Robots, Fangirls, Science Fiction and Mary McDonnell...
I have yet to see Mary McDonnell at a Con. I've come to close a few times, I could almost taste it.
But it hasn't happened yet. And honestly, I'm starting to hope that it never will. Sounds weird, I know,
but let me explain.
Mary McDonnell is my favorite actress. Obviously, she's a favorite to a lot of people. Some people
became Mary McAwesome fans back when she did Dances With Wolves, and some came to
acknowledge her epicness during Battlestar Galactica. Honestly, it doesn't matter. Once a fan,
always a fan.
Which is why I feel I have to say this: Mary, please stop doing Cons.
I mean, not forever. Just for now. Why? Because the Con circuit is not for you. You are one of the
best and brightest. You do your job brilliantly. You should be in movies. You should be on more
television shows. You should be the reason I get in line at the AMC and the reason I rush home
from work on a Friday night.
Instead, Hollywood goes for the old reliables. And yeah, I will say it: Meryl Streep. I've seen actresses
I've never heard of playing on some of this years popular movies, as the Mothers of the main characters,
in movies headlined by Jessica Alba, Ashton Kutcher...Jennifer Lopez. And that's fine, because Mary
shouldn't be playing anyone's mother unless she is also a kickass Professor who stumbles on a
government conspiracy, or a Nobel Prize winning Physicist in a Stephen Spielberg film, trying to help
save the world from an alien invasion.
Mary McDonnell never got the proper respect for her work on Battlestar Galactica. Hollywood completely
turned the other cheek. The Academy turned the other cheek. Other, less than stellar actresses, quaking
in their expensive shoes, heaved a few hungry sighs of relief when they realized they didn't have to
compete at the podium with Mary McDonnell.
While all that happening, some of Mary's admirers became incensed, knowing that something just isn't
right in Hollywoodland. While others turned a blind cheek and decided, hey, she has to go to every con
so I can have an opportunity to drool over her. But ask yourself, who does that help? It doesn't help Mary
(financially, maybe. Careerwise, questionably.), it doesn't help any young women, especially actresses
who need someone worthy to emulate, and it doesn't help you because Mary could be gracing the screen
instead of standing in front of an audience of Sci-Fi fans and fangirls, explaining Laura Roslin's feelings
for Bill Adama for the umpteenth time.
So, I have decided: I don't want to see Mary McDonnell at a con. I want to see Mary McDonnell in a blockbuster.
Maybe two or three. I want her in a Michael Mann movie. A huge Spielberg epic. I want her opposite DeNiro,
Costner (again), Gerard Butler and yes, Edward James Olmos. I want her to play the Scientist who saves
the world. I want her in a comedy with Tina Fey. I want her on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE. I want her on FRINGE,
BONES, MODERN FAMILY... and yes, more of THE CLOSER.
I want Mary McDonnell to go back to work. That's what I am really saying. I want the woman to return to cons
in a few years time with a few more films and shows under her belt, so that when someone asks about
Laura Roslin, Mary will have a fresh take on our beloved character...because she's gone on and lived the
lives of every other badass woman she can play. And then some.
But it hasn't happened yet. And honestly, I'm starting to hope that it never will. Sounds weird, I know,
but let me explain.
Mary McDonnell is my favorite actress. Obviously, she's a favorite to a lot of people. Some people
became Mary McAwesome fans back when she did Dances With Wolves, and some came to
acknowledge her epicness during Battlestar Galactica. Honestly, it doesn't matter. Once a fan,
always a fan.
Which is why I feel I have to say this: Mary, please stop doing Cons.
I mean, not forever. Just for now. Why? Because the Con circuit is not for you. You are one of the
best and brightest. You do your job brilliantly. You should be in movies. You should be on more
television shows. You should be the reason I get in line at the AMC and the reason I rush home
from work on a Friday night.
Instead, Hollywood goes for the old reliables. And yeah, I will say it: Meryl Streep. I've seen actresses
I've never heard of playing on some of this years popular movies, as the Mothers of the main characters,
in movies headlined by Jessica Alba, Ashton Kutcher...Jennifer Lopez. And that's fine, because Mary
shouldn't be playing anyone's mother unless she is also a kickass Professor who stumbles on a
government conspiracy, or a Nobel Prize winning Physicist in a Stephen Spielberg film, trying to help
save the world from an alien invasion.
Mary McDonnell never got the proper respect for her work on Battlestar Galactica. Hollywood completely
turned the other cheek. The Academy turned the other cheek. Other, less than stellar actresses, quaking
in their expensive shoes, heaved a few hungry sighs of relief when they realized they didn't have to
compete at the podium with Mary McDonnell.
While all that happening, some of Mary's admirers became incensed, knowing that something just isn't
right in Hollywoodland. While others turned a blind cheek and decided, hey, she has to go to every con
so I can have an opportunity to drool over her. But ask yourself, who does that help? It doesn't help Mary
(financially, maybe. Careerwise, questionably.), it doesn't help any young women, especially actresses
who need someone worthy to emulate, and it doesn't help you because Mary could be gracing the screen
instead of standing in front of an audience of Sci-Fi fans and fangirls, explaining Laura Roslin's feelings
for Bill Adama for the umpteenth time.
So, I have decided: I don't want to see Mary McDonnell at a con. I want to see Mary McDonnell in a blockbuster.
Maybe two or three. I want her in a Michael Mann movie. A huge Spielberg epic. I want her opposite DeNiro,
Costner (again), Gerard Butler and yes, Edward James Olmos. I want her to play the Scientist who saves
the world. I want her in a comedy with Tina Fey. I want her on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE. I want her on FRINGE,
BONES, MODERN FAMILY... and yes, more of THE CLOSER.
I want Mary McDonnell to go back to work. That's what I am really saying. I want the woman to return to cons
in a few years time with a few more films and shows under her belt, so that when someone asks about
Laura Roslin, Mary will have a fresh take on our beloved character...because she's gone on and lived the
lives of every other badass woman she can play. And then some.