Wednesday, December 25, 2013

THE 2013 TOOBITS AWARDS 3 - THE CHARACTERS


2013 TOOBITS AWARDS
 
It's that time of year again, when we all make lists and think back over the past year, in whatever field of interest concerns us, and chronicle the high points and the lows.  For the past few years I've been presenting this compilation as an awards show, the Toobits, which of course celebrates my two bits about Toobworld.
 
As it is with any such list you'll find in TV columns across the country these last few weeks, these are my opinions.  You're welcome to your own and I hope you'll share them, but I'm sticking to my weapons of choice.  (It could be you won't see something that was a favorite of yours because I just never got around to seeing it.  There's only so much time in the world - even for a do-nothing-else-anyway sort like me! - and I've only got the two eyes, even if they do operate independantly of each other at times.)
 
Unlike the Emmy Awards which will just keep handing out trophies to some shows forever, only shows, characters and what-not that debuted in 2013 can be considered.  (And by "debuted", I mean that which I first came in contact with in 2013.  It could be a few years old, but if it's my first time seeing it, it's new.)  
 
This one-time-only rule includes characters who have been recast; those are still the same characters who already exist in Toobworld.  (But there were a few notable appearances that deserved honorable mention, and they get it.)
 
So without further ado, let's have at it:


BEST RECASTAWAY
OVERALL


John Hurt as The War Doctor from 'Doctor Who' - "The Name Of The Doctor" & 'The Day Of The Doctor' & 'The Night Of The Doctor'
FEMALE



The Moment as The Bad Wolf Rose,  'The Day Of The Doctor' 
It was the same actress - Billie Piper - but she was the spirit of a sentient doomsday device that had taken the form of a future Companion of the Doctor.
MALE



Alex Sadler from 'Continuum'
In the present day, he's a techie wunderkind portrayed by Erik Knudsen.  But in the future, he'll become more jaded and world-weary - who better to play the part than William B. Davis?

BEST NEW MALE CHARACTER
DOMESTIC



Raymond Reddington, 'The Blacklist'
The writers for this show must love crafting pithy remarks for James Spader to ladle out......
IMPORT



DI Richard Poole, 'Death In Paradise'
A true fish out of water!
SPECIAL AWARD

The Curator, "The Day Of The Doctor"
Let us slay the fatted calf!  Tom Baker has returned to the fold!
 
BEST NEW FEMALE CHARACTER
IMPORT



Ellie Miller, 'Broadchurch'
It takes some doing to outshine David Tennant.  She did it in spades.  
DOMESTIC



Sonya Cross, 'The Bridge'
An Asperger's-afflicted police detective could easily have fallen into caricature.  She straddled the line better than the way she straddled the guy she picked up in the bar.

BEST NEW MALE SUPPORTING CHARACTER
Drama



Frye, 'The Bridge'
I never would have guessed from his past roles that Matthew Lillard could be so intense.
Comedy



Kyle the Intern, 'Maron'
I loved his off-beat line readings!

BEST NEW SUPPORTING FEMALE CHARACTER
Drama



Sgt. Camille Borday, 'Death In Paradise'
Technically it's more of a dramady, but people do die.....  And she was beautiful and incisive as she sparred with DCI Poole.
Comedy



Bea Chadwick (and Monkey), 'Family Tree'
You have to see them together to understand why this was a lock.
 
BEST NEW RECURRING MALE CHARACTER



Ben, 'Veep'
Kevin Dunn in a backroom political comedy?  Made in heaven.  (He also had the best line of dialogue this year.)
 
BEST NEW RECURRING FEMALE CHARACTER



Lady Olenna, Queen of Thorns, 'Game Of Thrones'
The first of two Diana Rigg appearances in the awards this year.  Here she was the Dowager Countess from the planet Mondas......

BEST NEW CHARACTER ADAPTED FROM ANOTHER MEDIUM



Ichabod Crane, 'Sleepy Hollow'
Sooner or later, this show will collapse under the weight of its mythology, but until then Tom Mison is very charismatic.  (Even if his interpretation of Crane throws the series into another dimension.)

BEST CROSSOVER CHARACTER FROM ANOTHER MEDIUM



Nick Fury, 'Marvel Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.' 
Only five minutes but Samuel L. Jackson knows how to explode across the screen in a short amoutn of time.  And it was a welcome sight for viewers gasping for a heftier connection to the comic books and the Marvel movie franchise.
 
BEST NEW CAST ENSEMBLE
Drama
'Under The Dome'
Comedy
'Family Tree'

Online & League of Themselves
"The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot"
The actors mainly make cameo roles as themselves. The summary below lists their original connection with the Doctor Who series. In order of appearance:
  • Sean Pertwee – son of actor Jon Pertwee who played the Third Doctor
  • Olivia Colman – who played "Mother" in the episode "The Eleventh Hour"
  • Peter Davison – who played the Fifth Doctor
  • Louis and Joel Davison – Peter Davison's sons
  • Matt Smith – who plays the Eleventh Doctor
  • Jenna Coleman – who plays Clara Oswald, companion to the Eleventh Doctor
  • Steven Moffat – executive producer and lead writer of Doctor Who – fifth series onwards
  • Heddi-Joy Taylor-Welch – Doctor Who runner and 3rd assistant director
  • Louisa Cavell – Doctor Who assistant director
  • Lauren Kilcar
  • James DeHaviland – Doctor Who 2nd assistant director
  • Janet Fielding – who played Tegan Jovanka, a companion of the Fourth and Fifth Doctors.
  • Sylvester McCoy – who played the Seventh Doctor
  • Colin Baker – who played the Sixth Doctor
  • Rhys Thomas - comedian, actor and writer and Doctor Who fan.
  • Georgia Moffett – Played Jenny, the Doctor's daughter. The real life daughter of Peter Davison (Fifth Doctor), and wife of David Tennant (Tenth Doctor). She also was the programme's producer, using her married name Georgia Tennant.
  • Olivia Darnley
  • Niky Wardley – Tamsin Drew, companion to the Eighth Doctor in audio dramas
  • Marion Baker – Colin Baker's wife
  • Katy Manning – Jo Grant, companion to the Third Doctor
  • Louise Jameson – Leela, companion to the Fourth Doctor
  • Carole Ann Ford – Susan Foreman, granddaughter of the First Doctor
  • Deborah Watling – Victoria Waterfield, companion to the Second Doctor
  • Sophie Aldred – Ace, companion to the Seventh Doctor
  • Sarah Sutton – Nyssa, companion to the Fourth Doctor and Fifth Doctor
  • Lalla Ward – Romana (II), companion to the Fourth Doctor
  • John Leeson – Voice of K-9 the robotic dog and companion of the Fourth and Tenth Doctors
  • Anneke Wills – Polly, companion to the First and Second Doctors
  • Lisa Bowerman – Karra and Bernice Summerfield, companions to the Seventh Doctor
  • Matthew Waterhouse – Adric, companion to the Fourth and Fifth Doctors
  • Paul McGann – who played the Eighth Doctor
  • Jon Culshaw – who impersonates Tom Baker, the Fourth Doctor, paired with scenes on a punt from the unaired 1979 serial Shada
  • Jemma Churchill – who voiced Lady Forleon in the Doctor Who audio drama, Creatures of Beauty
  • Lucy Baker, Bindy Baker, Lally Baker, Rosie Baker – Colin Baker's daughters
  • Bruno du Bois – assistant director of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.
  • Peter Jackson – director of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. McCoy plays Radagast the Brown in this movie.
  • Ian McKellen – who voiced the Great Intelligence in the episode "The Snowmen".
  • John Barrowman – who played Captain Jack Harkness with the Ninth and Tenth Doctors, and in the spin-off Torchwood.
  • Sarah Churm - plays part of John Barrowman's secret family. She also played Sarah Braithwaite alongside Peter Davison in At Home with the Braithwaites.
  • Alice Knight, Nick Jordan also play part of John Barrowman's secret family.
  • Brad Kelly – commercial manager of the Doctor Who Experience exhibition
  • David Tennant – who played the Tenth Doctor, and who is married in real life to Georgia Moffett, the real life daughter of Peter Davison
  • Richard Cookson – script editor for the 50th anniversary special, "The Day of the Doctor"
  • Elizabeth Morton – wife of Peter Davison
  • Marcus Elliott - plays a security guard
  • Ty Tennant – son of Georgia Moffett and adopted son of David Tennant
  • Barnaby Edwards – principal Dalek operator, and director of several Doctor Who audio plays at Big Finish Productions
  • Nicholas Pegg – principal Dalek operator, and writer and director of several Doctor Who audio plays at Big Finish Productions
  • David Troughton – son of Patrick Troughton, the Second Doctor. Appeared in The Enemy of the World (1967-8), The War Games (1969), The Curse of Peladon (1972) and "Midnight" (2008)
  • Nicholas Briggs – voice artist of several Doctor Who monsters, and director of several Doctor Who audio plays at Big Finish Productions
  • Frank Skinner – comedian and self-proclaimed Doctor Who fan.[6]
  • Adam Paul Harvey – former partner of Georgia Moffett
  • Derek Ritchie – Doctor Who script editor
  • Michael Houghton – plays a security guard
  • Dan Starkey – originally played Sontaran Commander Skorr in "The Sontaran Stratagem", currently playing the character Strax since 2011
  • Russell T Davies – Doctor Who writer and executive producer responsible for the relaunch of the Ninth Doctor and the Revived series in 2005
  • Des Hughes – Doctor Who producer since 2012
  • Gabriella Ricci – Doctor Who assistant production coordinator 2012–2013
  • Sandra Cosfeld – production secretary for the episode "Asylum of the Daleks"
  • Christian Brassington – voice actor who played Alfred Stahlbaum in the Doctor Who audio drama The Silver Turk

BEST INTRODUCTION OF A CHARACTER


FEMALE:
The Mother, 'How I Met Your Mother'
After so many years of build-up, it might have been so easy to get this wrong.  But they nailed it.
MALE:

The War Doctor, 'Doctor Who' - "The Night Of The Doctor"
What a coup in casting to get Sir John Hurt to embody this missing chapter in the Whovian mythos.  But then again, who was left among the stellar lights of the acting world in the UK with the age and gravitas to play the part?  It seems like everybody else has already been on 'Doctor Who' - Derek Jacobi, Brian Blessed, even Ian McKellan did a vocal role.....
 
BEST ADDITION TO AN EXISTING CAST
MALE



Steve MacAndrew, 'New Tricks'
FEMALE



Rachel King, 'Franklin & Bash'
 
BEST NEW GUEST APPEARANCE
COMEDY



Arthur Jeffries aka Professor Proton, 'The Big Bang Theory'
A well-deserved Emmy win for the legendary Bob Newhart.  The only injustice in his win is that he never received one before for either of his first two sitcoms!


DRAMA


Porridge, 'Doctor Who'
I'm a big fan of Warwick Davis and this made a nice callback to the Fourth and Bountiful Human Empire.

BEST HISTORICAL CHARACTER REVISION

Harry Selfridge, 'Mr. Selfridge'
If anything, he was rescued from the dusty halls of History.....

BEST HISTORICAL CHARACTER
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 'Mr. Selfridge'
All I asked was that he not ruin the established vision of Dr. Watson's editor in the main Toobworld.  And it worked.
 
WORST HISTORICAL CHARACTER



Queen Bess, "The Day Of The Doctor"
I love Joanna Page, but I'm not blind to the faults of her acting nor of the script in this case.  I just didn't buy her as the Virgin Queen.

BEST CHARACTER ADAPTATION
"TIE":

Irene Adler & Moriarty in 'Elementary'
A brilliant reworking of the legends for this new TV dimension.
 
BEST NEW ALIEN CHARACTER



Irisa Nyira, 'Defiance'
 
BEST NEW CHILD CHARACTER



The Raisins Into Grapes Girl, 'Sprint'
 
CHARACTER MOST DESERVING TO BECOME A REGULAR



Jojen Reed, 'Game Of Thrones'
And having said that, I know I've doomed him to die.  (I have NOT yet read the books!)
 
BEST NEW COMMERCIAL CHARACTER
SINGULAR


Sprint Zombie
COLLECTIVE


The Burns Family for Pepcid Complete

WORST NEW COMMERCIAL CHARACTER



Look at the smug look on that bastard's face after he's caused all that damage to other people's cars.  He couldn't give a damn!  That "Greed Is Good" mantra from the eighties lives on, and the disparity in our country's economics is embraced by the assholes who run Cadillac.  I would wish ill fortune on this guy and his car, but I'm afraid he'd get in a terrible accident that would kill or maim somebody with no insurance and he'd walk away without a scratch.....  (As you can tell, this commercial really bleeps me off!)
 
BEST LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES APPEARANCE
DRAMA



Val Kilmer, 'Life's Too Short' Finale Special
A note of splainin: While I enjoyed the series, I found it too cringe-worthy to consider it comedy.
 
COMEDY



Marc Maron, 'Maron'
 
BEST LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES APPEARANCE IN A COMMERCIAL



George Hamilton, CVS
"Two for one bronzer, Baby!"  I love when celebs can poke fun at their reputations.
 
BEST LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES APPEARANCE IN SKITLANDIA



Amy Poehler's return to 'Saturday Night Live' (05/18/13) - "Really?"
 
BEST LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES APPEARANCE IN THE TOONIVERSE



George Takei, 'Futurama'
 
BEST CHARACTER RETURN SPECIAL AWARD



The 8th Incarnation of the Doctor, 'Doctor Who' - "Night of the Doctor"


BEST CHARACTER RETURN
Drama: 


Connor Temple, 'Primeval: New World'
Sitcom:



'Yes, Dear' couple Jimmy and Christine Hughes in 'Raising Hope'

BEST LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES RETURN:



Bob Barker, 'The Price Is Right'
Happy 90th birthday!

BEST NEW ALIENS
The Seven Votan Species, 'Defiance':


  • Castithan
  • Gulanee
  • Indogene
  • Irathient
  • Liberata
  • Sensoth
  • Volge (by association)
BEST ALIEN RETURN
The Zygons, "The Day Of The Doctor"
 
BEST NEW ALIEN VILLAIN



Datak Tarr, 'Defiance'
 
BEST NEW MALE VILLAIN



Big Jim Rennie, 'Under The Dome'
 
BEST NEW FEMALE VILLAIN



Mrs. Winifred Gillyflower, 'Doctor Who'
 
BEST EXIT FOR A CHARACTER
TOOBWORLD

Dr. Walter Bishop, 'Fringe'
SKITLANDIA



Stefon, 'Saturday Night Live'
 
BEST EXIT FOR A LEAGUE OF THEMSELVES MEMBER
Warwick Davis, 'Life's Too Short' Finale Special
 
BEST DEATH SCENE



Matthew Crawley, 'Downton Abbey'
Because unless you were following news stories or had an understanding of actor contracts in the UK, it was probably unexpected.  And best of all, it happened at the last moment in the Christmas special, so they didn't drag out the sturm und drang.
 
SADDEST DEATH SCENE





Lady Sybil Crawley, 'Downton Abbey'
Det. Joss Carter, 'Person Of Interest'
Brian Griffin,  'Family Guy'
 
WORST (GRISLIEST) DEATH SCENE



Ros, 'Game Of Thrones'
You can tell how it happened: First, King Joffrey teased her by shooting the area over her head. Then he tortured her by shooting the second arrow into her vagina.   And finally he finished her off with the third arrow into her breast.


MOST DESERVING OF DEATH
Walter White, 'Breaking Bad'
 
BEST NEW CHARACTER NAME
Missendei, 'Game Of Thrones'
I'm very partial to this.  The actress was cute, so it was a factor in the name's favor.  I might even name a cat "Missendei" in the future.  (I already have two - Nucky and Leela - so I hope that future is far off....)
 
WORST NEW CHARACTER NAME
George Stroumboulopoulos, 'Stroumboulopoulos'
It's his real name, not a character.  But family pride is one thing, trying to make a "name" for yourself in the business is another.  The least he could have done was make it phonetical.....

BEST NEW ALIAS



The Curator, "The Day Of The Doctor"
"The name I chose was the Doctor. It’s like a promise you make.” - The Doctor
"Doctor" as a name should mean somebody who takes care of people or things (although some cultures saw it as meaning warrior.)  And that's what he does throughout the universe - takes care.  In fact, one time he even was known as the Caretaker.

So at the very end of "The Day Of The Doctor", there was the Curator - another who takes care of things.  And he was played by Tom Baker, the Fourth incarnation of the Doctor, promising that he would live beyond his twelve regenerations and even one day revisit a few old, familiar faces.

But it was still the Doctor!

STAY TUNED!  MORE TO COME!


No comments: