So MeTV’s promo for this week’s Perry
movie certainly made me sit up and take notice! SCOTT BAIO! If I was ever
previously aware that Scott had appeared in one of the films, it slipped my
mind long, long ago.
Scott has been a long-time favorite of mine, ever
since I discovered him on Diagnosis Murder when the PAX network (now
Ion) reran it in about 2000. I loved his aforementioned Jack character and
promptly started looking into his other work. I became mildly obsessed with Charles
in Charge and also looked into Happy Days. MeTV’s joke in the
promo, “Does Perry love Chachi?” made perfect sense to me. I still haven’t been
able to see the short-lived Happy Days spin-off Joanie Loves Chachi,
but I am still very much interested in doing so. (Interestingly, I think Chachi
is only one of a handful of characters to have left a parent series and then
returned to it later. But that’s a subject for another blog.)
Well, needless to say, I already have a spot
reserved on a tape to record this Perry movie and keep it. I am very
excited for tomorrow.
Earlier in the week, an acquaintance of mine
found this interesting article about Robert Downey Jr.’s Perry movie:
I don’t recall reading
or posting this particular article before, so I hope I haven’t. It puts a
different spin on what he’s up to, instead of just saying the standard “it’s
going to follow the books more and be set in the 1930s, etc. etc.”
This acquaintance also
commented on the article (her post is at the bottom of its page, in the Comments
section) and suggested an intriguing possibility for how to solve the Hamilton
problem I’ve been concerned over. Perhaps Tim Talman, William’s son, could play
Hamilton in the film! He has been acting, and judging from the clips in his
IMDB.com demo reel, he’s quite good. He’s mentioned that he would be very
interested in taking on the role (although I don’t know if he was specifically referencing
this movie; he may have been generally speaking) and that it would be a dream
come true for him.
It would be a wonderful
callback to fans of the television series, whom I’m sure will make up quite a
large portion of the audience if this movie really gets off the ground. And I
would feel a lot more confident if someone like Tim Talman were to take on our
district attorney character. I’m sure he would make Hamilton as well-rounded
and human as his father did for nine seasons.
I’m not sure if Robert
Downey Jr. would be interested in having anything in the film that would
reference the television series, since his interest is in keeping closer to the
books, but it’s certainly something to be keeping in mind. I wish the idea
could get back to him somehow!
I really wonder how
that movie is coming along. That article, as mentioned, is from last year. I think
I found one or two from earlier this year, signaling the movie is still being
planned, but it certainly isn’t full-speed ahead as The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
film is right now. And while normally I don’t care for big-screen adaptions of
television series, I am very cautiously hopeful and optimistic about the U.N.C.L.E.
film. It sounds like it’s on the right path. If it keeps on as such, it could
be something wonderful.
That is, I hope, what
will eventually happen with this Perry movie. It could be a very
exciting thing, if a movie could be done right. Who knows what it could bring
about where other aspects are concerned. The books could be reprinted. There
could be more interest in the television series, even extending to possibly new
books about it being published. Maybe, even, new merchandise could be released,
such as a beautiful 3D video/computer game, new board games, character shirts .
. . the possibilities are endless!
Of course, as with many movie adaptions of
television series, it may make most of the fanbase recoil in horror instead.
But at the point it’s at now it could go either way, so I will continue hoping
for something awesome. It sounds like Robert is sincere about making a film
that will be a worthwhile addition to the Perry Mason family, so that is
certainly something in his favor.
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