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Alan Rickman (1946-2016)

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The news is still breaking so I apologize for not having a link for the obituary. If you google, there should be several to choose from.

This has been a very sad and difficult week to see people who were such inspirations throughout my life pass away. Those of us who grew up listening to David Bowie and watching Alan Rickman, it’s been extraordinarily hard, which is to say nothing of their families and friends. One of the reasons for these feelings is how much they both transcended genres and decades, exhibiting their talents for all to admire and emulate. Like David Bowie, Alan Rickman could be a chameleon, blending into the background with his subtlety or facial expressions or taking the lead with his huge presence, always looking as though he were snapping a long jacket behind him; for two examples of that, look to his Sheriff of Nottingham and Professor Severus Snape.

Like Bowie, Alan Rickman was 69 (he would have been 70 on February 21st) and he died too early from cancer.

In my twenties, I went through a spell of watching everything done by a couple of actors. Harrison Ford was one, and Alan Rickman was the other. (Norman Reedus is becoming a current one.) I tried to find all of his movies and watch them one after the other. This was probably after Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. He was one of my favorites in that movie. That movie was one of my favorites. In fact, the theme was my wedding song. I could recite his lines verbatim for an annoyingly long period of time, especially threatening to ‘cut your heart out with a spoon!’

I was thrilled when he was set to play Professor Snape in the Harry Potter movies. I couldn’t think of a better choice for the range of that character. Having read the books, I knew what was coming in book/movie seven and Alan Rickman is perfect from sadistic bastard to regretful antihero with the emotion and humor and everything else that his brilliance could come up with for each of his roles.

That journey through Alan Rickman’s filmography brought me to a few gems that I might not have found otherwise. I’ve included those two here along with some others that I’ve seen and would highly recommend, although choosing anything from his imdb or Wikipedia filmography lists would be well worth your time.

The January Man – Ed

Closet Land – The Interrogator

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street – Judge Turpin

Die Hard – Hans Gruber

Quigley Down Under – Elliott Marston

Galaxy Quest – Alexander Dane

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (voice of Marvin)

Portraits in Dramatic Time – this is the brilliance equivalent of Patrick Stewart reading a grocery list. (See video below)

Lee Daniels’ The Butler – President Ronald Reagan

And of course, the aforementioned Harry Potter Movies Series (as Professor Severus Snape), and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (as the Sheriff of Nottingham)

Fandom and Smart Tech

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In Vintage Supernatural, I mentioned how for me, and many others who are fans or in fandom, have a broader relationship with the source material. In other words, when the television show ends for the week, it doesn’t always end for the viewer.

In the case of Supernatural, I am often also on Tumblr, reading the liveblogging and commentary from two of my friends there. It gives the feel of a viewing party, hearing (or reading) others’ exclamations of surprise, their mocking of something unbelievable. They/we applaud the writer, and gush, and we have other fans to gush with. Since I’m the only one in my family who watches Supernatural, this gives me a less solitary experience, and makes it more enjoyable to me.

When I watch The Walking Dead, I watch with my family, so we have that camaraderie and interaction throughout and after the show. I also go online and either read, write or enjoy the new gifsets that seemingly appear as if by magic minutes after the scenes air.

In Vintage Supernatural, I talked about googling the Lizzie Borden House, and discovering its existence.

A similar thing happened in last week’s Doctor Who episode, The Zygon Inversion, they mentioned a town where the action was taking place: Truth of Consequences, New Mexico. It was named after the game show according to Clara, the Doctor’s Companion.

I snorted. Can’t be true. I paused a mere second before googling it, and guess what? It’s real. It exists. Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. I learned something new.

I’ve found that I’ve been searching for terms and actors’ names and previous works while watching the show in real time. I don’t have to sit and wonder who is that guy fore the entirety of the hour. I wait for the commercial, pull out my Kindle, and hit the Google page. I avoid spoilers, but I get my curiosity satisfied without distracting me from the current show.

We simultaneously complain and applaud new technology, but using smart tech for series watching can really enhance the experience and introduce another level of fandom interaction that you haven’t realized you were missing.

I love it!

It’s the best of both worlds.

For anyone else who’s interested in getting another perspective of their favorite show, here are a few of my resources:

Google
Wikipedia
imdb (Internet Movie Database)
Tumblr (search for your television show)

You can also go to the website and specific page for the series you are interested in.

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