The depiction of loved ones affected by death

The Hateful Hero was on MeTV recently. While I was watching, I ended up realizing another very unique angle this episode tackles and another reason why I would say it’s one of the best Perry episodes of all.

It’s interesting and a bit sad to note that even though there are deaths in every episode, it’s very rare to see the repercussions of said deaths on the family and other loved ones, unless the repercussions cast all the relationships in a negative light. It’s common in episodes for family and friends to say that they’re unmoved or glad that the person is dead. Worse, sometimes when someone shows grief or outrage, it’s an act and they’re the guilty party. (Or occasionally, they genuinely loved the person and the death was an accident, sometimes causing a breakdown in court when this is revealed.)

It’s gotten so bad that whenever there’s someone in a detective series who’s supposed to be close to either the victim or the defendant, I end up almost immediately suspecting them. And many times, I’m right. It’s kind of tiresome. Having a close loved one be the guilty party happens so much that it’s way too much of a cliché. Or alternately, I suppose, it’s a large dose of reality, since many crimes in reality actually are committed by close loved ones. Depressing.

Of course, another thing to factor in is that most of the time, the deaths are of very unlikable people. But even that doesn’t always mean there aren’t people who genuinely care about them. Sometimes, those people really are grieving, too, and were not involved in harming the victims.

Even when this happens, however, it’s usually not a major plot point and instead is something incidental, perhaps thrown into the confession scene as the person reacts to the news of who killed their loved one. Even in The Antic Angel, where the defendant is the estranged husband of the victim and clearly still cares about her, we don’t really see his grief. Although, the effects are certainly shown in the fact that he ends up accused of the murder!

This manner of showing the effects of death happens in several episodes where loved ones are accused of the crime. The Flighty Father is another example, and the girl in it expresses sorrow over having had an argument with her uncle before his death. She calls him a poor old man and feels honestly horrible about what she said and did.

However, as poignant as that scene is, it is only one scene in the episode. I can think of just three episodes off-hand where the effects of a death are keenly felt and shown for one or more loved ones and the grief is indeed a semi or major plot point, stretching over several scenes or shown throughout.

One is The Loquacious Liar, where the wife’s continuing love for her rotten husband is very critical to the plot. It causes her to think her son is nuts about apparently his whole story of being abducted, instead of just thinking he must be wrong about his step-father hiring the guy and someone else must have hired him instead. This causes her to tell her husband about the disaster, setting into motion the fight that leaves him dead and the son accused of murder. She grieves heavily about the death and her part in the fight being started. She’s caught in a nightmare involving her two most precious loved ones.

This is also the episode that has one of Tragg’s best and most moving serious moments, as he tells the wife of her husband’s death and says that in thirty years on the force, he’s never found an easy way to say it. It’s one of the most caring and kind announcements of a loved one’s death throughout the series; indeed, perhaps the very most.

Then there is The Lover’s Leap. Who could forget Julie Adams’ heartbreaking performance as the wife who doesn’t care about her husband’s crimes or going to jail as an accessory or anything except him? The scenes where her act as an uncaring ex-wife is stripped away, revealing her immense grief and anguish over his death, are among the most haunting of the entire series. When the true killer’s identity is revealed, likely crushing her anew because he’s a dear friend of hers (who admittedly didn’t mean to kill the guy), and she collapses against Perry in tears, it’s extremely powerful and poignant. She railed against Perry’s constant questioning and always appearing at the worst moments for her, but then she turns to him in that moment of deepest agony.

And, of course, we come to The Hateful Hero. It’s interesting to note that this is one of the few episodes where there are two deaths instead of just one. One of those deaths is the more standard “creep” variety, and in fact, we never meet any family of Ralph Pearce. But the other death, that of Andy’s dear friend Otto Norden, is the more rare “good guy” variety. And, I think, this is the only good guy character death in the series where we really see the repercussions on loved ones.

Certainly Erna Norden’s intense grief is one of the driving sub-plots of the episode. One reason we see so much of it is likely because of her and Otto’s important connections to Andy. Another reason, however, is because of how important Otto really is to the unraveling of the mystery.

One little thing I like very much is how Carrie Wilson, the owner of the plastic company where Otto was killed, wants to go see Mrs. Norden and offer condolences. It’s a compassionate, human gesture that I don’t recall seeing from very many people throughout the series and helps to signal that this is going to be a very unique and powerful episode.

I do wish this episode had shown the actual funeral. The funerals shown at various times in The Wild Wild West and Adam-12 are very moving and powerful and even heartbreaking. We do see Mrs. Norden’s mantle of photographs and awards that Otto received, including one given posthumously. It’s a beautiful but bittersweet tribute to a courageous policeman.

Andy is deeply affected by his friend’s death, although with Andy’s personality, we mostly see this through his facial expressions and the tones of his voice rather than through tears and outbursts. He tries desperately to be strong for Otto’s mother, comforting her when it fully hits her that Otto is really gone. But even then, his voice trembles a bit, showing some of his sorrow.

Andy, unable to bear hurting her more than she already is, can’t bring himself to question her on the possibility that Otto may have been the dirty cop instead of his cousin Jimmy. Perry then takes upon himself the role of devil’s advocate and goes to question her, resulting in a grief-stricken breakdown. It’s definitely a good thing Andy didn’t attempt the questioning, as he was very likely the only close loved one she had left. For him to be the one to question her would have felt like a final crushing blow.

When the mystery is finally solved and healing can at last begin, we revisit Mrs. Norden. Perry brings her the news that Otto was not a dirty cop, nor was Jimmy. Mrs. Norden reveals her own doubts and fears and how grateful she is to finally have them alleviated. Andy and Jimmy then appear for Wienerschnitzel night and Mrs. Norden accepts Jimmy as another surrogate son.

The Hateful Hero thus takes its place as a very realistic emotional venture, showing the deepest grief that a death can have on a loved one. In one way, I wish they would have taken an approach like this more often. In another way, though, it would have made the show so heartbreaking. The fact that most of the victims are creeps and very often have no one to really care about them somehow makes it so much easier to shrug and accept the death and move on without being particularly emotionally affected. A more rare episode like this really wrenches the heartstrings and makes you wonder why such a horrible death had to happen. It feels so very human all the way around. And it’s all the more powerful a venture because of its rarity.

Bravo, Perry Mason.

Andy and Jimmy

Well, so this is the 100^th post. Interesting. It’s been a lot of fun sharing my assorted Perry thoughts here. I hope to keep them rolling for another hundred, and beyond. Thanks to all of you who have shown your interest by reading! I don’t know who many of you are, but I know you’re here, thanks to the private hit counter.

I’ve been thinking a lot about The Hateful Hero lately, due both to seeing it recently and because I’ve been trying to figure out how to do more with Jimmy in my stories.

Jimmy hasn’t played a very large part in any of them, and knowing me with my love of oneshot characters who have strong connections to the main characters, it isn’t like me to leave Jimmy be. The reason is that I was having a difficult time getting into his head and wasn’t sure how to write him. But since I’ve been really focusing on the issue and pondering on him and Andy, a lot of things have started to make sense. And now I’m starting to get enthused.

First, let’s examine the nature of their relationship. Andy and Jimmy are cousins, but they really seem more like brothers—thanks at least in part to the wonderful chemistry between actors Wesley Lau and Richard Davalos. It feels so natural, so perfect, and so believable. Andy is clearly assuming the role of protective older brother, going to see Jimmy off on his first night in a patrol car and feeling very proud of him. Jimmy knows perfectly well why Andy is there, too, and he appreciates it. They have a very comfortable familial relationship. Andy is protective and likes to keep a watchful eye, but he doesn’t smother. Jimmy is relaxed around him.

Andy is increasingly worried about Jimmy as the episode goes on and the disasters unfold. He tries to get to the bottom of what happened at the fake robbery that resulted in Otto being killed and Jimmy being knocked out. As he quizzes Jimmy, trying to get Jimmy’s story straight, Andy is stressed and Jimmy gets a bit stressed too. “I’m just trying to help,” Andy protests.

When Jimmy undergoes the police hearing after being accused of committing the robbery, Andy is right there with him. Jimmy is dismissed from the force, and Andy lays a hand on his shoulder and sincerely tells him he’s sorry. And right on the heels of that, Tragg is forced to serve a warrant on Jimmy for the murder of the security guard who was mixed up in the robbery.

Andy immediately goes to Perry for help, wanting him to defend Jimmy. It’s clear how agonized he is by everything. And he’s so pained when he says that if he finds evidence proving Jimmy’s guilt, he’ll put Jimmy in the gas chamber himself. He’s not trying to be cold or cruel. His heart’s being torn in shreds. But he has to uphold the law. He won’t give anyone special favors, even a family member. It takes a special kind of man to have that kind of courage.

Of course, it’s also possible (even likely) that if Andy had found such evidence that all but damned Jimmy, Andy would consider it a deep-seated betrayal. Being involved in criminal acts and possibly being an accessory to murder, two murders, if not outright committing at least the first one? Yeah, that would hit Andy hard. Caught between a rock and a hard place, with a cousin who may have betrayed him and his dear friend dead. I can’t quite picture Andy being absolutely unforgiving, even if he came to believe Jimmy’s guilt (or if Jimmy had really been guilty), but I do imagine him being so extremely bewildered and confused and unable to understand. I have an image of him exclaiming, “Why, Jimmy, why?!”

Deep down, though, despite having to face the reality of all possibilities in the case, no matter how grim, Andy really, truly seems to believe Jimmy is innocent of all charges. He’s even considering the deceased Otto as being the thief, which seems the only other conceivable possibility for the longest time, in order to exonerate Jimmy. And he tries to rationalize that the security guard’s murder may not have had anything to do with the robbery, and hence, Jimmy. He really knows that it’s more than likely that the two incidents are connected, but he’s so desperate to find a way for Jimmy to not be involved.

When Andy testifies in court for the prosecution, once again it’s obvious how much he hates what he has to do. He would rather do anything else, to be able to focus on proving Jimmy’s innocence, but his testimony is critical and he has to be there to give it.

I think there must have been several levels of tension going on during the episode’s events that we didn’t see. Was Andy’s relationship with Erna “Mama” Norden at all strained, since Otto was her son and she blamed Jimmy for Otto’s death? How did Andy feel about Tragg having to serve the warrant? How did Tragg feel? Gah, there must have been so much heartache all around, even though Andy no doubt understood both Mrs. Norden’s and Tragg’s positions.

The end of the episode, after the real criminals have been exposed and Jimmy and Otto have both been exonerated, is so lovely. Andy and Jimmy go grocery shopping and come to Mrs. Norden’s house for the Thursday get-togethers Andy and Otto always had with her. Now knowing that Jimmy is innocent of everything, Mrs. Norden has forgiven him and welcomes him wholeheartedly. Everyone will heal.

I’ve been wondering how large the age gap is between Andy and Jimmy. That’s been another reason for the lack of Jimmy in my stories. Without knowing how many years separate them, I’m unsure of what to have them connect on.

I always kind of picture Andy in his mid-thirties. Wesley was 39 or 40 when he first took up the role, but I usually think of the characters as being several years younger than the actors, if no age is specified. (Book ages do not count here, as far as I’m concerned. And of course, Andy doesn’t exist in the books to begin with.) I wondered if Jimmy was in his early twenties, around 21 or 22. 21 is the youngest you can become a police officer. Although I was forgetting that Jimmy had been on the force for an indeterminable amount of time already, as a beat cop.

Andy, as specified in a season 8 episode, has been on the force for 15 years. Maybe 12 or 13 around season 6. It depends on whether the events of a season take place over a year for the characters. I figured that’s pretty much up to the imagination. But in any case, since Andy did give that specific number, that is semi-restrictive on determining ages and dates. And Jimmy is young enough that both Andy and Perry refer to him as a kid.

(Although that may not be very helpful; just what ages are “kids” in their eyes? Jimmy might always be “the kid” to Andy. Andy calls the impulsive teenage defendant in The Tandem Target “son”, which seems odd considering that Andy really couldn’t be very old. He certainly doesn’t look old enough for the term to make sense, at least. It’s a term I don’t quite picture anyone using unless the person they’re talking to is in an age bracket that could make them the speaker’s son. The fellow in The Tandem Target would probably only barely fall into that bracket, if at all. Unless Andy is older than he looks and is closer to his actor’s age or older.)

So originally I started with a gap between Andy and Jimmy that could potentially be up to 15 years (Jimmy, 21; Andy, 36). But I didn’t really think it was that much, as reflected by Andy’s comments in The Broken Ties about him and Jimmy playing together as children. I definitely got the impression that they were surely a little closer in age. Still, however, I couldn’t quite figure out anything beyond that.

Looking up Richard Davalos’s age this past week, I found that he is nine years younger than Wesley Lau. That excited me, as I had at last wittled the conceivable age gap down to maybe 8 years. And with my feelings that the characters could believably be several years younger than the actors, I decided that as little as 5 years between them could work. Thus, I have now placed Jimmy around 28 and Andy around 33 during The Hateful Hero. In my stories, where two or three years have passed since then, Andy is approximately 35 or 36, making Jimmy 30 or 31. Although this might not be quite static, as I keep finding it hard to picture Jimmy not in his twenties in my stories. I might have to make the age gap closer to 7 years, although I prefer 5.

Another curious question: Where in the world is the rest of the Anderson family? Are they alive? It would seem that even if they were out of town or out of state, they would come running when Jimmy was arrested. Perhaps Andy and Jimmy are the only real family left. That would certainly explain how they bonded, and Andy’s protectiveness, especially if at least some of the parents died while they were still kids.

I’m torn on that issue. I haven’t mentioned anything about the Anderson parents’ current status at all. They could all be perfectly alive, and just weren’t pointed out in the storyline even if they were there, or they weren’t able to get out there as much as they wanted to. And a tragedy like them dying certainly wouldn’t be the only way Andy and Jimmy would end up bonding so closely.

We don’t even know if Andy and Jimmy are native Californians. I kind of picture them as such, but that might or might not be true. Andy could have moved to California from elsewhere and Jimmy could have followed him when he wanted to be a police officer (or earlier). Or they could have moved out together from elsewhere. Who knows.

So many fun speculations!

And you know, curiously enough, I think Andy and Jimmy are the only familial relationship we even see among the main characters. We know next to nothing about the families of Perry, Della, Paul, Hamilton, Tragg, and Steve. We know that Perry once lived in Oregon. Perhaps his family is still there. Della has an aunt whom she visits in season 7, but we never see said aunt. And I think that’s the extent of the information on the television series, where any of their families are concerned! Good grief. That certainly makes Andy and Jimmy even more special.

Jimmy first appeared in The Macabre Mansion, one of my stories last Autumn. With Andy’s prominent role in that, second only to Hamilton in story importance and “screentime”, and with Andy’s serious injuries, it was logical for Jimmy to turn up. I wasn’t sure what to do with him, though, and I wrote him mostly as a hurting and later grieving loved one, perhaps a bit impatient and rash, but certainly no more than might be expected under the circumstances. Jimmy nevertheless didn’t do anything stupid, and stayed within the limits of the law even though he certainly felt like taking revenge on Vivalene for shooting Andy.

Jimmy definitely isn’t overly impulsive in The Hateful Hero, and does not come off as someone who is always rash, but he does occasionally make decisions he probably shouldn’t have, such as going back to the plant on his own to try to figure out what really happened. I could imagine him naturally becoming furious if Andy were hurt, and wanting to seek out the culprits, but somehow managing to restrain himself from what he might like to do at the moment.

Jimmy continued to be mentioned off and on, but didn’t really appear with any further importance until The Malevolent Mugging. Again playing the role of worried and agonized loved one, this time he’s managed to interact more extensively with Andy in later scenes, something that doesn’t really happen in The Macabre Mansion. Developing their comfortable interaction is an enjoyable activity. I’m hoping to include him in more scenes.

I’ve debated with ideas where Jimmy is the one in trouble, but after all the canonical trouble he had in The Hateful Hero, I’m hesitant to write him into any more. Andy has likely been there for him all through the years, so in my stories I’m kind of more interested in exploring him being there for Andy. Maybe sometime I'll write a story where they're both in trouble and have to work together to get out of it.

Notable Guest-Stars: William Boyett

Throughout the nine seasons of the series, there were countless guest stars who were invited back time and again. Many were quite familiar faces to fans of television. One such was William Boyett, who made a grand total of eight appearances over the nine seasons.

William Boyett, of course, is most highly remembered as playing firmly upright policemen. He portrayed them flawlessly on popular and long-running series such as Highway Patrol and Adam-12. Often when he guest-starred on shows, that was the sort of role they still wanted him to take.

On Perry, William B. played police six of the eight times, a private investigator one time, and a civilian one time. He appeared once in every season, except season 2, for some reason. Perhaps at that point he was too busy with Highway Patrol?

He was present almost from the start, as a motorcycle officer in season 1’s The Angry Mourner. He only had a very brief segment, one which is often cut from syndication prints. That is a pity for several reasons. Not only does it deprive us of seeing William B.’s wonderful acting, it’s an important little scene! Cutting it fiddles with the plot.

Some of his other appearances are also only very short walk-on segments, such as in The Ugly Duckling, The Mischievous Doll, and The Candy Queen. But in each he plays the kind of police character he is noted for and commands the scenes in which he appears.

Occasionally he was given more screentime. In season 3’s The Mythical Monkeys, he has at least two scenes as Paul Drake’s operative Pete Kelton. I haven’t seen this episode uncut, so it’s possible he even appears more than this. Pete is a character I continue to use in my stories. While the usually unseen Faulkner is probably Paul’s most referenced operative, I like using Pete since he was played by William Boyett. (I will probably bring in Faulkner at some point too, though. I love exploring little-seen characters with connections to someone in the main cast.)

He also has several scenes in season 5’s The Renegade Refugee. He is one of the men who attends the spiritual retreat each weekend, and upon hearing a commotion late at night in the monastery, he chides the participants to remember where they are. He turns up several times in court, silently watching the proceedings, and also gives testimony. I was worried whether he would end up being the killer, or otherwise crooked, but his character seems to be, by all indications, perfectly upright.

While he only appears briefly in season 6’s The Hateful Hero, I would say Officer Otto Norden is arguably his most important Perry character. He has a strong connection to a main character, even moreso than Pete Kelton to Paul. Otto is one of Andy’s close friends. He is going to be partnered with Andy’s cousin Jimmy, but on their first night together something goes wrong at a plastics company on their beat and Otto is killed.

Throughout the majority of the episode, suspicion is being cast on not just Jimmy, but Otto as well, and both are suspected of various criminal acts. Andy doesn’t want either of them to be guilty, but he fears at least one of them is. In the end, however, both are cleared—the victims of the “Hateful Hero” of the title. A former police officer, the murder victim blamed Otto for his dismissal from the force. After first trying to cast suspicion of robbery on him, the wretch decided to blame it on any police officer he could and chose Jimmy, before being murdered by his partner in crime.

William B.’s characters are fun to write for. Otto and Pete both appear in The Macabre Mansion, Otto as a spirit in several chapters while Andy is having an out-of-body experience after being fatally shot, and Pete off and on throughout. In an early chapter, Andy encounters him and is rather shaken by his resemblance to Otto. Pete also appeared in, I believe, both mysteries I wrote before that one, and in The Spectral Stalker. While he is an occasional player at best, he may become important in my current mystery The Denying Detective, considering Paul is a main focus in it.

I always look forward to seeing William Boyett pop up in various shows. And his guest spots on Perry are always a treat, even if he’s only present for a minute or two. It’s a shame he was never the main guest star in an episode; that would have been excellent! But I’m grateful for the screentime he did have.

The Case of the Hateful Hero: Andy's Finest Moments

As previously noted, Wesley Lau, being brought in to ease Ray Collins’ work load when his health started to decline, originally was given dialogue meant for Tragg. It sounded very strange and wrong to hear another character say the same things that Tragg had said in the past. I wonder if viewers during the show’s original run really noticed.

It was in the sixth season when they decided to really allow the character of Lieutenant Anderson to grow. Perhaps by then they knew that it would be impossible for Ray Collins to ever be able to work as much as he had before and that it would be ridiculous to keep giving Wesley Lau dialogue meant for him.

As early as the first aired episode in season 6, The Bogus Books, Andy seems more like his own person and less like Tragg’s shadow. We find out a bit about him: he lives in a house (as opposed to an apartment), he has to relight his heater’s pilot light once a month, and he falls asleep very quickly. But it’s The Hateful Hero, several episodes later, that is generally hailed as Andy’s breakthrough episode.

As with many Perry episodes, I saw it years ago. I remembered parts of it very well when I finally saw it again last week on my local station. I loved it back then and I love it now. It is truly a unique and amazing venture.

And it is Andy’s moment to shine. There is no question of that. It opens showing him visiting a police precinct to talk with his close friend Otto Norden. Andy’s cousin Jimmy is being promoted from a beat to a patrol car. Otto will be his partner. All looks well.

But everything swiftly goes downhill when there is an apparent robbery at the Wilson Plastics building. Tragg comes to Andy, somber, and tells him Otto has been killed. Worse, it looks bad for Jimmy, who seems to have run away. Later, the security guard at the building is also killed, and Jimmy is arrested for the murder. Andy goes to Perry for help.

Things are complicated by a growing suspicion that Otto may have been a dirty cop. Andy can’t bear to even suggest such a thing to Otto’s mother, who has become a surrogate mother to Andy. He also can’t believe Jimmy is guilty of murder. But, he tells Perry, both agonized and determined, if he finds sufficient evidence pointing in that direction, he will put Jimmy in the gas chamber himself.

The episode shows so many facets to Andy’s character. Previously he had been mostly a dogged “just the facts” cop. Occasional moments of playfulness were written with Tragg’s words. Here he shows a wide range of emotions. We see his loyalty and love for Jimmy and the Nordens, as well as his determination for justice to be done, even if that means his cousin will be executed. He does all he can to uncover the truth, longing to believe that both Jimmy and Otto are innocent. Eventually they are indeed both vindicated.

The scene where Tragg comes to tell him about Otto’s death is so heartbreaking. And, though short, it depicts their close friendship in a most poignant and revealing way.

The amazing character actress Jeanette Nolan portrays Mrs., or Mama, Norden. She is noted for her ability to perform with different accents. Here, she is a little Germanic woman, devoted to her son Otto and refusing to believe that he could be a dirty cop. She is bitter against Jimmy, believing him responsible for both murders. But when Jimmy’s name is cleared and the mystery solved, she is able to begin moving past her grief. She welcomes Jimmy then, as another surrogate family member.

Otto himself appears only briefly, despite being so important to the overall plot. He is played by the wonderful William Boyett, who is most well-known for his assortment of upright policemen characters.

There is only one area where this episode falls a bit short, and that is where Mr. Burger is concerned. Unless something else involving him was cut, he appears only in the one courtroom scene, for a short period of time. Considering that Andy is his friend, as Tragg also is, I would have thought he might be seen a bit more. I would have loved a behind-the-scenes scene depicting him talking with Andy, perhaps concerning how the hearing would be handled. Or he could have been in the climax, when they caught the real crook. The writers were so busy showing how awesome Andy is that they ended up skimping on Hamilton’s screentime.

It’s no secret that Hamilton is my favorite character. I’ll freely admit that I even have a little crush on him. Ordinarily I would complain much more about his lack of screentime. But this episode is just so amazing that I’ll let it slide this time. I know it’s difficult to spotlight every character in a story, especially if one particular one is supposed to be the star. Someone will end up not having as much screentime in favor of fitting in everything that really needs to be shown.

I wish Jimmy and Mama Norden would have turned up in other episodes, or had at least been mentioned again. I have a great love for oneshot characters, particularly ones who are very close to characters in the main cast. The reason is likely because they help to further develop the main characters and round out their personalities and who they are. I’m planning a post devoted to The Fatal Fetish and the Germaines in the future.

Otto’s friendship with Andy is going to come into play in my current Perry mystery, The Case of the Macabre Mansion. Andy is a bit haunted by the resemblance Paul’s operative Pete Kelton bears to Otto. Later on, Otto himself will play a critical role in a scene towards the end. But I won’t say more on that subject.

Overall, Andy had already moved up on my list of favorite characters. The Hateful Hero pushed him all the way to the top, so much so that I believe he may be in my top three tier, along with Hamilton and Perry. And as I write for Andy in The Macabre Mansion, The Hateful Hero has helped me with his characterization more than any other episode. He has a close friendship with Tragg. His usual seriousness can be broken by moments of mischievous levity. And he is devoted to justice and doing what he must to uncover the truth, even if it is something he does not personally want to do.

I always find it interesting how I usually am very lukewarm towards any replacement characters, but then eventually they work their way deeply into my heart. Andy is certainly not an exception. And the episode they wrote to spotlight him is nearly perfect.