Death of an actor and the future of 'Dallas'

The death of Larry Hagman was not the first, nor will it be the last time, an actor dies during the ongoing production of a TV show or even a movie. And for the series Dallas, this is the second time it has happened. During the run of the original show, Jim Davis –who played the patriarch of the Ewing clan- died in April of 1981 while season three of the series was winding down. His death, sadly, was not a huge shock –he had been diagnosis with multiple myeloma and the subsequent chemotherapy required him to be seated and at times wearing a wig. The character was kept alive well into season four, before being killed off. His death never affected the ratings or the series ongoing arcs and it continued on for additional ten years.

When Nicholas Colasanto, who played Coach on Cheers, died in February of 1985 during the middle of that long-running series third season, the producers, faced with an emotional decision, kept the character alive through the remainder of that season by having him off doing things, and when it returned for season four, the series finally acknowledged the passing of Coach. On Hill Street Blues, actor Michael Conrad –who played Phil Esterhaus on the acclaimed series and who ended each roll call on the show with “Let’s be careful out there-" died in November of 1983. A few months later, in February 1984, the producers gave the character a memorable send-off. 

While some shows lost character actors and co-stars, a few have lost the main cast members that could affect the longevity of the series. One was the old ABC series Eight is Enough. Actress Diana Hyland played the mother of eight kids on the show and wife of Tom (Dick Van Patten). She only completed 4 episodes of the new series when she fell ill with breast cancer and died in March of 1977. The character was written out the show and when it returned for the second season, Tom was now a widower. But while her death was tragic, it happened early enough in the shows run to not affect its ratings. 

But then there are times when the death of the actor eventually doomed the series. One such was the CBS series Cover Up that starred Jennifer O’Neill and model-turned-actor Jon-Erik Hexum. On October 12, 1984, while joking between scenes, Hexum took a blank-loaded .44 Magnum and pointed it at his head and pulled the trigger. Despite being a prop gun with blanks, the wadding was fired with enough force to send skull fragments into Hexum’s brain, causing massive hemorrhaging. He was taken off life-support six days later. Australian actor Antony Hamilton was brought in to play another member of Harper’s team, stepping in while Harper was away on assignment. Hexum’s death, however, cloaked the adventure series with a pall, and show never found its footing. It was cancelled after one season. Same thing happened with Red Foxx, who returned to TV in 1991 in The Royal Family. During production on one episode, the actor collapsed on set and died of a massive heart attack. With seven episodes aired –to favorable ratings- the show eventually lost its footing despite a valiant effort and was cancelled after 15 episodes.

One the most recent deaths of a main actor on a series was John Ritter, who fell ill during the production of fourth episode of the second season of his hit show  8 Simple Rules For Dating My Daughter. Rushed to hospital, he died on September 11, 2003, as a result of an aortic dissection. Two months later, the series had his character die in a grocery store, supposedly of a heart ailment. Faced with the loss of a beloved actor, the series tried to keep going. But despite the adding of new characters, including veterans Suzanne Pleshette, James Garner and comedian David Spade, the ratings continued to slide, and eventually the show was cancelled after the third season in May, 2005.

How Hagman’s death will affect TNT’s version of Dallas is unknown. When the cable net announced the reboot back in 2011, there was no guarantee that anyone from the original series would even want to appear on this version. Sure they had hopes, but the creative teams behind this new take were also realists, and had a contingency plan for the series if Hagman (and others) did not want to appear. But after some negotiations, Hagman appeared as JR in all 10 episodes of the series’ first season.  While the second season is expected to expand to 15 episodes, at this time we don’t know how many episodes Hagman will appear in and how many he still had to film before his death. 

TNT will probably make announcement sometime next week about the fate of the show. I would guess that they’ll continue on as scheduled, though to help the production staff craft a goodbye episode (I don’t think he’ll be replaced), the season opener –scheduled for January 28^th- maybe be delayed. Still, they could begin as planned, as (sadly) Larry Hagman’s death will probably give the series a bump in ratings. Like any artist, I guess, death only makes them more popular and profitable. 

However, can and will the new Dallas survive the loss of Larry Hagman? While certainly not a main character, the success of the reboot can be pinned on his shoulders a bit because JR was one of the best bad guys everyone loved to hate ever created for TV. Will fans –both old and new- continue to watch the soap after its most famous villainous character, played by a very popular and beloved actor as well, is eventually written-out? Can the showrunners create a new super villain that does not replace JR Ewing, but make them at least likeable enough to keep the show running another season? Or will it suffer the fate of shows like 8 Simple Rules and Cover Up and slowly wither on the vine? 

That remains to be seen.

Larry Hagman, TV's J.R. Ewing passes

Larry Hagman was an icon of TV for two roles, one as the bumbling Major Nelson on the classic 1965-70 series I Dream of Jeannie and then in 1978 he took on the role of J.R. Ewing on the CBS primetime soap, Dallas. Hagman died of throat cancer in the city of Dallas on November 23 at the age of 81. The conniving Ewing – the man whom everybody loved to hate- was to become his most defining role, playing the character during the series entire 13 year run. 

After taking time off and also going through a lifesaving kidney transplant in 1995, he returned to play J.R. in two TV movies in 1996 and 1998. During the first decade of the 21^st Century, Hagman went into semi-retirement, taking care of his wife who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2008, but still popped up in an episode of Nip/Tuck in 2006 and Desperate Housewives in 2010. Then in 2011, the cable network TNT announced they were going to do a sequel series to Dallas (over the last decade, there had been various attempts at resurrecting the show, including a potential motion picture. The new show would also ignore the events of the latter two TV movies). While the new show would focus on the children of the original characters (now adults themselves), Larry Hagman agreed –along with Patrick Duffy and Linda Gray- to return to the show.

Shortly after the announcement, Hagman said he had stage 2 throat cancer. “As J.R. I could get away with anything — bribery, blackmail and adultery", Hagman said in a statement. "But I got caught by cancer. I do want everyone to know that it is a very common and treatable form of cancer. I will be receiving treatment while working on the new Dallas series. I could not think of a better place to be than working on a show I love, with people I love." The new series debuted in January of 2012 and became a huge hit for the cable net and was quickly picked up for a second season, which will debut on January 28, 2013.  In mid-2012, Hagman announced that he had “beat” the cancer, which was in remission. In a statement, Hagman’s family said “Larry was back in his beloved Dallas, re-enacting the iconic role he loved most. Larry’s family and close friends had joined him in Dallas for the Thanksgiving holiday. When he passed, he was surrounded by loved ones. It was a peaceful passing, just as he had wished for. The family requests privacy at this time.”

'Doctor Who' & 'Star Wars:' The Rumor Parade

Much like the latest Star Wars rumors (see below), Doctor Who continues to abound with them of what will be involved in the back eight of season seven. As the series begins work on the final episode of the season –wrapping sometime in the middle of December- there is plenty of rumors that the second half of the season will resemble the first half, with those eight episodes being just as “cinematic” as the previous six. While none of the episode titles have been “officially” confirmed, the list currently (maybe) looks like this –note I will call these working titles, because they do have a tendency to change by air date. 

Christmas Episode: The Snowmen

Episode 6: The Bells of St. John

Episode 7: The Rings of Akhaten

Episode 8: currently unknown

Episode 9: Phantoms of the Hex

Episode 10: Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS

Episode 11: The Crimson Horror

Episode 12: The Last Cyberman

Episode 13: currently unknown

As for plots, well they’re even harder to come by than episode titles. As for whom the new companion, Clara Oswin, is and how she fits into the Oswin Oswald character we saw in the season opener, is all over the place when it comes to theories. The production people keep claiming they are two different people, which seems logical, but there has to be some connection if only because show runner Steven Moffat does these things for a reason, even if the fans are unclear on exactly what that is. 

By location pictures by fans, we know the Doctor is spending some time in Earth’s past, the Christmas episode and the 6^th seem to be spent in the 19^th Century, as well –it appears- episode 9 and 11 (and mostly because that story features the third appearance of Neve McIntosh as Madame Vastra, Catrin Stewart as Jenny and Dan Starky as Strax after last year’s A Good Man Goes to War and the Christmas episode, The Snowmen). Rumors persist that the long thought return of the classic villains the Ice Warriors will happen in untitled episode 8. We know that the Cybermen return in episode 12, mostly because location footage has shown the upgraded look for that Neil Gaiman penned episode, and of course, the author leaving the script in a taxi only to be found and returned to him. Expectations are that Alex Kingston will be back as River Song, most likely for the season finale, as she was recently seen in Cardiff. Though, I admit, that’s pure speculation as production on episode 12 and 13 overlapped each other, and Kingston has a very busy schedule outside of Doctor Who so she could be in the Cybermen story. But, I’m guessing she’s in the finale. 

As for the rest of 2013 and how the 50^th anniversary plays out is still unknown as well. It’s almost positive that David Tennant will be back as the 10^th Doctor, based mostly on interviews with him, as he seems not to be able to contain himself. He knows something, essentially, and is bursting to say what it is, but knows he can’t. As for the other surviving actors who played the Doctor, there seems to be less of chance anyone else will be back. While that could be subterfuge by them (Peter Davidson is inclined to return as well as Tom Baker, but Colin Baker seems convinced he’ll not be back), unless money becomes an issue, I don’t see why anyone the others (with the exception of Christopher Eccelston) will not be involved with the series fiftieth anniversary. 

Now onto Star Wars: Episode VII, VIII and IX. After Oscar winner Michael Arndt signed on to write episode VII, the jocking for who would helm them ramped up. But what we got was a bunch of directors saying NO, a list that includes Safety Not Guaranteed helmer Colin Trevorrow, Brad Bird, Ben Affleck, Sam Mendes, J.J. Abrams, Zack Snyder, Quentin Tarantino and Steven Spielberg.

I’m guessing, however, none of them would have actually been asked for various reasons. However, one name that does pop up is Joe Johnston. Like Kathleen Kennedy, Johnston has a long history with Star Wars, starting on the visual effects team for the first film in 1977 which he continued on through The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. He’s segued into directing in 1989 with Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and followed with The Rocketeer (both Disney films), Jumanji, October Sky, Jurassic Park III (produced by Kennedy), and Captain America: The First Avenger. He’s a capable, if not safe, director and his long association with George Lucas and Kennedy could give him the better chance of doing Episode VII. Also, Johnston has not played the deny game or said “no” to the idea when reporters asked about his potential involvement with the new trilogy. 

Now onto the latest rumor: According to The Hollywood Reporter, Lawrence Kasdan and Simon Kinberg will be writing episodes VIII and IX, though the division of their responsibilities has yet to be determined. Kasdan is a well-respected writer, and he too has a history with Star Wars and George Lucas, adapting the screenplay for The Empire Strikes Back (and still considered the best of the first three) and Return of the Jedi. He also wrote Raiders of the Lost Ark. As for Kinberg, he wrote the scripts for the Sherlock Holmes franchise as well X-Men: First Class and its upcoming sequel, X-Men: Days of Future Past. Both writers will also serve as producers on those entries as well.

Again, Disney is saying nothing about this latest news. So take it with the grain it is offered as.

Two 'Bond' writers depart; 'Young Sherlock' to be rebooted; new 'Hyde' gets a writer

They wrote the last five James Bond films, and with three of the five being critical and box-office successes –so not bad statistically-, writers Neal Purvis and Robert Wade have announced they are departing the long running franchise. This does not come as a surprise though, if only because it was confirmed a few weeks ago that John Logan –who co-wrote the latest Bond flick Skyfall with the writer’s- was verified as the screenwriter for Bond 24, which should bow in 2014. There was also a rumor that Logan will also handle the writing duties for Bond 25. And while other reports indicate Logan worked out a two-part adventure for those next films, no one will confirm that at Eon Productions or the two studios that finance the series now, MGM and Columbia Pictures. While the Bond films have been more or less stand-alone (while both Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace share some the same story arcs, they can stand by themselves as two different films), the rebirth of the franchise since Daniel Craig took over could give the production a chance to take even more risks. Plus, with the success two-part adaptations of Harry Potter, The Twilight series and the upcoming Hunger Games series, not to mention The Lord of the Rings, fans have shown a willingness to allow films to expand their plot lines. While Bond may not be the best franchise to allow this, none the less, the film series could work out a story-arc that covers Craig’s final two films in his contract. The idea, at least for me, is intriguing.

Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions, through FilmDistrict and Alliance Films, have announced an August 30, 2013 release date for Insidious 2. Director James Wan and screenwriter Leigh Whannell will reteam for the 2011 sequel, while Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Lin Shaye, and Ty Simpkins will also be back to reprise their roles.

Nearly Twenty-eight years after its initial release and with the success of BBC’s Sherlock, CBS’ Elementary and Warner Bros. movie franchise starring Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law, it’s not surprising that Paramount wants to mount a remake of Young Sherlock Holmes in hopes of finding the younger demographic. The Barry Levinson directed film was written originally by Chris Columbus, who will serve as producer on this remake (Steven Spielberg and Frank Marshall were the Executive Producers then). The 1985 film followed Sherlock Holmes and John Watson as they meet as teenagers in England, and embark on a series of sleuthing adventures. That film was noted for one of the first motion pictures to use CGI –a segment that featured a photorealistic animated knight composed of elements from a stained glass window. While not a perfect film, it none the less was an entertaining movie that was originally planned as series, but so-so reviews and poor box-office returns killed any plans to expand it into a franchise. 

Screenwriter Albert Torres will adapt the Cole Haddon’s The Strange Case of Hyde for at Dark Horse Entertainment, Skydance Productions and the Mark Gordon Company. The 2011 graphic novel is a sort of sequel to Robert Lois Stevenson’s classic novella The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and is set some five years after the events of Stevenson’s story with Dr. Jekyll in prison and allegedly rehabilitated. But when a new horror begins stalking and murdering prostitutes, Inspector Thomas Adye of Scotland Yard realizes someone is using the same formula that brought forth Hyde, but it appears to be more improved. Thus Adye reluctantly needs the help of Dr. Jekyll, who appears not be completely cured of his Hyde curse as some thought.