Sargent was at his best when Darrin was under a spell and acting ridiculous. I found him very funny in those scenes. He was at his worst when angry at Endora. He went too dark.
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Sargent was at his best when Darrin was under a spell and acting ridiculous. I found him very funny in those scenes. He was at his worst when angry at Endora. He went too dark.
IIRC the redo was the first episode shot with Dick Sargent, but held back as introducing him in an episode where he wasn't the real Darrin would have been awkward.
In hindsight they could have made it a plot point, explaining why Darrin looked different. But at the time that wasn't anything they thought of, new actor, no change.
FYI, the Radio 4 serials this week is about the making of I Love Lucy. 10.45 and 19.45, BST.
I remember reading the producers did consider changing Darren's appearance magically but decided against it, though I can't remember why.
What is Radio 4 serials?
Divided we fall starred Dick York not Dick Sargent and it was filmed and aired three years before Dick Sargent took over the role. Other than that that's a completely accurate story.
But it's nice to know that in a thread called fact check people are being so fastidious about accuracy
But it's nice to know that in a thread called fact check people are being so fastidious about accuracy
Maybe they figured it was best not to call attention to it. Sometimes the best way to deal with a casting change is to pretend the character still looks the same in-story (see also Saavik, Jim Rhodes, etc.).
In the 1974-6 Shazam! series from Filmation, when Captain Marvel portrayer Jackson Bostwick walked out over a salary dispute and they hastily replaced him with John Davey, they actually aired Davey's first episode a week before Bostwick's last episode, perhaps to ease the transition. Now, given that Billy Batson/Captain Marvel is essentially a shapeshifter, they had an easy way to address the change if they wanted to, but instead, in Davey's second episode, a villain impersonated Captain Marvel using a mask with John Davey's features, and he was immediately recognized as CM.
Well, they talked about the re-do in 1969. ?
And let's not forget that Bewitched had recast Gladys Kravitz two years before switching Dicks for Daren, and the replacement actress in question looked absolutely nothing like her predecessor. So it's not like this was some new frontier for the show.
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This is incorrect. Bostwick did not leave Shazam! over a salary dispute. He was injured on set and was seeing a doctor for treatment. The producers assumed that he was holding out for more money and replaced him before the day was out. Bostwick successfully won a SAG arbitration over this.
http://www.angelfire.com/tv2/shazam/bostwick2.html
Sure but the second lead carries a bit more weight than the wacky neighbor. So I can see there being some discussion.
To this day I have a hard time with John Davey in the role.
Thanks for the correct, Jonny; I've updated the post.
I just finished a Shazam! rewatch, and at least this time around, I liked Davey considerably better than Bostwick. As I said in my blog review (the free one, not the Patreon):
I just finished a Shazam! rewatch, and at least this time around, I liked Davey considerably better than Bostwick. As I said in my blog review (the free one, not the Patreon):
Davey was a less visually convincing Marvel, an older, rougher-featured, slightly flabbier man (though he was more toned up by season 3) who looked and sounded more like a blue-collar dad than a superhero... Bostwick had the look down, and he was amiable enough, but he was a limited performer who never felt natural in the role, affecting a constant grin that seemed forced and almost creepily ingratiating. Davey was a considerably more experienced actor who gave a much more unaffected, matter-of-fact performance. It might not have been as easy to believe he was the World’s Mightiest Mortal, but it was far easier to believe that he was actually a person involved in the story, rather than a performer mugging for the camera and reciting from a script. Certainly he was better than you’d expect from someone hastily cast in a single day.
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I wasn't saying there wasn't discussion.
Diankra was referring to "Samantha's Better Halves," which was a remake of "Divdied, He Falls," shot in spring 1969 as Dick Sargent's first filmed episode. It wasn't aired until January 1, 1970, but because Elizabeth Montgomery was pregnant in it, they shot a new beginning to set it up as a flashback. By this point, they were had started remaking episodes from the B&W seasons, although usually with slight plot and character changes.
The show had also recast the recurring characters of Louise Tate (the boss's wife) and Darrin's father. There were also seven Tabithas, but that was just due to the amount of babies and twins used.
I was never a big fan of Davey, personally. He struck me as more Hill Marvel than Captain Marvel due to his humble, folksy mien, which to me didn't jibe with the character's role. Perhaps it's because I'm a couple of years younger than you are, but to me Captain Marvel was always supposed to be a beacon or archetype, a goal to work toward, even if you never quite get there. Davey always seemed to me to be someone grateful for the opportunity, which was what I thought I was supposed to be.
Sorry, serial. The 15 minute drama serial that runs five days a week on BBC Radio 4.
Cast is Anne Heche, Wilmer Valderamma, Jared Harris, Alfred Molina and Stacy Keach, among others.
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Well, I'm speaking of my reaction to Bostwick vs. Davey on my rewatch over the past few weeks; it's been decades since I saw the show, and I don't remember which one I preferred when I watched it in first run as a six- to eight-year-old. I'm not sure I even had a preference. I was young and impressionable, and whatever was presented to me became my standard of "normal" for lack of anything to contrast it with. The fact that Captain Marvel changed between two different faces and voices depending on which rerun I was watching that week was one of those things I probably just took in stride.
Really, though, I'd say "grateful for the opportunity" is a better description of Bostwick, who came off like a jock who wasn't too comfortable with acting and was trying too hard with that constant forced grin. Davey's performance felt much more relaxed and workmanlike. He did have significantly more acting experience, about a decade's worth versus a few years for Bostwick.
Neither of them really felt like an archetype to me, though. They both had kind of a working-class, street-level accessibility, befitting the small-scale problems they dealt with.
Back on topic, here's a nice overview of the various television series that Lucy starred in: “CBS Loved Lucy” (link). And it lists sources!
EDIT: linked video no longer available
Also...
...this is the Gower lot where Star Trek was shot. The stages where Mission: Impossible and Trek were shot are just out of view from the top of the frame. You can see the old RKO Globe on the corner of Melrose (across the bottom) and Gower (running vertically along the left).
EDIT: linked video no longer available
Also...
...this is the Gower lot where Star Trek was shot. The stages where Mission: Impossible and Trek were shot are just out of view from the top of the frame. You can see the old RKO Globe on the corner of Melrose (across the bottom) and Gower (running vertically along the left).
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