It’s always upsetting when someone suffering from depression feels like they have no one to turn to, and I’m hoping for a positive outcome for Andrew Koenig, his friends and his family.
If you haven’t heard, Andrew Koenig, the actor who played “Boner” on the TV show Growing Pains, has been missing since Valentine’s Day, possibly in Vancouver, Canada.
I never watched Growing Pains during its run and I’m not familiar with Andrew’s other work, and usually stories like this barely register with me for more than a day. I think it’s the revelation that he is the son of Walter Koenig (“Chekov” on Star Trek) that has captured my interest.
There are a number of films about the missing children of the rich and famous and, in the world of film and television, it’s always interesting to see a person with a certain level of celebrity and power feel helpless to save their child.
As an exercise:
What if someone close to your main character went missing? How would they respond? Would they go looking for them like Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade? Or hire The Dude to be the go-between like in The Big Lebowski? Or maybe they’d offer up a bounty like Mel Gibson did in Ransom?
By taking a moment to consider how your hero (or villain) would react in a situation like that, you will learn a lot about their character and what’s most important to them.
If you are in the Vancouver-area and believe you see Andrew Koenig, please contact the Police Department at (604) 717-2534
