Let's Take A Closer Look At Chris Owens/Bruce Fairbairn

Singer Jon Bon Jovi had a producer by the name of Bruce Fairbairn. For years, I thought he was also the guy who played Chris Owens on 'The Rookies.' I found out a couple of years ago that they are two different people and the record producer guy has, in fact, passed away. Which brings me to Chris/Bruce. In the summer of 1974 me and my friend Rosemary (the Willie fanatic described in the previous post) learned that Willie was being replaced and the new character's name was Chris Owens. Rosemary was heartbroken and swore that there was no way she was going to like this new guy. I'm actually surprised she didn't stop watching the show altogether. I wasn't as bothered because it wasn't like it was one of the Danko's being replaced. Chris first made his appearance in the Season Three opener 'An Ugly Way to Die.' He was partnered with Terry after he and Terry got off to a bad start earlier in the locker room. Things got worse when Terry found out Chris was going to be moving into the same apartment complex as him and the Danko's. They were never roommates! For the record, did anybody know what Chris' apartment number was? I don't remember ever even seeing the interior of his apartment. Anyway, on the good side: Chris wasn't nearly as naive as Willie. But, he was stiff. I referred to him as 'cardboard cutout guy.' There are only three episodes that he appeared in that I liked and they weren't episodes that were about him. Those episodes are 'Blue Christmas,' 'Someone Who Cares' and 'Journey to Oblivion.' He was wonderful in 'Blue Christmas' constantly complaining about the lack of snow in S.C. As for actor Bruce Fairbairn, the last time I remember seeing him was in a third season (I believe) episode of 'Scarecrow And Mrs. King.' His scene was with Lee Stetson and not Amanda and it lasted all of maybe five minutes. He hasn't been seen sense. Nobody can seem to find out anything about what happened to him after 1985. If anybody has seen him, send me a comment. Tomorrow, I'm going to blog about Jill/Kate, which might be the longest blog I've done so far. Later.

Let's Take A Closer Look At Willie Gillis/Michael Ontkean

It's time to move on through the cast. I thought of combining the blog regarding Willie and Chris, but then decided that wouldn't be fair, since not everybody is a Danko fan, as I am. Michael Ontkean, aka Officer Willie Gillis appeared in Seasons One and Two of the series. I've heard a lot of reasons about why he quit, was fired or was just replaced, but that's not what I'm here to talk about. I'm just here to talk about Willie. When I moved here to San Antonio in the summer of 1973, I had to make a move to a new school, which resembled a prison (I'm not kidding--there were bars all over the place) and make new friends. I started school with one friend, a girl who lived across the street, but in late September, made a new friend. Rosemary commented on a Tuesday morning that her show hadn't been on the night before. I overheard this and we quickly found we had something in common, our love of The Rookies. However, her love was Willie Gillis, whereas mine was Michael, he of the crazy eyes. We argued about this endlessly and finally just agreed to disagree on why she loved Willie and I disliked him. Willie was cute. I have to admit that. I have a scrapbook full of pictures from teen magazines to prove this point. And, yes, I still have this scrapbook 30 odd years later. However, Willie never grew beyond the smalltown mentality that he had come into the show with. The naivete got a little old after a while. None of his episodes are among my favorites. I can't say that with Terry or even with Chris. There are a few of their episodes that I can watch. Willie's just make me uncomfortable. However, I have enjoyed most of his post-Rookies appearances. He was the only reason I tolerated 'Twin Peaks' as long as I did. I love 'Slap Shot' although I do think Michael looks much better with his clothes on. But then, so does Alan Alda. These are two men who should wear shirts and long pants, at all times. 'Voices' is another of my favorite Michael movies. However, not 'Making Love.' I went to the movies and saw this movie when it came out. Not impressed. Anyway, back to Willie episodes. As I said, none of them are among my favorites. I do like a couple of them when he was teamed up with Terry, such as the Season Two opener 'Cauldron.' The scene where Willie asked Terry if he was going to die, could he have his stereo was great. These two partners also had some great arguments such as the couple they had in 'Concrete Valley, Neon Sky.' I don't remember any great scenes with Mike, but he did have one with Jill in 'The Bear That Didn't Get Up.' He worried to Jill about the possibility that he could get her husband killed. Jill, quite simply, wasn't buying it. But, on the other hand, he had what could only be described as an uncomfortable scene in 'A Matter of Justice.' He couldn't quite get it through his head that Jill wasn't in the mood to talk to anybody. It was one of those moments where a person doesn't know what to say, so they'll just say anything. Anyway, I don't mean to Willie bash. I was hoping that I'd change my mind regarding him the way that I did regarding Terry. Sorry, but it didn't happen. If anything, my opinion only got stronger. Anyway, that's my opinion. Please give me yours.

Season One Episodes I Can Live Without

Okay, this is blog two regarding Season One episodes. I know I said I'd do this tomorrow, but it just took me 20 minutes to get AOL to connect, so I'm going to do this while I'm online. This blog deals with the Season One episodes that I could care less if I never saw them again. There aren't that many, but the ones I'm listing are doozies. Once again, I'll highlight the episodes. 1.) The Rabbits On The Runway--I loved the scene by the pool, but I didn't like this episode. Did anybody else notice that the runaway girl's voice sounded like it was dubbed? Also, check out the closing credits. She isn't even listed among the guest stars. To this day, I have no idea who she is. 2.) Tarnished Idol--Sorry, Willie fans, but most of the Season One episodes that I dislike are Willie episodes. I could only put up with so much of him feeling sorry for himself. This is the episode where Willie befriends the crippled boy (played by Radames Pera, aka young Caine from 'Kung Fu') and his family. The boy's brother is killed while behind the wheel of Willie's squad car by a man out for revenge against Willie. I disliked this entire episode. Check out the tag (ending scene). I've been told that Jill appears drunk in this scene. I won't watch the episode, so I can't tell. 3.) Point of Impact--This is an episode featuring an old friend of Terry's who attacks a police officer seemingly without provocation. The episode is boring and makes absolutely no sense. 4.) Three Hours To Kill--This is the Jill episode I was referring to in my previous post. A surgical team--including Jill--is taken hostage by a woman who wants her boyfriend released from prison in return for letting the patient on the operating table live. For a long time I wasn't even sure this was a real episode. I thought I had dreamed it because everybody I mentioned it to couldn't remember it. After rewatching it several years ago, I can understand why nobody remembered it. It was stupid! The only good scene was when Terry infiltrated the OR playing an orderly and warned Jill to 'stand back.' So that's it for my episodes I would never want to be stuck on a desert island with. Those are my opinions. I'd love to hear yours.

Season One Eps I Can't Live Without

Every TV show that starts has a rookie season, as we all know. All of these shows have a few memorable first season eps. To get off-topic for just a moment, my favorite first season episode of any season has been an episode of the original CSI called 'Blooddrops' that features an extremely young Dakota Fanning. This is an excellent first season episode, if anybody cares to check it out. That being said, I'll now get back on topic to The Rookies first season episodes. There will be two blogs. This one will cover the first season episodes that were among my favorites and believe it or not, they're not all Mike/Jill episodes. The episodes will be highlighted since my blog is once again not letting me do paragraphs. The blog can be moody, so I've learned to live with it. The next blog will of course be the episodes that I thought were totally worthless and believe it or not, one of them is a Jill Danko episode. So, here we go with the episodes that were actually worth watching. 1.) Concrete Valley, Neon Sky--While this wasn't actually a favorite of mine, I list it on here because it wasn't awful enough to be included on the next blog. It was the first episode of the first season and it had several great lines in it. 2.) Time Is The Fire--This is the episode where Ryker thinks the victim of a kidnapping might be the daughter he gave up for adoption some 20 years earlier. The scene where he tells Jill about his wife's death and his decision to give up his daughter because 'he was alone' still gets to me to this day. 3.) Dirge For Sunday--A good (not great, however) Mike episode with Roddy McDowell as a kidnapper with an agenda. I always wanted to write a filler about what Mike might've been thinking as he stood there with that explosives belt around his waist. My favorite scene--Jill meeting with Mr. Saul. I wonder what Mike's reaction to that was when he found out. 4.) To Taste of Terror--I've said it before and I'll say it again. This is my all-time favorite episode of the series. Kate Jackson has also said that it's her favorite, as well. It was the first episode of the series that I ever saw and the fear still sticks with me when I watch it, although there are a couple of scenes that just don't add up. For one, if you watch the episode, the whole time line just doesn't add up. My favorite scene (although it's kind of laughable now)--the whole 'Mike, he's following me' scene midway through the episode. 5.) A Very Special Piece of Ground--I love Earl Holliman. I wasn't a fan of 'Policewoman,' but I am a huge fan of his. He had a dinner playhouse here in San Antonio back in the late 70's/early 80's that was popular for several years. This episode was primarily a Mike episode and Sam had several good scenes in it. But, so did Earl. My favorite scene--after the scene at the beginning where Mike took the gun from the unarmed man, back at the precinct Willie and Terry were asking Easy why he just didn't let the drunk kill Mike. Easy's answer was he didn't want to fill out all the paperwork. Mike admitted that 'at least he's honest.' 6.) Crossfire--This was an episode where nobody was really in the spotlight, although Terry and Mike both played bigger parts than Jill or Willie. As a matter of fact, Willie only had a few key scenes in this episode. The guys spent a weekend helping out at a camp for kids. A couple of killers were after one of the kids. This episode featured a young Clint Howard, brother of Ron. My favorite scene--when Mike and Jill were horseback riding with Dennis (Clint Howard) and he wanted to take their picture. Jill wanted to know if her horse was smiling. 7.) The Snow Job--This is probably my favorite non-Mike/Jill episode. Martin Sheen was so young in this episode. He played a man who stole $2 million dollars worth of heroin that Mike, Terry and Willie were supposed to be dumping out at sea. My favorite scene--when Terry called Willie from the phone booth and he was informed that his picture was on the front page of the paper. Asking what he looked like, Willie told him 'like a cop.' 8.) The Wheel of Death--I include this episode for one line and one scene. That's it. I could care less about the rest of the episode, except I did think Mike Farrell was cute. The line--Terry telling Mike (regarding Jill) to 'Follow that woman.' Mike's reply: 'To the ends of the earth.' The scene--when Jill returns home upset and explains to Mike about the little boy having aplastic anemia and without a bone marrow transplant, he's going to die. You can see the helplessness written all over Mike's face as he tries to figure out a way to comfort his wife. 9.) A Farewell Tree From Marley--Until 'Cagney and Lacey' I wasn't a fan of Tyne Daly's. She appeared in one episode each of the four seasons that The Rookies were on the air. There were only two that I liked--this one and a third season episode called 'Cliffy' with Mark Slade. This episode featured Tyne playing a retarded girl named Marley, who witnesses the death of an old man by a rich punk kid. Marley has been receiving an experimental treatment, ala the movie 'Charley' that has raised her intelligence. However, it's soon found that the drug is causing the laboratory mice to die, so the decision is made to halt the treatments, soon causing Marley to revert back to her former mental state, which as Jill tells the guys, is that of a seven-year-old. My favorite scene--when the guys are teasing Mike about standing in a police lineup. Willie comments that with his 'crazy eyes,' he thinks Mike's going to be a goner, for sure. I loved the 'crazy eyes' line and have used it in a few of my stories since then. Anyway, those are my favorite season one episodes. If anybody agrees or disagrees, please comment. I want to hear about it.

What Can I Say About Mike Danko?

I know I haven't posted in a while. My real life has been increasingly crazy. So, to make up for that, I'm going to try to do a couple of posts this week. As I mentioned in a previous blog, The Rookies entered my life when I was 12 years old. It was October of 1972, I was in 7th grade and the episode was 'To Taste of Terror.' Before that episode, the only person I ever wanted to be was Emma Peel from 'The Avengers.' I thought the leather boots were cool and she got to hang out with Steed. But, I was also seven years old. On this particular night in October of 1972, I decided I no longer wanted to be Emma Peel. I wanted to be Jill Danko. Why? Because she was married to the coolest man in the entire world. I fell in love with Mike Danko. Sure, Willie might've been cuter and Terry more hip, but there was just something about Mike that drew me in. I began to pray for what I called 'Mike time' in each episode. I was disappointed in the episodes where he didn't appear at all. Actor Sam Melville had great interaction with every other character on the show, but particularly with Kate Jackson, who played Jill. In the pilot, her character was played by Jennifer Billingsley and she was only in one scene with Sam, which was great because they had no chemistry! However, I do admit that I didn't see the pilot until years after the series had gone off of the air, so I might be a bit prejudiced. Anyway, I'm going off-track. I'm supposed to be talking about Mike. Everybody loved Mike. Lt. Ryker even commented on him in the pilot, giving us a glimpse of things to come. He didn't say anything about Terry or Willie, but he said that Mike looked like he could be 'his kind of guy.' In the pilot, we learned that Mike was an Air Force veteran. He left the service after 10 years to join the police academy. We kind of got the impression from a conversation he had with Terry that he left to save his marriage. This was never alluded to in the series. In the series, the Danko's were tight. Not so much in the pilot. In the pilot, Mike had been a missile silo technician--a scary job. He's the guy who holds the fate of the nation in his hands, in other words, one of the guys with the key. In the early episodes of Season One, he was still a silo technician. Later however, he was a helicopter pilot. As I say when I'm writing fan fiction, continuity error. We don't know how long Mike and Jill had been married, although she says something in 'To Taste of Terror' about being together for four years. This was in the shower scene that was cut when the episode aired on TVLand, although it does show up as a flashback scene in the last episode of the series. It also briefly shows up in 'Nightmare' with Edward Albert. Anyway, back to Mike. It was clear that this was a man who would willingly die for his wife. He almost does this more than a few times. It was also clear that this was a man who was clearly crazy about his wife. It was there in every look and every touch. But, as with Terry, Mike could also show that he was a loyal friend. As the series progressed, you could see that the bond between Terry and Mike was very strong. This was especially evident in the last episode 'Journey to Oblivion.' You could clearly see how the pain of Jill's possible plight was etched in both of their faces. Chris was very much the outsider in this episode and it showed at times (sorry, Chris fans.) Mike was also very tight with his boss and mentor, Lt. Ryker. To me, some of the best scenes were always between Mike and Lt. Ryker. Some humorous, some not so much. Mike was always the one chosen to drive Lt. Ryker around when it was necessary. Probably my favorite Mike episode is 'A Very Special Piece of Ground' with Earl Holliman. I think it's because it has my favorite Mike/Jill scene when he looks up after taking the shotgun away from the man threatening his wife and sees how much his job is affecting his wife, just by the look on Jill's face. It also shows that hero worship is not always a good thing. If this blog were working right, I'd add more, but right now, it's running together, so I think I'll close out. I'll post later regarding some season one episodes that stick out in mind as favorites.