Why I Write Fan Fiction

So, before I start to talk about Season Two, I thought I would blog about a couple of other Rookies related topics. I have enjoyed writing since I was a small child. I remember writing something when I was eight years old regarding the space program. My father was going to school at the time and I remember helping him with the English assignments. English and Language Arts related courses were always what I excelled at in school. My first attempts at writing Rookies stories were awful. My father encouraged my writing, but my mother, did not. In fact, she still thinks it's a waste of time. When I was growing up, after my mother remarried when I was 15, both her and my stepfather considered it a waste of time and paper. I loved it when I moved out on my own and could buy my own paper. I could write as much as I wanted, when I wanted and no one could stop me. Writing allows me to vent in ways I never can verbally. I can take an idea and run with it. Sometimes, those ideas fly and sometimes they don't. Sometimes they fly so well that I say the story takes on a life of its own. That's kind of what's happening with the story I'm working on now, along with my partner in crime. I can come up with a universe of my own and stick with it in subsequent stories. Hence, the creation of Mary Kathryn, Trap, Michelle and Savannah. These people are all based on people that I already know. However, as much as I have tried, I have found that I can't write fan fiction for any other series. I'd love to write fan fiction for shows such as Law and Order: SVU or one of the CSI's, but ideas just won't come. So, I'll stick with my Rookies stories and keep hoping that everybody keeps enjoying them.

Guest Stars From Season One

I'm going to discuss guest stars from Season One who went on to other things. Not necessarily better things, but places where they might be more familiar faces to some of us. Mark Slade--first appeared in the episode 'Dead, Like A Lost Dream,' but also appeared in the episodes 'Code 261' and 'Cliffy.' He might be better known to some viewers as Blue on the TV western 'The High Chaparral.' Margaret Avery--co-starred in the episode 'The Informant.' Better known as Shug Avery in 'The Color Purple' (one of my all-time favorite movies.) 'Lou Gossett (Jr.)--co-starred in 'Covenant With Death.' He won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 1982 for 'An Officer And A Gentlemen.' Roddy McDowall--co-starred in 'Dirge For Sunday.' He was already very well known before this episode as a former child star at MGM, alongside Elizabeth Taylor. He also appeared in 'The Planet of The Apes' movies. He also was the creator of several books of celebrity photographs. Leslie Charleston--co-starred in the episode 'The Good Die Young.' She was Monica Quartermain on the ABC soap 'General Hospital.' Jared Martin--co-starred in 'A Bloody Shade of Blue.' He was Sue Ellen's lover, Dusty Farlow, on the CBS show 'Dallas.' Earl Holliman--co-starred in 'A Very Special Piece Of Ground.' Better known as Lt. Crowley on 'Police Woman,' co-starring Angie Dickinson. Martin Sheen--co-starred in 'The Snow Job.' Probably best known these days as father to Charlie Sheen and Emilion Estevez and for playing Pres. Bartlett on 'The West Wing.' Michael Farrell--co-starred in 'Wheel of Death.' Married to actress Shelley Fabares and played Capt. B.J. Hunnicutt on 'M*A*S*H' for eight seasons. Tyne Daly--first co-starred in 'A Farewell Tree From Marley.' She appeared in one episode each of the four seasons that 'The Rookies' were on the air. At the time, she was married to series co-star Georg Stanford Brown, with whom she had three daughters. Later, she became an Emmy Award winner for 'Cagney and Lacey.' Those are some of the more popular guest stars that appeared on Season One. I don't think I missed anybody, but let me know if I did.

Let's Take A Closer Look At Lt. Eddie Ryker/Gerald S. O'Loughlin

In the pilot for 'The Rookies,' Sgt. Eddie Ryker was played by the late Darrin McGavin, who I thought would've probably made a fine choice to be Lt. Ryker in the series, but I think Mr. McGavin had other obligations, which led to the role being filled by Gerald S. O'Loughlin. I have to admit that I didn't like Lt. Ryker, at first. I didn't really come to like him until I started rewatching the episodes years later and saw how much he cared for Jill. The first interaction you see between the two of them that demonstrates this is in the Season One episode 'Time Is The Fire' when he's telling Jill the story of his wife and how she died in childbirth, forcing him to give his newborn daughter up for adoption. This story is the reason why the Danko's daughter is named Mary Kate in my fan fiction stories. There weren't many Ryker episodes during the four year run of the series. The best one was 'Get Ryker!' in Season Two. I felt sorry for Jill, stuck in that house with a crotchety old man who was probably literally bouncing off of the walls. My favorite scene in that episode was when he was sitting with the three guys and Jill around his dinner table, explaining to them that he had a standing engagement the next morning. The way he was making it sound was he was visiting a house of ill repute, when in reality he went to a chess club every week. It was a very funny scene. My two favorite scenes of his during the series are the scene where he's trying to shout some sense into Jill in 'A Matter of Justice' and the scene where he's shouting at Rex Winfield in 'Journey to Oblivion.' He was always at his best when he was angry. Moving on to the actor who played Eddie Ryker, I didn't notice any of Gerald's work until after the series had gone off the air. I didn't know that he played one of the detectives in the movie 'In Cold Blood' until I saw it on one of the movie channels just recently. After 'The Rookies' went off the air, he made appearances in TV movies until 1986 when he was cast as Wilfred Brimley's buddy in the series 'Our House.' He was the only reason I watched this show and he wasn't nearly as good in it as he'd been as Lt. Ryker. In an old TV Guide article, Kate Jackson stated that she learned a lot about improving her craft from Gerald. I thought that was a nice compliment. Anyway, that's my opinion. I'd love to hear yours.

Let's Take A Closer Look At Jill Danko/Kate Jackson

As stated in an earlier blog, the first time I saw the episode 'To Taste of Terror' I decided that I wanted to be Jill Danko. After all, she was married to the hero. I was 12 years old and at the time, had no heroes in my life. I remember during season one, she wore this long blue smock dress that I loved. I wanted one just like it. A girl I went to school with at the time had one that was red plaid and I envied her for it. Plus, she had long dark hair, ala Jill, and the combination just teed me off. Anyway, during Season One, Jill only had two episodes that were all about her. But, she had a few scenes with Mike that showed how frightening it was to be married to a police officer. The best of these was in the episode 'A Bloody Shade of Blue' when someone was targetting police officers. Terry had been blinded by these guys. Jill tried to convince Mike that he had a fever and she wanted him to stay home. After a few minutes, he saw through this and tried to calm her nerves. It was a great scene. In Season Two, she changed her hairstyle and seemed to grow up a bit. I liked the Season One hair the best. However, I loved both of her episodes in Season Two. Again, she only had two, although there were several more where she was highlighted quite a bit. By far, the saddest Rookies episode and the one that everybody, no matter who they're a fan of, seems to remember is 'A Matter of Justice.' I don't know how many fan fiction stories I've written regarding this episode. In fact, I'm working on one now. The questions will always remain if the show had remained on the air for another season or two, would Mike and Jill have finally had a baby? If the show had aired in this day and time, I think so. They would've just written it into the series. But, back then, since every episode told a complete story, probably not. The other Jill episode in Season Two was 'Lots of Trees and A Running Stream.' This episode was okay, but left a lot of unanswered questions. I've written a lot of stuff about the type of person I felt Cleve Andrews probably was. But, I seriously don't think Mike would've really left her alone, knowing Cleve was in town, if he was the kind of creep I've made him out to be in my stories. Season Three brings us what I think is the second best Jill episode ever. 'Nightmare' was an episode that, with little exception, showcased Jill. It was also borrowed from an episode of 'The Mod Squad' which found Julie in almost the same situation, except you had a young Richard Dreyfuss and a woman about to have a baby. But, it was the same house and a thunderstorm. My favorite scene in 'Nightmare' is where Jill runs up the stairs, opens the door to flee and runs straight into Mike, not remembering who he is. I had that scene on audio tape for years (I think I still have it, as a matter of fact.) In Season Three, 'Nightmare' was the only episode that was about Jill and it was the last episode of the season. Which leads me to Season Four. Season Four seemed like every other episode was a 'Jill needing to be rescued' episode. This was especially true toward the end of the season. The best of these was the final episode of the series 'Journey to Oblivion.' After witnessing a murder, Jill is kidnapped by the guy who did the killing and a hired killer. Mike is shot while these two guys are trying to take Jill and she spends hours in a boxcar after a car wreck wondering if he's alive or dead. Mike is also laying in a hospital bed, wondering the same thing. Everybody gets emotional in this episode. The best scene is Lt. Ryker telling the father of the kidnapper that 'if that young woman sustains so much as a hangnail, nothing will stop me from getting my hands on the perpetrator and his accessory.' It was Lt. Ryker at his angry, finger-jabbing best. Now, I'll move on and talk about Kate. Pre-Rookies, she played a character named Daphne Harridge/Collins on the gothic soap opera 'Dark Shadows.' She played this character for nine months. The first three months, she was a ghost and didn't say a word. She had some great scenes with both James Storm, who played Gerard Stiles and David Selby, who played Quentin Collins. I had a mad passion for Quentin. She didn't play Jill in the pilot for 'The Rookies.' According to what I've read, she had another obligation at the time, so the role went to Jennifer 'Don't Get Me Started About Her' Billingsley, who is best known for appearing with Burt Reynolds in 'Gator' and 'White Lightning.' While appearing on 'The Rookies,' Kate made several movies of the week, some more memorable than others. 'Satan's School for Girls,' 'The Killer Bees' and 'Death Cruise' are among the more memorable ones. 'Charlie's Angels' was created around Kate. That quickly fell apart with the Farrah phenomenon, which soon swept the country. I wasn't a fan of 'Charlie's Angels,' not even during the three season where Kate appeared. However, I was a fan of 'Scarecrow And Mrs. King.' The chemistry between Kate and Bruce Boxleitner was great and reminded me of what she'd had with Sam Melville in 'The Rookies.' I was thrilled when Sam began playing her ex-husband Joe. When she became ill during Season Four of 'Scarecrow' was when the show fell apart. I think if she hadn't become sick, the show would've continued for at least another one or two seasons. She had one more series after 'Scarecrow, but 'Baby Boom' didn't even last a full season. Since then, she's stuck with made for tv movies and one very memorable appearance on the TV series 'Third Watch' where she plays the mother from hell. I was hoping both she and her co-star in that episode, Henry Winkler, would be nominated for Emmy Awards. They were both that good. I keep hoping she'll make more guest appearances. Oh, and I know she was Emmy nominated for an appearance on 'Ally McBeal' but I didn't see the episode, since I didn't watch the show. Anyway, I'm done rambling for now. Tomorrow, I'm off to discuss Gerald/Eddie Ryker.

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.