TVSquad

Considering the fact that CSI has been the basis for two very, very successful CBS spin-offs -- CSI: Miami and CSI: New York (in case you've been out of the loop for the past six years) -- it hardly comes as a shock that another CBS ratings powerhouse, NCIS, is planning a spin-off. Maybe the only shock is that they've waited till now to really put thought into action.

EW's Michael Ausiello landed the exclusive and reports that the NCIS spin-off will be like the other CSI's in that they will not take a character from the show and make him/her the centerpiece of that new series. That means you don't have to worry about Ziva, Tony, Abs, McGee and Gibbs breaking up.

And after the fans' reaction at the end of last season, when the team was split up as the new director took over only to be reunited early this season, that's a major relief.

When I first learned about this spin-off, I, too, wondered if it might be one of the core players -- a new version of Quincy, M.E., only called Ducky, M.E. and starring David McCallum? Or maybe DiNozzo, CSI-P.I., with Michael Weatherly in the spotlight wearing Tommy Bahama Hawaiian shirts and growing a flattering mustache?

The answer is no and no. The spin-off will use NCIS as a platform to introduce a new Naval investigative unit or personnel, something procedural, and it's still just on the drawing board and coming together. It's likely that if things go well, by the end of this season, the new characters will be part of an NCIS episode. That, in effect, will be the pilot.

Interestingly, this is exactly how NCIS came to be. In the spring of 2003, the Gibbs and Ducky characters appeared in a two-part episode of JAG.

Now, I suspect that some of you might be wondering why TV needs another procedural. I hear you, but as I wrote recently, NCIS is not just a procedural and overall is a darn good show. If the spin-off is as good as the original -- or even better, as Frasier was to Cheers (in my opinion) -- all the better.