On the Set: NCIS Welcomes Bob Newhart
Shooting a scene in the autopsy lab on the NCIS set, Bob Newhart looks a bit absentminded, and an interloper might not know whether to chuckle. The TV legend is playing Dr. Walter Magnus, who preceded Ducky (David McCallum) as the unit's medical examiner. Looking over a corpse with Gibbs (Mark Harmon), Ducky suggests their old colleague add his forensic two cents. "Walter, why don't you jump into some scrubs? ...Walter?"Newhart's hesitancy in responding isn't far off from the trademark stammer he made into a science on two of TV's most beloved sitcoms, The Bob Newhart Show (1972-78) and Newhart (1982-90). Since NCIS is a drama in touch with its lighter side, you might guess the visiting icon was cast in "Recruited" to capitalize on his levity. Not so. The former doc...
