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This producer and these women
The other day when I talked about Anansi Boys I forgot to mention there is some great extra material in this edition of the book. Among it an interview with Neil Gaiman in which he's asked who his top three favourite godlike geniuses are, and replies with Stephen Sondheim, Douglas Adams and Alan Moore. (He really must be brought together with Joss Whedon. They two of them are meant for each other. They could bond over Sondheim immediately.) Now, I have my own gallery of creative divinities. And of creative people who might not be geniuses but still impress the hell out of me. Among them J.J. Abrams; Alias isn't genius, but it's very entertaining, it has some great and complex characters... and, which brings me to the purpose of this post, it offers a rarity on tv: good roles for actresses past their fortieth year. Sadly, with some rare exceptions like Susan Sarandon that's still when you tend to become invisible in Hollywood when you're female. Let alone on youth-obsessed tv. Buffy? Had Joyce Summers, and for half a season Maggie Walsh, and that's that. Angel? Didn't have any women past 40 (well, except for the vampires, obviously) at all. BSG has Laura Roslin, for which I am eternally grateful, for she rocks mightily and is powerful and intelligent and complex and most definitely past 40. But Madam President aside, the rest of the women is in the youthful contingent as well. (Ellen Tigh is arguable; it would make sense if she were 50, but she doesn't look it, which is in character.)
And now look at the recurring ladies of the Aliasverse, aka J.J. Abrams pointing out that there are these terrific actresses still around, who do look their age and look interesting and wonderful because of it. All caps from Alias Media:
Lena Olin as Irina Derevko. If, dear reader, you have ever been anywhere near an Alias fan, you'll have heard the squeeing about SpyMommy. This would be her glorious, morally ambiguous self.
Amy Irving as Emily Sloane. Emily proves that nice women are far from dull; she's intense and heartbreaking in her appearances and regularly reduces me to a sniffling mess.
Isabella Rossellini as Katya Derevko. Shares her deviousness with her sisters and has a wicked, playful sense of humour all her own. I must admit that Ms. Rossellini's David Lynch appearances left me cold, but I love her as Katya.
Patricia Weddig as Dr. Judy Barnett. Not only makes she the stock "psychiatrist to the heroes" persona come alive, but she can hold her own next to the likes of Ron Rifkin and Victor Garber when being in the same scene with them. No mean feat (some regulars, like a certain Mr. Vartan, never figured out that trick), and I much appreciate Dr. Barnett.
Sonia Braga as Elena Derevko. Elena could switch between motherly and chillingly ruthless effortlessly, and Ms. Braga reminded me that I hadn't seen her in anything since Kiss of the Spiderwoman, something I intend to rectify as soon as possible. I also will try to figure out whether Alias has some thing about the CIA being coded as mainly male and the (former) KGB, via the Derevkos and Anna, as female. One of these days.
Faye Dunaway as Ariana Kane. Also up to the task of holding her own next to Garber and Rifkin. Ariana Kane, one tough and smart lady, was head of Alliance Counter Intelligence and correctly figured out within days what the boys, with the exception of Sloane, had not in years - that Jack Bristow and his daughter were doubles.
And now look at the recurring ladies of the Aliasverse, aka J.J. Abrams pointing out that there are these terrific actresses still around, who do look their age and look interesting and wonderful because of it. All caps from Alias Media:
Lena Olin as Irina Derevko. If, dear reader, you have ever been anywhere near an Alias fan, you'll have heard the squeeing about SpyMommy. This would be her glorious, morally ambiguous self.
Amy Irving as Emily Sloane. Emily proves that nice women are far from dull; she's intense and heartbreaking in her appearances and regularly reduces me to a sniffling mess.
Isabella Rossellini as Katya Derevko. Shares her deviousness with her sisters and has a wicked, playful sense of humour all her own. I must admit that Ms. Rossellini's David Lynch appearances left me cold, but I love her as Katya.
Patricia Weddig as Dr. Judy Barnett. Not only makes she the stock "psychiatrist to the heroes" persona come alive, but she can hold her own next to the likes of Ron Rifkin and Victor Garber when being in the same scene with them. No mean feat (some regulars, like a certain Mr. Vartan, never figured out that trick), and I much appreciate Dr. Barnett.
Sonia Braga as Elena Derevko. Elena could switch between motherly and chillingly ruthless effortlessly, and Ms. Braga reminded me that I hadn't seen her in anything since Kiss of the Spiderwoman, something I intend to rectify as soon as possible. I also will try to figure out whether Alias has some thing about the CIA being coded as mainly male and the (former) KGB, via the Derevkos and Anna, as female. One of these days.
Faye Dunaway as Ariana Kane. Also up to the task of holding her own next to Garber and Rifkin. Ariana Kane, one tough and smart lady, was head of Alliance Counter Intelligence and correctly figured out within days what the boys, with the exception of Sloane, had not in years - that Jack Bristow and his daughter were doubles.
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you know, some people could almost make a case over the over-profusion of strong female roles in that series. the young gen - Syd, Nadia, Francie/Allyson, even Lauren... then the old gen - as mentioned above. But what do we have for male roles - with the exception of Jack, Arvin and Dickson, we're stuck with the likes of Wrinkle-Forehead and one-episode villians.
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Oh yes, I love Marshall, but he's somewhat stereotype, isn't he? Token nerd - TV's version of Q? Sark's cool. There was some interesting personal conflict with the whole father/Covenant arc in Season 3 (really liked the scene when he and Lauren remind Sloane of the sacrifices they've made for Rambaldi (sp?)) but they didn't go too much into that, did they?
Terry Quinn was another good one. I was very happy with his resurrection. I'd like to see more of him later.