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IV. About the characters and cast of 7 Days

Part A: The characters

1. Frank B. Parker

Frank B. Parker (Jonathan LaPaglia) is the intrepid--if slightly loony--first-line chrononaut who time travels to save the world. A highly skilled former naval intelligence operative with a photographic memory, he's a crack shot with a pistol and with his mouth, and has an astonishingly high pain threshold. Parker suffered a breakdown, exhibiting psychotic behavior, after being captured while on a mission and tortured by Somalian "technicals" who confined him in a metal "hot box" without food or water for a week. But he still didn't tell his captors what they wanted to know--the names and locations of other American agents in the area.

Parker's breakdown led to the breakup of his marriage and landed him in "a CIA nut house" on Hansen Island in South Carolina. But when a group of Chechen terrorists assassinated the U.S. and Russian presidents by bombing the White House, Parker's name came up as a candidate for Operation Back Step--a top-secret agency in possession of a time travel device. Rigorous testing revealed that Parker was the best candidate for the job of going back in time to "undo" the bombing, despite the obvious questions about his mental stability. Additionally, he was highly motivated to succeed, both because he wanted to be free of the "nut house" and because his son, Jimmy, was killed in the explosion of poison gas at the White House. His selection as the time traveler was sealed when an old friend and established member of the Back Step team, Craig Donovan, vouched for him, offering a personal guarantee that "if this gets real, (Parker) won't let you down."

And he hasn't. In fact, he has exhibited a great deal of ingenuity, courage, and the ability to size up a dangerous situation accurately in a heartbeat, leading many fans to believe he's a lot more intelligent and a lot less crazy than he likes to let on.

Parker was raised in an orphanage in Philadelphia, where he still holds the record for most rulers broken in the process of disciplining any child (Walter); privately he refers to the Mother Superior there as "Sister Sledgehammer" (Sister's Keeper). He has never been exactly the shy, retiring, suit-and-tie type. He enjoys all sorts of games of chance--including staging a sort of lab-rat Kentucky Derby--and sucking down a few cold ones, even if they're not cold. He appears to compensate for the insecurity of his youth by seeking family-like connections in organizations like the military. More than once he has compared the Back Step team to a kind of family. He instensely dislikes being cooped up in the Back Step complex and plays pranks and practical jokes on the other members of the team to keep himself entertained. (Once he has been the victim of a retaliatory prank played on him by security chief Nathan Ramsey, who set him up to lose a lot of money on a boxing match.)

Right from the start, Parker has been attracted to Back Step scientist Dr. Olga Vukavitch and has pursued her affection with uneven results. He's not very subtle, which puts her off--and of course, there are times when he Back Steps, and "undoes" some of the progress he's made toward winning her over.

Although the official Paramount character sketch says Parker's background is CIA, most of what we've seen on the show suggests he was in naval intelligence. Despite what you read in Tom Clancy novels, they're not the same organization.

Parker is 29 years old in season 1. While on assignment, his code name is "Conundrum," and his National Security Agency serial number is 923880305. Frank is short for Francis, and his middle name is Bartholomew, but don't call him Frankie. He sings a lot better in the shower than he does in a karaoke bar. We don't know why this is so.

 

2. Olga Vukavitch

Dr. Olga Vukavitch (Justina Vail) and her husband, Josef, were working on the Soviet equivalent of Project Back Step. But Josef disappeared and was presumed dead while on a time-travel mission, and then came the fall of the communist government. Olga had already attracted the notice of the American team when she was credited with independently discovering the relationship between gravity and temporal displacement. When the Soviet project fell into neglect, she defected to the U.S. and has been employed by the Back Step team to work on fine-tuning controls in the Sphere.

In There's Something About Olga, we learned she's also a medical doctor. She has been assigned to watch over Parker's mental and physical health, and has been called on to perform various biological analyses.

That she's Russian and turned her back on her former country has occasionally brought her under suspicion from the team's ever-paranoid security chief, Nathan Ramsey. But when Josef returned from the future to sabotage Back Step, Olga killed him to save the Project, demonstrating her loyalty to the team and her adopted country, the United States.

Her response to Parker's interest in a more intimate relationship has run hot-and-cold. She clearly cares for him, but the situation's complicated by her professional ethics--and the fact that sometimes progress they've made in the relationship over the past seven days is lost when Parker Back Steps.

Her mother, too, was a scientist and her father was an aeronautical engineer. Olga was born in October 1969; she has a sister, Svetlana, who is three years her junior. Their parents commonly referred to Olga as "the smart one" and Svetlana as "the pretty one," appellations that left both sisters envious of each other. Even now, they don't get along well, though Olga, at least, appears to have a deep affection for her sibling.

Olga admits to occasionally smoking cigarettes when under intense stress and has an unusually strong fantasy about a lady being magically turned into a tiger. She says she's a "cat person." She also has the occasional dominatrix dream (as seen in Olga's Excellent Vacation). Go for it, Freudians.

3. Craig Donovan

Craig Donovan (Don Franklin) is a former navy SEAL who has run several covert intelligence operations around the world. He serves as a military liaison for Project Back Step. (Paramount's official character sketch lists his rank as commander, although he's been repeatedly referred to as "Captain Donovan" on the show. At 32, he's a touch young for either rank.) Donovan also serves as backup pilot for the Sphere, but he hasn't been called on to Back Step, yet.

Donovan and Parker served together in the navy and became close friends. Donovan's loyalty to Parker is intense, even though Parker now has a job Donovan would've liked to have for himself. But Parker saved his life on a mission in Honduras when Donovan stepped on a land mine, and Donovan clearly feels he owes Parker. That motivated Donovan to vouch for him when he arrived at Back Step. Even when he doesn't approve of Parker's antics, he's willing to give his friend the benefit of the doubt. Parker has Back Stepped in an effort to prevent Donovan from committing suicide as a result of being brainwashed in Bangladesh by the evil and mysterious Dr. Lee. (Sleepers)

Donovan is a dedicated, courageous and competent officer. Like Parker, Donovan is divorced, but it's not known whether he and his ex-wife have any children. He appears to have a close relationship with his parents, especially his father. In his off-duty hours he enjoys participating in triathlons, and he volunteers at the YMCA, teaching children to play basketball. He has a very pretty girlfriend whose name hasn't yet been revealed.

 

4. John Ballard

Dr. John Ballard (Sam Whipple) is one nuclear physicist who knows how to have a good time. Addicted to Tootsie Pops--especially when they've been dunked in a martini--Ballard has a great system for winning at roulette and a knack for attracting impressively endowed young women. And if you need somebody to hack into the electric power grid, he's your man.

Numerous sources have suggested that Ballard's character is loosely modeled after a real British physicist: Stephen Hawking, whose research dealt with black holes and other aspects of astronomy/cosmology, and who has been confined to a wheelchair for many years as the result of a neurological disorder. (Hawking is the author of the best-selling book, A Brief History of Time.)

While working with a team at Area 51 to figure out the technology of the UFO that crashed near Roswell, N.M., in the 1940s, Ballard (independently of Olga's similar breakthrough) discovered the link between gravity and temporal displacement. He then began work to create the Sphere and take advantage of this new knowledge.

He continually strives to improve the Sphere by making modifications to it--sometimes with alarming consequences, such as the one that fortified the gravitational field and split Parker into good and evil "twins."

Ballard lost the use of his legs in an accident at age 15 when he dived off a cliff into a lake to impress some girls. He has been confined to a wheelchair ever since, but you can't keep a good scientist down--it hasn't slowed him down one bit.

Ballard's intelligence is accompanied by an alternately wry and goofy sense of humor, and admirable courage--he refuses to cooperate and then outsmarts General Starker and his troops in Doppelganger; he attacks Josef to defend the Sphere in As Time Goes By, crying, "Five years of Tae-Kwon Do, you snake!"

In season 1, Ballard is 42 years old. Little is known of his personal life, but given the number of scantily clad babes hovering around him, maybe it's better that way. After all, this is prime-time!

Note: In season 3, Ballard took an extended leave of absence after winning a small carribean island in a card-game. In our last sight of him to date, he was dressed in a Hawaiian shirt, sipping a martini and surrounded by an affectionate gaggle of beach babes. The man has style!

 

5. Nathan (Nate) Ramsey

Nathan (Nate) Ramsey (Nick Searcy) isn't one of those characters who's so bad you love to hate him, but on the other hand, you sort of hate to love him, except that he's a little irresistible. He's stubborn as a mule, admires nothing so much as an American patriot, and is about as paranoid as you can get without being locked up in a place like Hansen Island. A foaming-at-the-mouth American nationalist, he's suspicious of all foreigners. Getting a dose of Ramsey's politics is a little like opening a time capsule and having the acidic anxiety of the Cold War years come boiling out.

Ramsey has a temper like a nuclear bomb, even when it's not augmented by stimulant drugs, as it was in the Pilot episode, when he tried to kill Parker to keep him from going back in time. He cast the one dissenting vote to Parker's selection as Back Step's chrononaut, and never has yielded in his outspoken, vehement distrust of Parker. He disapproves of Parker's drinking, gambling and flaunting of authority--and it doesn't help the situation that Parker constantly thwarts him by slipping his security precautions. Intensely dedicated to his job, Ramsey appears to feel Parker's antics make him look bad, on top of creating a security threat to the Project, and that sends Ramsey ballistic on a regular basis.

Still, the two men exhibit a grudging respect for each other on occasion, and it's clear Ramsey would walk through fire--in the line of duty--to save Parker's butt. Ramsey's dedication to the safety of his own personnel and to his duty, even when he doesn't agree or doesn't like what he's been asked to do, are endearing. He may bitch and complain about it, but in the end, he'll do the right thing.

Ramsey came to Back Step from the CIA, where he served in Germany and Korea before becoming the project's head of security. He is 45 in season 1. It's not known whether he is or ever has been married, but he must have at least one sibling, as he has mentioned having a nephew. He appears to enjoy boxing in his off-duty hours. In For the Children, we learned that he drinks Jack Daniels and came from a small town. And the man sure does love his dog.

 

6. Isaac Mentnor

Dr. Isaac Mentnor (Norman Lloyd), 84, is credited with unraveling the meaning of the alien technology that led to the creation of the Sphere. Before moving to Area 51, he worked with the Manhattan Project, developing the atomic bombs that ended World War II. That experience has given him a special perspective on some of the moral questions raised by advances in science.

As well as being scientific head of the Back Step project, Mentnor functions somewhat as its conscience--his counsel is sought when missions pose moral dilemmas, and he sometimes has put his job aside to follow his ethics, as when he broke security to tell Parker about the spill of radioactive "Element 115" (EBEs). He also serves as something of a father-figure for Parker, who occasionally has sought his advice on personal matters.

Mentnor has been married to his wife, Claire, for more than 50 years. The couple has an unknown number of children and at least one granddaughter, Rebecca, 9, who has a crush on Parker.

In The Dunwych Madness, we learn that Mentnor has several skeletons in his closet, including work on at least one highly questionable bio-warfare project, code-named Leviathan.

From season 2 onwards, Dr. Mentnor is a recurring character, and no longer a regular.

 

7. Bradley Talmadge

Bradley Talmadge (Alan Scarfe) serves as Back Step's liaison to the project's unseen NSA bosses. Aged 54 in season 1, he holds degrees in marketing and law. He served in the military in Vietnam, where he was awarded a Bronze Star for valor.

After becoming a deputy chief at the NSA, he learned about the experimental work at Area 51 and was assigned to form a team to implement Project Back Step. His title is "NSA Special Projects Liaison to the Pentagon."

He is a tough but fair administrator, committed to keeping Back Step running smoothly and maintaining the secrecy of its existence. He likes Parker, but won't hesitate to crack the whip if and when Parker gets out of line. He once nearly threw Parker out of the project and sent him back to Hansen Island for committing an error in judgment. (Vows)

Little is known about Talmadge's personal life, but he has one grandchild--Amanda, 10 years old and a talented artist. Apparently his wife, now deceased, was named Alice. He appears to enjoy fly fishing, and the occasional fine cigar. In season 3 we learned that he has a girlfriend, who believes he works at the Census Bureau.

 

8. Andrew "Hooter" Owsley

At 22, Andrew "Hooter" Owsley (Kevin Christy) is by far the youngest member of the Backstep team. He's also the newest, having been recruited to provide the teams technical know-how in the absence of Doctor Ballard. Hooter, despite his unconventional looks and techno-geek mannerisms, is a genius of the highest calibre. He earned his Masters in Particle Physics from Cal Tech at the age of 12, picked up a combined Doctorate in Quantum Analysis and Astrophysics at the age of 14, and was working towards Doctorates in Multiplane Calculus and Trans-Dimensional Quark Symmetries when Doctor Ballard recommended him to Bradley Talmadge.

It's obvious that Hooter and Ballard are old friends; Andrew refers to Ballard as "the Old Pirate" in converastion with Talmadge, and Ballard considers Owsley to be one of the finest brains on the planet. Owlsey apparently helped Ballard with his work on the string theory corollary to quantum redundancies, when he was 12. Though Owsley's "traditional" education has been cut short by his work for Backstep, the world will no doubt see great things from this prodigy in the future.

We know that Andrew has a close relationship with his mother, as seen in Adam & Eve & Adam, when the prospect of her death combines with radiation sickness to drive the young man mad. He also has the beginnings of a crush on Dr Vukavich, though it's obvious he admires her more for her mind than her looks.
 

9. Other recurring characters

Sergeant Myers/Walker/Bly (Stacey Stone) is the receptionist who often takes the call when Parker checks in on a mission. For the first part of the season, her usual response was to gasp, "Holy cow!" when she realized the call was from "Conundrum." Fans were happy to see her get some more substantive lines in Doppelganger, Part 2, in which she coolly and cleverly gives Parker the information he needs, without revealing anything to General Starker's minion, who is hanging menacingly over her shoulder throughout the conversation. It's not known why her name keeps changing.

The other two recurring characters are MIB #1 (Charley Lang, the blond one) and MIB #2 (Jerome Butler, the black one), both members of Ramsey's security team.

The MIBs are the ones who were sent to pluck Parker out of the asylum on Hansen Island. Administering the shock test appears to have gotten Parker and MIB #1 off on the wrong foot. Parker swore to kick his ass when he got out of the "nut house," and he repeatedly has punched MIB #1 in the nose--sometimes mostly just for the hell of it. MIB #1 is rather the more hard-core of the two, when it comes to wanting to force Parker to behave. He even shot Parker in the arm in Walter.

MIB #2 is a bit less uptight, seeming to find Parker's antics more amusing than threatening or annoying. But then, he's not the one getting bopped in the face all the time! Both MIB's have been replaced by season 3, perhaps reassigned for their persistant failure to contain Parker.

Part B: The cast

1. Jonathan LaPaglia

Medicine's loss has been fans' gain, as LaPaglia's delightfully athletic performances and fine sense of comedic timing have brought Frank B. Parker to life in a highly appealing way.

According to a recent TV Guide interview, his father owned an automobile dealership, and his mother worked as a secretary. He said he became interested in the fine arts at an early age, and studied painting and sculpture in high school. But he said he had doubts about his talent as an artist, and ultimately decided to study medicine, instead.

But once he actually became a doctor, he felt dissatisfied. In a 1996 interview with the New York Daily News, LaPaglia said medicine only satisfied his scientific interests, while leaving a creative side of his personality unfulfilled. Encouraged by his brother, actor Anthony LaPaglia, he eventually gave up practicing medicine full-time and moved to New York to study at Circle in the Square theater school, returning on long breaks to the UK to keep his medical skills sharp.

He made his big break into television in '96 as a regular cast member (Det. Tom McNamara) in New York Undercover. Shortly after the premiere of 7 Days he was seen in a UPN movie of the week, Inferno. He also has had a guest-starring appearance in Law & Order. His theatrical movie credits include Woody Allen's film Deconstructing Harry, as well as Origin of the Species, The Cure, Poison Berries, and Rain, and independent films Astoria Fix, Screening Frogs and Dog Tail.

Since the cancellation of 7 Days, Jonathan LaPaglia has gained further critical and fan acclaim after joining the CBS series The District as loose-cannon Det. Kevin Debreno. LaPaglia lives in Los Angeles with actress Ursula Brooks.

 

2. Justina Vail

No one was more surprised than she was to find that she'd gotten the part--and that she enjoyed it enough to want to make it a career. For a time she performed in theatrical productions in England, then moved to Los Angeles to pursue her new vocation.

She seems almost destined to have ended up doing science fiction or fantasy: Shortly after arriving in L.A., she landed a part as a computer in the pilot for Journey to the Center of the Earth, then came close to landing the role of Seven of Nine in Star Trek: Voyager (which ultimately went to Jeri Ryan) and the lead role in Highlander: The Raven, after a guest appearance as an immortal named Katya in a Highlander episode titled "Justice." (Ultimately the part in Raven went to Elizabeth Gracen, who had played the recurring role of Amanda in the original Highlander series). But in a recent interview on UltimateTV Vail said she's happy to have ended up where she did--less makeup and no swordfights.

She also said she's pleased with the extent to which she's been able to make Olga a rounded, three-dimensional character. "She's not the kind of superwoman that doesn't exist in real life, the kind of character who can juggle babies and cooking and be a kickboxer and save the world at the same time," Vail said in the UltimateTV interview. "I don't know anybody like that."

Vail was born in Malaysia and has lived in Hong Kong and the UK. Previous to starring in 7 Days, she had a guest appearance on Seinfeld, and her film credits include Kiss the Girls and a role as one of Tom Cruise's ex-girlfriends in Jerry Maguire. She is single. She has homes in both Los Angeles and Vancouver. When she is not working, she enjoys painting, sculpting and yoga.

 

3. Don Franklin

A Chicago native, he was born December 15, 1960, and began performing while still in grade school. Accomplished as a singer, musician and dancer as well as an actor, he has had a wide of variety of roles in films, television and on the stage. He started in musical theater, and then went to California for the first time when he was cast as a dancer in the Sidney Poitier film, Fast Forward. Later he returned to Chicago and starred on stage in A Chorus Line.

He credits The Cosby Show with giving him his first big television break (he played Lisa Bonet's boyfriend) in 1986, which he says gave his career a real boost. He has been working steadily ever since, mostly in television, including regular cast roles in Knightwatch and Nasty Boys, a recurring role in Living Single, and guest-starring roles in Outer Limits and Chicago Hope.

His other feature films include The Big Picture, Moving, and Somewhere in Time; he has had appearances in the TV movies Fighting for Justice and Asteroid. Since the cancellation of 7 Days, he has had several guest appearences as Stan in the UPN series Girlfriends. He lives in Los Angeles.

 

4. Sam Whipple

After that, his career picked up steam rapidly, and he has had myriad appearances in films, made-for-TV movies and television series, including Newhart, NYPD Blue, Seinfeld, Home Improvement and The Pretender. He has been a series regular in Birthmarks, Weldon Pond, Bagdad Cafe, Archie and Man About Town. His film credits include The Rock, Airheads, True Romance and Spinal Tap.

In real life, he's not wheelchair-bound, and he doesn't wear glasses. In an interview from Sci-Fi TV's September/October 1999 issue, he recounts that he bought the glasses (they're a real prescription pair) almost on a whim, stopping in a thrift store on his way to the audition for 7 Days. But since he doesn't actually need glasses, he can't see when he's wearing them, which has made him something of a hazardous driver in that wheelchair. But he says he doesn't want to substitute plain glass just to suit his own convenience: "When you watch the show, you can see how thick those lenses are, and that's part of the character. ... If I just wore prop glasses, you would be able to tell."

Update: It was with great sadness that I learned of Sam Whipple's untimely passing from cancer in June of 2002. He had apparently been diagnosed as terminal some time earlier, and had left the show before his failing health made it impossible for him to act. In my mind, I like to remember Sam Whipple as we last saw his character, Dr John Ballard; sitting in a tropical paradise dressed in a Hawaiian shirt, a drink in his hand, a pretty girl on his arm, and a twinkle in his eye. You're sorely missed, Sam. God bless you.

5. Nick Searcy

In the June 1999 issue of Sci-Fi TV, he hints that an upcoming episode of 7 Days may feature Ramsey taking the Sphere for a spin. In the meantime, Searcy is focusing on trying to keep his ultra-paranoid character on the right side of believable--keeping Nate Ramsey from becoming a stereotype.

Unlike his character, he's not above an occasional wager. UltimateTV reports that he had a pool going during the first season on which character would get killed (and Back-Stepped back to life again) most. Searcy is also a die-hard wrestling fan.

Like several other 7 Days cast members, he has been active in directing and producing, as well as acting, and his independent film, Paradise Falls, has won several awards.

He began his performing career while still in grade school, then continued acting in college while he obtained a degree in English at the University of North Carolina. From there, he moved to an array of film and television roles, including what he calls his favorite part, playing astronaut Deke Slayton in Tom Hanks' acclaimed production for HBO, From the Earth to the Moon.

His other feature film credits include Fried Green Tomatoes, The Fugitive, Nell and Days of Thunder, with Tom Cruise. He has had a recurring role in the television series Thunder Alley, and was a series regular as Sheriff Ben Healy in American Gothic. Guest-starring roles include spots in Murder One and Nash Bridges. Searcy recently won praise for his roles in Tigerland, and Castaway in which he played alongside Tom Hanks and Helen Hunt.

 

6. Norman Lloyd

He was born in New Jersey in 1914 and began his career in the theater, eventually garnering Broadway roles and working with the original company of Orson Welles' and John Houseman's Mercury Theater. He moved to California and on to a career in films and television, working with such greats as Charlie Chaplin and Martin Scorsese.

Lloyd's appearances in television series have ranged from a regular cast role as Dr. Daniel Auschlander in St. Elsewhere to guest spots in Star Trek: The Next Generation, Wings, The Practice, Wiseguy, and nearly the whole lineup in the classic TV horror/suspense genre: Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Night Gallery, and The Twilight Zone.

He worked quite a bit with Hitchcock and cites the famous director as a major influence. "What I owe to Hitch and his influence, I could never state as fully as I'd like," he said in a recent interview with Starburst magazine.

He also has produced and/or directed telefilms and television series, including Columbo and Tales of the Unexpected.

Lloyd has film credits beginning in 1942, when he played Fry, the man who fell off the Statue of Liberty in Hitchcock's film, Saboteur. His other feature film credits include The Age of Innocence, The Battle Over Citizen Kane, Dead Poets Society, The Nude Bomb, FM, The Southerner, and Spellbound. He is married and lives in Los Angeles.

 

7. Alan Scarfe

His theater roles (more than 150 of them) have included many of Shakespeare's plays, including Julius Caesar, Hamlet, Othello and King Lear, and a Broadway production of MacBeth. He served as associate director of Canada's Stratford Festival and of Liverpool, England's, Everyman Theater. He has directed numerous stage productions, including The Crucible, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, and Romeo and Juliet.

Scarfe's feature film roles have included Lethal Weapon 3, Double Impact and Iron Eagle II, and he has appeared in such telefilms as Gunsmoke, Gridlock and Jericho Fever.

His American television appearances have run the gamut from soap opera (One Life to Live) to sitcoms (Cybill) to crime drama (NYPD Blue, Hunter) to science fiction and fantasy (Highlander, Star Trek: Voyager, SeaQuest DSV, Quantum Leap). He also has appeared in more than 50 Canadian television shows.

He is married to actress Barbara March, who also is his writing partner. They have been working on screenplays for several films, and Scarfe is working on his first novel.

Scarfe has two children, and now lives in Los Angeles.

 

8. Kevin Christy

Christy's feature film credits include starring in the upcoming John Hughes film Newport South. He also features with Ashton Kutcher (That 70's Show) in the stoner comedy hit Dude, Where's My Car? His other film credits include the independent features A Time For Dancing, Safe In Fiction, Tragedy Is A Place In Texas, Velcro Shoes And An Ice Cream Stain and Before There Was You. His television credits include guest-starring roles on Dharma & Greg, Malcolm In The Middle and Paramount's Love & Money.

Besides acting, Christy has other artistic aspirations. He is majoring in illustration at the Pasadena Art Center College of Design, and teaches art classes to kids on the weekends.

Christy resides in a suburb of Los Angeles. He enjoys illustration, skateboarding and hockey.

 

9. Christopher Crowe/Crowe Entertainment

Executive producer Christopher Crowe, a veteran writer and producer for television, says he conceived the idea for 7 Days after an executive at Paramount wondered out loud what it would be like to have a machine that could go back in time--but no more than seven days back--to undo past events. Crowe had been working on a film about the story of a UFO that reportedly crashed in New Mexico in the late 1940s, and the two ideas melded together to yield 7 Days as fans now know it.

Like some of the cast members, Crowe didn't plan on a life in show business. Born in Wisconsin, he spent the first part of his adulthood as a race-car driver, only following his writing muse into films and television somewhat later in life.

He went to California to take a job as a writer at Universal Television in 1973, moving up through the ranks to story editor and then producer. Some of the series he has worked on are Miami Vice, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Streets of Justice and Darkroom. He also was creator and executive producer for a UPN series titled The Watcher, and executive producer of the syndicated series The Untouchables.

Also a writer and producer of theatrical films, Crowe has tried to maintain feature-film quality in 7 Days while bearing in mind the different requirements of a weekly television series. That has led him to emphasize quality special effects, even if doing so means the show runs right on the razor's edge, budgetwise. "It's a very ambitious show," he told Washington Post reporter Harriet Winslow in March 1999. "It's big by its nature."

Fans have Crowe's vision of an action show's need for humor and humanity to thank for the intriguing characters and lighter moments that are a hallmark of 7 Days. "I think that action-adventure shows that ignore humor really become Grade B," he said in the Washington Post interview. He also said that the romantic tension behind Parker and Olga's relationship is an element he uses to try to keep the characters from becoming cartoonlike action figures.

His feature film credits include The Last of the Mohicans, Fear, Whispers in the Dark (with Jonathan LaPaglia's brother, Anthony) and The Bone Collector.

Crowe's poetry can be heard on a recently released CD, titled Crowe, with accompanying music by Joel Goldsmith.

Take me home. 

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