Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Character Flaws

When you put a pair of pointy ears and arched eyebrows on just about anyone, they start to look like Lieutenant Saavik. Brunette and female helps, but computer graphics can do amazing things these days. I cite this particular character from the Star Trek logs to make this point: characters are bigger than actors, just ask Kirstie Alley. She was replaced by Robin Curtis for the third and fourth chapters of the film voyages of the starship Enterprise, after Kirstie's agent asked for more money than Bones was getting. She never did fully grasp the lessons of the Kobayashi Maru.
Such is the nature of episodic entertainment. We've had several Batmen, and even more Supermen. Those vampires in "Twilight" and the kids at Hogwarts don't know how lucky they are to have steady jobs. The Time Lords' ability to remake themselves over the years has been used to explain the eleven different faces of Doctor Who, but I don't remember Samantha Stevens wiggling her nose at her suddenly transformed husband in "Bewitched." Maybe the fact that she was also her cousin Serena caused her not to notice such chicanery.
Marvel Entertainment has decided to go another way with the Hulk. Well, to be fair, the Hulk will be his same old green computer generated self, but Doctor Bruce Banner will be portrayed by someone other than Edward Norton. Or Eric Bana. Or Bill Bixby. And since Bill was playing a guy named "David Banner," one guesses that his estate will probably be fine with this transition, though Lou Ferrigno may be a tad irate, and you wouldn't like him when he's a tad irate. That's showbiz, after all. Hollywood is more powerful than gamma rays or Kryptonite. And if you don't believe me, watch this.

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