Wong Time Coming
Glen Morgan and James Wong talk Final Destination, The Others and the loaned Gunmen.
      by Sarah Kendzior

Darin Morgan appeared in The X-Files episode "Small Potatoes" and will soon be showing up on The Others.

"James Morrison is this guy," Morgan begins. "He's a phone psychic and he's only doing it for the money. He starts blurting out horrible predictions and then they become true, and he's part of it. And one of the predictions he makes is to two brothers, one played by Randy Stone and one played by Darin." He is describing the eleventh episode of The Others, which will air on an undetermined date this spring. "They filmed the scene and they say, 'Okay, Darin, you're playing this part.' He cut his hair so that hair and makeup couldn't mess around with him. Then he rewrote me and gave himself only two lines and I was like, 'Oh, fine.'"

Unfortunately for fans of the younger Morgan, the former X-Files and Millennium scribe's contribution to The Others is limited to that scene -- for this season, at least. While disregarding an odd Internet rumor of a Darin Morgan-penned episode depicting a talking mongoose ("A talking mongoose? Where did you hear that?" exclaims Wong, before bursting into laughter), the writers note that their evasive partner may return for future episodes. "Hopefully if the show comes back next year, we'll be working with him," says Wong. "You can never tell with Darin. If we have the opportunity to work with him again, we will."

Morgan is particularly enthusiastic about an upcoming show directed by Wright and starring Cloke, who is best known for her roles as Space's Shane Vansen and Millennium's Lara Means. "The Tom Wright one is creepy," he affirms. "You don't see monsters or anything but there are these demons that are waiting outside the door and it just has this nice, creepy feel. Kristen is this devil woman who keeps appearing at the door. I don't know when they air, but she'll be in that one and in the last episode." Adds Wong, "It's sort of about what the devil would want from you. Our guys are stuck in Elmer's house and they're visited by this beautiful woman, who is also a demon. It's not like you'd expect where it's all scary, but it is creepy, and the idea of what the devil wants is kind of cool."

Actress Kristen Cloke will also be appearing on The Others later in the season.

While fond of the episode, Morgan finds working with Cloke -- his wife since 1998 -- to be a somewhat awkward situation. "Both of us feel like it's perceived like, 'Oh, that guy wants to hire his wife,'" Morgan explains. "It's not fair because James Morrison is going to be in The Others, Tucker Smallwood is going to be in The Others, [Millennium cinematographer] Rob McLachlan did the movie. There are people that I trust, and that I work with, and whether I was married to Kristen or not I would always have her around, because she knows what Jim and I are trying to do."

Morgan confirms that the writing pair will have a greater involvement with the latter part of The Others' short season: "This second half, we bullied our way over." As for future developments, "We'll just have to see if there is a second season. I'm pretty dark-hearted about television," he adds wryly. "If they say we're on again, we'll see what happens then. I thought and I still feel now that there is potential with the characters."

"I hope audiences stick with it and give it a chance," concludes Wong. "We've done some really different shows; not every show is like the one before it. We love to do that. I love the idea of being able to tell a really emotional story and then next week tell a very scary one. Then, when you tune in, it's not a, 'What's the alien this week, what's the serial killer this week' kind of thing. We don't want the audiences to know what they're in for, all they know is that the characters will be going through something."

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