Discover the common thread connecting Pauley Perrette's favorite 'NCIS' episodes
With more than 350 NCIS episodes on her resume, it's understandable if they all seemed a bit of a blur for Pauley Perrette, who’s leaving the CBS crime drama Tuesday (8 ET/PT).
But Perrette is as sharp and precise as her character, brilliant forensics expert Abby Sciuto, when recounting favorites from her 15-season run. And they all have something in common.
“I love the Abby episodes, because I’m in love with Abby,” Perrette says. (Her last episode features a plentiful helping of flashbacks to help soften the blow for fans saying farewell to a beloved character.)
Perrette's lucky seven list of top episodes, in chronological order (six from NCIS and one from NCIS: New Orleans that was part of a crossover):
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Frame-Up (2005): Season 3, Episode 9 — When forensic evidence implicates agent Tony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly) in the death of a young woman whose legs are found at the Marine Corps base in Quantico, Va., Abby uses her skills to find the person who framed him.
More: Pauley Perrette plans her exit from 'NCIS' after 15 seasons
Bloodbath (2006): Season 3, Episode 21 — When an unbalanced former boyfriend stalks Abby, Gibbs (Mark Harmon) and his NCIS team promise to protect her and catch the stalker.
Enemy on the Hill (2011): Season 9, Episode 4 — After Abby undergoes medical testing to become a kidney donor, she learns she was adopted and has a brother she didn’t know about.
Hit and Run (2013): Season 10, Episode 13 — The murders of a Marine and a young baby trigger troubling flashbacks for Abby, who becomes depressed remembering a childhood incident when she tried unsuccessfully to bring a family together. Gibbs helps, reminding her of the good she does. Brighton Sharbino plays a young Abby.
Lockdown (2015): Season 13, Episode 5 — During a visit to a pharmaceutical lab in connection with a murder investigation, Abby is trapped after armed men take over the building and hold everyone hostage.
Sister City: Part One and Part Two (2016): NCIS (Season 13, Episode 12) and NCIS: New Orleans (Season 2, Episode 12) — The poisoning deaths of passengers and crew members on a flight from New Orleans to Washington, D.C., lead to a search for Abby’s brother, Luca (Tyler Ritter), a chef, in a two-part crossover.