Female Characters: Who is your favorite?

[ChaseMCP]

I guess my favorite main female would be Kate and season 1-2 Abby. And Cassidy for the not main female. On re-watches I find I don't love Kate as much as I used to (I was devastated when her death episode first aired) but I still prefer her to the others. I think Jenny was wasted (every time she brought up her "past" with Gibbs TO Gibbs made me roll my eyes more than anything - especially because it was usually about "making love"). I think Bishop has potential, mainly because her being young and married introduces a new relationship for her and Tony/McGee that doesn't rely on romance. And while I like Abby, I really wish the writers would be willing to have her take a giant step forward - and stay there. Or if not that at least have the other characters give her the push forward. I dislike the episodes where Abby is being super special and the others just let her while getting angry at the person who dares not watch after her like a three year-old, which is usually McGee ('Dog Tags' still makes me angry when I see it).

 

Maybe it's because Ziva was there longer and therefore got thrown into the bad writing with everyone else, but her character disappointed me more than anything, because of the lost potential. Ironically, I thought her character suffered the most when she had scenes with Tony, considering the actors had good chemistry. I think it was mainly cause the writers were never sure of what to do with her. She was badass and unfeminine one moment, and then was a jealous schoolgirl the next with Tony. I found her banter with Tony to be harsh more often than not and I think their relationship suffered for it (the example the irritates me the most was the entire episode of 'Family' that was after Tony almost got blown up - she's mad at him for not being back to normal soon enough and then expects HIM to apologize to her when he actually defends himself by snapping at her). I grew tired of her scenes with Tony and I think the show could have explored more of her life without involving him. The show could have explored her Jewish background more (as the show did occasionally with Kate being Catholic) or they could have brought up more about family that wasn't her father (hell even stories of young Ari would have been interesting, or her mother who I guess was dead?). I think my favorite scenes involving her are when she talked about her younger sister. It showed a side to her that I personally would have loved to see more. It's a shame though, cause I thought Cote de Pablo did a great job (certain choices she made, such as how Ziva stood, how she said particular words, etc.) but I just could not like her character.

 

However, despite everything good and bad about the females of NCIS, I have always appreciated the show's consistency in having them act like appropriate agents. What I mean is that every time they're at a crime scene, their hair is pulled back, they never wear spiked high heals, never have shirts on that were too revealing. Unfortunately the show did succumb to whatever curse it is that forces leading females in shows to have to wear more and more make-up with each new season despite the actress not needing it (CdP is gorgeous and I never believed that the Ziva who woke up super early to go for a run and that dressed in cargo pants would spend so much time putting all that make-up on and straightening all that hair). But that one I guess would be the network's fault, not the show so much. 

[immortalfrieza]

Ziva is definitely my favorite above all the others, and I think the main reason for that is how she played the foil and sometimes partner in crime to my favorite male character Tony so well. The two of them going back and forth and how she'd gang up on Mcgee with Tony and sometimes Tony with Mcgee could never fail to make me laugh, but I think what separates Ziva from Kate is how developed she was early on. Unlike Kate and Bishop Ziva was only a fish out of water when it came to the U.S. and our mannerisms (I will always miss her hilarious mispronunciations of common metaphors) but she was a very competent agent from the outset, something Kate always struggled with and Bishop is still struggling with. Ziva also has a very strongly fleshed out backstory and friends and family, I was sorry to see Eli go.

 

Bishop... I see her as still developing at this point, still trying to fit into her particular niche. She's an okay character, but her interplay with the rest of the cast needs work. If she could get in with Tony's antics and be a little less stuck up to everybody she'd probably work better. However, Bishop is at least good enough to lessen the sting of Ziva leaving, and that means she's okay in my book.

 

Abby... like with Ducky on the male side I just think she doesn't have enough screen time in the episodes to really rank with the female agents. Like with Ducky what she does do on the few minutes she's on screen is gold though.

Edited August 14, 2014 by immortalfrieza

[wovenloaf]

Abby - One of the most annoying characters in the history of television, who I could quite cheerfully drop-kick into a volcano. 

 

Hahaha! I agree with this x1000!!!

[Ohmo]

Hahaha! I agree with this x1000!!!

 

And Ziva with her extra special, most awesomest, most superest, most bestest agent ever powers would shoot moonbeams out her butt and stop the volcano from erupting.  Just 'cause she's Ziva, and she's so incredibly super that she can do anything!.  At which point, I'd toss her into the volcano.

 

I like Abby, but I definitely agree that she went through an immature phase.  In the last couple of seasons, though, I think Glasberg has made an effort to dial Abby back and mature her.

 

Of the recent female non-reqular characters, Borin is my favorite.  Jackie Vance would be my second.  Delilah is in bronze position.  I'm still annoyed that Gary killed Jackie off.  Least favorite recent non-regular female characters would be Dr. Ryan and Diane, the ex-wife.

 

Regarding Dr. Ryan, I never saw Freaky Friday, but all I read was about how fabulous the chemistry was between Mark and Jamie Lee.  Based on NCIS, I didn't see it.

Edited August 31, 2014 by Ohmo

[Julia]

Regarding Dr. Ryan, I never saw Freaky Friday, but all I read was about how fabulous the chemistry was between Mark and Jamie Lee.  Based on NCIS, I didn't see it.

 

I did see it, and it wasn't as fabulous as all that. It was better than the chemistry their characters had on NCIS, although I may be reacting that way because I have a _lot_ of trouble believing that Gibbs would get involved with a woman who took such blatant glee in announcing that she was mindfucking the people around her. Um, that's great, doc. If single-handedly setting the cause of therapy as a non-threatening process back decades reads to you like a professional accomplishment, you should be really tickled with yourself.

Edited August 31, 2014 by Julia

[thewhiteowl]

 

I like Abby, but I definitely agree that she went through an immature phase.  In the last couple of seasons, though, I think Glasberg has made an effort to dial Abby back and mature her.

 

I like Abby but I wish she'd dial the Goth drag back a notch or ten. I get that it's her thing but I think most Goth enthusiasts tone it down with age, though I could be wrong.  

 

[slothgirl]

The less said about Bishop, the better. I just have not warmed up to her at all. I would be perfectly happy if she faded into the woodwork and Delilah got a bigger role.

 

This. If the thread question was a little more broad (pun, not originally intended, but once there....) and not limited to the female lead members of the team, I would nominate Delilah and CGIS' Abby as my fave investigators. And Delilah was rockin' it from a wheelchair!

[ChaseMCP]

I've been watching the daily NCIS marathon and caught the 'Family' episode and it just reminded me how much I couldn't stand Ziva during season 5-6 especially. She hounds Tony because he isn't getting back to normal as soon as she'd like after the whole Frog thing and then when he snaps at her and brings up the radiation guy after she pushes him too much, she spends the rest of the episode being pissy to him. By the end of the episode at the least they both should apologize to each other for their actions because they each went a little too far, but Ziva demands one from Tony instead. "Gibbs does not accept apologies. But I do." I disliked her a lot during those couple seasons, but I could not believe her attitude during this particular episode. Can't rewatch it without hating her. Kind of like 'Dog Tags' for Abby. I hate her way too much in that episode to enjoy the rest of it.

[Julia]

I've been watching the daily NCIS marathon and caught the 'Family' episode and it just reminded me how much I couldn't stand Ziva during season 5-6 especially. She hounds Tony because he isn't getting back to normal as soon as she'd like after the whole Frog thing and then when he snaps at her and brings up the radiation guy after she pushes him too much

 

You mean when she walked into the men's room and refused to leave and struck him for "crossing the line"? And then told a room full of people that she "had" to do it because he refused to discuss his personal life with her? That was textbook inappropriate boundary-crossing, hostile-work-environment-creating workplace behavior, and I thought less of Gibbs for not putting her in her place about it.

 

But then, I was never a great fan of her squicky sexual overshare either, and would very much like them to back off doing it with the new girl. Behaving like a frat boy doesn't make you a grownup woman any more that it makes you a grownup man. I was actually angry when Bishop told Tony and McGee they didn't have to stop talking about sex in the office just because she's there. Yes they do, lady, because it's kind of the current state of employment law. You don't get to cancel what little progress society has made on that issue to prove you're a right broad.

Edited March 7, 2015 by Julia

[ChaseMCP]

You mean when she walked into the men's room and refused to leave and struck him for "crossing the line"? And then told a room full of people that she "had" to do it because he refused to discuss his personal life with her? That was textbook inappropriate boundary-crossing, hostile-work-environment-creating workplace behavior, and I thought less of Gibbs for not putting her in her place about it.

 

The very same! As annoying as it was (not to mention inappropriate), I would've been OK with it had she apologized at the end and said she had gone too far and that she should have given him his space...but that she expected an apology (and then demanded it) without apologizing for her part in it? Ugh.

 

I really wish that Ziva's relationships with the others were explored more than the ones she had with Tony and Gibbs, because all those two relationships did was emphasize the problems of the character.

[Julia]

The very same! As annoying as it was (not to mention inappropriate), I would've been OK with it had she apologized at the end and said she had gone too far and that she should have given him his space...but that she expected an apology (and then demanded it) without apologizing for her part in it? Ugh.

 

I really wish that Ziva's relationships with the others were explored more than the ones she had with Tony and Gibbs, because all those two relationships did was emphasize the problems of the character.

 

The sad thing is, I sort of enjoyed the character, in a lot of ways, and if they'd just made a point that her weird relationships with men were a result of damage her father did to her as a child, it would have helped a lot. Instead it seemed like that behavior was supposed to be what made her badass. Which, no.

[ChaseMCP]

The sad thing is, I sort of enjoyed the character, in a lot of ways, and if they'd just made a point that her weird relationships with men were a result of damage her father did to her as a child, it would have helped a lot. Instead it seemed like that behavior was supposed to be what made her badass. Which, no.

 

I did too, which is why I can never really "hate" her even though she annoyed me often. I thought she had a lot of potential and wish the writers had done something new with her. I got tired of her and Tony, Gibbs, and her father. I wish they had explored her religion, or her national pride (without dragging Mossad into it), her childhood, outside friendships, anything. They may have done this with the occasional episode, but for her arcs they always went back to tension with Tony/Gibbs/her father. Which again wouldn't have been so bad if it didn't damage her character each time. Each character has suffered from bad arcs, I'll be honest, but I think Ziva's character suffered the most.

[proserpina65]

I generally only watch NCIS in syndication, so I haven't really seen enough of Bishop to form an opinion.  Otherwise, I vastly prefer Kate to Ziva, partly because she's not the stereotypical kick-ass woman character and partly because I like her teasing, brother/sister-like relationship with Tony.  I love that there's no real sexual tension there.  Ziva, despite the kick-ass cliche and the sexual tension, would've been great if not for the Daddy issues and all the stupid Mossad crap; I enjoy her in the episodes where the team is investigating normal Navy-related crimes, but find her profoundly annoying whenever the case is Mossad related.

 

But really, my favorite female character is CGCIS Agent Borin.  I know she's only been in a few episodes, but I soooo wanted her to replace Ziva.  Oh well . . .

[slothgirl]

A friend watched sporadically and asked how Kate was still employed because every episode he saw, she looked incompetent.

I always had mixed feelings about Kate because of this and the way she so often lost in her sparring with Tony. She was on the PRESIDENT'S secret service detail for pete's sake! She didn't rise to that level of an elite group by not being able to hold her own with male collegues. Occasionally she managed to get the upper hand, but mroe often, Tony just got her all flustered in ways I simply wasn't buying.

 

As for being incompetent, yeah, she might have had to learn some new stuff to be a crime scene investigator (although she should have had way-above-average powers of obsevation and quick-thinking to guard POTUS) But even there, I can only describe her as "flustered" much of the time. Why was her composure so easily rattled? That's really not a good quality in someone guarding the President of the United States.

 

Now Agent Borin? I can see her guarding Potus, no problem!

Edited April 3, 2015 by slothgirl

[Julia]

JMO, the minute Kate (and Ziva) started dealing with Tony on his own douchebro level they lost. 

[slothgirl]

JMO, the minute Kate (and Ziva) started dealing with Tony on his own douchebro level they lost. 

And Tony knew it too, which is why he always tried to go there.

[betsyboo]

1. Kate
2. Boren
3. Hollis
4. Delilah
5. Cassidy
6. EJ
7. Bree
8. Bishop
9. Jackie
10. Jenny
11. Rena Sofer
12. Diane
13. every guest star ever

 

10001. Nikki

10002  Dr. Ryan

10003 Ziva

10004  Abby

 

[HyacinthBucket]

I've warmed up to Bishop, but I still miss the liveliness of Ziva, who is my favorite of the three female team members.  I am so tired of Abby's infantile, "Gibbs, Gibbs, Gibbs!" and her never-changing Goth look.  Unlike the male characters, she hasn't seemed to evolve at all in 12 years.  Jenny was too wrapped up in her own personal vendetta for me to take her seriously.  I like Abigail Borin even more than I liked Ziva; I wish we could see her more often.  The less I see of Zoe, the better.  She seems so wooden and bland to me.  I think the woman who brought out the best in Tony was Jeanne.

[betsyboo]

I've warmed up to Bishop, but I still miss the liveliness of Ziva, who is my favorite of the three female team members.  I am so tired of Abby's infantile, "Gibbs, Gibbs, Gibbs!" and her never-changing Goth look.  Unlike the male characters, she hasn't seemed to evolve at all in 12 years.  Jenny was too wrapped up in her own personal vendetta for me to take her seriously.  I like Abigail Borin even more than I liked Ziva; I wish we could see her more often.  The less I see of Zoe, the better.  She seems so wooden and bland to me.  I think the woman who brought out the best in Tony was Jeanne.

ack! i forgot about Jeanne! She becomes #3 on my list and bumps everyone else down.

[MyAimIsTrue]

I've warmed up to Bishop, but I still miss the liveliness of Ziva, who is my favorite of the three female team members.  I am so tired of Abby's infantile, "Gibbs, Gibbs, Gibbs!" and her never-changing Goth look.  Unlike the male characters, she hasn't seemed to evolve at all in 12 years.  Jenny was too wrapped up in her own personal vendetta for me to take her seriously.  I like Abigail Borin even more than I liked Ziva; I wish we could see her more often.  The less I see of Zoe, the better.  She seems so wooden and bland to me.  I think the woman who brought out the best in Tony was Jeanne.

 

I think we're sharing the same brain.

[Betweenthisandthat]

I like Zoe, she seems...normal.  Not too much drama or too many anger issues.  I liked Ziva fine, but I thought her best seasons where maybe 3 and 4 before all the Mossad, Eli, tragic lovers stuff began being part of her story.  

 

My favorite female character might be Paula Cassidy and she's been gone for years.  I wish they never killed her off.  I like the characters who are still interesting but are light and fun.  Delilah is also one of my favorites.  I think I like the recurring female characters more than I have liked the main female characters.  I liked Jeanne at the very beginning but very quickly turned on her when she started going nuts that Tony didn't say I love you back.  I still get angry thinking about that and that poor Paula had to die so that Tony could say he loved Jeanne.  Yup, I'm still pissed about that. 

 

I don't mind Abby, but she's also off my radar now.  She's not as childish as she used to be, but sorry to say I also don't find her that relevant to my enjoyment of an episode.  She hasn't had a storyline for a long time so maybe that's part of it.

Edited April 9, 2015 by Betweenthisandthat

[MyAimIsTrue]

I still get angry thinking about that and that poor Paula had to die so that Tony could say he loved Jeanne.  Yup, I'm still pissed about that. 

 

Whenever I hear REM's "Everybody Hurts" I think of that scene.

[Julia]

The thing that killed me about that subplot was that there was absolutely no strategic advantage to Tony dating Jeanne. It's not as if after years of hiding what he was from his daughter her dad was going to decide to share with her annoying film professor boyfriend. The only thing Jenny accomplished with that was making sure La Grenouille's daughter was hurt as badly as she was. Which, honestly, may have been what she had in mind to begin with.

The most charitable interpretation of that entire period of Jenny's behavior is that the cancer was already affecting her brain.

[partofme]

Ziva was my all-time favorite female character on tv.  Miss her.  The show's not the same without her.  In a bad way.

[catray]

I thought she had a lot of potential and wish the writers had done something new with her. I got tired of her and Tony, Gibbs, and her father. I wish they had explored her religion, or her national pride (without dragging Mossad into it), her childhood, outside friendships, anything. They may have done this with the occasional episode, but for her arcs they always went back to tension with Tony/Gibbs/her father. Which again wouldn't have been so bad if it didn't damage her character each time. Each character has suffered from bad arcs, I'll be honest, but I think Ziva's character suffered the most.

 

^^^this x1000. Ziva's character could have been so much more interesting and instead they ruined her by the end of her run on the show. Wasted opportunity! 

[Mama No Life]

Are Zoe and Tony still together?  I heard him mention a date on the firing range recently but wasn't sure if it was with her.  I don't watch it carefully enough I guess....

[BigBeagle]

Considering just the main cast females:

 

-- Kate: She was OK, although she was mainly just a foil for Tony. Maybe my opinion would be different if she'd been on the show longer.

 

-- Ziva: Probably the best, but that's by default. When they showed her being a skilled agent, I enjoyed watching. When they brought up Mossad or her daddy issues, I snoozed.

 

-- Bishop: Totally beige.

 

-- Abby: Love the humor and the competency at her job. Hate the little girl that keeps bubbling up inside her.

 

-- Jenny: Didn't die soon enough.

[Julia]

-- Kate: She was OK, although she was mainly just a foil for Tony. Maybe my opinion would be different if she'd been on the show longer.

 

I wonder, because I bingewatched this show up to about season 9 (we didn't really watch TV while the kid lived at home) and before I knew what a huge deal Tony was going to become, back in the seasons with Kate in them, I thought he was comic relief.

 

Seriously, go back and look at Tony in Season 1. He was the guy with the vaguely working-class-cop-from-the-movies accent and the really bad hair who said inappropriate things and got slapped down, or sometimes just got slapped down on general principle. If I'd never seen an episode after Kate died, I'd've honestly thought that Tony was there as a foil for Kate.

Edited December 30, 2015 by Julia

[ForeverAlone]

I am in the process of binge watching early NCIS, and I have to say that I like Kate the most. I have seen enough of mid NCIS to not really like Ziva, at least on NCIS. I can appreciate her character if she was part of a different show, but I like NCIS when it is more of a straight forward criminal investigation show, and the unrealistic presence of Ziva contributed to the rise of political storylines that I felt were out of place on the show (the same with the number of stories about Gibbs' wild exploits, like with cartels). Now that Ziva is no longer on the show, there seems to be MORE of a return to criminal investigation, and I generally have no problem with Ellie. And it also seems like they are tamping down Abbie, thankfully. In early seasons she was quirky, but felt more realistic. For a while there, I felt Abbie had devolved into a caricature, but the writing seems to have righted that particular ship better. 

[jaytee1812]

I think the character of Ziva would've worked better on NCIS: LA, very simply because their are a covert unit.

[betsyboo]

 

1. Kate
2. Boren
3. Hollis
4. Delilah
5. Cassidy
6. EJ
7. Bree
8. Bishop
9. Jackie
10. Jenny
11. Rena Sofer
12. Diane
13. every guest star ever

 

10001. Nikki

10002  Dr. Ryan

10003 Ziva

10004  Abby

 

When this popped up on my feed, I thought - oooh, time to revisit. And I have to say, I think I am sticking by my orig ranking with only two or three changes!! (with the addition of Jeanne that I originally forgot).  And, after a re-watching a few eps from her season, I have moved JLC under Ziva.

 

1. Kate
2. Boren
3. Jeanne
4. Hollis
5. Delilah
6. Cassidy
7. EJ
8. Bree (I think I meant Breena Palmer)
9. Jackie
10. Bishop
11. Diane 
12. Mike Frank's daughter-in-law
13. Jenny
14. Rena Sofer
15. The cyber-hacker stay-at-home-mom 
16. every guest star ever

 

10001. Nikki

10002  Ziva

10003 Dr. Ryan

10004  Abby

[dogfriendlygal]

My favorite female was always Kate. She was so awesome and badass, but had weaknesses too. She was kind too and I mostly related to her the most. I also liked Abby too because she's cool. I never liked Ziva or Bishop. They both annoy me when I tried watching one episode with them in it. That's why I kinda stopped watching after Kate died(also I shipped Tony and Kate, nobody judge me :-)

Edited July 11, 2016 by dogfriendlygal

[clarkbar]

I have NCIS on USA playing as my Saturday morning background noise while I do chores around the house.  The episode right now is Knockout, and it's not particularly one of my favorites, but I had to stop everything and watch the scene with Leon and Jackie at home with their kids and Gibbs visiting.  Jackie is such a wonderful character--I love her no-nonsense manner, and the little Len Bias story with Jackie obviously repeating to her kids for the umpteenth time, "And how many times did he do drugs?" really gave a feel for the kind of mom she was.  She's not a main character, but is one of my favorite all-time NCIS characters, male or female.  Wish they had kept her on.  I'll watch Paula Newsome in anything, even bleach commercials.

[Katy M]

I didn't watch during the Kate years, so I have no opinion on her.  Abby's my favorite female character. Then, Bishop.  I like Ziva, but sometime she came across as just too Ziva.  I don't like the new woman at all, so much so I can't even remember her name.

[roamyn]

Kate is still tops for me.  Never warmed up to Jennie, esp w/her Frog obsession.  And killing him.  I liked Ziva, too, but aft that, all the women on this show suck.

[HansMoleman742]

Most everyone may have several of the same women in the Top 5 in different order, but I think we can all agree that #1,000,000 is Quinn.

[betsyboo]

6 hours ago, HansMoleman742 said:

Most everyone may have several of the same women in the Top 5 in different order, but I think we can all agree that #1,000,000 is Quinn.

respectfully disagree, as 1,000,000 is Dr. Ryan. :-))

[anna0852]

For this specific show I think my favorite was always Ziva, mainly because we had her the longest and she was always a bit of a mystery. Just went you think had her figured out, something would change.

Out of the whole NCIS universe however my absolute favorites are Kensi and Nell over on LA, followed by Kono on Hawaii Five-0

[charity-fundraiser]

I hate to say it, but I don't have a favorite female character on the series as the show is male driven. Would like to see more attention and development given to the ladies.

Edited June 6, 2017 by charity-fundraiser

[Laina]

I'm only on season 7, so I don't know any of the newer characters yet, except for Ellie.

My favorite female characters in order of how much I like them.

1. Ziva
2. Kate
3. Ellie
4. Abby

[rainbowrockgal]

Ziva

Abby

Kate

Ellie

[StarBrand]

I never really got into Kate.  Maybe that would have changed had she stuck around longer.  She always came across as uptight, as someone who always tried far too hard to prove herself.  She'd already done that in the pilot when Gibbs recruited her. That rule about "not wasting good".  I never bought at all any UST between her and Tony, it was always a brother-sister rivary (which was fine, BTW).

Ziva, I liked a lot, but more on that later...much more.

Bishop, I didn't mind.  They originally seemed to write her as this big nerd that couldn't socialize properly (Lord knows we've had a few characters like that on the show).  She was initially devoid of any personal problems, at least until her husband cheated on her.  Front that point onwards, her and Torres did this little dance (although that actually didn't start until a season or two later, I think.)

[happyday]

Definitely Kate, hands down. Hate Ziva's guts, not sure about Bishop. Jenny just rubs me the wrong way. I kinda like Abby, too.

[happyday]

On 7/11/2016 at 7:12 PM, dogfriendlygal said:

My favorite female was always Kate. She was so awesome and badass, but had weaknesses too. She was kind too and I mostly related to her the most. I also liked Abby too because she's cool. I never liked Ziva or Bishop. They both annoy me when I tried watching one episode with them in it. That's why I kinda stopped watching after Kate died(also I shipped Tony and Kate, nobody judge me :-)http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ma30sg3sqx1qe8ttfo1_1280.gif

Why judge? I'm with you :D Love your post, you're completely right

[SteveA]

I have to say I liked Kate. But the worst character I’ve ever seen in any show is Abbie. She is ridiculously ridiculous and in real life would have been fired years ago and sent for mental health treatment.