Hey everybody –

Welcome to another installment of Eberts’ Files! We’re blasting through another summer of incredible episodes and I’m here to put you a little closer to the action and excitement of I-Man. So pull up a chair, grab a snack and let’s dish about our fave show.

This show was based on a premise that a criminal was released from prison in exchange for participating in an experiment. We finally get to see a glimpse of that past in DoT ("Deparment of Transportaion?"). It’s turns out to be a wonderful episode that shows us what Darien had to look forward to had he not taken on the gland, as well as what he has to endure with it in him now.

And now let dig a little deeper and find some ‘bits’

The airport that Darien is at is San Diego’s Lindberg field. It’s basically right in the middle of town, which is great if you need to stay in town, but lousy if you live near it. There’s actually an outdoor theatre in Balboa Park that is right under the flight path (You can see A plane over the park in TLE). The planes come within about 300 feet of the top of the stage, causing a huge amount of noise. The actors have three lights in the pit of the stage that they can see: a yellow, red and green. When the yellow comes on, you get ready for a plane. When the red comes on everyone on stage simply freezes for the thirty seconds the plane takes to clear. When the green comes on, action resumes on stage. It’s the weirdest theatre to watch, or perform in!

The prison sequences were filmed in a real working prison. They used an abandoned wing and crewmembers described it as being very creepy.

The Invisible Eddie. Eddie Jones wasn’t in the shooting draft of this script. We got the script and were all pretty shocked to see that The Official wasn’t in the script. I felt pretty guilty because some how I was in the script, merely relaying The Officials wishes. The writers had simply not found a good reason to have him in the script. Eddie was kinda bummed, as were we all. Nonetheless, I filmed my sequence and the episode continued.
So why is he in DoT? I actually don’t know. I do remember seeing a rough-cut recently with Eddie in it. Confused I asked Eddie if he shot an extra scene for DoT. At first he didn’t remember, but after prompting him he did recall inserting that scene later in the season. To be honest, I don’t care, I’m just glad to have the ‘Big Man’ in the show!

The importance of being mike: In my scene (my only scene) there are actually two Mikes on camera. Yours truly is in the foreground and in the background is a guard at the door also named Mike. Mike number two has been in at least four episodes to date, maybe more. He was a swat member in GP and will also be in at least a couple of future episodes (I’ll let you find him). While he plays different non-speaking parts, he’s a really nice guy and he provides a funny sense of continuity to see him on set every couple of weeks.

While Vince was lightly punching my stomach, I was trying not to laugh. This is a continuation of Vince and my concentration problems that began in JA. Luckily, you don’t see my face, but trust me, there’s a smile there.

We shot that scene with two different attitudes for Eberts. The first was the one you saw; having a difficult time telling Vince he was going to jail. Bill Norton, our wonderful director, suggested I try to play it very dispassionately. In essence, it’s the old Eberts setting down a hard line set by The Official. Bill ended up liking that take and I was sure that would be in the show. I guess when they edited they liked the first take a little better. We also shot a section where Vince actually gives me that big hug.

Because of location, Vince had to re-record a lot of lines. Luckily our top notch-sound guys made it all sound great.

The set for that scene is on the old sound stage where they shot TV shows "Cover Me" and "Pensacola". It adjoins our sound stage.

Hey that what I got this week. In these episodes where I’m only in one scene, it’s a little harder to come up with anything, so forgive me if it’s a little skimpy or ‘Eberts-centric’.

To any event, we thank you for tuning in. We’re all excited this week for Comic-con because we can really show you how much we appreciate you in person. For those who can’t make it, no worries. We still leave our best stuff on the camera for you guys. It’s the least we can do for fans like you who give the most.

Thanks!

Mike