Timothy McGee
From The NCIS Database, a Wikia wiki
| Timothy McGee | |
|---|---|
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| Born: |
c. 1977, Bethesa Maryland |
| Rank: |
Junior Agent |
| Gender: |
Male |
| Real-world information | |
| Actor: |
Sean Murray |
| First appearance: | |
| Last appearance: |
Current Character |
Timothy McGee, commonly known as Tim McGee or just McGee, is a Junior Agent working on Special Agent Gibbs' team. He first appears in the episode Sub Rosa.
McGee, under the pen name Thom E. Gemcity, is an author of the Deep Six series. He is normally the target of DiNozzo's jokes. He knows a lot about computers and often works with Abby.
His relationship with DiNozzo has jokes going both ways, but with McGee on the receiving end of most of them. He has a strong friendship with Abby. His relationship with Ziva is also a friendly one.
Contents |
[edit] Background
McGee is a sweet-natured and overachieving young agent who makes his colleagues feel nervous about his job. He is a conservative dresser, apparently nervous around women, and is really good with computers. He is a federal agent by design, but also enjoys writing mystery and crime novels.
His apartment is small and open plan with a bay window, wooden floors, and exposed brickwork. The contents reflect his interests in fiction writing. He also has a vinyl record collection, computers and on-line gaming. He has a picture of his grandmother on one of his mugs. His apartment is situated 5 miles from a college his sister Sarah attends and boards. He has no couch and his TV hangs on the wall in front of his bed. His shower curtains have monkeys printed on them. As Tony said: "George Clooney could not get laid in this apartment." He lives in Silver City and his apartment number is 3.
McGee is allergic to cats, Poison Ivy, and gets seasick even in port. He has an as yet unexplained dislike of maggots, although in Hide and Seek, when reaching for the piece of human flesh, he doesn't seem to mind the maggots surrounding it.
McGee is a computer specialist and, as a hobby, Sean Murray has built computers from scratch.
By season 4, McGee has acquired more money and spent it on a number of things including a Porsche, a new watch, a phone with video capability, and large plasma screen. We later find out that this is because he has written a bestselling book called Deep Six: The Continuing Adventures of L.J. Tibbs under the pen name "Thom E. Gemcity," which is an anagram for his name. It features fictional versions of Gibbs, Tony, Ziva, Abby, Jimmy Palmer and himself as "L. J.Tibbs," "Tommy," "Lisa," "Amy Sutton," "Pimmy Jalmer," and "McGregor" respectively. He is trying to complete its sequel Deep Six: Rock Hollow.
[edit] History
From the episode Doppleganger, we learn McGee worked after school as a burnt-potato-chip picker and during the summer between his Freshman and Sophomore years he was a Porta Potty cleaner during the hottest summer on record. He has also cleaned asbestos. There is also a hint he had another job when he starts a sentence 'Before I joined NCIS...' but the sentence was never finished. In "Pop Life", he states that he used to work in a bank.
He was also a boy scout - technically a Webelo.
McGee's father was Navy, and slapped McGee on the head, much like Gibbs.
In the episode Code of Conduct McGee mentions playing practical jokes "growing up in Alameda." He discusses a prank where they put the commanding officer's furniture on the tarmac. Naval Air Station Alameda closed in 1997. Children of the Navy personnel ususally went to school in Alameda, with the vast majority of them attending high school at Encinal High School, which shares a fence line with the [former] base.
There is some discrepancy as far as McGee's education goes. First season "Sub Rosa" says McGee graduated from John's Hopkins, with a BS in Biomedical Engineering and a Masters from MIT (Tim is MIT backwards) in computer forensics- In the second season "Conspiracy Theory" McGee states that he was a junior at MIT when he was 18. He also did Independent Study in String Theory.
[edit] NCIS Career
When we first meet McGee in season 1, he is stationed at the NCIS office at the Naval Station Norfolk. He has a cramped office and a filing system that involves piling each item on top of the next. Tony makes McGee call him 'sir'. This is the only episode McGee is seen to use his gun in his right hand, although in the opening credits of seasons 3 and 4, the film has been reversed so that McGee is firing right-handed. During this time McGee had a carspace at Norfolk next to Cassie Yates. Numerous times during the first season he found himself again "recruited" by either Gibbs or, occasionally, DiNozzo, to put his computer skills towards a case. He gets his first Gibbs slap from Tony in UnSEALed.
McGee permanently transferred to NCIS in Washington to work under Gibbs in season 2. By the beginning of season 4, he had become much more confident in his abilities as an NCIS investigator.
The episode "Kill Ari Part 1" reveals that McGee was the first intended sniper target of Ari Haswari at the close of season two. McGee's life was saved when he suddenly dove for cover behind his vehicle to avoid fire from another terrorist unrelated to Haswari. Haswari subsequently chose another target and shot Caitlin Todd dead instead. The third season episode "Probie" reveals that prior to McGee becoming involved in a shooting in which an undercover police officer dies, he had never shot anyone to death before. The episode leaves it ambiguous as to whether McGee actually fired the fatal shot- the bullets are too destroyed.
[edit] Relationships
[edit] With Co-Workers
[edit] Gibbs
McGee lives in awe of Gibbs, and is very loyal to him as are the rest of Gibbs' team. They have a father/son relationship, as evidenced by the episode Probie when Gibbs actively seeks to protect McGee from the Metro PD who are set on charging him with a crime, and by how Gibbs helps McGee in Twisted Sister. Also, during the first season, Tony complains to Kate that Tim gets a pat on the back (when he did something for Gibbs), and Tony himself got slapped on the head. Gibbs is often thrown off by McGee's 'geek speak.' Gibbs often gives McGee tests to give him more confidence, such as in 'Witness' when Gibbs assigns a case to McGee and lets him make the calls and again in 'Caged' when Gibbs gives McGee the assignment to talk a serial killer into confessing.
[edit] DiNozzo
McGee and Tony have an older brother/younger brother relationship. Tony antagonizes McGee, calls him names, and generally annoys him. This initially started off as newbie hazing but has grown into more. When Gibbs left the team at the end of season 3 and Tony took over, Tony made him a senior field agent, showing his trust and respect in McGee. While Tony may call McGee names, if anyone outside of the team tried to, Tony would down them. Tony showed he cared for McGee in the episode 'Probie' when he went to McGee's apartment to cheer him up after he accidentally shot and killed a cop, even going to the point of telling him an embarrassing story about himself to make McGee feel better. In the episode "Frame Up" McGee shows he cares for Tony by going to visit him while he was in jail. In 'Witch Hunt' the two are driving to a crime scene and Tony tells McGee about the last time he dressed up for Halloween and it ends with the two of them laughing, showing their real relationship.
Tony also says that 'Tim' means 'he who is about to wet his pants' in the episode Sandblast.
[edit] Kate
McGee gelled well with both Tony and Kate in a sibling way as part of the team. Despite his sibling relationship with Kate, his images of her after her death in Kill Ari 1 may reveal some hidden fantasies. She appears first as Trinity from The Matrix in a PVC bodysuit, leading Tim to quip "Oh my god, I'm turning into DiNozzo". At this, the vision shifts up a gear, presenting Tim with an S&M Mistress Kate - complete with severe leather corset and whip.
[edit] Ziva
McGee and Ziva have an older sister/younger brother relationship, with Ziva often joining Tony in picking on McGee, but with the two of them often joining up to pick on Tony as well, such as in the episode Bait, when they asked what movie Tony had gotten an idea from. Ziva also goes out of the way to give McGee more confidence, as evidenced in 'Caged' when Gibbs gives to task of getting a serial killer to confess to a murder to McGee and Tony asks when the last time McGee talked a woman into doing anything was, and Ziva comes to his defense, saying that McGee had asked to borrow her last $10 and she let him. McGee also goes out of his way to make Ziva feel better after killing a man in 'Jeopardy.' Ziva is also protective of McGee, as shown in 'Caged' when she and Tony see McGee coming out of the prison and Tony asks if McGee is okay and he says yes and then Ziva asks if anyone hurt him, so she could 'kick their ass.'
[edit] Doctor Donald Mallard
Ducky is one of the few individuals to use McGee's full given name of Timothy as illustrated in episode 2.01,"See No Evil." As with Abby, Ducky at times adopts a fatherly attitude towards Tim as demonstrated in the fourth season episode entitled "Smoked."
[edit] Director Vance
In episode 6.07 "Collateral Damage" a discussion occurred between Gibbs and Director Vance in which, they discussed what qualities the ideal NCIS agent should possess. During the discussion Director Vance told Gibbs that in his view McGee exemplified the model NCIS agent, in sharp contrast to Gibbs who prefers agents in the mold of DiNozzo.
[edit] Family
In Season 2, "See No Evil," it is revealed that McGee has a sister, whom we do not officially meet until Season 4. Her name is Sarah McGee, played by Sean Murray's real life step-sister, Troian Bellisario, executive producer Donald Bellisario's daughter. She first appeared in Season 2's Red Cell and again as a picture on McGee's ipod in Season 3, and once more in Twisted Sister. In 6.19 "Hide and Seek" it is revealed that McGee's father was Navy, although we still haven't seen him.
[edit] Women: Generally
McGee generally has bad luck with women, mostly due to his shyness. However,during his time helping NCIS in season 1 he began a relationship with Abby. He led the team to believe he got a tattoo to impress her, slept with her in her coffin, and wrote poetry for her. Later, in Pop Life, Abby says "Your tat is real. And you don't disappoint me." He admits to doing "hinky" things with Abby and having plunged into the seedier side of the internet with her. Their relationship cooled when Abby refused to categorize the 'state' of their relationship. McGee and Abby remain close friends sharing many hugs and the occasional chaste kiss, almost always initiated by Abby.
He has a few other relationships with women, including a woman who stole his identity and ran up $65,000 in bills and a Washington Redskins cheerleader.
In the 6th season he has an online relationship with a woman, who later turns out to be DiNozzo.
[edit] Trivia
- The actor who played Chip Sterling, Michael Bellisario, is Sean Murray's step-brother.
- The actress that plays Sarah McGee, Troian Bellisario, is Sean Murray's step-sister.
- Sean Murray's stepbrother Nicholas Bellisario appeared in the pilot episodes of the series
