which has locks instead of digital keypads. If terrorists are planning an attack, they must have copied the keys. Aware of the threat, Gibbs checks the armory while Todd protects the President. The armory is open, and a journalist is trying to get to the President's quarters in an attempt to kill him. Gibbs confronts the journalist, who attacks, but is killed before any damage is done. At the end of the episode, Agent Bear thanks Gibbs for his hard work, and reveals Todd resigned from the Secret Service for breaking fraternization rules. She is then recruited by Gibbs as an NCIS agent. Production The episode is written by Donald P. Bellisario & Don McGill and directed by Donald P. Bellisario. According to the DVD commentary, the episode was written as an homage to the 1997 film Air Force One. According to Bellisario, the NCIS pilot episode was easy to sell to CBS because of its low costs compared to the JAG pilot. Together with Billy Webb (Director of Photography), Bellisario wanted to give NCIS a different look than other shows, starting with the first episode of the series. First find out "how would we normally shoot this, now let's figure another way to shoot it". Short clips in between scenes became a trademark. "We moved fast, we jump cut in the middle of scenes, and we jump cut dialogues". "What we ended up with was a completely different shooting style". In the first pilot episodes (back-door pilot), as a part of JAG, Robyn Lively is seen in the role as NCIS agent Vivian Blackadder. Bellisario stated that "she was a little soft for this kind of role", and is replaced by a new and different character in this episode. Portrayed by Sasha Alexander, Secret Service agent Caitlin Todd is recruited by Gibbs at the end of the episode, filling Blackadder's place at Gibbs' team. Together with Alexander's character, two recurring characters were introduced. FBI agent Tobias C. Fornell (portrayed by Joe Spano), who still is a part of the series, and medical assistant Gerald Jackson (Pancho Demmings). Jackson departed from the series later in season 1 before returning for one final time in the Season 3 opening episodes, "Kill Ari (Part I)" and "Kill Ari (Part II)". Gibbs' rules The first three of Gibbs' rules are revealed: No. 1 "Never let suspects stay together." No. 2 "Always wear gloves