Interview with Todd Stolarski- Episodes 316 & 317 "Troubled Waters"
In anticipation of the premiere of "Troubled Waters," Elysse interviewed executive producer Ken Olin's assistant, Todd Stolarski. Since Ken directed and acted in this episode, Todd was in the middle of the action. He took a moment out of his always-hectic schedule (he was actually putting the finishing touches on a fabulous cast & crew screening party) to share his experiences. We waited until after the episode aired to post it, because there are a few spoilers (beware!).
Elysse: Can you walk us through a typical day of work for you and Ken?
Todd: Yeah, certainly. You know, it all depends really what we’re doing, what we need to focus on. With Ken being not only an on-set director but an executive producer as well, his duties include a lot of things in pre-production, like actually breaking story, along with Alison [Schapker] and Monica [Owusu-Breen]—the showrunners—and casting inquiries and things of that nature. Also we have a lot of responsibility in post-production—we have to oversee the editing of all the episodes. So Ken really is involved in every aspect of the production.
Elysse: What’s your favorite aspect of production?
Todd: You know, because I originally started out on set [as the set PA], I have a personal affinity towards that. I have an established relationship with all of the people down there. So being removed from that for the past couple of years in the office with Ken, it’s always very welcoming to go back and spend time with those people. [I really appreciate every aspect of the production itself, but it’s always nice getting back to those folks.] The actual physical production of things on set is why I got involved in filmmaking in the first place, and so I’ve always been drawn to that and excited by it the most, but knowing that post-production and editorial was the thing that I knew least about, I’m really excited to always sit in on that and with the writing process and everything that’s done in prep—that’s what I’m most interested in, so I’m drawn to that. So I’m really enamored with every aspect of the production process itself, and very blessed and fortunate to be working alongside Ken, because he exposes me to every element.
Elysse: How much crazier were your work days during the two-hour than they usually are, with Ken wearing so many hats, literally [Ken has a lot of cool hats] and figuratively?
Todd: Yeah, certainly. You know, it all depends really what we’re doing, what we need to focus on. With Ken being not only an on-set director but an executive producer as well, his duties include a lot of things in pre-production, like actually breaking story, along with Alison [Schapker] and Monica [Owusu-Breen]—the showrunners—and casting inquiries and things of that nature. Also we have a lot of responsibility in post-production—we have to oversee the editing of all the episodes. So Ken really is involved in every aspect of the production.
Elysse: What’s your favorite aspect of production?
Todd: You know, because I originally started out on set [as the set PA], I have a personal affinity towards that. I have an established relationship with all of the people down there. So being removed from that for the past couple of years in the office with Ken, it’s always very welcoming to go back and spend time with those people. [I really appreciate every aspect of the production itself, but it’s always nice getting back to those folks.] The actual physical production of things on set is why I got involved in filmmaking in the first place, and so I’ve always been drawn to that and excited by it the most, but knowing that post-production and editorial was the thing that I knew least about, I’m really excited to always sit in on that and with the writing process and everything that’s done in prep—that’s what I’m most interested in, so I’m drawn to that. So I’m really enamored with every aspect of the production process itself, and very blessed and fortunate to be working alongside Ken, because he exposes me to every element.
Elysse: How much crazier were your work days during the two-hour than they usually are, with Ken wearing so many hats, literally [Ken has a lot of cool hats] and figuratively?
Todd:
Well, because this was such a large episode for us, and an important
one, there was—I mean, not to say that there isn’t an attention to
detail that is extraordinarily intense all the time—but particularly on
this episode, we felt the need to go above and beyond what we’ve ever
done before. To really go out there, to step outside of ourselves and
see if we could surprise ourselves, that kind of thing. You know, we
always strive to turn out the best possible product and nurture our
characters and material as much as we can, but this was really an
instance where, it’s like, “We gotta swing for the fences,” and close
down any outside influences as much as possible and just really be the
best that we can be. The reason why it was—I wouldn’t say more
difficult, it was more arduous—is because we realistically shot a
feature film in less than half the amount of time one would shoot a
low-budget independent picture. Like, normally you would do thirty to
fifty days on an Indie flick that would end up being the length of what
we shot. We did our shoot in… twenty-one days. The days weren’t long,
either. It’s not like we did sixteen, eighteen hour days. I think we
only did one thirteen hour day in that time period. But it was… it was
a hell of a shoot, it really was. It was very exciting.
Elysse: You guys used a lot of our own stage areas, as different locations than we usually have on this show. I was just wondering, how many locations went into the “one” hospital that we saw?
Todd: Well we saw one hospital, and we shot a couple of
days over at an abandoned hospital in Altadena, and did some of the
stuff that we needed to do that was kind of the wider shots, the longer
lens stuff—stuff where you’d be seeing several areas of the hospital at
once. And for everything smaller that we could do in tighter coverage
we built on stage and did it here. So realistically, between using our
location, the places that our production designer, Denny Dugally, built
on stage, and the actual lot itself—our line producer, Sarah Caplan, is
very very creative about using many areas around the Disney lot, to
transform it into different areas. I’d venture to say that she’s
transformed the exact same area from a Pasadena hospital to an
industrial weapons plant in Moscow…
Elysse: …for Alias.
Todd: For Alias. Right, of course. Not for Brothers & Sisters—that’s not a spoiler for next season or anything. But yeah, she is extraordinarily creative with locations. And so—I’d say that we used a good four different areas, between Altadena, and the lot, and the stages, to actually create the hospital. You’d be pretty surprised if you saw what we actually used, in order to create what you actually see.
Elysse: You even used our lobby, downstairs.
Todd: We
did, we used the lobby… that’s right, you know, there’s so many things
that you even forget about. When you’re watching the show itself,
you’re into the diagesis [showing the fictional world], and so you’re
not really—you know, like, "Oh, that’s a person with a camera and
that’s a guy with a gurney." It’s like, "No, that’s a paramedic and
that guy just had a heart attack!" And so… it’s easy to lose sight of
the operationalization of things, and how you technically achieve them.
And… yeah, we have some true experts on our side, and we’re very
fortunate to have their experience.
Elysse: Indeed we are. Speaking of compelling moments, what was, for you, the most compelling moment—on set—of the two hour?
Todd: In the shooting of the two hour… you know, we here at Brothers & Sisters, we don’t typically have explosions and car chases and big fights and things like that. Knowing that we were going to be doing some things that were out of our wheelhouse, essentially, at Brothers & Sisters, made it more exciting. You know, a lot of the people on this show did Alias previously, and so they miss those car chases and explosions and things of that nature, and stunts, and so—I think the most compelling thing, for myself, during the filming of the actual show itself, was probably… Rob [Lowe]’s heart attack. It was very interesting to see an actor of his stature prepare for a scene like that, how excited he was to…almost die, you know? And the way that we technically pulled it off, we used some equipment that we normally do not, here on Brothers & Sisters. We used 35mm cameras to film—
Elysse: --usually we use 16mm?
Elysse: …for Alias.
Todd: For Alias. Right, of course. Not for Brothers & Sisters—that’s not a spoiler for next season or anything. But yeah, she is extraordinarily creative with locations. And so—I’d say that we used a good four different areas, between Altadena, and the lot, and the stages, to actually create the hospital. You’d be pretty surprised if you saw what we actually used, in order to create what you actually see.
Elysse: You even used our lobby, downstairs.
Elysse: Indeed we are. Speaking of compelling moments, what was, for you, the most compelling moment—on set—of the two hour?
Todd: In the shooting of the two hour… you know, we here at Brothers & Sisters, we don’t typically have explosions and car chases and big fights and things like that. Knowing that we were going to be doing some things that were out of our wheelhouse, essentially, at Brothers & Sisters, made it more exciting. You know, a lot of the people on this show did Alias previously, and so they miss those car chases and explosions and things of that nature, and stunts, and so—I think the most compelling thing, for myself, during the filming of the actual show itself, was probably… Rob [Lowe]’s heart attack. It was very interesting to see an actor of his stature prepare for a scene like that, how excited he was to…almost die, you know? And the way that we technically pulled it off, we used some equipment that we normally do not, here on Brothers & Sisters. We used 35mm cameras to film—
Elysse: --usually we use 16mm?
Todd: We normally use 35mm, but for this we used a Steadicam, We’re normally on dollies to stabilize the image itself, but we used a Steadicam piece of equipment—which we normally do not—in order to be fluid with our movement and what we saw. And so the ability to use more experimental equipment, I find—as like a technological junkie—very intriguing. That was great. Realistically, for me it’s extraordinarily difficult to pick a scene or a moment or anything, but the scene with Kevin and Scotty when Kevin comes back from trying to quell the story of McCallister’s heart attack from leaking to the press and he sees Scotty for the first time and when she says, “I feel like it’s been [years] since I’ve seen you,” that scene got me more than anything else. It was beautifully acted and very touching. But the heart attack scene, that was the most fun to shoot, because, well—I mean, we got to have Rob Lowe vomit and fall, and it was exciting. There were cars flying around, and it felt like we were shooting, you know—Alias starring Rob Lowe. So, getting out of our typical comfort zone was exciting. Any time you get to do something that you normally do not, everybody starts getting really excited. On the crew—it’s not just like myself or Ken or the actors—it’s the director of photography, the grips, makeup—everybody’s really excited.
Elysse: Awesome. What is your favorite part of working on set vs. working upstairs in the office?
Todd: I think that I find about set that is so intriguing, is that you have so many different people at the top of their respective crafts coming together to accomplish one common goal, and that is the shot. Whatever that shot is—if it’s a man holding a banana and performing a monologue about, you know, how much he loves fruit, then you need a prop for the banana, you need makeup on the guy, you need lighting, you know—there are so many different things that you need, and seeing how all of these elements converge to essentially create homeostasis on screen is beautiful. And so I appreciate how these artists at the top of their game can all perform under so much stress and pressure, all for the greater good. I really like the team aspect of that.
Todd: I think that I find about set that is so intriguing, is that you have so many different people at the top of their respective crafts coming together to accomplish one common goal, and that is the shot. Whatever that shot is—if it’s a man holding a banana and performing a monologue about, you know, how much he loves fruit, then you need a prop for the banana, you need makeup on the guy, you need lighting, you know—there are so many different things that you need, and seeing how all of these elements converge to essentially create homeostasis on screen is beautiful. And so I appreciate how these artists at the top of their game can all perform under so much stress and pressure, all for the greater good. I really like the team aspect of that.
Elysse: As Ken’s assistant, what other episodes have you really enjoyed that you’ve been on set for?
Elysse: [Laughs] Excellent.
Todd: He’s got big pockets.
Elysse: For people who aren’t familiar, how was it having newborn babies on the set? Will you explain what it means to have newborn babies on set, first of all?
Todd: Yeah, that’s the thing. It’s always been said that the two things you never want to do in filmmaking are work with children and animals, just because there are so many restrictions, and instructing them and directing them can be trying at times. We went through and screened so many different babies. Finding a half-Korean, half-black, half-white… so, 150%, total, that’s three halves…finding a baby that was so multiracial, but so specifically multiracial, obviously proved difficult. There aren’t too many partially Korean, partially African American, partially white babies in Los Angeles, a city of thirteen million people, believe it or not. And so what we did is we tried to screen twins. What you do is you have to get twins because babies have such small working windows. Newborns can only work for twenty minutes at a time. It needs to be 110 degrees on set because they try to be as warm as possible not to disrupt them and make them cry. You have to be silent. So everybody’s just silently standing there in the dark, and sweating their ass off, and they bring in Jasmine and then they bring in Jasmeena ten minutes later once Jasmine starts crying. So normally it’s a very tedious process, you only have four hours to do the time, they only work for twenty minutes at a time during those four hours, and they sleep and poop for the other time, and that’s it. But we had the most amazing newborns throughout this entire shoot. We had a couple different sets of twins that we used, and we’d rotate between, you know, Jasmine and Jasmeena, kind of thing. And our babies almost seemed as if they were acting. We had some young thespians in the group, and fortunately working with actresses who are mothers—Rachel Griffiths, Calista Flockhart, Sally Field—they have experience in holding children and properly caring for them. And Rob Lowe, for that matter, too, who has children. So the natal care on set was amplified by our actors’ experience with children. It made it so much easier, as to where it could have been an absolute disaster. But we got great stuff from the babies. There’s one point where Evan’s waving—we couldn’t have asked for anything more out of them. The crying was nonexistent for the most part.
Elysse: I’ve always wondered, how old in real life is a baby that plays a newborn?
Elysse: That’s true. Okay, so, this is a question about Todd Stolarski, the actor… Fans may recognize you as the handsome young man with the camera phone in Episode 201, "Home Front," where Kitty and Nora fight in the bridal shop. Have you thought about doing any further acting? Were you Method? [Todd laughs] Did people notice—what was the response?
Todd: That’s great. Okay. Well, first of all, I do not envision
myself doing any other acting in the future. I feel as if any time I
spend in front of a camera is a complete waste of time for all those
other people around. I have a face for radio, Elysse. I don’t have a
face for television. But I can truly say that it was an enjoyable
experience, as much as I was reluctant to do it. Ken was directing the
episode—the season premiere of season two—and he had made the remark
that all the actors that they brought in to do the role looked like
serial killers, and so…
Todd Stolarski as Leonard Koplitsky.
Elysse: [Laughs] You’re not a serial killer.
Todd: So
it’s good to know that I don’t have the appearance of a serial killer…
on paper, that’s good. So I was quickly thrown into wardrobe and just
tossed onto set. I had no choice. I totally gave myself a backstory,
because the role that I played in the episode…before we actually shot
it, it was a much larger role. It was a character who had lines: he had
like four scenes, his name was Leonard Kaplitsky, it was a big thing.
In early drafts of the scripts it was sizeable. Yet it dwindled down
and dwindled down until you saw me doing the actual role. I did give
him a whole backstory because myself and one of the other writers’
assistants, Dan Silk—we wrote the character blog for this character
himself, for Leonard Koplitsky.
Todd Stolarski as Leonard Koplitsky.
Elysse: Was that the McCallister and Me…?
Todd: That
was the McCallister and Me character blog that ran in the early portion
of season two, before the strike, before we were unable to do anything
anymore. They shut it down because you can’t create any material during
the strike. So we did give a backstory, and we actually gave him, you
know, a front story too. We went with it after that. Yeah, but I’ll
never do it again—I only did it because of Ken. Interestingly enough, I
did that scene with a girl I used to date, randomly—I didn’t date her
afterwards, I dated her beforehand, but as much as I’m embarrassed
about it, I still occasionally will pull it out when I am flirting with
some girl and we’re talking about this, that and another, I’ll be like,
oh here, look at this stupid silly thing, from time to time.Elysse: So the ladies love it.
Todd: Point me to a lady that doesn’t love Brothers & Sisters.
Elysse: [Laughs]Todd: It shows them that I can poke fun at myself, that I can relax, that I can have fun, and that I seem to be an enjoyable chap…who also might be stalking you with a cell phone in a bridal shop. I got a good story out of it, I guess it works... I am always painfully reminded of it, though, at the worst possible times, though.
Elysse: You also—this is a behind-the-scenes thing, but you are a very talented table read pinch-hitter.
Todd: Oh…well, apparently you don’t know the definition of “talented,” because uh… yeah, I certainly don’t like acting at all…
Elysse: I quote, Ken said you were “freakishly good” at the table reads.
Todd: Oh…well, apparently you don’t know the definition of “talented,” because uh… yeah, I certainly don’t like acting at all…
Elysse: I quote, Ken said you were “freakishly good” at the table reads.
Todd: It’s a lot of fun.
Elysse: You’re in charge of assigning the parts, too, for the people who are absent? So you get to choose the choicest parts?
Todd:
Typically I interface with Alison and Monica, depending upon who is
supervising the script, for each role. Fortunately or unfortunately,
however you want to look at it, recently there has been less and less
time to actually get together about these roles, when people are going
to be absent, and so now I’ve been left to my own devices to just
select people, and so I’m defaulting to me a lot these days, it seems. Elysse: You’re in charge of assigning the parts, too, for the people who are absent? So you get to choose the choicest parts?
Elysse: It’s fun for everyone. It’s fun for the whole family. Speaking of family, two more questions—about the Walkers.
Todd: Sure.
Elysse: Who is your favorite Walker?
Ken Olin as David Caplan.
Elysse: Me too.
Todd: I identify with David Caplan because he’s the rock and roll guy who likes photography, he’s got good style. He used to like to party a lot [both laugh]… I really like David Caplan because of that, and I’m not just saying that because he’s my boss. I really like David Caplan—but if I had to pick a Walker, I’m gonna go with Kevin, just because I think I identify with Kevin and his, you know, occasionally snarky sensibilities, his cynicism, and his sharp-witted tongue and smart-assed nature. I’m pretty close to that at times.
Elysse: I think a lot of us identify with him.
Todd: Like I said, I think I relate the most to Kevin. Although, um, I identify with… it’s a toss-up between… essentially, if Kevin was straight and had David Caplan’s taste, that would be me. So… take that for what it’s worth.
***
A very special thanks to Todd for that interview. And an extra-special thanks to all of YOU, because our ratings were great last night!
A quick update on where we're at on the writers' floor: We are headed into the table read for the Season Finale, which began filming this morning. Once again, Ken Olin is at the helm. Exciting times, all around.
Stay tuned!
I do SO love re-writing the episodes on Monday mornings...
"TROUBLED WATERS"
There is a lot of potential water imagery that was, quite frankly, ignored in this episode -- as you writers chose instead to pursue the Cardboard animatron Holly storyline (neglecting other characters like young Paige or Uncle Saul).
Since I've last written about her, Paige Whedon (now - what? 11-years-old?) is now a devout atheist (reading Nietzsche will do that to you). In last night's episode, Paige should have become obsessed with disproving the Biblical "parting of the Red Sea" story. See? Now "Troubled Waters" begins to take on a fuller shape.
As Tommy is drawn deeper & deeper into his own paranoid obsession with Ojai Foods, and as he pops prescription meds to stay energized as he cooks the books, he should be consumed and tormented as he takes multi-showers... shower after shower... (like Lady Macbeth washing out the "spot" that doesn't exist).
See? More flowing water.
We needed to see shots of streaming fountains.
Or rivers and spas and washing-machine rinse cycles. Holy water. And flash rains.
Ok. But, it's Monday morning. After the fact. It's too late for my constructive criticism now.
Posted by: will | March 02, 2009 at 12:05 PM
Wow! Todd is snarky, cynical, sharp-witted & smart-assy. He's just like the majority of gay men I know (without the benefit of actual gay sex, of course!).
Elysse: Speaking of gay writers assistants, give us an update on Dan Silk. A lot of us know him - his personality anyway - from two years monitering & writing notes for this blog. Then, he suddenly takes off without so much as a hello at Christmas or a "what's up" on Groundhog's Day!
Dan's is the name we have the most history with -- no offense to you and Cole, who are très épatant! -- so ask Dan if he'll jot a quick "what's up" blog for old time's sake before season's end.
Posted by: will | March 02, 2009 at 02:53 PM
I want Kevin to have a quickie fling with a beefy latino auto mechanic.
See, it's just a spur-of-the-moment freaky incidental kind of thing. It's a hot muggy afternoon. Fans are roaring. People are drinking iced cherry Coca-Colas like in a Tennessee Williams play. The muscular mechanic that gives Kevin a lube job at the Jiffy Lube - finds himself with our favorite Walker at the "No Tell Motel".
Elysse. I'm in a giddy mood today. I'm not arcing a real storyline here! It's called goofing around! Don't start spouting legal mumbo jumbo at me!
Posted by: will | March 02, 2009 at 04:39 PM
"I think I identify with Kevin and his, you know, occasionally snarky sensibilities, his cynicism, and his sharp-witted tongue and smart-assed nature."
Yeah, Todd. I do too. Now where the blooming hell is he? All I saw last night was Kevin going soft and gooey in the head and heart over a complete wanker he used to despise. Where did this love suddenly sprout from? Where? I sure as hell didn't see it build up onscreen.
Yes, I will and have to keep persisting. Save Kevin's character! Please make Kevin stop working for Robert.
Posted by: Vin | March 02, 2009 at 05:37 PM
Fantastic job on last night's episode. Your show is one of my all time favorites. I was spell bound throughout it.
Just one request. . . please, please eventually put Kitty and Robert back into a strong marriage with witty dialogue and sensual chemistry. The show messes with marriages too much and it is rather heartbreaking. I cannot imagine Kitty and Robert not together. I can endure the coming, painful episodes if it ends up OK in the end.
Thanks for giving us such a great show.
Posted by: Lauren | March 02, 2009 at 08:54 PM
Hi, I saw the two hour event and really Oh my God !! Everything is so good. I mean Rob Lowe just got in his death bed and how Calista spoken some ill words about him. This shows how much he loves her and he was feeling so guilty about not being the witness of the birth of his adopted child. My best moment was when Kevin cries and says to Scotty that " I was just there and these people came out to me and said Your FRIEND is going to be ok " your friend" n then he cries n hugs scotty. Kevin really thought himself to be this much attached to his brother in law.
Sam, 19 yrs
New Delhi
India
Posted by: Sam | March 03, 2009 at 01:30 AM
All right. I want to post Nielsen ratings for Sunday night (3/1/09) in an attempt that we can all start figuring out their relevance & also become comfortable with the ratings system jargon. "Brothers and Sisters" benefitted a bit from having the "Desperate Housewives" timeslot (it's Sunday viewership was greater than it's seasonal average)
The evening is broken down into half hour increments. Ratings are in millions. The first number following the show is overall viewers. The second number is the 18-49 rating demographic (there is also a more narrowly defined 18-34 ratings category which I have eliminated as too many numbers may become cumbersome -- perhaps next week I'll incorporate these numbers as I grow more comfortable with their exact relevance...)
--------------------
Sunday, March 1, 2009
9:00 p.m.
CBS Jesse Stone: Thin Ice (movie) 14,840 / 2.2
ABC Brothers & Sisters 12,084 / 4.1
NBC Celebrity Apprentice 8,243 / 3.4
FOX Simpsons/King of the Hill 6,316 / 3.1
9:30
CBS Jesse Stone: Thin Ice (movie) 15,174 / 2.2
ABC Brothers & Sisters 11,341 / 3.8
NBC Celebrity Apprentice 8,872 / 3.9
FOX King of the Hill/American Dad 5,525 / 2.7
10:00
CBS Jesse Stone: Thin Ice (movie) 15,198 / 2.1
ABC Brothers & Sisters 11,908 / 4.1
NBC Celebrity Apprentice 9,095 / 4.0
10:30
CBS Jesse Stone: Thin Ice (movie) 15,295 / 2.1
ABC Brothers & Sisters 12,369 / 4.4
NBC Celebrity Apprentice 9,028 / 4.0
--------------------
ELYSSE: It would now be very helpful of you to explain for us - give us a sort of witty crash course on - the importance of the 18-49 year-old demographic. "Brothers and Sisters" kicks both "Jesse Stone" and "Celebrity Appretince"'s respective asses here.
I can see that ratings make fuller sense only by contrasting the individual show's total production costs to the actual number of viewers watching, but I'm not yet aware of production cost numbers (except I would obviously guess with B&S's prime cast & crew and top-notch production values it's significany more costly than a "Celebrity Apprentice").
See? All of us layman-bystander-posters can start to figure out the television industry as we go along!
Posted by: will | March 03, 2009 at 08:53 AM
Thank you for reminding why I stopped watching this show!!! One word Kitty. I know that this is just a TV show. But seriously the writers are welling to end a marriage over that!!! she married a politician what to you expect!!!
I have only watched one episode this season, but the two hour special caught my attention, so sorry that I did.
And maybe it is just be, but Scotty does not seem like he still fits into the family, Something is missing what that
Posted by: yvette | March 03, 2009 at 01:27 PM
As if I weren't posting far too much already...
I want to make a quick case for Matthew Rhys (as if this were even necessary), coming from a different angle.
Imagine Sunday night's two-parter as a symphony of sorts. In fact, I'll go ahead and choose Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No.2 (not an actual symphony, more of a piano piece accompanied by orchestra), composed in three movements. I like this piano concerto because it's both traditional and experimental - it has fairly gorgeous music all the way through - and sometimes there are occasional 1 or 2-minute segments of music of astonishing beauty that crop up seemingly out of nowhere, yet an integrated part of the whole.
Matthew Rhys was one of these transcendent segments (his breakdown in part 2) that came at us naturally, obliquely. Part of the reason that Rachmaninoff's offhand, impromtu musical segments are so uniquely gratifying is because THE ENTIRE CONCERTO SUPPORTS these wonderful moments.
Ok. This is the point in my comment when I gently move away from Kevin Walker -- only to turn on Holly Harper, eviscerate her, yet pull the whole thing together.
If my favorite parts of the Piano Concerto No. 2 were preceded by mediocre music - that is, if it sounded like any old composer could have written it - then my favorite sections would mean far less, be less personal to me. It's the strong structure of the whole that allows the breakthrough moments their satisfying poignancy. If Matthew's breakdown scene were immediately preceded by three Paris Hilton Carl's Jr. Western Bacon Cheeseburger commercials, Matthew's moment would ultimately mean less to me. So it is with the character of Holly, who has found no real way to integrate gracefully with the show. Holly is the dead zone, the mediocre music, the queen of the uninspired storyline that has the effect (unintentionally) of ROBBING MATTHEW of his much-deserved poignancy. Holly is the burger commercial that removes you from the emotion and immediacy of the story.
I've always wondered how Matthew could be so blithely passed over at Emmy nomination time. Sally and Rachel, I understand. They're names, they're known commodities (Sally's practically a super-brand unto herself). I know why they get immediately separated from the pack. But Matthew is easily, artistically, in their company. If all the elements of the show came together (continuous strong, cohesive and arresting storylines - minus the Holly and Rebecca-Justin innanities), then perhaps Matthew might be more recognizeable as the exceptional talent that he is. If I were an Emmy voter and were handed a DVD to view "for my consideration", I'd warm up to Matthew Rhys a whole lot quicker if the other storyline elements were absorbing enough to allow me to fully appreciate Matthew's affecting contributions.
Posted by: will | March 03, 2009 at 02:32 PM
Thanks for the interview. Some great insights into the filmmaking process.
I'm also pleased Todd is appreciative of Kevin's sarcastic, witty nature.
I just wonder why the writers appear so oblivious to how much the Kevin/Robert storyline has tarnished Kevin's character, who has been constantly manipulated to fit the needs of the plot instead of actually driving the plot.
Please free Kevin from this awful storyline. Right now, I can only take refuge in the scenes where Kevin is with family and/or Scotty, because only there is he the recognizable Kevin I came to know and love.
As opposed to the subservient lackey who has developed a sudden love for Robert that is perilously close to slash fanfic. I totally got Kevin breaking down over the stress of the heart attack episode, but the sudden declarations of love -- and the worst line, "I can't bear to lose him" -- was just absurd. Talk about overshooting.
Posted by: Scott | March 04, 2009 at 01:41 PM
Ok. Here is my suggestion.
WILL'S SUGGESTION!
Everyone's screaming they want the "old Kevin" back.
And I'm still harping on the fact that Scotty is (or Luke's interpretation of Scotty is) a wimp and a housewife and overly goody-goody (with little sexual appeal -- kind of like the equivalent of Julie Andrews in her mid-20's... goody-goody, squeaky clean, virtuous, morals above reproach, sexless).
Ok. I've figured out a way to satisfy all these posters - and me.
Send Kevin and Scotty on a camping trip together alone. Throughout an episode, we cut to them several times. We get the old Kevin back -- because, of course, OUR Kevin is a priggish elitist who enjoys his creature comforts and will become b*tchy and snarky in the woods without his $4 vanilla latte and BlackBerry and a gym, so lots of hilarious comedy will ensue -- and I will get to see how Kevin and Scotty get on together, alone, up close (ie, maybe Scotty's been secretly interesting all along and I've not noticed it till now!).
Actually, send Sarah with them on second thought. Her sarcasm is a perfect foil for Kevin's sarcasm - and I'd love to see them both talking smack about each other (and bantering and gossiping in general) as they pitch a tent, lounge by the river and make a bonfire.
Posted by: will | March 04, 2009 at 02:50 PM
whatever happened to the girl bartender at Scotty's job? i think her name was Valerie? wait, maybe I'm off- was it Lisa? You guys know who I'm talking about- help me out...
Posted by: jason | May 20, 2009 at 02:13 AM