Torchwood stuff

[rm]

So Mekhi Phifer has been cast as Rex. This is good because he's talented, believable, interesting, and less of the same-old for Torchwood. Man, I am already shipping him and Gwen as best-buddies against Jack's bullshit.

When it seemed like Rex was going to be cast as some random white boy (seriously, the original casting notice did say "Caucasian, 28" -- but we'll get back to that) I was pretty sure that there would be some major Jack/Rex frenemy sex going on.

Now, I'm both less sure of what's going to happen and more interested; this is not btw, because Rex is being played by a PoC (although yes, interracial relationships are still usually an Issue Story for US TV). It's because the stereotypical pretty boy thing has been killed and because Phifer reads older than 28 (we'll get back to that).

Also, having seen Phifer act in a bunch of stuff (why does no one remember Homicide? You're all missing out), I feel pretty confident saying that Rex's manner will not be that of a Jack clone (as I previously suspected). Or an Owen clone (as others have suspected). And I'll be really, really curious to see what RTD and team think this CIA agent thinks about our Big Queer Hero.

Of course, I can see a lot of avenues for cliche disaster (uptight US government man; man of color on the DL -- both avenues are potential disasters, although I suspect both avenues will also be avoided, but lord knows, you can't think about Torchwood without considering the possibility of some "Oh, I really wouldn't have gone there" choices), but we'll deal with that when we come to it.

Meanwhile, fandom reacts!

Some people are really happy! Yay!

Some people are like "no idea 'til I see it in action," which is perfectly reasonable.

And then some people are having the RaceFail. Anyone remember the wanks about Martha Jones in Doctor Who fandom? This is just like that, just without the misogyny. But I've already seen all sorts of random people who are unhappy for reasons that come down (and are only sometimes disguised) as "Mekhi Phifer's black."

Don't think he's hot? Not a fucking problem, although our opinions differ.

Pissed off that someone in the show has a function other than being eye-candy for you? Sort of screwy in my eyes, but hey, that's your deal.

Cranky because he's black? Check yourself and stop talking.

No, really. Just because you have the right to feel, think, and say anything you want, you shouldn't always do it in public. And trust me, I fuck shit up enough, I should know.

Meanwhile, one of the reactions I saw yesterday were variations on "But, but, but they told us Rex was 28 and white! Since that didn't happen, clearly no one wants to be in Torchwood!"

No. You were not told that. They never told us shit about Rex. You read a leaked casting call and don't understand the industry.

1. That casting was from Breakdown Services. Breakdown Services is a service subscribed to my agents and managers (and some sneaky actors) to see what's casting, so they can put their clients up for roles. The way an entry appears in BS is that the production company sends the script to BS. Someone at BS reads the script and writes the breakdown based on what they are seeing in the script. Production may or may not tweak.

2. At the point that something is sent to Breakdown Services, especially for a series, SCRIPTS ARE NOT FINALIZED. In fact, all there is probably is a draft of the first two episodes in which the character in question appears. Many things can still change.

3. Not all roles go to Breakdown Services.

4. Sometimes, a role will go out on breakdown services when there are already casting discussions in progress.

5. Rumours about casting can be many things including:
- totally random and false
- trial balloons
- an actor or his people getting over-excited about an audition
- someone speaking out of school inaccurately
- something announced close to it being finalized and then it doesn't happen because the actor got a better offer or something else has transpired.

All of which is to say you have no idea why or if someone rumored to have a part has turned it down.

What do I think happened with Rex and "caucasian and 28"?

One of several options:

Option 1: They wanted to cast a name in the part, preferably PoC. They knew, however, they might not find someone with the right chemistry, skills and availability for the role who was a name and decided that if they went with a non-name a random white pretty-boy was the largest potential audience draw, hence the casting and what went out on BS while they were simultaneously talking with names. I'm not saying this is not offensive; I'm saying this is often how shit goes.

Option 2: In the process of casting, they weren't finding someone they liked based on the original description and cast a wider net.

Option 3: Mekhi Phifer or his people went to production and said, "love this show, want to be on it, let me read for it."

Option 4: The script and character concept changed during the casting process. Consultants said Rex had to be over 30 to be believable. Market testing said the show needed PoC actors to have a broad audience base. Etc. DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE MARKET TESTING in US TV PRODUCTION AND HOW DRAFT-Y DRAFTS ARE.


But here's what didn't happen:

- They didn't have trouble finding an actor willing to take the part. Actors want to work. Period. So the "Torchwood has a bad reputation"/Somethingsomethingsomething about Ianto? NO. YOU ARE WRONG. DO NOT SAY IT IN COMMENTS HERE.

- They didn't purposely lie to the audience -- BREAKDOWNS AREN'T FOR THE AUDIENCE AND ARE NEVER FINAL.

Comments

[dremiel.livejournal.com]

He was Luther Mahoney's brother, right? God, that was a great show.

It's so strange, I don't think of myself as naive and yet I still get surprised by the "Entitlement" point of view toward this show in particular. I have close friends who are DONE with the show and I understand that. I have close friends who are BOUCNY about T4 and I understand that. I'm somewhere in between but I am intrigued and ready to love it. What I continue to not understand is the "I won't ever watch it but I will bitch about every rumor" fan. Seems like an excellent way to court unhappiness.

[lawsontl.livejournal.com]

I completely understand and agree with the anger folks have. In the beginning, I was all about the SIJ concept. But it's gone too far into wallowing in the grief. Someone posted recently, forget who, about these shirts they made in protest of the possible tuition increases in the UK: "First Ianto, now this!" And it boggled my mind how they could even see the two things as related. The grief is real; I was really sad myself. But, at the same time, it's two different, completely unrelated realities. And it should not be so central to one's life this far out from the event.

I guess it's like trolling or the anon_memes. I don't understand why someone would invite that much spite or confrontationalism in their life. Just getting by, paying the bills, going to work... isn't that enough work? I want my entertainment to entertain. So they must enjoy their grievances, is all I can figure.

[tod-hollykim.livejournal.com]

And how many times has casting changed who a character is? I mean we've heard so many times that they had a rough idea about a character, someone came in that didn't fit that, but blow them away with the reading.

I'm just happy a good actor got the role.

[lawsontl.livejournal.com]

Word. People keep making big leaps of logic as a means to support their viewpoint (and it's so tempting to want to see the show fail when you're angry about the choices they made). I'm still not particularly thrilled about the new direction, but the return of PC Andy (at least per Tom Price), Rhys, and Mekhi's casting give me more hope that it's going to at least be interesting even if it's no longer developing the way I wanted.

I'd love to see Jack have someone to butt heads with instead of having groupies. JB and Kai piddling in their respective corners was one of the highlights of S2 for me, and that same sort of behavior would keep Jack acting like "Jack" instead of wallowing in man!pain. And Phifer's got the chops to play counter to JB's tendency towards going OTT. WHich is perfect.

There's not a danged thing about "Homicide: Life on the Street" that I didn't love, except maybe that they didn't pursue Bayliss' personal life a little more after the revelations about his sexuality. Would've been nice to see that, especially in light of how the same team handled Det Greggs' sexuality in "The Wire."

Anyhow, I should be working.

[fmanalyst.livejournal.com]

I didn't love the last season or so of Homicide when Falsone and Michael Michelle showed up (what was her character's name again?), but the earlier seasons were brilliant. I still maintain that "Three Men and Adena" was the best episode of a television series ever.

To me, Phifer has the ability to bring a gravitas to Torchwood that the show has never quite managed from its actors, though Frobisher came closest. Barrowman comes close on occasion, but there's a bit too musical comedy in his acting for the full weight of dramatic authority.

I'm trying to articulate what I mean by gravitas here in relation to acting, but I'm not sure I'm saying what I mean. There's a kind of authority that comes from consistently working in dramatic roles that comic actors tend to downplay or even act against when they're acting, and which works against them when they play dramatic roles.

[azn-jack-fiend.livejournal.com]

But... but... Mekhi Phifer will turn Captain Jack straight because he's a alpha-male type just like LL Cool J who said on a talk show once that he's married and has kids but he still likes gay stuff because it's all part of RTD's homophobic master plan.

(pounds head against desk)

[rm.livejournal.com]

Oh man, you just encapsulated the three AWFUL things that set me off yesterday that I somehow forgot to directly mention in this.

[hab318princess.livejournal.com]

Thanks for that background information on casting - I had tried to keep an open mind with the rumours and love the idear of Mekhi Phifer in Torchwood as I always think of him as Dr. Pratt in ER (which was truly confusing when I started working at my current hospital where Dr. Pratt is very causasian :D)

[natf.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm sure I saw him in Homicide but remember him more from ER which I will have seen more recently. Then again, my memory of faces and names and where I have seen them is infamously flawed without the aid of my iPhone and the imdb app…

[chris-walsh.livejournal.com]

I've been rooting for Phifer to have a great career since Clockers, so this is all win. And I remember his Homicide role (especially the shoot-out in the squad room. Directed by future Best Director Oscar winner Kathryn Bigelow, people).

In other news, too many people keep finding ways to show their asses.

[51stcenturyfox.livejournal.com]

I watched Mekhi Phifer on ER for six years. I'm sure the production team did cartwheels when he signed on. PERFECT.

A seriously good actor. I'm pleasantly surprised Torchwood scored someone so damned good. :D (Not that the other actors who've appeared on TW haven't been great, but I hadn't heard of many of them before becoming acquainted with them on the series.)

He did an FBI agent role on Lie To Me, which I haven't seen. Now I want to get that series and check it out.

[alienor.livejournal.com]

While I do like the show (Lie To Me), I wouldn't pick it up just to watch Mekhi Phifer. He generally disagrees with the main character but goes along with his plan anyway (with much hangwringing). I found him annoying (which I thought was the fault of the role, not the actor).

[xtricks.livejournal.com]

Mekhi Phifer is a nice actor -- I've only seen him in Lie to Me and he was a little ... hm, generic and straight man but I think they just didn't give him much to do.

In terms of casting, the only pitfall I'm seeing might happen has to do with difference between the way American actors look vs. british ones -- the current style of American actor, to me, seems very shiny and stylized and unnaturally 'good looking' (in a very stereotypical way) while British actors still maintain a look that's actually human. If everyone in the show looks like that except Jack and Gwen, it's going to be jarring. Plus, my fearful prediction for what Rhys gets to do? The fat guy pratfal comedy relief aka: the only role that overweight people are allowed in US TV.

and, for me, who is cast for T4 has nothing to do with the fact I won't watch it and ... the lack of Ianto also is not the prime reason I won't. Grr. This fandom can be so annoying, sometimes.

[emyrldlady.livejournal.com]

just an fyi, having seen Kai a few weeks ago at Chicago Tardis... um definately not the 'fat guy' he's looking GORGEOUS! and very very fit! Those marathons did him well.

[lizblackdog.livejournal.com]

This would be why I watch the show and not the fandom, ack.

Mekhi Phifer is awesome and Torchwood will be awesome. No fucker can harsh my squee about this.

[darthhellokitty.livejournal.com]

Just out of curiosity - do agents ever send in an actor who isn't exactly what the casting call asked for? Like, it says "20-25 year blonde woman", and they have a terrific 35-year-old blonde woman, or some such thing.

There is nothing Torchwood could do at this point to make everyone happy. They could resurrect Ianto from the dead on Easter Sunday, and people would complain about his having spent time being dead.

[wounded-melody.livejournal.com]

If they had stayed in Wales and not blown up the Hub, I think I'd be happy. This just isn't TW anymore.

[sinboy.livejournal.com]

Don't think he's hot? Not a fucking problem

Is too. Means they have no taste in hot men. That dude is totally smoking hot.

[ophymirage.livejournal.com]

I just went and googled him, and oh lord, yes. Isaiah Mustafah still prettier, but yeah, that's a gorgeous man. :)

[alt_universe_me.livejournal.com]

This is so interesting (the industry stuff)--this is the first time I've really been aware of behind-the-scenes and industry sort of things in regards to a show.

Every piece of news lately has only made me feel more excited for TWS4. I mean, we're getting two new female characters (awesome!), and while I was previously prepared to be underwhelmed by Rex, I'm now really excited to see his character! :D

[wounded-melody.livejournal.com]

Where were people saying they didn't want him because he is black? There are reasons you might not want MP on TW that don't automatically equal racism.

[fightingwords.livejournal.com]

Uh, she said that while some people balked for other reasons, others specifically were point out his race. That sounds like automatic racism.

[teleens-journal.livejournal.com]

I agree with you completely on how the casting probably happened.

I like Mekhi Phifer. I liked him in ER (though I love/hated his character) and I liked him in Lie To Me. He's a solid actor and I think that his dynamic with Jack could be very interesting to watch.

So while I'm still not looking forward to the new Torchwood, this casting decision is making it slightly more palatable to me.

I'm going back to what I've been saying for a while now. I'm going to watch the first episode and go from there.

[kel-reiley.livejournal.com]

i wasn't aware there was martha wank BEFORE her series even aired! (i know, although never saw, that there was afterward)

also, please PLEASE explain the industry to ppl - b/c their failure at 'getting' it is truly killing me! and i probably only know about 30% as much as you, a person actively IN the industry

the other argument i saw was 'but they shouldn't be telling us (the audience) that the character is X and X and X - they should let us decide for ourselves when we see it' with several allusions to gwen and how her character was promoted and received by audiences

and i'm just... do you really think the general audience is scouring the internet for every little scrap of information and following creator's blogs or twitters or reading leaked casting spoilers? REALLY?

sometines i think being in fandom spoils us, in the bad sense of the word, you know?

[lawsontl.livejournal.com]

Word.

It encourages to pick nits along with the other nitpickers, and, after a while, we become less like fans and more like loyal critics :)

[killerweasel.livejournal.com]

I'm looking forward to Mekhi Phifer on the show.

I liked him on Lie to Me. (I'd still like to read a well-written Sherlock/Lie to Me crossover where Sherrlock meets Cal Lightman and the two of them get into a discussion on reading faces and body languages.)

[dsmoen.livejournal.com]

I love Lie to Me.

[sanat.livejournal.com]

I dunno nuthin' about the industry, but I didn't take the casting call as gospel, and I don't think I've seen anything Mekhi Phifer's been in, apart from that bit of "O" I caught on TV which I can't judge from. I just want MOAR Torchwood and will keep an open mind about anyone they cast.

Also, I got two online orders in the past week that were probably thanks to you, so I flicked some cash at D&J :D

[alba17.livejournal.com]

Um, this makes me glad I have no idea about any of the controversy in fandom about this.

[dsmoen.livejournal.com]

As long as Mekhi Phifer doesn't become a stereotyped villain and they treat the character with respect, I'm all for it.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Totally not a villain role (that's apparently being played by Bill Pullman). I have high hopes for this not getting fucked up.

[lovefromgirl.livejournal.com]

Okay, I am not as with-it as the rest of fandom and I am just sitting here going, "Bzuh?"

TW/DW fandom actually complaining because a character is black. Just. Gimme a wet fish, because a bunch of people need a smackin'.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Not the first time. See Martha Jones. There was so much fucking drama about her.

[hoyland54.livejournal.com]

This was informative, thanks.

Is there a fifth possibility that whoever wrote the breakdown thought "CIA agent, obviously white" or are they typically given that sort of description in the script?

I've not bothered reading any of the posts about this as I haven't the energy, but it seems superficially reminiscent of the casting of Mos Def as Ford Prefect, where there was a whole tangle of whether the objections were rooted in race. Then there was the whole authorial opinion vs established understanding of character angle (Douglas Adams said explicitly that Ford could be cast as American).

[lovefromgirl.livejournal.com]

Mos Def's Ford Prefect was awesome. So he's not exactly like what I imagined from the books? I don't think any two incarnations of HHGTTG have been alike, anyway. :)

[echoingvista.livejournal.com]

The only problem I have with Phifer is, and clearly this is an unpopular opinion, I don't like him as an actor. Nothing to do with race, looks, or any other silly reason. I don't like his acting.