A dramatic murder trial took place in Lake County on Wednesday – exciting and unusual because the defendant is a genetically engineered warrior, and the courtroom drama unfolds in the year 2021.
The cast and crew of seaQuest DSV, television’s sci-fi submarine thriller, surfaced at 9 a.m. in the county’s new judicial complex in Tavares.
“People have been very helpful,” location manager Fabio Arber said, scanning the modern glass and steel beam walls of the waiting area. “This fit in with our high-tech show.”
The seaQuest crew didn’t have to go far for the filming. Last year, the show was produced in Los Angeles, but the sound stage now is an hour away at Universal Studios in Orlando.
The crew didn’t have to pilot the fictional 1,000-foot submarine through Lake Harris, but that might have been easier than parking the five giant equipment trucks, eight trailers and 73 crew vehicles, including dressing rooms on wheels.
Inside the courthouse, more than 120 technicians, actors and extras swarmed over and around miles of thick cable, carts full of equipment, lights and other gear.
“The movie business is crazy,” a spokesman for the production company said with a laugh.
And it’s hard work.
The “call” Wednesday was for 9 a.m., but a workday can just as easily be 5 p.m. to 7 a.m. after normal business hours.
Much of the time Wednesday was spent rehearsing, then filming tiny pieces of dramatic scenes that will be woven together to form an hourlong NBC episode to be aired at 8 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 11, on WESH-TV, Channel 2.
Some of the extras felt right at home in the courtroom.
Mike Johnson, an assistant public defender, was on his way to work when show staff stopped him and said, “You’re it,” he recalled, laughing.
“I didn’t have much on my calendar, so I said, ‘Sure, why not?’ It’s a chance of a lifetime.”
Kimberly Reid, a judge’s law clerk, also was picked.
She said she wasn’t concerned, even if her scenes end up on the cutting room floor.
“It doesn’t make much difference one way or the other,” she said. “It’s interesting.”
It also was interesting for onlookers lucky enough to catch a glimpse of star Roy Scheider, who plays Capt. Nathan Bridger.
Also on hand was Don Franklin, who stars as Cmdr. Jonathan Ford, Edward Kerr (Lt. James Brody) and Peter DeLuise, who stars in the courtroom episode as the genetically engineered life form (GELF), who is accused of murder.
DeLuise said he enjoys portraying the ship’s janitor, Dagwood.
“He’s not dumb. He just doesn’t understand the human condition, and he certainly doesn’t understand the judicial system,” DeLuise said.
When told to “take the witness stand,” for example, Dagwood picks it up and asks, “What do you want me to do with it?”
“It was heavier than I thought,” laughed DeLuise, the 28-year-old son of comedy star Dom DeLuise.
Instead of using a fake, he picked up the real thing.
A star for five years on 21 Jump Street, DeLuise jumped at the chance to join his brother, Michael, who portrays Tony Piccolo, a cocky young crew member.
He likes working in Orlando.
“In Los Angeles, people look at you like, ‘What can you do for me?’ ” he said, while in Orlando, “People are personable. It’s a major difference.”
He’s not the only one who feels that way. Jerry Bertolami, a veteran camera “grip,” has moved to Mount Dora from South Florida, where his dad, Burt, once filmed Flipper.
“It’s just a real nice community,” Bertolami said.
Location manager Arber, too, is intrigued with Lake County, especially Mount Dora and Howey-in-the-Hills.
“There are no other places like this around,” he said. “There’s no reason we shouldn’t come back.”
So, stay tuned Lake County. You may show up in future episodes about the future.
