North grad keeps it real for 'NCIS'

PRINGFIELD — Chris Waild could be a very dangerous man.
He’s done thorough research on how to bring down bank security and the destructive power of bombs.
He’s looked into, as he explained, “how choke holds affect breathing and the carotid artery.”
And he knows what happens to a body after it’s been submerged in water for a few weeks.
Fortunately, Waild is using all this knowledge for the good of humanity — he’s a television writer.
“I’m probably on some government watch list,” he confessed. “I fully expect to buy an airline ticket, go to the airport and be detained.”
In just his second full season working on the CBS drama “NCIS,” the 2000 North High grad has packed all sorts of macabre factoids in his head — and there’s lots more to learn.
Once just an awkwardly titled rip-off of the network’s own “CSI” — only set in the Navy — “NCIS” is more popular than ever.
Never mind that the Navy apparently has a Goth forensic specialist and that Mark Harmon’s character’s name is Jethro.
If it weren’t for “American Idol” and “Dancing With the Stars,” “NCIS” would be the most popular show on the flat-screen.
In its sixth season, the show is getting its best audiences yet, Waild said.
“It’s our characters,” said Waild, 27, who went from the guy who takes lunch orders to staff writer in roughly 12 months. “That’s what separates us from many of the procedurals, and especially the crime procedurals. It’s not so much about, ‘Oh, here’s another odd, gross case.’ ”
Keeping things believable
Oh, there’s still plenty of grossness.
While still technically a writers’ assistant — but with the duties of a staff writer — it was Waild’s job as an assistant to conduct research, distill it and give it to the writers “short of writing the scene.”
Typically, a writer would ask if something was possible, and he’d find out.
“I’ve looked into what possible things a dog has swallowed,” Waild said. “One of the writers wanted a dog to swallow a knife.”