An Interview with Patricia Green & Tom Blomquist

Patricia Green and Tom Blomquist

One of the perks of having this web site is all the very, very cool interviews you get to do. And this was right up there near the top of the coolest. I had met Tom Blomquist for the first time on set during the filming of the three "Christy" movies last fall in Vancouver and had continued near legendary email and telephone exchanges with him throughout the production process and promotion of the three movies. From the start, he always sung the praises of his "Christy" mentor Patricia Green, so it was a complete pleasure to finally meet her and sit down and interview the two together for my fan site.

Patricia and Tom first met in 1981/82 while working together on the ABC series "King's Crossing" which starred Linda Hamilton. They remained good friends over the years. Then in 1992/93 when Barney Rosenzweig put Patricia in charge of the monumental task of developing "Christy" for television, she assembled a team to assist and hired Tom Blomquist as one of her writers. Filming began in the Fall of 1993 on Pat's pilot episode and after the head of CBS at that time, Jeff Sagansky, saw the first few dailies, he ordered the rest of the first season episodes made. Tom had written one of those scripts, "Judgment Day" which had been very well received and since Pat knew Tom so well, she, Barney Rosenzweig and MTM sent Tom to be their onset writer/producer. Patricia was the "show-runner" for "Christy" and, as Tom explains it, "It was her show and her design. I was carrying out Pat's and Barney's orders and worked especially close with Pat, talking to her via telephone several times a day during the filming."

Together Pat and Tom singly or in collaboration with others wrote more than half the episodes for the original "Christy" series outright, and Pat's vision was in every one, guiding story line and the story telling process including casting. Needless to say when "Christy" movies were to be made at PAX, Patricia was totally thrilled when she found out that one of her people, Tom, was going to do them. As Tom explains, "This story and these characters become a part of you. It's that way for Pat and I know it's that way for me." This interview should allow you to see how like-minded these two are when it comes to "Christy" and how important they were in the whole scheme of things--she was the person most responsible for the original series and he was the person most responsible for the new movies. What a team!!

Patricia Green & Tom BlomquistThis interview took place over breakfast at Carriage House Restaurant in Townsend TN during ChristyFestTM 2001. Thanks to my CF roommate, Shari Ann, who was also at the breakfast; she is who so kindly typed up the interview from taped transcripts. Also thanks to Sonja S. who helped me chunk out massive amount of html in a short amount of time to get the typed transcripts online. This would have never made it here without their help. I hope you enjoy being a fly on the wall at this chitchat with Patricia and Tom, as I don't think you will ever meet two more knowledgeable persons about all things "Christy".


Patricia Green
(partial career highlights)
  • Executive Producer-Writer-Creator IN A HEARTBEAT for Disney Channel;
  • Co-Executive Producer-Writer-Creator CHRISTY series for CBS.
  • Executive Producer-Writer L.A. LAW for NBC,FAME L.A. for MGM Syndication.
  • Consulting Producer-Writer CHICAGO HOPE for CBS, SOUL FOOD for Showtime.
  • Supervising Producer-Writer CHINA BEACH for ABC; CAGNEY & LACEY for CBS.
  • Story Editor THE NORTH AND SOUTH, THE MISSISSIPPI, EIGHT IS ENOUGH, SCARECROW AND MRS. KING, THE SHIRLEY JONES SHOW, KING'S CROSSING for ABC.
  • Freelance Writer: TWICE IN A LIFETIME, PERRY MASON THE CASE OF THE MURDERED MADAM (tv movie)
  • Awards: Three Emmy Awards, 12 Emmy nominations, 3 Writers Guild Awards, The Humanitas Prize and many film festival awards.
  • Adjunct Lecturer: University of Southern California
Tom Blomquist
(partial career highlights)
  • Director-Producer PRISON LIFE, an award-winning short comedy movie.
  • Executive Producer-Writer-Creator CHRISTY movies for Pax; Supervising Producer-Writer CHRISTY series for CBS.
  • Executive Producer-Writer WALKER, TEXAS RANGER series for CBS; SWAMP THING series for USA Network.
  • Consulting Producer-Writer DELLAVENTURA starring Danny Aiello for CBS; SHADES OF L.A. for Universal Syndication. Staff Writer KING'S CROSSING for ABC.
  • Producer-Writer RIPTIDE, A-TEAM and STINGRAY for NBC; JESSE HAWKES for CBS.
  • Freelance Writer TWICE IN A LIFETIME, FARSCAPE, SHEENA, FAME L.A., IN A HEARTBEAT, SEAQUEST, MURDER SHE WROTE, STAR TREK NEXT GENERATION, QUANTUM LEAP, WEREWOLF, FREDDIE'S NIGHTMARES, HARDCASTLE & McCORMICK, HUNTER.
  • Awards: WorldFest Houston, Los Angeles Film Advisory Board, Chicago International Film Festival, Palm Springs Film Festival, Florida Crystal Reel and many others.
  • Adjunct Lecturer: American Film Institute, University of Southern California.
Neil and Christy

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