Jimmy Mendez, a.k.a. Jimmy the Bishop, was the senior air traffic controller on duty at JFK International Airport when Regis Air Flight 753 arrived from Berlin.
Noticing the anomalies of the stilled flight, Mendez summoned the airport authorities. Impatient with the federal agencies' stalling, he demanded that the aircraft be opened immediately, as the passengers and crew were likely running out of oxygen. This proved to be unnecessary when a door of the airplane was suddenly opened.
Mendez' nickname, "The Bishop," was a nod to his responsibility for the safety of hundreds of aircraft passengers, who were referred to as "souls," according to the old nautical parlance.
Peter Bishop[]
In the TV series, the name of Mendez' character is changed to Peter Bishop, played by Venezuelan actor Andrew Divoff.
Peter Bishop speaks English and German, and apparently had ties in Berlin. He was the first to approach the plane carrying The Master, and gave the order to call the authorities. He cooperated with the CDC and assisted them in identifying the source of the sickness.
Bishop heard The Master whispering to him, and followed the whispers to a secluded corridor. The Master sprung up and attacked Bishop, and sucked the blood out of him before smashing his head in and flying away (in the novel, this death is inflicted on a female luggage handler, Lorenza).
Trivia[]
- Andrew Divoff, who was born to a Russian father and a Venezuelan mother, speaks eight languages, including English and German.
- You may remember him from Carleton Cuse's other collaboration "Lost"