- News Archive February 16 - 28 1999 -

BRUCE A. YOUNG TV GEN/YAHOO ONLINE CHAT - Feb 26

Monday, March 1
8pm ET 5pm PT Add to my Calendar	"Sentinel" star Bruce A. Young Bruce A. Young plays Captain Simon Banks, the tough-but-fair superior to Lt. Detective Jim Ellison in The Sentinel, the one-hour action drama in its fourth season on UPN. Young is a prolific television, film and theater actor. His other credits include appearances on Highlander and The X-Files as well as roles in the feature films Phenomenon,Basic Instinct and Risky Business. Join TV Guide Online as we chat with Bruce on Monday, March 1, 8pET/5pPT.

(Thanks Liz and Mick)

RADIO INTERVIEW WITH GARETT MAGGART - Feb 25

This radio interview was originally scheduled to include Richard Burgi and Garett Maggart, however, due to illness Richard was forced to cancel. Conway and Stecker of Radio KLSX Los Angeles interviewed Garett alone.

Thanks to Becky for this transcript of the interview.

CS1 CS2: Conway and Stecker
GM: Garett Maggart

 

---

CS1: Garett Maggart of The Sentinel. Garett plays Blair Sandburg who's the anthropology grad student dedicated to keeping his thesis subject, Detective Jim Ellison, in one piece by accompanying him as a permanent police department observer. Now this is an action drama on Paramount here in LA on UPN Channel 13.

CS2: Is this the first season? The pilot?

CS1: I think it's been on for a couple years.

CS2: It's been on a couple years? How many years?

CS1: I think three

CS2: Let's read the bio. ~mumble, mumble~ Four years.

CS1: Hey, I was close.

CS2: Hey, it's Garett!

CS1: It's Garett..

GM: It's Garett.

CS2: Come on in, have a seat.

GM: It's the *fourth* season, not the pilot episode. ~mumble, mumble~ (not on a mic yet) ...It's in the publicity package right there.

CS2: Now this is The Sentinel, right?

GM: Right.

CS2: Now you're the star of The Sentinel?

GM: I'm one of the co-stars.

CS2: Well, excellent, good for you.

GM: Thank you.

CS1: There you are, you're right on the cover of this.

CS2: Is it fun being on UPN?

GM: Oh, yeah, it's fun being on any television show.

CS2: Oh, I see you, in the background.

GM: Yeah, the long hair.

CS2: But you haven't shaved for awhile.

GM: No, I've been out of work for the last couple months.

CS2: Well, tell us about The Sentinel. I've not caught this yet. When is it on?

GM: It's on Monday nights at nine on UPN, which is channel 13 locally. It's a cop show. We blow stuff up.

[laugher]

CS1: You guys look like you're capable of that.

GM: There's a high body count. It's a good flick.

CS2: Paramount puts a lot into their press packets. Look at this. Very expensive. A slide kit.

GM: It's raised lettering too, I think. Good stuff.

CS2: Now that is channel 13, right?

GM: Yeah.

CS2: It's on Monday nights at 9 p.m.

GM: Monday nights at 9 p.m.

CS2: I wonder why I haven't caught that. Well, I'm working on Monday nights at 9 p.m.

GM: That's a good one. I'll buy that.

CS1: Dan has always wanted to be a sentinel.

[laughter]

CS1: We're talking with Garett Maggart. Did I pronounce your last name correctly?

GM: Close enough.

CS1: Or is it Maggart?

GM: Maggart.

CS1: Okay, Garett Maggart who plays Blair Sandburg on the UPN series The Sentinel. As I was saying, Dan's always wanted to be one. He thinks they're like mythical tribal spirits that watch out for the rest of us. Is that right?

GM: Yeah.

[laughter]

CS1: You can be one, Dan.

GM: He's mythical and tribal. Look at him.

CS1: He's certainly tribal.

CS2: Actually, he referred to it as The Centennial before, thinking it was a show about 100 years.

GM: I like that. Maybe that'd bump up our ratings.

CS2: Crazy guy. Again, I have not seen this show. But I'm sure it's terrific.

GM: It's wonderful.

CS2: It's action-adventure. You got car crashes, things are blowing up. Now I was working on a show called High Tide. You ever see High Tide?......

[short discussion about this other show which I didn't really think was relevant, except that GM laughed a lot, that cute little laugh <g> Basically getting to the expensiveness of blowing things up which leads to....]

CS2: It's very expensive to do these things.

GM: Yeah, we have a pretty good budget. I don't really know the numbers exactly...

CS2: Anybody going nuts on the set? Anybody going crazy? Anybody get in fights?

GM: A couple times, sure.

CS2: Actors?

GM: No, not actors. Richard Burgi and Bruce Young are the co-stars with me and we pretty much keep everybody in line. I'm not the muscle.

CS1: We're talking with Garett Maggart who plays Blair Sandburg on The Sentinel. Is this shot locally?

GM: Vancouver.

CS1: Oh, it is.

GM: It's here in British Columbia. It's gorgeous up there. Rains a lot, but it's pretty.

[Then we diverge into another tangent about the half-sister Fiona Apple...]

CS2: Can we call her?

GM: To tell you the truth, I don't know her number. I don't even know my brother's. I got five sisters and a brother.

CS2: Wait a minute, you've got five sisters? How many numbers do you know?

GM: Off the top of my head? I know my dentist.

[...continuing tangent into knowing phone numbers and having address books...more discussion about Fiona who is 21, Garett being 29, Fiona growing up in New York, Garett in Connecticut, spent summers together...]

CS2: I bet she had some cute friends.

GM: Uh...yeah.

CS2: Did you ever hang around with them?

GM: No, they were too young, man. I mean, come on, I'm 8 years older than them. I'm 18, they're 10! Please!

CS1: Garett...

GM: What are you trying to get into here? (sounding semi-amused)

CS2: You don't stop having sex when you're 25, they're 17, 18, you're 26...

CS1: Also, can't girls be sentinels? There aren't any girls in this package.

CS2: Yeah, where are the chicks in this thing.

GM: There is another character that wasn't around at that time when that picture was taken. Her name is Anna Galvin. She plays Inspector Megan Conner. She's the new skirt.

CS2: Okay, so it's on Monday nights, 9 p.m. The ratings doing okay?

GM: We were for awhile. I don't really know what's going on with it now. I don't really follow numbers too much. But when we re-aired at this new time slot, I heard that we did 70% better than they ever had in that time slot.

CS2: Excellent.

CS1: Congratulations.

GM: So that was pretty good.

CS2: And here you come on right after Monday night football.

CS1: Well, on the east coast you're up against it.

GM: Yeah. Exactly. We're up against Ally McBeal everywhere.

CS2: Is that right?

GM: Yeah. So what are you gonna do?

CS2: See, I have no idea what day and what time Ally McBeal is on.

GM: I think that's like a top ten show, so you can't really...

CS2: Working 7-10 on weekdays, we don't get home to see anything other than like the last 10 minutes of 20/20 or ER. So I miss about everything.

[...divergent discussion of when MASH is on...]

CS1: The Sentinel maybe needs the dancing baby sentinel.

GM: There you go. I think that might pump it up.

[talking about GM's father; lots of Blair laughter, very cute]

CS2: Are you married? Do you have kids?

GM: No.

CS2: Single?

GM: No, I have a girlfriend.

CS2: Oh, you do. Did you meet her...was she one of the extras on the show and you just decided to...?

GM: We hooked up.

CS2: Was she on the show?

GM: Yeah.

CS2: So you met her through the show?

GM: Yeah.

[divergent discussion of dating female extras vs. hair and makeup girls and so forth....then going into how actors and basically everyone involved in the entertainment business in a little crazy...]

GM: You sorta have to have a death wish to get involved in this business to begin with.

CS1: Garett Maggart who plays Blair Sandburg on The Sentinel is with us. And he is right. Most of us are a little...but most of us have handled our damage....

GM: Fairly well.

CS1: Fairly well.

GM: We use it to our benefit -- we're making a living off it.

[divergent discussion of Riley Westin - the 19-year-old writer who was really 32...more GM laughter...]

CS2: All right, Garett, thanks for coming in.

GM: No problem.

CS2: Monday nights at 9 p.m. for this UPN

CS1: Channel 13 here.

CS2: Channel 13, Paramount network

GM: UPN.

CS2: I hope they get this whole network together, 'cause there's some talented people over there. Including yourself.

GM: Thank you.

CS2: You guys do need some exposure. I don't know what's happening. Don't know why it's taking them a little longer...remember when FOX started? Took about two years and they got recognition.

GM: They had The Simpsons and The X-Files.

CS2: Little slow start. Big finishes. 'Course they got a lot of money behind it. Paramount's behind it. A lot of money behind it, so they're gonna keep it around for awhile.

GM: I hope so.

CS2: I wish you guys luck over there.

GM: Thank you.

CS1: Okay, Garett Maggart from The Centennial...Sentinel. The Sentinel.

[station ID and fade to commercial....the end]

SENTINEL EPISODE PREVIEW - Feb 21

Film Noir In Color

The UPN action series The Sentinel mixes a little black and white (and even some sepia) with its color for a film noir episode offering style and suspense.

Many standard motifs of the dark films of the '40s are pulled out, including the police interrogation under the bright light, lots of cigarette smoke (Lucky Strikes, in one case), trench coats and the vampy woman with a past.

She in in fact called Veronica, and she has these scenes at a lake. (Hmm.) Water and the water's edge were often part of film noir, as well as boats and beaches. It's all here.

This time out, perennial good-guy Jim Ellison (Richard Burgi) is in trouble, a suspect in a complex plot and double-cross tied to an ex-love (Veronica) and a former best friend, who happened to marry each other. When there are missing drugs and a fiery death, Ellison is the prime suspect.

The hour handles time shifts by going to black and white (recent past) and sepia (memory). One bit is particularly nice, when an explosion adds a single segment of color to an otherwise b&w landscape.

The program may be a little offbeat for show fans, but it's a good outing from a good series. 

UPN PILOTS GREEN-LIT FOR CONSIDERATION - Feb 20

These drama pilots include:

• Secret Agent Man - a stylish secret agent buddy comedy, likened to an updated Man From U.N.C.L.E.
• The Disciples - fast-paced action hour that features a high end security force who use their martial arts skills to get the job done.
• Forbidden Island - by Aaron Spelling features his signature youthful, sexy, ensemble cast of characters but with a sci-fi twist - they've crashed landed their plane on an island that portends paranormal danger.
• Dodge's City - an adrenaline-pumped detective show likened to a Generation X version of The Rockford Files.

MASTER OF PERCEPTION - RICHARD BURGI INTERVIEW - FEB 15

The Sentinel is standing guard for another season. And Richard Burgi is glad to be back - especially since the series managed to dodge cancellation, returning to UPN early this year. As viewers know, the hour long series combines action and fantasy as it chronicles the adventures of Lt. Detective Jim Ellison, a former soldier and sole survivor of a mission to the Peruvian jungle that left him with radically enhanced senses.

Ellison appealed to Burgi from the beginning. "it was his sense of honour", says Burgi, "his integrity and his ascerbic, sarcastic wit. Plus, the fact that he was taller than me."

But it wasn't just Burgi's interest that won him Ellison. A recurring part on Viper, produced by Sentinel creators Danny Bilson and Paul DeMeo, helped lead to his star role, although Burgi's first encounter with Bilson and DeMeo came in an earlier genre outing. "I actually read for the original Flash. I did not get it, but I ended up doing an episode of that show for them later," says Burgi. "I've known them since then."

Bilson and DeMeo called in Burgi to headline The Sentinel, but the actor doesn't attribute any special significance to their choice. "I was just another schmuck, another actor in town, " he says. "I had finished a series in Hawaii when they called my agent, and one thing led to another."

Ellison is aided each week by anthropology student-turned police observer Blair Sandburg (Garett Maggart), who helps him deal with his radically enhanced senses. Sandburg's encyclopedic knowledge of the "sentinel' mythos forces Ellison, albeit reluctantly, to team up with him as they battle terrorist, hijackers and assassins. The Sentinel triumvirate is completed by police captain Simon Banks (Bruce A. Young), who supervises the pair and begins to rely on Ellison's unique abilities.

Burgi guarantees viewers that this season will include more of the action and excitement they've come to expect from The Sentinel, along with a few twists. "We did a noir-ish episode, we're doing some wacky, funny stuff in another show, and we're doing a fair amount of mystically-influenced work," he says. "We're trying to continue with many of the essential ingredients that have been the mix from the beginning.

"Viewers can expect much more of the seat-of-the-pants variety of action-adventure that we've been providing. The writers and producers have really made an effort to bring a fun DJ to the dance floor, so everybody can have a good stomp with The Sentinel. They've really tried to come up with some interesting, yet do-able shows consistent with what we've done in the past."

Yet despite the action and paranormal abilities, it's the character's relationships that the fans cherish. "Viewer's love the characters and (love to watch them) overcome obstacles in their lives, whether it's within their personal relationships or their relationships with the outside world," says Burgi. "It's classic good guy-bad guy stuff. Fans want to see their hero's lives within the choices they make each episode.

Many viewers simply tune in to The Sentinel for the action. "That also intrigued me about the show, some of the stunts, the fun and the wacky predicaments that the characters get into," notes Burgi. "Some of the action sequences are appealing. I find all that very fun - hanging off helicopters, jumping on and off trains, driving locomotives and boats, falling into water, jet-skiing and escape mechanisms in assault and pursuit vehicles."

Burgi likes to do many of the stunts himself, though the line has to be drawn somewhere. "I try to do a fair amount, but when it becomes unnecessary for me to do something, I'll opt to have them use my stunt guy," he laughs. "If it's something that I think might be dangerous, I obviously won't do it. I like the stunts, but when you do a tonne of them, it gets old after a while.

The actor has done so many stunts that he can't recall a single one he is most proud of. "I liked hanging off the helicopter and climbing up on it. I liked walking on the back of a moving plane," he says. "There have been times that it has been fun and risky at the same time."

Ellison's hyper-vigilant senses have historical precedent in the writings of 19th century British explorer Richard Burton, who described a phenomenon in remote tribal cultures. Villagers chose a watchman or "sentinel" with a sensory awareness developed well beyond ordinary humans, senses sharpened by solitary time in the wild then charged him with guarding the tribe's borders. Burgi uses the little-known phenomenon as background for his role, noting that everything he does with Ellison is based in the real world. "I try to ground all of it in a sense of reality, and the potential for the human condition," the actor says. "I've experienced moments of heightened sensory awareness under various circumstances in my life. I think that all people have the potential for hyper-awareness or a higher consciousness. I try to live in a moment when these things are happening and suspend my disbelief, because I think the character has a sense of disbelief or cynicism about the whole possibility or having heightened senses."

The Sentinel is much more than just another cop show. It explores Ellison's hyper-senses, but it also has a somewhat glib take on events. "Many times when we go into a scene, we need to put our tongues in our cheeks," says Burgi. "We try to dance between comedy and drama, between fantasy and reality. It's an interesting kind of rumba to play week after week, because it can get silly - it can become a parody. We go into it with a sense of humor and integrity in terms of playing it real, and going into it with an appreciation for the theatre of the absurd. We just constantly try to infuse each scene with quality that's consistent with the integrity of the show and its characters."

The Sentinel expertly balances characterization with action, according to Burgi. "To me it's all entertainment. We look to pursue the various forms within the paranormal world with equal vigor, with a sense of constantly delving into areas with a sense of wonder. Banks is the grounded character, and Sandburg and Ellison are tethered in reality in some way by Banks as they're flying around, involved in these wacky capers and supernatural, mystical escapades. We allow for the characters to live that way."

But how would Burgi use such interesting powers, were he to find himself blessed with superior faculties? "I would probably use those powers to further my Peeping Tom adventures!" he jokes. "I would then listen in on conversations where I was sure people were talking about me, and I would be better at the race track! Seriously, how would I use them? If I had been blessed that way, I would like to give back to mankind a certain gift. I would use it for the betterment and the potential evolution of mankind.

Ellison sometimes finds his abilities a double-edged sword - even a curse. Burgi points to the drawbacks of such hypersensitivity. "As far as the character is concerned, there are times where something comes in to overload his senses," he says. "That's probably the only time it becomes a hindrance. When he's doing some investigative work or tuning in to a certain frequency, an aberration of some sort sometimes come in to knock him out of it. It's a little to disruptive and jarring for his liking. That's where it gets in the way."

Burgi says co-stars Maggart and Young are wonderful to work with, and their interactions strengthen the series. "Garett and Bruce are sweethearts, two of my favorite people," Burgi enthuses. "I'm really blessed to be working with them. We have a lot of fun - we have our differences at times, but we're a little family unit here. We're subject to so many familial (situations) that we've become very close. We approach work differently, and the confluence of those approaches produces a very interesting product. But I really love both of them very much."

Last season's cliffhanger, in which viewers witnessed the apparent death of Sandburg, in the cross fire between two Sentinel titans, will be resolved early this season. "Sandburg was killed off because he's no-god ne'er-do-well who was starting to bug Jim and the rest of the police department," jokes Burgi. "Seriously, he's going to be revived, either in spirit or corporeally. So, it's very possible that his returning to the show might be an altered capacity. In other words, it's not all bad news for Sandburg fans."

Another returnee - if only for the first episode of the new season - is Jeri Ryan, who was responsible for Sandburg's apparent demise. "She's coming back to wrap up the cliffhanger," say Burgi. "We have to expunge that entity and vanquish the evil within her, and in some way resuscitate the essence of Sandburg. The show must go on." The return of The Sentinel to the UPN lineup was due to at least in part to the letters, phone calls, E-mail and other support from its loyal fans. And Burgi couldn't be more grateful. "A large amount of the energy behind the decision was due to the cascade of fan calls, feelings and responses," says Burgi. "Fans had a lot to do with it."

Burgi's career began on daytime dramas, a perfect training ground. "I loved 'em," he admits. "I learned to memorize an inordinate amount of material in a short period of time. I really just tried to hang on to the essence of my acting style, which I guess is a Method approach. I tried to incorporate a lot of Eastern philosophy in my work, coming to the material in a childlike way, always with the beginner's mind and a sense of exploration."

The actor eventually moved to prime time action shows, including a guest role on the "Deadly Nightshade" episode of The Flash. "It was really fun wearing that outfit," Burgi confesses, "and I love diabolical characters. I've always gravitated toward darker, twisted, gnarled personalities. I've always been intrigued by that side. I remember driving one of the first NSX cars, the high-end Accura that looked like a Ferrari, before the car hit the showrooms. It was real fun, wacky experience - a comic book, kind of torqued reality. I really like that stuff."

Afterwards, Burgi won a recurring role as diabolical Lane Cassidy on Viper. "I was on there for months and had a great time," he recalls. "I was playing the sinister head of the syndicate. I had my own set, so I never interacted much with the other characters except when they pursued me. It was fun to have that autonomy."

Though he went on to co-star with Cheryl Ladd in One West Waikiki afterwards, he says the producers of Viper remembered him when they creating The Sentinel. "They respected me as an actor, and it was just a question of whether or not the people they were with thought of me as some archetypal leading male," Burgi notes. "I was always happy to be playing the second banana or the bad guy. I prefer character roles."

During the breaks from The Sentinel, the actor portrayed a monstrous husband in the UPN TV movie remake of I married a Monster from Outer Space. "I tried to keep it simple, and to feel uncomfortable being a human, in my own skin. I tried to just live in an uncomfortable place," he says. "Anybody can feel like an alien if they've moved from one place to another or if they've changed jobs. If they really check in with themselves, they only have their skin to be comfortable in, and in the event that's challenged or rendered uncomfortable, it's a very odd feeling. I've been in situations in my life where I have been uncomfortable in my own skin - subsequently, all my movements and feelings and behavior were attenuated. So, I think more people than you might believe can relate to being an alien.

For the moment, however, Richard Burgi is having fun as the world's super-sensitive guardian. "The Sentinel has laughs," he says. "It's silly, it's serious, it's dramatic, it's goofy, and there's an overall positive message. It's a great ride." 

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