Lois' Daily Planet
THE PRETENDER PAGES
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Lois' Daily Planet |
 During the second season of The Pretender, we learned that there's more to Miss Parker than just her acid tongue! She's tortured by not knowing why her mother died or who killed her and lives a lonely and secluded life outside of The Centre. After adoring him for her entire life, she finally began to see the light about her two-faced father (who may or may not actually be her father) and now that she knows that he was the one responsible for bringing her psycopathic twin brother, Mr. Lyle, back to The Centre, there is no telling what she will do! I've decided not to list NBC's standard bio for Andrea Parker here. It's been posted on every Pretender site since NBC first issued it two years ago ... reprinting it one more time isn't going to tell anyone anything that they don't already know about her. Instead, I thought I'd tell you a few things about Andrea Parker that aren't in her "official NBC bio." Not that it's an easy thing to do ... NBC hasn't exactly gone out of its way to promote The Pretender, or any of its cast, and Andrea hasn't been on the talk show circuit, as Michael T. Weiss has. But Andrea Parker did take part in an on-line chat session in November of 1997 and she made a very brief (half an hour at most) appearance on at a Yahoo Chat session on October 14 of this year, so I thought that I'd just use this space to pass along some of the things that she said about herself. Andrea (who said she does not like to be called Miss Parker off screen) told her fans that the thing she enjoys most about her role on The Pretender is that she has "Free license to explore and act out parts of my personality that I usually hide with tact." She went on to say that the writers give all of the actors on The Pretender a great deal of freedom to interpret their individual characters ... and she takes advantage of that opportunity. Part of "Miss Parker's" demeanor in any given episode is directly related to how Andrea is feeling on the particular day that the scene is shot. She even does some of her own stunts! In her first chat session, Parker said that her favorite episode of The Pretender was "Keys" - because it was the only time that she and Michael T. Weiss were able to work together. She went on to say that she "had the blessed opportunity of beating up a man much larger than myself! And, I got to show Miss Parker's martial arts abilities." During her October 14 chat, Parker said that "Not Even A Mouse," the Christmas episode from the first season, was one of her favorites, along with "A Toy Surprise" which was from the second season. She also said that during this season, she would be working directly with Michael T. Weiss (at some point ... we don't know how often). You can see the synopsis (with pictures) of all three of Andrea's favorite episodes here: No stranger to hard work and dedication to her craft, clearly, there are similiarities between Miss Parker and Andrea, but there appear to be crucial differences as well. When asked by a fan if she wore stiletto heels when not working on The Pretender, Andrea replied, "Are you crazy?" Parker also said that it takes 8 days to film each episode. She previously expressed the opinion that she'd like to see Miss Parker "bust a move" and perhaps escape the Centre herself, but artfully dodged any question regarding a possible future relationship with Jarod (as in relationship) other than the one that currently exists. When asked if she is anything at all like Miss Parker, Andrea says "no" in a lightly humorous fashion and lets it go at that . . . but when asked what kind of gun "Miss Parker" uses on The Pretender, she answered the question and then immediately asked the questioner why they didn't ask what kind of gun she keeps at home! Parker said "maybe" when asked if she would be directing any episodes this year and spoke of a complex, love/hate between her character and Sydney (played by Patrick Bauchau). Parker quit smoking in May of 1998 and we noticed that she didn't "light up" in the premiere of The Pretender's 3rd season. No explanation was given regarding why the chain-smoking Miss Parker suddenly stopped indulging her former habit -- perhaps NBC thought it was time to begin making her more "socially acceptable" (a shame, if it's true -- we liked her "one-of-a-kind " attitude). Over the past two years, Andrea Parker has spent much of the little free time that she has corresponding with and mentoring child and teenaged cancer patients as part of her affiliation with the Glenn Siegel "My Good Friend" charity organization. She first heard about this organization when she was guest-starring on JAG and was so moved by its cause that she jumped right in. I think that a quote attributed to Andrea Parker, about the Glenn Siegel "My Good Friend" organization tells any interested fan just about everything they need to know about the real life Parker ... She said, "I'm not here to get anything out of this; I just hope to relieve some pain, give love, and offer a hand to those who need it. I want to let them know that they are valued. I'm troubled by the randomness of life, where some are blessed while others are burdened. I hope if I were going through something like this, I would know that no one can do it alone. Some kids get love at home, others don't. There's got to be someone there to help.
One of the good things about being an actor in Hollywood is that you're in a position to remind other people that there are still others who need help. It's the ultimate gratification -- it's why we were put on this earth." Way to go, Andrea Parker! (Glenn Siegel's "My Good Friend" is a national charity; volunteers can write to the organization at: 3587 Highway 9, No. 207, Freehold, New Jersey 07728) To send fan mail to Miss Parker (through her agent): If you are planning on requesting a signed photo, be sure to enclose a self-addressed envelope, large enough to hold the photo and with enough postage to cover the cost of having it mailed back to you.аа We'd also very much appreciate your taking the time to say that you were able to send the letter, or ask for the photo, because of Lois' Daily Planet, although only if you are going to be polite ... if you decide to write with a gripe, you're on your own :-)
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