wikiDeeks Exclusive: A “Mother” of an Interview with Eric Christian Olsen
Welcome to another exclusive interview with Eric Christian Olsen! The wikiDeeks team had a lot of questions about Episode #250, the very special episode he co-wrote with Barbar Peerzada, and Eric graciously agreed to join us to tell us more about this amazing episode that has quickly become a fan favorite. We go behind the scenes of “Mother” with Eric, who explained to us the alternate endings that were filmed… how the big explosions were filmed and which earlier episode they were inspired by… and what about the elusive “Deeks, M.”? Eric tells all! Join us for a very special interview with ECO! Enjoy!
wikiDeeks | Marty Deeks | NCISLA 
Such a generous man. He is quite remarkable. Creative. Intelligent. A time management phenom. With all the projects he has underway, to share his thoughts and his process with us is just mind blowing. I will now go back and rewatch that episode with much more insight. I loved the description of how he wrote three different scenarios of that macabre scene Deeks and Kensi discover in that bedroom. As a writer, it made me appreciate that I don’t have to pull back on every weird scene I write because it doesn’t have to be produced. But in Eric’s case, it did show that creativity can come from the production restraints forced upon him. It was an amazing episode, and I think as beautiful as that cut scene he described of the original ending was, I think having the final scene be of an isolated Hetty contemplating her decisions, made it even more powerful. It emphasized the title, Mother, and made me consider all the connotations the word can imply, and they aren’t always warm and fuzzy.
Thank you Eric.
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The video won’t play for me. Can anyone tell me what he said?
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If you can go on YouTube and look up wikiDeeks you may be able to listen to it that way.
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i sure appreciate eric christian olsen and wikideeks. what a great guy sharing his thoughts on his amazing episode. i am anxious to watch it again, i thing you could watch it a hundred times and pick up something new each time. i agree that the chosen ending was best. the look on callen’s face when hetty kills athos to save him. i also cried when i thought deeks was really going to die. everyone was wonderful but i love eco, deeks the best. thanks again. was there ahint of a next year ?
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Hoping there will be a word by word version of this, cuz this sounds like a great interview!
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This was a wonderful interview, and as a fan I appreciate that Eric Christian Olsen took the time to do such an extensive interview and shared so much with us fans. It was fascinating for me to hear about how he wrote this and then how it gets modified as you prepare to film . I thought the alternative ending was just beautiful but I think they went with the most powerful ending. I also loved listening to his respect for the acting team.
I really want to thank you at wikiDeeks for setting this up and asking really great questions.It was wonderful that you asked about a commentary since it sounded like it had not occurred to him since they have not done one in awhile, but it really would be wonderful to do on this marvelous episode.
By the way, thanks for asking the “Deeks, M” question, which unfortunately always seems a season away, but maybe this time.
This was a great interview from him. Again thank you wikiDeeks.
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Wasn’t Babar in NCIS twice?
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This man keeps on finding ways to amaze and impress me. It is so interesting to me to listen to him talk about his process, how his mind works, and what he has discovered about himself. Listening to this podcast was almost like attending a clinic on writing and filmmaking; I wish it could have gone on longer. After hearing his ideas, how certain scenes came to be, how many ideas had to be scuttled due to time constraints or budget limits, etc., just made me crave more, more, more. He answered so many questions, but now I have a hundred more. When he described that macabre scene in the bedroom, the river of blood ideation, the three different ways that he imagined the scene could go, made me wonder from where in the dark recesses of his mind did that come from? I wonder why they didn’t make this a two part episode since they had so many excess scenes and ideas? It certainly sounds as if there was plenty of material. I truly hope that TPTB will include an in depth ECO commentary on this haunting episode, along with deleted scenes on the Season 11 DVD.
Please try to get him back for another discussion on Wikideeks soon; he seems to be on board with it. Do you think that he might agree to answer questions that we might submit? I have to admit that my heart leapt with joyful hope when ECO intimated that we might get the long hoped for Deeks M, possibly next season. I have worried that there might not be a next season. Fingers crossed!
Thank you Wikideeks for working so hard to make this happen. Your readers truly appreciate your hard work.
And thank you to the talented and ever charming Eric Christian Olsen for being so forthcoming, and for sharing so generously of his time. Much love Eric!
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Thank you and most especially Eric Christian Olsen SO MUCH for this interview about “Mother”!! It is easily in my top 10 list, which says a lot considering there are 250 plus episodes!! Getting the chance to know the thought process and how much went into it, and what had to be cut, yet still coming up with such a great episode was awesome. Hopeful what was cut makes it to DVD! Being an absolute Densi nut, his comments about how Dani is “so fucking good” in that scene focusing on her emotions while he is talking about being at peace was great and was probably my favorite, and he was right, she knocked it out of the park. I am totally going to watch this episode again after sending this. Hearing about the possibility of a Deeks M. episode in the future has me excited and wondering if that would be one that Eric has a part writing! Again, thank you all so much for doing what you do for us fellow Marty Deeks fans especially when you get the chance to talk to the man that is the character. Love the site, and everything you all do! Keep up the great work!!!
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I listened while I was at work earlier today and so of course can’t remember all the details now, but I think much of it was covered by all the other fantastic comments. Was glad to hear him speak of a “next season” and gladder still that the possibility of a Deeks, M is still alive. I agree that the whole process was fascinating to hear about and it does my writer’s heart good to hear Eric say he can always use the other ending in another ep. ECO is a class act to carve time out of his super busy schedule to shre his thoughts with his fans like this. Great job, Diane and Karen!
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Wow, what a fantastic interview, thank you Eric for taking the time in your very busy life and thank you Karen and Diane for asking such great questions. He is a phenomonal person, always humble when speaking about his own accomplishments, but so generous towards his fellow work colleagues in all the different creative areas he undertakes. After listening to this podcast I am definitely going to sit down tonight and watch “Mother” with a totally different mindsight. One of the best interviews I have ever heard, hopefully there will be more to come. Wikideeks is such a great concept, thank you so much for taking the time to keep us informed. You are one in a million ECO for always openly acknowledging the fans, we appreciate your appreciation very much
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I’m so glad you all enjoyed the interview! We definitely had more questions than we had time to ask. I’m pretty sure we could have kept going for another hour or more, LOL. But in reality, the fact that he pushed back a production meeting in order to talk with us still kind of blows my mind. He’s incredibly gracious in addition to being intelligent, charming and funny. I believe he’s the nicest man in show business. And I am fully convinced that I am the luckiest NCISLA fan in the entire world.
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In such a cut throat industry he is indeed a rarity. You just got to love him and the character he has brought to life on screen
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Terrific interview.Don’t think Eric gives his acting enough credit.NCIS LA season one was boring.Eric and Renee both acting wise and storywise made the series a lot better.Dani acting in first season was wooden as was the rest.Eric raised the bar and everyone acting has gotten better because of him.Dani doesnot need improve classes she been in one ever since Eric joined the show.
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Great interview, WikiDeeks! Thanks for everything you do for NCIS:LA fans. You are truly the best. And thanks to Eric, who finds time for us in his pretty busy schedule.
I agree with Karen: he’s the nicest man in show business and I am proud to be still here, following NCIS:LA, Deeks and Densi after so many years. I bet things would have been really different if Eric hadn’t joined the show. But he did and I will be forever grateful to whoever cast him!
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Thanks for the wonderful interview with Eric Olson, Karen and Diane. Knowing somewhat how many “irons in the fire” he has going right now, I was pleasantly surprised that he found the time for this. I can’t really add to the comments already left here; I also would love the extra scenes put on the season 11 DVD, and a commentary like they used to have in the earlier DVD’s would be great also. Just to see the alternative ending and compare it to what they went with, would be great in itself. Hearing about the promise of another season was great, as I’ve seen numerous comments and rumors about cancellation on other social media sites, but then we had them last year also during season 10. I realize that with the procedural aspect of the show that it would be hard to do, but after hearing Eric’s comments on predator/prey and the natural aspect of killing that Hetty was introducing to Akhos (I might be saying this wrong) , that a retro episode of how Hetty raised Callen from when she took him under her wing until he went to work for the “alphabet agencies” might be interesting, Again, thanks for a wonderful interview, and asking such in depth questions about all that went into “Mother”.
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This interview was a great gift for us fans, it was was so emotional listening his words. The questions were totally perfect, thanks Karen and Diane. it’s so amazing that after all these years, an episode of this show can excite people so much. I agree with all the previous comment, it was fantastic. I want to thank Eric for his kindness, his dedication, and the great work. I really hope he will write Deeks M episode, that would be amazing. I also hope to watch the 12 minutes catted scenes in the dvd.
BRAVO to wikideeks, we are lucky to have you 🙂
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Wow! I always get a little buried during flu season, but to emerge and find this—what a gift! Karen and Diane, you did a great job with your selection of questions. And Eric, thank you for being so engaged in your work, for bringing true, thoughtful, depth to it, and for respecting your fans enough to understand that it’s that depth that we appreciate. You’ve always been so genuine and sincere in your interviews, and that makes both you and your talent eminently relatable. i hope that you will continue to write, not just screenplays, but projects meant simply to be read, because I think you have a way with words that is profound. Keep it up, WikiDeeks!
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Thank you so much for this interview Eric and WikiDeeks team. It is always so interesting to hear stories behind the scenes. Eric did amazing job with “Mother”.
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I love this show and thank you for this interview. It was really interesting to hear about the process of making a show.
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