David Rappaport in "The Most Toys"

[jimbotron]

As I'm sure many are aware, actor David Rappaport (notably from Time Bandits) was the original Kivas Fajo. However he killed himself, and had to be replaced by Saul Rubinek at the last minute.

I looked at the dates, and was surprised by what I saw. I always assumed that he killed himself early into the production, and had to be replaced because he hadn't finished his scenes. He killed himself on May 2, and the episode aired on May 7.

I thought episodes were normally shot weeks in advance. For example, Drumhead aired in April 1991, but was shot in February. So did David shoot all his scenes, and was replaced only because they didn't want to use his footage anymore, or were they working up to the last minute? Did they have to work around crazy schedules with their guest stars, even if it meant shooting them a couple days before airing?

Either way, it's amazing that they reshot all the Kivas scenes and had the episode on the air 5 days after losing their guest star. Rappaport killed himself in San Fernando Valley, so I guess he was in town for TNG. I didn't know production could be so last minute.

 

[yousirname]

IIRC they replaced him after he initially attempted suicide and he succeeded not long after.

 

[GSchnitzer]

However he killed himself, and had to be replaced by Saul Rubinek at the last minute.

I think Rappaport was replaced after a suicide attempt earlier (in March), not after the actual suicide in May.

 

[jimbotron]

OK thanks. The Wikis weren't too specific differentiating the attempt and the actual suicide. I assumed they were one and the same.

 

[davejames]

Not sure what Rappaport would have been like in the role (shame we probably won't see those deleted scenes on the blu-ray set), but I have to admit I've never been too impressed with Rubinek's version of the character.

He's obviously a good actor, and I know he was only filling in at the last minute, but I still thought he came across way too generic and lightweight in the role.

 

[Kelthaz]

SFDebris fan, huh?

 

[Maxwell Everett]

Not sure what Rappaport would have been like in the role (shame we probably won't see those deleted scenes on the blu-ray set)

Robert Meyer Burnett has hinted on Twitter that he has cut those scenes together for the first time in 23 years and they will be on the S3 set. In other words, this is the surprise extra that wasn't included in the official lists of extras.

 

[davejames]

Wow, very cool!

 

[yousirname]

Y'know, I'm not sure I want to see that. It seems a bit macabre.

And I just can't get enough Saul Rubinek, in any case. I'll admit that the character didn't exactly stretch his range, but it fell for the most part within that range anyway, or so I've always felt. Just can't wait to see it in HD. S3 is when TNG comes into its own and starts being really, properly good.

 

[Tosk]

Y'know, I'm not sure I want to see that. It seems a bit macabre.

Surely it's no worse than say, The Crow or Gladiator?

 

[M'rk son of Mogh]

Y'know, I'm not sure I want to see that. It seems a bit macabre.

Surely it's no worse than say, The Crow or Gladiator?

Or The Dark Knight!!

 

[erastus25]

Not sure what Rappaport would have been like in the role (shame we probably won't see those deleted scenes on the blu-ray set), but I have to admit I've never been too impressed with Rubinek's version of the character.

He's obviously a good actor, and I know he was only filling in at the last minute, but I still thought he came across way too generic and lightweight in the role.

Funny, I thought he was perfect. To each his/her own...

 

[Mitty]

I really enjoyed "The Most Toys" for a lot of reasons. I certainly had no idea about this until some years later and always thought Saul Rubinek did a great job.

So, sorry if I'm missing it but did he complete all his scenes and they chose not to use them, or was it only partially completed when he died and therefore they had to reshoot the Fajo portions?

I also recall reading somewhere that they did "toy" with building the set of his ship for Rappaports size (though I'm not sure how he would have displayed Data in such a small space). Luckily for them they didn't or it's possible the entire episode might have been dumped.

I still think the key moment from this episode is of course when Data is being beamed back and his phaser is in discharge. Did Data lie? Was it simply a natural deduction of his program to attempt to kill Fajo, and it was simply good timing that he didn't end up doing so? To me this is one of the most intriguing questions from TNG and it was a shame it wasn't somehow followed up later.

 

[jimbotron]

Oh, interesting. I hope the original scenes are included. That's up there with seeing the full Eric Stoltz footage for Back to the Future for me. Mostly a pipe dream.

SFDebris fan, huh?

I'd been wondering for a while, but yes, SFDebris jogged my memory. He barely mentioned the suicide though, surprisingly.

 

[yousirname]

Y'know, I'm not sure I want to see that. It seems a bit macabre.

Surely it's no worse than say, The Crow or Gladiator?

I kind of feel like it's a little different, mostly because he killed himself rather than death by accident or misadventure.

It's only a preference of mine, it's not like I'm going to stand in judgement on anyone who does want to see it.

 

[Trek Survivor]

So, sorry if I'm missing it but did he complete all his scenes and they chose not to use them, or was it only partially completed when he died and therefore they had to reshoot the Fajo portions?

Not completely clear. What we konw:

-Episode was filmed in March. According to the TNG Companion, "a few days" into filming, Rappaport attempted suicide (the attempt was not successful).

-After this ATTEMPT, the TNG crew recast and reshot whatever scenes had already been made with Rappaport (it's not clear whether this was every Fajo scene, or only some. Each episode took, if I recall, about 6 days to shoot, so a "few days" could have been as much as 50% through filming, though not all these scenes may have been with Fajo in).

-Rappaport later successfully killed himself at beginning of May.

 

[Marsden]

I still think the key moment from this episode is of course when Data is being beamed back and his phaser is in discharge. Did Data lie? Was it simply a natural deduction of his program to attempt to kill Fajo, and it was simply good timing that he didn't end up doing so? To me this is one of the most intriguing questions from TNG and it was a shame it wasn't somehow followed up later.

I remember that part of the episode even though I haven't seen it since it was on originally. I thought it was cool that Data "decided" to get rid of him but then seemed to lie about it. I wish they built on that.

 

[Deckerd]

Well technically River Phoenix killed himself; how do you feel about his films? Do you find it impossible to listen to Kurt Cobain? Or watch Tony Scott films?

sorry: @ yousirname

 

[yousirname]

It's one thing to watch something made by someone who went on to kill themselves. It's another thing to watch something they started to make but didn't finish because they then killed themselves.

Like I said, it's just me. It's not wrong to want to see it, just feels slightly icky to me.

 

[Deckerd]

I have a problem with referring to suicide as 'icky'.