Three TV Losses
I'm almost afraid to surf the web anymore today because it seems every time I look around, another actor has died.
First it was Patrick McGoohan. Most people remember him from "The Prisoner", as show that I have watched most of, but never seemed to enjoy at the level that many others did. I recognise the surreality of it and appreciated what I think he was trying to communicate with it, but I didn't go crazy for it the way I did so many other British TV shows of the time. He also did "Secret Agent Man" (very cool theme song) and "Danger Man". I'm not sure that Danger Man was ever screened here in America, but I remember watching a few episodes of SAM. It often seemed like a cut-rate James Bond, so I wasn't impressed and I haven't watched any of them since they were shown on our PBS station, oh those many years ago.
Then, as if that weren't enough, I go to check my mail and see an announcement that Ricardo Montalban has gone to the Mutara Nebula in the sky. While I know that most people will forever associate him with the role of "Mr. Roarke" in Fantasy Island (a show that I never watched and that seemed to be one of those shows for desperate, out-of-work actors, much like many of the reality shows of today), I will always see him as Khan Noonian Singh from Star Trek "Space Seed" and Star Trek 2: the Wrath of Khan. I was never a huge Khan fan and unlike many other Trekkers, I don't consider STII to be the "best" of the movies, but I still recognise how important he was to the popularity of the movie franchise in the 1980s.
Also, I'll never be able to think of the phrase "rich Corinthian leather" without hearing his voice.
Also, for those of you who are out there in the British TV system, John Scott Martin, who was the chief Dalek operator during the classic run on DW, passed earlier this week.
Granted, I know this is going to happen to all my favourite TV stars. And eventually me. But still, it's sad to know that someone who contributed so much to my entertainment will no longer be around to do so.
First it was Patrick McGoohan. Most people remember him from "The Prisoner", as show that I have watched most of, but never seemed to enjoy at the level that many others did. I recognise the surreality of it and appreciated what I think he was trying to communicate with it, but I didn't go crazy for it the way I did so many other British TV shows of the time. He also did "Secret Agent Man" (very cool theme song) and "Danger Man". I'm not sure that Danger Man was ever screened here in America, but I remember watching a few episodes of SAM. It often seemed like a cut-rate James Bond, so I wasn't impressed and I haven't watched any of them since they were shown on our PBS station, oh those many years ago.
Then, as if that weren't enough, I go to check my mail and see an announcement that Ricardo Montalban has gone to the Mutara Nebula in the sky. While I know that most people will forever associate him with the role of "Mr. Roarke" in Fantasy Island (a show that I never watched and that seemed to be one of those shows for desperate, out-of-work actors, much like many of the reality shows of today), I will always see him as Khan Noonian Singh from Star Trek "Space Seed" and Star Trek 2: the Wrath of Khan. I was never a huge Khan fan and unlike many other Trekkers, I don't consider STII to be the "best" of the movies, but I still recognise how important he was to the popularity of the movie franchise in the 1980s.
Also, I'll never be able to think of the phrase "rich Corinthian leather" without hearing his voice.
Also, for those of you who are out there in the British TV system, John Scott Martin, who was the chief Dalek operator during the classic run on DW, passed earlier this week.
Granted, I know this is going to happen to all my favourite TV stars. And eventually me. But still, it's sad to know that someone who contributed so much to my entertainment will no longer be around to do so.