CBS' 'NCIS' Will Kill Off At Least 1
Thursday, 19-May-2005 1:04PM

NEW YORK, May 19 (UPI) -- The creator of CBS' "NCIS" says at least one character will die this season and actor Mark Harmon says everyone on the show hopes it is them.

Harmon's character, Naval Criminal Investigative Service Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, shot double agent Ari, played by Rudolf Martin, at the end the first season.

Ari, however, did not die and returns for the season two finale that airs Tuesday night. By the end of the episode, one member of the "NCIS" team will go down, creator Don Bellisario told Zap2it.com

Bellisario said he has taken extraordinary efforts, including shooting two endings to "NCIS", to keep the identity of the killed-off character secret.

Harmon, whose "St. Elsewhere" character died, said he joked about it when asked if the same would happen to his "NCIS" role.

"We're all personally hoping it's us, because we're all so tired, we're hoping we're going to get killed", Harmon said.