Whistling Past the Graveyard with Kolchak

My memories of this series, starring Darren McGavin as Chicago newspaper reporter Carl Kolchak, are spotty but intense. So let’s skip straight to them by examining each of the entries in the series, starting with a quick background.

The series grew out of two TV movies written by the masterful Richard Matheson. The first Movie-of-the-Week, The Night Stalker, was based on a novel by Jeff Rice, The Kolchak Papers. (The novel was re-released under the title Kolchak: The Night Stalker to tie in to the movie.) Produced by Dan Curtis (creator of Dark Shadows) and directed by John Llewellyn Moxey, it had Carol Lynley (one of the survivors of The Poseidon Adventure) as Kolchak’s love interest, and Simon Oakland as his irritable editor, and Barry Atwater as Janos Skorzeny, a vampire loose in Las Vegas. Some of the other names on the bill included Claude Akins, Elisha Cook Jr., and Larry Linville.

According to Internet sources, The Night Stalker was the highest-rated TV movie of the year (it aired Jan. 11, 1972), and Matheson won the Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America in 1973 for Best TV Feature or Miniseries Teleplay. Theme music composer Gil Mellé also scored The Questor Tapes (and you can hear similar themes there).

I first saw the original movie on its initial broadcast, watching it on a small black-and-white TV in my Uncle Joe’s room at the Massey home until it got to be too spooky, and I moved to the family room for the last act, where I could safely stand in the kitchen door to keep an eye on the set. I was 7, and already had been traumatized by watching the original Bela Lugosi Dracula on an afternoon broadcast when I was 6; that viewing made me wander the halls of our house at night, afraid the vampire was inside (I know, it was stupid for a kid to guard his home against Dracula, but did you notice the use of the word “traumatized”?).

This time, I was carrying fear of Skorzeny around when we moved into a new house and my Uncle Joe thought it would be hilarious to make noises outside my window the night we moved in; I looked out, and he jumped up to scare me, and I ran screaming down the hallway to where the adults were in the living room. I seem to recall Joe (who was about 14 years old) getting a sound spanking as a result.

Matheson also wrote the sequel telefilm, The Night Strangler, which broadcast a year later, Jan. 16, 1973. (This time, Rice wrote a novelization of the Matheson script.) This was the tale of a serial murderer in Seattle who drained the blood of his victims to feed his immortality. The cast included Jo Ann Pflug as Kolchak’s new love interest, and Simon Oakland as his still long-suffering editor. Others in the cast included Richard Anderson (known for The Six-Million Dollar Man), Wally Cox, Margaret (Wicked Witch of the West) Hamilton, John Carradine, and Al (Grandpa Munster) Lewis.

I remember watching this one from behind the kitchen counter at my Aunt Dot and Uncle Edgar Croley’s house. (Apparently, "comfort food" means something different to me than most people.) Again, the adults were in the living room, or possibly at the dining room table playing cards. I wasn’t as terrified by this one, and the idea of Kolchak discovering clues that exposed the immortal’s long life (like photos of him from different time periods) was chilling and compelling. (Too bad it has been overdone in genre films and movies since then.)

(Many years later, I had the weird experience one night in my teens of watching TV when Star Trek was being shown in a late time slot, followed by a scary movie — and first, the local station showed a news program looking at the “known facts” of the Ripper murders; the Star Trek episode that night was “Wolf in the Fold,” about a non-physical entity called “Redjac” that was responsible for the Ripper murders; followed by The Night Strangler. The news program mentioned other, later killings that were similar to those attributed to Jack the Ripper; Trek listed “Redjac” killings at various times throughout history; and then Strangler played with the same “periodic resurgence of murder” concept. I have often wondered if anyone else noticed the same synchronicity that night.)

At any rate, ABC recognized a hit, and rather than order up another TV movie (apparently Matheson and William F. Nolan (co-creator of the original Logan’s Run novel) had already written a script for The Night Killers, which would have pit Kolchak against androids), the network ordered a series.

Here’s a personal episode guide:

The Ripper — Director Allen Baron, writer Rudolph Borchert; aired Sept. 13, 1974. Another serial killer, this time actually Jack the Ripper.

The Zombie — Director Alex Grasshoff, writers Zekial Marko and David Chase (who would later create the HBO series The Sopranos); aired Sept. 20, 1974. A woman turns her grandson into a voodoo-style zombie slave.

They Have Been, They Are, They Will Be... — Director Allen Baron, writer Rudolph Borchert (story by Dennis Clark); aired Sept. 27, 1974. In what ABC beancounters must have seen as a brilliant move, no makeup effects are needed after a UFO lands and an invisible alien attacks, draining the bone marrow of victims. (I was 10 and knew they were getting off easy. It’s one thing to “hide” a monster in the dark, and another thing altogether to make “invisibility” frightening. They failed.) Unlike every other episode, which finds our hero somehow foiling the monster, Kolchak fails and the alien returns to the stars.

The Vampire — Director Don Weis, writer David Chase (story by Bill Stratton); aired         October 4, 1974. Kolchak discovers that one of Skorzeny’s victims survived as a vampire; she has made the mistake of moving to L.A., where he gets on her trail. I recall this one being as creepy in many ways as the original telefilm.

(After this episode aired, the series, originally titled “The Night Stalker,” went on a hiatus, and when it returned, it had a new title, “Kolchak: The Night Stalker.”)

The Werewolf — Director Allen Baron, writers David Chase and Paul Playdon; aired Nov. 1, 1974. Kolchak goes on a sea cruise and discovers a werewolf killing passengers under the pretty moon. Watched this at the Massey house, which means it was at least memorable, but even as a 10-year-old I knew it was a goofy premise. Caught it on a rerun at home on my old black-and-white TV.

Firefall — Director Don Weis, writer Bill S. Ballinger; aired Nov. 8, 1974. Not too sure I even remember this one. I know I watched it, but it left no impression. It involved a ghost who tries to possess a conductor’s body.

The Devil’s Platform — Director Allen Baron, writer Donn Mullally, story by Tim Maschler; aired Nov. 15, 1974. This one gave me chills for a different reason. Yes, I have always been scared silly by stories about Satan or demons, but this one introduced me to the idea that politicians and authority figures might have an evil agenda; it’s a lesson I’ve learned over and over again in adult life.

Bad Medicine — Director Alex Grasshoff, writers L. Ford Neale and John Huff; aired Nov. 29, 1974. A Native American shaman spirit is committing murders to settle a debt so his spirit can move on. Looking back, it was a precursor for other Indian-legend scares, like The Manitou, and it stoked my interest in Native American beliefs.

The Spanish Moss Murders — Director Gordon Hessler, writers Al Friedman and David Chase, story by Friedman; aired Dec. 6, 1974. I remember this as the “Swamp Thing” episode, as I had read Uncle Joe's few issues of the early Swamp Thing comic by Len Wein and Berni Wrightson, and the moss-encrusted creature birthed from nightmares in this episode seemed to originate from the same region of our collective unconscious.

The Energy Eater — Director Alex Grasshoff, writers Arthur Rowe and Rudolph Bochert, story by Rowe; aired Dec. 13, 1974. Another Native American legend comes to life after a hospital is constructed on land that originally belonged to a tribe. I remember watching this one on a TV in our family room in the “new” house, the one my parents built when I was in second grade (the same one where Uncle Joe scared me).

Horror In The Heights — Director Michael T. Caffey, writer Jimmy Sangster; aired Dec. 20, 1974. I don’t think I understood what this one was about at the time, as it involved a Jewish community being attacked by a Hindu demon and somehow also worked in the swastika (which is a Hindu symbol meant to invite the goddess Lakshmi to visit a home during festival time). A bit confusing for a 10-year-old watching this in the family room.

Mr. R.I.N.G. — Director Gene Levitt, writers L. Ford Neale and John Huff; aired Jan. 10, 1975. The anti-Questor kills whoever it feels threatened by. Kind of a straight-up story, much easier for me to digest. Still didn’t stop me from wanting to be an android.

Primal Scream — Director Robert Scheerer, writers Bill S. Ballinger and David Chase; aired Jan. 17, 1975. Cells discovered in the arctic ice result in deformed homicidal hominids. In my brain, it exists as a precursor to “A Cold Night’s Death,” a 1977 TV movie starring Robert Culp, and even the recent Syfy series Helix.

The Trevi Collection — Director Don Weis, writer Rudolph Borchert; aired Jan. 24, 1975. High fashion meets witchcraft in another tale I have little memory of.

Chopper — Director Bruce Kessler, writers Steve Fisher and David Chase, from a story by Robert Zemeckis & Bob Gale (the first professional writing credit for the guys who created Back to the Future); aired Jan. 31, 1975. The Headless Horseman legend becomes a story of a headless motorcyclist bent on vengeance.

Demon In Lace — Director Don Weis, writers Stephen Lord, Michael Kozoll and David Chase, from a story by Lord; aired Feb. 7, 1975. A Sumerian succubus stays young by murdering young men; a story that never gets old, as it has cropped up innumerable times over the years.

Legacy of Terror — Director Don McDougall, writer Arthur Rowe; aired Feb. 14, 1975. Not much of a Valentine's Day episode, this time Kolchak fights an Aztec cult trying to resurrect the mummy of their god.

 The Knightly Murders — Director Vincent McEveety, writers Michael Kozoll and David Chase, story by Paul Magistretti; aired March 7, 1975. The ghost of a knight inhabits its former suit of armor and kills people.

The Youth Killer — Director Don McDougall, writer Rudolph Borchert; aired March 14, 1975. Cathy Lee Crosby (who also starred as Wonder Woman in a contemporary pilot) plays Helen of Troy, who sacrifices victims to Hecate to maintain her eternal youth.

The Sentry — Director Seymour Robbie, writers L. Ford Neale and John Huff; aired March 28, 1975. The Star Trek Gorn is takes the place of the Horta in a reworked version of the classic Trekisode "Devil in the Dark." This time it's a lizard creature that kills men working underground because they've stolen its eggs. I watched this on in my friend Randy's house, on a black-and-white set in his parent's room.

Although its stories seemed derivative, it's interesting to me how many modern series have dipped into Kolchak's well, such as The X-Files, where Darren McGavin played a character that supposedly founded the X-Files division. (McGavin also returned in a digital cameo in the pilot for the remade (and doomed) Night Stalker series in 2005, but that's another story.)

Reviewing a bombastic weekend, ‘super’ pilot

Jerry Dorsey by the rocket's red glare

PANAMA CITY BEACH — It was a low-impact July 4th at our place: We cooked a rack of ribs, grilled burgers, splashed in the neighborhood pool, and watched “Independence Day.” At dark, we carried folding chairs to view the Panama City fireworks from the beach side of St. Andrew Bay, sitting in the dark along the sand at the public access off Delwood Beach Road.

“These chairs are about worn out,” my wife said, and I told her they still had life in them. A minute later, mine collapsed and I hit the sand.

Nearby, a group of sky-watchers played the radio, listening to patriotic music synchronized to the fireworks — until the guy a little further down the beach drowned them out by cranking up his boom box to play country songs. (He also shouted profanity at invisible terrorists, who we were better than because, in his words, “we’re sending rockets into the sky.”)

When the second song began, my son said, “He’s playing the same song again,” but I corrected him: “It just sounds like the same song. Every country hit these days sounds like every other country hit. 

In a second, it’ll turn into just a list of adjectives and nouns, followed by a guitar solo.”

About the time the third song started, my wife’s cell phone chimed in, playing a YouTube video of Englebert Humperdinck singing “What’s Up, Pussycat?” — while we kvetched, she googled. Once again, it’s Debra for the win.

**

Melissa Benoist as Kara Zor-El/Danvers

Speaking of things that fly and cause explosions, I also got a chance to view the upcoming CBS “Supergirl” TV series pilot (premiering Oct. 26), and it’s both exactly what I feared and most of what a comic book fan could ever hope for.

That is, it falls prey to both superhero and romantic-comedy tropes (though it plays with them appropriately, such as the trying-out-costumes montage) and it manages to take its heroine seriously, setting up her battle against a slew of bad guys worthy of her prowess.

The central actor, Melissa Benoist as Kara Zor-El/Danvers, is delightful. At turns goofy and determined, she provides all the emotions needed to ground a crazy concept like this. Unlike the brooding heroes of “Arrow” and “Daredevil,” this young woman seems happy to have powers, and isn’t afraid to use them to help people.

The effects are well done for television (such as a crashing jetliner segment glimpsed in the teaser), and the acting is above par for genre shows. I also appreciate the nods to “Super” history, from characters pulled from the comics to the actors filling cameo roles as Kara’s adoptive human parents. 

I’m looking forward to seeing what the show runners (who are also responsible for the breakout CW hit “The Flash” as well as “Arrow” and the upcoming “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow”) can pull off on a weekly basis. So far, so good.

Up, up and away!

She’s got skin in this game

Nicole Desiree Hays/Game Show Network

One of the contestants on this season of the Game Show Network’s reality competition series “Skin Wars” counts Panama City as her “second home,” and credits Gulf Coast State College’s theater program for encouraging and supporting her love of performance art.

Nicole Desiree Hays, 30, now lives outside of Tampa and runs her own business, CirqueVille Entertainment, which provides everything from simple face-painting for birthday parties to stilt-walking balloon artists, fire-twirlers, human statues, burlesque acrobatics and more.

“It’s kind of hard, and you have to be versatile, for sure,” Nicole said by telephone Wednesday afternoon. “I’m just happy to be able to create and make a living doing what I love to do.”

Nicole, who I met some years ago when she was in theater productions with my son at Gulf Coast, got into body-painting after modeling for local artist Amanda Stiffler. “She showed me everything about body-painting,” Nicole said. “She became a real mentor to me.”

Two years ago, while pursuing her master’s degree in entrepreneurship, Nicole took a class in body-painting, and that teacher recommended her to a producer for “Skin Wars.” The producer talked to her about the show more than a year and a half ago, and Nicole was called to an audition several months later. Of about 25 who auditioned, 10 were brought to Los Angeles for the February 2014 shoot.

“The cast was awesome,” she said. “We took care of each other, really had each other’s backs. Yes, we were in competition, but everybody grew really close.”

The producers wouldn’t let contestants keep art supplies in the shared house, so they couldn’t work on concepts they might try to use on the show. Nicole said the housemates found a unique way of getting around that prohibition.

“Artists draw all the time, no matter what,” she said. “They took away our supplies, so we used condiments in the kitchen to do art on pots and pans.”

“Skin Wars” is hosted by actress and model Rebecca Romijn, who knows something about body-painting from her time portraying the mutant Mystique in the “X-Men” movie franchise. Romijn was also the first model to be body-painted for Sports Illustrated’s annual swimsuit issue.

“I adore her,” Nicole said of Romijn. “She’s the most down-to-earth person, and she complimented my outfit one episode. I couldn’t believe it.”

One of the judges is RuPaul Charles, who shot to fame as a drag performer and also hosts “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” Although the contestants are not allowed to talk with the celebrities at length, Nicole said, RuPaul kept the experience lively with his quick wit and energy.

Nicole couldn’t talk at length about the elimination aspect of the show, which is halfway through the current season, but she bragged on the talents of her castmates. Each episode, the contestants receive a challenge and limited time to complete it, then one is eliminated by a panel of judges. The finale will feature three finalists competing for a cash prize and a career-launching opportunity.

Nicole said her greatest challenge in an episode that has been broadcast was when she was tasked to create a new superhero in only a few hours. The guest judge for the episode was Lynda Carter, who portrayed Wonder Woman in the 1970s TV series.

“I thought I had a really great story behind mine,” Nicole said, as the design incorporated an item that her grandmother gave her, “but they weren’t able to use the backstories. I guess there wasn’t time to tell everyone’s story. I did a full glitter bodysuit, but really shot myself in the foot. That was the first time I was in the bottom three, which was terrifying.”

Originally from Van Buren, Ark., Nicole describes herself as “the black sheep” of her family of conservative dentists and doctors, in part because she chose the Bohemian lifestyle of an artist. She first came to Panama City on a college Spring Break trip and decided to stay.

“I called home and said, ‘Send my stuff,’” she recalled. “I felt like an orphan. But I met so many amazing families, and Gulf Coast was such a great start for me.”

Peace. 

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‘SKIN WARS’

What: Elimination competition between body-painters

When: Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on Game Show Network (repeats throughout the week)

Details: SkinWars.gsntv.com

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This is my Undercurrents column this week for PanamaCity.com and The News Herald.

Man of many roles returns

Tim as a Cylon, circa 1978

PANAMA CITY — I grabbed a lunch break last week with a Cylon warrior, a SWAT team member and a genetically-superior soldier — all one guy, Tim Culbertson, who graduated from Bay County High School in 1963.

He lettered in football, basketball and baseball. But while at the University of Florida, he caught the acting bug as an extra on the set of “The Naked Ape,” which was filming scenes in Gainesville. Over the next several years, he completed his studies, did a two-year Army stint in Vietnam, worked a variety of jobs — and chased his dream of being in movies and TV shows by moving to Hollywood. In 1976, he got his start as an extra in “Two Minute Warning.”

His IMDB.com listing doesn’t tell the whole story of his experiences (many of which, due to the names involved and the activities they got up to, you’ll have to ask him about yourself). But the highlights are there: acting and/or stunts on two “Captain America” telefilms in 1979, “Hart to Hart,” “WKRP in Cincinnati,” “The Love Boat,” “Bob Newhart” and many more. He was in the finale of “Cheers,” and regularly played a Cylon on the 1978-79 “Battlestar Galactica,” an MP on “Baa Baa Blacksheep,” and a SWAT team member on “Hill Street Blues.”

“It’s been fun,” he said. “It’s anybody’s dream: today, you’re a Cylon, tomorrow you’re a cowboy, next week a gangster in 1935. As kids, we played all these kinds of things. Now you can be something different every day.”

On the big screen, Tim appeared as one of Ricardo Montalban’s henchmen in “Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan,” and can be seen holding actor Paul Winfield prisoner while “Khan” places a mind-controlling alien worm inside Winfield’s space helmet. He points out that Montalban, in his early 60s when the movie was made, was all muscle.

“He worked out and worked out,” Tim said. Pointing at a photo of him and Montalban in their movie costumes, he added, “That was all him. He was one solid guy.”

Culbertson also worked on “An Eye for an Eye,” “To Live and Die in L.A.,” “The Man Who Loved Women,” “Cheech and Chong's Next Movie” and “Cannery Row.” He was a Roman soldier in “History of the World Part 1” and claims Madeline Khan was pointing at him when she hit her high note (“Yesss!”) while choosing escorts.

“I’ve become friends with a variety of people with big names over the years,” he said, mentioning Henry Winkler and Tom Hanks as two of the “nicest, most genuine guys in the world.” He also praised Cindy Williams and James Garner, but he was careful not to resort to name-dropping. He had photos with nearly every one of these people while on sets.

As a background actor, much of his work went uncredited, but you’ll recognize his face from role to role — at least, whenever he’s not wearing a mask or body-doubling for other actors. For instance: “I was the real father of (Chicken George) on ‘Roots,’” he revealed, as he doubled for Chuck Connors in a violent scene Connors was reluctant to play.

Tim also appeared in numerous TV and print ads for products like Salem cigarettes, Schlitz beer and more. He joked with Tom Selleck that there would have been no “Magnum, P.I.” if Salem hadn’t let Selleck go and hired him.

Tim’s adventures have taken him across the globe, with stories of fishing the Aleutian Islands, attempting a climb of Mount Everest, searching for gold in the Amazon, and paragliding off Tabletop Mountain in New York State. But his life has been hard on his body, also: He jokes that, while he did stunts on “The Six Million Dollar Man,” he’s been rebuilt more times than Lee Majors’ character and must be worth $10 million by now.

Tim Culbertson, April 2014

Accompanied by his cat, Miss April, Tim is in the area to look at real estate, both for a home and for investment. He’s also looking up old friends and revisiting old haunts, remarking that the older he gets, the more important those ties become.

“I’m always thinking about getting a couple of Cubans at Tally-Ho,” he said, even as he finished a sandwich at the Captain’s Table. “I have never not stopped by — got to get my Tally-Ho fix.”

He’s also looking for a way to contribute locally by supporting area charities, as he has in years past with celebrity golf events: “You try to give back, to find a way to make some money to help people who don’t have the means. … I’m a Christian person, and I believe what I’ve been doing — especially in the last ten years — is more or less God-directed,” he said.

Peace.

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(This is my Undercurrents column for PanamaCity.com and The News Herald this week.)

In defense of zombies

Me, Zombified

Zombies scare me.

I don't know why, exactly. Maybe it's the idea that they are us, just with our morals switched off and our hunger turned to 11.

Maybe it's the idea that they can't be reasoned with (insert your favorite political joke here), or that they never tire, they never stop, and it seems like they come out of nowhere by the multitudes.

Maybe it's the overwhelming dread of a worldwide plague turning the planet into a dead zone where the slightest noise or a change in the direction the breeze blows can mean death.

I seldom have nightmares about zombies. I generally recall my dreams in detail, and my really bad dreams are usually about demons. (Don't even get me started.)

Then one night I dreamed that I was a zombie. I "woke up" in the middle of a feeding frenzy, at first frightened and confused by the walking corpses all around me and the prey they were devouring, and suddenly a weird calm came over me.

My new e-book of short stories

I realized what I was and why the horde wasn't trying to attack me. I was just like them. And I realized that was okay with me (in this dream, at least) — knowing what I was, I could deal with that. (I've tried to decipher the psychological implications of this dream. In fact, I'm writing a book to deal with them.)

But see:  There was a sense of personal freedom that set in once I realized that my continued existence had been made so simple. There were no worries, because the worst had already happened. All I had to do was feed myself, and the rest of the world could go to hell.

Like I said, I'm working this out: That's where the opening scene of my new novel takes place — as an undead man "awakens" (becomes self-aware) in the middle of an afternoon snack he's sharing with another undead man. (You can read this opening scene in my new ebook, "Tales of the Awakening Dead," only 99 cents on Kindle!)

I spent last year's NaNoWriMo exploring what happens next — a simple thing, as the man recognizes that the food stocks are being depleted while the number of predators rises. That won't do, of course, so he has to find a way to reduce the feeders and fatten the prey and ensure a steady supply of "This Mortal Flesh."

The trailer video for Tales of the Awakening Dead

As I wrote in the introduction to 'Tales of the Awakening Dead,' there's some cultural backlash already rising that indicates people think the zombie apocalypse is played out as a source for storytelling. That's being floated out there at a time when "The Walking Dead" is a hit comic book and a super-hit TV series. (It returns for its fourth season Sunday, and AMC is now developing a spin-off series to fill the seasonal hiatus next summer.)

The Walking Dead Season Four Trailer

So obviously, there are still plenty of stories to tell.

Myself, I write about zombies for a variety of reasons beyond my own desire to understand my dreamstates. One, they make excellent metaphors for just about any massive, mindless groupthink you want to apply. Two, you can set up different rules for how the creatures multiply and how they operate (can they speak? do they run or shamble? does only a bite spread infection?). Three, exploring how your human characters relate to one another and the zombies in such an environment reveals so many things about the human condition.

But an added bonus, and probably most importantly: You can tell any story in this framework. When it comes to human relationships, action/adventure, or even buddy cop stories, zombies are like bacon — they can make any story better.

Don't believe me? Next time you're writing and you hit a wall, and you don't know what happens next, have a zombie come through the window. Instant writer's block solvent.

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Thoughts? Refutations? Please comment!

Flashback Friday: Success in 60 Minutes

(Once upon a time, specifically Aug. 8, 1994, The News Herald published this profile of longtime Bay County resident John Hamlin, who traveled the world as a producer for CBS 60 Minutes. We had a nice interview at a downtown restaurant, and afterward John asked me to delay running the article for a while because of personal reasons; an editor ran it anyway, about a week earlier than John had asked. He called to thank me for publishing it early, as shortly after that his mother had died, and if the story had been held any longer, she wouldn't have seen it. She was rightfully very proud of him, and he was glad she had seen the article and knew her friends and family would see it too. He joined CMT in 2007, where he serves as Senior Vice President for Music Events and Talent.)

Success in 60 Minutes

Former Bay resident credits luck, timing and more in becoming producer for TV's top news magazine

John Hamlin, CMTPress.com

John Hamlin grew up in Bay County and visits his family here twice a year.

That is, when he's not chasing Mexican guerrillas in the high jungles, chatting with Mick Jagger about the 1994 Rolling Stones tour, or setting up a prison interview with Mike Tyson for his boss, Ed Bradley of CBS-TV's 60 Minutes.

Hamlin, 33, talked about his on-the-job adventures during a recent trip home. His parents are retired U.S. Air Force Col. Ralph E. and Mary Bruce Hamlin of Callaway.

Hamlin is one of five producers on Bradley's news team, each of whom is challenged to create five quality stories each season. Last year, he got interviews for Bradley with an ex-undercover agent for the DEA, a retired U.S. army colonel who became Commander-in-Chief of the Estonia military, "parachute" lawyers who specialize in disaster lawsuits, and a Mexican rebel leader.

This year, he's putting together stories on international arms deals, the effects of Agent Orange in Vietnam and a "secret" story he can't discuss yet.

Hamlin considers the Mexico piece on Subcomandante Marcos his personal "coup," having made two excursions into the jungle to secure Bradley the interview. After arriving at the appointed meeting place — about four hours' drive into the jungle — the crew was told Marcos could not do the interview.

That night, as Bradley slept in the jeep and the crew slept around a camp fire, armed guerrillas in ski masks and bandoleras surrounded them. They were rousted out and hustled into an abandoned school building. Minutes later, Marcos appeared, finally ready to talk.

"His English isn't the best, and he said, 'Good night. I am Subcommandante Marcos.' We offered him something to drink and he said, 'You have Boodweiser?'"

Hamlin said the interview that resulted will be re-run in mid-August, just in time for the Mexican elections.

LUCKY BREAKS?

Hamlin's family first came to Bay County when his father was stationed at Tyndall Air Force Base during John's sixth-grade year. They returned to settle in Callaway when his father retired. He attended Rutherford High School and Gulf Coast Community College, where he was a DJ on WKGC.

"I was a really terrible disc jockey, but it was fun, and I figured out I could interview people," Hamlin said. "I would talk to bands when they came into town and run the interviews during my show."

One of his real talents was shooting stills of rock bands, Hamlin said. A photo of his appeared on a Journey album cover and he had a small article published in Rolling Stone. "But I was a better photographer than writer," he said.

After getting his degree in journalism from the University of South Florida, Hamlin began looking for jobs in TV news all over the Southeast.

"Charlie Wooten at KGC told me Channel 7 had better equipment and Channel 13 had better people. I chose the people, but the equipment (was bad). We literally used Band-Aids to keep things together," Hamlin said. "Of course, it isn't like that now."

He shot, wrote and edited two reports a day for three years, motivated by two factors: "beat Channel 7 and do good work so I could move on to a network."

"My only dilemma now is figuring out a way to get 60 Minutes to let me have a Panama City Beach bureau. Panama City is a great place to work and live, but I couldn't be an anchor; I looked young, I didn't have good delivery. So I couldn't make a good living on the air."

A stint at ESPN followed, including a job as Bureau Chief of the Los Angeles office, during which he won an Emmy for feature production. Then CBS Sports hired him to produce feature segments and studio shows for the French Olympics in 1990. During the hiatus between Olympics, he convinced his superiors to let him work on Bradley's Street Stories.

"I had helped design the coverage of boxing on ESPN, so I had great boxing contacts and I knew Tyson," Hamlin said. "I convinced him and his lawyer to let us to a full hour on Street Stories."

Street Stories ended shortly thereafter and Hamlin returned to the sports division. With 18 months still to go before Olympics work geared back up, he produced packages for NFL Today, which won him another Emmy.

When he discovered Bradley had an opening on his 60 Minutes staff, Hamlin applied. Certain he would not be hired, he rehearsed his gracious thanks for even being considered. Instead, Bradley called and asked him when he could start. He was working a week later.

"Clearly, the jumps from here to ESPN to CBS Sports to 60 Minutes are huge jumps, and luck and timing played a part," Hamlin said. "Luck and timing might get you the job, but won't keep you the job."

BEHIND THE SCENES

Because Hamlin was hired halfway through the production season, Bradley told him to start working on shows for the following year. Many producers will set up profiles of movie stars to have stories "in the can" whenever the stars release a new movie or come back into the news.

Unlike a movie producer, whose job is to secure funding for the production, a news producer acts as a reporter. He or she makes the contacts, does the research, writes the questions and works in the post-production phase. Bradley's job in the equation is to ask the questions on-air, rewrite some of the narration and questions, and use his charisma to capture the audience.

"The hardest part of the job is coming up with stories," Hamlin said. "That's why I hated being an assignment manager. They say you're only as good as your last story, but I think you're only as good as your next one."

Hamlin said the staff members of 60 Minutes are highly competitive with one another, but also very supportive. That doesn't mean they cover for each other, though.

"There's not much baby-sitting with new people. They didn't become the top show on television by hand-holding. There's a level of quality that's required, and a lot of self-inflicted pressure," Hamlin said. "I don't think anyone denies we all want the show to succeed, and that means being proud of the work other people do. But make no mistake, everyone wants to get the great stories."

Despite the current glut of news-magazine shows on TV, Hamlin said 60 Minutes remains the legend of the genre.

"There's no secret why it's the Number One show on TV. These people are master storytellers," Hamlin said. "The strength of what we do is in the writing and the storytelling, not fancy special effects."

For now, Hamlin and his wife, the former Angela Wiggins of Panama City, are enjoying a few days of relaxation. Hamlin said one of his favorite things to do when in town is, "sitting on the back deck at Schooners drinking a beer. Does it get any better than that? It reminds me why I keep coming back here."

Flashback Friday: Speaking with Sarek

(Once upon a time, I had a phone interview with Mark Lenard, the gentleman who played (among many other sci-fi roles) Sarek on the classic Star Trek series and films. He was soft-spoken and self-deprecating, and generous. He sent me three autographed photos (unasked) after the talk. This article appeared on Page 6B of The News Herald on Saturday, Feb. 28, 1995. Lenard died at age 72 on Nov. 22, 1996 of multiple myeloma.)

'Spock's father' energizes Trek-o-Rama

MarkLenard.com

For years, he served the Vulcan race as ambassador to the United Federation of Planets — and served more patriarchal duties as father to Star Trek's beloved Mr. Spock.

Now Ambassador Sarek makes his first official visit to Panama City as Mark Lenard, the actor who first brought Sarek to life more than 25 years ago, headlines today's Trek-O-Rama science fiction convention at the Marina Civic Center.

"Star Trek has been a big part of my life, off and on, ever since," Lenard said in a telephone interview from his New York home. "I can never really get away from it, and I'm always going to conventions and talking about it."

More mundane TV watchers will recognize Lenard's distinctive voice from advertisements for Saab, Maxwell House Coffee, Scope, BP Oil, CNN Crossfire and others. He has appeared in dozens of movies and TV series including The Greatest Story Ever Told, Annie Hall, Gunsmoke, and Planet of the Apes.

Lenard also applied his voice to the reading of Sarek and Federation, two best-selling Trek novels, for recent book-on-tape productions.

"Plus, I teach a class and I'm directing and playing in a film version of an opera — people will be pleased to hear it's a non-singing role," Lenard said. "And I'm writing, so I'm very busy now."

One of his major activities is a touring production of The Boys in Autumn, which guest stars Walter Koenig, another Trek alumnus.

Lenard as Sarek in 'Next Generation'

"We play Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn at middle age. Walter plays Tom and I play Huck," Lenard said. "It has great humor. They're two old curmudgeons, and it's quite moving. We've had good reception and we've been at it long enough to get very good at it."

Lenard said there were no plans to have him appear on the current incarnations of Star Trek, although he played Sarek and other alien characters in the original series, the cartoon spinoff, the movies and Next Generation.

The character of Sarek died in the latter series, in a scene in which he was suffering from a brain disease similar to Alzheimer's, in which his mind focuses on memories and unleashes the pent up emotions of a lifetime.

"I enjoyed it, although there was just the one scene," Lenard said. "But it was a little like King Lear, and I played it that way."

In his very first television work after moving to Hollywood, Lenard was cast as the Romulan commander in the classic Trek episode, Balance of Terror, a space adventure fashioned on a submarine warfare plotline. That work led to his casting as Sarek in the episode Journey to Babel, where his performance turned a one-shot character into a fan favorite.

Lenard as Sarek in 'Journey to Babel'

Lenard has definite feelings on the running "which Trek was best" question.

"I recently saw one of the old shows and it's far superior to the others, much more fun," he said. "It was the one about Apollo, and it had a few wrinkles in it that were not the best. But it was a great character show. That's what they did the best."

Lenard has never been a real fan of science fiction, except when it shifted focus from hardware and special effects to character development and emotion. And he never watched Star Trek until he started being invited to science fiction conventions.

"I started watching the show out of self-preservation, because people were asking me all these questions about it," he said.

But Lenard said he was pleased with his Star Trek affiliation.

"It's part of our culture now, and our language," he said. "It's an honest show. It stands for good things. And the theme, 'Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations' is just as applicable today."

Flashback Friday: Gigi Edgley Gives Back

(Once upon a time I got to sit down with actress Gigi Edgley in a semi-quiet corner of the Bay Point Mariott (now Wyndham) conference center. The former star of Farscape was in town as part of a sci-fi convention. She was lovely and charming and sweet, and genuinely enjoyed being there and meeting fans. (Unlike a couple of others who were there to make money by autographing stuff.) I got photos of her chatting with my friends Jayson Kretzer and Mattie Jankowski in the artists' room. (Though I couldn't locate those shots for this post.) Anyway, this interview ran in the News Herald's weekly Entertainer tab on June 12, 2008, the weekend following the event.)

Gigi Edgley Gives Back

Photo by Andrew Wardlow/The News Herald

Gigi Edgley thinks she may be on the verge of creating her own multimedia entertainment empire -- if she doesn't lose track of herself in the process.

"It's just been stunning, the adventures of the last sort of two or three months," she said. "I woke up this morning like, 'Where am I now?'"

The Australian actress, best known for her role as "Chiana" on the long-running Sci Fi Channel series Farscape, was in Panama City Beach recently. She was a featured guest at the "Wrath of Con" science fiction convention held at Marriott's Bay Point Resort.

Fans have kept Farscape alive since it went off the air in 2002. Their support helped revive it for a mini-series in 2005, and it is now advertised to return to SciFi.com later this year in the form of 10 all-new webisodes produced by the Jim Henson Co. (2013 edit: This web series never came to be.)

"I wanted to give something back," Edgley said, explaining why she attends these "cons" all over the world.

Edgley as 'Chiana'

Throughout the three-day Wrath of Con, Edgley mingled with fans in the vendor room, talked with artists, signed autographs, traded friendly barbs with fellow guests, and hit the dance floor during after-hours parties. One afternoon, she sat still for an interview in the lobby of the convention center, laughed easily, and showed off samples of her work.

She's now based in Los Angeles, but in recent weeks she has opened a film (Newcastle) at the Tribeca festival in New York; visited Biloxi, Miss., and Seattle, Wash., for more sci-fi conventions; shot a new movie in Louisiana; and made a stopover to see her family Down Under.

In the meantime, she has also been working on an album (the EP So it Seems is now available), written a comic book (Blue Shift) and a graphic novel (Nobody Knows), and filmed vignettes based on the comic -- using her EP as background music for the short films.

This kind of frantic juggling is second nature to Edgley: Her list of skills includes dance, singing, martial arts, trapeze and fire twirling.

"It's been amazing," she said. "It's been really good to learn how to put my writer's cap on and following my passion into directing and producing and creating projects that, really, I'm very passionate about.  It's been very exciting."

(The rest of the interview is here, in this video:)

Flashback Friday: Conversation with 'Tasha Yar'

(Once upon a time, I did a telephone interview with Denise Crosby, best known to geeks as Tasha Yar, the ill-fated security chief in the first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation. She was coming to Panama City for one of the small conventions we had here in the 1990s, but she had a health issue and had to cancel. The following article, which ran with an info box with all the convention details, appeared on the Entertainment pages in the back of the B section of The News Herald on Saturday, Feb. 10, 1996.)

'Trek's' Tasha Yar to appear at Bay Point convention

From TrekDoc.com

In science fiction, dead is not dead. Just ask Denise Crosby, who originated the role of Security Chief Tasha Yar on Star Trek: The Next Generation.

When Crosby wanted out of the popular show, Executive Producer Gene Roddenberry decided to do something that had never been done to a Star Trek officer before.

(Sure, the guys in the red shirts always got zapped. Security has alweays been a dangerous job on Trek. But a headlining star?)

"It would be absolutely shocking and dramatic," Crosby said during a telephone interview from her California home last week. "And we agreed upon that."

Roddenberry assured her that "Dead is dead. There's no coming back." But the creator of the Star Trek franchise -- at that time still the master of his characters' fates -- was proven wrong.

"It's amazing. By doing that, I sort of rose to a cult status," Crosby said. "I was the great enigma of the show in that I chose to leave."

Crosby said she was fortunate to have known and worked with Roddenberry, whose imaginative creation has fallen into other hands since his death. And while she respects the people involved in recent Trek efforts, she feels the legacy has lost something without its creator's guidance.

"This was Gene's. It was more than just somebody sitting in an office and designing a TV show," she said. "This was a man's point of view, a philosophy. He has something to say, and that's what people are responding to. It's a very definitive philosophy about science fiction, about the future and mankind."

After leaving Trek, Crosby more than kept busy. She costarred in the Stephen King movie Pet Sematery, starred with Fisher Stevens in Fox TV's Key West as Mayor Chancy Caldwell, and began a continuing role on ABC's Lois and Clark.

She also appeared in several more movies and TV shows, including 48 Hours, Desert Hearts, The Red Shoes Diary, and The Flash. She recently returned to the stage in the award-winning Last Summer at Bluefish Cove, and reteamed with director Mary Lambert on a Fox TV pilot called Love is Strange, in which she plays a ghost.

From MemoryAlpha.com

But as busy as her post-Trek life became, the specter of Tasha Yar continued to haunt her.

Two years after Yar's "death," the new Trek producer, Rick Berman, called her with a proposition: a time travel episode would revive Yar only to send her to another dramatic and heroic death.

"For me, Yesterday's Enterprise was so much fun to do," she said. "It was my first time to see everyone again. I could see where the tension was, where things had developed, people had grown into their parts. It also gave me a chance to work with Whoopie (Goldberg, who had taken the recurring part of the ageless bartender Guinan shortly after Yar's untimely departure)."

The show left Yar vanishing into a vortex, destined to die along with the crew of a time-lost Enterprise in battle with Romulans. But, as Crosby describes it, the ending created a new opening for her return:

"My idea was that, because of Yesterday's Enterprise, Tasha went back into history. What if she was pregnant? The Romulans captured her, kept her alive and raised the child to study it or have it as a hostage? What are the ramifications of a human child growing up with the enemy?"

So she boldly called the producers, asked for a story meeting and pitched the idea like any TV writer would.
"A couple of months later, they went with it, but they wanted the child to be half-Romulan. I thought I would get through the show without the makeup, the prosthetics," Crosby said.

Thus was born the Romulan Sela -- and the second action figure modeled after Crosby's likeness. All of which put a unique spin on her personal view of her career.

"When I was first in drama school, reading everything, watching every movie, like a sponge absorbing everything, I never thought I'd have an action figure (modeled after me)," she said. "I don't think Meryl Streep has an action figure."

Flashback Friday: 'Hitchhiker' journeys to syndication

From Wikipedia

(Once upon a time, I did a telephone interview with Lewis Chesler, creator of "The Hitchhiker," as the show moved from HBO to syndication (and got edited to a PG version in the process). This story was published in The News Herald on Dec. 6, 1995.)

The darkness is within us all, waiting for the right temptation — the particular provocation — that will allow us to damn ourselves.

The idea that evil is internal — not an external force — is the driving concept behind The Hitchhiker, a cable anthology series that is now available to local channels through the magic of syndication.

According to series creator/executive producer Lewis Chesler, the true nature of evil is best revealed through "conflicts within ourselves."

"With The Hitchhiker, we wanted to bring a level of psychological suspense that had not been present in mainstream television to that point," Chesler said. "The projection of that anxiety, psycho-erotic in a way, made for real engaging stories."

A dramatic, half-hour suspense series reminiscent of Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone, The Hitchhiker thumbed his way to 85 episodes, becoming the longest-running original dramatic series in cable TV history.

Hitchhiker first debuted in 1984 as Home Box Office's first dramatic series. Since then, it has won eight ACE Awards, delivered record-setting ratings for a cable series and paved the way for numerous imitators.

"In the '50s, science fiction was very popular, and people used it as an allegory of fears about communism and so on, manifesting `The Other' as people from outer space," Chesler said.

"I think today we also have anxieties and fears about what is within us, that subverts us," he said. "And as we approach the millennium, more people are realizing that we are more complex than we knew — that life is more ambiguous and paradoxical than we knew."

Using an anthology format to present "morality plays," each episode is introduced by the enigmatic Hitchhiker, played by Page Fletcher. When he appears, strange things follow: tales of greed, jealousy and the supernatural, that end in ironic twists of fate.

"He's a witness, not an avenging angel. He never interacts and he has an omniscience," Chesler said. "We chose the figure of a hitchhiker for two reasons: He represents the allure of freedom, the ability to transgress and break the boundaries, but he also represents danger and the unknown. He has that duality within him in that his behavior is not clear-cut — it's elusive."

The use of top movie and television talents is one of the reasons Hitchhiker has endured while hundreds of other cable-made series have faded to black. A number of major film directors, actors and writers were involved in the series.

Chesler is now working on Strangers, an HBO series he calls "the sequel" to The Hitchhiker. The pilot, shot two years ago in Paris, was directed by Wayne Wang (The Joy Luck Club), and features Linda Fiorentino, Tim Hutton and Joan Chen. The series will debut in January of 1996.

"The stories are about the American encounter with the mysterious `other.' They're like half-hour Last Tangoes in Paris, about Americans who go abroad and are on uncertain ground," Chesler said. "They're kind of dark, erotic, psychologically dense, very European."

Flashback Friday: Garibaldi on the Firing Line

(Once upon a time, I did a telephone interview with Jerry Doyle, who was at that time playing Security Chief Michael Garibaldi on the sydicated sci-fi series Babylon 5. The following originally published in the Sept. 8, 1995 edition of the News Herald.)

Jerry Doyle shares many of the character traits — and flaws — of Security Chief Michael Garibaldi, the role he portrays on the syndicated sci-fi drama Babylon 5.

Both men have high standards, are outspoken and audacious, and both have a murky past. Both men sometimes take a side door to reach their targets, and neither man is above a little scheming if it produces the right results.

"I think a lot of acting is just life experiences, reality brought into a situation and interpreted," Doyle said.

Born and raised in Brooklyn, Doyle received a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautics from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona. His first job was marketing and selling corporate jets in New Jersey, but he never really wanted to leave college.

"I was having too much fun," he said. "It was a surprise when it happened. My wife and I have fond memories of the (Fort) Lauderdale area, and a dream of when we can get this great big ol' sprawling place on the water and just go sailing."

Doyle left a nine-year Wall Street career in 1990 to try his luck in Hollywood. He had endured the October market crash, company problems, daily pressure and what he termed an ambush from 60 Minutes. The place just wasn't fun any more.

"When 60 Minutes walks into your office, you know the day isn't going to go the way you expected," he said.

To get an acting job in L.A., Doyle needed a performance resume. But he had never acted before and "stocks, bonds and hostile takeovers" just wouldn't look good to casting directors. So he fudged a bit on his resume, creating a fictitious credit with the Harlem Dance Theatre.

"I didn't bend the rules — they snapped. I put a lie in there so blatant that I thought people would get the joke. If anybody had ever 'seen' them, there was a real good possibility that I wasn't touring with that group," Doyle said.

"In 4-1/2 years, nobody's ever questioned it," he said. "It's still on there, as my tribute to absurdity."

That side-door route landed him roles on The Bold and the Beautiful, Homefront, Reasonable Doubt, and Duckman.

Then came Babylon 5.

A COP'S LIFE

Garibaldi is a man with flaws. A recovering alcoholic who's lost more jobs than he can recall; who's lost at love more often than not; who's burned all his bridges and has nowhere to turn if things go wrong on B-5.

"We're all trying to overcome our demons," Doyle said. "We may conquer technology, cure diseases, but we're always working on ourselves. It's what the audience hopefully can relate to."

As Garibaldi, Doyle has turned a supporting role into the show's most popular character. A recent three-issue story in the B-5 comics adaptation focused entirely on Garibaldi, as did two recent novels. Doyle has also gained an international fan following, thanks to the show's popularity overseas.

In an integral first-season episode, Garibaldi has a vision of a future battle in which he and the station commander are trying to hold off unseen attackers while civilians evacuate B-5. Garibaldi volunteers to cover the retreat, yelling that this is the moment for which he was born.

"Yeah, a lot of people have said that they know what happens to me in the future," Doyle said. "But they're talking about a spin-off series (if B-5 lasts through its projected five-year mission). I was given the option of wrapping up my storyline or going on to the new show. I'm not going to tell you what I decided."

The role of space cop comes easily to Doyle, whose father was a career police officer in New York (his mother worked at home). His father provided a good life for the family, and put off his own joys for later in life. But he died at 41, having never done the things he dreamed of doing.

"I didn't want that to happen to me," Doyle said.

And yet, foremost in Doyle's thoughts are his family and the future he can provide for them. He said L.A. isn't the kind of place to raise kids, so he wants to "grab as much as I can as fast as I can, punch out and go where the air's nice."

He would like nothing better than to be able to "wear shorts, drink beer and take people fishing," activities he said defines the Florida vacation/retirement lifestyle.

But until then, he won't be waiting for projects to come his way. He's co-written two scripts, is developing a feature film, a TV movie-of-the-week and an old-fashioned Christmas special.

"I would love to be involved in a product that lives on ... something that's timeless, like a Casablanca," he said. "And I'd like to do a pirate movie. I think that would be way cool."
-----
(NOTE: The interview was accompanied by this sidebar that included more comments from Doyle:)
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Babylon 5 Info Guide

The Babylon Project was our last, best hope for peace. It was the dawn of the Third Age of Mankind, the year the Great War came upon us all. The year is 2259. The name of the place is Babylon 5.

Two years before Paramount launched its space station-based Trek spinoff, television veteran J. Michael Straczinsky had tried to sell a network on his vision of just such a series:

--The space station Babylon 5 would be a hotbed of mystery, suspense and intrigue, where humans and aliens would scheme and struggle and join together in unexpected alliances.

--As forces behind the scenes plotted to seize control of the Earth government, a dark presence from a forgotten time would rise to challenge the champions of all things good and just.

--And in the third year of the series, a war of intergalactic proportions would erupt, and humankind would face its darkest hour.

No network nibbled, but Warner Brothers gave the concept a greenlight for first-run syndication.

In the ensuing years, B-5 has opened new frontiers in TV sci-fi. That pivotal third year is now upon us, when the galaxy's "last, best hope for peace" becomes its "last, best hope for victory."

In the meantime, B-5 has garnered an Emmy award for visual effects and Emmy nominations for make-up, hair and cinematography. It was nominated for a Hugo award from the World Science Fiction Association and received The Space Frontier Foundation Award for Best Vision of the Future from the National Association of Space Scientists, Astronauts and Engineers.

Though syndicated in the U.S., B-5 is carried on TV networks in other countries. In Great Britain, for instance, the show has developed a cult following similar to the Star Trek phenomenon.

"It's huge, like the No. 2 or No. 3 show in England, Ireland, France and Italy," said Jerry Doyle, who plays B-5 Security Chief Michael Garibaldi. "I'm going to Bristol in August and Dublin in September (for fan conventions)."

But unlike most television series, Straczynski saw B-5 as a complete story with a definite ending five years after the premiere. Each episode would be like a chapter of a book, each season would be a volume in the continuing story.

The show has also done something few series have accomplished: B-5 lost its hero and most integral character at the close of the first season.

Commander Jeffrey Sinclair (Michael O'Hare) appeared only as a face on a recorded message in season two, although a first-season episode revealed him to be "The One" who, in the future (or the distant past), will lead the forces of light against the Shadows.

The future Sinclair, in fact, was responsible for the mysterious disappearance of B-5's predecessor, Babylon 4 — snatching it out of the past via a time travel device for use as a base of operations against the dark enemy.

"I don't know what they're going to do with that character. We just try to play the beats as they're written out," Doyle said. "There's a strong possibility that (Sinclair) will resurface this season -- but whether it will be to start a new storyline, to finish a storyline, or as another recorded message, I really don't know."

To put it mildly, the show is complex and multi-layered. Characters change over time, literally evolving into new forms and revealing new facets of their personalities. Subplots that seemed minor grow into major plot points.

Psy-Corps telepaths jockey for political control; Home Guard bigots beat up aliens and want Earth out of space; the assassination of the Earth president is covered up; the mysterious Shadows aid a race war as another alien power grooms the new B-5 commander (Bruce Boxleitner) to battle the Shadows; and, behind the scenes, Sinclair gathers a secret army of "Rangers."

The Great War is upon us. And all eyes turn to Babylon 5.

Flashback Friday: Jurasik's Spark

(Once upon a time, I interviewed actor Peter Jurasik about his role on Babylon 5 as the alien ambassador from Centaruri Prime, Londo Molari. He was at times jovial and introspective, but mostly it was apparent he enjoyed his work and the people with whom he worked. This was published Oct. 18, 1996, as B-5 was ending its third season of syndication and Jurasik was already working on Season 4.)

Get past the gravity-defying hair and the thick Bela Lugosi accent, and the essence of Londo Molari, Centauri Prime's ambassador to space station Babylon 5, is really quite human.

On a recent October morning, actor Peter Jurasik — who breathes life into Londo for fans of B-5 — talked with The News Herald from his California home, commenting on the autumnal weather, the evolution of his TV character and an upcoming book release.

As the interview began, Jurasik was interrupted by a phone call from fellow B-5 cast member Bill Mumy (formerly Will Robinson of Lost in Space). Mumy wanted to play a round of racquetball, but Jurasik had tickets to the Dodgers-Braves game.

The exchange brings home the fact that these guys are just regular folks. And yet, for the entertainment of thousands of fans world-wide, they're seen as enemies on a galactic scale, their actions determining the fate of worlds.

Babylon 5 follows the activities aboard a massive space station in the 23rd century, located in deep space where a quarter-million aliens and humans mingle to work out their differences. But earth's government is reeling from civil war, corruption at the highest levels, and the return of an ancient Shadow race that seeks conquest among the stars.

Londo, long considered a washed-up politician in a backwater assignment, has emerged as a major player in the conflict — and on the wrong side.

Jurasik says the role was a perfect fit for his needs as a character actor.

"Initially, when I went in to read for the part, we had a short chat and I asked (B-5 creator Joe Straczinski what he'd like for these people to sound like. He said, 'These guys are from outer space. They can sound any way you want them to.' Which is great for a character actor. Character actors will inevitably put on a wig or an accent or a costume, and I've done all of that."

Jurasik has appeared in numerous TV incarnations over the past 20 years, including a memorable turn as sleazy "Sid the Snitch" on Hill Street Blues. He's also appeared on Dear John, L.A. Law, MASH, Taxi and Dave's World.

Picking up the theme of change, Jurasik says circumstances have either "conspired or inspired" Londo to great personal changes. His drive to restore the lost glory of his homeworld led him to bargain with a shadowy alien race for greater power and influence.

"I hate to go '90s on you, but his priorities have changed. Four years ago, when we first met Londo, he was pretty buffoonish, pretty much a drunk. But there was an underlying bitterness, almost an anger, black and biley. He's always been very concerned about his people. So the change, for me, tracks very well."

If that sounds like the kind of evolution that real people experience, then B-5 has accomplished something few other sci-fi shows attempt: to allow characters to grow. Similar shows generally present self-contained stories that always leave the characters pretty much at status quo. Miss an episode or two and you'll still recognize the characters. Not B-5.

"With Babylon, you will get some satisfaction by watching one episode. We have great special effects, exciting storylines. But the real hook is the big story arc. I think that's what has really grabbed the imagination of English fans, the Dickensian tradition. It's something that's just not emphasized on American television."

Meanwhile, Jurasik has recently completed his first sci-fi novel, Diplomatic Act, (from Simon & Schuster//Baen Books, spring 1997) which takes a sardonic look at Hollywood and contains more than a few veiled references to the set of B-5.

"What do I know more about than that? It's about an actor working on a science fiction show playing a diplomat, who is abducted by aliens because he reminds them of somebody. They are from this `watcher' society, and are intrigued by TV."

Regular B-5 viewers (and alien watchers) will know that Londo has had a vision of his death — and a time travel episode last season reinforced this vision. But Jurasik hints that the future is malleable.

"It's not really a cop-out, but it's the out all the actors use, at least on our show. Joe Straczynski is really The Great Maker, and he indicates to us that these dreams and prophecies are just that — it doesn't necessarily mean they will come true."

Now beginning its fourth season, B-5 was plotted as a five-year storyline. But Jurasik, dangling a bit of intrigue, said his character may not even survive to the series finale.

"I have always taken the line that I think audiences like to have happy endings. I don't know that Joe will subscribe to that, at least in Londo's case. I mean, he's made some heavy mistakes and will have to pay for those. He's in a fight for his people in the fourth season, and he'll have to come to terms with the `deal with the devil' he made. Those things will have to be straightened out."

Flashback Friday: There Can Be Only One

Once upon a time, I got to talk with Adrian Paul, who was at the time filming the second season of Highlander: The Series. A publicist provided me with a mobile number to call at a specific time, and I did, but we were barely past greetings when he told me the phone battery was dying. Then it died. About 10 minutes later, my phone rang; he had located another phone with service in the remote area where they were shooting, and called me back. We kept it short, but I was always impressed by his effort to make the connection. The following ran in The News Herald's Entertainer section on Nov. 19,1993:

From IMDB.com

 TV's 'Highlander: The Series' fights for viewers

"I am Duncan MacLeod of the clan MacLeod. I was born 400 years ago in the Highlands of Scotland. I am immortal, and I am not alone. For centuries we have waited for the time of the Gathering, when the stroke of a sword and the fall of a head will release the power of the Quickening. In the end, there can be only one..."

So begins each episode of Highlander: The Series, a syndicated hour of action, swordplay and immortal magic based on the movies of the same name. On the big screen, Christopher Lambert and Sean Connery played deathless warriors battling for the future of the world.

On the small screen, that responsibility has fallen to Adrian Paul as Duncan MacLeod. A native of London, Paul divides his time between Los Angeles, Vancouver and Paris. Paul won't give his age, but said it is less than 400.

"I traveled Europe for many years, doing choreography, dance, modeling. I did a lot of different things,'" Paul said. "I studied a little bit in England, a little bit in New York, until I decided that Los Angeles was a lot easier being poor in."

Paul was interviewed by cellular phone from the "highlands" of Canada. He was on location at the top of a mountain in Vancouver, filming an episode involving MacLeod's struggle to protect an Indian woman and her baby.

The series goes on production hiatus in December, then moves to Paris for shooting the second half of the season. The show is co-produced by American, Canadian, French and Italian investors.

"It's doing very well in Europe (where the films were also hits)," Paul said. "It's actually on in prime time there on major networks. In the United States it's a syndicated market, therefore it's shown at odd times of the night. Most of the time, when people finally see the show, they say, 'Oh, I didn't know this show existed.'"

THE QUICKENING

Paul previously starred in War of the Worlds, another syndicated action-adventure TV series based loosely on the 1953 movie, and he has guest-starred on shows like Murder She Wrote, Beauty and the Beast, and others.

"On War of the Worlds I was taking over somebody else's part, and that's very hard — to come in and replace somebody who has a certain amount of fans," Paul said. "People are used to a certain format on the show. If you change it drastically, then the changes have to be very good or they can be disastrous.

"In a way, there's a similarity (between the two series) because again I'm taking over a role that's already been pre-formed in peoples' minds. (Fans) have a larger vision of the Highlander from the huge production values and larger effects (of the movies). So coming into this, people really look at me and say, 'Is he the Highlander? Do we really like him?'"

Highlander's power rests on creative editing and camera work, the interweaving of past and present plotlines, the sense of history inherent in the drama, the dark humor and deep emotion balancing the violence, and Paul's obvious comfort in the character.

"I think you have to portray part of your own belief, otherwise you can't portray a character correctly. I think that there is part of Duncan in me," Paul said. "It's hard not to have a part of you in the character if you're doing 44 to 66 shows."

Paul handles a sword like he's actually used one for a few lifetimes. He said his choreography experience helped him in that aspect of the series.

"Also, I started picking up the sword before I did the series. I've had some martial arts training, and I did swordwork with the katana, which is the sword I use (in the series)."

(NOTE: The file I have breaks off here, though the interview continued. I will try to find a hard copy and post the remainder of the interview.)