RA FRIDAY - SOMETHING DISTURBING, SOMETHING I DEEPLY APPRECIATE & SOMETHING WORRYING

1. SOMETHING DISTURBING

I saw this ad on the left and  felt rather uneasy, quite puzzled. Richard doesn’t seem human. I’ve already said (HERE) I don’t like hammering advertising , more precisely I just hate advertising. And this Strike Back campaign seems a heavy one. At Sky, they keep their hopes high on this production, they want to compete with the Americans. And I’m trying to focus on the positive aspect in it: new pics and interviews.

Another thing I hate: war videogames, the ones most of my male students love. And this picture here, with an unnerving tough armed hero, though bearing the handsome look of Richard Armitage, disturbs me. I’m being honest, you see. I can keep my objectivity even before charming Mr Armitage (hard task!)

War is not a videogame: it breaks men, destroys lives.The survivors have harder tasks than the dead who rest in peace paradoxically, they have to cope with their sense of guilt and with the memories of the slaughter they witnessed. I really hope SB won’t be anything like those videogames where the more you kill the better you are.

Shell shocked soldiers they were lebelled during WWI; post war trauma is another term used to describe what broken men coming back from the front suffered from.

But it seems John Porter will share that kind of background in  this 6-part drama. I mean, he is a broken man, shattered by war . He is a discharged- in - disgrace SAS officer. He is haunted by a sense of atonement and redemption. Richard says: "He's a damaged hero - but he's got to be. If he's all hero, then he's not appealing. You have to look for the hero and then find what makes him weak. The failings are what make him human." This makes me feel a little better. Maybe they must publicize the drama highlighting the brave tough hero aspect of the character but Richard promises his audience something more.

Reading Richard’s words about John Porter, reading his analysis of his new character (HERE) reassured me a bit. Yes, of course he knows he must act as a modern super-hero all muscles, guns and machine guns, boys’ toys and action. He knows the male part of his audience will want a hero with the guts, expect their dose of violence, risk, chase, thrilling action and sex but, as usual, he tries to give his character a soul, a backstory of reasons and motivations, a complex personality. He did his best to look great (read HERE) but he did his bestest at conveying the human being’s suffering and torment. I’m happy of that, I really hope this new drama won’t be only a high quality videogamelike war series. As I told you at the beginning, we must always remember war not only kills human beings but it also breaks down their minds and hearts, shatters their dreams and future lives. It is not a game for brave kids. It is not fun.

(Pictures from Strike Back official site at Sky 1 , www.richardarmitagenet.com and www.richardarmitageonline.com)

2. SOMETHING I DEEPLY APPRECIATE

(from www.richardarmitageonline.com)

I don’t know a single man who has read at least some of the books I like. Actually, I know few men who really love reading. Yes, I know,  I am unlucky because they do exist, don't they,  but where ?

So when I discovered that Richard is  the “literary” type, one who reads not only for his job,  I admired him deeply. Anyway, in his acting career, he read North and South before auditioning for the part of John Thornton, re-read (he said he had already read it several times) Wuthering Heights before interpreting John Standring , acted in a Shakespearean company, read Ted Hughes, read Georgette Heyer,  would love to play in more classic stage plays, acted as Richardson’s Lovelace.  His interview at Vulpes Libris regarding reading books ( and much more ) was great.

Now in this interview for THE STAGE ( see picture above) he says he is probably going to act on stage in a Restoration comedy, The Rover by Aphra Behn. Reading the plot of this 17th century play,  I guess he will be Willmore, a romp. Was Robert Lovelace just rehearsal for this other rake?

As for reading and Richard,  his newest Georgette Heyer's audiobook, THE CONVENIENT MARRIAGE,  can be pre-ordered at Amazon UK or The Book Depository.
Here's its brand new cover (above on the left)

3. SOMETHING WORRYING

I have already expressed my perplexity for some indiscretions which came out in  the press regarding Lucas North's fate in SPOOKS 9. Now reading this article , I'm even more perplexed.

LESS ACTION FOR LUCAS NORTH?

Richard says: "what's really interesting about Lucas this year is he's much less physical than he has been in the past..." What does that mean? Not that I'm that interested in action or physicality but ... It sounds  like ... he's going to be relegated to a background role. I really hope to be completely wrong. Wasn't it enough to hear that Lucas in series 9" becomes embroiled in what bosses say is a dark secret that leads to the ultimate betrayal"?

Final question. Which is your favourite Richard?

The glamorous star-like featured in this picture

or the more natural one below