The Sunday Magazine: The Characters Who Live on TV

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I have spent the last couple days looking over the preliminary schedule for the upcoming New York Comic-Con. It is part of the fun of going is to look over the upcoming panels and screenings and see which ones I’m most excited about. It becomes a way of my assessing the things I have at the top of my list against some things which have fallen.

In the latter category is the panel for the new Star Trek: Discovery. I looked at it on the list and was surprised I have little interest in it. Star Trek is why I am a 57-year old man on my way to Comic-Con but they have found a way to fatigue my interest. If I hear good things I suppose I’ll catch up but for the very first time I won’t be there for the first episode of something which has Star Trek in the name.

There are many other things I am looking forward to but right at the very top is the American Gods panel on Thursday and The Walking Dead panel on Saturday. Funnily enough the reason I am so fond of both series are characters who are very different from the printed page version.

Pablo Schreiber and Emily Browning in American Gods

In the Starz American Gods series, it is the duo of the leprechaun Mad Sweeney and Laura Moon. As portrayed by actors Pablo Schreiber and Emily Browning they are the reason I tuned in each week. What is crazy is in the book the characters exist but are small supporting characters. On TV, they are the best thing in American Gods.

Melissa McBride and Norman Reedus in The Walking Dead

In The Walking Dead, it is the characters Darryl Dixon and Carol Peletier portrayed by actors Norman Reedus and Melissa McBride. They also form a rough duo within the zombie apocalypse although the story separates them often. Darryl doesn’t exist in the comic book and Carol died a long time ago. On TV, they form the beating heart of the show. Despite many storytelling excesses these characters bring me back week after week.

Darryl and Carol are so popular that when writer Robert Kirkman talks about killing either of them you can almost feel the held breath in the room. I have been considering what it is that makes both characters so important to my enjoyment of this show. I think it is the uncertainty they bring as they don’t exist in the comic which means I have no idea what happens to them. It makes me invest more closely because of that. The other characters are great but because of the comic I know who is eventually going to die which maybe makes me keep them at arm’s length emotionally.

When it comes to Mad Sweeney and Laura it is much easier to pinpoint the reason; the actors. On American Gods, these two actors have created a chemistry which does not exist on the page. These characters were never as alive until Mr. Schreiber and Ms. Browning breathed new life into them. This presents a problem for the writers for season two as I am far from the only one who feels this way. How they will find ways to use the two characters when there is precious little left on the page for them to do is going to be key to a successful run.

I am looking forward to these actors talking about their roles and answering questions in a few weeks. Seeing and hearing from them is the reason I want to be in NYC the first week of October.

–Mark Behnke

The Sunday Magazine: American Gods

Posted on by in Mark Behnke, The Sunday Magazine and tagged , , , , , .

One of the great things about all the choice we now have for our video entertainment is it has ushered in an age of television and movies that can find the right way to adapt a literary source. When I was a teenager and we would have these discussions about what actor would play what beloved literary character; in my head was “never gonna happen”. Now, even the most fractious literature can be turned into vision. When I read American Gods by Neil Gaiman back in 2001 I thought “never gonna happen” because a complex pastiche of vignettes and stories seemingly would never translate to a smooth visual narrative. Turns out it has happened as the first season of American Gods is wrapping up on Starz.

The central premise of Mr. Gaiman’s story is because America was founded by immigrants each brought the gods of their home with them to this new country. It allowed each of the Old Gods to find a foothold to provide enough worship and sacrifice to keep them going. As we enter the present day there are New Gods; Technical Boy, Media, and Mr. World. The story is America has arrived at a tipping point where the New Gods can potentially remove the Old Gods from the country, probably dooming them.

The protagonists in the story are Shadow Moon who is released from prison after serving his sentence only to find out his wife Laura dies in a car accident. On his way home, he meets Mr. Wednesday who hires him as his bodyguard/assistant. Shadow becomes the reader’s, and viewers’, window into the machinations of the world of American Gods.

Neil Gaiman (l.) and Bryan Fuller

This is difficult story material to tell visually except the person they hired to do it is one of my favorite television creative minds; Bryan Fuller. Mr. Fuller has a way of telling fractured fairy tales as exemplified by his series Dead Like Me, Wonderfalls, and Pushing Daisies. It turns out many of the themes of American Gods are ones already explored in those previous series.

Throughout the first season Mr. Fuller has overseen an adaptation which I am much fonder of than the book it is based upon. I liked Mr. Gaiman’s book fine but I have never adored it as much as most who are fans. Mr. Fuller’s adaptation I am brought in to in a way the book didn’t. The reason is Mr. Fuller has made a change to the book and it turns out to be for the better.

Mad Sweeney (Pablo Schreiber) and Laura Moon (Emily Browning) on the road

As I mentioned Laura Moon dies in a car accident. She is brought back to life after which she meets a leprechaun who stands six feet tall. For his own reasons, Mad Sweeney wants to help Laura fully resurrect from her walking dead woman status. Throughout the first season their relationship is like an odd couple road comedy. It is funny and the actors are fantastic in the roles, Pablo Schreiber plays Mad Sweeney and Emily Browning plays Laura Moon.

In the book, they play supporting roles to Shadow and Mr. Wednesday. In the television series, they are almost the main reason to watch. It culminated in the penultimate episode titled “A Prayer for Mad Sweeney”. The episode used one of the more interesting plot devices in both novel and series. Sprinkled throughout are vignettes titled “Somewhere in America” followed by a date. Each mini story tells of a God and how it deals with its worshippers in America. The tales are narrated by Mr. Ibis who works at a funeral parlor with Mr. Jacquel. Mr. Ibis is compelled to write these stories down as they come to him. “A Prayer for Mad Sweeney” is an entire episode in which Mr. Ibis relates the story of Essie MacGowan. How she ends up in American and brings Mad Sweeney with her. Ms. Browning also plays Essie. The episode displays the parallels between Essie and Laura. Where we see how it all turns out for Essie we are left wondering if that is also in store for Laura. Mr. Schreiber is having a gigantic amount of fun playing Mad Sweeney. In this episode, he gets to show off what he can do. If you have any desire to see if the series is to your liking this is the episode to try. Here is the funny thing almost everything in this episode is not in the book.

Mr. Ibis as played by Demore Barnes

I’m not sure if that is going to be a problem in the long run because what has made me enjoy American Gods the series more than the book has been Laura and Mad Sweeney. I know where the book heads from the ending of this season and there are still are still big moments for both but not a lot. Even though I am worried; this is what makes Mr. Fuller such an engaging storyteller. He has a way of creating characters with whom I want to spend hours watching.

The first season has just come to an end so you can binge watch all eight episodes if you want. Also, the book is a great beach read. Both have their pleasures and there are seemingly enough differences that experiencing both, enhances both.

Mr. Gaiman’s universe of Gods, Old and New, fighting for the attention of Americans has found the right time along with the right visionary in Mr. Fuller to turn “never gonna happen” to something patently untrue.

–Mark Behnke