The origin story of Leroy Jethro Gibbs has finally begun: CBS kicked off its much-anticipated prequel Monday from veteran NCIS writers-producers Gina Lucita Monreal and David J. North, as well as CBS Studios. And as promised, Mark Harmon returned to both narrate and to appear fireside as he journals about his life.

Origins. This is not a brag; normally, as a reviewer, I’d try to conceal my ignorance as best as possible. Ideally, I’d take time to catch up on episodes of the original before attempting to discuss the prequel in order to place the series in its proper context.