NCIS is continuing a trend of bringing on female stars of classic TV shows to guest on its episodes.
On Dec. Dec. 6, CBS is offering NCIS fans a really cool plot. Agents will investigate the death of a financial advisor. And they’ll interview the victim’s three-dimensional hologram of herself, which she created before she died.
A guest star on the episode is Stepfanie Kramer, who will portray Sandra Holdren. Does her name sound familiar? She played a homicide detective named Dee Dee McCall on the 1980s-era crime procedural, Hunter. That’s the show featuring Fred Dryer, the former defensive star for the Los Angeles Rams. The series ran from 1984 until 1991. And it spawned several reunion movies as well as a reboot.
Some critics thought the show was too violent for network television as it competed for a Friday night audience against the prime-time soap, Dallas. The show went on hiatus for a couple of months, then found an audience on Saturday nights.
The network brought in Roy Huggins, who wrote for several shows starring James Garner, including Maverick and The Rockford Files. He was an executive producer for Hunter. He softened the violence and moved the action to ritzier areas of LA. You also saw more of the chemistry between Hunter and McCall. But neither Kramer nor Dryer wanted a romance between the two characters. Kramer also refused to do another episode in which her character was raped. That happened in season two and a similar episode was proposed in season four. Kramer threatened to quit.
Earlier In November NCIS Featured Guest Star From 1990s Comedy
We’re not sure what sort of role Kramer will play in NCIS. And like we said, she’s the second major actress NCIS pulled from classic TV.
On Nov. 8, the NCIS episode featured Patricia Richardson, who starred as Jill Taylor in the 1990s classic, Home Improvement. She portrayed Judy Fielding, McGee’s mother-in-law, in the episode. And Richardson brought some comedy to an hour about murder and coverup.
Judy doesn’t tell her daughter and son-in-law many intimate details about her private life. And she lied about being at home when she really vacationing on a cruise ship. She was enjoying a Love Boat experience until she discovered her cruise boyfriend dead in the ship’s sauna. But she had nothing to do with the murder. Rather, the ship’s captain was killing people to make sure no one knew he was taking kickbacks to dump toxic waste into the ocean. Remember, NCIS always has a twist.
There are a couple of notable guest stars in the Nov. 29th episode, too. Don Swayne, who is the brother of late actor Patrick Swayze, will portray a character named Pete Walker. And Patrick Malone, who starred for a season on the Cosby Show spinoff A Different World, will play Chuck Gordon. This NCIS episode has the agents exploring the death of a Navy reservist who was found dead inside a car at a gun range.
