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Patrick Bauchau: 1998 Convention Appearance

November 8, 1998 - Shrine Auditorium Expo Center, Los Angeles

It was a special day for fans of The Pretender -- the first fan event associated with the show. Patrick Bauchau, Jamie Denton (Mr. Lyle), Ryan Merriman (young Jarod), and show creators Craig Van Sickle and Steven Long Mitchell, as well as writer Mark Dodson attended the Los Angeles Comic Book and Science Fiction Convention.

The function began with a panel session during which audience members had the opportunity to ask questions of the group. Afterwards, everyone moved to an upstairs area for an autograph signing. Everyone who attended received a copy of the script for the Pretender episode "Betrayal" (written by Mark Dodson), which was then signed by all the members of the panel.

Written here is a report on the events of the day. Questions and responses are generally paraphrased and are written out of sequence for the sake of narrative flow. Thank you to Dziga, Lois, Jonathan and Ra-Chell for the information each posted -- much of which is incorporated here.

An audience member inquired about how Patrick Bauchau got the role of Sydney. Craig, Steven and Patrick all explained that Patrick was cast after Steven and Craig saw a tape of his movie The Interview.

Patrick was asked what he thought of the dynamic between his character, Sydney, and Miss Parker. Patrick said that Sydney related more to Jarod than to Miss Parker, even though he had, in some ways, helped to raise Miss Parker as well as Jarod. He said that Sydney's problem with Miss Parker, at the start of the series, had a lot to do with the fact that Sydney had suddenly found himself submitted to the authority of a child he had brought up. He called Sydney a surrogate father to Jarod. Patrick stated that Sydney's relationship with Jarod was that of both a captor and a father figure. He explained that Jarod was still emotionally tied to Sydney and said he didn't think Jarod would ever be totally free of that bond.

Someone asked Patrick how Sydney, as a survivor of Dachau, could rationalize working as part of the Pretender program. He replied, "That's the crux of my problem," which brought a laugh from the audience. He went on to say that the program was not all evil in that it made Jarod all that he was, and he stated that Sydney was trying to make the best of the situation.

Steven and Craig responded to a question about Sydney and Jacob with the news that viewers probably would learn more about them in the future. They also said that the storyline involving Sydney's son would be revisited. Also, Steven or Craig mentioned that Patrick had recently given them some interesting ideas for the show, though they did not say what those thoughts were.

Jamie Denton amused the crowd when he mentioned that this was the first time that he was the "short guy" in spite of his 6'1" height. He told everyone that he had to "stand tall" because Patrick is taller than he is, and, in the heels she wore for the show, so is Andrea. Patrick chipped in that Jamie is taller than Jon Gries, and Ryan Merriman added, "and me," to which Jamie replied that that was true, but that he and Ryan didn't have any scenes together.

Jamie was asked about how they made Mr. Lyle seem to be missing a thumb, and he referred to wearing a glove to hide his own thumb. He added that he tried to be careful of how his hands appeared on camera and mentioned that he would also frequently put his hand in his pocket. He held up both his hands to show the audience that he still had both thumbs. Long Mitchell and Van Sickle informed the audience that a prosthetic had been built, so fans would be seeing more of Lyle's "nub" at some point.

Steven Long Mitchell briefly explained at the beginning of the session how he and Craig Van Sickle had originated the idea for The Pretender. He mentioned that the initial inspiration was the life of Ferdinand Demara, a man who actually had been able to practice medicine and do other things without having been trained for them. He said they had developed the concept for the show outside of the network system, which gave them more freedom to explore new ideas, including having Jarod exact emotional justice rather than the typical form of justice seen meted on other shows. They also informed the audience that the studio executives with whom they worked "get it" and had allowed Steven and Craig to develop the show just as they envisioned it.

Someone questioned what genre The Pretender would fall into. Steven and Craig said the show was varied and fell into every possible crack between science fiction, fact, drama and fantasy. Also, the focus group that had tested the pilot episode rated it higher than E-R. As a result, there is now a new genre category called "The Pretender." They also said the show had been renewed for only one year at a time, and that the network had given no sign that the system of renewal would change.

Steven and Craig were questioned about the purported seven-year arc for the show. They were somewhat vague in their reply, but mentioned that there was a very long arc and that they "essentially" knew where they were going.

Steven and Craig were asked if they were going to bring back Ben. They said yes, but since he was so nice previously, they might look at a dark side of the character. The two mentioned that Argyle, the character from "Amnesia" would also return in a future episode to be done in a similar vein as the film Get Shorty.

The question of a possible age discrepancy between Lyle and Miss Parker was brought up to Craig and Steven. They seemed unaware of any difference in the two characters' ages and said they would check into it. They also added that they could always blame any problem on Mr. Lyle and his murky background, caused by his always moving around, lying, etc.

When asked about the lack of explanation regarding how everyone had escaped the blast in SL-27, Steven and Craig stated that they were attempting to serve the greater good in each episode. Presumably this means that they have felt the need to allow newer viewers to watch the show without being completely lost, while at the same time keeping forward momentum and interest for existing viewers. They said that it was possible more would be explained about the bomb in the future.

One of the funnier moments of the session occurred when Steven and Craig were asked about Miss Parker. They said, "We still like to consider Miss Parker the toughest man on television," which caused a great deal of laughter in the crowd.

Writer Mark Dodson, along with Steven and Craig, explained how he came to work on the show. He had written a script in which Sydney learned about a son he never knew existed (this was the script that eventually became the episode "Bulletproof"). Steven and Craig liked how this twist in Sydney's life was ironic in light of what had happened to Jarod. They script was accepted and Mark ended up being added to the writing staff. The crowd was told that the episode "Betrayal" which Mark had written would explain about the event that led to Jarod wanting to escape from the Centre.

Ryan Merriman was asked just one question. He mentioned that all of his scenes were shot in the sim lab with the actor who plays young Sydney (Alex Wexo). He, along with several audience members, corrected the show's organizer on the pronunciation of Jarod's name after the organizer had mistakenly said "jer-ROD" several times.

Following the panel session, everyone trooped up the stairs for a copy of the "Betrayal" script and autographs. Patrick and the others also posed for photographs with several fans. Jamie mentioned that they were currently filming an episode with some good Lyle stuff about which he was quite excited, though of course he couldn't give any details at that time. Patrick said that he felt the upcoming episode involving Sydney's lost love, Michelle, and their son, Nicholas, had turned out quite well.

All in all, it was quite an exciting afternoon for those who attended, and the people associated with the show were pleased with the day's events. Thank you to Patrick, Jamie, Ryan, Steve and Craig and Mark for taking time out to spend with the fans!

All images © 1998 by Deb Stewart. Click on an image to see a larger version in a new window. Do not use images without prior, written permission.