Richard interview, and an attempt to use Sergeant Brice more

I’ve just finished listening to this awesome interview Richard did last week: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/richardrossi/2014/12/03/hollywood-movie-star-richard-anderson-aka-oscar-goldman-writer-al-doshna-1 It’s definitely a treasure. I loved listening to him all the way along, and it was fun to hear what some of the fans had to say. Perry is only briefly touched on, but it was great to hear it mentioned.

I blushed a little when the topic of Oscar Goldman and Jaime Sommers as a romantic pairing came up, but whatever Richard may have thought of the idea, he was very gracious and kind about it (as he was throughout the whole interview) and mentioned that people were asking him about that even back when The Bionic Woman was first on.

I have to admit, I can never fully get away from being rather fascinated by the idea of the pairing. I feel a bit guilty for that because of Steve Austin and Jaime’s epically soap opera romance, but I remain intrigued anyway. I pretty much love looking at Oscar and Jaime’s relationship in every way possible: friendship, familial, or romantic. And I think it’s time I saw the Deadly Ringer episodes they were discussing at one point. Due to me not liking when main characters end up in prison, I still haven’t seen those yet, but I’ve planned to since I’ve been sure there are some awesome Oscar scenes in them.

It’s so very exciting that Richard’s book is coming out! It’s a treat for all Perry fans, Richard fans, and classic movie and television fans. I know Richard will have many exciting things to tell.

And as season 4 of Perry wound to a close and season 5 begins to unfold, I observe first Sergeant Brice’s expanding role and second, the apparent search for someone else to help take some of the acting strain off of Ray Collins, whose health was starting to fail.

It’s obvious that they first tried the idea of Sergeant Brice becoming more talkative and involved. In late season 4 episodes such as The Grumbling Grandfather and The Guilty Clients, Brice has a lot more to do or say than in most episodes, even taking over completely for Tragg in some scenes and episodes.

I definitely like the idea and wonder why it didn’t work out. Was Lee Miller uncomfortable having more to say? Did they determine that the quiet, understated Sergeant Brice just wouldn’t be able to carry things by himself very often and a more forceful character would be needed?

On that, I probably agree at least somewhat. Brice is so calm and gentle and not bothered by Perry and company hanging around and investigating. The show would have certainly taken on a different dynamic with the more permissive Sergeant Brice being more in charge of things. He probably would have become much more of an ally to Perry and company, freely allowing them their investigations and perhaps letting Perry or Paul be right with him to look into questioning suspects and the like. In later episodes, on one occasion he shows definite amusement over his superior blowing his stack at Perry’s interference, and on another, indicates to Paul that if it were up to him, he would let Paul stay and look around a crime scene.

I can’t say I would have minded at least seeing what the show would have been like with that changed dynamic. But I’m not sure it would have worked out for long, since it seems Gardner and the crew wanted it to stay with the police sometimes assuming great opposition to Perry’s investigations, and since amusingly frustrated exchanges are often a big and important part of Perry’s interaction with the police. Brice just isn’t the type to engage in such exchanges. Hence, they definitely needed someone aside from Brice to be there.

Thus began what seems to be a bit of a search. Although they try Wesley Lau very early in season 5, playing Lieutenant Anderson in a great couple of scenes in The Malicious Mariner, he doesn’t immediately become part of the main cast. They also try Med Flory, another actor from late season 4, who in The Crying Comedian plays Lieutenant McVey, twin brother to Captain McVey of the United States Air Force. . . . (Just kidding, but I still find it bewildering that both of his Perry characters are named McVey! I am definitely going to make them twin brothers in my stories.)

Then we have a couple of episodes in a row that do not feature the regular city police cast. The next time we get back to them, Tragg is there again (with faithful Sergeant Brice silent in the background). The next episode after that, Andy is back and this time stays.

I would be curious to know in what order the early season 5 episodes were filmed and whether Andy’s first episode was filmed after Lieutenant McVey’s. Perhaps they had already decided on Wesley Lau before any of his police episodes aired, although I would then wonder why they showed the McVey episode after Andy’s first one.

I am very glad they ended up choosing Wesley, but I love Med Flory as Captain McVey in The Misguided Missile and I know he could have made Lieutenant McVey a great character too.

Two McVeys?!

It’s one thing for the same actor to play various characters with the same or similar names on different series. That’s odd enough. But I’m not sure I’ve ever encountered a scenario where the same actor plays different characters with the same name on the same series!

In season 4’s The Case of the Misguided Missile, after Captain Caldwell’s death, an officer is assigned to investigate and see whether there’s a case against Major Reynolds. The officer assigned is Captain McVey of the Air Police. Friendly and amiable, he associates with Perry and Paul and tries to be fair to both the defense and the prosecution. He’s quite a major player throughout, appearing off and on right up to the epilogue.

When I wrote The Spectral Stalker and needed the military police to become involved, I briefly considered making a random character of my own before realizing that Captain McVey was already an ideal choice. Perhaps, since he had investigated Captain Caldwell’s murder, they would choose to call him in to investigate the bizarre reports of Major Jerry Reynolds being stalked by Caldwell. I did give him a character of my own as an aide, but the spotlight is mostly on McVey. I enjoyed writing for him and involving him in the story’s events.

Last week my local station ran season 5’s The Crying Comedian. My jaw dropped when I saw a familiar face at the police station and Tragg introduced him as Lieutenant McVey. (And then the cast list gets even more bewildering when it lists him as Sergeant McVey! I think I’ll trust Tragg over the cast list. . . .)

This fellow is definitely not of the Air Police, but of the LAPD. And he is definitely played by the same man, Med Flory. Very strange. Maybe Captain McVey has a twin brother!

I know the writers in those days were notorious for not paying attention to oddities with previous episodes. No one imagined that the shows would still live on as they have, with steady re-runs and video and DVD releases. But goodness, the coincidence is so bizarre it’s laughable. And the episodes really aren’t that far apart; The Misguided Missile is one of season 4’s last, while The Crying Comedian is one of season 5’s first. I wonder how far apart they were written and filmed.

There’s something else about Lieutenant McVey that should be of interest—he appears throughout the episode, even taking the customary place in the gallery where Andy and Steve always sit. I have to wonder if they were considering him as a possible choice for the steady policeman position, once they knew Ray Collins could no longer carry it all on his own.

Upon re-reading an article about Wesley Lau, it’s mentioned that Gail Patrick Jackson was impressed by his performance as Amory Fallon and asked him if he would be interested in playing a policeman on the series. But it doesn’t say if she asked him alone or if they were possibly considering others as well before deciding on him. Considering that Lieutenant McVey behaves as more than the typical oneshot policeman, even having a whispered exchange with Hamilton, I am starting to suspect that Wesley was not the only choice.

If that could be true, it makes me wonder why they decided on Wesley. Did they think his character would have more presence? Andy is certainly more interesting than Lieutenant McVey, albeit the fact that Andy started with dialogue written for Tragg. But Captain McVey, despite being a oneshot character as Lieutenant McVey is, is a very interesting person too. They developed him a lot more than they did the Lieutenant. Med Flory certainly had the talent necessary to play a steady role, even though they did not allow him to display his full acting abilities as Lieutenant McVey. He would have been a fine choice.

Nevertheless, I have to admit, I’m glad they chose Wesley Lau. When I encounter something in a movie or television series that deviates from the original source material but is something I find just as good or better, I tend to say that whoever came up with the idea is a genius. I feel that way about both Andy and Steve, and their actors. I’m thrilled that Gail saw the talent in Wesley. He’s a vastly underrated but absolutely excellent actor. And whoever wanted Richard Anderson later, when they needed someone again, was also a genius. Andy and Steve are both marvelous additions to the cast, and their actors are perfect in the parts. The only thing I regret is that the reason they each came in was because their predecessor was phasing out.

Also in that article was a bit about Wesley’s frustrations at not really having much to do in the episodes. Now I’m wondering if he left on his own, hoping to find something better whether or not he had something lined up. And yet I’m not sure he would have done that, when he mentioned how welcome the money was for his little family. Unless he actually thought he was going to get a better deal, and had one ready to go, it doesn’t seem that he would leave such a steady-paying job.

As I’ve been watching some season 9 episodes on Saturdays, it’s started to occur to me that it sometimes seems as though Steve often has what Andy rarely ever has. Steve is a semi-major to a major player in several season 9 episodes. Richard really had a lot of opportunities to play the character’s many fascinating facets, especially in The Silent Six and The Sausalito Sunrise. He also has some wonderful scenes in The Bogus Buccaneers and others.

Andy does have some good screentime in season 5, but that was before they figured out how to make him different from Tragg. After he gains his own personality, he really only ever has The Hateful Hero to play a highly significant role. He does appear quite a bit in The Tandem Target too, at least at the beginning. A couple of times in season 8 he has better-sized parts as well, yet still not as important to the plot as Steve’s episodes. And those episodes of Andy’s are spread out over seasons, while Steve’s several big episodes are, of course, all concentrated into one season. Did the crew wise up? Or, possibly, was one positive aspect of going back to a more season 1-ish formula the fact that the policeman character would frequently have significant and character-developing screentime, as Tragg used to?

Ah, more questions that I would love the answers to, but shall probably never have.

(EDIT: Thinking further on the matter, I think Steve got an even bigger spotlight than Tragg ever did. As I mentioned, Tragg never really had a spotlight episode, even though he had some great scenes in many of them. But I think without a doubt, The Sausalito Sunrise is totally a Steve-centric episode, and in many ways, so is The Silent Six.)

In any case, I regret that Andy hardly ever received the attention he deserved. He, like his actor, seems to have been vastly underrated. I lavish attention on him whenever possible.

I am highly enjoying my current mystery story, The Malevolent Mugging. Along the way I try to develop Andy’s character in ways the show did not, such as explaining exactly why he never seemed to dine with Perry and company. That bit is one of my favorite soliloquies.

Andy had been a curious and capable new lieutenant upon his arrival. Amiable but businesslike, he had soon managed to adapt to the swing of things, striking up friendships with Perry and his crew as well as with Tragg and Hamilton.

Andy was not, however, quite as ease about it as Steve was. Sometimes Hamilton had the sense that Andy had been conflicted about how to handle being friends with Perry and company while not becoming caught up in any of their law-bending. The dilemma had stressed him more than once, and he had very rarely associated with Perry, Della, and Paul in social contexts such as lunch or dinner—unless it was a group dinner and Tragg and Steve were going as well.

I try to read between the lines in episodes to come up with theories such as this. I find it highly stimulating and fun. Season 8 provided inspiration for this one. It may or may not be true, but we shall likely never know one way or the other.

And the weekday post will be going up on Wednesday this week!