1. How did you get the job?
Phil Harnage : I WAS THE SENIOR STAFF WRITER AT DIC SO I WAS ASSIGNED TO THE PROJECT.
Bob Forward : I wasn't brought in until all the characters were created and the general theme of the show in place.
2. How did you feel about working on such a popular UK Toy Line ?
Phil Harnage : I HAD NO IDEA HOW POPULAR IT WAS UNTIL I STARTED WORKING ON IT AND DID A LITTLE RESEARCH, AND SAID, "WOW, THIS IS HUGE!"
3.I would like to obtain a copy of the Bible of this series. Do you still have one available or do you know of someone that might have one ?
Bob Forward : I'm afraid not.
Phil Harnage: I TRYIED TO PROCURE A PDF COPY FOR YOU BUT, no one at DIC could locate the original bible. HOWEVER they did find this ADDENDUM and sent it to me. I think you will find it of great interest. Please note that this is for you personal use only. If you wish to put it on a website, or publish it, or distribute it in any way, it would be a very good idea to get permission from DIC first. Enjoy! You are now one of the few people in the entire world who knows the true identity (History) of Action Man.
4.You had a lot of secrets for Action Man in this series and many of these things never was revealed when the series ended, can you shed any light on any of these such as ;
A. What’s Action Mans Name ? on one episode we see a grave marked M. Exler is this Action Mans last name?
Bob Forward : To be honest, my memory of the details you ask about are rather blurred, I think he ( Phil Harnage ) would be the best person for you to contact.
Phil Harnage : THIS WAS BOB'S HALF OF THE SERIES. WE EACH STORY-EDITED 13 EPISODES OF THE 26 TOTAL. BUT I WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED IF HE DOESN'T
REMEMBER. TIME, ALZHEIMER'S AND THE BUSINESS OFANIMATION WRITING TAKE THEIR TOLL.
B. Why does Ursula wants payback on Action Man
Phil Harnage : HELL HATH NO FURY LIKE A WOMAN SCORNED.
C. Who was the Action Man doppelganger Gem-eye ( he had the same tatoo as Action Man )
Phil Harnage : IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY HE WAS
TRAINED WITH ACTION MAN BUT WENT TO THE DARK SIDE.
D.What / if any were your future plans with him?
Phil Harnage : NONE WHATSOEVER, UNFORTUNATELY. THE SERIES WAS NOT A
HIT IN THE U.S. AND THE PROPERTY IS, BASICALLY, DEA.
5. Do you have any scripts available to purchase
from this show ?
Phil Harnage : NO BUT I MIGHT BE ABLE TO GET YOU
ONE.
Bob Forward : Sorry but no
6. Who wrote the series bible?
Bob Forward : That was written by Phil before I even came aboard on the series.
Phil Harnage : I DID BUT WHEN BOB CAME ABOARD WE REVISED IT TOGETHER.
7. Was their any other plot points that you had planned or wanted to tell that you didn't get to ?
Phil Harnage : WE WANTED TO DO HIS ENTIRE HISTORY FROM BIRTH TO WHENEVER, BUT WE RAN OUT OF EPISODES.
8. Were you disappointed that you never got to finish these great story points that you were setting up?
Phil Harnage : OH YEAH.
9. Action Man is basically Europe's GI JOE. And with the recent addition of an Action Man toy in the GI JOE small 4 inch line, he is in the same universe as GI Joe officially now. Was their any consideration or talk of bringing in a GI JOE character for a brief cameo or guest appearance for a show, to connect it more to GI JOE and to get more of a following ?
Phil Harnage : BACK THEN, NEVER.
10. Each episode opened with a live action segment that was shot in Universal Studios, Did you get to write any of these parts for the live action segments or did someone else write that and you wrote only the animated segments. And were you still responsible for story editing these?
Phil Harnage : I WORKED OUT ALL THE SEGMENTS BUT WE HAD ANOTHER STAFF WRITER DO THEM BECAUSE I WAS SO INVOLVED WITH THE ANIMATION. TOO BAD, I WOULD HAVE LIKED TO HAVE GONE BACK TO UNI-FLA.
11. You definately had some big plans for these character , You could tell that you were setting up alot ,so What was your master plan for this series?
Phil Harnage : WE WERE DEVELOPING EVERYTHING AS WE WENT ALONG. THERE WAS NO MASTER PLAN. IN TV ANIMATION WITH A STUDIO LIKE DIC, YOU HAVE WEEKS TO DO WHAT SHOULD TAKE MONTHS. DISNEY TAKES THE TIME. DIC DOESN'T. IT'S ALL ECONOMICS.
12. Was their any restrictions put on you ?
Phil Harnage : ONLY THE USUAL -- "THOU SHALT NOT KILL, MAIM OR DECAPITATE."
13. Was their any demands like "you must write an episode that has Action Man in his new diving suit so we can sell a new diving suit Action Man ? It seemed like every episode featured Action Man in some kind of ALTERNATE uniform , so that maybe it could be sold as a toy.
Phil Harnage : YES, THEY WANTED THE VARIOUS OUTFITS REPRESENTED, SO WE HAD SOME EPS IN SPACE, SOME IN THE DESERT, ETC.
14. Who came up with the all original new characters of Knuck and Natalie ( Action Mans team mates) that would later see a very limited release ?
Phil Harnage : I DID.
Who did the intial Developments of the show?
Bob Forward : Phil Harnage was actually the one who did the initial development on the show
17 How was it to work for DIC ?
Bob Forward : DIC schedules were incredibly fast. I think we were pounding out a couple scripts a week, and the whole thing is kind of a blur for me. I'm just glad it worked out as well as it did!
18. Were you disappointed in the lack of positive response of this series ?
Phil Harnage : YOU BET. IT WAS A FUN SHOW TO WRITE AND WE WANTED TO DO MORE.
19. What were you plans or thoughts about Action Man and the two women in his life Natalie and Ursula. It seemed you guys took extra care with Ursula as your wrote alot about her in your episodes.
Phil Harnage : URSULA WAS A FEMME FATALE. NATALIE WAS THE GIRL NEXT DOOR WHO JUST HAPPENED TO HAVE A BLACK BELT IN VARIOUS MARTIAL ARTS.
20 . Is their anything else you would like to add about this series?
Phil Harnage : ONLY THAT BOB AND I REALLY DID OUR BEST TO MAKE ACTION MAN COME TO LIFE, AND I THINK WE SUCCEEDED.
Bob Forward : No, I appreciate your asking and I'm glad you liked the show!
21. What are you currently working on ?
Phil Harnage : I AM DOING A SERIES CALLED "HORSELAND" (SEE HORSELAND.COM FOR THE INSPIRATION). I CANNOT SPEAK FOR BOB. HE IS PROBABLY UNEMPLOYED AND WONDERING WHY HE DIDN'T GO INTO REAL ESTATE.
22. Anything you would like to add about any future projects you have coming up?
Phil Harnage : I MAY BE DOING THE WARREN BUFFETT SHOW FOR DIC. THEN AGAIN, I MAY BE STANDING IN THE UNEMPLOYMENT LINE WITH BOB.
Thank you so much for your time in answering my questions I felt this show was a very unique and well written show that you did and I still enjoy watching it today . Thank you again for your time.
