Thursday, May 31, 2018

BOOK 'EM RECASTAWAYS - DORIAN GRAY




When the 'Warehouse 13' agents searched a fashion show in a case that revolved around the fast-acting premature aging of models, Pete Latimer said: "Nobody's got the picture of Dorian Gray hanging up for decoration."  To which Artie replied that the original portrait was hanging in the Warehouse.

From the IMDb:
'WAREHOUSE 13'
The Picture of Dorian Gray in Warehouse
Pete: Nobody's got the picture of Dorian Gray hanging up for decoration.


Referencing Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray. (1890). The title character, a young hedonist who makes a wish that a portrait of himself will grow old while he remains young and untouched. His wish is granted and he lives a life of debauchery and vice while the portrait grows ever more aged and disfigured. In the end, Gray stabs his portrait, causing his own death and transferring the disfigurements back to himself. 

Oscar Wilde wrote a non-fictional account about Dorian Gray's picture back in 1890, so we know the "true" events in Toobworld occurred before then.  And in 1961 we saw those events played out in a TV movie.  So it is part of the TV Universe.  (And it can be found in the Wold Newton Universe as well although Dorian Gray is not a member of the Wold Newton Family itself, just part of the overall Wold Newton Universe.)

So 'Warehouse 13' has another link, this time to the TV movie.  By the way, there were two adaptations in 1961, and although I'm partial to John Fraser, I'll stick with my standard rule - First broadcast belongs in Earth Prime-Time.  That means Jeremy Brett is the face of Dorian Gray for the main Toobworld.  What I like about that is a theory of relateeveety could be made in which Dorian Gray might be related to the Sherlock Holmes of Toobworld, also portrayed by Jeremy Brett.

The Dorian Gray of 'Penny Dreadful', in fact the entire series, had to be moved to another TV dimension.  There were just too many Zonks to reconcile.

Here are the TV adaptations of Wilde's story over the years.

Armchair Theatre: The Picture of Dorian Gray (1961)

Starring Jeremy Brett as Dorian Gray
[As mentioned earlier, this is the official televersion of the story for Earth Prime-Time.]

Golden Showcase: The Picture of Dorian Gray (1961)
John Fraser as Dorian Gray

El Retrato de Dorian Gray (1969): 
Starring Enrique Álvarez Félix as Dorian Gray
[This took place in Spanish Toobworld.]

The Picture of Dorian Gray (1973)
Starring Shane Briant as Dorian Gray

The Picture of Dorian Gray (1976) 
Starring Peter Firth as Dorian Gray

The Sins of Dorian Gray (1983)
Starring Belinda Bauer as a female Dorian Gray
[This took place in a TV dimension established in 'Sliders'.  In this case it was the world in which women held sway - they had Pope Jane Pauley, for example.]

Penny Dreadful (2014-2016)
Starring Reeve Carney as Dorian Gray
[The TV dimension for this series could be the same as that for the series 'Dickensian'.]

Each of them have been relegated to other TV dimensions.

BCnU!

My thanks to Win Scott Eckert for his help in this post.

1 comment:

Hugh said...

I now you have an explanation, but don't forget the appearance of the "fictional" Dorian Gray on The Librarians.