The Curious Case of Tom Sloane

I was watching "Jane's Addition" a couple of weeks ago (too). It’s interesting to see how much Tom changed between his first appearance in "Jane's Addition" and the following episode "Partner's Complaint."

When I look at Tom's character design in "Jane's Addition" (right), I don’t think of a 17 year old. He looks…old. His hair was disaster, his ears were too big, his expressions made him look ancient – that line next to his nose that adds about 30 years on him.

At the risk of sounding like Quinn, let me just say that the worst part of Tom's early character design were his clothes. He was supposed to look casual preppy not old-fashioned! Sweater – awful, trousers – terrible, shoes – that buckle makes him look like a gangster, belt – horrendous. His outfit would have made more sense if Jane had met Tom at Studio 54 in 1977 than at The Zon in 1999.

Young Thomas was a complete trainwreck.

Fortunately, the art department took notice of this – and fast. By "Partner's Complaint" (left), Tom had mutated into his usual self. His hair looked much better than Disco Tom's hair, and his clothes looked like they belonged to a 17 year old. New (longer) sweater – OK, baggy trousers – OK, sport shoes – nice, no belt – phew! And, his face looks fresh.

We have a teenager now.