monkeybard | Jul. 25th, 2005

In the midst of my opening weekend frenzy, I took a little break from reality (Yes, theatre is reality when you're working in it.) and watched two S1 eps of ENTERPRISE on DVD: Strange New World and Terra Nova. Why those two? Because those are the eps that really caught my attention, actor-wise. SNW made me sit up and take notice of Connor Trinneer. He took his character just over the top, and then successfully kept him there. I have great respect for any actor who a) knows exactly where the top is, b) knows just how far over it to go, and c) can maintain his choice consistently. TN really brought Dominic Keating to my attention. Yeah, I'd noticed him before that, but there was a subtlety to his work in that episode that drew me in. Being subtle on telly isn't easy, IMO, because the audience (i.e. the camera) is so close that the slightest change of expression is caught. It's something I learned in college when I took an acting for the camera class in the midst of all my stage work; you have to tone it down visually when going from stage to screen because all of a sudden the audience is inches away instead of yards.

It was fun to go back and watch those eps. They're better than I thought they were when they first aired--and I didn't think they sucked then. And of course it was good to watch one of the eps with Kellie Waymire. They should have used her more while they could. Cutler would have been a fabulous addition to the main crew. TPTB really blew it when they didn't honour her passing in RL with a moment in the show. I think I'll watch Dear Doctor next.