SEASON PREMIERE OF NCIS

NCIS has its season premiere tonight at 8 p.m. on CBS. Today also marks the birthday of one of its featured performers, David McCallum. Although I’m only a casual viewer of the show, I am a big fan of David McCallum, stemming from the fact that he co-starred with Robert Vaughn in one of the coolest shows of the 60s, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. David McCallum is one of those stars that you feel like you’ve grown up with. I’ve really enjoyed him in everything I’ve seen him do. He even delivered a good performance in the otherwise awful U.N.C.L.E. reunion movie from 1983.

On NCIS, McCallum plays medical examiner Dr. Donald “Ducky” Mallard (yeah, I know, but it’s a Donald Bellisario production). Ducky is a rather uptight, bookish fellow who’s often dispensing advise and wisdom to his much younger co-workers. As with other roles, McCallum brings the character to life in a way that raises Ducky above what could be a caricature. He imbues the character with a certain charm and dignity that makes you really like him, even when he’s telling one of his rambling stories.

Anyway, in honor of the NCIS premiere and Mr. McCallum’s birthday, I present my custom action figure version of Dr. Donald “Ducky” Mallard. The head is a resin creation courtesy of Dale Van Slyke (visit his eBay store at Diver4’s Treasure Chest), attached to a generic action figure body. The doctor’s scrubs I purchased from Old Joe Infirmary. They have a terrific Web site where they sell individual pieces for custom action figure creations. Their address is (http://www.oldjoeinfirmary.com/).

I’ll get back to my usual childhood recollections tomorrow.