From Fax Machines to Nicotine-Brown Walls, ‘NCIS: Origins’ Keeps Things Firmly in 1991

The ’90s were not, in fact, only 20 years ago, no matter what you might think and as the creative team behind CBS’ “NCIS: Origins” knows all too well. We are as far away from 1991, the year the freshman series is set, as 1991 is from 1958. This is, for everyone keeping track, the year “Vertigo” hit theaters. But in terms of technology, it might as well be 1858.

Sure, fax machines and outdated computers are there for the taking. But getting them to work? That’s a whole other story. “It’s dead technology, so you need to skin it and change the button that says copy, and you can only use a bottom loader instead of a top loader where the paper goes through,” Pat Russo, the series’ head of props, told IndieWire. “So, it’s complicated.”

Complicated is an understatement. “NCIS: Origins” is both a prequel to the beloved “NCIS” (about Gibbs’s early days at the fledgling NCIS Camp Pendleton office) and a period procedural, which means the attention to detail (and period accuracy) is paramount. Every now and then, things might get fudged for the sake of storytelling (don’t get Russo started on dot matrix printing; he luckily convinced everyone that laser printing, which did exist in 1991, was the right choice for audience comprehension). But for the most part, the team behind bringing each episode to life is dedicated to being as accurate as possible. Like with military uniforms.

 ”That’s where the authenticity becomes really important,” costume department head Jill Ohanneson told IndieWire. “We’re very lucky that we have a fabulous consultant with us, but also, I have on my particular crew a dedicated military expert. He’s been doing it all his life, and he knows it with his eyes closed. So I’m very, very blessed to have him on my team.”

The more casual clothes are a different story. There’s a very easy way to signal the era (geometric patterns, loud colors), but that doesn’t work for the “hard-working, blue-collar” crew solving crimes every week, as Ohanneson said. “We wanted them to be grounded in a way that felt natural and normal and relatable because a lot of the clothes from the ’80s are a bit caricature. So it was really important that that didn’t happen on this show.”

Ohanneson worked to create a color palette for the show to streamline the process, eschewing reds and bright whites and anything too contrasting “because I don’t want to take anything away from what the actors are saying, what their emotions are. I don’t ever want the clothes to overpower the character or the story.”

It’s a testament to the work behind the scenes that “NCIS: Origins” feels of the period without feeling at a remove. The 1991 setting is just another nuance to what we’re seeing, not the defining characteristic of the series. At the same time, those details inform the actors’ performances.

  ”It’s a police show, so right away, you’re going to have a gun, a paddle holster, cuff pouches, magazines,” Ruso said. “When I got the first script, the first thing we do is establish Southern California and Camp Pendleton. So right away, we’re on the 5 freeway, and there’s surfboards and wetsuits on cars. And then I’m going, ‘Wait a minute, I remember those old white plates with the square red letters, but how charming would it be to mix some other cars in with our old blue and yellow plates and our old sunset plates?”

The station at Camp Pendleton is also a mix of eras since the real-life Marine Corps base didn’t remodel until after 9/11. “When they first purchased the land right after Pearl Harbor, they instantly set up a compound, and Quonset huts were a military type of architecture and something that they could throw up fairly quickly,” production designer Rusty Smith told IndieWire. “[Our set is] dressed like [the late 20th century], but it’s got a lot of leftover military artifacts from the ’40s.”

Part of that set dressing comes courtesy of what Smith called “Rusty sauce,” which is basically a nicotine-brown hue that gets sprayed all over the bullpen set to give it that tired, government-building feel that is instantly recognizable to anyone who grew up in the era.

Production design sketch for ‘NCIS: Origins’Courtesy of Rusty Smith

Smith said he’s lucky to have all of Los Angeles for locations, something that aids in his quest to keep the show grounded and “gritty,” looking to “Top Gun” and “A Few Good Men” as inspirations. Those films have a similar costume aesthetic to what Ohanneson is doing, as well. “We’re not high fashion. We’re not in the Hamptons,” she said. “It’s very much middle America here, and the clothes need to be functional. I also wanted to give us somewhere to go. We’re in ’91; if [future seasons push] into the mid-’90s, and I put all of my best ’90s looks out there right at the front, then I’m going to run out of inspiration pretty quickly.”

 Russo and his team are also working slightly behind 1991, with an even greater degree of difficulty. “We have an FBI agent on a cell phone, so right away, we’re looking for cellular phones that at least light up to save money on VFX because that becomes a $3,000 red light,” he said. Once the appropriate phones are located, Russo orders as many as possible because, as he said, “If you have one, you’ve got none when there’s a problem. If you’ve got two, it’s too few.”

Just like the characters on any good cop show, the production team for “NCIS: Origins” needs backup — for everything.

The midseason finale of “NCIS: Origins” airs December 16 on CBS. The season is available to stream on Paramount+.