Wait, Gibbs is the least compelling character on the show. Maybe I just see things in a different light, but the only thing that separates this from a bog standard police procedural is watching all the other characters try to deal with the fallout from Gibb's hollywood issue most-tragic-backstory-ever trauma and solving the mystery of why he hasn't been shuffled off to a desk job where he can't do much harm yet.
All of the supporting characters had more depth, development, and more relatable back stories.
EDIT: Mark Harmon is the executive producer, that explains everything. That should teach me to post without reading the full article, but honestly it won't.