pinartarhan.com

Fun and comprehensive entertainment blog feat. movies, TV series, actors, movie-makers, music & books: 1980 - Present

  • Home
  • Hire Me
  • Books
  • Privacy Policy

Why I Don’t Mind Sparkly Vampires, Pretty Aliens or 30-Year-Olds Playing Teenagers

Posted on May 8, 2014 Written by ripitup

Share

matt-lanter-star-crossed-roman-emery
Matt Lanter, born in 1983, stars as the lead alien Roman in the TV series Star-Crossed.Image via justjared.com. Pretty alien, and a 30-something playing a high school kid. I approve, though:)

It doesn’t matter if the ratings of a supernatural TV show with pretty supernatural characters is high or low. It doesn’t matter if the book about the love between a shining pretty vampire and a human girl tops the bestsellers list or is published into oblivion.

If the said creatures were formerly written as ugly, weird and vicious at one point, there’ll always be people complaining about the beauty of these characters.

If you are lucky and have hooked your audience with your actors, stories and characters, the vamps looking gorgeous won’t be a problem. True Blood (yeah, yeah they show teeth but Billy and Eric aren’t your average-looking guys, let’s be fair.) and The Vampire Diaries managed to bypass the problem. While watchers, fans and haters critique the hell out of the show (Vampire Diaries), they’re concerned with plot points, and not beauty issues. They’ve accepted the fact that the cast members look like they have sprung from a fashion catalogue. They can act, and they fit their roles.

So whether I like the episodes of a certain supernatural show/movie or not, it feels refreshing when the criticism focuses on plot, and not looks.

As much criticism as Stephenie Meyer faced about the quality of her writing, people were a lot more passionate about the “shining” vampires. How dare she make a vampire not burn in the sun? Frankly, I embrace vampires who don’t burn in the sun. It’s refreshing. As a 29-year-old entertainment addict, I’ve seen enough ugly-ass vampires who couldn’t go out in the light.

Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Dracula in NBC's Dracula
Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Dracula in NBC’s Dracula. Image via fandomobsessed.com. Jonathan is one hot vampire, and he doesn’t even look his best in the show.

Dracula (starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers) series got its fair share of the complaints, and Star-Crossed series discussion boards are filled with people comparing it to Twilight. Yeah because why should other writers explore a love story between a supernatural creature and a human? And how could a writer allow himself to envision an alien without disgusting features? Yes, I’m being sarcastic.

Man, writers can’t catch a break. We sweat and bleed to get our work sold. And if we’ve managed to sell it to TV, have it made into a pilot and have that pilot picked by a network, we then have to struggle week after week to not just create an enticing story, but to try to create an enticing story that will bring high ratings.

As viewers, I get “we” don’t care about the writer’s (hard) work. We demand compelling, fun work. Fair enough. There might be writers out there who give in to the popularity of a certain (sub-)genre, but in general, writers write from heart, mind and soul. I know I do.

 

Image via ign.com. Vamped-up Angel (David Boreanaz - pre-Bones days). Not the ugliest undead guy out there, but he has looked better See the pic. below:
Image via ign.com. Vamped-up Angel (David Boreanaz – pre-Bones days). Not the ugliest undead guy out there, but he has looked better See the pic. below:
David Boreanaz, Sarah Michelle Gellar
Image via comicvine.com. David Boreanaz with Sarah Michelle Gellar. And people are complaining Twilight vampires are pretty?:)

One writer depicts vampires are sparkly creatures, one with ridiculous fangs, one with a made-up ugly face (Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Angel, anyone?).

One writer can make a serial-killing psychotic couple protagonists (Natural Born Killers), and one can choose to make a hitman protect a 12-year-old  at all costs (you know this one too well).

I don’t care if a vampire looks horrendous or gorgeous. I don’t care if an alien is a green reptile or birth-marked teen or just a regular-looking human with special powers. Do I care for the story? Am I invested in what they do? That’s all that matters.

So yeah, as a writer, I’m completely on the writers’ side.  Yes, it helps that I don’t mind attractive characters. You can go all the way to my childhood and blame it on my parents for taking me to see Dirty Dancing at the age of 3. When you introduce Patrick Swayze to a girl, it’s unsurprising she’ll grow up to have a thing for good-hearted rebellious hunks (and romance and dancing). Don’t almost all the male protagonists of mentioned shows/films/books fit this criteria?

But my tendencies aside, this is the writer’s child. Their story. Yes, they want to be read/watched and admired. But from idea inception to the end product, it’s the writer’s baby. It’s her choice if she wants to go with Bram Stoker’s baby-eating dracula, or she wants to make him a tortured, a handsome, revenge- warrior like the series (Dracula).

The "ugly" leads of Supernatural: Jensen Ackles (on the right) and Jared Padalecki. Image via supernatural.wikia.com.
The “ugly” leads of Supernatural: Jensen Ackles (on the right) and Jared Padalecki. Image via supernatural.wikia.com.

It’s their choice if they just want a show on vampires, or if they want to add all sorts of creatures we have never heard of (Supernatural introduced some bizarre stuff). And despite being created by a guy, the two human leads of Supernatural are not exactly ugly. (Yes, major understatement here.)

A Note on The Cast Ages:

Of course the other famous complaint is the casting of “older” actors as high school peers, but I for one can speak for myself: they are possibly doing it for the “older” crowd like me. I like romance and supernatural stuff. But I don’t write YA, and I don’t particularly seek to watch/read YA. So what can you do to make it more appealing? You cast actors aged 20-30 so we get to be “attracted” to the leading character. I see the logic, since at 29, I find Dylan McDermott way more appealing than, let’s say, Taylor Lautner. OK, I find Dylan McDermott more appealing than a lot of people, but that’s another issue.

dylan-mcdermott
Dylan McDermott image via tvguide.com. A terrific actor who happens to look awesome. Did I mention he is over 50?

I don’t watch shows because they are set in high school. I watch them despite of that.

Besides, actors playing younger characters is such an old tradition. Michael J. Fox was born in 1962, so in the first Back to the Future film, he was 23. Grease is a favorite across generations, with high school students Olivia Newton-John being 29 and John Travolta 24. Would you even consider replacing them with actors at the “right” age? I wouldn’t dream of it.

 

*

What’s your take on pretty creatures and “older” casting?

Share

Filed Under: Books & Authors, Movies and Actors, TV shows Tagged With: david boreanaz angel, dylan mcdermott, jonathan rhys meyers dracula, matt lanter, matt lanter star-crossed, pretty aliens, sparkling vampires, star-crossed, star-crossed tv series, Supernatural, supernatural tv show

Hostages 1×11 Review & Why Duncan and Ellen Kissing Makes Sense (Yeah, I’m Serious!)

Posted on December 3, 2013 Written by ripitup

Share

 
Dylan McDermott (Duncan) kissing Toni Collette (Ellen)
Dylan McDermott (Duncan) kissing Toni Collette (Ellen). Image via youtube.com.

 

*For a general review of the show without spoilers, please read  Hostages starring Dylan McDermott, Toni Collette & Tate Donovan

Hostages 1 x11

Apart from the scenes between Duncan’s father-in-law and his wife’s real mother being a bit too long, and me suspecting Sandrine having serious personality issues, this has been a really fun, well-paced episode with some important events. Of course the highlight (or the lowest point, depending on your point of view), is the kiss.  First:

Let’s Go Over The Plot (Caution: Spoilers all over!)

Duncan (Dylan McDermott) and team needs to go to New York so that they can save the president’s life. After all they he needs the president at the hospital alive for getting bone marrow for his wife. So they lock the family inside, giving them pretty of supplies. As being hostages go, surely being locked in the grand bedroom with a bathroom, food and untied family members is not the worst thing.

They however need the blueprints of the buildings near the church the president will be visiting, so they ask the husband who can access them through his work. Of course our dear douchey husband, who has been extra rebellious after having revealed his affair to Ellen (Toni Collette) and not getting dumped, refuses.

So Duncan takes Ellen outside, as Ellen gestures him to. He takes Ellen out and locks the rest of them in. She tells him she can get the documents, so he gives her the key and instructs her to run with her family if he doesn’t make it.

As Duncan and team are in New York, desperately needing the plans, Ellen comes through. She has obtained the plans from her husband’s mistress (Hilarie Burton), explaining their weird situation with a lie that actually makes sense, and learning more douchey facts about her husband (Tate Donovan). Like apparently, he has said their marriage is a lie. (Ouch. Captor 1, husband 0. More on this later.)

Sandrine (Sandrine Holt) goes back and forth between betraying the team and helping, and she finally comes through. They take out the shooters. Sandrine previously shared another emotional moment with Duncan’s brother-in-law (Rhys Coiro). I like the guy, but his plot with Sandrine doesn’t interest me.

Because of all the morally gray characters they’ve tried to characters, hers is the one I’m not buying. Besides, it would have been nice to see an ex female soldier without so many weaknesses. Human, yes. Mutli-dimensional? Maybe. Interesting or worth rooting for? Not so much.

And as if Duncan and co-conspirators don’t have enough to worry about, his wife’s biological mother visits the “father” to say he wants to bring Kincaid down. Yeah, sure, 30+ years later, with a dying daughter, try to bring the president down with possibly no proof of the rape. That’s smart. Dedicated man he is, our beloved….was prepared to shoot her down, but she saw sense at the last minute and she lived. Seriously, woman! This man was supposed to either kill you or let you be killed. Instead he let you get away and raised your daughter. Surely, he is not the perfect guy to trust with your itch to confess?

Oh, of course there were the scenes with our major plotter and his girlfriend, aka the president’s wife’s sister. I really don’t like them. Some viewers think this show has no likeable characters, but surely their actions make Duncan seem like a cuddly teddy bear? People who think killing innocents is OK as long as it covers their tracks? Please.

Anyhow, Duncan makes it back, gives Ellen the key to the room. Later, Ellen goes to see him in another room where he thanks her for making it happen, and he tells her that she is ready. Touched, he hugs her. Then…they kiss.

Then someone kidnaps Duncan from the street.

Then roll credits.

OK, a note on Sandrine:

Sandrine should make up her mind already: Are you team Duncan (which also means team your current bed buddy you seem to have feelings for?) or Are you team villains? Are you a cold bitch or an emotional, loving woman? Seriously. Do you remember how rude, distant and almost mean she was in the first few episodes?

THE KISS

OK, the kiss. I thought it was ridiculous at first. Then I realized, it’s actually one of the more rational/plausible things both Ellen and Duncan did. Here’s why I think so:

 Why The Kiss Makes Sense (No, really.)

There are three possibilities for both parties.

1)   There’s genuine attraction with some feelings

2)   It’ manipulation by one or both.

3)   It’s a semi-conscious mixture of 1 and 2.

And all three make sense in their own way.

From Duncan’s point of view:

If he’s actually attracted to Ellen: Stockholm Syndrome might go both ways. He’s a decent guy at the core. He didn’t plot to kill the president – he joined in on it because it was the only way for him to save his wife, and according to him, the president doesn’t mind killing and raping women. So here’s a guy who’s willing to dabble in gray areas and risk things to save his wife.

Ellen goes to equally illogical and far-fetched and dangerous methods to save her family.

At the very least, he can relate. And he’s actually really alone at the moment. He can’t see his daughter often, his wife has been sick for a long time, he has to handle a group that’s not as reliable as him, he can get killed or arrested any minute, his brother-in-law is an idiot (limo driver, beating the kids’ drug bosses…), the big guy is hot-headed (dead best friend, anyone?) and Sandrine is unreliable. For the past three episodes or so, Ellen’s the only friend he got – as weird that it is.

2) If he’s ensuing her loyalty by seduction: All I can say is go Duncan!  She risked her family’s life over and over again by rebelling stupidly so many times. If Duncan is ensuring the plan works out and none of them get killed and all he has to do is make out with Ellen, why not?

 

From Ellen’s point of view: 

1) If she’s manipulating Duncan, or trying to, well done: Trying to out-smart, or outrun or kill him didn’t work. Rebelling didn’t work. He seems to trust, respect and on some level, like her now. Why not use it? And of all the captors in the world, surely making out with one that looks like Dylan McDermott isn’t exactly torture. 🙂

Dylan McDermott in Hostages
Dylan McDermott as Duncan Carlisle in Hostages. Image via tvguide.com.

2) It’s not that implausible she will be attracted to him. My finding Duncan extremely good-looking aside, this is a guy who protected her daughter on several occasions. He is only in on the plot to help save his sick wife’s life, and the guy he’s helping kill turned out to be a potential killer and rapist.

He’s a person that will go to extreme lengths to save his family, risking his life and career for a small hope- like Ellen.

Remember Ellen’s husband? Cheating, financially disastrous husband who only understood the value of his wife and family at gunpoint?

Yes, Duncan took them hostage, but he’s still the better husband in my opinion. So far, it was one kiss under extreme duress. I’ll be retracting this statement if they have sex:)

3) The husband had an affair. With a co-worker, half-his age at that. Could he be more of a boring cliché? What better ways to stick it to him than kissing the guy who shot him?

My mind doesn’t work like this for romcoms, or tragic dramas, but guys, this is a thriller with morally ambiguous characters. Let’s have fun with that.

Hopefully we will never be in their shoes. But with a billion to one, possibility that I was either Ellen or Duncan, I can’t promise no kissing.

 

Also on Dylan McDermott

The Practice starring Dylan McDermott, Lara Flynn Boyle, Kelli Williams & Steve Harris

 Dark Blue starring Dylan McDermott, Logan Marshall-Green, Nicki Aycox & Omari Hardwick

 

Recommended Hostage-featuring Movies

Inside Man starring Clive Owen, Denzel Washington & Jodie Foster

The Entitled starring Kevin Zegers, Ray Liotta, Laura Vandervoort & Victor Garber

Air Force One starring Harrison Ford, Glenn Close and Gary Oldman

 

Share

Filed Under: TV shows Tagged With: dylan mcdermott, dylan mcdermott hostages, hilarie burton, hilarie burton hostages, hostages, hostages 1x11 review, hostages cast, hostages duncan and ellen kiss, sandrine holt, tate donovan, Toni Collette, toni collette hostages

Hostages starring Dylan McDermott, Toni Collette & Tate Donovan

Posted on November 12, 2013 Written by ripitup

Share

HOSTAGES starring Dylan McDermott

The night before she’s to operate on the president, surgeon Ellen Sanders (Toni Collette) is taken hostage in her house with her family by a 4-people team lead by Duncan (Dylan McDermott). The deal is simple: she kills the president during the surgery, or they will kill her husband (Tate Donovan), her teenage son and daughter (Quinn Shepard). She is warned that they have eyes and ears everywhere, and she can’t seem to figure out a way out of it.

And as much as they look like the perfect family, everyone but the mother seems to be hiding something from everyone: the son deals pot, the daughter might be pregnant and the husband’s cheating.

Unbeknownst to her, Duncan is an FBI agent, and president’s advisor, as well as Duncan’s father-in-law are in this. We also know Duncan is a loving father and a husband, he doesn’t seem to want to use more force than he has to, though he will not miss an opportunity to teach a lesson to a misbehaving hostage if he has to. We don’t know why he is doing this, though we have a pretty good guess.

Of course her first instinct being to save lives, Dr. Sanders will further challenge Duncan but she will not like the consequences….

*

The Hostages is a fun hostage-based drama/action series with a solid cast. I’ve been a Dylan McDermott fan since his The Practice days, and he has a knack for playing strong, grey and intense characters (The Practice, The Hostages, Dark Blue).

The Hostages isn’t perfect. As expected, hostages do a lot of stupid things, especially the father. But then again, not having been held hostage (thank Goodness), I can’t say for sure that people won’t act like that. Then there are your captors, who are led by Duncan, who’s essentially a nice guy. So when a captor is unwilling to kill, he also gets to do some risky stuff. Still, it provides some decent action when hostages misbehave and the captors retaliate.

It’s supposed to be a mini-series, so hopefully we’ll get all the episodes. Based on the Israeli television series.

Enjoy!

Recommended Hostage-featuring Movies

Inside Man starring Clive Owen, Denzel Washington & Jodie Foster

The Entitled starring Kevin Zegers, Ray Liotta, Laura Vandervoort & Victor Garber

Air Force One starring Harrison Ford, Glenn Close and Gary Oldman

 

 

Share

Filed Under: TV shows Tagged With: dylan mcdermott, Dylan mcdermott the hostages, dylan mcdermott the practice, tate donovan, The Hostages, the hostages 2013 tv series, the hostages cast, the hostages dylan mcdermott, the hostages plot, the hostages review, The Hostages tv series, Toni Collette

The Practice starring Dylan McDermott, Lara Flynn Boyle, Kelli Williams & Steve Harris

Posted on May 10, 2011 Written by ripitup

Share

The Practice starring Dylan McDermott, Lara Flynn Boyle, Kelli Williams & Steve Harris
The Practice Cast from left: Camryn Manheim, Steve Harris, Kelli Williams, Michael Williams, Lisa Gay Hamilton & Michael Badalucco. Image via kritikongkiko.files.wordpress.com

Bobby Donnell (Dylan McDermott) is a very sharp and passionate criminal defense lawyer who runs a small firm with other dedicated lawyers, and his old friend/assistant Rebecca (Lisa Gay Hamilton). The lawyers are Ellenor (Camryn Manheim), Eugene (Steve Harris) and Lindsay (Kelli Williams), with Lindsay being the youngest and newest member.
The firm struggles to survive as the gang takes on more and more criminal clients who can hardly pay the fees. But as Bobby puts out, they occasionally get to defend the innocent, or people who don’t deserve to be in jail. Bobby doesn’t always play by the rules, and his tactics aren’t always welcomed by his colleagues, but Bobby almost always wins his cases.
A couple of episodes later, Bobby’s friend Jimmy (Michael Badalucco) gets fired for loaning money he wasn’t supposed to, and he comes to work with the gang, although at first Bobby makes sure he stays in the trenches and help out with the research.
**

The Practice was created by David E. Kelly, the creator of Ally McBeal and Boston Legal. But unlike these two lighter and funnier lawyer shows, The Practice is darker, more intense and intentionally, not very funny. It’s not to say The Practice doesn’t have its highly entertaining moments or one-liners, but the main goal is never to make the audience laugh. It is meant to drive you in, care for the characters and their cases, wonder about how each trial will result and go over the mental dilemmas the characters currently face.

After all The Practice lawyers aren’t that happy about defending murderers, drug-dealers, hookers or other criminals, but it is how they pay the bills. But after a while, more high-profiled cases start coming in, and things get even more complicated.

The Practice is not perfect, but it is pretty solid. But of course you should know that I am big on courtroom dramas/thrillers. I love John Grisham books, and not only I watched the Practice, I also watched almost all the episodes of Ally McBeal and Boston Legal.

If you are big on the romantic aspects, don’t worry- even though Bobby Donnell isn’t a player who sleeps with a different girl every night, he gets his share of his complicated relationships. Especially since both the beautiful D.A. Helen (played by Lara Flynn Boyle, who joins the cast in the second season), and Bobby’s associate Lindsay have a thing for Bobby. To make matters worse, Helen and Lindsey are friends from law school and Lindsay isn’t that open about her feelings.

The Practice went on for 8 (1997-2004) seasons and is currently rated at 7.7 on IMDB.com. The show won 3 Golden Globes in 1999: Best Performance by an Actor in a TV-Series – Drama for Dylan McDermott, Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture for Camryn Manheim & for Best TV Series (Drama).

 

Fun notes:


– Ally McBeal’s Ally McBeal (Calista Flockhart) makes a guest appearance in this sister show of David E. Kelley’s, and Dylan McDermott’s Bobby makes a guest appearance on Ally McBeal.
– Boston Legal’s main character Alan Shore (James Spader) appears on this show Alan Shore, and his character leads to having a show called Boston Legal.

 

– Dylan McDermott’s then wife Shiva Rose guest-stars in an episode as the plaintiff on one of Jimmy’s cases.

 

Also on Dylan McDermott

Dark Blue TV Series

Dylan McDermott Trivia

 

 

Share

Filed Under: TV shows Tagged With: ally mcbeal, boston legal, boston legal tv series, calista flockhart, Camryn Manheim, crime, david e. Kelly, drama, dylan mcdermott, James Spader, lara Flynn boyle kelli williams, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Michael Badalucco, shiva rose, steve harris, the practice, the practice cast, the practice tv series, the practice tv show, TV shows

  • 1
  • 2
  • Next Page »

In the mood for a fun romcom novel?

Copyright © 2025 · Focus Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Reject Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT