If ever there was an episode worth going all out with a holiday theme, it’s Halloween.
9-1-1 Season 8 Episode 5 tells the story of a horrific day and the events leading up to it, Firehouse 118 turned into a haunted house and Buck unknowingly triggered the curse! Only Buck, am I right?
Even by 9-1-1 standards, the hour was a silly affair, but the lighthearted atmosphere was punctuated by heartbreaking drama as 118 people found themselves at the scene of an accident they never saw coming. replace.
9-1-1 has always been great at combining humor and seriousness, and this hour was the perfect balance of both. While Buck deals with the curse, Hen and Karen are dealing with real-world difficulties, and later, their son Danny is involved in a serious accident that nearly kills him.
That’s all well and good, and the ending is good, but overall it was a roller-coaster episode even for Buck, although the “Billy Boil” curse was a disaster on a much smaller scale.
We got to chat with series star Oliver Stark about all things Evan “Buck” Buckley and this Halloween installment, which gave him and the cast plenty of opportunity to showcase those comedic talents.
Stark has always liked to showcase moments of levity and seriousness in the long-running procedural.
“What I love most about the show is that in a 42-minute episode, we’re able to encapsulate all of this,” Stark said. “There’s a very silly, almost ridiculous plot going on that reflects a very deep, honest and serious storyline.
“The fact that these two things can coexist in one episode is one of my favorite things about this show. I really enjoy being on either side of these two factions, but when it’s very clearly defined which side is which On the side, I think being an actor is fun.
“I really knew that I was in the middle of a silly plot until the end. It was fun to embrace that. And then it did have some grounded moments towards the end. It was a joy to embrace those genres and themes in the show.
Several beats throughout the hour feature fun moments of Buck and Eddie playing off each other, something Stark and Ryan Guzman have always excelled at.
One scene in particular with Buck in the hospital, next to Tommy and Eddie, was hilarious.
And these types of scenes are exactly the kind of character Stark loves to play.
“It’s awesome,” Stark told me. “This show is very unique because you can almost go too far and still feel like you’re within the universe of the show.
“From an acting standpoint, you can make some choices that I think would feel weird on some TV shows, but in the world of 9-1-1, they still feel appropriate. So, it’s been fun.
“You have to push the envelope, keep a sense of humor, and at the end of the day I think most of us get into this industry because that’s what we love: playing and imagining and coming up with these things together.
“So, yeah, it’s great and I always encourage more of this. Sometimes we find the line and we’re on the wrong side of it and we have to pull it back, it’s just part of the process .
Speaking of Tommy, the two spent a lot of time together over Halloween. Buck dealt with his curse, and Tommy listened, even though he wasn’t convinced of Billy Burles’ power.
The relationship began on “9-1-1” Season 7, Episode 4 and has been growing ever since.
When asked about the impact of this relationship on Buck, Stark said, “I’m really happy that Buck is now living his truth in a lot of ways, right?
“He’s a more authentic version of himself. It’s not that he’s ever consciously lied about who he is, but he doesn’t quite know how to get out of it. Apparently the relationship has helped him understand himself better.
“Whether Tommy ends up being Buck’s forever sidekick or not, he’s always going to be Buck’s first sidekick. I think it will always be held in great esteem for those reasons.
As for what will happen to the pair?
“I think we were pretty open about some of the difficulties in their relationship, which I liked because obviously, relationships can be difficult at times,” Stark said.
“Buck and Tommy are still getting to know each other, and usually, when you get to know relatively new partners, you find some things that might be a little jarring. That’s what we’re going to focus on.
“Then the person in the relationship needs to figure out how to get through it and get through it.”
While Tommy may be new in his life, Buck has a past in front of him, and given how much 9-1-1 loves throwbacks, I wonder who from Buck’s past Stark would like to see make a triumphant return.
After a moment of reflection, he said, “I’m thinking about which character is best suited for this, right? I wonder if Buck ever gets to where he and Tommy rest.
“I like the idea of Buck putting himself in a queer space because we haven’t really seen him in that situation yet. So, I don’t know, maybe he’s in a gay club or something.
“And someone like Lucy Donato, an ex-partner for example, who can now help guide him and boost his confidence. Yeah, I’d love to see something like that.
We’ll have to see if Stark sees something similar happen to Buck in the future, but one thing we’re seeing now is that Buck continues to be great at his job.
For his part, Stark got right to the point when asked what he thought people misunderstood about Buck.
“I think Buck is often underestimated because I think people think he’s stupid, but I don’t think he’s stupid at all,” he said.
“I think he can be honest at times, but in reality we see time and time again that he knows a lot about a wide range of things and often uses those facts that he happens to know to help people in danger.
“So, yeah, I think people often underestimate his intelligence when I think he’s a little fanatical and naive at times, but not stupid by any means.”
When I suggested that Buck could sometimes jump without looking, Stark agreed, saying, “Of course, you know there’s something to be said about that.”
In 9-1-1 Season 8 Episode 1, we got a front-row seat to Buck’s knowledge of bees as he saved the day multiple times.
It’s these quick-thinking skills that translate well into future leadership roles.
“I think we’ve shown that his career progression is very important to him,” Stark said when asked about the future of Buck’s career.
“When I think about a leader and some of the qualities I want in a leader, Buck ticks a lot of those boxes. So if we’re lucky enough to get the show going, maybe we can see him take steps.
“I don’t know how LAFD operates; I don’t think they have lieutenants like they do in Texas or other places. So, I don’t quite know what that would be like.
“But whether in an official way or not, I do see leadership in him. We sometimes talk about him jumping before he even looks. I do think he’s learned over the years to downplay that, or at least in a more productive way. And channel it in healthy ways.
“So, yeah, I think he’s becoming more and more of a leader as the season goes on.”
While he did show a lot of improvement, we’ve seen Buck chase some things over the past few seasons.
In 9-1-1 Season 6, he embarks on a “Say Yes” mission after reading absolute era And he is also pursuing his own happiness.
But eight seasons later, Stark doesn’t think Buck is chasing anything anymore. This is a good thing.
“I don’t think he’s pursuing anything too aggressively, and I think it’s a very good place to be. We find him in a very satisfying position.
“I think at the beginning of the season he was trying to find his feet again because we had a new captain and it kind of rocked his world. But now that Bobby’s back, Buck feels very content and happy.
“It’s not that he doesn’t want more, whether it’s career advancement or whatever, but I don’t think he’s pursuing it. He’s content and comfortable with where he is and this is probably the first time we’ve seen him like that.
Buck may have settled down now, but he did upset some kids in the 118 Haunted House, where he saw Buck rip off poor Billy Boles’ arm while trying to give the kids some candy.
In the spirit of Halloween, I had to know Stark’s favorite costume, and his answer didn’t disappoint.
“So, Halloween isn’t really big in the UK. We definitely have it, but it’s not as loved as it seems here. However, when I worked in retail, we used to sell video games.
“We were asked to dress up for one Halloween and everyone dressed up. All I did was put on a contact lens and it made my whole eye white. So it was very subtle, so I think it was slightly more realistic.
“I was asked to take it out because the kids were scared of me because if you make the costume big it’s obviously fake. And my creepy look was unsettling to some of the kids in the store.
“So this is the only time I think I’ve put on a full-on Halloween costume, but then I have to take it off.”
***This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
You can watch 9-1-1 every Thursday at 8/7c on ABC.
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