Comments on "The Watcher" Blog About Freema Agyeman
Maureen Ryan writes the TV column for the Chicago Tribune newspaper, and "The Watcher" is her accompanying blog. She wrote a entry on interviewing John Barrowman and I included information about Freema Agyeman in the comments, which led to this brief "conversation" there (and yes, I actually have already seen "Torchwood," so my first comment boasts an inaccurate--but sincere!--ignorance):
Spike from 'Buffy' and 'Torchwood's Captain Jack Harkness - Yowza!
http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/entertainment_tv/2007/07/spike-from-buff.html
Originally posted July 14, 2007
Comments
http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/entertainment_tv/2007/07/spike-from-buff.html#comments
Posted by me
I first saw the dreamy and amazing John Barrowman (have you heard him sing??) during his two-part "Doctor Who" episode with Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper - "The Empty Child" and "The Doctor Dances" - and have been gobsmacked myself ever since! I still can't believe that he used to live mere *hours* from me, and that we watched a lot of the same PBS TV shows during that time. I'm very excited to find out that "Torchwood" will be airing here in the USA, so I can fill in the blanks between Captain Jack's adventures with the Ninth Doctor, Eccleston, and his adventures with the Tenth Doctor, David Tennant, and his companion, Martha Jones, who's played by Ghanian/Iranian Freema Agyeman!
Posted by Paul
Great interview. I do love John Barrowman, he's just such a nice bloke and he brims with exuberance and enthusiasm for whatever he does. No, I'm not gay. The fact that John is hasn't hurt his popularity in Britain at all, it's not an issue. I'm looking forward to seeing him play against James Marsters, another actor I like a lot. BTW, Freema Agyeman is British, born in London. She will guest star in Torchwood too.
Posted by Duncan
I was a little surprised to see a comment on here that Freema Agyeman is apparently "Ghanian/Iranian". She's not, she's British. What is this American obsession with having to list everyone's ethnicity?
Posted by me
Yes, Freema Agyeman is British. I only listed Freema Agyeman's ethnicity to make it clear that she is a *black female* companion, in the American vernacular, as there has never been a black female Doctor Who companion before (Mickey, played by Noel Clarke, counts as the first male)! Maybe it isn't a big deal to a lot of people, but it really is to me. There's a HUGE black science fiction audience out there--American and British and beyond--which has rarely been acknowledged with similarly-looking characters before. Her race *is* important. In so many science fiction stories, the black guy is usually the first person to die. And there usually is no black woman *at all*. So hurrah for Freema!