04/08/2024
You asked about my role on the CHRISTY pilot and how it came about, so here goes ....
Because CBS thought so highly of Patricia Green's remarkable pilot script and the early production planning by Barney Rosenzweig, Ken Wales, Pat, and Bill Allen at the studio (MTM), they ordered six episode scripts, just in case, so as to smoothly continue production without stopping. Instead of waiting to see the completed movie, they promised to make their decision after a week or so of filming. And given the quality of the novel, and Barney and Pat's track record on CAGNEY & LACY, they had reason to be optimistic.
Having Kellie Martin, Tess Harper, and Tyne Daly onboard certainly didn't hurt!
Pat chose a small group of writers to read the book and meet at her house, and after some enlightening discussions of her vision for the series she assigned each of us a script to develop; which for me became "Judgment Day". She guided us toward which sections of Catherine Marshall's work to draw upon and suggested ideas for new material that would need to be incorporated for the series that she had in mind. It was an honor to be a part of that, I assure you. We all understood that this was going to be something special.
A month or so later, while Pat was on location for the pilot, the network made their decision, and the production of the episodes was ordered, along with scripts for the rest of the first season. That meant that Pat had to return to Los Angeles in the middle of the pilot's production to develop the additional scripts and oversee guest star casting in Los Angeles. Fortunately for me, "Judgment Day" had been well received by the powers that be and I was hired to be Production Consultant for the remaining weeks of pilot filming and then formally become Supervising Producer of the series. My job was the same throughout, which was to represent Pat's creative priorities and intentions in discussions with the cast and crew, and to handle any script revisions that might be needed to address production requirements or input from our lead actors.
That cast input was crucial in countless ways, large and small--and it even resulted in my script collaborations with Tyne on "Echoes" and Kellie on "A Babe In The Woods", which would never have happened without having had many conversations with them about their characters. At any rate, I was the writer-producer in Townsend for the first season (with welcomed visits from Pat) and then rotated with fellow Supervising Producer Pam Long and Story Editor Philip Gerson in the second. Alternating with Pam and Philip allowed me to spend time with my family, get more writing accomplished, and to be part of casting sessions in Pat's office. For anyone interested in CHRISTY trivia, editing and post production were handled by Barney Rosenzweig in his office across town.
Making that series was a challenge for everybody involved and we all learned so much in the process. I am also blessed by the friendships that grew from the experience, including those made at ChristyFest later on.
Warm regards,
Tom Blomquist
