No, it's not a Robert Ludlum title.....
Medium Rob writes one of my favorite blog discoveries from last year, "The Medium Is Not Enough", which looks at both English and American television. And for me, a great clearing house for links about 'Doctor Who'. (Check it out! You'll find the link, as always, to the left.)
So Medium Rob wrote in yesterday to set me straight on the Aquaman issue:
It was Alan Ritchson in both Aqua and Justice, so that's only two incarnations of AC to deal with.
Later he added:
My hazy memory recalled last night that the Mercy Reef pilot originally called for Will Toale to play AC and Justin Hartley took over from him. I don't think they'd actually filmed anything with Toale, so I don't know what kind of meta-universe he lives in as AC.
This splains why I remembered three actors in connection to the role, but the IMDb.com only listed two for the three appearances linked to 'Smallville'. It's a good reason why I shouldn't pay any heed to news items about upcoming projects until they're actually about to be broadcast.
Let's just take Will Toale out of the mix straight off. He's a What-Iffer we don't have to give any consideration.
The 'Smallville' episode which first introduced Arthur "AC" Curry as Aquaman ("Aqua") was a back-door pilot for a possible spin-off. But when it came time to film an actual pilot for a series, the producers decided to start fresh - not only with a new actor to play "AC", but also with a concept that would sever ties with 'Smallville'.
However, the pilot - "Mercy Reef" - was never broadcast. It would have wound up in that limbo dimension with all the other unaired pilots never to be seen had it not been for its release on the web at video outlets like YouTube (and available on iTunes as well, although I coujld be wrong about that.)
Ten years ago, I would have said that only shows that were broadcast on TV could become a part of Toobworld, but the concept of Television has been evolving, so that internet access should probably be accepted as well.
At any rate, Alan Richson returned as "AC" in this latest episdoe of 'Smallville', while Justin Hartley (now the Green Arrow in 'Smallville') was "AC" in "Mercy Reef", which had no connection to 'Smallville'.
So it's easy enough just to discount the "Mercy Reef" pilot as being in some other dimension of Toobworld. By the Trident of Poseidon! It could be submerged in the oceans of the main Toobworld itself, me hearties!
Suddenly I want to sing about pineapples under the sea......
And Alan Richson can rightfully reclaim his Life Aquatic to be the one, the only Grou- er, Aquaman.
For that dimension, at least......
And now I'll wash my hands of it all......
BCnU!
Tele-Toby
Thank you kindly for your recommendation!
ReplyDeleteThis is more of an FYI and I'm going to get a rep as a pedant now, even though my own typo/inaccuracy count can be a little high times. But...
Technically, I don't just write about English TV but British/UK TV (the US/American/USA thing I leave to others, assuming there are equally pedantic people out there on that score and there's anything to nitpick).
What's the difference? England is the nation of England. (Great) Britain is the nations of England, Wales and Scotland; the UK is Britain and Northern Ireland (I won't start on where the Isle of Man, et al fit into this or else it'll get even more complicated). And they all produce their own television shows.
Why should you care? Well, apart from describing someone who's Welsh, Scottish or Northern Irish as "English" being the number one way to start a fight with them (seriously), Doctor Who is: made by BBC Wales; has a Welsh exec producer/head writer; has a Welsh script editor; has a mainly Welsh production crew; is filmed predominantly in Wales; and has a Scottish actor as its main lead. So it's pretty much as British but non-English as they come. Not up there with S4C - the Welsh language channel - but pretty Welsh and proud of it, thank you.
Plus my wife is Welsh and we don't want to annoy her. Those Welshies can be fiery...