Behind the scenes
The last one
Chapter 1
One day before the last episode was filmed.
The cast and the entire team have a day off today. Tomorrow is a great day. The last day of filming Who's the Boss. The last day of a long era. The last day on which the actors see each other for the shoot, greet each other, as they do every day. Talk to each other, like every day. Over the years, they have shared so much with each other. Successes, fun, quarrels, exchanges, experiences, they have grown, they have become the best of friends. This will all be over tomorrow. Or in other words.-simply different. Children became adults, adults became professionals. Shooting together every day, reading the script, learning, making mistakes, accepting those mistakes and no one complains about it.
This momentous day will demand a lot from them.
In the afternoon at Judith's house.
She stands at the kitchen window and holds a cup of tea in her hand. She watches as the leaves blow wildly through the streets and it rains lightly. It's a little cold that day. Robert comes in and puts his arm around her from behind. He immediately notices her mood, which is clouded. She's been like this for days. But today it is much stronger.
"Hey darling, everything ok?" he asks gently.
Judith slowly turns to him. "Yes, ist ok. But I'm sad."
"I know I'm sorry, but everything will come to an end eventually. Maybe it's meant to be, nothing happens without a reason. And tomorrow will be a sad and exciting day. You have made history with the series. Many people will remember it for years afterwards and they will still watch the series again and again. You've done something very special..." He kisses her on the forehead.
She tries to smile, but unfortunately it doesn't work. She looks at him with sad eyes. His words touch her deeply. She has to hold back the tears and turns around again to put her cup down on the kitchen counter.
"Would you like to do something today?" he asks her worriedly.
Judith looks out of the window again, it's raining harder now. "Hmm, no. I want to go through the script again."
"Ok, but you've been through that so many times, you know it inside and out!"
Without turning around, she crosses her arms and says, "Yes, but I don't want to make a mistake tomorrow, the day is very important. The ending has to be perfect!"
Robert: "ok, then do that. I'll go to John in a moment if that's ok, he still needs my help with his Aston Martin!"
Judith nods, lost in thought.
Robert turns her to him and takes her in his arms, then gives her a kiss on the mouth and leaves the kitchen. 5 minutes later you can hear him walking out the front door.
Judith walks up and down the kitchen, pondering and fiddling nervously with her hands. She looks over at the phone.
She goes and pick up the phone. She dials a number. It rings.
"Yes hello, Danza!"
„Hi Tony it´s me…"
"Judy dear, how are you?" You can hear the sadness in his voice.
"You know how I feel, how are you?"
Tony exhales loudly, "yes, well. It goes like this, it's ok. Are you sad about tomorrow, huh?"
Judith nods, as if Tony could see this.
"Yes, very Tony, very! I can't believe that tomorrow will be the last episode. The LAST one! Everything happened so fast now...way too fast, that makes me incredibly sad. We all won't see each other every day anymore. And I'm going to miss that incredibly!"
"Yes, me too, Judy, but we can talk on the phone or visit each other..."
"Tony, it's not the same!" she says in a sad voice.
"I know I know, but it's like that. At some point, the end of such a series is reached, we all knew that. Goodbyes are always sad, I don't like that either."
There is a brief silence on both sides.
"What are you doing today, Judy?"
"I'll read the script and maybe get some rest."
"Haven't you read the script so many times that you know it by heart?" he laughs softly.
"Yes, but I don't want to make a mistake, not tomorrow, you know."
"But that's not a bad thing, making mistakes is part of our job and whether it happens tomorrow or not, it doesn't matter."
"No, Tony, it doesn't matter, I want to have a perfect finish!"
"Ok Judith, I get it. Then read a little more, if there is anything else you can call me at any time and don't worry about tomorrow. Everything will be fine, everything will work!"
"I hope so, Tony. Thank you, I'll see you tomorrow"!
"bye"
"bye"
She hangs up the phone and sits down on the couch. She takes the script and flips back and forth.
She really knows it inside and out and goes through everything again in her mind. She thinks about her facial expressions, gestures, her vocal color, everything. She is preoccupied with the thought that tomorrow everything has to be perfect, because tomorrow is crucial. She wants the viewer to remember everything well and perfectly. She's a perfectionist.
Then the memories come flooding back.
There are the memories from the pilot episode. Or about casting with Tony. How he looked at her from the first moment. The chemistry has been right from day one between the two of them.
Every day they had fun together, they sometimes discussed but never argued. Tony was her rock and always helped her. This rock suddenly disappears, and everything feels empty and abandoned. She still has Robert, of course. But Tony was always by her side Tony, her soul killer on the film set. And now this is over. Forever.
Tears welled up in her eyes. She quickly wipes them off and goes through the script in thought.
Then she remembers the episode when Tony slept with Kathleen. How much energy this one scene cost her. Again, she almost cried. She always thought that's what makes a good actor, being authentic. But also stable. After this episode she was very sad and had to go into herself because the story of Tony and Angela and Tony's slip-up was so close to her heart.
Or the episode where both of them danced at the wedding. Oh how she loved this dress!
Or the episode with Frank Sinatra. A great man! Something like this will remain trapped in her memories forever.
When Rey Charles was at the shoot, he sang his songs. Everyone had fun. It was an incredibly beautiful experience.
To see how the children grow into young adults. You could literally see them growing.
All together they have become a second family. Which is suddenly torn apart. At least that's how it feels to them.
Judith puts the script down, tears streaming down her cheek and she can't contain herself anymore and starts sobbing. The sadness overcomes her too much and she gives free rein to her feelings.
Later.
Judith gets ready for bed. In her mind, she goes to bed. Sleep is out of the question yet. Robert is already in bed, he takes her hand and turns to her.
He notices how tense she is.
"Everything will be fine. You'll get through it." He says softly.
Judith stares at the ceiling... I don't know if I can do it...are her last thoughts and she falls asleep a little later.