Scott Sherwood

Scott Sherwood was a fictional character on the AMC original comedy series Remember WENN. The character was created and written by Rupert Holmes, and played by actor Kevin O’Rourke.
Fictional character biography
Scott’s exact background is unclear. In the season two episode, “Scott Sherwood of the F.B.I.,” Scott says that he is the black sheep of a long line of confidence tricksters. He has an Aunt Agatha, who lives in Nantucket, and who refers to Scott’s father being deceased.
In “Capital Idea,” Scott mentions that his father was a butcher. Nothing is ever said about his mother, but Scott says that Aunt Agatha got him into the Boy Scouts and an Ivy League university.
According to what is said in several episodes, he is supposed to have traveled extensively. It is also noted in a number of episodes that Scott fought in the Spanish Civil War. During this time he also worked as a military code-breaker, a skill which he uses in the second season episode, “Magic” and the third season episode, “Some Time, Some Station.”
In 1940, he comes from London, where in “Who’s Scott Sherwood,” he says that he an out-of-work promoter. He arrives at fictional Pittsburgh radio station WENN, where he serves as the station manager until the summer of 1941. He then works as a temporary actor for the station. When the United States enters World War II in early December 1941, Scott enlists the morning after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. When the series ends he is set to serve as an army lieutenant.
Throughout the series, Scott loves , the radio station’s ‘girl next door’ writer.
Season 1
In the eleventh episode, “Capital Idea,” Scott first arrives at WENN with a letter of introduction from former station manager, Victor Comstock, who has sent Scott to be the new station manager. Upon arrival, he initiates various plans to keep the struggling radio station up and running.
The staff, especially Betty Roberts, the station’s writer and Victor’s former ‘Girl Friday,’ is dubious about the new station manager and his ideas for rescuing the station from the brink of bankruptcy, but during the final three episodes of the season, Scott begins to show that he is actually concerned about the good of the station and its staff.
Scott automatically appreciates Betty’s ‘know how,’ and he fast comes to rely on her assistance. Scott soon settles into the ways of WENN, but normality is threatened in the season finale, “World of Tomorrow,” which ends with the staff worrying that two of their colleagues may have been killed in a blitz bombing of London.
Season 2
The first episode of the season, "Radio Silence," shows Scott struggling to keep the station afloat while the staff attempts to cope with their feelings about the death of Victor Comstock. Betty is especially distraught, causing her to act completely unlike herself. It is revealed that Scott has been secretly making sure she gets home safely each night since she is leaving the station in the early morning hours each day. At the end of the episode, Scott accidentally interrupts one of the hourly on air minutes of silence, Betty insists on having for Victor, causing Betty to throw a fit. Scott apologizes, but when he realizes that Betty has taken the station off the air rather than allow Victor's minute of silence to be spoiled, he attempts to talk her out of her grief. Finally, Betty begins to return to her former self. She assures him that she is fine, and she also tells him that she knows he has been secretly making sure that she gets home safely.
In the third episode of the season, “Some Good News, Some Bad News,” Scott calls old friend, Maple LaMarsh, telling her that the station is holding auditions for an organist. Maple shows considerable talent for the job, and remains a loyal friend and confidant for Scott, whom she even helps in his romantic pursuit of Betty.
Most of the following second season episodes revolve around a formula of Scott coming up with crazy ideas to keep the station up and running and Betty either making the idea work or getting Scott to abandon it.
As Scott and Betty continue to work as a team, they also develop a personal relationship. In the sixth episode, "Christmas in the Airwaves," Scott surprises Betty by arranging for her to get home to her folks for Christmas. Although no airline goes to her hometown, Scott convinces the crop-dusting company which is one of the station's sponsors to fly her home, and gets her a return-trip ticket as a gift from him. By the ninth episode, "Close Quarters," Scott and Betty have grown closer, with the two sharing a dance and Betty even giving Scott a kiss on the cheek. Throughout the season, Scott makes it clear that he has romantic feelings towards Betty, and the eleventh episode, "The First Mrs. Bloom," features him both asking her on a date and jestingly proposing to marry her on WENN's wedding show.
Also in “The First Mrs. Bloom,” Scott admits to Betty that he has been embezzling funds in order to build Victor a memorial.
In the second season finale, "Magic," Betty, Scott, and Hilary Booth, the station's leading lady, are held at gunpoint by a sponsor. They manage to turn the tables on the gunman, and once they are safe, most of the WENN staff go to the police station to give statements about the crime. With the station empty, Betty notices a light on in the manager's office. Going to investigate, she finds Victor standing in the office.
Season 3
The third season opens with Betty fulfilling Victor's request to hide him from the rest of the staff. When Scott returns from the police station, following questioning about the earlier holdup, Betty prevents him from learning that Victor, who has been working as a spy for the United States, is alive, but when Betty is sneaking Victor from the premises, she asks if she could at least tell Scott that Victor is not dead. Victor insists that no one can know he is actually alive, and he tells Betty that he doesn’t know Scott.
In the third episode of the season, "Who's Scott Sherwood?," the staff, excluding Betty, attempts to prevent Scott from being fired, but, although touched, Scott stops his friends from putting their own jobs on the line. Following Scott being fired as station manager because he was embezzling the funds to build the memorial for Victor, Betty confronts Scott about not knowing Victor. He initially convinces her that she is wrong in her assessment of him. Although he has her fooled, feeling badly, he instantaneously confesses the truth that he only once met Victor. Betty slaps him, and after a short conversation, Scott goes to leave. However, thinking that he will never see her again, Scott turns back, kissing Betty. Rather than appearing angry, Betty appears confused, and the episode ends with a close up of her face. Scott returns in the next episode, "The New Actor," as an actor for the station, although he still often helps manage the station, and hopes to again be employed as the station manager.
Once Scott works as an actor, there is tension between him and his 'on air' leading lady, station diva Hilary, who never got along with Scott, but as the season continues, Scott and Hilary show a certain level of reluctant concern for one another. He remains friends with his other fellow co-workers, but throughout the remainder of the season, Scott attempts to recover Betty's better opinion of him, while she remains untrusting and somewhat contemptuous of him.
As the season draws nearer to its end, the audience is increasingly reminded of the potential love triangle between Betty, Scott, and Victor. The eleventh episode, "From the Pen of Gertrude Reece," features a fantasy spoof of , which compares Scott to the Humphrey Bogart character of Rick. During the fantasy story within this episode, Betty must choose between Victor and Scott, but the episode ends with three alternate endings, none of which show Betty making a choice.
In the season finale, "Happy Homecomings," Scott becomes suspicious that Nazi supporters are infiltrating WENN broadcasts through prerecorded messages from a sponsor. Using his code-cracking skills, Scott deciphers the plot. Coming back to the station with this information, Scott is mumbling the words which are a used as a code trigger to kill, as he enters the green room, where Victor is holding a gun on current station manager Rollie Pruitt, who is holding a gun on Betty. Because Scott has just said the code greeting, dazed and brainwashed Victor turns the gun on Scott, who is shocked to discover that Victor is alive. Betty, seemingly horrified that Scott’s life is at risk, says his name. Scott replies by telling Betty he loves her. Betty responds by herself delivering the code greeting, which will cause Victor to turn the gun on her. The season ends with the audience hearing a gunshot.
Season 4
The first episode, "Some Time, Some Station," opens with Scott, Betty, Victor, and Pruitt all still alive, but also still standing at a stalemate showdown. Scott attempts to say the code greeting in order to save Betty's life, but Betty stops him. She tips off Victor to shoot at her, but miss. When he fires the gun, she drops to the floor, causing Scott to throw caution to the wind, and struggle with Victor for his gun. During the struggle, the gun goes off, shooting Pruitt, who faints. Scott takes Pruitt's gun away from him, and going to Betty, realizes that she is unharmed. They tie up Pruitt, realizing that he only has a flesh wound. As Betty begins to tell Scott what is happening regarding Victor, they realize that Victor forgets everything since the time he first left the station. By the end of the episode, Victor regains his memory and the rest of the staff learns he is alive. The episode ends with Victor returning as manager, and Scott looking at Betty looking at Victor.
Throughout the season, the audience is kept guessing if Betty will ultimately love Victor or Scott. As early as the third episode, "You've Met Your Match," Betty seems to be jealous of Scott having a possibly romantic past with station organist, Maple LaMarsh. The following episodes show Scott continuing to flirt with Betty, who is increasingly less rejecting of his advances. Through the fourth season Betty and Scott are often shown with each other. Victor, who is often away in Washington DC, is seen much less, but it is often stated that he frequently breaks dates with Betty to attend to his work. This is particularly highlighted in the tenth episode, "Past Tense, Future Imperfect."
In the final episode of the series, "All's Noisy on the Pittsburgh Front," the staff of WENN are adjusting to the United States having just entered World War II. Early in the episode, Scott accidentally observes Victor, again leaving for Washington DC, going to kiss Betty, but he looks away before seeing that Betty pulls away from Victor. After Victor's departure, Betty accidentally overhears Scott arranging a soft military job in London. Thinking Scott is trying to avoid his patriotic duty, Betty is disappointed, but in the final few minutes of the episode, Betty seems to be more upset by the sight of Scott wearing his army uniform. Betty asks him about the phone call she overheard. He explains it was for a friend, but does not tell her that it was for Victor. Scott tells Betty that he signed up the morning after Pearl Harbor, and he intends to win the war for all the Betty Roberts, even though it means doing without the one he cares about for a while. Betty seems touched, and she is surprised to learn that he is leaving in a few minutes because he is being shipped out that night. Their conversation is interrupted by Victor unexpectedly returning, saying that he has been offered two military jobs, one running WENN for the government and the job which Scott set up for Victor in London. Victor suggests that Scott take the job in London, but Scott, not wanting to leave Betty with Victor, suggests that Victor takes the job in London, allowing Scott to take the job running WENN. Betty asking if she has anything to say about the decision, so Victor throws the question to her. Scott agrees that it should be Betty's choice, and the episode ends with Betty looking at Scott, then Victor, then back at Scott. Following this episode, the series was cancelled without a resolution to the cliffhanger being revealed.

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