Three Rivers - news, links, discussion - part 10 *SPOILERS*

[francis]

It is totally unfair, but the catfights of Alex fans vs. Kate fans started early on in the TR fandom. This is a direct result. Sadly, it totally distracts from the good cause and from a good show and from a great ensemble. I don't see how anyone can think that this was just Alex' show. Alfre, Kate and Daniel all had their great moments and Alex had not enormously more screen time than anyone else. In the episode Code Green I remember he wasn't even there much. They all had their moments to shine, and took them. How can someone be so biased not to see it.
The promotion was heavily on Alex, but that's neither his fault nor telling anything about the show itself. And it certainly has nothing to do with its downfall.
Well, I'm preaching to the choir here, right?

[librarian_7]

It is totally unfair, but the catfights of Alex fans vs. Kate fans started early on in the TR fandom. This is a direct result. Sadly, it totally distracts from the good cause and from a good show and from a great ensemble. I don't see how anyone can think that this was just Alex' show. Alfre, Kate and Daniel all had their great moments and Alex had not enormously more screen time than anyone else. In the episode Code Green I remember he wasn't even there much. They all had their moments to shine, and took them. How can someone be so biased not to see it.
The promotion was heavily on Alex, but that's neither his fault nor telling anything about the show itself. And it certainly has nothing to do with its downfall.
Well, I'm preaching to the choir here, right?

And the choir says, Amen!

Lucky

[wpgrace]

Well, I don't think it was meant to be an ensemble show. I think it was meant to revolve around the screen version of Gonzo, in which role they cast Alex. I think he was meant to be the lead again. It is the same kind of dynamic on Grey's Anatomy. The lead is Meredith, but the others also figure prominently and all get story arcs. On 3R, the other actors were meant to be second and third leads... which is how the screen time sorta worked out. But the difference in screen time was not that discernible... they did all get time each show, Kate more than Daniel, but then she was second lead. Certainly, tho, they spent a lot of time each episode on the guest roles... and that took from the regular cast.

I also don't understand why they all think Alex is so old... he is over 30, true, but the other two are not all that far behind.

The ugly about Alex is perplexing. He's a nice man and he played a nice man. How does that inspire such hatred? He did a good job; his character was not as riveting as Mick, or Kevin, but Andy was a sweet guy and hardly boring to watch. And he was as interesting as Kate's character. Daniel's we never got to learn much about aside from the supposed flirtations. I cannot imagine why the Kate fans in particular think Kate was so gypped by the screen time she got. Maybe that is just the kind of fans she has... I thought some of our fellow ML fans were sometimes embarrassing... OMG, were I a Kate fan I would be cringing at what those people write!

[PNWgal]

Thanks for that link, kays. It was a wonderful editoral, and so nice to hear the show had done that much good in just nine episodes. That's the kind of testimonials CBS should hear.

Then I started reading the comments. And I got angry.

Over the course of this week, I've followed a lot of links to a lot of blogs and articles and editorials about Three Rivers. I have been shocked at the diatribes and nastiness aimed at Alex by folks (some of them Kate and Daniel fans - not all of them) - I actually read one that stated they hoped Alex left the US and never came back. But I refrained from firing back, because Alex fans don't need any more help being painted as out of control fanatics. Today I had to leave a comment - I couldn't believe the audacity of some people to use such a great commentary to such an emotional issue as a place to spew their filth. Alex has done so much for Donate Life and these kinds of comments is the thanks he gets? I had to say something. I don't understand all the ugliness towards an actor that's proved himself to be a good guy.

ETA: Grace got in a post before me...honey, here's a for saying exactly what I was thinking.

[bank1115]

What I find really sad is Organ Donation is much like trying to raise donations for the number one birth defect which is cleft palate. It's hard to truck out a cute little kid for a telethon when they have it. Trying to get the word out about organ donation is just as difficult, Tom says it's a daily struggle. Too bad people can't understand the intent of the editoral isn't it? kays

[redwinter101]

This may sound off-topic, but stick with me. I'll get to the point eventually.

In addition to being a brilliant actor and comedian, Stephen Fry is a techno-geek, prolific blogger and Twillionaire (i.e. he has more than a million followers on Twitter). In other words, he has a massive online presence.

He recently had a Twitter flounce because someone said something nasty about him. In a follow-up interview, he admitted that he had over-reacted HOWEVER, he also said that pretty much any online article he reads (including ones he has written himself) he no longer reads any of the comments as he can guarantee that at least some of them will be hateful, aggressive, rude etc. etc. He believes there is something about that comments box that brings out the worst in people, both in terms of their willingness to say things they would never say in person and also to somehow feel that because the box is there they are entitled to say whatever they like.

I agree with him on both counts. Generally any article I read, unless it is a site or a membership I know well and trust, I just don't read the comments. I don't think the comments on this article are anything unusual nor necessarily caused by the show or by Alex - it is just a group of hateful people, saying hateful things simply because they can and they feel entitled to do so.

Red

[wpgrace]

Well I certainly hope it is true that Alex does not read comments either... but I am still utterly confounded how anyone found his work and his personality so objectionable as to have the reactions they claim to have... AND that they are ignoring the purpose of the article about which they are commenting... the fact that the show saved a few lives. I mean, can you BE any more venal or vapid??

[darkstarrising]

Well I certainly hope it is true that Alex does not read comments either... but I am still utterly confounded how anyone found his work and his personality so objectionable as to have the reactions they claim to have... AND that they are ignoring the purpose of the article about which they are commenting... the fact that the show saved a few lives. I mean, can you BE any more venal or vapid??

'Fraid so, dear grace....Give them time, and as red said, give them a means, and they will come and spew.

I understand how people can be passionate about someone they think highly of (look at us, for god's sake). What I don't understand is what drives others to denigrate. I can understand how a small number of Kate's or Daniel's fans might have felt their star was slighted (I don't think they were, but that's just me.) Yet others seemed to denigrate for the sake of doing so. If you don't think someone is star material, or you don't think he has talent, then find something else to watch.

If denigrating for the sake of doing so is the biggest thrill in someone's life, then theirs is a sorry life indeed.

[wondergirl9847]

A lot of people on the net are anonymous. That's why they write such horrible, disturbing things. They are hiding behind the computer because nobody really knows who they are.

I would hope that Alex (and anyone really) would take that into consideration when reading anything about themselves. The internet is a really cool thing, but it can be the ugliest too.

[allegrita]

That ugliness drove me away from all of the Three Rivers sites, including CBS's. It's a damn shame that a few people's vitriol poisoned everyone's enjoyment. I've lived on the Internet for a very long time, since the days when it was the ARPANET, and only military and universities and research centers had access. Even back in those early days, there was Usenet, which was basically an early version of message boards. And flame wars were rampant. I agree with Stephen Fry that some people will just get ugly given a convenient means. Anonymity and a keyboard hooked up to the Universe are like a powerful drug. Some people get high on their power to say whatever they want with no real consequences. And to mix my metaphors a bit, it's also really contagious. It spreads and infects more and more people. It's very disheartening.

[lafluffy]

I have to admit, I was astonished at the mean-spiritedness of some of the comments. I do think this is a direct result of the way the show was marketed...it was pushed as "the Alex show" when it clearly was written to be an ensemble cast. And we all commented that they needed to make Dr. Andy less of a saint than he appeared at first...naturally, just as that was beginning to develop, poof! it's cancelled.

Is is unfair to blame Alex, and his talent, for the way TR played out in the ratings? Personally, I think it is unfair. There were a lot of factors here, just as there were with Moonlight. Not the same factors, perhaps, but nonetheless, the failure of a tv show is rarely squarely on the shoulders of one person.

Lucky

Wow, CBS screwed up again (not bashing, either- the proof is in the pudding). What a shame. IMO Alex needs a more action oriented series to show off his talents. TR was maybe too precious and it makes me wonder what other choices he was offered.

Yes, it's clear CBS was grooming him. It's good they have that kind of belief in him. It makes me wonder what real choice he had, in the end.

I wonder what was so attractive about "Highway to Heaven" because TR reminded me of it. That, or that angel show.

If they are gonna bash anyone (and no, I haven't read the comments), then bash CBS for the choices they made. I consider TR a misfire in the Alex oeuvre. It's not something, I'm guessing, he had that much control over. And he certainly had no control over how it all was presented and what the results were. To blame him for the show's demise is childishly vengeful, making him a convenient scapegoat. Not cool.

[Phoenix]

My dear friend Tom runs One Legacy which is the organ procurement agcy here in CA. His staff has been assisting Carol Barbee and the writers on 3 Rivers. Needless to say everyone is sadden by the demise of Three Rivers. Tom wrote an editorial and it was printed in the Times and Daily News so I thought I'd share. kays

http://www.dailynews.com/opinions/ci_13920079

Thanks for the link, kays.

It's wonderful to know that TR did so much good in such a short run. Reading some of the comments on the editorial, though, makes me wonder if there is any hope for some people.

[wollstonecraft61]

I feel bad because he is having to job hunt AGAIN so soon. It took over a year to get to see Alex again. Yeah, I know he is always job hunting, but with a series, there is a little breathing room between pay checks. He deserves better. It is not for lack of fans, that's for sure.

[wpgrace]

So, I know many of us were very upset by the horrifically inappropriate response by some fans of the other actors on 3R to that lovely article about how the show saved lives... tho I notice that many good people, including some of our own, have now stepped in to comment there about the purpose and the beauty of the fact that the show accomplished what it did.

I am not real comfortable posting on sites like that ... go figure. But I thought what I would do today, since 3R SHOULD be showing it's 9th ep this evening, is to send feedback to CBS referencing this article and to ask them to show that "CBS Cares" by airing, with some promotion, the remaining episodes of the series.

If the first 8 saved lives, and convinced some viewers to consider organ donation, well, it seems reasonable that the final four might work a miracle or two, in SOMEONE"S life, as well. And it would only take saving one life to matter.

I cannot IMAGINE turning down that opportunity if I had it. So in the spirit of Alex, and his own dedication to his cause even after his show was killed, I think CBS should do the right thing, for the right reason, ratings be damned.

[francis]

Good for you, wpgrace. I sent one comment to CBS asking for the five remaining episodes.