AUGUST 16, 2007
THE THOMAS McKEE AFFAIR

When we joined the staff, and really got to know Matt Nix, we learned that we had something in common with him and Jeffrey Donovan: heist movies drive us nuts.

Now, don't get us wrong. We love heist movies. Everyone loves heist movies. But the truth is that they're all so absurd they make The Lord Of The Rings look like a documentary. You'll see hobbits save the world from an evil wizard before you see a dashing cat burglar stage a complicated heist and succeed. Every high-profile robbery you read about in the paper is the same: a few armed gunmen run into some European museum with crappy security and rip a painting off the wall. But then, that's not exactly the stuff of great cinema.

In Episode 107, we wanted to debunk the myth of the elaborate heist, but still have all the fun that the genre is known for. We knew Michael was going to run a psych-op against a villain at some point in the season, and what better fear to exploit than a fear that makes no sense: the fear that you're about to be the victim of an elaborate heist.

The question was how to get into the story, and we found the answer with Fiona. We had it in mind that Fiona had to be doing some pretty dangerous odd jobs to make a living in Miami, and bounty-hunters have always fascinated us (Really, just Craig. He secretly believes he missed his calling. – Jason) So what happens when Fiona catches a fugitive who swears he's innocent? The episode grew from there, and was an awful lot of fun to write. Soon it was time to go shoot it.

Word of advice: If you go to Miami, I (Craig) can't stress this enough...wear bug spray. A lot of bug spray. The mosquitoes down there are vicious little blood-sucking monsters, and they love out-of-towners. They attack in swarms and within seconds you've got bites everywhere and are wishing you'd bought stock in a company that makes over-the-counter antipruritics. When I think of this episode, I first think of the bug bites, then think of how much fun it was. But the bug bites come first. (Now you get some idea of what I'm dealing with. If he's not whining about his bug bites he's yammering on about how badly his scalp has been sunburned. – Jason) (Look, it's not my fault I look like the guy from Powder. But being bald and pale can be a gift. I'm pretty sure that guy turned into lightening at the end of the movie. – Craig)

In any case, pre-production went off without a hitch. Casting was a real pleasure on this episode. It's important to find formidable foes for Michael to lock horns with, and we couldn't have asked for a better bad guy than Brett Cullen (who is actually a really good guy). He had exactly the right mix of smooth, southern charm and ruthless cunning that we were looking for in Lawrence Henderson. Chris Payne Gilbert was another gem – one we'd actually worked with during our time on the short-lived defense lawyer show Justice. From that experience, we knew that CPG (a nickname that Craig has applied and Jason does not approve of) was smart and talented enough to bring a dimwitted character like Thomas McKee to life without making him a caricature. He was great.

The most fun we had on this particular Miami trip came when we shot the Dade Trust bank scene. It was a Saturday, and we'd closed down an entire city block so Michael could spring his trap on Lawrence. Our hats are off to Bruce Campbell who had to stand on a ledge, 10 stories up, waiving a deer rifle around in front of a bank for half an hour. It's a wonder some cop or concerned citizen didn't take a shot at him.

In closing, a quick word of thanks to Fat Joe and Lil Wayne, who really do the Lord's work. We called upon them to "Make it Rain" many times while we were in Miami, and they never disappointed. You're appreciated, guys.