Monday 16 February 2015

Trevelyan's Mainframe - FILE: Wade, Jack / Twenty Years Removed


Ah, I see you’ve decided to shift your rather narrow focus to the CIA. How original. I do give you some merit on your choice, however, as infromation on our American opposites become harder and harder to collect these days. Your codes are again passable and you may access this file further. Here is what we have on your subject, twenty years removed from his GOLDENEYE appearance...

This mainframe has compiled the most important pieces of intelligence we have access to on the American Central Intelligence Agency’s own, Jack Wade. It seems as though the file suggests that this man Wade is a slippery little trout in a very large (yet disillusioned) river. After lending a plane to James Bond twenty years ago, Wade has kept his head rather firmly below major radars. I don’t really blame the man, as he is getting on in years… In fact, I suppose it wouldn’t do for me to not wish Mr. Joe Don Baker a merry birthday, as he just turned seventy-nine just a few short days ago. Now, sparing any further pleasantries, let’s proceed. Intel after GOLDENEYE starts with Baker and the CIA again globetrotting alongside Bond in 1997’s TOMORROW NEVER DIES operation. And to think, a media baron had the gull to believe he was any match for Her Majesty’s most loyal terrier. Luckily for Bond, Wade would once again come through in a clinch and help prevent a full-scale war between the British and Chinese. Good for Bond. Bad for Carver.

Directly after his cooperation with James Bond and the British Secret Service in 1997, our data shows that Jack Wade would find himself appearing in a Turner Network Television (TNT) network television motion picture release by the name of GEORGE WALLACE. Wade would become “Big” Jim Folsom and the picture would garner a few Emmy-winning performances, as well as a Golden Globe. Or so the data suggests. The following year, Joe Don Baker would again be involved in a television motion picture, this time assuming the role of P.J. Parker for Home Box Office Inc. (HBO)’s title, POODIE SPRINGS. This title, so it has been noted in the file here, was based on Raymond Chandler’s unfinished novel of the same name. Data picks back up in 2001, when Jack Wade would once again be in the presence of theatre goers across the United States. VEGAS, CITY OF DREAMS, a drama picture that would pit Wade as Dylan Garrett, wouldn’t attract too much main stream attention. Regardless, Baker would deliver a notable performance.

Compiled information shows that by the end of 2001, Baker would explore the world of comedy films over the course of the next seven years of his career, starting with JOE DIRT. Starring in a supporting role as Brandy’s father Don, a jerk-of-a-character yet funny in his ignorance, Wade would find solace in entertaining audiences mainly by making them laugh. The next entry reflects just that, as Mr. Joe Don Baker would be cast as Governor Jim Applewhite in 2005’s THE DUKES OF HAZZARD. The film went on to be a financial success and Baker would be commended for his portrayal. In 2008, Jack Wade’s only brief appearance on file is in the adventure comedy, Strange Wilderness. Notes on this film suggest that it was not highly favored by film critics.

This file also notes a one-episode appearance in an Arts & Entertainment Network (A&E) television series entitled, THE CLEANER, in 2009. Major Larry Duren (portrayed by Baker) was an aged veteran in dire need of a helping hand to kick his alcoholic past and dismal future. Finally, our last entry listed, an independent film entitled MUD. Playing a character named King, Jack Wade delivered his most recent (and another solid) performance to date. MUD would go on to be named one of the Top Ten Independent Films of 2013 by the National Board of Review. Worth mentioning is that the picture also won the Robert Altman Award at the Independent Spirit Awards in 2014.

Our side notes on the subject are rather… limited. Again, these Americans are quite resourceful. I digress. According to reliable sources, Joe Don Baker is a member of the Actors Studio and is a BAFTA-nominated actor with a career spanning four decades. I will admit, that is rather impressive… For an American. In 1980, Wade became the first actor to receive one million American dollars to star in a television series. Quite obviously, a terribly spoiled American! But, again, I digress.

In conclusion, it seems as though Jack Wade has done quite well for himself all the while maintaining a humble and human life away from the major spotlight as of late. He has countless performances under his belt, all commendable regardless of credit position (or sometimes lack thereof). He is dangerous and resourceful. Most importantly, one should really expect the unexpected if contact is to be made. After all, he always seems to have backup plans…
 
That will do it for this one, old boy. Jack Wade is still a slippery threat to the Janus Syndicate, so, hunt with caution. After all, half of everything is luck and the other half, is fate.
 
- End Transmission, Trevelyan. 

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