----- Original Message ----- From: Kathryn Andersen kat@foobox.net
The problem is, Travis I and Travis II are too different. Yes, it is possible for the same character to be played by more than one actor successfully (and I don't just mean different productions of the same play). A good example of this is Stargate the movie as compared to Stargate SG-1 the series; the character of Daniel Jackson was played by James Spader in the movie and Michael Shanks in the series, and the "join" is seamless; they feel like the same character. The other character that appeared in both was Colonel Jack O'Neill, played by Kurt Russell in the movie and Richard Dean Anderson in the series. They are notably different; the Kurt Russell character is cold and burnt out, while the Richard Dean Anderson character is emotive and sarcastic. One *can* explain the difference by saying that O'Neill in the movie was still devastated by the death of his son, and the "real" O'Neill is the one we see in the series.
But Travis has no excuse... unless you blame the retraining therapists for turning a cold, sharp, snooty Alpha into a thuggy Beta who worked his way up the ranks. They are two completely different people.
Actually, Alan Stevens reminded me the other day that Chris Boucher was actually midway through "Trial" when the changeover came-- my bad :).
But, that aside, I still don't see it. I've seen "Julius Caesar" played totally straight by BBC actors dressed as ancient Roman aristocrats, and I've seen it played by an alternative theatre company who portrayed all the charactes as working-class Chicago mobsters. The interpretations of both companies were different, but one can't say that Marc Antony is a completely different character in both circumstances.
I also find your interpretation of Travis II a bit disturbing. So just because he has a regional accent, he's automatically a thug who has worked his way up through the ranks? How do you know that that isn't what officers sound like in the future?
On "Travis: the Final Act," (<gratuitous plug> still available for sale on Judith's website (though stocks are low)!</gratuitous plug>), Chris Boucher says that he saw Travis as someone who worked his way up through the ranks... but the implication there is that he saw *both* Travises that way.
I'll leave it to Penny to address your use of the term "thuggy." :).
Fiona
The Posthumous Memoirs of Secretary Rontane Available for public perusal at http://nyder.r67.net
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