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The Starship Andromeda
Apr. 26th, 2006 09:37 pmSo I just happened to catch today a showing of that Andromeda episode that The Marsters was on (as part of one of the Sci-Fi Channel's grab-bag marathons), and boy, I really gotta say--it's not our imaginations, that guy really IS charisma on legs. Jeebus. You really can't take your eyes off him when he's talking, and this is one of those roles, like Professor Fine on Smallville, that, played by somebody else, would be a whole lot of not much. Interesting to realize, how important this casting thing really is. What a difference it makes.
And while we're talking Andromeda, I'll come out and admit to having discovered a rather belated affection for the show. In its Season 1 and very early Season 2 incarnation, that is, as a sort of fascinating post-apocalyptic alterna-universe Trek concept (what would happen to all those mighty starship fleets and crew members after the great and mighty Federation--oops, cough, Alliance--falls?). At this point in Season 2, though, in the ep where JM shows up, Kevin Sorbo had recently taken over as Exec Producer and so the show was already on its way to losing that whole unique quality. Which was too bad, because I'd otherwise gotten rather fond of that crew, with Lexa Doig, who you can now see on Stargate, plus Lisa Ryder, who will forever to me be Tracy Vedder from Forever Knight (and both of whom, incidentally, appear in Jason X, a movie I have a lot of dumb fondness for, especially because it's clear that everyone involved at that project realized they were making a parody).
Oddly enough, Lisa Ryder is perhaps the only actor I have ever seen to have NO sexual chemistry with JM. Which is weird, because in the scene they have together, they're clearly meant to, what with her striking the provocative pose and him slithering around sort of almost wearing silk PJs. But there was honestly more spark in the banter with Sorbo. And with the musclebound Tyr, who lets out this very natural-sounding laugh in response to something Bolivar (JM's character) says, and it almost feels unscripted, like a real reaction to the way the line was read. For someone who watched all of AtS Season 5 without really seeing too much by way of hot slash inspiration between JM and DB, I think I'm finally getting it. Sometimes, you just gotta make your own fun. And sometimes, the fun's already there, just waiting to be made.
And while we're talking Andromeda, I'll come out and admit to having discovered a rather belated affection for the show. In its Season 1 and very early Season 2 incarnation, that is, as a sort of fascinating post-apocalyptic alterna-universe Trek concept (what would happen to all those mighty starship fleets and crew members after the great and mighty Federation--oops, cough, Alliance--falls?). At this point in Season 2, though, in the ep where JM shows up, Kevin Sorbo had recently taken over as Exec Producer and so the show was already on its way to losing that whole unique quality. Which was too bad, because I'd otherwise gotten rather fond of that crew, with Lexa Doig, who you can now see on Stargate, plus Lisa Ryder, who will forever to me be Tracy Vedder from Forever Knight (and both of whom, incidentally, appear in Jason X, a movie I have a lot of dumb fondness for, especially because it's clear that everyone involved at that project realized they were making a parody).
Oddly enough, Lisa Ryder is perhaps the only actor I have ever seen to have NO sexual chemistry with JM. Which is weird, because in the scene they have together, they're clearly meant to, what with her striking the provocative pose and him slithering around sort of almost wearing silk PJs. But there was honestly more spark in the banter with Sorbo. And with the musclebound Tyr, who lets out this very natural-sounding laugh in response to something Bolivar (JM's character) says, and it almost feels unscripted, like a real reaction to the way the line was read. For someone who watched all of AtS Season 5 without really seeing too much by way of hot slash inspiration between JM and DB, I think I'm finally getting it. Sometimes, you just gotta make your own fun. And sometimes, the fun's already there, just waiting to be made.