NASH Cast Celebrates New SIU Headquarters Set (October 31, 1998)

The entire NB cast celebrated on Monday, October 26th, with the introduction of the new SIU headquarters built on a barge moored next to Pier 30 in north San Francisco. Don and Cheech arrived in the 'Cuda along with local celebs and socialites. SF Mayor Willie Brown was there, along with Don's fiancée Kelley Phleger.

Don and Kelley and the cast then went on to the Cypress Club (a chi-chi local eatery, located at 500 Jackson St.) for dinner, according to Pat Steger's "The Scene" column in the SF Chronicle.
 

New SIU Headquarters A Big Improvement (October 31, 1998)

The new SIU headquarters introduced in "The Tourist" episode #60 is a move away from the Hyde Street Pier location. Remember that the Hyde Street Pier is located in the touristy North Beach area - the boat actually serves paying visitors who are allowed on board when the NB production isn't there. That means the NB production must actually tear down and vacate after every season.

With the new SIU headquarters, the set can be permanent and not get in the way of the tourist traffic or vice versa, not have tourists get in the way of filming.
 

NASH Sighting at the Yerba Buena Center (October 24, 1998)

Dr. Syamala Aiyar spotted the NB production in action on Tuesday, October 20th at the Yerba Buena Center in the heart of downtown San Francisco.

While attending the American Academy of Pediatrics Annual Meeting, Dr. Aiyar spotted Don Johnson walking along with actor Daniel Roebuck (who plays Rick Bettina). Signs were posted saying "Filming NASH BRIDGES. Simulated gunfire sounds may be heard." The filming was going on at the height of the downtown lunch hour.

Dr. Aiyar is a regular watcher, and she immediately recognized the recurring character and nemesis of Nash, bumbling Rick Bettina. Look for Rick in an upcoming episode.
 

Don and Kelley at the Opening of New Las Vegas Resort (October 24, 1998)

Don and fiancée Kelley Phleger were out partying Saturday, October 17th in Las Vegas. The couple attended the grand opening of the Bellagio Hotel and Casino.

While Beluga caviar and champagne flowed, Don and Kelley sat at the same table with San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown. Other celebs present were Kevin Costner and Selma Hayek.
 

SF Weekly Column Mentions NASH (October 24, 1998)

The SF Weekly, an alternative newspaper, has a hilarious satirical column called "Negative Creep" in the October 21-27 issue.

The column's topic is "Is Rap Music Making Cops Violent?" and is about MC Powder, an SF cop and a rapper. The interviewer is decidedly anti-cop: "...San Francisco's thin blue firing line has already shot twice as many civilians as last year....is it just that cops, like America's kill-crazy teenagers, have been dangerously desensitized by all the violent media they consume?"

They interview Justin Geste, co-founder of the McLoon Center for the Study of Popular Media Commentators.

CREEP:	Every week on NASH BRIDGES, Don Johnson's shooting criminals, engaging in high-speed chases, etc. Is it having a negative impact on real-life San Francisco cops?
GESTE:	Well, Don Johnson did help make Miami the murder capital of the world in the '80s. But violence-wise, NASH BRIDGES is pretty tame. It's no NYPD, for example.
CREEP:	Which sort of touches on another thing – the fact that S.F.'s police department has never been featured on the TV show COPS. Do you think maybe there's a perception that our cops aren't tough enough or something, and that because of that, they're overcompensating?
GESTE:	That seems a bit of a stretch, in my opinion. After all, you've got DIRTY HARRY and IRONSIDE and THE STREETS OF SAN FRANCISCO – so San Francisco has a fairly rich media tradition of tough cops. On the other hand, it's hard to underestimate the negative impact HOOPERMAN had...
CREEP:	So what are you saying, exactly? Our cops are worried that people may be unduly associating them with John Ritter, so they're blowing people away?

Investigative or Investigations? WHO CARES! (October 24, 1998)

What does the "I" in SIU stand for? We thought we goofed when we've been calling it the Special INVESTIGATIONS Unit all this time, until we spotted a sign written INVESTIGATIVE. However, in the "Apocalypse Nash" episode of October 23rd, Nash distinctly says Special INVESTIGATIONS Unit – so we didn't goof after all. We didn't make any changes anyhow, so there.
 

Yasmine Bleeth to Appear on NB Starting October 23 (October 10, 1998)

Yasmine Bleeth appeared on the LATE NIGHT with Conan O'Brien's show of October 7th talking about her new regular gig on NASH BRIDGES. She reported that Don used a big silver bus as a trailer (our loyal readers already know that), but she added that the bus was previously used by Elvis Presley.

Conan cornered her to make a comparison between her previous boss, David Hasselhoff of BAYWATCH and her new boss Don. Interestingly, Yasmin tried to wiggle out of the comparison by saying they were both as cool as Elvis, adding "Please Don, don't fire me!" She reported that Don was interested in what clothes and ear rings she wore for the shooting of NB.

Continuing in the Elvis vein, Yasmine said she also got a new dog which she named Elvis. Conan asked Yasmine how she felt about turning 30 this year, and she said she felt good about it. Look for the introduction of Yasmine's character very soon in an upcoming NB episode.
 

NB in Switzerland (October 10, 1998)

Reese O'Berg of Switzerland tells us that he actually owns a yellow convertible '71 Cuda like Nash, and he hopes to one day drive it on the streets of San Francisco.

As for seeing NB on the tube in Switzerland, Reese reports that:

There are two channels right now playing the episodes. One channel plays them every day, but the old ones. I don't which ones exactly but they still have the old police station. The episodes I'm watching are about once a week, and they're at number 44 "CROSSFIRE".

Thanks for the report Reese!
 

Holy Cow! We Goofed on SIU Initials (October 3, 1998)

On last night's "Imposters" episode, near the very end of the episode, a giant circular sign hangs down from the Hyde St. Pier with an emblem of the SIU Special INVESTIGATIVE Unit. We've been calling it the Special INVESTIGATIONS Unit all this time. We, who pride ourselves on detailed synopsis and minutia, missed this one. Where were our loyal readers? – you're supposed to spot stuff like this and tell us, no – scold us! Well, we're not going to beat ourselves up too badly...
 

Check Out Our Latest Feature (October 3, 1998)

Find out about The Origin of the NASH BRIDGES 'Cudas in our latest feature. 'Cuda car specialist Ed Briggs wrote to us about how he was contacted to initially supply the original 'Cuda for the pilot of NASH BRIDGES. Ed is well connected in the 'Cuda world of collecting and restoration, and he tells us his exclusive story.
 

Another Try at a NB Mailing List (October 3, 1998)

There's been several past attempts by fans to start up a NB mailing list, and Noell Sweet is the latest. Here's his message and info:

Hi fellow Nash Bridges fans...I have been looking for a Nash Bridges email mailing list, a forum for fans to talk about the show, and its characters, etc., etc, but I couldn't find one, so I decided to create one. BUT, I really don't know how to get a hold of a bunch of NB fans to get them to join the list so we can get some conversation going...right now, I am the only one on the list...if you, or someone you know would like to be on the list, send an email to: nash-bridges-subscribe@egroups.com and you will be signed up. The WWW page for the list is at: http://www.eGroups.com/list/nash-bridges/

And, the email address to send messages to the list is: nash-bridges@egroups.com

Big Photo Spread on Don in BIOGRAPHY Magazine (October 3, 1998)

In the October 98 issue of BIOGRAPHY magazine, there's a luscious photo spread and personality piece on the life and times of Don Johnson. The six-page article is like a veritable photo album of Don's life, with lots of rare photos of his women and family. There are photos of Don spread over four decades, all with different looking Dons with short hair, long hair, unshaven, happy, serious, etc. This one's for the serious Don fans.
 

We're Back! Lots of changes in Store for NB Season 4 (October 3, 1998)

We're back from our summer break. The NB production has been back since mid-summer, and we've gotten sporadic reports of sightings in San Francisco and Oakland. There are some dramatic changes in store for Season 4, such as the death of Michelle Chan and the addition of Yasmin Bleeth to the cast. Stay tuned and watch along with us as the drama unfolds!

On the Don star watch front, a specific wedding date has been put off, though it's still on. Don and Kelley have a new addition to their fledgling family – a pup, given to the couple as a gift, named Frances. There is a very good photo of Don's fiancee in the October issue of BIOGRAPHY.

Other news is that Don's latest film, GOODBYE LOVER (made last year), did not find a distributor at last year's Cannes Film Festival. The film is sitting on the shelf, though it may eventually be shown on the Independent Film Channel.