietzen says. "It seems he can read the 写作 on the wall, and he tries to enlist the help of any of the other agents to give him a job and make him feel important. He fears that his importance in autopsy is slipping away. It's a really fun 显示 for Jimmy because he's running around like a chicken with its head cut off.
"She knows a bit 更多 than Jimmy does about Scotland, singing, and quite a few different things that Ducky really takes a shine to," Dietzen continues. "She's new, she's young, and she's eager to learn. That's all the stuff that Jimmy has been in the past, and he's sent into sort of a tailspin."
Check out 照片 of the 海军罪案调查处 cast
Dietzen says his character's relationship with mentor Ducky is similar to his with McCallum in real life. "I get to go to work every 日 and work with a TV 表演 legend," Dietzen says. "We have some great guest stars on the 显示 like Robert Wagner and Ralph Waite. ... It's great to meet these folks, but I never lose sight of the fact that I get to do it every 日 I go to work. There's a lot that's translated into the characters. Jimmy's always learning from Ducky, and I am constantly learning from David."
So will Jimmy be able to prove his value and get some affirmation 由 episode's end? "Absolutely not," Deitzen says with a laugh. "I think that would be great, but 由 the same token, it's smart of our writers to always keep the characters on their toes. It's great to have a conclusion where people say, 'You're loved and you're appreciated.' But sometimes they don't. I like it that certain things are left open-ended, and that's what they decide to do with this."
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Even so, Jimmy will appear in four of the 下一个 five episodes, which will give his character plenty of time to prove himself. "We're going to see a lot of Jimmy Palmer stuff," Dietzen says. "When I asked [executive producer] Gary Glasberg what I can say about this season, he said, 'Tell them they're going to get a lot 更多 Jimmy goodness.'
"He's constantly learning," Dietzen continues. "There are going to be mistakes still made along the way. Although he's going to try to impress and try to do his job extremely well, Jimmy's always had a knack for asking 问题 about the obvious. As far as Jimmy becoming a very confident fellow who knows how to solve the case 由 himself, I don't think it will get to that point. But I do think the character will graduate to another level."
海军罪案调查处 airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on CBS.
"I wanted the character to grow a little bit and learn a bit from what he's been doing the last seven years in autopsy," Brian Dietzen tells TVGuide.com of his character's growth this season. "Jimmy's always kind of been the bumbling guy who's a half a beat behind. We don't want to lose any of that, but ... if this guy hasn't learned a thing since the first season, he'd get canned pretty quickly."
Fall TV: Get scoop on all your 最喜爱的 returning shows
Jimmy will start on that path in Tuesday's episode, when a handful of interns are called into help with a kidnapping investigation. Unfortunately for Jimmy, he feels a little left out when his boss, Ducky (David McCallum), takes an interest in of one of the interns, Sarah Knox (guest 星, 星级 Elizabeth Wright Shapiro).
"Jimmy feels 更多 than a little bit threatened 由 this gal coming into autopsy," Dietzen says. "It seems he can read the 写作 on the wall, and he tries to enlist the help of any of the other agents to give him a job and make him feel important. He fears that his importance in autopsy is slipping away. It's a really fun 显示 for Jimmy because he's running around like a chicken with its head cut off.
"She knows a bit 更多 than Jimmy does about Scotland, singing, and quite a few different things that Ducky really takes a shine to," Dietzen continues. "She's new, she's young, and she's eager to learn. That's all the stuff that Jimmy has been in the past, and he's sent into sort of a tailspin."
Check out 照片 of the 海军罪案调查处 cast
Dietzen says his character's relationship with mentor Ducky is similar to his with McCallum in real life. "I get to go to work every 日 and work with a TV 表演 legend," Dietzen says. "We have some great guest stars on the 显示 like Robert Wagner and Ralph Waite. ... It's great to meet these folks, but I never lose sight of the fact that I get to do it every 日 I go to work. There's a lot that's translated into the characters. Jimmy's always learning from Ducky, and I am constantly learning from David."
So will Jimmy be able to prove his value and get some affirmation 由 episode's end? "Absolutely not," Deitzen says with a laugh. "I think that would be great, but 由 the same token, it's smart of our writers to always keep the characters on their toes. It's great to have a conclusion where people say, 'You're loved and you're appreciated.' But sometimes they don't. I like it that certain things are left open-ended, and that's what they decide to do with this."
Exclusive: Which 迷失 castaway is crashing onto NCIS?
Even so, Jimmy will appear in four of the 下一个 five episodes, which will give his character plenty of time to prove himself. "We're going to see a lot of Jimmy Palmer stuff," Dietzen says. "When I asked [executive producer] Gary Glasberg what I can say about this season, he said, 'Tell them they're going to get a lot 更多 Jimmy goodness.'
"He's constantly learning," Dietzen continues. "There are going to be mistakes still made along the way. Although he's going to try to impress and try to do his job extremely well, Jimmy's always had a knack for asking 问题 about the obvious. As far as Jimmy becoming a very confident fellow who knows how to solve the case 由 himself, I don't think it will get to that point. But I do think the character will graduate to another level."
海军罪案调查处 airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on CBS.
