Starring Paul F. Tompkins as that married medium Frank Doyle. Also starring James Urbaniak, Kate Micucci, Janet Varney, and Jeri Ryan. Recorded January 7, 2011.
Acker:
To do a Beyond Belief without Paget Brewster’s Sadie is a risky proposition.
It is also an opportunity to explore who Frank is without Sadie. To see who he was and how she changed him. So a glimpse into his past was exciting to write. We’ve character histories for our married mediums in mind for a while, so it was nice to play with some of it. See how the people in Frank’s life paved the way for Sadie to be his one and only.
As we came to the characters of Father Lancaster, Sister Kate and Sister Mary Torquemada it felt as much like Frank was a guest on their show as the reverse. The successful spinoff property returning to the show from whence it spun. It made me want to see this ragtag gritty group of self-righteous tough churchies fighting demons some more. An exploitation house Charlie’s Angels vs Demons kind of thing. It was fun to hang a lot of that tough-as-nails, hard drinking demon-fighting nun stuff on guest star Jeri Ryan. For such a kind and genuine person, she pulls off badass genre tough guy like nobody else. It had been too long since we had Kate Micucci on the show. It was fun to write her as a bloodthirsty version of herself. And you’ll do no better in life than to imagine a role just right for a grizzled 70’s character actor and give that role to James Urbaniak. I recommend you try it. Who else did I love in that episode? Janet Varney? Yes. Janet Varney. Always a breath of fresh air as Donna Henderson the vampire mom. A show I would totally watch.
Easily my favorites among the TAH series…even Thorne Smith himself might approve, and his colleagues and heirs. Interesting that the power of positive drinking, in several senses, can only triumph. Sadie or Frank w/o the other is diminished, but still adds up to more than half a loaf.