Every farewell combines loss and new freedom - Cooley Mason
Hello everyone and welcome to my final official entry of Eberts’ Files. For many
of you casual readers this may come as a surprise and I apologize for being the
bearer of such bad news. However since you fans have been so close to this
production and cared for it so strongly I felt that you should learn the truth
as quickly as I had. If I am spoiling the official word from the Sci-Fi channel,
I hope they forgive me. Seeing how the word has reached me, I must assume that a
lot of other folks have already heard and rather than it persist as a rumor or
slowly leak on the Bboard, I would simply address right there and now.
The Invisible Man is cancelled.
As hard as it is for all of us to grasp it, it is unfortunately the truth. The
decision as I understand it was a difficult one, but in the end economics barely
won the day. This is neither the first nor the last time this has happened to a
show. Nonetheless, it is still a painful experience for everyone involved.
The immediate questions flood in: How? Why? The answers are largely moot now
except to those who will chronicle (no pun intended) this show. Blame will be
assessed where due and where not. Someday I’ll venture my own opinions of who
and what were responsible, but for now I hold back any spite or anger in favor
of celebrating what we accomplished.
And it was a lot.
I’ve mentioned it before, but I didn’t think I-Man would ever have a chance.
Reading the pilot script I thought it was immensely clever and well written but
ultimately not having enough ‘bells and whistles’ in special effects, aliens and
space fights that sci-fi fans have been culled on to be a hit. Even when we
received our thirteen-episode pick-up after we shot the pilot I was sure that
that would be all that would ever be produced. 45 episodes later I was proved
completely wrong. Fans flocked to the quirky, offbeat little show that could.
The interaction of characters and the struggle of a lonely thief in an inept
agency became a mainstay Friday nights for millions of viewers and millions more
in syndication. By the end of season one we knew that we had succeeded in
creating a popular show.
We also were able to create a niche on the creative side. The series creator was
forced to leave early on. This left a gap in creative control that the cast was
able to fill. Fleshing out characters and their interactions with each other was
something that happened organically and spontaneously on the set. Darien and
Hobbes’ chatter, Bobby’s affection of the Keeper, Eberts and The Official’s
banter; all were created and refined on the set by the most talented actors I’ve
ever met. They are my idols and my friends.
That’s not to say our writing staff or anyone behind the camera was not a major
force in the creation of this show. Craig and later on Dean truly ‘got’ the show
and created funny, moving scripts. Directors like Breck Eisner, Jay Tobias, Josh
Butler, Greg Yatenias and especially Michael Grossman refined the scripts and
our performances. Camera operators Spencer, Raul, Bruce; D.P.’s John Connor and
Tommy Jewett; Assistant Directors Jenn and Matt: costume, lights, sound,
make-up. - I wish I could name them all because they all pitched in made what
should have been an average show an extraordinary affair.
But the most important cog in this wonderful machine was all of you. From the
beginning you showed up and supported this show. Each week I would publish this
meek little rambling and you would be there in Bboard posts, E-Mail and fan mail
to show your approval. You became such and influence that the rest of the cast
came to me for updates on what the fans liked or disliked in each episode. You
were such a force that you were mentioned in scripts and even in the opening
credits. You were so respected by all of us that we placed the fate of Darien in
a two-parter in your hands when you voted on the internet. Rarely, if ever has
there been such full interaction between a show and its fans. And yet you
deserved it all.
So with that, I end as I started two years ago, by thanking you. I’ve lived a
dream of mine and nothing can ever cancel that. I invite you to watch the rest
of our final season in January. In particular I am proud of our last two
episodes and the way that they finish off the show. I’ll lurk the board from
time to time and maybe post a file on my own site, but this is my swansong on
the I-Man board.
In true I-Man fashion, I leave you with this...
"What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a
beginning. The end is where we start from."
-T. S. Eliot
On behalf of Vince, Paul, Eddie, Shannon and myself,
Thank you,
Michael Patrick McCafferty
