![]() "We thought he and Dean were a little close in age and in type," offered series producer Robert Singer. "Maybe my concern to begin with was unfounded." Whalin explained that the producers replaced Landes because they thought he looked too much like lead Dean Cain. "I'm doing it because the show and the network would like me to do it." He wants his acting, not his face, to speak for itself. I don't want to overload it, I don't want to do the teen thing," he said. The 20-year-old actor first posed years ago when he guest-starred on "Charles in Charge" and again when filmmaker John Waters asked him to as a tie-in for "Serial Mom." Reluctant, he resisted other requests until he landed "Lois & Clark." "I've started to do them again for the series. Fitting the bill as a teen hunk, Whalin sheepishly admitted to posing for teen magazines in the past. Jimmy Olsen, the budding Daily Planet photographer who trails Lois Lane (Teri Hatcher), Clark Kent (Dean Cain) and Perry White (Lane Smith), used to be played by actor Michael Landes, but was replaced this year by a noticeably younger Justin Whalin, winner of a 1994 Emmy (for a "CBS Schoolbreak Special" titled "Other Mothers"). Well, Olsen never left, actually, but he looks a lot different this season. I now realize that we need to make the Robins come out as well… My to-do list keeps getting longer! Fortunately, in the next Batman film a Robin may have already been cast.When the producers of "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman" decided to revamp the show after the first season, villain Lex Luthor left and aspiring newsman Jimmy Olsen arrived. Unconsciously, we’re all pushing our kids to become the Batmans. The constant bombardment of films elevating the role of the lone superhero is disturbing especially as my pre-teens youngsters think that being a dominant hero, boss, master and leader are the only roles worth playing ignoring the fact that Batman too is learning from Robin - learning how to be a father, mother, sibling and friend and so growing as a person too. I worry though that our kids are only being exposed to one side of this equation. I have often found myself being Batman at times and Robin at other times, at work, at home and with my friends. My productions must be well-oiled machines but people are not well-oiled machines and rarely stick one hundred percent to their assigned roles. If a production is to run smoothly then everyone must play their role and stick to their boundaries. In my work as an executive producer in television, my life revolves around assigned roles, whether as part of a crew or in front of the camera, every person in my world has a specific role to play. It’s the dynamic duo that solves crimes and catches bad guys and have each other’s backs it isn’t just Batman and, after all, Superman too has super smart Lois Lane to balance his equation. And I have to wonder why, because Robin is a likeable fellow and smart. Looking at my husband and kids across the breakfast table engrossed in their “Batman v Superman” conversation made me think how in social media we all self-promote ourselves and want to be the Batman of our lives but what is this teaching our kids about the dynamics, nuances and fluidity of relationships? I don’t know anyone who would knowingly advertise themselves as Robin. If Robin is Batman’s sidekick, then what is Batman to Robin? When I pointed out to my kids that Robin would always help Batman out of any jam, they said, “Who is Robin mum? There is no Robin.” Of course Robin is probably not in the movie but holy smokes Batman, what happened to the dynamic duo I grew up watching on TV? To be honest, I was never allowed to read comics as a child so I had no idea that Superman and Batman existed in the same comic space but it got me thinking about the meaning of superheroes and sidekicks as they pertain to our everyday lives. I must admit that we haven’t yet seen the movie yet, but it got me thinking that sidekick Robin was only mentioned - when his costume was shown, indicating he had been killed by the Joker. Breakfast conversations these last couple of weeks in our kitchen have been dominated by one conversation: who is going to win the epic battle between Batman and Superman? There’s endless excited discussions and plenty of theories, especially from my son who is glued to watching all those videos.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |