Ernie Frankel's reminiscences are fascinating and valuable. Thanks so much Tatia for writing to him. I'm amazed how close to the edge they were walking sometimes--filming an episode on location from a script that didn't exist the week before.
I haven't watched "Philotimo" in a long time. It does feature the return appearance of Zarkas (second of three), portrayed by Harold J. Stone. I think it's also his best appearance. Zarkas was introduced in "The Beautiful Children" which isn't a very good episode. In "The Seventh Captain" he undergoes an ill-conceived ideological turnaround. It seems unlikely that Ernie Frankel would have decided on his own to use a character from a previous episode, particularly one that was probably still in production, so either he was instructed to incorporate Zarkas into his script, or Zarkas was "shoehorned" in after the fact. Since the script was written at the last minute, there may not have been time to obtain a suitable actor and Harold J. Stone may well have been in Greece already. Of course, instead of my wild speculations, it would be better to ask Ernie Frankel if he remembers anything about the reasons for the return of Zarkas in his "Philotimo" script.
Ernie said that Sheldon Leonard ordered five I Spy scripts. Looking over the inventory of Ernest Frankel scripts at UNC Chapel Hill, sure enough, there are five I Spy scripts. The three we know about ("Philotimo", "Apollo" & "Turnabout for Traitors") and two others tantalizingly titled: "The Choice" and "The Day They Gave the Bride Away". I guess these would have been produced in season four when Ernie himself would have been the producer.
