UNSEEN ON TV: AMICUS CURIAE

"She has convinced Donna that while her attorney is terribly earnest, 

he's terribly young and inexperienced.  

And in terribly over his head."

Della Street

'Perry Mason'

"The Case Of The Provocative Protege"

This episode took place in November of 1960.  On average, a graduate of law school passes the bar in their state around the age of 25.  So for a lawyer to be "terribly young and inexperienced", we need a lawyer who only just recently got their license to practice law.  And if they are 25 years of age, they should have been born in 1935.  

Now, we also would want a TV lawyer in California who was "terribly earnest".  I can think of only one lawyer in Los Angeles who showed such determination in seeing justice done and who would still have been of the right age......

Neil Darrell, future partner at Nichols, Darrell, & Darrell.

('The Bold Ones: The Lawyers')

Usually I claim that a TV character is the exact same age as the actor playing him, unless otherwise stated.  But as James Farentino was born in 1938, I'd rather not go the 'Doogie Howser' route and claim that Neil became a lawyer when he was 22 years old.  So I'll just fudge his age by three years since I can't remember it being mentioned in the show.

I could see him being that earnest young lawyer who had been hired by Donna Ross originally.  And Neil was honest enough to let her know that she would be better off with another lawyer... and blunt enough to let her know that he knew she was holding back information on the murder case.

It would be eight years before we finally saw Neil Darrell on our screens as part of the cast for 'The Bold Ones: The Lawyers'.  Those missing years on the Toobword timeline need to be filled in, however - no one ceases to exist just because they're not on the small screen.  Being a crossover fan, I think Neil went to work for MacKenzie-Brackman, and may have even clerked for Supreme Court Justice Henry Hoskins.  

This is what I love most about the Toobworld Dynamic: filling in the blanks to make the TV Universe more cohesive.  

BCnU!