Anthony DiNozzo
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Anthony "Tony" Dimitri DiNozzo Jr. is the Senior Field Agent on Gibbs' MCRT Team.
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College
In the episode Rekindled it is revealed that he was attending a basketball game between Ohio state (where he went to college) vs. UCLA. He left and took a walk. He saw a townhouse on fire and screams coming from it. He ran into the burning building to see if he could save someone. He kicked open a door of a little boy's room, and found a 9-year-old boy in the closet clinging onto a toy dinosaur. As he was carrying the child out of the building, the boy started crying about his sister, Amber. As DiNozzo ran back to get the girl, a part of the celling fell in front of him. He decided to leave the girl and save the boy. At the end of the flashback, Tony stated the he had a choice: Save the boy and himself, or risk all of their lives to save Amber. It is revealed that the girl was 4. The boy, who got a job at the Baltimore arson unit, is still mad at Tony for leaving his sister behind. This event was never shared with anyone until Rekindled.
Family
Added by JeTiZiToAbDuJiTony comes from a wealthy family from Long Island, New York.[2] He is an only child,[3] but has been cut off from his family's fortune.[4] His mother, maiden name Paddington[5], died, when he was eight. She went through a "Louis XV phase" when Tony was five that inspired the decor of his childhood bedroom and gave him vampire nightmares.[6] She also drank Tony's Sea Monkeys, confusing their sea castles with her mint julep.[7] Tony's father, Anthony D. DiNozzo Sr., is an American Civil War reenactor and as a child, Tony would carry the "poop bucket" during reenactments. This has resulted in a dislike of anything relating to the Civil War.[8] It has also been suggested that his father was abusive and an alcoholic.[9][10]. In "Flesh and Blood," Tony's father is in DC and the two share similar personality traits—they both flirt with women.
It is also stated in "Flesh and Blood" that his father is a con artist pretending to be rich when he is not. It's also revealed that after his mother's death, Tony and his father spent very little time together and rarely communicated with each other which is what caused their strained relationship. Tony also spent the majority of his childhood in a number of boarding schools and summer camps. He was also at one point left in a hotel room for two days when his father left for a supposed business meeting.
Other family members mentioned in NCIS episodes include a button-collecting grandfather who bequeathed Tony one thousand shares in a dot-com,[11] and a number of uncles. His uncle Vincenzo is a butcher on Long Island.[12] A second uncle was a successful businessman, but was found at a golf course looking for mole people.[13] A third uncle is named as Clive Paddington, wealthy and deceased.
Education and Work History
Apparently, Tony lost his virginity to a Rockette dancer at age 15.[14]
Tony attended Rhode Island Military Academy as a teenager, and graduated from The Ohio State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Physical Education.[15] During his time at Ohio State, he was on the varsity basketball team and made it to the Final Four before losing to UCLA.[16] He also discusses a football game in the episode "SWAK", between his team (Ohio State) and his doctor Brad Pitt's (no relation to the actor of the same name) team (Michigan). He mentions having broken his leg during this game or more accurately, Pitt breaking it for him. In the episodes "Bikini Wax" and "Trojan Horse," he mentions he is in the Ohio State Alpha Chi Delta fraternity, class of 1989. At the end of the episode "Red Cell," he begins to tell a story about his fraternity days before being interrupted by Gibbs. In the episode "Child's Play," he mentions receiving a combined score of 950 on his SATs.
He has worked in three different police departments - Peoria, Philadelphia, and Baltimore - staying in each location for an average of two years.[17] During a murder case in Baltimore, he ran into Gibbs who was working a money laundering case which overlapped DiNozzo's. This is where they met. After discovering that his partner was a dirty cop, DiNozzo resigned from the Baltimore PD and joined NCIS under Gibbs' request. DiNozzo has stated that his joining the police force was inspired by his rescue of a young boy from a house torched by an arsonist, and the death of the boy's 4 year old sister[18]
Added by JeTiZiToAbDuJiDuring his tenure as a NCIS special agent, Tony has operated as a supervisory special agent [19] and undertaken a long-term undercover operation under Jenny Shepard involving 'befriending' René Benoit's (aka La Grenouille) daughter. After Jenny's death, Tony was assigned as Special Agent Afloat to the USS Ronald Reagan and later to the USS Seahawk. However, after the issue which led to his assignment on the ship was resolved, he was reassigned to his original team back at NCIS headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Personality and Abilities
Added by JeTiZiToAbDuJiTony is a streetwise, promiscuous former homicide detective, with a sarcastic and unserious attitude. His behavior toward women is occasionally noted by other characters to be chauvinistic. Throughout most of the series, Tony is shown flirting with nearly every woman he encounters and he also does not respect the personal boundaries of his colleagues, going so far as to rifle through his colleagues' possessions, both at work and in their homes, and listening in on private phone calls. In recent episodes, however, his immature behavior seems to have improved, albeit minutely.
He often draws analogies between movies and the cases under investigation often mimicking the original actor when quoting them; Sean Connery's James Bond and Tommy Lee Jones come up frequently, and especially John "The Duke" Wayne. Tony also finds parallels between the cinema and his everyday life. Tony is a fan of the television series "Magnum P.I" and Airwolf both of which were produced by Donald P. Bellisario.
Added by JeTiZiToAbDuJiTony's co-workers often display visible frustration with his childlike behavior, but throughout the series Tony has been shown to be very loyal to his coworkers at NCIS, particularly his supervisor, Leroy Jethro Gibbs.
Tony, like Gibbs, has limited patience with scientists. Although he is not lacking in computer skills, he lacks the speed of either McGee or Abby. He seems to develop an aptitude for technology in later episodes, and is occasionally depicted hacking into computer systems.
Another trait of his is that Tony usually attempts to take credit for something one of his colleagues has done. This is shown in "Dead Man Walking" when he pretends that he's been the one searching for a suspect's name and her address when it was actually McGee who has done all the hard work in the first place. He also seems to enjoy pulling rank, stating over and over again he outranks the other members of the team although this has sometimes worked against him.
Despite his technological limitations, Tony is a highly capable agent who is fluent in Spanish, and, as being of Italian decent, has shown flashes of fluency in Italian, although it is not known how far this goes. When Gibbs first meets Tony's father, he tells him that Tony hides behind a clown's act but is the best young agent he has ever worked with.
Director Shepard offered him a position as a supervisory agent in Rota, Spain, which he turned down preferring to remain on Gibbs team. Tony is adept at covert operations which is shown in "Split Decision" where he poses as a rogue weapons-dealer, unknowingly uncovering an Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms operation in the process and "Chained" where while disguised as a prisoner, he befriends an escaped convict named Jeffrey White who has information on stolen Iraqi antiques.
Added by JeTiZiToAbDuJiRelationships
Women
During the entire run of NCIS Tony consistently speaks at great length about women. He pursues girls on a regular basis, typically indiscriminately, though he has shown an aversion to women who don't shave. Few of these relationships ever progress beyond several dates (with the notable exceptions of Dr. Jeanne Benoit and Special Agent EJ Barrett), and he has admitted to having commitment issues. However, this may have resulted from the ending of his relationship with a woman named Wendy, who he was previously engaged to.
He was attracted to, and kissed, a pre-operative transsexual who had murdered one of Tony's co-workers. He once dated a social worker named Michelle who, after he ended their relationship, broke into his apartment and filled his closet with dog crap. He also had a short relationship with NCIS Special Agent Paula Cassidy and once dated his high school music teacher, named Wendy, who he was even engaged to when he started working for NCIS. He also broke up with a Navy lieutenant (who had left her then-fiance for him), and shortly after Tony broke up with her, she posted his name, identity and information on a herpes alert website.
The NCIS writers make reference to one of Michael Weatherly's real life relationships in the episode "Hiatus Part 1" when he states, "I’ve got a better chance of hooking up with Jessica Alba...". Weatherly's real life relationship with Alba occurred during his tenure on the television series Dark Angel.
Abigail "Abby" Sciuto
Tony has a friendly relationship with Abby. She has shown the strength of their friendship in such cases as when she did everything possible to find out who the real killer was when her assistant framed him for murder, when he was seemingly blown up and when he returned from his time as an agent afloat. Abby constantly shows her feelings for Tony, as "I love, and would hate to see you hurt". She can be upset with him at times, such as when someone ate her cupcake, when NCIS director Jenny Shepard was killed and he and Ziva David weren't where they were supposed to be, but these feelings have resolved and she is back to her own smiley self, which Tony loves. It's often shown that Tony, feels as if Abby is a sister he never had, or vice versa. Abby is about as big a movie fan as Tony himself is, and that also solidifies their relationship.
Dr. Jeanne Benoit
Added by JeTiZiToAbDuJiIn Season 4 Tony's new girlfriend, Jeanne Benoit, was introduced. Tony and Jeanne did not consummate their relationship, because Tony revealed that he wanted to "take it slow" out of fear of this relationship becoming like his earlier ones.[3] When questioned by Jeanne, Tony's explanation revolved about his previous misogyny and that a repeat performance would ensue if they followed the same route. Tony and Jeanne subsequently consummate their relationship in the episode "Smoked". Tony was determined to have a positive outcome for this relationship and went to great lengths, though often with a lot of inspiration from films, to make their relationship special.
Despite his earlier good intentions for the relationship with Jeanne, Tony couldn't bring himself to tell her that he loved her which caused trouble between them. Tony was told by his earlier love interest, Paula Cassidy, who had just lost two of her agents and blamed herself for their deaths, that if he loved someone, he should tell her while he still could. Tony was left distraught following the death of Cassidy during a suicide bomb attack on Gibbs's team. He later went to see Jeanne and, following Cassidy's advice, told her he loved her. The last scene showed Tony embracing Jeanne while crying on her shoulder with REM's Everybody Hurts playing in the background.
Tony showed his commitment to the relationship when he confronted Jeanne about her previous boyfriend. Tony's suspicions became aroused by the constant contact between Jeanne and her former boyfriend in the form of calls and emails. Tony coincidentally met Jeanne's former partner, who was in fact a Metro police officer named John, though neither of them knew about the other's relationship with Jeanne. They bonded through the fact that they were very similar in character, sharing many habits and traits. Unbeknown to either Tony or Jeanne, John said goodbye to Jeanne in an email and died in Tony's arms after being shot by a serial killer the team were tracking.
It was revealed that Jeanne's father was La Grenouille (The Frog), the French arms dealer that NCIS Director Jenny Shepard had been obsessively trying to capture for ten years as she seemingly held the Frog responsible for her father's death. However, in the episode "Bury Your Dead", it was revealed that Tony was using Jeanne, as part of an NCIS assignment (with a tie in to the CIA's Operation Lodestone), to infiltrate an arms smuggling network. Jeanne left Tony a greeting card in her apartment, as she left the Washington, D.C. area.
In the episode "Family", Tony was struggling with how his relationship with Jeanne ended and throughout the episode has flashbacks on the relationship. Ziva tried to console Tony, but he rejected her attempts insisting that he is fine. At the end of this episode the message in Jeanne's card for Tony was visible; "I am not coming back. You need to choose." After looking at a family reunited with their newborn baby, Tony tossed the card into the fire and joined the team.
Jeanne made a reappearance in the episode "Internal Affairs" when she accused Tony of murdering her father. At the end of the episode, even though Tony was initially angry with Jeanne for accusing him, Ziva advised him to "be a man" and tell her what she needed to hear. Tony spoke to Jeanne, apologizing for getting her caught in the middle of something that wasn't her fault. Jeanne responded by asking Tony if their relationship was real and, after a pause, he answered "No". Jeanne then told him she wishes she had never met him.
In a conversation with Tara Kole,[20] Tony admitted that since his relationship with Jeanne ended he's not been enjoying his normal level of success with women, despite his continued bravado to his co-workers.
Wendy
In the season 8th episode 'Baltimore' it is revealed that he was engaged to a school teacher named Wendy. One and the same that was his high school music teacher. She left him the day before their wedding. Years later, Tony found out that Wendy left him because he was "The One" for her and she was not yet ready to meet "The One."
Female Officers
NCIS Special Agent Caitlin Todd
Added by JeTiZiToAbDuJiTony's relationship with Caitlin Todd was in many ways something of a sibling relationship, but with a constant undertone of flirtation and the possibility of something more. Tony and Todd were in constant competion. Their bickering got so bad in the episode "Pop Life" that they sought counseling from Ducky. However, on many occasions he was shown being considerate, kind and even borderline romantic to Todd. He bought her flowers as a peace offering after annoying her in the episode "Vanished". He showed concern for her after the episode "Bête Noire", when Todd was held hostage by Ari.
In the episode "The Bone Yard", Tony was almost possessive of Todd when McGee posed the idea of pretending to be Todd's partner to get into a paternity clinic to photograph evidence for Abby; saying he would do it instead of McGee. Later in the same episode, he told Todd he thought they made a good couple; to which she replied "Maybe for The Jerry Springer Show|the Jerry Springer Show". In extras seen on the Season 2 DVD Box Set, the producers stated it was intended for there to be a relationship between these two characters which would've happened had Kate not died in the finale. In the episode "SWAK", after Kate was found uninfected, she continued to stay with Tony, lying about her condition to him even though she knew that the risk of infection was still imminent.
After Todd's death, like the other characters, DiNozzo also had a vision of her postmortem. Typical to Tony's chauvinistic personality, Todd appeared in the Catholic schoolgirl uniform that he had been asking about in the episode "Bikini Wax". After telling him that she always knew what he was thinking, she realized that she was wearing the uniform and quickly berated him, saying "Tony, I just died, and you're having a sexual fantasy?" to which he replied, "Can't help it. Sometimes I used to picture you naked" and she responded by screaming in shock seconds before Ziva David was introduced for the first time. This "sexual fantasy" was portrayed after Tony offered to go back out in the pouring rain and find the bullet that killed Kate and he just about went ballistic when McGee improved the answer he had told to Gibbs.
In Life Before His Eyes, it is shown that if Kate hadn't died, he and Kate would have married. They would also have had a daughter named Kelly.
Ex-Mossad Officer/NCIS Special Agent Ziva David
Added by JeTiZiToAbDuJiZiva and Tony often try to outdo each other in verbal and physical competitions. Ziva taunts Tony in much the same way Kate did before she was killed. Some aspects of Ziva's personality disturb him, such as the fact that she sleeps with a gun in her hand and snores very loudly, as shown in the episode Under Covers (episode).
During that episode, Tony and Ziva repeatedly faked sexual intercourse to solidify their cover as married assassins. The FBI agents who were monitoring them told McGee that they believed the sex was real, making him wonder what really happened between Tony and Ziva. Also during this episode, Ziva referred to Tony as "My Little Hairy Butt."
In the subsequent episode, Frame-Up (episode), Ziva rated Tony's butt a two out of five, telling him, "I took three points off for excessive hair." He replied delightedly, "That's a five!," to which Ziva chuckled and said, "If you shave."
In Shalom (episode), Ziva learnt that Mossad, apparently on her father's orders, had been spying on her for several months; the surveillance revealed that Tony had been visiting Ziva at her apartment at least once a week for the past three months, leading to suggestions that the two have become intimate—or merely that they see each other socially. She neither confirmed nor denied the implication of intimacy in the episode.
Singled Out had Ziva questioning Tony about an unidentified girlfriend. Subsequent episodes have established that Tony was building a relationship with medical doctor Jeanne Benoit and no apparent romantic link existed between him and Ziva.
In Driven (episode) it was revealed that Ziva was unaware of Tony's romance with Benoit and had thus been misreading some of his secrecy. Due to Tony's frequent clandestine visits to a hospital (where Jeanne worked) and his claim that he was undergoing tests, Ziva indicated to Gibbs that she was worried that he might be having a medical problem related to his exposure to Y. pestis from the episode SWAK (episode)
In Identity Crisis (episode), Ziva exhibits jealousy and disappointment of the lack of a relationship between herself and Tony; when she stated that she thought Tony was ready for a "real" woman.
Furthermore, In the Zone (episode), Ziva got rather frustrated at the idea of Tony sharing a room with a fellow female agent.
In Agent Afloat (episode),Ziva hinted that she missed him whilst he was been serving as an NCIS officer aboard Naval ships, his new rank being "Agent Afloat".
During the episode Nine Lives (episode), Tony showed an interest in Ziva's vacation to Israel despite the fact that she's only just returned. Upon finding a picture of a man on her desk, Tony's interest is stimulated further; not knowing that the man in the picture was Ziva's Mossad partner. Tony also told her to have a good trip (Nisiya Tova) in Hebrew demonstrating either his willingness to attempt to impress her or simply a willingness to learn a phrase in her native language.
Cloak (episode) revealed more about their relationship, though not necessarily evidence of mutual romantic attraction. When placed in a war game, Ziva disobeyed Gibbs's orders not to engage, thereby causing the opponent guardsmen to attack Ziva and Tony. Both NCIS members attempt to aid the other; Tony was knocked unconscious, and Ziva managed to land a few good blows on the guardsmen before being knocked unconscious herself. Later, they shared an angry conversation in the elevator, where Tony accuses Ziva of disobeying Gibbs and provoking the fight. Defending her actions, Ziva reveals that she acted on impulse. They both say that they are "tired of pretending": Tony about the politics in the hunt for the mole within the team, which required the team members to withhold information from each other; Ziva about an undisclosed matter.
Their relationship was seriously tested in the episodes, Legend Part 1 (episode) and Legend Part 2 (episode) when Tony suspected Ziva was being less than truthful with him. Later he discovered Ziva is in a relationship with Mossad officer Michael Rivkin, an assassin who caused major problems for the Major Case Response Team and Office of Special Projects when he targeted the members of a rogue terrorist cell that the agency was after. To cover his tracks, Rivkin killed the various members, leaving their corpses behind and as such, an angry Tony confronted Ziva over it. Ziva retorted by stating that she would not tell Tony of Rivkin's location if she knew it but she would tell Gibbs.
The penultimate episode Semper Fidelis (episode) saw a fight erupt between Tony and Rivkin, which ended with Rivkin dying after being shot by Tony in self-defense.
Upon realizing that Rivkin is dead, a furious Ziva confronted Tony and the two had a confrontation of their own in the episode Aliyah (episode). Ziva, after claiming she can no longer trust Tony, was left by Gibbs in Israel, in turn, returned to the Mossad; at the end of the episode, Tony was shown to be considering calling her, but resigned himself to the fact that she is gone and "will call when she is ready.", only for the closing scene to show that Ziva had been taken prisoner in North Africa and tortured by Saleem Ulman, a terrorist demanding information on NCIS.
In Truth or Consequences (episode), Tony was captured by the terrorist Saleem Ulman and then given a truth while being held captive in Somalia. Ziva, later revealed to have been alive asked what he is doing there and he said that "I couldn't live without you, I guess."
In Reunion (episode), Tony and Ziva spoke in the men's restroom about the events involving Michael. Ziva confessed that she was grateful that he has always "had her back." Before she left the restroom, Ziva kissed Tony on the cheek, saying that his "instincts were right".
In Jet Lag (episode), Tony and Ziva, on a mission to protect a key witness, were stuck together in one hotel room in Paris. On the return flight, the witness Nora Williams asked Ziva and Tony why they aren't together, if they are together, etc. They dodged those questions, and when Nora found out they shared a hotel room, Ziva told her that she took the couch. However, upon their return to D.C., McGee asked Tony where he slept, and Tony told him that he slept on the couch. Ziva then looked at Tony after McGee had left and asked him why he lied. Tony in response asked her why she lied to Nora. Also, Tony told her that his favorite picture of Paris is the only one with a person in it. When he gave Ziva the picture, the audience saw that the person in the picture was Ziva. In the Season 7 episode "Obsession" Tony described the type of women he was looking for, and ended up describing Ziva, though it is unclear if either of them realized it.
Tony has also demonstrated interest in any perceived attention both of his female partners—Caitlin Todd and Ziva David—receive from men. In Ziva's case, this is particularly true of NCIS Field Agent Chad Dunham and Former Marine Corporal Damon Worth. No reason has been given for this attitude.
He is also show to look annoyed (or to some jealous) when his father flirted with Ziva. When DiNozzo Sr. asked him when he was going to come to his senses and sweep Ziva off her feet, his expression is never really shown but he might have been embarrassed.
NCIS Special Agent Erica Jane Barrett
Added by JeTiZiToAbDuJiIn Season Eight, Tony meets Erica Jane Barrett, who is revealed to have been given the position he was originally offered as team leader in Rota, Spain. They show apparent romantic interest in each other upon meeting each other. This ultimately blossoms into a relationship in the episode "One Last Score", when Tony talks to EJ while she is showering. She ultimately emerges after he hands her a towel, and answers Tony's assertion that there were rules against the two dating (Gibbs's rules) with "No, there aren't." Tony appears to have a considerably strong desire to maintain this relationship, defying Gibbs, which rarely happens, in later episodes to stay with her. Tony's desire to stay with her also appears to be uncharacteristic, as he normally avoids relationships that get too serious. He also says to Ziva in confidence in Two-Faced that "I understand her [E.J.]. That's why we work so well." In the same episode, she talks about how home is "all about the people around you," while smiling at and holding Tony.
After the Port-to-Port killer kills one of her agents, Gayne Levin, critically injures another, Simon Cade, and tortures and nearly kills E.J. herself, she stays in D.C. for a short time with Tony, before disappearing on a sabbatical. When she reappears, in "Nature of the Beast", she is en route to tropical islands when Tony finds and stops her, convincing her to return to D.C. again. While in D.C. she is shot and apparently killed, disappearing again. Tony is unable to locate her, and after several months, moves on, believing her to be dead. However, she reappears again in "Housekeeping", still being stalked by a serial killer. Tony is shown to have conflicting feelings towards her when she reappears, feeling hostility because she left him, believing him to be dead, during the ambush she disappeared in. However, he still feels his old romantic attraction for her, though he is bitter about her frequent disappearances, stating that "I've noticed you have a habit of disappearing. Consequently, I spend a lot of time looking for you. A lot...of time..." Eventually, after they capture the man who was attempting to kill her, E.J. is able to stop running.
Despite this, she chooses to return home, to where her parents live in D.C. She and Tony indirectly talk about their future, but E.J. ultimately chooses not to resume their old relationship, saying, "Tony...we've been down this yellow brick road before." She then kisses Tony and the two part as friends as she takes a vacation from NCIS. Her parting advice to Tony is to seek a relationship with Ziva, saying that "She cares about you."
NCIS Director Jenny Shepard
In the fourth season, Tony's relationship with Jenny Shepard was shown to have warmed considerably in comparison to the end of the third season, with Tony occasionally being caught referring to her by her first name with even Gibbs joking about how close they were. The main reason for the warming of their relationship is the fact that Tony was involved in an ongoing operation run by Shepard, which was of personal importance to her. As they are keeping secrets, they began developing a strong level of trust.
Upon Gibbs's absence Tony took on his job and its associated responsibilities; this meant his interactions with the director became more frequent and as a consequence his relationship with her became more familiar, as seen in the episode "Shalom". Tony was particularly upset at Director Shepard's death in the episode "Judgment Day (Part 1)". He considered the event to be his fault because he had followed the director's instruction to abandon her protection detail. In the episode "Agent Afloat", Ziva reveals that, in the aftermath of Jenny's death, Tony had been drinking out of guilt.
Male Officers
Special Agent in Charge Leroy Jethro Gibbs
Added by JeTiZiToAbDuJiTony first encountered Gibbs while working as Detective for the Baltimore Police Department, when Tony arrested Gibbs on suspicion of having committed a crime. At the time of the arrest, although, Gibbs broke cover and revealed his true identity to DiNozzo, Tony was credulous and did not believe Gibbs. Tony greatly respects Leroy Jethro Gibbs and claims to have a father/son type relationship with him. Tony is easily riled when it seems that Gibbs has a new favorite, and tries desperately to win back favor. Gibbs has the tendency to smack Tony on the back of the head whenever he says or does something inappropriate, however Gibbs told Tony that he was "irreplaceable" in the episode . Tony tolerates being smacked only by Gibbs; when Todd gives him a similar smack in the episode he reacts with momentary anger and the same reaction is shown when Ziva mirrors Gibbs' smack in the episode
Tony prides himself on knowing many of the military terms, acronyms and slang Gibbs regularly uses which sometimes confuse civilians. Phrases such as these uttered by Tony include "On your six" or "got your six" This refers to the six o'clock position being at the back as 12 o'clock is at the front, as in ground or flying formations. Throughout the first seasons of the series Tony made it a point to explain several agency acronyms to Todd and occasionally to McGee.
In the episode "Kill Ari (Part 1)", Gibbs starts "being nice" for about half the episode. The change in his demeanor bothers Tony, and he tells McGee: "He's not Gibbs if he's nice." Tony then makes up his mind to tick Gibbs off so that he will return to the way he previously was; upon his success at making an inappropriate comment towards the Director (at which Gibbs slaps him in his typical way), he welcomes Gibbs back, pleased.
After Gibbs left at the end of season 3, Tony took his place as team leader. As leader, he tried to emulate Gibbs' leadership style, but he did make some changes. These included calling "Campfire" discussions (an impromptu sharing of current information among his fellow agents, which his peers found annoying), and reorganizing the equipment in the field truck. When Tony is offered his own team in Rota, Spain, he turns the offer down claiming that he wanted to keep an eye on Gibbs, whose memory has still not completely returned after the blast at the end of season 3. Gibbs indicates his belief that Tony is ready for his own team, unaware of the fact that Tony has already been offered this opportunity.
During the time Gibbs was away, Tony began working on an undercover operation with Director Shepard. Gibbs, unaware of the operation and noticing an unusual closeness between Tony and the director, questions the relationship. When the undercover operation was finally revealed to Gibbs, Tony apologized for not disclosing any information about the operation.
In "Flesh and Blood", Gibbs tells Tony's father that Tony is the best young Agent he's ever worked with.
Special Agent Timothy McGee
Tony's relationship with Timothy McGee was initially problematic, like one between a teasing older brother and a shy younger brother. Part of this could be considered hazing, as McGee is the least experienced member of the NCIS team and ranks only as a junior field agent having only worked at NCIS for five or six years. For example, when McGee joined the team as a probationary Special Agent, Tony began calling him "Probie" (including versions of "Probie", such as "Probie-Wan Kenobi", "Probie Pan", and "Probie-san"). Some of Tony's other nicknames for McGee are plays on his name and such as "McGeek" and "McGoogle". He even calls him "McProbie", a combination nickname. He also refers to McGee's online-gaming persona Elf-Lord, though Gibbs is the one that usually calls him that. In some cases the names refer to aspects of McGee's character, such as "McTardy", a reference to McGee being late, and "McCheat", a reference to McGee supposedly cheating at Scrabble. Often, DiNozzo and Ziva David are shown teaming up to tease McGee, although it remains friendly.
Contrary to appearances, Tony values his relationship with McGee, as seen in the episode "Probie"; Tony goes out of his way to support McGee and makes an effort to cheer him up. Particularly shown when McGee accidentally shoots an undercover police officer, Tony is the first one to try and allay McGee's feelings of guilt. At one point, after McGee has expressed his chagrin at being called "Probie", Gibbs tells him that his first senior agent still calls him "Probie" and suggests that it is not a sign of distaste or disrespect. During Gibbs' absence however, McGee becomes the senior field agent as Tony is now team leader. At this time, Tony shows much more respect for McGee and confidence in his abilities.
In the beginning of the seventh season Tony has more frequently called McGee by his first name, Tim, instead of these nicknames. An example of this is when McGee is explaining something to Gibbs and Tony says, "It's a burn phone, Tim, just say burn phone." It has been shown a few other times as well. The relationship between the two agents is on a much more equal footing as the show moves into the seventh season. McGee is very rarely (if at all) referred to as "Probie" any more by Tony, especially since Ziva has become the probationary field agent on the MCRT.
References
- ↑ Season 1, Episode 21
- ↑ Season 3, Episode 1 "Kill Ari: Part 1"
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Season 4, Episode 9 "Twisted Sister"
- ↑ Season 2, Episode 11 "Black Water"
- ↑ Season 6, Episode 17 "South by Southwest"
- ↑ Season 1, Episode 16 "Bête Noire"
- ↑ Season 3, Episode 20 "Untouchable"
- ↑ Season 3, Episode 4 "Silver War"
- ↑ Season 4, Episode 6 "Witch Hunt"
- ↑ Season 2, Episode 10 "Chained"
- ↑ Season 1, Episode 14 "The Good Samaritan"
- ↑ Season 3, Episode 15 "Head Case"
- ↑ Season 2, Episode 19 "Conspiracy Theory"
- ↑ Season 3, Episode 6 "The Voyeur's Web
- ↑ "Employee Assessment File: "Tony" DiNozzo". CBS.com. Archived from the original on February 18, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080218015930/http://www.cbs.com/primetime/ncis/characters/michael_weatherly_char.shtml. Retrieved October 1, 2009.
- ↑ Template:Cite episode
- ↑ Season 1, Episode 6 "High Seas"
- ↑ Season 1, Episode 2 "Hung Out to Dry"
- ↑ Season 4, Episode 1 "Shalom"
- ↑ Season 6, Episode 18 "Knockout"
